In Hades II’s reveal trailer, Melinoë says: “Wait for me, Father, I’ll be there soon.” At first glance, this seems like a straightforward subversion; where Zagreus fought up out of the underworld to escape his father, the titular Hades, Melinoë fights down into it to rescue Hades from his own father, the titan Chronos.
But flipping this goal isn’t so simple. The Hades of Hades I is an abusive patriarch and part of a terrible system of godly royalty. As Zagreus finds his path out from underneath Hades’ grasp, he also helps nearly every other character with the injustices they’ve suffered at the hands of the divine pantheon.
But the Hades of Hades II is a figure of, well, mythological worship for Melinoë, who was taken from her family as a baby and only has stories of him to work from – stories told by the other gods who want their own rulership back. Hades is presented as a family man, doting on his new daughter; the abuse of the previous game is never mentioned. And even as the gods’ capricious whims are detailed by various characters, the game does nothing to subvert the idea that you should put those gods back on their ‘rightful’ thrones.
This piece contains spoilers for the whole of Hades II, including the post-credits quests and multiple late-game side stories.
Every time Hades II got a new early access update that unearthed more of its overarching story, I waited for Supergiant to introduce a twist into Melinoë’s propagandized drive to re-establish the godly totalitarianism spearheaded by the villain of the first game. But 1.0 has come and gone, and Melinoë’s task never changes. While there are throwaway hints that the age of the gods won’t last forever, Melinoë never learns of Hades’ abuse of Zagreus, and she does nothing for the many people she calls friends who suffer under the system she has fought so hard to uphold.
There is one clear moment in the game’s ending where Supergiant explores breaking the cycle. Melinoë can’t beat Chronos without Zagreus’ help, in a timewarping plot that is supposed to have Chronos killed before he ever comes to power. But Zagreus doesn’t kill Chronos; instead he offers him mercy. In isolation, this moment lands. But it lands as a cap on Hades I, which was a character study in Zag’s bottomless compassion. As the ending to Hades II, it only serves to spotlight the differences between Zagreus’ journey and Melinoë’s.
At every turn, Zagreus improves the lives of those around him. We are shown character after character who has had their life ruined by the tyranny of the gods, and who, with Zagreus’ help, manages to improve their lot while still acknowledging that they live within an order that is unfair and cruel. In Hades I, Achilles and Patroclus, separated for who knows how long after their deaths, are able to finally reunite. So are Orpheus and Euridice. Despite the inherently Sisyphean nature of the roguelite, Zagreus even manages to free the actual Sisyphus from his plight. In all these cases, what was done to these characters is recognised as an injustice of divine power, and those injustices are at least partially rectified.
Compare this to Hades II’s plotline for Narcissus and Echo. Echo was first cursed by Hera to only repeat back what was said to her, and then, after spurning Echo, Narcissus was cursed by Nemesis to fall in love with himself. Narcissus can be found staring at himself in the waters of Oceanus; Echo now exists listlessly in the Fields of Mourning. Melinoë can get them to briefly reunite, and point out to Nemesis that this act of retribution did nothing to help Echo. But Melinoë doesn’t do anything for her either; Narcissus will visit and they will talk, and we’re told this gives them both some kind of closure, but as it happens offscreen, it’s hard to understand what this is.
After they’re briefly reunited, Melinoë can restore Narcissus’ waters so that he can continue to stare at himself. “As for you,” she says to Echo, “I sense that you don’t ever want to change.” By maxing her bond, you’ll unlock a conversation in Echo’s own voice where she refuses any more help, because she helps others “by reflecting their feelings and thoughts.” At no point are either of their lives meaningfully improved, nor is the fault of Hera or Nemesis explored. This storyline echoes Hades I, but lacks the resonance and change that made those earlier stories work.
Another character deeply wronged by the gods is Arachne, who was turned into a spider for beating Athena in a weaving contest. She speaks often of her resentment for not only Athena but the entire pantheon who turned a blind eye to the injustice done to her. Later, Melinoë and Arachne learn it was Hecate’s poison that was used in the transformation; Hecate says her allegiance “forcibly is with the gods, not with arrogant mortals.” Melinoë intercedes, but Arachne refuses to grovel in front of Athena, saying she’d rather be a spider than apologise. And she’s right! Athena’s retribution was unfounded and petty; Arachne has nothing to be sorry for.
But, like Hecate, I’m forced to side with the gods rather than the innocent Arachne. Her refusal to apologize is the end of the story; Melinoë won’t push back any further against Athena or find a different solution to ease Arachne’s suffering. As in Hades I, I can’t change the system, but unlike Hades I, there’s no respite I can provide within it. Instead, I just keep helping Athena to win her war. Arachne suggests that the gods are facing the consequences of their own pride in a mirror of her story, but Melinoë does nothing throughout the game except ensure that they are not.
In another example, the witch Circe briefly speaks to Odysseus in his quest where he reunites with his family. She thanks Melinoë for putting that “shade to rest.” As for Odysseus, that reunion happens offscreen; there’s no pathos to it, nor any challenge to Poseidon for cursing him in the first place.
Overall, the endings of side characters’ plotlines mostly exist to hammer home a theme of acceptance and closure. But accepting what’s been done to these characters is unsatisfying. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the character of Prometheus, a character from mythology who is inherently sympathetic given that he was punished for providing fire to humanity, and who also talks candidly in the game about the unfairness of having his liver eaten daily in retribution. He speaks of fighting for mortals, whilst the gods fight only for themselves. Many people, myself included, thought that Prometheus' inarguably correct lines about the nature of power and the injustice of the punishments doled out to those who oppose it would lead to some kind of twist. And yet he’s unchangeably a boss to be defeated. Melinoë offers no counterargument except further violence. Even after Zagreus offers mercy to Chronos, it’s impossible to change Prometheus' fate.
The game does state in the ending that after having their right to rule reinstated, the gods suddenly begin to treat mortals better. Moreover, in the post-game quest immediately following, the Fates, characters who have been missing and who are supposed to give everyone their lot in life, abdicate their responsibility. This is perhaps hinting that Prometheus, titan of foresight, was aiming for this outcome all along and that this will result in mortals being able to make their own way in the world free from divine meddling. But we’re not actually shown any evidence of that actually being the case. And none of the characters we do see who have been wronged by the gods get any kind of apology, let alone restitution.
Though Hades II has one swift ending beat about breaking cycles, there’s no scaffolding for that theme in any of the smaller stories that make up the bulk of the narrative. Worse, where Hades I focused on the unfairness of the gods’ rule and argued that while it might not be changeable, it was subvertable, Hades II simply superficially claims that absolute power turns out okay in the end, and if it was too late for you, well, you just need to make peace with that.
That’s not a leap I’m not willing to take, not with the real world how it is, and not with how it breaks from Hades I. In 2020, I wrote as Hades I moved from early access to 1.0 that “with so much feeling insurmountable, watching Zagreus try anyway and be rewarded for his efforts lights a similar little fire in the soles of my feet. A better (under)world is possible.” In 2025, watching Melinoë largely prop up kings without meaningfully improving the circumstances of her friends, peers, and those who have been wronged only leaves me feeling hollow.
