Lore Olympus and Slut Shaming

[writerkit]

I'm getting increasingly Not Okay with how Lore Olympus is handling Minthe.

It is totally reasonable for Hades to break up with her; their relationship was incredibly unhealthy for both of them. It is totally reasonable for Hades to be angry about some of Minthe's subsequent behavior; Minthe crosses the line into abuse at several points as they're finally breaking up.

But I'm getting the sense that the narrative wants us to feel like a lot of the misfortunes Minthe suffers as a result of that are justified comeuppance. And that is slut-shaming. Minthe does not really behave any worse than, say, Zeus. Except Zeus is portrayed as kind of a lovable buffoon. Not real bright, very self-absorbed, treats Hera appallingly, but mostly means well--- and when he gets manipulated into taking certain actions it's portrayed as somewhat less his fault because he's being manipulated. Minthe was also manipulated into a lot of her bad behavior, but that's being portrayed as her descent into villainy.

Also there's what appears to be a retcon, in this latest one, done solely for the purpose of making Minthe more miserable: Hades gave Minthe her apartment; it was implied to be something along the lines of a condo which he outright stated he wasn't taking back when they broke up. And yet she's behind on the monthly rent, which forces her to go do something demeaning, and when that doesn't result in getting money-- because of Zeus and Hades stealing part of her costume resulting in her employer accusing her of the theft and refusing to pay her-- her "One way or another I'll get my money" is framed as a further descent into villainy, rather than the desperation that it is. (And the reason she's desperate is because every time she started to accept the reality of her situation Thetis manipulated her into doing something to try to get Hades back that made everything worse.)

Minthe is the absolute pinnacle of the "hurt people hurt people" character, but the narrative isn't treating her like she's got any sympathetic traits; it's treating her like she deserves what she gets. And she doesn't.

Comments

You've probably noticed by now but I'm not sure it changes your perception of Rachel's writing

[etherial]

One thing I did not get on first reading is that eps 149/150 are a flashback. Everything about being late on rent, the demeaning job, demanding justice from Hades, was her origin story. She falls asleep in her car waiting for Thetis to get to the gym and remembers her first meeting with Hades (and Thetis).

Re: You've probably noticed by now but I'm not sure it changes your perception of Rachel's writing

[writerkit]

It being a flashback pushes it a bit back into "I'm willing to see where it goes" territory, though I'm still watching carefully for where Minthe's storyline goes.