#when my url was ‘call on me i will be there’
aaaaah those reasons why I shipped Jasico back when I read HoO for the first time.
Don’t shame me.
Anyways so I agree about Nico being a better foil and mirror for Jason than Percy (literally Jason wanting to leave Nico behind and not trusting him is darker than any masculinity rivarly he had with Percy), but I do see the potential in Jason and Percy too.
Maybe because both of them were forced in positions of leadership they didn’t want but still felt it was their responsibility to take, both of them were born out of a broken promise, both of them sorta grew up in the Camp they were leaders of and felt an emotional connection to it while also being an anchor for other campers. I don’t know, I feel like I can’t imagine CH without Percy and Annabeth, and campers before the Mess™️ (HoO) wouldn’t be able to imagine CJ without Jason and Reyna.
(Reyna and Annabeth were supposed to mirror too, but lmao. Reyna’s storyline was just a mess from start to finish.)
Also their completely different approach to leadership and how just… stern, serious and no-bullshit Jason is.
This man was told he would die and he just did. He said “oh I have to sacrifice myself? called that one. okay, bye.”
WHO DOES THAT?
Percy is a young kid thrusted into shit, Jason is an old man trapped in the body of a 15 year old thrustes into shit.
Percy and Jason being the leaders of the two camps and just going
vs⛈⚡️
made sense.
hmm so obviously Rick Riordan tried to set Jason and Percy as mirrors and foils but imo it really doesn’t work?? I mean not surprising, sooo many of his choices in hoo were shit, but to think out loud here, I genuinely think if we had to set up a big three foil situation, Jason and Nico, or Jason and Hazel work soooo much better.
I haven’t read hoo in a while so bear with me, but Jason’s dilemma with the Greek vs. Roman choice and Nico’s pariah status at both of the camps is almost a perfect inversion of the same situation? They both don’t fit in, for different reasons, and it mirrors it pretty neatly. You have Jason, someone who’s torn between two homes, and Nico who feels like he has none. I think a lot about that “golden boy” speech Nico makes to Jason in HOH, which incidentally happens when Jason is really going through it with regards to whether he’s more Greek or Roman (Notus? I think that was the sub plot which touched on that?).
There’s also the Hades v. Zeus angle to explore, fun when we know the history behind the grudge, and more than Percy and Jason, I feel Nico and Jason would have a more compelling friction when it comes morals and values. Nico hates leaving people behind, even for the greater good, while Jason (while obviously doesn’t like leaving people behind) is more cognisant of the cost of the greater good. In MoA, Jason actually considers leaving Nico behind! The thing is, it’s not stagnant, because by the end of the series you have Jason learning to…not let loose exactly, but weighing the cost of the greater good vs. individual sacrifices and not coming to an easy, clear cut answer anymore. Nico has to learn to let things go. They both have to come to these realisations individually, it’s not like a constant back and forth, but narratively they do act as foils of a sort!
Anyway,, this isn’t to say anything about Nico having a more prominent role in HOO. In fact, I feel he got a bigger role than was expected in the literal last book of the series, which was fun, but definitely took away a little from the main plot (the lost hero trio). But I think considering Jason and Percy as foils or parallels feels like a very dissatisfactory way to view Jason’s character. Also people get meaner about him than necessary :/
I wish it would have been developed better and more.
“This man was told he would die and he just did. He said “oh I have to sacrifice myself? called that one. okay, bye.”” ADDSGHFLDHKL So RUDE!! but also so so true
Hmm you do make some very compelling points in regards to the Percy vs. Jason parallels. The different styles of leadership would have been extremely interesting to explore if done properly. Honestly, if Riordan had developed it better as you said, it would have been very fun to delve into. Like, the ingredients are all right there. Just didn’t get cooked till the right temperature Also Annabeth and Reyna paralleling each other (at least till Reyna’s storyline went off the rails)… I Am Looking. I Am Very Much Looking
I’m very willing to read other interpretations of HoO dynamics! I feel I am flying by the seat of my pants anytime I write anything that calls upon hoo related stuff, cause I remember shit from those books Big Horse for Hazel. Leo fire good. Frank fire bad. Jason had memory issues and everyone thought he was a nerd. Piper was basically pied piper. Anything else I manage to recall, it’s because of sheer luck. Percy and Jason could have had a very good dynamic, had some things been tweaked by RR
