a lot of people have this idea that Annabethâs been like, a Luke apologist and in denial since the very beginning but itâs not really true?. Annabeth was angry at Luke for his betrayal in the end of Lightning Thief and during Sea of Monsters. Itâs only until the end of The Titanâs Curse that she starts the âLuke really isnât that badâ kind of thing.
the end of Lightning Thief:
âI canât believe that LukeâŠâ Annabethâs voice faltered. Her expression turned  angry and sad. âYes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse himâŠHe was never the same after his quest.â
âWhen I get back next summer,â she said, âweâll hunt down Luke. Weâll ask for a quest, but if we donât get approval, weâll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?â
 She was really angry at him during Sea of Monsters. Her vision from the Sirens does indicate that deep down she may believe sheâs able to save him, or at least wants to, but it doesnât diminish the hurt and anger she does feel.
âHow could you?â Annabeth sounded so angry I thought sheâd explode. âThalia saved your life! Our lives! How could you dishonor herââ
âLiar!â
âI understand you want to destroy the camp!â she yelled. âYouâre a monster!â
âBecause you have none of your own [intelligence]!â
âThatâs disgusting!â Annabeth said.
âYouâre insane,â Annabeth said.
âGo to Tartarus,â she said.
All those above are on the Princess Andromeda with Luke. Then later, to Percy:
She shook her head. âWe made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares.â
Even in the beginning-ish of Titanâs Curse, she doesnât trust him. When heâs struggling under the sky and asking for her help, sheâs hesitant. Itâs only when the sky begins to fall  that she goes to help hold it.
Annabeth had tears in her eyes. She reached down like she wanted to touch Lukeâs face, but at the last second she hesitated.
âWhat happened?â she asked.
âWhy should I trust you?â Annabeth asked. Her voice was filled with hurt.
Then the darkness above Luke began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling. Annabeth rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. She held it somehowâtons of rock. She kept it from collapsing on her and Luke with her own strength.
However!! Thereâs a shift in her feelings by the time Percy and Thalia rescue her and I personally think itâs because sheâs aware that Luke 'savedâ her life for the time being after Atlas ordered him to kill her after Artemis took the sky â even though he was super complicit in her being in that situation in the first place. Compare:
Luke hesitated. âSheâshe may yet be useful, sir. Further bait.â
and
âWeâll bring Luke back,â Annabeth pleaded. âTo Olympus. HeâŠheâll be useful.â
I donât think itâs a conscious parallel on Annabethâs part per se, but Rick Riordan using the parallel to indicate the connection. I think thatâs when Annabeth discovers that Luke does still care deep down, and that deep down the person that she knows is there. which is fair, because before this point he hadnât given her any indication seeing as he literally directed Oreius to eat her. thatâs a whole ânother write-up, though, i think. i digress.
Once she knows this, she starts to view him as someone being manipulated and taken advantage of by Kronos, someone who was able to manipulate Ares, a god, in the first book, â sheâs not wrong! He is being manipulated. That doesnât absolve him from his horrible behavior especially towards her, but she understands that Luke is a troubled, traumatized young man being taken advantage of by the evil King Titan, and sheâs also aware that literally no one else cares enough to try to save him.
like, the language Annabeth uses to describe Luke in the end of Titanâs Curse is the same that Percy uses to describe the demigods on the Titansâ side in Last Olympian.Â
âYou donât believe me about Luke,â Annabeth said, âbut weâll see him again. Heâs in trouble, Percy. Heâs under Kronosâs spell.â
vs
I tried to wound his men, not kill. That slowed me down, but these werenât monsters. They were demigods whoâd fallen under Kronosâs spell. I couldnât see faces under their battle helmets, but some of them had probably been my friends.
thereâs another callback with the language Percy uses to describe the opposing demigods in Last Olympian. this time, to what Percy says to Luke at the end of Lightning Thief.
âHeâs brainwashing you, Luke.â
âYouâre being used, Luke. You and Ares both. Donât listen to Kronos.â
vs
This kid was getting brainwashedâtrained to hate the gods and lash out because heâd been born half Olympian. Kronos was using him, and yet the kid thought I was his enemy.
Poseidon put his hand on my shoulder. âPercy, there were only a few demigod warriors aboard that ship, and they all chose to battle for Kronos. Perhaps some heeded your warning and escaped. If they did not ⊠they chose their path.â
âThey were brainwashed!â I said. âNow theyâre dead and Kronos is still alive. Thatâs supposed to make me feel better?
Percy has sympathy for the demigods manipulated by Kronos to be on the Titanâs sides; he sees them as victims. the reason he doesnât for Luke, I feel, is because Lukeâs betrayal made it personal. I think this is where Percyâs fatal flaw comes into play, honestly, with the personal loyalty. both in regards to the personal betrayal to Percy, as well as Percyâs loyalty to Annabeth (and thus Lukeâs betrayal of Annabeth, too). and i feel this also applies, to a lesser extent, to Ethan. but thatâs a whole ânother write-up, too (one day!)
there is, admittedly, the factor of Lukeâs age in comparison to Percy, Annabeth, and most of the other campers. thereâs definitely a power imbalance â especially with Annabeth, which isnât okay, obviously. so even though heâs a victim and young himself, that power imbalance in regards to his actions, manipulations, etc is messed up and not okay.Â
even so, Luke is still pretty young himself â not as young as the others, but still young. like, i got into this series when i was younger than Percy and Annabeth were, so Luke, like most early 20 year olds, seemed very old to me in that regard; itâs only as i got older and closer to his are that i started to really realize that heck he was really young. so while Luke is definitely an adult in regards to the relationship he has with Percy, Annabeth, and other younger demigods â which he should have been mindful of and makes his manipulation etc very messed up and not okay â heâs also young himself which is something to keep in mind. like, Luke is only around 19-22? in the series. That puts him at a power imbalance in regards to Annabeth and Percy, in which heâs very much an adult in the relationship, but outside of that heâs still pretty young! heâs a college kid, which when youâre younger seems pretty old but then you are one and realize differently â his brain hasnât even fully developed yet. but iâm like, seriously digressing.Â
my intended point was that i disagree with the interpretation that Annabeth was blinded by emotions and a toxic relationship which led her to make excuses for Luke and unable to see him for what he really was etc,â because Annabeth was angry at him after his betrayal and had even thought he was different, that he didnât care anymore. The âLuke apologistâ behavior only starts at the end of Titanâs Curse, the third book in the five book series. I just feel like her ⊠feelings? perspective? position? idk the right wordâŠ. is often misrepresented?Â
she becomes very defensive over Lukeâs âinner goodnessâ and stuff because sheâs literally the only one who wants to save him and knows it. she knows what heâs done isnât okay, but she keeps driving it home that heâs being manipulated because he is! it doesnât excuse his actions but it doesnât have to. by the end of titanâs curse, annabeth sees luke as someone terribly lost and no one trying, willing, or caring enough to save him. and like, sheâs right when she sees luke as someone who isnât beyond saving, whoâs extremely lost and being manipulated through his trauma and anger â it doesnât excuse what heâs doing but that doesnât make him someone not worthy of saving. despite what heâs done, luke is still her family and she will fight for him. she sees luke the same way percy sees the other opposing demigods in the last olympian and sheâs right. sheâs not making excuses for him, she doesnât think heâs done nothing wrong, sheâs just not willing to give up on him and she was right. as the child in the relationship/dynamic, it wasnât her responsibility to be the one to save him and shouldnât have been, but she wasnât wrong in how she saw Luke.
 like, their was definitely a power imbalance in their relationship and itâs definitely important to acknowledge that, but i feel like people tend to like, erase annabethâs agency, for lack of a better word, and attribute her desire to save Luke as being tragically misplaced? like, Luke has totally wronged Annabeth and mistreated her terribly, but likeâŠI find her not giving up on him mostly admirable and not pitiable, though like I said as the child in their dynamic it wasnât her responsibility.  iâm rambling though.
mostly this post was made to remind people that Annabeth was angry towards Luke, and rightfully so, until near the end of Titanâs Curse, which is where her defending Luke and insisting he could be saved really started, likely with Luke indicating he actually still cared deep down for the first time being the catalyst. especially since it seems a lot of people give like the impression they think sheâs done it from the very beginning? idk ive definitely rambled a lot and lost my main point sometime ago or something. enjoy this anyway.
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