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jason-pipers · 3 years

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the jason/piper breakup and jason’s subsequent death

it is a long and angry post so you have been warned

I’m really sick of seeing Jason Grace/Piper McLean slander in their own tag, and I’m really, really sick of seeing people justify their breakup/his death as good writing.

As I’ve been studying literature and text for the past four years at Uni- I can say with absolute confidence that The Burning Maze utilizing Jason and Piper was horrible. Like a bag of shit mixed together then smeared on paper and published kind of horrible. Actually, you don’t even really need a degree to be able to point out the very basic absurdity of them appearing in TBM. So even though I have a paper due on a completely unrelated topic and a lot of homework, I naturally decided this was a much better thing to write about:

Maybe in another world, Rick’s ghostwriters will be better at writing his books. The reason why the Jason/Piper breakup was extremely confusing and done very poorly in the sense of their character arcs was that there was no buildup to the breakup. In fact, I think these two got together off-screen and broke up off-screen. Yet, I’m sure Riordan sat at his desk thinking “now why don’t people just like Jason and Piper?? I give them so much!” Actually, you gave them nothing. It’s also considerably easy to disguise their breakup as logical when it isn’t. Now, people will argue that the basic foundation of the relationship was poorly made because of Hera’s meddling and that’s why they broke up. This is a lazy way to think about it because it’s obvious you don’t care about the characters so you should just say that and go. Hera’s meddling (putting false memories of Jason in Piper’s head and wiping Jason’s brain) really only gave Piper a vague notion of Jason (based on real attributes the Mist pulls) and also gave PERCY and Jason multiple relationships after the switcheroo. But Piper actually meets Jason and then has a subsequent breakdown that maybe he’s not her boyfriend. However, once she gets to know the real Jason (very accurate to the one she knew in her memories because Aphrodite said she could sense real possibilities hinting at their romance), she is still developing romantic feelings for him. It’s implied that the reason why Piper is falling so fast is because the memories she has of Jason are based on the real Jason. It’s easy to establish that Piper has real romantic feelings for Jason, not the made up Jason because the majority of TLH is them getting to know each other. If she felt like there was some confusion on her part about developing feelings for him because of Hera switching Percy and Jason- why did it not come up EVER? The months where Jason and Piper started dating. How about that long ass quest on the Argo? It could have been a valid plot line but it never came up. If it had come up near the end of the series or maybe even if it was a small subplot in the series, it would make the breakup logical, at least narratively. But no, we end Blood of Olympus with Jason and Piper coming full circle with the moment in the stars. Flash forward three years later to TBM where everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) about Piper and Jason are thrown into the trash. They’re broken up due to the false memories and overall I guess it’s implied Piper doesn’t have feelings for him anymore or something? Or the trauma of being in something like that prophecy was a lot for her to handle and she needed some time to figure things out? Yeah of course! Just like when she will go through another trauma (Jason dying for her) and start dating someone new right after. This would be so much easier to read and digest if these things are shown- in their own series and maybe not as a side thing to Apollo’s series. Reading it in TOA was completely out of left field. I know SO MANY PEOPLE were like that makes so much sense! Good for you Piper! But I was like girl, who are you? I feel like I have not spent any time with you and none of what you’re saying is connecting to anything you were like before. Which leads me to believe people just did not like Piper in HOO but just say that and go. HOO Piper is not TBM/TOA Piper. RR doesn’t know how to characterize his own goddamn characters. Furthermore, everything in canon up until TBM implies and directly states that Jason and Piper are endgame. It’s not to say they didn’t have problems that were resolved or that the way they got together was conventional. There was not even a smidge bit of reluctance to admit they were canon endgame- I think RR even had Cupid involved. There was no prediction or even hint of what would happen in TBM in HOO, which is a very big narrative problem. Jason, always isolated by loved ones and quite frankly always shouldering way more than a human can handle dies exactly the way he suffers. There is no growth or even a small lovely moment where we can see Jason.

This brings me to the most unnecessary death I’ve ever read in my life. I know RR’s ego hurt from the complaints about Jason/Piper/Frank/Hazel/Leo (basically a non-Percabeth character) being underdeveloped. I know his ego was fucked when he “killed” Leo but didn’t really kill Leo so everyone was like what the fuck. I know he wanted to prove he is a good writer but like any other bad writer, he decided to jump the shark. And I know he wanted Jason and Piper to be more likable but the fandom really wanted a Leo-esque character. The breakup really happened because he wanted to demonstrate to critics that he could live with couples not being endgame and knew Jasiper was relatively unpopular compared to Percabeth/Caleo/etc. He wasn’t thinking in terms of ‘does this fit what I’ve created’ but in terms of ‘people might be like oh shit this is violent and they’re finally gone!’. I don’t know what idiotic thought process made him reach the point of killing one of them but he obviously got there. See, there is no difference between Jason or Piper dying in TBM. It could’ve easily been Piper who was impaled by Caligula and reminded Apollo “what it’s like to be human”. They were made *that* insignificant in TBM. Pretty much fucking interchangeable. IN DEATH. It also could’ve been anybody else in the world. It could’ve been that cheerleader from The Battle of the Labyrinth. It could’ve been Piper’s dad. It could have been Sally Jackson. Not a single part of Jason’s death was really related to Jason or his growth. Jason was the main/lead from HOO and if he was destined to die (which he wasn’t because RR doesn’t think anything through anymore), he should have died in his own series. That would make his sacrifice more compelling and important, but dying in TOA is just a big fuck you to his character. I think the only equivalent I can think of is if HOO had solely been Jason’s series but RR pulled up Percy to simply kill him and then just kept writing. What the fuck does TOA have anything to do with Jason or Piper? Or even Leo? I usually love when characters make cameo appearances to remind us of the past we loved them in. Kind of like when Lynda Carter appeared as Asteria in WW1984. Conversely, involving them in the plot and then using them as a plot device for the main character- AKA USING YOUR MAIN CHARACTER AS A PLOT DEVICE FOR ANOTHER MAIN CHARACTER IN A SEPARATE SERIES- is not only dumb but it truly makes everything else you’ve written for the first main character devoid of any real significance. Jason was never a fully fleshed-out character, the way he deserved to be written, because RR couldn’t world build as well as he thought and that ‘every single character gets a POV’ didn’t do the legendary thing he thought it did. However, anything that mattered about Jason was pretty much killed in TBM because he was easily killed by a villain that was not even remotely interested in Jason or aware of his existence. What does FUCK does Caligula mean to Jason? Nothing. Did the final battle create a full circle for Jason other than the line “remember?” which is not really related to his amnesia- no. His character arc was about an identity crisis- being pushed and pulled in two directions. Jason barely means anything to Apollo so RR using Jason as a convenient kill to send home a message is also shitty for Apollo. Lead hero characters can die- they sometimes just have to. Marissa Cooper’s death in the OC narratively makes sense due to the nature of the character being a damsel in distress from the very beginning- a foil to her counterpart, Ryan Atwood. But in this case, RR knew he had to shock people to keep getting $$$. I never got the impression RR cared about Jason or Piper, especially since he was incredibly disrespectful and lazy when writing about Piper. (For that- I can link really detailed posts explaining his racism). The truth is Riordan cannot live without putting his characters in relationships- Frazel, Caleo, Tyson/Ella (?), Hedge/Mellie- but he wanted to prove that he could which is why Jasiper broke up.

Piper’s girlfriend in TON- I didn’t read TON for the reasons above and I don’t think I’ll ever read a Riordan book again: I did find out that Piper gets a GF in TON which at first I thought was incredibly neat but then later became angry when I learned it was only months after Jason’s death? I have always wanted Piper to explore her sexuality but RR has this case of never giving important things the development it deserves. He’s incredibly messy and inconsistent when he creates lgbtqia+ characters, usually only including them so he can get credit for including them. He’s never actually explored Piper’s sexuality fully in the series, but he threw her in yet another relationship we didn’t get to read about right after she was almost beaten to death and then witnessed the murder of her ex-boyfriend. If you think that is representation, please rethink that. We don’t get to hear her talk about anything at all, except maybe mentioning the girl’s name. A subtle hint. Just representation is not good representation and it is right that we demand better representation. Don’t settle for less. For fuck’s sake, Riverdale is only really good at queerbaiting but they get so much praise. (Do they? At this point I can’t tell). If we wanted to explore Piper’s sexuality, it could have been done while she was with Jason or even broken up with him in her own series- why didn’t RR explore the nature of being lgbtqia+ in an Indigenous family? He had the chance to demonstrate an awareness of intersectionality through Piper but he fucked up. He had so much to write about. So, people who are yelling happily about that Piper appearance in TON-???

This was long and frustrating to write. But I had feelings.

#jason grace #Piper McLean #percy jackson #pjo #jasiper #jasper #jiper #toa #trials of apollo #Heroes of Olympus

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newathens · 5 years

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for @razberrybi and anyone else who is invested in the ongoing analysis of trials of apollo; these are the other versions of this post that i drafted

on another note, if i’ve convinced anyone to pick trials of apollo, please hit that like button so i know we’re getting somewhere

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“[...] See, along with the fandom consensus that “HoO took a huge dive,” we have sacrificed any and all concern for Trials of Apollo. But this sacrifice of caring has steered everyone from the fact that while, yes, HoO might have took a dive, some moderate writing might have been done in order to reach the great writing. One day after all of it is completed and we see the fallout of the series and I have the motivation and time to write about a 15 book universe, I might detail out all the foreshadowing and underlying themes and plot points, etc., that lead to a major demigod dying. Given that another does die, seeing as one has already died; which means another one dying isn’t too far-fetched.

For right now, I’m going to briefly, in general terms, highlight why Trials of Apollo is such a big deal, why this series is fantastic, and why I believe Rick is mirroring the original series. And why, especially to the people who have been reading it, everyone is coming to the conclusion that a very major character—Percy or otherwise—is going to meet their end, create a conflict, or some other option of epic proportions.”

end quote

Summary: With this version, I was planning on delving into the actual purpose of ToA and the paralleling that Rick is using in order to support the theory of “Percy” (aka any huge demigod) dying.

So, ToA like I mentioned in the original post, is basically finishing up the original conflicts and I think Rick is following a pattern in order to hint at the fallout. This is what I believe, I could very well be missing the dartboard with each throw. But I mean?

Meg revealing she’s Nero’s ‘daughter’ and betraying Apollo = Luke revealing his true intentions and betraying Percy

Grover appearing at the very end of the second book = Thalia appearing at the very end of the second book; and then both of these characters who appear at the end of the second book playing a bigger role in the third book

Jason aiding Apollo with his quest being aware that he would die the entire time = Zoe aiding Percy to save Artemis being aware she would have to face her father and end up dying the entire time

*puts on pjo conspiracy dunce cap* Like come on, have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on? That’s weird. And if Rick truly is paralleling parts of the original series with this series, could Percy parallel Luke? And DON’T think in absolutes, they’re not supposed to be the same. This is more along the lines, comparing and contrasting or using tropes or symbolism or CYCLES. Stuff like that. Again, there are levels here.

Anyway, on to the next one.

start quote

“[...] And here’s why. What we started out with, in the beginning, in the very first series, all the problems and small tiny details and character arcs and etc., is coming to its final stage. It has come to a culmination of absolute chaos and Apollo’s been thrown into the fray.

But these problems that we started out with, these conflicts and issues, they have never been about Apollo. They have always been about demigods. So why is Apollo there? Why is it his series?

Guess what, it’s not about him. Don’t get me wrong, Apollo is experiencing character development. He is a complex, full-fledged character who is going through his own arc but there has been no deep, meaningful reason to give him his own series besides his misbehavior in BoO. So tell me, why is he there?

For me, personally, the way I see this entire series, Apollo is not only a character, but a vessel for the reader to see the fallout and destruction of an era in which the Olympian’s ignorance will no longer be tolerated. And this destruction and end will not come from Triumvirate. They are not going to win. They are amazing villains, some of the best villains Rick has ever made, but the three Roman emperors are not going to come out on top. Rick is not that edgy.

The destruction of this Olympian era will come due to the consequence of the war with Triumvirate. It will end because of what happens to our beloved heroes during their fight against this force. And that is why there is this idea that Percy is going to die, or take a sharp left dip into darkness, or maybe Annabeth will die, or maybe another member of the Seven will hit the chopping block, or. Maybe a lot of things, I will have a more definitive [...]”

end quote

Summary: This version of the post I wanted to get sort of technical with the book. Seriously, in terms of characters, what purpose does Apollo serve? Is he our hero? Because I can’t see it. . .

Where has the focus been on all three books so far? The other characters—we’re not so much concerned with how Apollo is feeling but more how he is reacting to and handling the issues of the other characters.

With Percy, in the original series, we were worried about him, about his future, whether he would live or die. With Apollo, we are worried about ‘will camp survive Nero’s attack?’ ‘will Apollo save Georgina?’ ‘will the Waystation survive Commodus’ attack?’ ‘will the nymphs be saved from Caligula’s wildfires?’

Seriously, Apollo is not only the main character he is being used as a tool; that’s why the focus isn’t consistently on him, that’s why he’s ‘learning’ to think of others; like, yes he’s being ‘humbled’ during his trials but also completely disregard that because there’s another purpose lurking. This is why I think ToA is absolute genius. I may only be an unpublished writer with the bare minimum Bachelor’s in English but I truly believe Rick is breaking the constraints of literature with this series. I don’t have the technical terms to make it sound more eloquent but humor me. There’s something going on here.

And could Rick tie it up with a pretty blue bow? Yeah, sure. They would win, Apollo would argue with the Olympians how harsh demigods are being treated, they don’t listen to him, he can no longer handle taking a backseat to their suffering, he takes Dionysus’/Chiron’s place at camp, the cycle continues but hey, at least they’ve got Apollo now, and fin.

But that happy ending just does not add up.

Please drop some comments below, let me know if you’re at least vaguely understanding what I’m throwing out there. I’m definitely not talking about surface-level stuff here so. . .I apologize if I’m losing people here and there.

And overall, in the simplest terms I can muster:

Jason’s dead and because of that the stakes have been raised higher than they have ever been, the heroes are going to snap, Triumvirate suck majorly, there might be a spy somewhere, don’t be surprised if another beloved character dies, I have this weird theory that Nico is going to go next and Percy last, I also have a theory Percy is going to snap and fight Zeus, Apollo might be the one to snap and fight Zeus, there’s a lot of different ways this can go, ideas on the ending will probably solidify once we see what happens in The Tyrant’s Tomb. Rick is doing something really eloquent with this series that I cannot eloquently put into words because there is so much of it. You should all read it if you haven’t started already.

Thank you for reading.

#pjo #trials of apollo #percy jackson

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