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I was thinking something along the same lines. I’ve also got her pegged as another mother figure to Emma–and she’ll give some line about how she learned to be a good mom from *her* mother who never stopped looking for her.
Ah, good point. But I would also not put it past them to mess with the Persephone/Demeter/Hades myth in some unhappy way, like Demeter actually ending up being some sort of problematic figure.
If we think about it as a phoenix and not the Russian myth, then Persephone descends and ascends with frequency.
Fun fact about firebirds and Russian mythology — there’s a connection between several versions of the fairytale with Koschei the Deathless which is a sort of a wizardly/immortal male figure who, to quote Wikipedia, “is an archetypal male antagonist, described mainly as abducting the hero’s wife.” Also, notoriously hard to kill. Anyway, I’m overthinking this.
[adrotate group="5"]I sorta doubt the show would introduce Persephone (whom most of audience probably haven’t heard of)
Ooooh I don’t know about that. For starters most people whether in high school or college have to take some sort of rudimentary world history course which will *always* have a section on Ancient Greece. And while you’re learning about the various wars and democracy, you also learn about Plato, Euripides, and almost without fault the Eleusinian Mysteries, the most famous secret rite in Ancient Greece. And those mysteries are alllll about Persephone and Demeter (I mean, fairly standard agrarian cult but incredibly famous). Even if people don’t quite recall the Mysteries, the “Rape of Persephone” is a pretty famous trope in fantasy (or just literature).
Also, by this point it’s episode 20 and Hades can easily have dropped a few lines about his missing wife, Persephone. And whadda know…Emma just so happens to run into her!
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"like Demeter actually ending up being some sort of problematic figure.
OMG you shush and stop giving them ideas. They can’t touch Demeter. She’s too awesome.
Anyway, pulled out my copy of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. These lines struck me…
And the Lady Mother [Demeter] heard her.
And a sharp pain seized her heart. The headband on her hair
she tore off with her own immortal hands
and threw a dark cloak over her shoulders.
She sped off like a bird, soaring over land and sea,
looking and looking. But no one was willing to tell her the truth,not one of the gods, not one of the mortal humans,
not one of the birds, messengers of the truth.
Thereafter, for nine days did the Lady Demeter</p>
wander all over the earth, holding torches ablaze in her hands</p>"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Anyway, pulled out my copy of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. These lines struck me…
I must say, the Demeter/Persephone myth is sort of perfect for OUAT and its exploration of mother/daughter relationships — but I think @Slurpeez might be right. It might be too high-flying for what OUAT (or, really, ABC) imagines its audience to be. Not ruling it out, though — and the passage you’re citing is awesome.
On the other hand, if you watched Lost Girl, you might remember the Naga/Garuda plotline (taken from Hindu and/or Buddhist mythology). So a) they didn’t shy away from introducing pretty obscure mythological references, and b) for those in the know, they messed with the original framing, and inverted the bad guys/good guys (nagas are typically bad news, at least in Buddhism, and Garuda, at least in some forms of Buddhism, end up being treated as guardian deities). But then again, it’s a Canadian show, and they’re honestly a lot more adventurous than much of US mainstream TV, especially of the Disney variety. So maybe not the best comparison.
Oh it might be too high-flying for ABC for sure, I’m just not sure A and E would care that pieces of their audiences haven’t heard of Persephone if they stuck in references to her with some sort of exposition. Sorta like they did for Charon (Henry: “Charon? He used to ferry souls in the old myths.” slight paraphrase but something like that in 5×11)
Though, maybe I should stop #hoping for the Greek myths to make an appearance. I’m pretty scared about what they are going to do to my warm and happy place.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Though, maybe I should stop #hoping for the Greek myths to make an appearance. I’m pretty scared about what they are going to do to my warm and happy place.
You and I both. Oh well, if Belle is around I suppose she can be called upon to info-dump something on Persephone.
Meant to mention this above, but Persephone wouldn’t be too far afield for Disney : https://oncepodcast.com/forums/topic/persephone-disneys-first-princess/
As Jiminy points out, the Snow White special mentioned it as well.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"If this is Emma Swan flashback episode, regarding her jacket, I’ll put that in the win column for me. I never guess anything right.
And if this is Emma centric, are we not getting a Hades episode? Once again, it makes me think Hades’ episode is actually “Devil’s Due” and it morphs with Rumple’s story and Milah.
And if this is Emma centric, are we not getting a Hades episode? Once again, it makes me think Hades’ episode is actually “Devil’s Due” and it morphs with Rumple’s story and Milah.
We still have three episodes after this one. 22/23 will likely be an all-around-centric so that leaves 21 as a Hades centric if not 14. It’s possible to conflate a Rumple and Hades centric, but they tend to give the villain-of-the-arc their own centric without much interference from other characters, at least since S3A:
–Think Lovely Thoughts (feat. baby Rumple)
–It’s Not Easy Being Green
–The Snow Queen
–Poor Unfortunate Soul (feat. Hook)
–Sympathy for the De Vil
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"
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