Blood of Zeus is an adult animated 8-episode series created and adapted for Netflix that is based on a video game called Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising. It is truthfully a beautifully animated series, the voice acting was exceptional and the soundtrack was phenomenal, even in some parts where the story was a bit lacklustre, the music gave the moment the tension the scene called for, and it’s definitely one of Netflix’s better animated series, it is definitely in the top 10 animated series along with Castlevania. The Blood of Zeus series follows one of Zeus’ illegitimate sons Heron our protagonist, born from Queen Electra (and in true Zeus fashion, she was an already married woman), a demon called Seraphim who is creating an army of demons, Alexia who is an Amazonian general leading a dwindling army trying to defeat the demons threatening to destroy Earth, and Hera as she reacts to Zeus’ affair with another mortal yet again it has multiple supporting characters that are just as interesting as the main cast but not distractingly so. A wonderfully done original series, which will spark debates about who exactly is the bad guy and why. It will no doubt have you fighting with friends and family and maybe have you revealing your moral compass leaving those close to you quite alarmed, but one thing is sure; Hera is definitely the big bad!

Now! I know you might ask yourself what about the giants they were fighting, the giants whose flesh if you eat it you will become a demon yourself?! Yea, sure they are bad guys, but they aren’t the big bad, because you can defeat them easily unlike Hera however represents something more than a foe you can physically overpower, she is calculating, manipulative and lacks remorse. Now before you shout “Victim blaming” hear me out. Yes, Hera is a victim of Zeus’ infidelity however unlike other victims such as Electra, Hera is powerful enough to do something about it, even Poseidon acknowledges this and said ‘Only a fool would anger Hera’ to Zeus. She is powerful in her own right but instead she turns her vengeance on the innocent mortals just to spite Zeus. Sure Zeus is her end game it is how she got there that makes her the BIG BAD GUY!

So! Let's get dirty, Spoilers ahead!!!!!

All the Gods have a set of rules they have to follow two of which are:

• They can’t interfere with mankind.
• And They can’t directly interfere with fate.

As such actions are punishable by death, using these rules Hera convinced a few of the other gods that Zeus has been interfering, (which was compounded by the fact that it was he who set those rules in the first place) most of the Gods and her had a stand-off with him and after a few seconds of posturing Zeus decided to back down, however Hera satisfied and scorned decided to manipulate events and situations that resulted in Zeus' current love interest Electra, death. And that wasn’t enough for her, no Hera wanted more death of innocent people and with Electra now dead she set her sights on Seraphim.

Seraphim as it turns out is the brother of Heron, but not the son of Zeus, yes Electra had twins! Heron for Zeus and Seraphim for her husband, King Periander the tyrant King Electra didn't have the strength or support to leave before he threatened her son, Electra ultimately killed her husband alone, but only him, not innocent servants (note the difference between Hera and Electra). With her powers and knowledge of events Hera showed Seraphim visions of the past and heavily implied that she herself had been a sort of watchful guardian to Seraphim and the reason he became what he is today, is because of Zeus! This lead to anger and hate boiling over in Seraphim, especially after realising he killed his own mother. Hera played on the hurt and pain of Seraphim into fulfilling her dreams, that is killing Zeus once and for all. 

Now, I know Seraphim isn’t innocent by a long a shot, but he ultimately just wanted the death of his uncle, (who tried to kill him as a baby) which is pretty understandable when you think about it. But with a goddess beside him, and a promise of being king of the world he helped her fulfill her wishes and desires; which of course resulted in the resurrection of the Giants. Hera now driven disguised herself as Hermes and stabs Zeus in the jugular and left him to bleed out, which means, Hera could have very well killed or caused massive damage to Zeus herself if she wanted to and she had the support of a few gods Zeus' death could have been labelled as punishment for breeching the rules, instead she leads Seraphim on a quest, resurrected the Giants only to lose control of them, and with the Giants turning on her Zeus sacrificed himself to save her. A final act of self-sacrifice, the killing blow in the war against the Giants the other gods and the few mortals in between needed which culminated in Heron gravely wounding himself and killing his brother Seraphim! 

 
And this is why I think Hera is the big bad, gathering the focus of the other gods on Zeus playing vengeful wife allowed her to plot and ruin the lives of Electra and her sons and Zeus who by the way could have reversed what happened to Seraphim! Instead Hera fuelled hate and greed in him and lead him deeper into vengeance. Resurrecting the Giants, all the gods that sided with Zeus, and the Valkyries decimated trying to defend Olympus, death and loss at the hands of the Giants, and all Hera loss was a limb (got that Star Wars reference). Hera influenced a lot of things, she isn’t some weak victim, but rather a strong, cold, and calculating goddess with hate for her husband, a man she once loved. She would rather kill the innocent, break the relationship between Ares and his siblings, Zeus and his brother than leave and engage with mankind the way Zeus does.

Not even a drop of sympathy.