Summary
This article contains spoilers forHades 2’s Early Access.
One of the most prominent interactive objects inHades 2is the unfinished family portrait in Melinoe’s tent. Located right by her summoning circle where she appears after a failed run, players have the option to brood over the unfinished portrait that depicts Hades, Persephone, Zagreus, and a newborn Melinoe. The fate of Melinoe’s family is kept a mystery for much ofHades 2’s Early Access, but as yet remains unresolved.
Defeating Chronos is just the beginning for Melinoe, as doing so doesn’t free her family from being frozen in time. It’s only likely that their fate will be resolved once the full version ofHades 2is released. The best-case scenario will hopefully involve Melinoe being able to connect with her family and have a new, updated family portrait commissioned to display in her room.
The Fate of the House of Hades in Hades 2
ProgressingHades 2’s Underworld route to the point of defeating Chronosfor the first time results in a dream that shows Melinoe the events of the day Chronos invaded the House of Hades. The inhabitants of the House of Hades, including Zagreus, Persephone, Achilles, Thanatos, Meg, and Dusa are all frozen in time. Unlike the rest of his family, Hades is chained and imprisoned in Tartarus, in the same chamber that Sisyphus occupied in Hades. This means that Melinoe and Hades have opportunities to talk when she’s on her way to Chronos, and Hades is able to grant her a blessing when she passes through.
The beginnings of Hades' and Melinoe’s relationshipbodes well for any possible future interactions between Melinoe and the rest of her family. Chronos goes on to taunt Melinoe and threatens to release her family from their frozen status to subject them to something far worse, implying that his victims are all still in the same state they were when they were first captured. As of the current Early Access build, Melinoe’s family hasn’t been freed, and it’s unlikely that their status will change in any positive way until the full version ofHades 2is released.
The End Point of Hades 2’s Story
Hades 2’s Possible Ending and Epilogue
Supergiant’s current road mapaims to have theHades 2full version released sometime beyond 2024, where players will hopefully get a resolution to the fate of Melinoe’s family. As inHades, which had a robust epilogue filled with content that developed Zagreus' relationship with Persephone, Hades, and the Olympians, Melinoe deserves a chance to spend time with her family and develop close bonds with them in the aftermath of the war with Chronos.Hadescreated the narrative of Zagreus testing the defenses of the Underworld to continue breaking out, and so once the main story ofHades 2is completed, there will likely be a new reason for Melinoe to continue traveling to the Underworld and back to the Crossroads while facing enemies.
Granting Zagreus a Role Alongside Melinoe
An ideal situation would include multiple interactions between Melinoe and her family, and having a new portrait of their complete family commissioned, including Melinoe as an adult, turning it from an object of pain into one of joy. It would also be ideal if Zagreus and Persephone, once freed, could grant Melinoe boons during her runs on her way to the House of Hades from the Crossroads, or ifZagreus became a random encounterlike Nemesis and Artemis.
