Hades 2's Familial Relations Need a Big Payoff

Summary

The unfinished family portrait hints at Melinoe's unresolved fate in Hades 2.
Defeating Chronos doesn't free Melinoe's family, but will likely be resolved in the full version.
Supergiant aims for a Hades 2 full release sometime after 2024, possibly resolving Melinoe's family fate and developing relationships.

This article contains spoilers for Hades 2's Early Access.

One of the most prominent interactive objects in Hades 2 is 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 of Hades 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 of Hades 2 is 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

Progressing Hades 2's Underworld route to the point of defeating Chronos for 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 relationship bodes 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 of Hades 2 is released.

The End Point of Hades 2's Story

Hades 2's Possible Ending and Epilogue

Supergiant's current road map aims to have the Hades 2 full version released sometime beyond 2024, where players will hopefully get a resolution to the fate of Melinoe's family. As in Hades, 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. Hades created the narrative of Zagreus testing the defenses of the Underworld to continue breaking out, and so once the main story of Hades 2 is 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 if Zagreus became a random encounter like Nemesis and Artemis.

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