YMMV / The Trials of Apollo

• Accidental Aesop: One from The Tower of Nero. Do not buy too many remotes and be sure to check its batteries.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Apollo's memories offer further perspective of the relationship between individual gods. It is debatable if Apollo is just looking through them with rose tinted glasses or not. Both with or without this perspective on Apollo's perspective, the bits and pieces leads one to consider the possibility the Greek Gods are a lot closer to each other overall than we first thought, with their worst behaviors coming from a single Toxic Friend Influence: Zeus, or possibly Aphrodite (or both).
  • Hades using the helmet of darkness to spook Apollo, frequently, can lead one to wonder if he always as withdrawn and distant as we saw him in the series, or if something (like Maria di Angelo's death) drew him to become that way. Like his own son's views on the matter, it becomes a question of just how much of an outcast he ever was, and if it only really applies to certain members of the family (like Zeus, Demeter, and Hera) who particularly dislike him.
• Badass Decay: Jason Grace. The son of Jupiter, and possibly one of the most powerful demigods alive, went from singlehandedly defeating titan Krios to struggling against and ultimately being disposed by a Roman emperor who is a minor deity, therefore not far off the reach of someone who destroyed titans and giants. It doesn't help that Frank Zhang fares much better against the same foe in the next book. To a lesser extent, other members of the Seven like Leo and Hazel don't get the chance of showing off their abilities, as most of their battles happen offscreen. Some fans criticized the series for leaning so heavily on The Worf Effect after expending the previous series developing the abilities and resourcefulness of the main characters.
• Broken Base:
  • On the villains being the emperors of Rome. Some feel like it's an Ass Pull, adding more characters when the Doors of Death plot has been done already (though these characters haven't explicitly died), and others feel that while a bit sudden, it follows Riordan's usual Shown Their Work quite well on something considerably less well-known. (spoilers on note) ^note Historically, the emperors of Rome were considered gods in certain ways. If the Imperial Cult was right, some of the emperors received divinity through the Senate (it's complex, let's just say that 'worthy' caesars were voted into divinity). The numerous mystery cults (such as the Cult of Iris, the Gnostics, the Imperial Cult, the bacchic rites, the Dionysus mysteries, and (originally) Christianity) were a major part of the Roman Empire's religious landscape in the late BC to 312 AD.
  • The fact that The Seven go their separate ways has divided fans who see it as a disservice to their friendship while others point out that The Seven were never that close to each other and that their relationship is closer in fanon than canon.
  • Percy and Annabeth deciding to move to New Rome in the last book. Some like it for giving them a better chance of not dying young like most Camp Half-Blood demigods, as well as that they will likely have more stable lives well into adulthood with this decision while other fans consider it a betrayal towards the camp they had grown to love while reading the previous series and see it as further proof of Camp Half-Blood being screwed over in favor of Camp Jupiter.
  • Apollo's speech in the first book about sexuality has divided fans who see it as succinct and appropriate given Apollo's tendency for tangents, to those who see it being forced and uncalled for.
  • While Rick has always put pop culture references in his books, in this series some feel that Rick has gone overboard with putting in some very specific references. Some still love it, while others feel it dates the books too much.
  • This series along with the Magnus Chase series has divided fans into three camps: those who don't want Rick Riordan to put any LGBT characters in children's books and see his usage as preachy and unnecessary, those whose complaint is not that he's including LGBT characters but that he's doing so in a sloppy manner (i.e., fans who feel the LGBT characters fall into a number of harmful stereotypes and/or that he's trying too hard), and those who find it progressive and even brilliant.
  • In addition, while Riordan has always given attention to various social issues in his works, this series along Magnus Chase has divided the fandom between those that love him for representing and showing various issues and fans who feel that it comes off as preachy and wish he could keep his opinions to himself and focus on the story.
  • Jason's death has led to many a flame war on the internet, with some calling out Rick for the supposed Too Bleak, Stopped Caring, along with people defending the death of such a "flat character".
    • Similarly, Frank's survival after his apparent death has also divided people, with some people regarding it as a cheap fake-out driven by the negative response to Jason's death, and others being glad that Rick didn't kill off another major character. Yet more people also argue that Frank should have died and Jason should have lived, because Frank's death scene was more dramatic and fit his character arc better.
  • Jason and Piper's break up. Some fans welcomed it as a Surprisingly Realistic Outcome, as it's common for couples to just stop going out when the magic fades even if there's nothing necessarily wrong with the relationship, others hated it for making it feel like much of their Character Development in Heroes of Olympus was pointless.
  • Piper's sexuality at the end of the series. Some love it and see it as more representation, other see it as coming out of nowhere and as pandering, while yet others still are ambivalent over it. In-universe, Piper is simply "trying something new" and has yet to determine whether or not its who she is, or whether such a relationship works for her, among other things, so the end result is up in the air.
  • Percy and Annabeth's decision to stay out of the fight is a source of contention. While some believe they deserve a break other argue they are neglecting their responsibility to their friends. Also some view Percy decision to help Magnus chase instead of Apollo a little hypocritical.
• Captain Obvious Reveal:
  • It's rather obvious to the reader that Meg's divine parentage is most likely Demeter simply because of the weaponised plant matter and the appearance of Peaches, a Karpoi/Grain Spirit. In-universe, nobody seems to be able to connect the dots.
    • Of course, take a look at who would witness her powers - most people would either not know (Percy) or be too muddled to connect the dots (Apollo). By the time it becomes revealed in-universe, the people who see it are of course, people who haven't seen those powers before.
    • Borders on Cannot Spit It Out. Apollo tries several times to connect the dots and thinks he has a good idea, but can't confirm it as his mortal brain is cut off from all of his immortal knowledge. He does surmise Chiron figured it out.
  • Most readers figured out that the third emperor was Caligula. That does, however, not make him any less effective.
• Complete Monster: Nero, aka "The Beast", is an infamous Roman emperor and one of the three leaders of Triumvirate Holdings. Having helped Kronos and Gaea with their attempts to end the world by supplying their forcers with equipment, Nero strikes a deal with Python to find the Grove of Dodona, and to this end has his adopted daughter Meg spy on Apollo. Having killed Meg's birth father, Nero regularly abuses Meg to keep her in line. In his attempt to find the Grove, Nero has a group of Demigods kidnapped, threatening to burn them alive, before attempting to have the Colossus Nerosis destroy Camp Half-Blood. Nero later has his adopted Demigods attempt to burn New York to the ground and, when one of his allies Lu betrays him, Nero has her hands cut off, making Meg think it was her fault. Later attempting to have Meg use Sassanid Gas to kill the heroes at the threat of killing Apollo, Nero orders his minions to kill her when she refuses.
• Die for Our Ship: Paolo Montes, a new camper from Hebe Cabin, seems to be getting a mild version of this from certain Nico/Will shippers. There's a rising trend of fanfiction writers completely vilifying Paolo - who only appears in a few scenes in The Hidden Oracle - all because Will stared at his arms a little too long.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Carrying over from Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus, Nico di Angelo. Reactions on sites like Tumblr are disproportionately more about him than, say, Apollo or Meg.
  • Jimmy as well from The Dark Prophecy - a Yoruban Demigod who catches the eye of Apollo and is shown to be a good fighter.
  • Lavinia from The Tyrant's Tomb for being the series's first confirmed lesbian demigod, and her Big Damn Heroes moment in the climax.
• Epileptic Trees: In The Tower of Nero, Chiron wasn't available when Apollo and Meg arrived at Camp Half-Blood again because he needed to meet "with a cat and a severed head". Later, Apollo asks him about this and Chiron states they're associates from other pantheons, confirming they're Bast and Mimir, having met for "a mutual problem". Cue fan speculation on what this problem that is huge enough to concern three pantheon representatives could be, ranging from the Primordial Chaos all three mythologies share in their cosmologies to the Abrahamic God.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Because of the controversial death of Jason Grace and/or his and Piper's break up many fans like to pretend the series ended with Blood of Olympus. It's also not uncommon to see fanfics where the general events of Trials are more or less the same except Jason is alive and well and still together with Piper.
• Fandom Rivalry: A mild one sided one seems to have occurred between Harry Potter. This is strange since the two fandoms usually get along. This comes as a result of Trials of Apollo having more diversity than Harry Potter and Rowling's attitude about her universe. Many fans of Trials of Apollo and Riodan's works in general often talk down on the Harry Potter series for not being as diverse as Percy Jackson and even criticizing Harry in comparison to Percy. Fans also criticize how JK Rowling writes diversity in her books in comparison to Riordan and point out that Riordan puts his money where his mouth is while JK Rowling does it for attention. However, there are fans of both series in both fandoms.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The Burning Maze might be a bit hard to read due to the spread of real California wildfires in the subsequent years after it was released.
  • One of the first supernatural threats Apollo faces are the Nosoi, spirits that represent disease, and it's mentioned they'll be out in force now that Apollo is out of commission. The final book in the series came out the same year the COVID-19 Pandemic began.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • A wicked stepfather who happens to be the sociopathic (Former) head of state? And the one responsible for their birth father's death? Funny coincidence.
  • This exchange from House of Hades. Turns out Octavian was only funded by this.
    Rachel: Octavian, son of Apollo, you should take this more seriously. Even Romans respected your father's Oracle of Delphi.
    Octavian: Ha! You're the Oracle of Delphi? Right. And I'm the Emperor Nero!
    Grover: At least Nero could play music.
• I Knew It!:
  • Apollo being bisexual was also common in fanon. Though that should never have been a surprise, since he was in Mythology as well.
  • Pretty much everyone predicted that Nico and Will would be in the book, but whether or not they'd be explicitly referred to as a couple was questioned.
  • Caligula being one of the three Emperors was predicted soon after the first book came out. Book 3 confirms it.
  • Theories and headcanons of Nico having PTSD from his years-long Trauma Conga Line have always been present in the fandom, no one just anticipated that it would be outright addressed in canon in the finale.
    • And speaking of the finale, Will the human glowstick.
• Just Here for Godzilla: A lot of people like the series for Nico and Will being in it more than Apollo even if they play a minor role only. There are also others who read the series to see how Percy and the others are doing.
• LGBT Fanbase: Started with the previous series, but Apollo being bisexual and showing that, in-universe, LGBT identities among the gods and their children are actually accepted and usually treated as normal is another big step. The fact that Nico di Angelo and Will Solace are the franchise's first LGBT Official Couple also helps.
• Memetic Badass: As a few comments on the Riordan wiki have noted, the third emperor, Caligula, did the thing that Gaea and the Giants couldn't successfully do. As a mortal, he scared a god so much just by meeting him that said god, Apollo, did not return to the empire for decades.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: There are a number of fans who feel Piper's reasoning for breaking up with Jason makes her unsympathetic. When explaining to Apollo why she broke up with Jason, she says it's because she felt that Hera and Aphrodite forced them together. However, neither goddess actually did so. Hera created the fake memories not only simply for Jason's momentary convenience (as she had to have known that the Mist memories she created wouldn't last), but for her long planned goal of uniting the Greeks and the Romans, not out of any interest in Piper and Jason's relationship which she never commented on and never involved herself in. On Aphrodite's end, her claiming Piper and it happening right after her relationship was revealed to be fake had nothing to do with each other and her encouraging her daughter's romance was simply that since Aphrodite had always been shown in the series to coo over relationships she finds cute. Not to mention the actual time Piper and Jason spent together to make their relationship real after learning they were demigods (over a year) was much longer than their time together in Piper's Mist-created memories (three months of knowing each other and a few weeks of dating).
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: Oh man. Oh man, oh man. Where to start.
  • Well, first we've got Emperor Nero, AKA The Beast, AKA the least-likely-to-win-the-father-of-the-year award, because he is very explicitly abusive. Next we have the fact that that same emperor, in the first book, tied a bunch of kids to wooden stakes and intended to burn them along with the sacred oracle he wanted destroyed. And in another, Apollo attempts to commit suicide to stop the Big Bad of that book from getting what he wants. Why isn't this series in the YA section again?
    • His uncle Caligula also counts. In the book, it's stated that the man had a poet's tongue ripped out and dipped in silver and was also too close to his sister. And that's just the tip of the iceberg with this guy's depravity.
  • The Burning Maze takes this up another notch by killing off a major character mostly to emphasise the cost of war. Jason Grace was a POV character and is the first major character to die in a Riordan book (excluding Magnus Chase, who comes back as an einherjar about five minutes later).
• Win Back the Crowd: Many Grover fans were complaining about his status as Demoted to Extra in Heroes of Olympus, but at the end of The Dark Prophecy, he returns and becomes a major character in The Burning Maze.

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