WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Blood of Zeus Season 1, currently streaming on Netflix.
Netflix's Blood of Zeus doesn't hold back on the blood and gore as it tells the story of Heron and Seraphim, two half-brothers pitted against each other. It's all part of the Olympus civil war, sparked by Hera wanting Zeus to pay for his infidelity -- even summoning the Giants to help her wage war on her husband's supporters.
This leads to many vicious showdowns and quite a few merciless kills, so let's rank the series' most brutal.
7. Seraphim Cuts Up Acrisius' Son
When Zeus stole Electra away after she killed King Acrisius in a flashback, it was all so he could protect her and his son, Heron. But this left the king's rightful son at the mercy of his uncle, Acrisius. The tyrant dropped the child into the rivers, only for the servant girl, Ariana, to find him. She adopted him but one of Acrisius' sons would destroy everything Seraphim knew and as a result, he began hunting them down one by one.
He corners one of his cousins in an alley as he has a dalliance with a sex worker. This act of revenge is quite bloody as Seraphim takes a sword to him, garnering revenge for losing an eye against them years ago. He guts his cousin repeatedly, leaving entrails all over and the woman screaming as she fled. This is the kill that really sends Seraphim into berserker mode, shaping him into more of an animal.
6. Seraphim Slaughters The Maiden
Seraphim would become imbued with powers from a Giant's carcass as he ran from that kill, and now as a demon leader, he kills everyone and anyone to find his uncle. With Hera tricking him, Seraphim ends up bringing his legion to Heron's home -- to Electra. He doesn't know she's his mother -- he's there seeking out Alexia and a secret scroll -- and so, Seraphim decides to kill the woman who birthed him.
When she's the ground groveling, a random maiden tries to stop Seraphim from hurting Electra, adamant they don't know where Alexia is. She pays the price instead. He telepathically commands his bident spear and impales the woman through the base of her skull. It's a Mortal Kombat-like fatality, leaving Electra petrified someone could be so cruel, especially after he cut a local in half to find her moments before.
5. Electra Kills The King
When Electra killed the king years ago, it felt like revenge death in the mold of Sansa Stark and Ramsay Bolton from Game of Thrones. He was abusive to her, often raping her, but when he saw Heron's eyes, he knew it wasn't his kid. He didn't know Seraphim would be revealed to be his son mere seconds later, though, and this led to him trying to kill Electra. Zeus intervened and fought the soldiers, but Periander made a mad dash for Heron.
Electra's motherly instincts kicked in and she stabbed him in the neck a few times before shoving him over the balcony. Seeing his mangled body on the ground felt like karma, but Zeus knew at that point he had to hide Electra and his offspring. It's a death Electra didn't regret, however, as she would have done anything for her boys.
4. Acrisius Gets Squashed To Bits
Hera wants Seraphim to serve her but Zeus makes a counter-offer. This leads to Seraphim finding Acrisius holed up in a cave. With all the sons dead he decides to end the lineage with the usurper king. He slices off his uncle's finger and then starts pummeling him, although there's some hope he'd stop giving into the darkness. That doesn't happen, sadly, as Seraphim is driven by hatred and Hera's manipulation.
He keeps pounding away, squashing Acrisius with his super-strength, leaving his brains and insides all over the ground. It's relentless yet cathartic; you can't help but feel for Seraphim -- all he's known is hardship thanks to Acrisius. He loses all humanity, though, eventually embracing Hera's way of thinking as he feels like mankind is a blight on the Earth.
3. Zeus Makes A Bombastic Sacrifice
When the Giants come, thanks to Hera and Seraphim, Zeus' faction struggles. The Giants turn on Hera, however, and when the Leader's snakes try to rip her in half, Zeus saves her because he still loves his wife. One grabs him, though, and he decides to sacrifice himself because he thinks it'll help Heron evolve as his successor.
With the snake squashing him, he looks at Hera and winks, reminding her of the good times before blowing up. It's a lightning bomb that sees all of his life essences dissipate, and a telling one, as Zeus always knew Hera was the better person to lead Olympus than him. She may have been jealous but he admitted it was all his fault, and this leaves her heartbroken about his last heroic play.
2. Seraphim's Mother Gets Gutted
When Acrisius' sons found Seraphim and Ariana years ago, it was a very scary ordeal. They held her sister hostage and after mining info, they slit her throat in front of Ariana. They impaled Ariana to send a message to Seraphim who was hiding after a day of hunting. She didn't sell him out as she wanted to protect him, but seeing blades going through these women drove him off the edge and into enemy hands.
Thankfully, he'd barely escape, with Zeus turning into a bear to help him out, but no matter what, whether god or man, Seraphim knew he had to embark on a quest of revenge. He kept the images of all this blood being spilled in mind every day, which is why he wanted everyone, including Heron, to pay because if humanity didn't follow his lead, Seraphim felt they'd remain a bunch of selfish killers.
1. Seraphim Impales Electra
When Electra's grovelling on the ground, Seraphim feels the need to send a message to Alexia and Heron. He once more uses his telekineses and lobs the spear in the air, sending it slowly dropping down through Electra's spine. He thinks it's an elegant death but little does he know it's his real mother he just murdered.
This kind of death leaves him feeling regal and as he looks at her body, you can tell he thinks Electra's beneath him. Later on, when he finds out what he did, Seraphim becomes even angrier, wanting to gain control of the Giants' souls so everyone could be wiped off the map. He realizes that he's to blame for all these tragedies, but he doesn't want to own his sins. He just directs his guilt elsewhere, with the memory of Electra bleeding out etched in mind forever.
Starring Jason O'Mara, Mamie Gummer, Chris Diamantopoulos, Derek Phillips and Jessica Henwick, Blood of Zeus Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.