Forgiveness can be a dirty word when it comes to Greek gods, demigods, monsters, and Titans. When you’ve been holding on to rivalries and grudges for centuries, you may not find it so easy to extend the olive branch.

But some of us do believe in second (or third, or fifth) chances. Especially for individuals who never seemed fully committed to the dark side. If we’re sometimes willing to let slide shady behavior on the part our favorite gods and demigods, why can’t we do the same for a few of their enemies?

Here are five so-called “infamous villains” we believe could be redeemed under the right circumstances. And after plenty of therapy.

Krios

If memory serves, most members of the latest incarnation of the Titan Army were sociopathic monsters. Yet we seem to recall at least one child of Gaea who expressed a bit more thoughtfulness and sensitivity than his comrades.

You may remember Krios, the Titan of stars and constellations, from his battle with Jason Grace during The Lost Hero, and his tragic, yet hilarious, failure to prove himself useful to the Titans during The House of Hades. Or maybe you remember him as the Titan who spent most of his time staring up at the night sky while the rest of his siblings were preparing for war.

Despite his raw power and intimidating appearance, Krios never amounted to much during his stint in the army. He always seemed more interested in stargazing than in land-razing, which led to him being branded as the black sheep of the family. His connection with the cosmos may have granted him the tender soul of a poet. A bloodthirsty and deranged poet, but a poet, nonetheless.

Krios never got over his defeat by Jason in hand-to-hand combat, and he swore vengeance against the son of Jupiter. Now that any potential rematch is, uh, off the table, perhaps the Lord of Constellations can finally move on and find a new purpose in life. If he ever returns, that is. It will take more than bed rest and a bottle of ibuprofen to recover from what Tartarus did to him and Hyperion . . .

Hypnos

Labeling Hypnos a villain may be a bit unfair. But as long as the Greek god of sleep is still associated with his problematic mama, Nyx, we’ll continue to leave his messages on read.

That’s not to say Hypnos doesn’t have potential to be good. Of all Nyx’s creepy kids, he always seemed the least harmful and maybe most relatable of the lot. And we’re not just saying that because he spends most of his time snoozing while the rest of the family is out tormenting demigods. If current reports are to be believed, Hypnos turned against his mother very recently and perhaps even burned a few bridges in the process.

Is it finally time for Hypnos to move out of the basement and join his fellow less-than-evil gods and goddesses in the sun? We’d ask him ourselves, but the Do Not Disturb sign has been hanging on his door for almost 6 months.

Medusa

She was one of the first foes Percy, Annabeth, and Grover ever faced, but she had her reasons. We’re just not sure Medusa will be able to let bygones be bygones once she’s fully recovered from her latest setback. And who can blame her for taking all those nasty beheadings personally?

Medusa has everything she needs for a proper redemption arc: a tragic backstory, excellent brand recognition, an eye for fine art, and a deep appreciation of history. All she’s missing is the incentive to use her petrifying stare against the forces of evil for a change. But maybe not all redemption arcs need to end in a full turn toward heroism.

Perhaps all she needs to do is close Aunty Em’s Gnome Emporium for good and give up those schemes to increase her private statue collection. (Just don’t tell her about NFTs.) All the better if she can find some way to free all those innocent people she has petrified over the years.

With a few stepfather-shaped exceptions, of course.

Trophonius

Tell us if you’ve heard this story before: Son is angry at his father over a tragic incident that occurred in the distant past. Said son allies himself with a dark force to enact vengeance on the father. Something even more tragic happens. Father and son are forever separated, both in body and in spirit. Yadda, yadda, yadda. You know the drill.

The trouble is that once we get to know the father a bit better, and we realize that he’s capable of great acts of heroism, we begin to empathize less with the bitter and rageful son.

Trophonius blamed the death of his half-brother Agamethus on his father, Apollo. But most of us can agree that throughout the course of The Dark Prophecy, Trophonius took his vendetta a bit too far, especially after he targeted Apollo’s pal, Meg McCaffrey. Yet we always feel inclined to sympathize with the mistreated children of the gods. And when we last saw Trophonius, we hoped he was starting to realize that the time had finally come to let go of his grievances.

All that we’re saying is that if Trophonius ever decides to return to the modern world, we’d at least like to see him on a fishing trip with Apollo.

Maybe they could even invite the Agamethus’s ghost to join them. A ghost who, if we’re being honest, seems way more easygoing about his untimely death than Trophonius. Or at least less consumed with rage. Without a head, it’s a bit hard to tell.

Orion

This is the final and most controversial choice on our list. Orion is one of Gaea’s giant children, who were born and bred to oppose the Greek gods. He is the deadly bane of both Apollo and Artemis. Despite his immense strength and prowess as a hunter, Orion has never been able to defeat the twin gods. He has, however, left plenty of destruction in his wake. He almost took down Nico, Reyna, and Coach Hedge during The Blood of Olympus.

Orion is likely the most sadistic and outright destructive villain on this list. Yet rumor has it that most of his ire is due to a wicked curse placed on him by Apollo. This unnaturally handsome giant is now forever forced to carry a torch for Artemis, one goddess who will certainly never return his affection.

If the curse were lifted, could Orion find the strength to renounce his violent ways? Or would his desire for the goddess of the hunt twist and morph into something more sinister?

All we know is that there are plenty of resources available to help him cope with his feelings. Maybe he could join one of the many, many support groups for people who are hopelessly in love with Artemis. Trust us, we would know. A few members of our staff have been attending those meetings for years.

To be honest, the meetings haven’t helped a ton, but at least the lovesick fools aren’t dressing in fur, spraying themselves with beaver musk, and wandering out into the woods after work hoping for a chance to bump into their crush. At least not as often as they used to . . .

Which villains do you think are due for a heroic reinvention? Be sure to let us know!