YMMV / Alcestis

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Admetus. Selfish bastard who is willing to let someone die and only becomes upsets if it is his own wife or a genuinely good but flawed and selfish man who loves Alcestis? The fact that he hides Alcestis's death from Heracles doesn't do him any favors, either. An action to honor Sacred Hospitality or, as some modern audiences might suggest, Manipulative Bastard who is doing a gambit of forcing Heracles going to the Underworld to rescue Alcestis for fear of the gods?
  • Alcestis' motive for dying in her husband's place. While love undoubtably is part of the reason, the Latin poem Alcestis Barcinonensis suggests that she also does so because it will bring her glory and let her be remembered, and so she can avoid being left as a widow.
• Fridge Horror: Since Alcestis has been brought back from the dead, does that mean Admetus's deal with Death is off and the underworld god will be coming to collect his soul as soon as the three days of ritual purification are over?
• Heartwarming Moments: Admetus and Alcestis reuniting after Heracles beats Thanatos.
• Values Resonance:
  • Alcestis's devotion to willingness to die for Admetus and his utter grief when seeing her doing so, to the point that he engages in typical Greek "feminine" mourning actions might seem darkly ironic and even hilarious to Ancient Greek audience but is utterly devastating to modern audiences because there are couples with that kind of love and devotion in modern society.
  • Despite being a woman in Ancient Greece, Alcestis has complete agency and a character arc in her actions and does so out of love, not a sense of duty or being forced, while performing all of the preparations of a ruler who is about to pass away when her husband is too consumed by guilt and grief.

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