well for starters he may have never even made it back to his wife because it takes a heros traits to go through all that peril and still make it home. If he didn't prove himself or have the smarts, his wife would eventually have to have married off to another man that was more suitable to rule the kingdom and Odysseus would loose everything that he owned. It was because he was a good hero that he became the king in the first place and he also survived many dangerous encounters. This includes the Cyclops, Polyphemus, Circe who almost turned him into an animal but ended up helping him instead, and then also how he returned home, claimed what was his, and killed all the suitors that had tried to takes his position and wife. Also, the fact that he was some amazing war hero who proved his worth showed that he truly deserved his positions and he wasn't questioned by anybody when he took it back. His son probably would have been used as a slave or normal warrior. Maybe even killed so that there were no possible men to take over the throne with Odysseus gone.
