After the fast-paced first two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, it makes sense that the producers decided it was time to take a breather and give us an episode where we could sit with the story a bit more. Episode 3 -- "We Visit The Garden Gnome Emporium" -- does this while still keeping the audience glued to the screen.
The first two episodes were an enjoyable but breakneck introduction to the world of the Greek Gods: Percy (Walker Scobell) is a demigod, there's a place called Camp Half-Blood where demigods train, he kills a minotaur, his mother has been kidnapped, his best friend Grover (Aryan Simhadri) is a satyr, his father is Poseidon, and to complicate matters even more he shouldn't technically exist. As a son of one of the Big Three (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades), his very existence breaks the pact the brothers made not to father any more children.
That's quite a lot to take in, let alone for a twelve year old who's just discovered that the weird things he's been seeing his whole life (a pegasus on a rooftop, for example) are not hallucinations; they're very real. Luckily for Percy though, being at Camp Half Blood means he now has people such as Grover, Luke (Charlie Bushnell), and Annabeth (Leah Jeffries) who see the world just as he does - and he no longer feels as ostracised or alone.
In Episode 3, the show throws Percy into a Quest: Zeus' Master Lightning Bolt has gone missing, and Percy must journey across the country to find it and return it to him. As the son of Poseidon, it is assumed that he is the Lightning Thief, so the Quest is sort of a life-and-death mission for Percy.
We are told that Quests must be undertaken by a band of three; Percy picks Grover and Annabeth to join him. While Luke's importance as a mentor-type figure to Percy and Annabeth isn't forgotten (we get a touching scene where Luke passes on a pair of winged shoes to Percy, depicted in the TV show as Converse trainers with laces that web together to create wings on the side), Percy's choice of Grover and Annabeth is a turning point in the series. It's the moment where our core trio is formed.
"We Visit The Garden Gnome Emporium" doesn't shy away from showing the teething difficulties that come from a new group of people being forced to travel and work together. We see a scene of Annabeth and Percy bickering in the woods about whether or not they're lost, which Grover attempts to diffuse by singing. Later there's tension when Annabeth talks about her friend Thalia's heroic sacrifice and Percy seems deeply unimpressed because that resulted in Thalia being turned into a tree. While Annabeth speaks proudly of Thalia meeting a hero's fate, Percy quips back with, "She met a pinecone's fate."
Despite the bickering, this episode cements this trio as one we will root for, and who will eventually root for one another. They have each others backs. There's a sweet moment where Annabeth is buying snacks for Percy and Grover; clearly overwhelmed by the choices at the store and wanting their approval, she grabs armfuls of every bag of candy in front of her. In a touching scene at the end of the episode, the three of them discuss how despite the temptations they have been faced with, they chose to stay loyal to and protect one another. As the satyr who has protected both Percy and Annabeth in the past, Grover's fierce loyalty to both characters is immediately apparent.
Even in the space of one episode, this trio develops a solid respect for one another. At the start of the episode, Annabeth and Percy are bickering. At the end, when Annabeth opines that the gods would find a choice Percy is making "impertinent," Percy bluntly replies, "I am impertinant!" and she lets it go. There is, of course, an additional note that the decision Percy is making ensures that Annabeth's beloved New York Yankees cap (which grants her invisibility) will be saved; but also, the fact that Percy goes from arguing with Annabeth to caring enough to return an item which means a lot to her shows the development the characters have gone through.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians review, Episode 3, "We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium"
The biggest chunk of this episode is taken up by the trio's encounter with "Aunty M," otherwise known as Medusa, played magnificently by Jessica Parker Kennedy. It would have been easy to portray Medusa as a plain and simple villain who poses a danger to our heroes. Instead, the show frames her as a more complex character we can empathize with; we feel the pain radiating off her and feel the ways she has been wronged. We still root for our core trio but also feel conflicted over how Medusa has been treated.
While it's very obvious that Medusa offering the children food is a trap, there is an honest layer to her that you can't help but feel throughout the whole encounter. It also highlights the difference between Percy and Annabeth; Annabeth has been forced to fend for herself most of her life, so is immediately wary. Percy, meanwhile, has been taught to love and trust others, due to his mother's unconditional love for him. It takes Medusa stepping over the line, encouraging Percy to betray Annabeth, for him to realize that something isn't right. Before that, when Medusa is talking about the ways the gods wronged her, Percy feels deeply sorry for her.
You can also see how this is affecting Annabeth; Medusa throws into question her idealism of the gods and forces her to reckon with the fact that they can be flawed and hurt people. Medusa is in many ways a textbook book, yet the show isn't afraid to show that while she's a danger to the children and must be defeated, she isn't a simple black-and-white villain with no nuance.
In this situation with Medusa, it would be easy for Grover to simply be comic relief (there are certainly moments at Medusa's where he is, like when he's stuffing food into his face), but the show makes sure to show that Grover has deep emotional depth, and he too cares about their collective safety and success. When he sees that his Uncle Ferdinand has been turned to stone by Medusa, this is not brushed aside as a light, funny moment. We see Grover in anguish, reminding us that this loyal and caring satyr loves those around him fiercely, and that fierceness is now shown in his protection of Percy and Annabeth.
Where the show could have chosen simplicit with its characters, it went for depth, and the episode is all the stronger for it. It is slower paced, but that allows us to relax into the storylines, feel confused over who we empathize with, and understand what has led the characters to make the decisions they make.
This slower pace could have created a bit of a standstill for the show, but the showrunners carefully avoided this, and instead used this episode to nurture our emotional investment. We also get a whole new heap of intrigue what with Percy's pen-sword continuing to vibrate when he's in touch. It will be interesting to see if that element continues as the show goes on.
It's very evident that the producers know what they're doing with this show, and they chose a cast who can effortlessly explore all of its levels.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is streaming now on Disney+.
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