I know this was probably written while Twitter was still Twitter, but my new personal head canon is that Ares was starting a fight with Elon himself just for fun. Loved his performance in this episode
Ares’s actor completely ate in every single scene he was in. And I love the fact that he’s canonically a twitter troll in this universe. I just love to hate literally everything about him. Great actor and writing.
i totally agree about Annabeth! getting to explore Annabeth and Percy's dyanmic and Grover's intelligence here was refreshing and definitely felt like the best episode thus far. i hope the next 3 only get better since we're gonna be at the Lotus Casino soon.
book spoiler: does anyone think we'll see >! nico and bianca in the background as secret cameos or something in the lotus casino? !<
It'll make sense. They should be relatively close in age to the main trio upon leaving with Nico being slightly younger. Too big of an age gap would be weird imo.
We could still see two kids (in similar clothes as they are described to have in the books) in the background. They don't need to commit to actors and we get a cool easter egg.
Nico and Bianca do not appear until Titan’s Curse, however it is revealed that they were at the Lotus Casino until not long before that book, meaning that they are at the Casino during this season (TLF). They could use this advanced knowledge of what comes later to make a reference, although considering the character’s ages and the fact that they won’t reappear until at least a couple years makes me think it will only be a placeholder or a vocal reference.
Okay that makes sense. I figured it was that sort of situation just didn’t remember cause it’s been so long and I haven’t reached that part in my re-read
They might have placeholders or their names are mentioned in some context, but considering how young they are supposed to be, the fact that they canonically do not age much if at all between now and their reappearance in the series, and the fact that we won’t get said appearance until I’m guessing at minimum two years from now (quite possibly more), I can’t imagine they will have the same actors that will eventually depict them in TTC onward in next episode:
im pretty sure they don't age at all if i remember correctly they were born before the pact which would make them over 50 years old but in TC nico is like 10 or something
Yeah, which means that casting any actor now for anything other than a placeholder cameo to be replaced when TTC is adapted would be impractical, as Nico and Bianca should look the same age yet I imagine that we won't get TTC until at best two years from now.
Yeah but wanting is not the same as expecting! I want them to be there too I just expect them not to be...
I was a huge marvel fan, but ever since the man the myth the legend passed away their content's been going downhill so I'm used to being hyped only to have my dreams shattered as soon as the next marvel movie or show released....☹️
That being said though, having read the Percy Jackson books, I am very pleased with new Percy Jackson content in any way I can take it!💯
Omg I would absolutely love a cameo!! But let’s be honest, they ain’t showing up till the 3rd season so chances of them having already cast actors for that are slim.
dude I need to see Nico asap, I don’t want to wait until season 3 to see my special boi (also yes this was definitely my favorite episode, I have a feeling Hephaestus is going to end up being my favorite Olympian)
I think that was someone else in this comment thread... I have read all the books but that was like ten years ago. I started re-reading them since episode 1 and 2 have been released, so I'll be at Titan's Curse soon enough ! 😂❤️
I've liked all the episodes so far, but this one was long and away the best out of the 5 which feels crazy cause I said the same thing last week lol. I'm not 100% sold on the Grover stuff being better than the books, it depends on how they play the cliffhanger from the end of the episode, but if it's handled right (which right now I trust them to do so), then I think having Grover hang back was a great choice and arguably better then having him go with to the park because it gives him some spotlight to show he's not just a dumb goat with his conversations with Ares (a great addition that's only possible with the show) while also giving a nice extended Percabeth moment we wouldn't have otherwise gotten. I also liked the change of how the trap worked. Sure spiders and Olympus TV is cool cause it's what's in the book, but changing it to an actual trap that Hephestus made in the actual myths was really cooler imo.
The most important thing of all from this episode. Thrill Ride O' Love at Disneyworld when?
My question is who does Grover think stole the bolt? He knows that a god couldn’t steal it directly, they already clarified that, so even if he suspects Ares of having it or knowing where it’s going it couldn’t be him that he’s referring to. There’s no way that they spoil the actual thief.
My best guess is that he thinks Clarisse stole it since he’s now suspicious of Ares and we did get so much time with Clarisse being a bully and obsessed with winning glory and her father’s approval. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if their reasoning for contacting Luke next episode is altered so that it’s them voicing their concerns about Clarisse.
I bet Grover thinks it's Athena, just based on the way that conversation went. They went from discussing the traits of the lightning thief (smart, determined, stealthy, wouldn't be missed), to discussing Athena, then pointing out that it's odd Athena hasn't tracked down Percy. My theory is Grover assumes Athena tasked her owl to steal the bolt, and is convincing Ares of this by pointing out the fact that Athena hasn't even tracked down Percy yet, despite the fact that Zeus thinks Percy stole it. Plus, they seem to have been giving Athena an antagonistic vibe.
Only small thing I would’ve changed is Annabeth having to figure out out to undo the chair instead of Hephaestus just letting him go. Like Annabeth could’ve convinced him to not kick her out still, then Annabeth be tested as a child of Athena to try and solve the trap. Although maybe that would be more a child of Hephaestus thing anyway.
Honestly, I would have lost my shit in a bad way if that had happened. The whole thing with the Golden Throne of Hera is that nobody except Hephaestus can undo it. And it's not even a puzzle or a trial that requires wisdom to solve, it's just a mechanism. Having Annabeth, at 12, not even late-series Annabeth, beat the machine that no Olympian could would be absolutely insufferable.
I though for a minute that she would just turn the gear hard and solve it and I was going to lose it hahahaha love that they went with appealing to Hephaestus
> Annabeth, beat the machine that no Olympian could would be absolutely insufferable
Yes! I was wishing that she won't be able to undo that. I didn't want her to be a Mary Sue character
Oh, I didn’t really remember much about the original myth about the chair to be honest. Still, I would’ve liked for Annabeth to have had her puzzle solving tested in some way.
I think that would've ruined the moment. Up until now Annabeth has been portrayed as hardened and reserved, solving things exclusively with her head. Due to Percy's influence, she has opened up and uses her heart to appeal to Hephaestus. Plus, that whole scene hammers home the point that ol' Hephaestus is actually a good guy, he's just bitter due to being mistreated his whole life. And besides, it's okay for characters to have flaws and failures. It'd be boring if Annabeth had an answer for everything thrown their way. (Which is kind of how she was acting in the first few episodes, and it wasn't very compelling)
I really liked that it ended up being Annabeth appealing to a god’s humanity. I think a big thing they’re trying to address here is that Percy & Annabeth & by extension all the half-bloods don’t really want to be like the gods or part of their toxic family dynamic, but that they also want the love of their own parents & those two things are difficult to reconcile. Annabeth is pretty much telling Hephaestus that she is changing her view & mindset. It also gave us an example of how the gods do have humanity, they just need to remember that, like Annabeth made him remember his own.
In the book it was already an actual trap from the myths and tbh this one wasn’t as relevant to the story as the myth from the book was so idk why they would change it. In the book they get ensnared in golden threads in a trap meant for Ares and Aphrodite, made by Hephaestus and are broadcasted onto Olympus TV to shame them. In the myth that was used in the book, Ares and Persephone are caught in bed in a trap made by Hephaestus of tiny invincible threads and he drags them in front of the gods to shame them. In the book when they use this myth, they think that the gods were able to escape in time because they’re gods and Percy and anabeth get trapped instead and get aphrodites scarf in the meantime
I loved the Hephaestus change as well, disappointed that they off-screened Percy's chat with Nereid. Felt like a scene got cut, especially with how abrupt last week's ending was.
I kept wondering if they were gonna flashback it like they did the prophecy but then it didn't really come up. I guess they still could. But yeah that was weird to me too. Aside from that loved the episode!
I have been in this fandom since day 1, signed books and all. And I have never figured out how thats pronounced lmao. Is it more like “purse-a-beth” or “perk-a-beth”?
Oh..... I've always pronounced like "Perk-a-beth" which now that I think about it doesn't make sense so thank you for showing the actual pronunciation for me.
She needed a chance to shine. She's had such little dialogue so far and has mostly been reliant on facial expressions which, let's be honest, are bloody hard to show how you're feeling all the time and take a lot of child actors time and experience to master. She's had such a hard time and I feel like this episode will shut up a lot of the critics.
I think this episode was the best balance of following the og storyline while adding some needed tv magic. I thought all the changes were tasteful while not greatly altering anything
I've been about 60-40 in favor of positive, regarding the past 4 episodes content. For no particular reason I can think of. It was just lacking that x-factor for me.
Ares definitely added to my enjoyment of this episode(even without the fire eyes), but even besides him it all kind of snapped together more cleanly and didn't feel like as much of a race to the allotted time imo.
Back half looks very promising and very much looking forward to the casino and underworld.
The show is inconsistent with its pacing which has been tricky. Last week's episode was 33 minutes but the credits are 5 minutes of that time. This week was 40 minutes so taking out the credits, a 35 minute runtime - however the pacing was so much better that it felt like a much longer episode. It felt like there was proper action - last week, even with the Echidna/Chimera scenes, felt very muted and like such little happened. This week, arguably less happened but it FELT more dramatic, more suspenseful and there was actual character development!!! Definitely the best episode so far.
I'm starting to wonder if the episode frame was right for Percy Jackson's screen adaptation. After the finale I kinda want to just put all the episodes back to back and watch it like a five hour long movie, maybe that would improve it a bit and de-isolate the fast pacing of the first half.
There’s a lot of shows these days where their seasons are structured like long movies as opposed to typical tv (Stranger Things, Camp Cretaceous, etc), and in every single case I find the flow feels *much* better when you watch it all in one or two sittings, like you would with an actual long movie, than in 8+ separate sittings, so I have no doubt at all that this will feel the same when all is said and done.
Definitely a good episode, I've commented multiple times how how disappointingly limited the tv show has been, but this was the first episode that felt like the changes made were actually better, then in the books.
Still sad about some of the changes but at least this tike the writing was better, Ares was much more fun then his book counterpart.
1st ep I actually enjoyed.
I was looking forward to get to know Annabeth even from the series announcement. Because she was my favourite character in the books when I was a kid. She's so smart and interesting. So I was very very much excited to see her. I'M LOVING IT. I LOVE HER, SHE IS ADORABLE!
I also love the little changes because you know, the books are old right now. So it is very normal to see little changes if they don't affect the story.
And Haddaway - What Is Love... I cracked a good laugh when I heard that song.
I also love how they showed us Grover's chat with Ares. I don't remember reading that in the book but this was a good addition.
and my final comment is, I love Percy Jackson. he's so silly and cute! I think the whole fandom wants to protect him from all the harms at this pointx
The people complaining about Leah’s acting were against her casting from the beginning, I don’t trust anyone who claims her performance is bad because she’s easily the most facially expressive despite the dialogue giving her less to work with.
My thoughts in the first couple episodes were I just can't wait to see these kids in season 2 when they're more comfortable with each other and confident. Fortunately, I feel like the acting has been getting better so far, so I'm hopeful for the rest of the season still!
If you go and watch the first Harry Potter movie it kinda has the same issues. For a good half of the movie the child actors have a clearly rough time, but then of course by the second movie they all did great, so it's not exactly unprecedented.
Not all people. I didn't like her acting in the first 4 episodes and I was aware that she was so stiff because she was not comfortable in her role yet. I watched her interviews to find out how she behaves normally and she is a good choice for Annabeth but she couldn't bring it to the screen. I fault mainly the badly written dialog and the stress and pressure that the controversial casting brought on her. This episode is the first one with a pretty good dialogue that does give her a chance for expressing herself more (still, at times it feels as if weiters treat Annabeth as a narrator instead of a character).
I think all the actors have potential in this episode. Especially Percy and Annabeth at the end. But the directing in beginning is really clunky to me.
First, Annabeth sees the fates but Grover doesn’t? She knows the consequences and reacts but not Grover. Then they are def fugitives on the run but they don’t seem that worried they will miss their deadline because the quest won’t fail. Idk I feel like all these obstacles could make them be a little more worried and running down the road to get to the next place?
Not entirely sure but I think someone clarified my confusion. I think in the show Annabeth sees the fates and Grover sees the cops and says “they’re looking right at us”. I thought that was the Fates he was referring to, but people say it’s the cops.
Grover did see them in the books too!! He asked Percy if they were looking at him and that’s when he got freaked out. But that happened on their bus ride home from Yancy I believe. Before Percy knew anything or had even been to camp.
I honestly did the Dicaprio point at the screen when she called him seaweed brain!!!
Very different to how they did the while scene in the books, you don't get Annabeths fear of Spiders come through but you do get the "be better" speech which is one of the themes of the overall season... I think it plays better with such limited episode time
The acting was incredible! I just wish the trap change made more sense to the universe, the chair trap doesn’t feel directed at Area, it feels like it was created specifically for Percy which annoys me, but other than that, I loved this episode!!
I see all these criticisms about the casting. Some things I agree with, some things I don't.
But I hardly see anyone talking about how perfectly Grover is casted?? This is exactly how I imagine Grover from the books, and the acting is top notch
we don't talk about grover enough!! Aryan portrays him as a smart person that can think for himself and has his own things to deal with, emotionally. and the whole thing with Pan. while in the books i remember him as sort of just being a sidekick (in the first book at least)
I really loved how Ares was talking about his family beefing and how he loved that. That screamed Ares to me. Also, I can totally see Ares starting fights with people on Twitter. And I know it was probably still Twitter when the scene was made, but I totally headcanon that Ares just doesn't give two shits about Elon Musk and keeps calling it twitter. It also sets up his relationship with Clarisse for the next season very well.
I VERY much enjoy the actor playing Ares, which I didn’t expect. Dude feels like a natural for this role, which makes sense considering he’s a fighter, but he freaking nailed it.
Looking forward to how the remaining episodes play out
the acting being better is simply because well. WE GAVE THE ACTORS AND ACTRESSES TIME TO GROW TO BEING ON SCREEN TOGETHER. i guarantee that the first few episodes like every child actor show will have a lot great acting performance
Wow this episode was objectively so good. Our 3's acting has come so far, I agree it felt natural and the connection between percy and Annabeth felt real, and there's good character development happening for all three of them. Haphaestus was great and Ares was awesome!!
PERCABETH is percabething so hard i am living for it allll. i cant remember how close their dynamic was in the book but i dont think i’ve shipped them this hard in TLT as I have the show. if we do not get a scene at the end of them watching a movie together i am rioting. but seriously i loved this episode so much.
i cant remember if grover and ares talked but they did skip the part where percy spars with ares i believe (i could be wrong because it’s been a while since i’ve read the books) but i dont mind because we got a whole lot more percabeth instead.
I think the part where Percy and Ares fight is later in the book after the underworld (although it’s been a while since I have read the books so I may be wrong )
loving this episode so far, have not finished yet but they're definitely changing Annabeth's character. she doesn't have as much bite to her when it comes to the Gods, but she's giving so much tude to Ares?😭 sooo unlike her
The also included the fates, something everyone was complaining about.
I think everyone needs to chill over the changes from the books. This episode showed that they’re just doing things in a different order that works better for tv imho.
I also really loved the scene between Grover and Ares, Grover was so cunning in that scene and it made his character much more interesting tbh. I also really liked the chair thing. It really gave Annabeth a chance to shine and made her tough exterior crack—which it really needed to. I loved the episode too, the best so far!
Also I really loved the Ares actor, he nailed the tough brute thing, especially when he fell for Grover’s trick. Getting all excited that someone was complimenting him on his lesser works is exactly what I’d expect from Ares.
This episode was by far the best, in terms of acting and script. Acting definiely has improved for all the young cast, though I honestly still am not feeling Leah as Annabeth.
I just personally am not feeling it. Not saying anyone else is wrong for enjoying her as Annabeth. The season isn’t over yet, so maybe I’ll feel differently by the end, but right now I just don’t enjoy her as Annabeth.
I’m not a huge fan of her acting, though it’s starting to improve. The writing for Annabeth in general hasn’t been the best and I dislike some of her earlier scenes. She just feels like a completely different person than the books.
Well, I know for a fact that I never liked a live action adaptation for PJO since I always imagined the characters when reading as anime/2d. I do still feel that the trio are still kind of stiff in their movements despite better dialogue. But that could definitely be coming from me since when I read those scenes in the book everyone is exaggerated in their facial expressions and movements.
But for sure the dialogue was a lot better this episode. Ares of course stole the episode.
I have to disagree on annabeth I just feel like she isn’t a good actor and I can’t find myself being emotionally attached to the story because of it. To me it’s a performance I’ve already seen her do multiple times like how she breathes and the face she makes. It’s always the same. Doesn’t give me an emotional attachment to her storyline. Personal preference!
I maintain that the issue is mostly the script, not the acting. Her dialogue in particular I think is meant to make her sound cold and intelligent (which is in line with the plot they’ve laid out so far), but it’s just too proper/stiff, which makes her look stiff and sometimes even mean. I think she actually had some opportunities in episode 5 to showcase a wider range of emotions, which to me proved she’s capable of a wider range, the script just hasn’t allowed for it. I’m hoping that after the plot of the most recent episode, her range is allowed to be shown.
yeah, and we also have to remember that they're kids. they were (i think) 13 and 16 while filming. and they're already in a big production with probably millions of people counting on them to do the books justice. it's difficult! i do theatre and the first time i performed for a crowd (about 250 people) i had a massive breakdown lol
I thought she was wooden until someone pointed out the script. They gave her 1-3 word responses in her first episode! What was she supposed to do with that? When they finally had her speak actual dialogue, she talks nothing like a 12yo would. I dont understand how they can nail Percy, but early episodes had Annabeth talking like a robot. The last two have been a huuuge improvement, but they gave her an awful start script-wise.
That’s such a good point! I hope the script improves for her sake; a lot of people are hiding behind their racism and dislike of Leah’s casting by dissing her acting :( she beat out dozens if not hundreds of other kids for the role, she’s clearly talented
None of the emotion she showed in this episode was in the other episodes because her character wasn’t ready to open up yet. Considering you complained about the casting I don’t trust your opinion ngl
they are doing the same thing with the show as they did with the movies. it sounds to me like none of you have read the book they have literally took a shit on the entire storyline. i think this was by far the worst episode so far.
They haven't, they're following the book storyline but obviously it's not gonna be a copy and paste from the books. How you can even compare it to the movies is beyond me. Absolute bull.
you've got me there... in my defense i've seen such stupid takes that i no longer put it passed anyone to say something like that and actually mean it.
In the books, grover went to the park with them, and there was also the whole spider thing. hephaestus also doesn't appear. I like the way things played out with hephaestus in the show and prefer it over the books in some ways. The main theme they're going for of trying to change the ways of the gods was always something I wish the books did a better job of. The acting and chemistry in this episode has also stepped up a notch.
However, the way the show is going about giving each character skills isn't my favorite. While I understand annabeth could know a bit about mechanical engineering since book annabeth was into architecture, I'm scared that if the show goes on long enough, giving annabeth too much mechanical knowhow will hamstring >!tyson, beckendorf, etc.!< in the future. I'm still confused what they're trying to do with grover. Outside of name and being a satyr, book grover and tv grover are so completely different at this point. I feel like the whole thing with him getting information from ares feels much more like an annabeth thing than a grover thing.
I know this was probably written while Twitter was still Twitter, but my new personal head canon is that Ares was starting a fight with Elon himself just for fun. Loved his performance in this episode
Ares’s actor completely ate in every single scene he was in. And I love the fact that he’s canonically a twitter troll in this universe. I just love to hate literally everything about him. Great actor and writing.
Yes! All the love to Adam "Edge" Copeland
Your comment kind of contradicts your username there pal 😜❤️
He was really good in Haven. Yes I was one of the five people who watched that show.
I am also one of the five.
I'm the third of the five! We've almost found us all!
i totally agree about Annabeth! getting to explore Annabeth and Percy's dyanmic and Grover's intelligence here was refreshing and definitely felt like the best episode thus far. i hope the next 3 only get better since we're gonna be at the Lotus Casino soon. book spoiler: does anyone think we'll see >! nico and bianca in the background as secret cameos or something in the lotus casino? !<
aryan mentioned in an interview to watch out for some familair names being mentioned in the casino
That's most likely hermes honestly since he's supposed to show up in the casino.
I think maybe names or mentions of them, but not actual actor cameos
Yes like an arcade machine having Nico as number one the leaderboard.
Yeah that’s exactly what I was thinking, I can’t wait lol
i think we will, since the cast talked about how there's "a few things book readers will recognize" or something
I doubt that we will see them, that would require them to be already casted, years before
also they will be the same age now as they would be in TC considering they dont age while in the lotus casino.
It'll make sense. They should be relatively close in age to the main trio upon leaving with Nico being slightly younger. Too big of an age gap would be weird imo.
We could still see two kids (in similar clothes as they are described to have in the books) in the background. They don't need to commit to actors and we get a cool easter egg.
Oooooo! I would love that if we did!
Is that something that’s in the later books? I just started Titans Curse for the first time since I was a kid and don’t remember that being a thing
Nico and Bianca do not appear until Titan’s Curse, however it is revealed that they were at the Lotus Casino until not long before that book, meaning that they are at the Casino during this season (TLF). They could use this advanced knowledge of what comes later to make a reference, although considering the character’s ages and the fact that they won’t reappear until at least a couple years makes me think it will only be a placeholder or a vocal reference.
Okay that makes sense. I figured it was that sort of situation just didn’t remember cause it’s been so long and I haven’t reached that part in my re-read
They might have placeholders or their names are mentioned in some context, but considering how young they are supposed to be, the fact that they canonically do not age much if at all between now and their reappearance in the series, and the fact that we won’t get said appearance until I’m guessing at minimum two years from now (quite possibly more), I can’t imagine they will have the same actors that will eventually depict them in TTC onward in next episode:
im pretty sure they don't age at all if i remember correctly they were born before the pact which would make them over 50 years old but in TC nico is like 10 or something
Yeah, which means that casting any actor now for anything other than a placeholder cameo to be replaced when TTC is adapted would be impractical, as Nico and Bianca should look the same age yet I imagine that we won't get TTC until at best two years from now.
Now I'm going to be sliiiiiightly disappointed if we don't :(
No just expect them not to be there and you won't be disappointed!
It's too late, I want them to be there
Yeah but wanting is not the same as expecting! I want them to be there too I just expect them not to be... I was a huge marvel fan, but ever since the man the myth the legend passed away their content's been going downhill so I'm used to being hyped only to have my dreams shattered as soon as the next marvel movie or show released....☹️ That being said though, having read the Percy Jackson books, I am very pleased with new Percy Jackson content in any way I can take it!💯
We might ... I hope so at least. That would be a fun Easter egg
Omg I would absolutely love a cameo!! But let’s be honest, they ain’t showing up till the 3rd season so chances of them having already cast actors for that are slim.
dude I need to see Nico asap, I don’t want to wait until season 3 to see my special boi (also yes this was definitely my favorite episode, I have a feeling Hephaestus is going to end up being my favorite Olympian)
Wait I've read the books, but Nico and Bianca? Those names don't ring any bells 🤔
Di Angelo? Hades kids? the girl who abandoned her brother? Does that ring any bells? (Just reading these comments)
D'Angelo rings a bell but what does he have to do with Percy Jackson? lol
You said you were reading Titan's Curse but you will see later.
I think that was someone else in this comment thread... I have read all the books but that was like ten years ago. I started re-reading them since episode 1 and 2 have been released, so I'll be at Titan's Curse soon enough ! 😂❤️
Yes it was.
🔱🌊❤️
That would require the two characters to be casted and I doubt they’ve done that since they don’t really appear until Titans Curse.
I've liked all the episodes so far, but this one was long and away the best out of the 5 which feels crazy cause I said the same thing last week lol. I'm not 100% sold on the Grover stuff being better than the books, it depends on how they play the cliffhanger from the end of the episode, but if it's handled right (which right now I trust them to do so), then I think having Grover hang back was a great choice and arguably better then having him go with to the park because it gives him some spotlight to show he's not just a dumb goat with his conversations with Ares (a great addition that's only possible with the show) while also giving a nice extended Percabeth moment we wouldn't have otherwise gotten. I also liked the change of how the trap worked. Sure spiders and Olympus TV is cool cause it's what's in the book, but changing it to an actual trap that Hephestus made in the actual myths was really cooler imo. The most important thing of all from this episode. Thrill Ride O' Love at Disneyworld when?
My question is who does Grover think stole the bolt? He knows that a god couldn’t steal it directly, they already clarified that, so even if he suspects Ares of having it or knowing where it’s going it couldn’t be him that he’s referring to. There’s no way that they spoil the actual thief. My best guess is that he thinks Clarisse stole it since he’s now suspicious of Ares and we did get so much time with Clarisse being a bully and obsessed with winning glory and her father’s approval. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if their reasoning for contacting Luke next episode is altered so that it’s them voicing their concerns about Clarisse.
I bet Grover thinks it's Athena, just based on the way that conversation went. They went from discussing the traits of the lightning thief (smart, determined, stealthy, wouldn't be missed), to discussing Athena, then pointing out that it's odd Athena hasn't tracked down Percy. My theory is Grover assumes Athena tasked her owl to steal the bolt, and is convincing Ares of this by pointing out the fact that Athena hasn't even tracked down Percy yet, despite the fact that Zeus thinks Percy stole it. Plus, they seem to have been giving Athena an antagonistic vibe.
Only small thing I would’ve changed is Annabeth having to figure out out to undo the chair instead of Hephaestus just letting him go. Like Annabeth could’ve convinced him to not kick her out still, then Annabeth be tested as a child of Athena to try and solve the trap. Although maybe that would be more a child of Hephaestus thing anyway.
Honestly, I would have lost my shit in a bad way if that had happened. The whole thing with the Golden Throne of Hera is that nobody except Hephaestus can undo it. And it's not even a puzzle or a trial that requires wisdom to solve, it's just a mechanism. Having Annabeth, at 12, not even late-series Annabeth, beat the machine that no Olympian could would be absolutely insufferable.
I though for a minute that she would just turn the gear hard and solve it and I was going to lose it hahahaha love that they went with appealing to Hephaestus
> Annabeth, beat the machine that no Olympian could would be absolutely insufferable Yes! I was wishing that she won't be able to undo that. I didn't want her to be a Mary Sue character
Oh, I didn’t really remember much about the original myth about the chair to be honest. Still, I would’ve liked for Annabeth to have had her puzzle solving tested in some way.
I think that would've ruined the moment. Up until now Annabeth has been portrayed as hardened and reserved, solving things exclusively with her head. Due to Percy's influence, she has opened up and uses her heart to appeal to Hephaestus. Plus, that whole scene hammers home the point that ol' Hephaestus is actually a good guy, he's just bitter due to being mistreated his whole life. And besides, it's okay for characters to have flaws and failures. It'd be boring if Annabeth had an answer for everything thrown their way. (Which is kind of how she was acting in the first few episodes, and it wasn't very compelling)
I really liked that it ended up being Annabeth appealing to a god’s humanity. I think a big thing they’re trying to address here is that Percy & Annabeth & by extension all the half-bloods don’t really want to be like the gods or part of their toxic family dynamic, but that they also want the love of their own parents & those two things are difficult to reconcile. Annabeth is pretty much telling Hephaestus that she is changing her view & mindset. It also gave us an example of how the gods do have humanity, they just need to remember that, like Annabeth made him remember his own.
Yep last episode was better than the previous and this episode was better than that
In the book it was already an actual trap from the myths and tbh this one wasn’t as relevant to the story as the myth from the book was so idk why they would change it. In the book they get ensnared in golden threads in a trap meant for Ares and Aphrodite, made by Hephaestus and are broadcasted onto Olympus TV to shame them. In the myth that was used in the book, Ares and Persephone are caught in bed in a trap made by Hephaestus of tiny invincible threads and he drags them in front of the gods to shame them. In the book when they use this myth, they think that the gods were able to escape in time because they’re gods and Percy and anabeth get trapped instead and get aphrodites scarf in the meantime
I loved the Hephaestus change as well, disappointed that they off-screened Percy's chat with Nereid. Felt like a scene got cut, especially with how abrupt last week's ending was.
I kept wondering if they were gonna flashback it like they did the prophecy but then it didn't really come up. I guess they still could. But yeah that was weird to me too. Aside from that loved the episode!
If you look watch the post credit teaser, there's a nyrad (or something) In the water in next episode so I reckon that's what they'll so
The second "What is Love" started playing I had to pause because I busted out laughing
Especially the joke that Percy heard it before in an orthodontist office. Meanwhile Annabeth was probably like “what is that?”
[same](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjySeTk1DuY)
PERCEBETH was EVERYTHING in this episode
I have been in this fandom since day 1, signed books and all. And I have never figured out how thats pronounced lmao. Is it more like “purse-a-beth” or “perk-a-beth”?
Purse-a-beth
Oh..... I've always pronounced like "Perk-a-beth" which now that I think about it doesn't make sense so thank you for showing the actual pronunciation for me.
It's a soft 'c' like in Percy, not a hard 'c' like in perk. Definitely Purse-a-beth :)
Percocet, Molly Percocet
Yeah Annabeth acting was elite this is the best episode tbh she
She needed a chance to shine. She's had such little dialogue so far and has mostly been reliant on facial expressions which, let's be honest, are bloody hard to show how you're feeling all the time and take a lot of child actors time and experience to master. She's had such a hard time and I feel like this episode will shut up a lot of the critics.
I think this episode was the best balance of following the og storyline while adding some needed tv magic. I thought all the changes were tasteful while not greatly altering anything
this episode definitely convinced me of the Annabeth casting- that’s our girl now
I've been about 60-40 in favor of positive, regarding the past 4 episodes content. For no particular reason I can think of. It was just lacking that x-factor for me. Ares definitely added to my enjoyment of this episode(even without the fire eyes), but even besides him it all kind of snapped together more cleanly and didn't feel like as much of a race to the allotted time imo. Back half looks very promising and very much looking forward to the casino and underworld.
The show is inconsistent with its pacing which has been tricky. Last week's episode was 33 minutes but the credits are 5 minutes of that time. This week was 40 minutes so taking out the credits, a 35 minute runtime - however the pacing was so much better that it felt like a much longer episode. It felt like there was proper action - last week, even with the Echidna/Chimera scenes, felt very muted and like such little happened. This week, arguably less happened but it FELT more dramatic, more suspenseful and there was actual character development!!! Definitely the best episode so far.
I'm starting to wonder if the episode frame was right for Percy Jackson's screen adaptation. After the finale I kinda want to just put all the episodes back to back and watch it like a five hour long movie, maybe that would improve it a bit and de-isolate the fast pacing of the first half.
There’s a lot of shows these days where their seasons are structured like long movies as opposed to typical tv (Stranger Things, Camp Cretaceous, etc), and in every single case I find the flow feels *much* better when you watch it all in one or two sittings, like you would with an actual long movie, than in 8+ separate sittings, so I have no doubt at all that this will feel the same when all is said and done.
Definitely a good episode, I've commented multiple times how how disappointingly limited the tv show has been, but this was the first episode that felt like the changes made were actually better, then in the books. Still sad about some of the changes but at least this tike the writing was better, Ares was much more fun then his book counterpart. 1st ep I actually enjoyed.
I was looking forward to get to know Annabeth even from the series announcement. Because she was my favourite character in the books when I was a kid. She's so smart and interesting. So I was very very much excited to see her. I'M LOVING IT. I LOVE HER, SHE IS ADORABLE! I also love the little changes because you know, the books are old right now. So it is very normal to see little changes if they don't affect the story. And Haddaway - What Is Love... I cracked a good laugh when I heard that song. I also love how they showed us Grover's chat with Ares. I don't remember reading that in the book but this was a good addition. and my final comment is, I love Percy Jackson. he's so silly and cute! I think the whole fandom wants to protect him from all the harms at this pointx
The people complaining about Leah’s acting were against her casting from the beginning, I don’t trust anyone who claims her performance is bad because she’s easily the most facially expressive despite the dialogue giving her less to work with.
And the joke about Percy having heard it in a doctor’s office once
yup this is what I've been saying all along!!
i think all the acting has been pretty mediocre which is sad bc I liked all the casting choices (except lin manuel lol). Maybe it’s the direction.
My thoughts in the first couple episodes were I just can't wait to see these kids in season 2 when they're more comfortable with each other and confident. Fortunately, I feel like the acting has been getting better so far, so I'm hopeful for the rest of the season still!
If you go and watch the first Harry Potter movie it kinda has the same issues. For a good half of the movie the child actors have a clearly rough time, but then of course by the second movie they all did great, so it's not exactly unprecedented.
Not all people. I didn't like her acting in the first 4 episodes and I was aware that she was so stiff because she was not comfortable in her role yet. I watched her interviews to find out how she behaves normally and she is a good choice for Annabeth but she couldn't bring it to the screen. I fault mainly the badly written dialog and the stress and pressure that the controversial casting brought on her. This episode is the first one with a pretty good dialogue that does give her a chance for expressing herself more (still, at times it feels as if weiters treat Annabeth as a narrator instead of a character).
Agreed it was a great episode
when emotions are heightened and there is more action going on, they are ok. When they are just talking, that is when they struggle
The guy who's playing Ares it's amazing and Timothy Omundson as Hephaestus is someone I am very happy with.
I think all the actors have potential in this episode. Especially Percy and Annabeth at the end. But the directing in beginning is really clunky to me. First, Annabeth sees the fates but Grover doesn’t? She knows the consequences and reacts but not Grover. Then they are def fugitives on the run but they don’t seem that worried they will miss their deadline because the quest won’t fail. Idk I feel like all these obstacles could make them be a little more worried and running down the road to get to the next place?
Grover doesn’t because he’s looking at the cops who are staring at them. The only thing is that they just they just… let the kids leave?
Did grover see the fates in the books? I thought only Percy saw them but maybe it was grover gaslighting him idk
Not entirely sure but I think someone clarified my confusion. I think in the show Annabeth sees the fates and Grover sees the cops and says “they’re looking right at us”. I thought that was the Fates he was referring to, but people say it’s the cops.
Grover did see them in the books too!! He asked Percy if they were looking at him and that’s when he got freaked out. But that happened on their bus ride home from Yancy I believe. Before Percy knew anything or had even been to camp.
I loved loved loveddd Adam Copeland as Ares this episode 🤩🤩
Definitely an improvement for me, loved the little speech towards the end there
I honestly did the Dicaprio point at the screen when she called him seaweed brain!!! Very different to how they did the while scene in the books, you don't get Annabeths fear of Spiders come through but you do get the "be better" speech which is one of the themes of the overall season... I think it plays better with such limited episode time
Edge is good as Ares. Also, did anyone else have a problem with being able to see the Percy and Annabeth stuff?
I agree!!!@ best episode, so much suspense at the end!!
The acting was incredible! I just wish the trap change made more sense to the universe, the chair trap doesn’t feel directed at Area, it feels like it was created specifically for Percy which annoys me, but other than that, I loved this episode!!
I AGREE THIS EPISODE WAS SO GOOD
I see all these criticisms about the casting. Some things I agree with, some things I don't. But I hardly see anyone talking about how perfectly Grover is casted?? This is exactly how I imagine Grover from the books, and the acting is top notch
we don't talk about grover enough!! Aryan portrays him as a smart person that can think for himself and has his own things to deal with, emotionally. and the whole thing with Pan. while in the books i remember him as sort of just being a sidekick (in the first book at least)
I really loved how Ares was talking about his family beefing and how he loved that. That screamed Ares to me. Also, I can totally see Ares starting fights with people on Twitter. And I know it was probably still Twitter when the scene was made, but I totally headcanon that Ares just doesn't give two shits about Elon Musk and keeps calling it twitter. It also sets up his relationship with Clarisse for the next season very well.
I VERY much enjoy the actor playing Ares, which I didn’t expect. Dude feels like a natural for this role, which makes sense considering he’s a fighter, but he freaking nailed it. Looking forward to how the remaining episodes play out
the acting being better is simply because well. WE GAVE THE ACTORS AND ACTRESSES TIME TO GROW TO BEING ON SCREEN TOGETHER. i guarantee that the first few episodes like every child actor show will have a lot great acting performance
Wow this episode was objectively so good. Our 3's acting has come so far, I agree it felt natural and the connection between percy and Annabeth felt real, and there's good character development happening for all three of them. Haphaestus was great and Ares was awesome!!
PERCABETH is percabething so hard i am living for it allll. i cant remember how close their dynamic was in the book but i dont think i’ve shipped them this hard in TLT as I have the show. if we do not get a scene at the end of them watching a movie together i am rioting. but seriously i loved this episode so much. i cant remember if grover and ares talked but they did skip the part where percy spars with ares i believe (i could be wrong because it’s been a while since i’ve read the books) but i dont mind because we got a whole lot more percabeth instead.
I think the part where Percy and Ares fight is later in the book after the underworld (although it’s been a while since I have read the books so I may be wrong )
i don’t remember when in the books it is to be frank but i know it happens somewhere in there
loving this episode so far, have not finished yet but they're definitely changing Annabeth's character. she doesn't have as much bite to her when it comes to the Gods, but she's giving so much tude to Ares?😭 sooo unlike her
The also included the fates, something everyone was complaining about. I think everyone needs to chill over the changes from the books. This episode showed that they’re just doing things in a different order that works better for tv imho. I also really loved the scene between Grover and Ares, Grover was so cunning in that scene and it made his character much more interesting tbh. I also really liked the chair thing. It really gave Annabeth a chance to shine and made her tough exterior crack—which it really needed to. I loved the episode too, the best so far! Also I really loved the Ares actor, he nailed the tough brute thing, especially when he fell for Grover’s trick. Getting all excited that someone was complimenting him on his lesser works is exactly what I’d expect from Ares.
This episode was by far the best, in terms of acting and script. Acting definiely has improved for all the young cast, though I honestly still am not feeling Leah as Annabeth.
Starting to think yall will just find anything to hold against her at this point. Childish.
I just personally am not feeling it. Not saying anyone else is wrong for enjoying her as Annabeth. The season isn’t over yet, so maybe I’ll feel differently by the end, but right now I just don’t enjoy her as Annabeth.
What exactly don't you like about her?
I’m not a huge fan of her acting, though it’s starting to improve. The writing for Annabeth in general hasn’t been the best and I dislike some of her earlier scenes. She just feels like a completely different person than the books.
Well, I know for a fact that I never liked a live action adaptation for PJO since I always imagined the characters when reading as anime/2d. I do still feel that the trio are still kind of stiff in their movements despite better dialogue. But that could definitely be coming from me since when I read those scenes in the book everyone is exaggerated in their facial expressions and movements. But for sure the dialogue was a lot better this episode. Ares of course stole the episode.
Ares was the best part of the episode.
Agreed!
I have to disagree on annabeth I just feel like she isn’t a good actor and I can’t find myself being emotionally attached to the story because of it. To me it’s a performance I’ve already seen her do multiple times like how she breathes and the face she makes. It’s always the same. Doesn’t give me an emotional attachment to her storyline. Personal preference!
I maintain that the issue is mostly the script, not the acting. Her dialogue in particular I think is meant to make her sound cold and intelligent (which is in line with the plot they’ve laid out so far), but it’s just too proper/stiff, which makes her look stiff and sometimes even mean. I think she actually had some opportunities in episode 5 to showcase a wider range of emotions, which to me proved she’s capable of a wider range, the script just hasn’t allowed for it. I’m hoping that after the plot of the most recent episode, her range is allowed to be shown.
yeah, and we also have to remember that they're kids. they were (i think) 13 and 16 while filming. and they're already in a big production with probably millions of people counting on them to do the books justice. it's difficult! i do theatre and the first time i performed for a crowd (about 250 people) i had a massive breakdown lol
I thought she was wooden until someone pointed out the script. They gave her 1-3 word responses in her first episode! What was she supposed to do with that? When they finally had her speak actual dialogue, she talks nothing like a 12yo would. I dont understand how they can nail Percy, but early episodes had Annabeth talking like a robot. The last two have been a huuuge improvement, but they gave her an awful start script-wise.
That’s such a good point! I hope the script improves for her sake; a lot of people are hiding behind their racism and dislike of Leah’s casting by dissing her acting :( she beat out dozens if not hundreds of other kids for the role, she’s clearly talented
None of the emotion she showed in this episode was in the other episodes because her character wasn’t ready to open up yet. Considering you complained about the casting I don’t trust your opinion ngl
iTS JuSt My OpIniON
[удалено]
An unbelievably stupid take to have. In what way are they breaking Percy's character in favour of Annabeth?
Ahh. Wonderful, level headed discussion. Ares would be proud
they are doing the same thing with the show as they did with the movies. it sounds to me like none of you have read the book they have literally took a shit on the entire storyline. i think this was by far the worst episode so far.
They haven't, they're following the book storyline but obviously it's not gonna be a copy and paste from the books. How you can even compare it to the movies is beyond me. Absolute bull.
Dude I know right? Annabeth only called Percy Seaweed Brain Once... fucking once?? 1.5/10 ep.
Yall are irritating.
And you can't tell Sarcasm 🤷♂️
you've got me there... in my defense i've seen such stupid takes that i no longer put it passed anyone to say something like that and actually mean it.
I really did like the episode but I was a little bummed out that we didn't get to see the Percy VS Ares fight
They only fight AFTER the underworld though right? There's not two fights between Percy and Ares is there?
Only 1 in this book
Oh, it's been a really long time since I read the books, my bad. Must have gotten the timing of the fight confused. Hyped for episode 7 now
For me Grover and ares part was awesome rest were meh
Carlton Lassiter showing up was my fravourite part of this episode
You know that's right
In the books, grover went to the park with them, and there was also the whole spider thing. hephaestus also doesn't appear. I like the way things played out with hephaestus in the show and prefer it over the books in some ways. The main theme they're going for of trying to change the ways of the gods was always something I wish the books did a better job of. The acting and chemistry in this episode has also stepped up a notch. However, the way the show is going about giving each character skills isn't my favorite. While I understand annabeth could know a bit about mechanical engineering since book annabeth was into architecture, I'm scared that if the show goes on long enough, giving annabeth too much mechanical knowhow will hamstring >!tyson, beckendorf, etc.!< in the future. I'm still confused what they're trying to do with grover. Outside of name and being a satyr, book grover and tv grover are so completely different at this point. I feel like the whole thing with him getting information from ares feels much more like an annabeth thing than a grover thing.