'Percy Jackson And The Olympians' Season 2 Episode 5 Review
Image Source: Fangirlish
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
Things are coming to a head in the latest episode of Percy Jackson & The Olympians. In fact, it’s a little hard to believe they still need three episodes when the whole episode served to set up a finale, at least with Polyphemus. The heroes still have the Luke threat to deal with, but the golden fleece has been found halfway through the season. At the start of the episode, Percy and Annabeth wake up in C.C.'s spa, where they are told that their crew all perished. In order to escape the spa, they’ll have to sail past the sirens, which prey on their fatal flaws. This sets up Percy and Annabeth as undergoing inner trials, something heroes of Greek myth, and many other stories, often do before the final trial or battle. Meanwhile, Clarisse is not so dead as the viewers see her wash up on an island. She immediately spots the golden fleece in the distance and rushes toward it, but gets caught in a trap. Grover finally makes his return as this is Polyphemus’s island, and the cyclops carries Clarisse back to his cave for dinnertime. The plot then alternates between Percy facing his flaws and Grover and Clarisse plotting an escape.
Percy and Annabeth quickly figure out that C.C. stands for Circe. Percy exposes her and offers to keep her secret in exchange for helping Annabeth pass the sirens. Instead of taking the offer, Circe turns Percy into a guinea pig, which the subtitles humorously name Percy Pig. Annabeth goes into Circe’s office and quickly discovers the situation, then uses the last of Hermes’ gifts to change Percy and the rest of the guinea pigs back into humans, giving audiences a quick cameo of Blackbeard and his pirate crew.
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Image Source: Fangirlish
Meanwhile, Clarisse and Grover try to escape through a hole in the ceiling of Polyphemus’ cave. Like Percy and Annabeth, Clarisse thinks the rest of her crew is dead until Grover insists that he can feel that Percy is still alive, explaining that he has an empathy link with Percy. That empathy link comes back to bite him when Polyphemus reveals that Grover talks in his sleep. Much like the first season, this episode treats the monsters as smarter than they are in the books and somewhat more sympathetic. Percy tells Circe that he can understand how loneliness would drive her to keep people trapped on the island. Similarly, Polyphemus reveals to Grover that he was playing dumb the whole time, pointing out that he could still smell and hear the whole time.
In another departure from the books, Percy and Annabeth plan to pass the sirens with special wax from C.C.’s spa. Unfortunately, there’s just enough wax for one of them to use. But, before they can decide who gets it, Circe snatches the wax back with her magic. Percy remains tied up while Annbeth, convinced she can see through the illusion, approaches the sirens. Viewers are treated to a scene with Percy and Luke fighting and Grover trying to keep the peace. The audience and Annabeth quickly figure out that this is an illusion. As soon as she gets close enough, she stabs the fake Percy, then Luke, but Grover lunges toward her and scares her. Athena appears and drives her spear through the final siren, but this turns out to be another illusion. Percy tackles Annabeth, and a rope drags both of them back to the boat. Percy reveals that he didn’t see any illusion, only Annabeth on that rocky island. While Annabeth’s fatal flaw - pride and a desire to be recognized by her mother- almost gets her killed, Percy’s fatal flaw- a constant need to save his friends- is what prevents him from being affected by the sirens. The two figure out that they saved each other. Then the episode ends as they approach Polyphemus’s island.
Image Source: Dailymotion
The only major issue with this episode was the complete absence of Tyson, given how central a character he’s been this season, but that adds a little suspense and mystery. Another big issue was the amount of handholding the series feels like it has to do. Clarisse’s role in this episode feels more like a vessel for Grover to remind audiences of the empathy link. The episode as a whole, though, had a lot of heart and felt much more climactic than the previous episode. Perhaps that was because all the rain and water made it difficult to see the climax. Overall, this episode was a major improvement that has me excited to see what’s next.
Rating: 9/10
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Source(s): Disney Plus
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