Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Young Hero Takes on a Minotaur and a New Quest — Grade the Premiere!

Keisha Hatchett
·4 min read
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The first two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which are now streaming on Disney+, reveal a faithful yet inspired adaptation of The Lightning Thief, the debut entry in Rick Riordan’s beloved fantasy book series.

In Episode 1, we’re quickly introduced to Percy (played by Walker Scobell), the seemingly troubled 12-year-old who’s anything but normal. Following closely to the book, the middle schooler was attacked by his pre-algebra teacher Mrs. Dodds (played by guest star Megan Mullally) during a field trip to the museum. He then used a pen given to him by Mr. Brunner (House of Lies’ Glynn Turman) — which turned into the sword Riptide — to slay her and was later expelled for shoving his classmate Nancy into a fountain.

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This set off an interesting chain of events, including his mother Sally (Virginia Kull) whisking him to their cabin in Montauk and revealing that he’s a demigod, his friend Grover making an unexpected visit and not concealing his goat legs, and the trio racing to get Percy to the Greek demigod training facility Camp Half-Blood before a minotaur in tighty whiteys found them first.

Unfortunately, the horned creature caught up to them on the highway and forced the absconding trio into a ditch. Sally then tried to help her son and his friend escape by causing a distraction. But the young hero, who watched his mother burst into gold dust in the minotaur’s grasp, raced towards the creature to avenger her death. He used Riptide to stab the minotaur in the head and fell to the ground as it disintegrated into a black dust.

Episode 2 saw Percy wake in Camp Half-Blood, where he encountered the camp director Mr. D, aka the Greek god Dionysus (Jason Mantzoukas), and Mr. Brunner, who revealed himself as the centaur Chiron.

Chiron gave the young demigod the rundown of the camp, including the rows of cabins reserved for the children of the gods. Since Percy hadn’t yet been claimed by his dad, he was assigned to Hermes’ cabin, which houses the Greek god’s offspring as well as the unclaimed.

He made a new friend in Hermes’ son Luke, who explained that Percy’s ADHD and dyslexia were just symptoms of demigods processing the world differently. But not everyone was welcoming. Fellow half-mortal Clarisse, daughter of Ares, taunted Percy and later bullied him in the bathroom until Percy scared them away with another accidental show of power. That’s when he recognized Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries), who confirmed she’d been stalking him.

Chiron had promised her for years that a demigod would arrive and embark on a quest that she would join. As the strongest warrior at camp, a quest was the last thing Annabeth had left to prove herself, and she believed Percy was the one she was meant to accompany.

Percy confirmed that her instincts were right when he fought Clarisse during a game of Capture the Flag. He looked natural with a sword and shield, and even broke Clarisse’s spear in a surprising showcase of strength and agility. The moment shifted when Annabeth shoved him in the water, which healed his wounds. A trident then appeared above his head, a sign that Poseidon had finally claimed Percy as his son.

Being the offspring of one of the Big Three meant he was a forbidden child. As Luke broke down earlier, the gods Zeus, Poseidon and Hades agreed not to produce any more children given how powerful they were becoming. Zeus broke that pact by fathering Thalia, who died while en route to Camp Half-Blood with Luke and Annabeth. Any kid born to the main trio was considered forbidden.

As such, Percy moved to Poseidon’s empty cabin and inherited a lofty quest. Zeus’ master lightning bolt — the symbol of his power — had been stolen and he suspected Percy as the culprit. The sky god issued an ultimatum to Poseidon to return the bolt by the summer solstice in a week or there would be war. Percy, who believed Hades actually has it, only agreed to the mission after Grover revealed that Sally might not be dead but rather in the underworld. This could be his chance to get her back.

What did you think of Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ first two episodes? Grade them below, and then share your opinions in the comments.

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