Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Episode 5 Review

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 5 is now my favourite episode of the season. After a short episode last week, I was happy to get another episode around 40 minutes. It felt like this episode actually had time to breathe which allows the characters more time to develop. This episode splits into two plots, one with Percy and Annabeth and another with Grover and Ares.

This episode is truly the “percabeth” episode as we get to see the development of Percy and Annabeth as they become friends and as they begin to care for each other. From the beginning, we see Annabeth hug Percy after the incident at the arch with Percy being completely fine though he is wet. I bring up him being wet because in the books Percy doesn’t get wet unless he allows himself to so after the fall into the river his clothes should be dry but maybe he hasn’t discovered this power yet.

This early part of the story also introduces us to the Fates and the snipping of the cord which symbolizes death. I think this was a good time to introduce this plot point as in the books it happens before they leave for the quest and then as a reader, you might forget but here it appears in the middle of the action. We finally get to meet Ares who is one of the gods we see the most in the series and his interactions with Percy are always great.

We get the addition of the fugitive plotline as the trio is being blamed for the train crash and the arch as well as Smelly Gabe blaming Percy for the disappearance of Sally. At this point, our plot split into two with Percy and Annabeth going to Waterland and Grover staying with Ares.

Now to discuss the Waterland plot, in the book and the TV show this is the first alone time Percy and Annabeth have up to this point. I enjoyed the way they introduced celestial bronze as part of the water park since Hephaestus was the one who built it. The tunnel of love segment was a great heart-to-heart between the two as Annabeth suggests that Sally was raising Percy to not end up like the Olympians because they treat each other terribly.

I like Annabeth’s development as she starts to realize how terrible the gods can be and after the way her mom let a monster attack her in the previous episode, I am glad she begins to see some of the toxic behaviour in the gods’ ways. I like the way this show incorporates the mythology with Hephaestus’ story being told as a light show on the wall during the ride rather than just exposition. However, we do still need some verbal explanations with both Ares explaining Kronos’ story and the story of Hephaestus’ golden chair. 

I will say I missed the spiders as that was the first time we learn of Annabeth’s fear and show her vulnerable side but the gold chair was a good substitute and added extra stakes. We finally get Annabeth calling Percy “seaweed brain” which was an awesome moment and we also got to see Percy use his water powers some more. Seeing the genuine fear as Percy gets encased in gold is another way of reminding us how young they are. Meeting Hephaestus this early in the show will change things later but I enjoyed his characterization as more of a tinkerer and less bombastic than he is in the book.

The Grover and Ares storyline was also really awesome as we get to see Grover’s intelligence. He is able to outwit the god of war as he attempts to get answers on who is the lightning thief. Inspired by an earlier conversation between the trio, Grover put on a masterclass of manipulation using flattery to get Ares to talk which was fun to watch. Grover also was smart enough to put together that it was probably someone from the camp. The end of the episode was great with Percy and Annabeth returning Ares’ shield and Percy being confrontational with the god of war. I also love that they kept their transport being a truck full of animals.

All in all, this was definitely my favourite episode of the season. The development of the Percy and Annabeth relationship was really the highlight but Grover and Ares had interesting conversations during their sections as well. With only three episodes remaining I feel the best is still to come!