By: Ava Balducci
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a fantasy book series written by Rick Riordan. The series features five adventurous novels where Greek gods, monsters, and heroes all exist. Disney Plus recently released an eight-episode one-season TV show based on the first book in the series, “The Lightning Thief.” Each episode title is based on one of the chapters in the book. The first two episodes came out on Dec. 20, 2023, and one episode dropped every following Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST. The first season surpassed 26 million views.
Spoilers!
Episode One: “I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher“
This episode starts off with the main character, 12-year-old Percy Jackson, being kicked out of a boarding school for pushing a girl into a fountain, even though he didn’t do it. He then travels with his mother to a beach, where she reveals that he is the son of the sea god, Poseidon. Throughout his childhood, Percy encounters many different mythical creatures but is told that he is imagining things. The only person who believes him is his best friend, Grover Underwood, who is half-goat, half-human. Grover shows up at the beach house where Percy and his mom are staying and warns them that they must leave. They face a monster during their journey, and Percy’s mom disappears.
Episode Two: “I Become Supreme Lord Of The Bathroom“
Percy and Grover arrive at a camp for other children of Greek gods called Camp Half-Blood. At the camp, Percy struggles to discover what he is good at, making both friends and enemies on his first day. He is then sent on a quest to return Zeus’ magic lightning bolt by the summer solstice to prevent a war between the 12 gods. Zeus, the king of the gods and ruler of the skies, thinks Percy stole the lightning bolt, even though he is innocent.
Episode Three: “We Visit The Garden Gnome Emporium“
Percy, Grover, and their new friend Annabeth Chase begin their quest. Their first stop is a place called Auntie Em’s Garden Gnome Emporium. They face many challenges like not being turned into a statue. Percy struggles with betrayal and trust.
Episode Four: “I Plunge To My Death“
Percy, Grover, and Annabeth encounter more monsters as they head to the Saint Louis Arch in Missouri, which is a temple to the goddess of wisdom, Athena — Annabeth’s godly parent. They seek guidance and healing from the temple but face more trouble instead. Percy sacrifices himself to save his friends, fighting more monsters on top of the Arch. He eventually falls off the Arch, landing in the river, which leads him to discover some new abilities.
Episode Five: “A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers“
Percy, Grover, and Annabeth’s quest is interrupted by the god of war, Ares, who takes them to a diner and gives them advice. He asks them to retrieve his shield from an amusem*nt park called Waterland in exchange for help to get to The Lotus Casino in Las Vegas, which is the next stop on their journey. Percy and Annabeth go while Grover stays behind with Ares to try and extract more information out of him on who really stole the lightning bolt. Percy sacrifices himself once again to save his friend. Percy and Annabeth successfully retrieve the shield, and Ares sends them to Las Vegas.
Episode Six: “We Take A Zebra To Vegas“
Percy, Grover, and Annabeth make it to The Lotus Casino. They must be extremely careful because the longer one spends in the casino, the more they forget who they are and why they are there. They split up, with Grover taking one half and Percy and Annabeth taking the other, all searching for the god Hermes to see if he can help them reach the underworld to retrieve Percy’s mother. Grover begins to lose his memory, and Percy and Annabeth find Hermes, who was a lot less helpful than they were expecting. So, they steal his magic taxi which can take them anywhere they want to go. They choose to go to Santa Monica to talk to Poseidon. Eventually, they realize that they lost precious time while in the casino, and the summer solstice, their deadline for returning the lightning bolt, has passed. Percy is given four magic pearls to escape the underworld with his mother and his friends.
Episode Seven: “We Find Out The Truth, Sort Of“
Percy, Grover, and Annabeth head to the entrance of the underworld which is disguised in a mattress store called Crusty’s Waterbed Palace. Still, they enter the underworld successfully and just barely escape Cerberus, the three-headed dog. Grover loses a magic pearl in the dog’s mouth, leaving them with only three. Annabeth gets into some trouble and uses her pearl as a quick escape. Now, only Percy and Grover are left in the underworld, and two pearls remain. Percy and Grover almost fall into Tarturus, which is a pit of death and full of monsters, on the way to Hades’ palace. They realize they had the bolt in the backpack that Ares gave them before they left. They find Hades and Percy’s mother but learn that Hades won’t give them Percy’s mother unless they bring him his stolen Helm Of Darkness. Percy and Grover use the remaining two pearls to meet up with Annabeth on a beach.
Episode Eight: “The Prophecy Comes True”
Percy sword fights with Ares on the beach and wins. He finds Hades’ Helm Of Darkness and gives it to a servant of Hades’ to return. With a promise of his mother returning home, Percy sets off to Mount Olympus to return the magic lightning bolt to Zeus. He successfully returns it and meets Poseidon for the first time, who calls off the war. As Percy returns to camp, he discovers who the actual lightning thief was and learns that some people aren’t always who they seem.
Each season will be based on one of the books in the series. As of now, the show has been renewed for a second season, which will be based on the next book in the series “The Sea Of Monsters.”
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