Episode 3 recap: "We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium"
Oh, golly, the road’s getting bumpy.
At the beginning of the third episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, “We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium,” the mission of this story starts to take shape. Percy is the son of Poseidon, and he’s been chosen for a quest. Zeus believes that Poseidon has forced Percy to steal Zeus’s Master Bolt. If the Master Bolt is not return within a week, there will be war between Zeus and Poseidon and the other Gods. Chiron and Mr. D give Percy a hint, and they allege that Hades is actually behind the missing Master Bolt, so Percy’s quest will see him travel from New York to Los Angeles, the entrance of the Underworld and Hades’ realm.
First, Percy has to take a little trip to the Oracle of Delphi, who reads Percy a prophecy about his quest. It goes a little something like this:
"You shall go West and face the God who has turned, you shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned, you shall be betrayed by the one who calls you friend, and fail to save what matters most in the end."
Then, Percy selects Annabeth and Grover for the quest. Annabeth, he chooses because he knows that she’s crucial to this operation and doesn’t believe they’ll be friends, and he doesn’t fully trust her. He is going to save his mom, first and foremost. He also chooses Grover, because of the second half of the prophecy. When Luke gifts Percy a pair of flying shoes, Percy explains that he almost picked Luke for the quest but chose Grover instead, because he can trust him a little more. It’s an interesting moment for sure, for sure.
And, then, the quest is fully underway! Percy, Grover, and Annabeth pay a little visit to Thalia’s tree. Percy isn’t very nice about Thalia, but Annabeth quickly puts him in his place. She reminds Percy that the forbidden children, even Thalia, are always in danger. He’s not nearly as strong Thalia, and look how she turned out. She’s a tree. I just have to say, I like the chemistry of this trio. Grover is there as a mediator, but Percy and Annabeth have such strong personalities. How they work together is going to be so interesting!
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover hop on a charter bus, but Percy is wondering why they aren’t flying. Annabeth and Grover break it to him, that Percy is a forbidden child. Zeus might just zap him out of the sky. Monsters and other Gods are also problematic for Percy right now. Not e everything is cool, cool, cool in Olympus.
Annabeth is targeted by the Furies at a truck stop when she’s getting snacks, including Mrs. Dodds/Alecto. Annabeth rocks the Yankees hat and lets Alecto know that she knows who she is. Alecto reveals to Annabeth that she needs Percy. She’s been instructed to bring in Percy. Annabeth warns Percy and Grover to get off the bus, but they are attacked by the other Furies. Thankfully, they make it off the bus and escape into the forest on a satyr path.
After walking for a while with the Furies in pursuit, Annabeth, again, gives Percy a piece of her mind. She lets him know that he needs to accept who he is and accept that he’s a part of something much, much bigger than himself. Percy gets a little sassy and asks why Annabeth can’t reach out to her mom, Athena, which is a real personal dig. In the middle of their argument, they are interrupted by the smell of food, obviously! Eventually, they stumble upon a garden emporium in the middle of the woods, and Medusa saves their lives from Alecto. They take a little spin through the emporium with the promise of a free lunch, which they accept, thanks to Percy’s boldness. Annabeth and Grover follow, but they aren’t excited about it.
Medusa gives them lunch and offers her story, which involves Athena and Poseidon, fittingly. Athena punished Medusa for having a relationship with Poseidon, but Annabeth disagrees. She said that her mother is just, but Medusa offers a different story. This is not going well, and Annabeth and Grover know it’s time to go. Medusa tries to win Percy to her side, but the young demigod keeps his cool.
Medusa removes her hat and reveals her eyes. If they look directly at her, they’ll be turned to stone. Not a good way to go!
There’s an epic fight between Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, but suddenly, Percy gets the upper hand and slices off her head and throws on Annabeth’s Yankees hat, making Medusa’s missing head invisible. Then, Percy shows the head to Alecto, pops off the hat, and boom, Alecto turns to stone. Another win against Hades’ top lieutenant for lil’ Perce.
After defeating Medusa, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover share the best moment of the season so far. Percy and Annabeth continue to fight, and Grover finally has enough. He’s been holding the quest together, and he calls Percy and Annabeth out for keeping secrets. Percy admits that he withheld the last part of the prophecy, the part about being betrayed by a friend. One of them will betray Percy, and that pre-resentment is already impacting their relationships. Annabeth, on the other hand, admits she wasn’t going to betray Percy even though Alecto offered to help her quest if Annabeth turned over Percy to her. It looks like our quest trio is coming together!
Percy, then, gets the brilliant idea to send Medusa’s head to Olympus as a “tribute or something” to Athena because of her beef with Medusa. It’s a bad idea, but Percy, as we are learning, doesn’t play by the rules and is a bit of a provocateur. It’s a bold strategy. We’ll see if it pays off for Seaweed Brain.
The episode ends with Hermes (Lin-Manuel Miranda), the Godly messenger, taking Medusa’s head to Olympus via the Empire State Building elevator.