Percy Jackson and the Olympians is now streaming on Disney+. The first two episodes were released on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. Well, actually, they dropped a little early (on Tuesday, Dec. 19). Having seen the first two episodes of the series, it's truly one of the best Disney+ shows of all time. It's a must-watch this holiday season. To make sure you know what's going on and are
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is based on Rick Riordan's five-book series of the same name. The first season, which is what we're watching right now, is largely based on the story of The Lightning Thief, the first book of the series and an introduction to the work of Percy Jackson and the Gods of Olympus.
Walker Scobell stars as Percy Jackson, a 12-year-old boy who learns he is a demigod, a half-blood. His mother, Sally Jackson (Virginia Kull), is a human while his father is a Greek God. Which one? We'll get into it! We recapped the first three episodes, "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher" and "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom," and we'll be publishing recaps for allnew episodes as they are released on Disney+ weekly.
Episode 1 recap: "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher"
Jump to:
- Episode 2 recap: "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom"
- Episode 3 recap: "We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium"
- Episode 4 recap: "I Plunge to My Death"
"I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher" is the first episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and it's also the name of the first chapter of The Lightning Thief. In the premiere, we're introduced to Percy Jackson (Scobell), who warns viewers how dangerous it is to be a half-blood. We learn that Percy has trouble in school, largely, because of all the weird things he sees and the things that happen to him. He's expelled or kicked out a handful of times.
While on a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to visit a Greek exhibit with Yancy Academy, Percy and his best friend, Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri), are being bullied by Nancy Bobofit and Percy knocks her into the water fountain outside the museum, but he does so without using his hands.
As Percy struggles to understand what happened and waits for his punishment from Mrs. Dodds (Megan Mullally), Mrs. Dodds turns into a Fury, a monster with giant wings. She wants something from Percy, but he has no idea what she's talking about. Percy, who was just gifted a ballpoint pen by his teacher, Mr. Brunner (Glynn Turman), sees that pen turn into a sword and he stabs Mrs. Dodds in monster form. She disintegrates in front of him. Mr. Brunner and Grover rush over, but when Percy asks what happened to Mrs. Dodds, they claim to not know who Mrs. Dodds is. This is like seventh or eighth red flag so far. Something is not right.
Back at school, Percy pleads his case that he didn't push Nancy, despite her ending up in the fountain. Grover, though, rats Percy out and claims Percy told him he was going to get back at Nancy for all the trouble she caused him. Interesting, very interesting.
Percy is expelled from Yancy Academy, but before he goes, Mr. Brunner tells Percy that he's special and in for a difficult journey. Percy doesn't want to hear it. He leaves for his mom's apartment on East 104th Street in Manhattan to find his mom's husband, Gabe Ugliano (Timm Sharp), a big, stinky loser. Percy's mom welcomes him with a hug, some blue candy (Percy's favorite), and questions him about what happened. Sally takes extra interest in what happened, and Percy admits he's scared. Sally takes Percy to Montauk on a trip to get away from the apartment. She's truly a great mom.
Percy falls asleep in the car and has a vision of something or someone, asking who he is and warning him to run away before he gets hurt. Yikes! As we'll all learn in this show, visions from dark and scary sources are usually bad news.
On Montauk, Sally reveals that Percy is special, and this place they always come to on a vacation is special. It's where Sally met Percy's dad, and there's a lot that Percy doesn't know about his dad or his, well, we'll call them abilities.
Suddenly, Grover shows up, and he has bad news. They need to get to Camp Half-Blood immediately. Oh, and Grover doesn't have human legs. He has goat legs, which obviously bothers Percy. His best friend is a satyr, and Percy doesn't even know. This is all way too much for a moody 12-year-old, but he has to get over it quickly. There's a Minotaur, a huge monster who was killed by Theseus, on their tail.
In the car ride to Camp Half-Blood, Grover tells Percy about "the Mist," which disguises the world of monsters and Gods from mortals. He also tells Percy of Camp Half-Blood and tries to explain what is happening, but it's all too much. The Minotaur is right there! It knocks the car off the road and into a swamp. They have to walk to Camp Half-Blood, but Sally can't enter the camp because she's human. She makes Grover swear he will protect Percy. She leaves to distract the Minotaur, but it easily picks her up and she disintegrates similarly to Mrs. Dodds.
Percy, in a fit of rage, attacks the Minotaur and kills the monster, but it takes all of his strength. He passes out as the episode ends surrounded by people, including a centaur with Mr. Brunner's voice. He says, "Welcome to camp, Percy Jackson. We've been expecting you."
What an incredible first episode. Seeing this part of the story, something I've read so many times, play out as good as it is in The Lightning Thief is, just, incredible, awesome, and everything other word that means cool. I loved it, and I can't wait for the second episode. The good news is you can watch right now and read the recap for the second episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Continue to our recap of episode 2!
Episode 2 recap: "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom"
The second episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom," begins with Percy Jackson waking up in a cabin. Grover apologizes for what happened to Percy, his mom, and how everything happened. Grover was supposed to protect them, but Percy doesn't want to talk about it.
After storming out of the cabin promising to find his dad, Percy meets Mr. D, also known as Dionysus (Jason Mantzoukas), the God of wine-making among other things. He's the camp director at Camp Half-Blood, and Percy gives him a little bit of attitude before Grover convinces him that Mr. D is, in fact, a Greek God. Percy asks Mr. D how to find his father, but Mr. D messes with him. He claims to be Percy's father, but he keeps calling Percy the wrong name. Mr. D tries to get Percy to get him a fancy bottle of wine before Chiron, also known as Mr. Brunner, arrives to give Percy the whole breakdown of what's going on at camp, why he's there, and all of that jazz.
This is such a crucial part of the story. It sets up the rules, basically, in which the game of heroes is played. Percy learns all about his new sword, Riptide, what happens at camp, which cabin he's in, and why his father has not claimed him yet. Percy is sent to the Hermes cabin, where all the unclaimed children and those of Hermes stay while they're at camp. There, Percy meets Hermes' son, Luke Castellan (Charlie Bushnell), and gets a place to stay (a sleeping bag on the floor).
Grover, on the other hand, is summoned to the Council of Cloven Elders where he must explain what happened to Sally Jackson on his watch. He learns that his mother was not killed, but that Sally was taken by Hades for some reason. Chiron and Mr. D make Grover promise not to tell Percy that his mother was taken by Hades, but not killed. Not yet anyway.
In the middle of the night, Percy has another vision from the scary voice in the dark. The earth quakes and shakes, and it tells Percy that he wants justice. Percy wakes up to find Luke, who gives him the deets on the situation with Hermes, his place at camp, and how to obtain glory, the thing demigods want most of all. It's pretty clear that Luke is the man at camp, but Percy is developing a reputation and enemies. Clarisse La Rue (Dior Goodjohn), daughter of Ares, the God of War, starts messing and threatening Percy. No one can believe that he killed the Minotaur. Luke begins training Percy. As Percy sees it, if he gets glory, his father will have no choice but to claim him. A tall task for someone so green to the world of Greek Gods.
At dinner, Percy offers a sacrifice of burnt food to the Gods. He tries to talk to his mom, and he thanks her for preparing him for being on his own now. He tells her that he's made real friends at Camp Half-Blood.
Clarisse targets Percy again. The Ares kids trap him in the bathroom, and they try to give him a swirlie. Somehow, all of the water shoots out of the toilet and douses Clarisse and the Ares kids with water. Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) watches it all happen, and Percy introduces himself. She claims to be stalking Percy, and she said she's been waiting to see if Percy's powers would eventually reveal themselves... to help her win Capture the Flag. Likely story, Annabeth, likely story.
Before Capture the Flag, Luke tells Percy the story of the Great Prophecy and the pact made by the Big Three Gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. They swore to never have demigod children again, but Zeus broke the pact with Thalia. Luke reveals that he, Thalia, and Annabeth arrived at camp together after they found her in the wild. Luke also shares that Annabeth has been waiting for someone to arrive at camp who would help her fulfill her destiny, and Percy may be that person, but first, there's a game of Capture the Flag with no maiming or killing. Percy ends up on Annabeth and Luke's team.
Before Capture the Flash starts, Percy and Annabeth have a quick chat, and Annabeth reveals that Percy doesn't know how he fits into all this. Clearly, she knows something he doesn't, but then the games begin. Annabeth throws on her epic New York Yankees hat and disappears.
During the game of Capture the Flag, Percy is targeted by Clarisse and her minions from the Ares Cabin, which Annabeth expected and watches the whole thing. Percy gets his butt kicked, but also holds his own in some ways. He cuts Clarisse's spear into two parts, and she looks like she might kill him before Percy's team returns with Clarisse's team's flag.
At the end of the game, Percy is knocked into the water by Annabeth. Suddenly, the camp goes quiet. His wounds are healed instantly. A giant trident appears above Percy's head. He's been officially claimed by the God of the Sea, Poseidon. That explains all of the weird water-related things happening to Percy.
Percy learns that there's a feud between Zeus and Poseidon, who are brothers. Zeus's Master Bolt is missing, and Zeus claims there will be war between the gods if the Master Bolt is not returned by the Summer Solstice, which is in one week. Chiron and Mr. D suspect Hades, the third brother, is responsible for this. Percy doesn't want the quest, but Grover reveals that Percy's mom has been taken by Hades. Percy wants to get her back, and so it looks like the quest is on!
It's time for Percy to visit the Oracle of Delphi in the next episode. Continue reading for the recap of Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 3.
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.