'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' Episode 3: We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium

0:00 Hey, I'm Derek. And I'm Noah, and you're listening to A Bite of. Where we take our current favorite pop culture obsession and enjoy it 1 Nibble at a time. One nibble, third nibble of Percy Jackson. Technically our second nibble because we did a two and one the last episode. That is true third episode. Talking about it, we visit the Nome Emporium, one of my favorite titles of the first book. So good. Yay. So we're three episodes, and we have how many more 5. We're almost halfway. Five episodes left. Oh, but I'm very excited. So we are going to be breaking it down. Analysis is talking about funny moments, our favorite moments, how much we like it, how much we don't. That's not going to happen.

0:52 Interesting new revelations. But before we get into everything, have you thrown some stars our way? Have you blessed us like Percy and Annabeth and everything else? Bless their screens. Can you bless our podcast with some stars? That'd be great. On our way to 200 reviews, Patreon Discord, all that great stuff. Make sure you're subscribing as we release these right when the episode drops. At least the first four, because that's what we have screeners for. After that might be a little bit after, No. Yay. I want to say something on a personal note. I am battling some sort of food poisoning right now, so please bear with me if my energy is not top tier. Oh my God.

1:35 I'm going to try and get there though, you guys, so spoiler alert. Listen, they've changed a couple of little things up from the books to this adaptation, so if you don't want to be spoiled about those changes or what happens in episode 3, feel free to shut us off and come back later. No, don't shut us off. Keep listening and be spoiled sorry. Yeah, so there's tons of spoilers for the books and also new stuff. So yeah, so let us officially take a bite of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Episode three, we visit the garden Gnome emporium. In this Bite, directed by Anders Angstrom and written by Jonathan E Steinberg and Monica Oso, Breen Percy picks his prophecy, pals, a bus ride goes from stinky to fury, and the kids say no to getting stoned. Wow.

2:21 Say no dare. Was that your dare announcement? Is that what? It should have been and I should have based it all on Medusa. I would have won. OK, I do want to say though that like on the the first two episodes, I still can't get over like the end of the second episode when Grover went to Mr. D and Kyron and Percy and was like they're lying to you, your mom's still alive. I just love that. I just wanted to re say that because Grover to me is like the MVP of this episode. So I just wanted to mention that, yeah. Grover has a lot to deal with, OK? He's trying to keep the peace between the cloven elders and the people who run the camp, who also happen to be gods.

3:02 He's also trying to keep the peace between his two prophecy mates here, quest mates, and it's just a lot for one Seder to handle, but he's doing a fantastic job of. It he has quite a few songs to handle the situations. Which I think we should all learn and use in our grown up lives at work. I agree, just starts singing. Yeah, it starts with that slow clap and then everyone knows what's going on. So the beginning of this episode picks up with Percy going into the attic of the big house and getting the prophecy from the Oracle. Because it's not a quest unless the Oracle pretty much says so and gives you a prophecy. I love that they still kept it as smelly, Gabe being the one that delivers this information and Percy being like, oh, come on, are you serious?

3:46 Like. And I I think, like, having him in that green mist just kind of really shows the smelliness too. They haven't called him Smelly Gabe in the show, have they? No, I don't feel like they did. And I think he could look smellier. He could. I mean, he was sitting in that recliner that looks like he's been sitting there. There's like a depression in it. But like he could smell a little more, just like, But I loved, I feel like in this episode we're really seeing Walker Scoville really be Percy because the first two episodes of setting up a lot of the groundwork. And in this one we really could see his humor and his him being a kid, right? I think one of the things that he says to the Oracle is like, you're a Halloween decoration, OK?

4:31 And and then the Oracle opens its mouth as like. Yeah. It's like, oh, scarier than a Halloween decoration, OK? Yeah, and I I really like. I remember when we did a read through of the book Delphi the Oracle, we we noticed that the the prophecy rhymed, which is really cool. I loved that the prophecy rhymed, but they changed it for the show. In the book, we know all the lines. Percy just omits the last two from Chiron, but in the show they omit the last two from the audience. I remember whenever he was, they were first saying it and they only said the 1st 2:00. And I was like, wait, yeah, there's no way they're not doing it.

5:13 And then they showed us later. I was like, OK. Fine, yeah, I got it. I I really was kind of surprised about that as well. And I thought they're really plotting some points here for us as audience members to not really know it's coming up. Yeah, I liked. I liked the attic. I thought it was creepy enough. But I just love how Delphi was just sitting in that chair and just the one stream of light on them. It's like that's pretty terrifying for a kid to go to. Now, is that just some sort of vessel that Delphi comes into every so often, or is Delphi just always petrified in that chair? Let's just say there's something with the Oracle later on in the books. OK, we'll leave it at that. There's some things that I remember, and I definitely remember Delphi and Oracle stuff and. OK, just because I felt bad, that was my my main thing. Right.

6:00 It's like, why would the Oracle just be sitting? There, yeah, in the in a dirty old attic and can't have blood. Remember, not all gods are good. I think that's really the the main message of the entire series. Yeah, and I know that you have the Oracle's prophecy. I do to recite that. Should I just do the 1st 2 lines and leave everything else? Do it because I know that you like to do the rhyme, so it's fun. 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 one who calls you a friend, and you shall fail to save what matters most. In the end, oh, but I mean, you could have done it like smell like Gabe though. No, please. Don't listen. Born and raised in Queens, NY, I could do that. That heavy New York accent he was doing. You shall go West and face the God who was turned. You shall find what was stolen, see it safely returned. You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, and you shall fail to save what matters most in the end. There you go.

6:58 That was better. Thank you. Thank you. I'll be playing Smelly Gabe in Season 2. So one of the things that I know that we are really enjoying about the show is that they don't need to show us and tell us everything. They can all just do it with a line or just going there, right? Yeah, and that was one of the things that I appreciated about this opening scene was that we didn't need Chiron sitting down standing. I don't know if he ever sits with him standing. Yeah, he's a horse. And he being like, Percy, you now must go to the attic and talk to the Oracle. It was kind of like, oh, we're there, cool. We don't need any of that filler stuff. We get it right. I like that a lot. And he also said, I think Percy said in the attic, he was like, he was like, oh, it's not a true quest unless you say so. That's all we needed.

7:44 Damn, that's it. That one line told us what was going on. I'm curious, any of our listeners that are haven't read the book and are watching this for the first time, is it making sense to you? Because I know I did get a message. I think it was last week and somebody had asked was like what was with the the cut to black, like as if there was supposed to be an ad or a commercial. And like I explained, it was like they just, there's nothing, they just go to the next scene. Like I just think it's an editing choice. So I'm curious if it is working with some people or not, Yeah. Just kind of curious. There is something later on in this episode where I kind of felt that way. I mean, as far as the fading to black, I almost think a lot of times when things were on live TV, commercials were used as a break to get us to the next scene.

8:27 But now we don't have that. So what do we do? Yeah, now just. Go to blank, yeah. Just go to the next thing. Yep, the next scene is one of my favorite from this episode. So we have Chiron and Mr. D and Percy in front and then they have the best of the best tributes. That's what it felt like. From the cabins there, yes. And this is a little different, right? So like in the book, they're just talking and he's like, OK, who you want to take on a quest. And also I think somebody had already volunteered like Annabeth had already, just like Annabeth is going. She's been waiting. Right. And in this one, it seems like the person that gets the quest gets to choose, which makes a little more sense, right?

9:07 It's like, yeah, I want to choose who is going to go on this particular quest with me. And as Kyron's talking, he's just like Annabeth and I'm like, but like his reasoning. But not really. Yeah, no, not really. The reasoning later on when he was like, hey, I picked her because I we would never be friends and it's like and he didn't pick Luke with Annabeth because he felt like that might get in the way of like what needs to be done. And it's like I get your reasoning, but like the things you're saying are mean. I think as a 12 year old there's a lack of social filter and so Percy's just saying what's on his mind, just like people don't. Although, you know, it is kind of funny because it it did feel very much like The Hunger Games. Only these people want to be tributes, right? They want to go on it.

9:52 But like I would feel pressure to pick Clarice because she is already mad at me. I don't want to make her even more angry by not picking her, but that's not Percy. Percy's just he knows what needs to be done and he's not going on, you know, bullies versus feelings versus what. This person is going to act towards me at the end. He's just like, no, I need certain parts of the prophecy to not come true and therefore I'm picking these other people. Right. But he like, so he doesn't pick Luke and then he picks Grover. And it's like in the prophecy, it literally says somebody that calls you friend is going to betray you. And it's like, OK, let me bring my best friend with me. It's like. He's like Percy. The power of friendship will beat this prophecy, and you will never do that.

10:38 I'm not complaining because I love these three. The trio's amazing. I just love his reasoning for picking them. It's like, of course he's going to pick Grover because it's Grover, and then he picks Annabeth because he's like, she's great, but like, we're not going to be friends. So, like, I'm safe there. He just needs Grover to be that buffer between him and Annabeth, and he knows that no one else could do it like Grover could do it. The way that Annabeth looked at Percy, as soon as he said her name, she was just like, finally, because she's been waiting. Part of her prophecy is that somebody's going to come to camp that's going to get a quest that nobody can deny, even the quest receiver, and that something's going to happen with her. So it's happening for her too, right? And it's very important. I'm sorry.

11:20 You're just like singing every line of the song. Finally, finally it's happened to me right in front of my face. That's Anna Bethan. That's what she was saying, yeah. Finally you came along. The way I feel about you, it just can't be that's that gets into person, Beth. But anyway, yeah, you're just saying all the words and you were like finally it's happened to me. I was like, yeah, keep. Going No, I'm not the singer. You know that. But I do love, you know, him going out of his way. I I I can't imagine Percy standing in that circle of all these heroes and being like, OK, I'm done picking out of these people. I got to go to the Pegasus pasture. I wanted to know what that was like. Right?

12:01 Because we don't see. It just cuts to Grover shoveling Pegasus poo and like, is he just like, OK, I'm not going to pick any of you. I'm going to, I'm going to go to the fields. I have somebody that I want to pick. I just like, I wanted to see Clarice's face be like or are you talking like she's? Just staying there with her broken staff going, will anything go right for me again? I'm curious if like if there's any stipulations? Like are they usually supposed to pick other people from cabins? Like can you just pick a Pegasus instead of somebody else? You know what I mean? Like who can you pick? I guess it's up to the West. Person, right. I guess it was kind of like, Karen is like, look, I've gotten you the pick of the litter here. Do what you want? And he's like, no thanks. He said.

12:41 I'll take one. Thanks for. This I got other plans. But it was really sweet. I like how he was like, who'd you pick? And he's like you and he's like, no, seriously, who'd you pick? And he's like you. Of course you. I love them so much. We also guessing before they officially go on their quest of Luke giving Percy the shoes, the shoes from Hermes, which was very nice. And he lets him know he's like, I don't want to, like, pick you, because then like, what if it couldn't be done? What needs to be done? And I'm like, is that a friend? Somebody that calls you friend is going to betray you and you're talking to Luke? I mean, it would have been extra bad. Let's just say that.

13:22 But these shoes, holy shit, even better than just like, converse with wings on them, right? It's like when he says Maya, The shoelaces turn into wings. Yeah. Beautiful. There are just some things that when you see them, it's just like, oh, This is why people have those jobs, because that's just so smart and so clever. And in my head, it was always just wings. Well, that's what it was. And it's like, duh. That is so cool. Of course shoelaces would form the wings. Hello. It's just so cool. Just such a good smart design idea. Not me.

14:03 I mean like they look like paper. So it's so cool. I love that design. There is a like a high definition screenshot of it and it's just like, I don't know, it's amazing. It does look a little terrifying, but also really cool at the same. Time. It's mummification. A little bit bandagi. So they're going to start on their quest, right? And Annabeth is with Thalia, the tree form of Thalia and saying goodbye. And we get a little bit of the back story, right? I liked in this episode that, like, I believe in the book, it took a little longer. Like we we did hear bits and pieces and then it was like put together later on. I feel like in this episode it like hints at it and then it does tell you the full thing by the end of it, which I greatly appreciated.

14:47 So Grover tells Thalia's back story while Anabetha's over there, and essentially Thalia's father Zeus wished to preserve her life because she sacrificed her life to get Luke and Annabeth to camp half blood safely by turning her into a tree, which also created the magical barrier around camp half blood protecting everybody. So that's the daughter of Zeus in the tree form. Yeah, and and we do still have Grover omitting a piece of it here about who their guide is. Yeah. And later on, we do find out that it's Grover, which I love. How Percy at the end he's like, wait, you were the one. It's like, yes, Percy, dear God of. Course pieces together more quickly, Percy Jeez. But I think it's I don't blame Grover for omitting that part, because why would he want his best friend to see his greatest failure?

15:45 Oh, absolutely. There's there's guilt, there's shame, There's fear. And also now I'm going on a quest as your guide in essence, so I don't want to repeat what I did the last. Time and also when he got him to camp, his mom poofed, so like he's not doing too great. Yeah, not isn't have the best track record. I will say in the like the next couple stories, like outside of this one, Grover does like go through some shit and it's just like leave him alone, leave this little Go Goat boy alone, let him do what he wants like. Does he have to grow? But so I'd really do, like, this conversation. And when Annabeth finally comes to them and they're like, talking about it and Annabeth is like, this is how it's going to go. This is what we're doing.

16:27 And Percy's like, wait, so she thinks she's in charge? Grover's like, yeah, who did you think would be in charge? Would you? Yeah. You're a demigod for like, a week. He's like, I thought we would vote, no, no, not not going to vote. I I need to say one more thing about Grover before they even set off, he just goes, I'm going to pack the best snacks and this is another reason why you want Grover on your team. He's just always. Thinking he has music, he has snacks, he's thinking about the well-being. Absolutely. Yeah, of course I but I cannot mention that when Percy says I believe to Grover that he said that Thalia met a Pine Cone's fate and it's like dude, like he just told you that she sacrificed. Herself.

17:13 Maybe. Don't make jokes about their friend who sacrificed themselves. This is why though Annabeth can put him in his place like you need to put him in his place like he just found out about everything. He shouldn't be talking like. Yeah. And and right, there's there's also the their entire trajectory as little 12 year old people of that. You know Percy's LED this life outside all of this stuff where she has been completely steeped in this her and I mean since she was 7, right. So this is all she? Even before that, yeah. Yeah, so she's been training for years and Percy gets a Trident on his head and immediately gets to go out into the world again.

17:54 Oh, because he's a Big Three. Oh, for a forbidden child, he should not be given this much leeway. So for Annabeth, she knows everything, so he really should be listening to her. Yeah, he should 100%. Shut up. And he does. Later. So they finally head out in a very like Hobbit, The Unexpected Journey, where they just go into the field. I love that shot. I love these little kids so much. So they're going to take a bus, right? And we they finally tell us that they can't take a plane because that's Zeus's domain. And your favorite and child, Master Bolt is stolen, Do not go up in the air. So they're going to take more, slower modes of transportation to get to where they need to go. This is where when they get to their first stop, not even to Trenton yet, not hardly into New Jersey. And they do their first stop.

18:47 And now that's like, I'm going to go in and get snacks. You have to stay by the toilet because it smells and they can't smell you. And this is where we get the first consensus song because like, they just got or Grover. It's like the first day that he's with like his two friends on a quest. It's supposed to be fun and they won't stop bickering. And by the end of this day, one Grover's like, I'm done. I'm done, done with this. But the consensus song was so cute. I love it. The actor was on Broadway, right? So it makes sense that he got. Yeah, he should be able to sing as much as possible. But I do love Percy's underhanded comment, where he's like the voting system is broken. The voting system is my Collapsing Song, and that's it.

19:28 Deal with it. That's oh, these scenes with Annabeth out in the real world after five years from when she was 7, not being out there and seeing these shots of like her in New York and like just in wonder, and then going into the gas station and not really knowing what to get. So she just gets like, all the candy. It's just really sweet, but also kind of heartbreaking. It is, but I did enjoy. I think she made the right choice. When in doubt, get all the flavours. But were those gumballs what were? I think they were gumballs. What if they were jawbreakers? That's even worse. Last longer, at least as that. Did they pack toothbrushes? That I don't know. And you know, I was very concerned because when they leave camp, they all have their own little backpacks and everything, and by the end of this the backpacks are gone. So any toothbrushes or dental floss does not exist. But Annabeth is very keen, right? She she can see things that aren't really how they're supposed to be.

20:29 I believe there's a voice over when they were talking and you know the biggest thing is to spot the monsters before they spot you. And she is starting to spot some people that don't look very nice and who's on the bus misses Dodds. Electo. She is sitting there reading the paper. Yeah, she's sitting there reading the paper. And I really like this interaction because Annabeth is like, you know what? I'm going to tell her that? I know that she's here. She puts on the invisible cap and she's like, you didn't think I'd know that you were here and. I love that Electo. Who is this immortal monster? Fury is like, hello 12 year old girl. Let's have a very nice conversation about what's going on today. I'd like Electo is trying to make an offer with her, and at this point, Percy isn't really like, they're not super close, right?

21:18 So it's like, what is Annabeth going to do, 'cause she says that we're sent here from Hades. Give us Percy. We don't want to kill him, we just want to take him and then we'll help you with your quest, like you can keep doing your quest. It's not her quest anyway. It's not how it works, I think, But so this is where we get the second fight with the Furies, right? There's more than one Fury. There's supposed to be 3. I wasn't sure if there was three. I know there was 2. Yeah, I think there were only two. There was some mayhem going on here. Very hectic busting into that bust. That was pretty baller. There's some really cool, like short, massive action scenes, right? It's like things getting destroyed really quick and then done and then on to the next scene. But it was really cool and Annabeth just throwing her dagger straight into that fury.

22:07 Done bye bye. Loved it. Yeah, so good. Then they're on the run, and they find themselves in the treacherous wilderness of New Jersey, where they're barely out of the city but have ended up in the forest. We literally said, yeah, when we were covering this book, when they're in the forests of New Jersey, it was like, does New Jersey have forests? And Percy said I didn't know New Jersey even had forests. Yes, I don't think they do they. I mean, New Jersey has forests, but I don't think right outside of Manhattan. Right. They're not at Trenton yet. So where is that? I don't know. My father was born in Trenton, so maybe he'll know. That doesn't help us, doesn't help us at all.

22:49 So in the forest we Grover is like talking about that There's a Seder path and everything. But we do have a interesting again, bickering between Annabeth and Percy, where she keeps talking about why are you so afraid of who you are? You're part of something bigger, like, and I feel like she thinks that he's not taking it serious, but also not leaning into, like you are the son of a God. Like, you need to understand what's happening here. And I don't think you're understanding this like there's a huge thing happening, like war could happen if we don't succeed. Yeah, but I think for Percy, it's really about his mom. Yeah, well, he needs to, like, set two priorities, right? He needs a multitask. Brought in your horizons, Percy not just thought about you and mom, OK?

23:35 God. Well, he does bring up Athena, right? He brings up Athena in this, and it's just like he's jabbing at Annabeth. This is Percy, right? He he acts a lot right without not necessarily thinking, but he's like kind of jabs a little bit. It's like a leap before he looks. Exactly. Exactly. And this is where we find out about the Thalia stuff. So let's get to Medusa. On to Auntie Em and her gnome garden gnome emporium. Love the way it looked at first. I was like, is that a gas station? It did kind of look that way. Electo is here, Medusa is here, our trio is here. And I love this change from the book because in the book it was like, oh, we smell food, we need food, let's go get some food.

24:18 And this one, with Electo being there, she kind of forces them to go into. It's like picking which one are you going to do? Yeah, the flexor of two evils. Yeah, and I love that they immediately knew it was Medusa because in the book it was like, oh, she's Medusa, we need to run. And this one, it's like, no, she's she's Medusa. They're just like monster statues. This woman is hiding her face and Electo is hiding. Which again, I think makes more sense, right? And because at least for Grover and Annabeth, they know all this stuff. So walking into Anti M's and seeing all these stone statues, I don't think it would be going like, what's going on here? They're like, oh. Gosh. OK, everybody look away. Look away.

25:00 My favorite part about that, though, is that like Grover, Annabeth, and Electo all look away and then Percy's like, oh oh oh, I'll do that too, like he has no idea what's going. It's like emergency dabbing in the moment. No idea what's happening. No. But I love this conversation, right? Because it's like, she plays to like their sympathies in a way, of like, oh, I know what's going on. We've heard about this. Like, I'm just going to get you food. Like, come in, Like, I understand what's going on. The gods suck. Like, come on, don't go with her. She's you could either stay with her and she'll kill you or whatever, or I can feed you, you know, I really liked her house. It was dark because she had all the blinds and curtains and everything drawn, and I think that's really interesting, especially for Medusa, right? Maybe she doesn't want people to see her before she sees them that way.

25:51 In case she does need to turn them, she can. She needs everything to be a surprise. Right. And that's what it very much feels like. I love Grover and Percy immediately eating in the kitchen. There's three milkshakes. So it's like she's really going all out. Like, regardless of what happens in this episode, she really goes it's like feed them, which is kind of nice. It feel to me the entire scene felt very Hansel and Gretel. It was like, yeah, children, come inside, enjoy yourselves, there's no danger at all. Well, OK, so no, not at all. And the way that they did this conversation was so good. This is probably my favorite writing so far than the show because they changed Medusa for the show and you sympathize with her, terrified of her.

26:37 And also it was just like, yeah, the gods are also monsters. Because she tells Annabeth and I love that there's like this counterculture happening almost. Or like Annabeth is very much into pleasing her mother very much in that culture, praying to her everything. And Medusa, who is Medusa because of her mother, tells her her story. And it's really upsetting because she prayed to her, she worshipped her. She was devoted to Athena. And she tells Annabeth, I was you like I was you. I wasn't like something else. And they're like, was you? And this is what happened to me. She was.

27:18 She's like in her temple, worshipping her. Poseidon romances her Athena is embarrassed, so she punishes Medusa. Right, and not Poseidon. It's victim blaming. And that line where she says not him, me and I was like OK and you know Medusa apologist, I don't. She could do no wrong. The the character of Medusa in this instance is really interesting because I'm trying to figure out what her ultimate end goal is here. And you know, as she's telling the story of what happened to her, it feels very much like her saying to these kids, we're all just pawns of the gods.

27:59 You can send as much food up to them as you want, but they're going to do whatever they want to you and look at you right now, because someone else stole something, you are now in trouble and you are now risking your life. And that's what happened to me. But at the end of it, she's still luring them in here, right? And like you said, Athena is Annabeth's mother, Poseidon, who romanced her or raped her basically, as they're getting to here is Percy's father, right? So wouldn't that be the ultimate revenge, to change them into stone? Yeah, I mean it, it's interesting, right? Because she but she does say lines like, you know, we are our parents. So like I'm curious how far she was going to go because she also does talk about how like I can't be bullied anymore, like I got a gift from the gods and it's to not be bullied anymore and she can turn people to stone that she wants to, right. So I think there is some conflict going on with herself and I don't know if she really knows what she's supposed to be doing, but she's doing what she's doing right? Because up top in her garden is monsters. Down below in her basement seem like regular people holding a cake.

29:08 Uncle Ferdinand kids, just people, right? I keep hitting my water bottle. I'm going to move it. So it's interesting. I I'm not. I'm not sure. But I think that ultimately people that may have seen her as a monster, she has turned to stone, right? And she might have given them the chance but they didn't take it. I I think it's really interesting because we have Percy who like doesn't have a relationship with his father, isn't too sure if he wants one, right? And it's like him waiting the wreckage of his father this whole time. So it's like does he really care? He does. But not like Annabeth sees her mother. And so for her to get that perspective, I think is tremendous growth for these characters, especially 12 year olds, right? It's like she loves her mother and it's like, oh, my mother did this, She thinks she's lying.

30:00 She's not lying. Why would reduce a lie in this aspect? But it's it's interesting, right? Being in front of this person who you've always seen as a monster, telling you the truth of what happened to them, or at least their side of their perspective of it, and you going, oh gosh, but that goes against everything I've been taught my entire life. So how does Annabeth deal with that, right? You know, and I think that is part of her growth of, you know, her maybe wondering that, oh, maybe my mom isn't so perfect. Yeah, I hope she does. I mean, she, you know, we in this scene or in this, this episode, you know, we still still see that, you know, the cap that her mother gave her is very important to her. And like, Percy doesn't really see it at first, but it is important to Annabeth.

30:42 Even if Annabeth isn't going to outright say it, Grover has to say it. So I think there is that thing that both these demigods are going through of I want my parents approval, but maybe they're not the best people to get approval from, so maybe I should look elsewhere. That's I mean, it's honestly, it's a very real problem, I think. I think that's a human problem to go through. Even when your parents aren't Greek gods. I think you for a long time can put your parents on a pedestal, but then at some point you might realize that they're not perfect after all. Agreed. And So what does that mean for you when it kind of breaks the image you've always had of them? The and we just want to talk about Jessica Parker Kennedy for a second. When we got to talk to the costume designer Tish Monahan about this particular thing, also the production designer, they both really talked about the Medusa stuff and I feel like they had so much fun with it, right? I love that Tish was talking about one the veil, right? They wanted something that was like classic, but also fit with the character.

31:46 Make sure you listen to our behind the scenes episode because she also talks about how she had to like move the veil last. Minute. The veil panic. Yeah, but she talks about how like she wanted her outfit, like her gown, to resemble like that traditional Greek look of like a statue. And I think they nailed it. I love that colour because it's not grey, it's not like off white or pink. Yeah, it's like stone. It's well, it's like Stone just looks fantastic. And she was so good as Auntie Em. Like you don't see her face at all until the end, and only for like maybe a minute. But the way that she was able to get you to care for her, get terrified of her, sympathize with her and everything without even seeing her face? Fantastic.

32:34 Yeah, Stinks look great and Oh yeah, they did. They're very cool. I liked and a couple of the close up shots that she still had the head on, they weren't like going crazy snaky, you know? They were just like lightly coiling with themselves. I. Think they had said something about that, right? They said that like, they didn't, they wanted it to act like hair or like an extension of her and not like, I mean, let's face it, like the movie, right? It's just they're just like, yeah, just crazy. And also, I'm so glad there was no iPod involved in this because in the movie they use an iPod to defeat Medusa is just so. Bad. Well, that's that's one of the things that I loved about it. I mean if you think about the the look of the Emporium, right, it is sort of like a a fifties 60s rest stop and I think she even encompasses that. Even take thinking of the name Auntie M, like the Wizard of Oz Auntie M.

33:25 It's all sepia tone. It's all you know, classic looking. There is no technology in this place except for maybe the neon anti M sign. Everything is just a classic home. She's dressed classically and I think she's sort of living in this moment of the past and even when she takes the hat off, she's still beautiful. Yeah. And and I think that's yeah, her eyes and and she's not this monster, right. She's someone who's been cursed. And so the beauty is still there. But if you look at the beauty you will be punished. So again, it's it's keeping her in this cage. How do you feel about, do you think that she loved Athena like more than like a deity? Because I got kind of like sapphic vibes a little bit, just the way she was talking about.

34:12 And I think that's where it gets a little like when you read Greek mythology, it's like everything seems gay because of like, how much they, like, devote themselves to things. I was just curious about that. I'm like, did she, like, love her that way? Like, I wouldn't. I wouldn't mind. I'm just saying. I'm just curious. Well, you know, look, I think as far as the gods and the monsters are concerned, as we, I think we've spoken about this before. Sexuality is just not a thing. Oh, I think it came up when we were talking about Thor, actually. Oh, yeah, our bisexual God. And and maybe it's been more of a look, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, maybe. Runs on the family. But I think that that it kind of runs through mythology in that there is love and there is devotion and it doesn't have to be defined by man, woman, God, human, monster, whatever.

35:01 It just is. Gorgon. Golgon. That's true. OK, that's beautiful. I like that. Yeah. I just. I kind of, I like. I'm always curious about that. Like how far they tip their toes that way. Like, especially with retellings of Greek mythology. It's like, are they going to do it more of like a devotion, like a life thing or love thing? And I think it's hard to tell. But I think either way, it's kind of beautiful to like, I don't know, just devote yourself that way, especially when you're not getting anything. It's just like how how? How does that work? Well, I mean, if I need something, if you think of people who devote their lives to modern religions, a lot of the leaders like priests and nuns, that's the whole thing, that they're so in love with God that they can't love anyone else and that's why they have to remain single and celibate. I mean teach their own but like.

35:53 I need something, but it's an interest. That's that's exactly it, right? It's this ultimate faith, and I think that that's what Medusa had. And to be scorned by the person that you have the ultimate faith towards and devoted yourself to is what makes it even harder. And especially the wrong person. It's like, why would you think that Medusa, the person that is so devoted to you and is doing offerings and worshipping you, would embarrass you also embarrass, You know what I mean? It's just like the use of that word, too. It's like, why would you think she would do that? Like, why wouldn't you look at Poseidon? Well, like Poseidon is the monster. Here 100%, and I mean that's the thing with these gods, is that they're always self-serving.

36:35 So even if you look at Zeus and Hera, Zeus continually cheated on Hera. And what did she do? She would punish the women that he was adulterous with. So I. Think they need to do some critical thinking. Yeah, and I don't think they're very good at that. They're very selfish and it's all about them. I mean, it does kind of go to like, not to bring up Talia the tree, but like Talia is like the daughter of Zeus. And I like how Percy was like, OK, so he turned his daughter into a tree, like he couldn't do anything else since, like fair. But also, she's right there. He couldn't lightening her back to life. Or, I don't know, intervene? Yeah, and it's, you know, let's get into it. So these these people, these children, spend their lives offering things and devoting quests to their parents who never show up and then can't even help them when they're about to die.

37:37 They can only inadvertently help them, which is very frustrating. How about instead of changing her into a tree, you make a tree fall and block the monster's path? There you go. Is that too much to ask Zeus? Your lightning? What's that, Master Bolt? For you had it at that time. I mean that this is, this is a theme, right? This is like one of the major themes throughout this entire series. And there is a character that that's like their whole motivation. It's misunderstood and misguided, but that's their whole motivation. And I'm really excited to get to that because I feel like these characters, especially Annabeth now meeting that or somebody telling them, right, like your mother did this to me, like your mother's not all powerful and all great, like she makes mistakes. I'm very excited for them to come into contact with that because I think Percy is like, not totally sold on his dad. Like he wants his approval and he like, wants him to recognize him, but like, also is kind of like my mom better. I'm going to, like, go do that.

38:38 So I'm very excited to get to that stuff. But they're still little tiny children, so they need to kill more monsters. Yeah. And and I think you're right and and the fact that they're 12, whereas I think if they were a little older and a little more hormonal and a little more angsty teenagers, there might be a different reaction. Yes, a little more stabby and not listening than like. A little more like I'm going to turn on my rock music and be angry in my room. They're not there yet. Yeah. No, they're they're doing the clapping consensus. Yeah, so the fight with Medusa, or should I say just kind of like handling her thing. I loved it. I loved them being down in the basement with all those statues of, like people and just normal people and having to figure out how we're going to do this right.

39:23 I loved the use of the invisible cap. It was so good because I can't see her, so she can't turn me into stone. Annabeth so quick. She's just, she just stands there, invisible and she's like, peep. It's so good. I mean. She is the daughter of the Goddess of Wisdom. It just makes sense. It it really does. After they have after Percy finds her head on the floor invisible. Glad the cap stayed on. Lucky imagine it didn't he like reaches. Oh. What you didn't see was that Annabeth pulled the snake through the back of the cap so that it stayed on. Tied a knot. Exactly.

40:04 Because they're they're still moving, I would assume, right? Because the power still works? Yes, still alive. It is an interesting thing with Medusa. Well, because I think in the book, I don't think they've said it yet in the show, but like, even though when you kill a monster, they turn to golden dust and then they can come back later, Some of them, you can get trophies from them. So like the Minotaur Horn Medusa's Head. So what's is? Is Medusa just going to grow a new head, or is her head just going to roll back to her body eventually? I mean, I think you could put it back together, right? So. Or if you destroy both of them, then she could come back. I don't know how it works. Me either.

40:44 It was, yeah. I think we're just figuring this out together. Rick. Becky. Oh my God, I'm sorry. I wanted to like, I'm going to go back to the bus thing for like one second because I think one of the things we were curious about was like, how does the miss look to people? Because we don't really get that in the book until, like, way later. But when elected, was like going back to the back of the bus to meet them, and that guy was like bumping into Megan Mullally. It was like she wasn't electo, but she just kept doing. Yeah, like bumping. Also, I do love that this entire Medusa scene electo is just like standing in the garden with her wing over her face. She. Stayed there the whole time, but also. Waiting. Fair She's already gotten dusted once she got snapped.

41:28 Thanos. Well, this. The scary thing is, is that it's like I'd you'd rather get dusted than look into Medusa's eyes, because then you're stuck like that forever. Stuck like that forever. Yeah, When she does, she does, but she does break. So I'm curious, right? It's like Electo, we know does come back at some point. So she was turned to stone at the end of this. But then she smashes. But she was like flying midway, so like half of her got smashed. I'm curious if she will come back. I don't know how it works. We'll find out. Yeah, that's true. We will find out. So before they get back up from the basement, right, Grover is literally talking about Uncle Ferdinand. And he's like, he doesn't look scared, He looks proud and brave and it's a really nice moment for Grover.

42:14 And then Percy and Annabeth start fighting again, guys in front of his dead uncle. He's mourning. Listen, OK, So what we've learned about these kids is that they do not look at grief the same way, and they don't let people grieve. There's just their own pride on the line here. Also, Percy's like kill count is up to three right now. He has thousands more to go, but like I'm keeping Tally, he's up to three at the moment, so it's like I think he's disassociating from death alone. Yeah. And I think that, you know, when you know that they're just going to come back at some point, you don't even feel that bad about it. Yeah, but they finally, like, Percy sings the consensus song and they all come back together. But it wasn't before Grover was fed up with them, right? I love the the exchange between Annabeth and Percy. And he's like, you wouldn't even tell us what Alexa was talking about.

43:09 Like, what does she mean the offer and stuff? And she's like, she offered it. So I did this and she was like, what did Medusa talk to you about? And she's like, she offered to take you guys out. So I cut off her head, you know? So it's just really great that they like, oh, like we didn't trust each other, but we do trust each other because we killed for one another. Friendship. Friendship. It's. Just the little tiny sparks of Persimbeth that are happening. And I, you know, as far as series and movies go, I love when characters are just honest with each other. They're not like, holding secrets from each other and they're going to find out later and be mad about it. It's like, no, this is what Electo said this one would do, said, All right, let's keep going. They have to, right?

43:50 It's like you're going to be on this quest together. You guys have to have some trust. The scene with Percy carrying the invisible head of Medusa up to go get Electo was really sweet because, like, you just saw, I was going to say Percy, Beth, you just saw Annabeth. Just kind of like, oh, like he's capable like this. Maybe I was a little too hard on him. Great. So it's just a little tiny. Twinkle of like really good friendship and like Persebeth brewing. And believing in each other. But let's also talk about the hand acting of Walker Skova. This is the head. Always here it. Is. I'm curious if you had something. Like a green screen, head right to always make it the same size. Because that would be hard.

44:35 Yeah. Is this right? Is this how big? This big. OK, we have to end this episode on a jump scare. Slash. I love that they did it. Jump scare. So, Percy being impertinent. I love that I am impertinent. They're like they'll find this impertinent he's like I am. Impertinent he is. That is, that is the through line of the Percy character. 100. Percent I am impertinent. So he uses Hermes Express to ship Medusa's or ship Medusa's head to Mount Olympus. And I love that, he says. Best wishes. Percy Jackson Heart stars and horseshoes, yeah. And we get to see Hermes, Lynn Manwell, Miranda. I was not expecting that Hermes of the Hermes Express was the one that was delivering the packages. Yeah, of course it would.

45:30 I thought he had like a. This package he probably would. That makes sense. Like if it was anything else, he was like, I can't wait. I got to do this one. They're going to love this. But like his first lines are singing, which it's like, we we get it, he did. Hamilton he. Should have been rapping. But did not expect him. As soon as I saw him, I was like Lynn, OK Lynn. And in the books, we actually don't meet Hermes until the second one. Yeah. So I like that they included him here, but I know there is a picture that was released with their like character announcements that he's in the casino. So I'm curious if he's going to kind of weave in a little bit more in the first one.

46:11 I don't mind it. Right, Yeah. I don't mind it either. And I think that, you know, when we had spoken about the book, we said that the chapters were very episodic, right? But I think what they're doing here is that they're weaving those chapters together a little more, having people talk to each other like Electo and Annabeth. And I think him appearing later is just kind of taking the threads of certain characters and really stitching them throughout. One of the things that we got to ask the creators and showrunners and directors was like, how did you take a 5 Plus spin off series book and like just do it season by season, right? It's like were you pulling things from like the future to like make it make more sense for whatever? And they said they didn't really, right. It's like they kind of just stuck with it. But there are some characters that like it doesn't change much when you see them here for their impact later on. But I think it's just more for us to be familiar with them, right?

47:10 It's like they already casted Lin Manuel Miranda, so you've got to use them at some point. But I don't think they casted Thalia yet. So it's interesting, right? It's like who are they going to make come in a little earlier and who are they going to do later? But so Hermes is one of them. I just loved it. I love that the he put the key in the 600 button came up. There's no other buttons, just 600. And he was like, guys, you got to see it. I it also reminded me of when we were able to interview the cast and it was asked, you know what God's would you be if you could be any Greek God. And I think Walter Walker Scobell said I would be Hermes just so I could be Lin Manuel Miranda. Fair.

47:50 I am a little disappointed though. So in in the second book, when you first meet Hermes, he's like in a jogging outfit. Someone, I mean, I would have loved to see him, but him in his work outfit going up to the Olympus just as great Yeah does. It it was a great little Stinger for sure. This episode was probably my favorite so far of the three. I'd loved it. I think there's so much character development and back story and building with these characters. It's like the first two is introduction and like laying the groundwork for the general world. This one was like, OK, we need to get them to like hate each other that like each other. And it's all about building trust from there. Yeah, it's like we have to believe this trio of friends. And I think the exciting thing about this is that it is really a road trip adventure.

48:34 So every episode we're going to be in a new place, seeing something new and exciting. So I think that's really something to look forward to, which I think makes every episode feel like its own thing rather than them just at camp half pled for eight episodes. Well, that's the thing, right? It's like how? Because in the book they're not really there that much. And Cam Hafler, but how do you show enough of it to make an impact to where you can then get to the main part of the story, right, is the quest. That's where most of the stuff happens. So I think having it in like 1 full episode was enough. Like, I think you got enough of it and you understood it and we're going to go back there at some point. If it gets a second season, hopefully.

49:15 I bet it should it. Didn't have like 13.3 million viewers or something like that. It's going to get a second season for sure. Just do season three while you're at it. Disney get on it right now. We all know these kid actors. They they change real quick. Yeah, so this is my favorite episode. So far so good. I'm very excited for the next episode. These next couple episodes are going to be insane. But the Saint Louis Arch seems to be one that's going to be very fun. Very excited for that. Yeah, and I'm actually hoping, well, I'm, I'm looking forward to seeing if they're going to do that whole polluted water scene where the water nymphs is trying to talk to him. Water spirit. I think they are because on the soundtrack they did say water spirit. There you go.

49:58 So we're going to get it. So spoilers. The Chimera and Echidna are next. Angry little poodles or Chihuahuas or. Whatever. Sunny. Sunny the Chihuahua, here we go, destroying national monuments. That's what Percy Jackson does. We also need to see if there's going to be that whole through line of Gabe being on the news and everything. I think this is what? Well, yeah, I think this would probably be when they start. Because it starts with the bus, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Oh, we stopped to see the fates. Oh yeah, Fates. I thought that was going to happen on this bus ride. Oh, interesting. Very interesting. What's on next? Week. Lots of surprises. Goodbye.