'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' Episodes 1 & 2 Review

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. Yay oh. Percy Jackson, I made myself stumble because I said current. And then in my head I said like the ocean. And then I said, uh oh, you're doing something. Don't think too far off. Well, you let it out. Still did it. So we're finally here. We read the book. You guys were with us when we did that. We did press. We saw the episodes ahead of time. We we actually have the screeners for the first four episodes.

0:43 But we're waiting, right? We're we're savouring this. We we've watched the first two episodes, obviously twice, twice. It's really hard to not just keep going. I really want to keep going. But now we're here, the premiere, it's happening. It's, yeah. Yes, it's very exciting. I feel like we have really been on our own epic quest to get to this moment and rereading the books and talking about it so much. So I'm so thrilled that it'll finally be out in the world and we can talk about it. Oh my God, we can finally talk about it. We had to be so cryptic and our behind the scenes and all the interview stuff and our pre review of these two episodes, it's been you know, people would be like what happens?

1:24 I'm like, no, can't tell you. I'll give you a spoiler free review. It's Percy Jackson. But so we're finally here. So before we get into everything, we're still on our way to 200 reviews. We're getting up there, so throw some stars our way. Leave a little review. If you like, our Percy Jackson stuff, if you're like us, whatever you want to do, just do it. Page, Ron. We got a page, Ron. We have fun stuff going on there. We are going to be releasing that video of us taking those quizzes to see what cabin we're in time, so stay tuned for that. But I mean, massive spoiler warning and we're covering the first two episodes. It's the two episode premiere, right? We're not going to release 2 separate episodes.

2:06 Let's just do it all in one. This is a double serving of a bite of Oh my so let us officially take a bite of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Episode one I accidentally vaporized my pre algebra teacher and episode 2 I become supreme Lord of the bathroom. Oh, these titles are so much fun. They're so good and they're taken right from the chapter headings. In the book, So Good if you that was one of our favorite things about rereading this is they were very clever, but they were a lot of fun. Sometimes it was just like we captured a flag. It's like, cool, we got it. But in this one it's they were very selective with which titles they used, and both of them are from the book. 100% And so in episode one, which is written by Rick Reardon himself, Jonathan E Steinberg, and Daphne Olive, directed by James Bobbin, we meet young Percy Jackson, who eventually stabs his math teacher. He and his mother take a wild trip to Montauk where he rides a tidy, Whitey clad minotaur, turning it to dust. I know I I thought I wrote it so it didn't sound like that. But then reading it out loud, it did sound like that. But that's not how I meant it.

3:18 Yeah, no, I mean, we have feelings about the Minotaur. Have you listened to our episode on that one? And you know what though? I think the world has feelings about the Minotaur because they made sure that those tighty whities were real. Yeah, and I also think there's something people were saying like Minotaur Bay and stuff like that. So it's like, it's fine. People get it. We were just reading the description, so if that's what you took. From it. That's what you took from it. All right. So the first episode, one of the things from our talking with the cast and creators and all of these people and especially Rick and Becky Reorden had specifically said if the relationship between Sally and Percy don't work, the show doesn't work.

4:01 And when I really liked about the first episode is they made it work because really, I want to say this series kicks off with Percy and his mom having a conversation. So we see younger Percy at the beginning of this episode. He's like in second grade. And I like seeing this because in the book he talks about how like his field trips went bad and he kept going from school to school. But we can finally see that happening a little bit. And there's a conversation with a young Percy and his mother, and they're in front of the Percy, a statue. And he's like, is that why you named me Efraim? Because he's a hero. And she's like, well, not everybody that looks like a hero is a hero. And not everybody that looks like a monster is a monster, which is a great way to teach your kid about things that don't judge everything that looks. But I just, I love and I feel like it's going to be like the sentiment throughout this whole series is, she says, old, fast and brave the Storm Perseus.

4:58 And it comes full circle at the end of this episode. And it's just so good. So good. Yeah, I really enjoyed the beginning of this episode because I feel like it echoes a lot of what we said about the first chapter of the book where Percy is talking directly to you. Oh yeah. So that's how it begins. He's like, listen, if you're like me, if this is what you've gone through, things might not be what you think after all. And so we are giving an introduction to who Percy is and how he talks immediately, right off the bat. And like, you're saying something that solidifies Percy and who he is is his mother. And so good. I I really did enjoy that throughout this episode. We got to sit with her. We got to see more of her and to understand her a little bit more in their relationship. Yeah, I believe the actor's name is Virginia Kroll. Great, Fantastic.

5:47 I don't think I've seen her in anything else. I need to look it up. She looks familiar, but I'm not sure, but really great. I feel like for me in these first two episodes, that relationship and anytime they were on screen together was the high point for me. Rest of stuff is very good, but it's just they really sold the emotional weight of what they're talking about in there. And I have something to say whenever they get to Montauk. But before we get to that, we really get these first two episodes, this first episode in particular, again, we're seeing the story kind of in Percy's point of view. We hear words, we see things. But because Percy doesn't really know what any of that means, we still don't know as viewers what that means, right? And so he talks about how, like, he daydreams. He has dyslexia and you can't really think straight. Everything's jumbled.

6:38 And he thinks that all of the things he's seeing aren't real. They're real, but he thinks they're not real. Which brings us to the Met. And this is really where the series kicks off. We get our first look at Kyron. So good, Glenn. Every. I love that in Percy's young life, everyone around him is very heavy-handed. And letting him know that he's special, like his mom has that whole speech with him at the statue. Chyron's like, things are not, you know, whatever he's saying, like, even Grover's like, don't, you know, lean into it. It's OK. They're not worth it. It's like everybody is like, oh, Oh my gosh, no, Percy, don't do this, Don't do that. And it's like, he doesn't realize that.

7:20 He just like, oh, I just have really wonderful people around me. But they're doing it for a. Reason. Yeah, Chyron is very heavy-handed with like, I believe in you. You'll get this stuff. You need to get this stuff or you'll die. By the way, here's a pen. Take this pen also. I think The funny thing about seeing this stuff in live action is like, some of that stuff happens in the book, right? And he was his pencil broke because he was writing something and then he gives him the pen, which we know is riptide his sword when he uncaps it. And I'm like, what if he just what if he was going to finish his school work like a good student? And then? Write through that clipboard. It would have been a much different fate for Nancy Bubba fit in that moment. Oh my God.

8:02 Speaking of her the worst. She was in two scenes and I hate her. I was. Going to say she was in there for like probably a total of 2 minutes and I hated every second of it. So well done to that actor. You know, to make an effective bully, you just have to have somebody that is just so rude for no reason, right? Like she just hates Percy because he's there. Yeah, this is Olivia Morton, who plays this character. Well, good job. Kudos. You have a bright future ahead of you as the bully. So what did you? What did you Before we get to Mrs. Todd's and her reveal? What did you think about the initial interactions between Grover and Percy or Walker and Aryan?

8:50 I love their relationship. There's one thing in particular that I really appreciated that they don't speak about. It just happens. So when they finally sit down at the fountain to have their lunch, they both open their sandwiches without saying anything. So you know, this is something that they've done before. And Grover, as we know, is as we know, a Seder. And so he loves nature, so he's not going to eat an animal by product. So Percy takes his cold cuts, he takes, well, I guess he takes the cheese, he's not vegan. And they they switch their sandwiches. So right there we're seeing that they they have a routine together. There's like an understand. Exactly. They understand each other. There's something that they've done before. So that relationship is really there.

9:30 And I just think that they're both just, I mean, they're just cute, the two of them together. So I I really like that. They're fantastic. I really liked them showing us. They're in there like cafeteria at Yancey Academy and they're playing with the Mytho Magic cards, which I'm assuming are. We didn't get a name, but I think they are. And when we get our first glimpse of the Minotaur. But though those scenes I think are important for to establish as viewers, they have a connection, they're best friends and they're in it together. And it's his first kind of found family member. It was the first one that became his friend because we saw second grade and he didn't really have any friends. So the story is very much about that self discovery and finding those people that you can kind of take along your journey or your quest with.

10:16 Which I think is what makes. So they do a bit of a switch up here after the whole Nancy situation, but Grover kind of throws him under the bus, which is like kind of a it's basically a knife in the back for Percy. And so by seeing how close they were to see Grover do that to him, it's like shattering his world a little bit. And mine, I because it doesn't happen in the books. And I'm not saying everything has to happen, obviously, But like, I didn't expect it. I thought they were just going to be like, oh, whatever, because he does still get kicked out anyway. But like, for him to do that, I was like, I know why you're doing it, But Percy's face, when he was like Grover, I was like. Grover. You're supposed to protect him physically, mentally and emotionally.

11:00 So let's talk about Megan Mullally AKA Missus Dodds, AKA Alekto. So one of the Furies from Hades I. She sold it from the first look. Looked fantastic. She hated Percy with a passion. Sided with Nancy. Red flag right there, but the transition, the mist falling away and her going from misses Dodds to the Fury. The leather jacket into the wings. Wow, how dare you? Oh, so good. I just like how she, like, slinked through the kids. But every time she took a step, the wing would come out. I was like.

11:42 I said she was knocking kids out of the way, too. So good, I fantastic. Like I didn't need any more. I was going to say a spoiler, I don't need it anymore, but I think it was a good introduction of like there are things happening underneath our noses but we just don't know about it. And poor Percy, just like not understanding anything. But very good. I think for the first monster introduction, fantastic visual effects killed it. Yeah, I agree. I thought it was a really slick scene. I love the transformation. And I, you know, I think that this, like you said and I and I feel like it really does set the tone very much like in the Percy Jackson books where he's in the dark and we have I I remember when I first read that in the book, I felt like I was like, wait, what's happening? Why is she doing this?

12:34 Why is she doing this? Why is this math teacher being like this? And so it's it's confusing for everyone around. And I think that they really did that in this as well to achieve that goal. One of the things we find out with this is so there's a mist like a veil that keeps the mortals away from the magical world and a really cool detail that they did in this. And I'm not exactly sure, but I know in the books this happens. We're going to reference the books a lot. Spoiler, but after he stabs misses Dodds the Fury and she disappears, you can see another person comforting Yancey. Yancey. Nancy. Nancy Yancey, Academy. And in the books when he does that and he kind of like comes to and he's talking about Misses Dodds, Everybody's like, who's misses Dodds?

13:20 This is our algebra teacher. So it's a really cool thing that they did and they just followed through with it. But I think the more we'll find out about the mists, it's very interesting, right? It only shows what it needs to show. But there's something that happens later on when Grover's like, he usually doesn't hide that from me. So somebody really powerful is manipulating. That's which I think we can. We can guess who's doing that. So this brings us to one of the characters. I was really interested in seeing how they were going to do it, and that's Mele, Gabe, Percy's stepfather. I hate him just as much in the books, but I loved that they changed it from him playing poker with his friends to him having no friends and playing poker online. Yes.

14:06 He's playing poker online, but I did like that there was a poker table against the wall behind him, so it's almost like there was a time when he had friends. But they're gone now. And on the TV and on the TV there's horse races. He's even betting on that. I was, I was really putting the character together and when he stands up, you see that he is wearing a button down that he has tucked into sweatpants. And I'm like, you could tell this guy's ridiculous because he's wearing a button down in sweatpants and I am wearing a button down in sweatpants right now. You didn't have to tell people about the bottom. Well, yeah, Well, exactly. So, you know, whatever he's doing, I don't know if they. Is there a video component to online poker? I don't know.

14:48 But no, he's doing a little bit of, you know, business on top, party on the bottom. Well, he tells Sally and Percy that he's working. So, like, I think that's what he thinks is working. But also, we're not in quarantine anymore, so you can't really. Yeah, don't do that. He takes work from home, you know, very loosely. But he's an asshole and I don't like him very well portrayed. But I really don't like him. We get our first. I was going to say the thing that I appreciated about this was that Sally in this version, stands up to him. Yes. Yeah. So we get our first glimpse at Sally, and she's outside in the rain and she's just kind of chilling. I know there was a lot of online talk about what Olivia Rodrigo Song was going to be in the first episode, and it's logical. It plays during the scene, which I think is perfect. It's a great song, but we see her just either like taking a breath or just being away from where she is. I think we'll we'll find out a little bit more of why she's doing that later.

15:51 But it's the second she sees Percy. She's just like hi. Yeah, I think, I think her in the rain is, she's in Montauk mentally. Oh yeah, so she finds out about everything and then they get they have to go to Montauk, but not before she gives him a bag of blue candy, which we have blue food. Finally. It wasn't in the movies, it's in the TV show. Thank God. Jelly beans rock candy. What do we think? Both. OK, mix of both. Do you like the hard candy? I don't know. I would like to know. Just a little sugar. Yeah, so, she tells Gabe. Shut your mouth, I'll get your sandwich. We're going to, we're using your Camaro and going to Montauk. With the hot Peppers. Yeah, I think that the conversation that happens here in the cabin great is beautiful. You really get to see Percy kind of say out loud how he feels about himself, how the world kind of sees him with his dyslexia and ADHD and where he fits in with that. And it was kind of heartbreaking, but it was also really lovely that his mom was just like, you're not broken. Like, you're not broken.

16:56 I'm telling you these things. You're the son of a God. This stuff is happening. It's all true. And he still doesn't believe her. And it's just like, oh, it's so sad. Yeah, it is really sad. And it's almost like, Did she wait too long to tell him all this stuff before the rest of the world got to him? I mean, as we know, some of the kids that go to camp half blood are like 5-7 right young. So, like, when is the proper age to tell your half blood kid that like, oh, by the way, you're the son of or daughter of a God, Yeah. And then you send them to a camp you can't even visit. Yeah, I guess. Have fun. Under terrible circumstances.

17:37 Exactly. Someone's trying to kill you. I love you. But like, I I love this scene with them right again, it's a this is one of the last, like for right now moments that we have with them. Very well done. Yeah, I like this scene a lot as well because I feel like the first half of this episode is a lot of action to kind of get us to this scene, to get us to the sit down conversation where Percy learns the secret about his life. But I really like this scene because we get to see Percy's sense of humour come out. Oh yeah, a little bit, right When she's like, why do you think I bring you out to Montauk? He's like because it's cheap, because it's by the septic tank. Which fair also. That's that's a thing. That's a deal, yeah, for sure. And then I also like when she's like, she says something like your father is a is a God and he goes like. Jesus.

18:26 She's like, not like the God a guy God. So funny, so good. But I think that Walker does a fantastic job of delivering that. Like you know, he is who he is, but also like spunky side to him and he's he is very funny. I can't wait to see more of him being in situations that are just like bat shit. Yeah, and just having to deal with it while also knowing nothing of what's happening. And I think the beauty of the characters arc is that the more that he finds out who he is and what his destiny is, the more he's able to express himself in those ways. He becomes snarkier, he becomes funnier. And I think that's because he's finally not confused or trying to tamper down those natural things for himself. He's allowed to express it all.

19:14 The When Grover comes to Montauk because it was all part of the plan, His mom was supposed to tell him everything because now that he's like a full half blood. Weird way to put that. But now that he's a fool. He's out of the half blood closet. There you go. More monsters are going to keep coming. Especially because he's not in the safety of Camp Half blood. But it was actually kind of sad and it it's still, he still haven't forgiven Grover yet. They haven't talked yet. And when he knows it's Grover at the door, he's like, I don't want to see him and it's like, but he's trying to help. But it was really funny when he first found out that he had goat legs and he's like, why is there half a goat in your pants? Grover's like, you don't want to see me, but do you want to see these?

19:58 My beautiful face. I do think an interesting change that they made is I'm sorry, it's not that I'm comparing it. I'm just like kind of taking note of the differences our. Last four episodes were the books, so I think it's fake. OK, all right. It's that they in the book they make such a big deal about Grover's fake feet and how his hooves went into the feet. Whereas in this Grover says to him it's the mist. The mist is what makes you not be able to see my which I like. I agree. It's a better thing. I feel like if Rick, not speaking for him, but if I was him, I would change, make that change, right. Because it in the book it's kind of cumbersome and stuff and I know it's like, oh, people were going to see, but it's kind of just better just to magically hide them, you know, carrying like fake like what?

20:43 No. Fake feet. And then like just because he has fake feet doesn't mean that his like knees are bending the right way. So this definitely makes a lot more sense. I thought it was a good change and I really did take notice after our the interviews that we we got to be a part of. I really did take notice of how Arian is walking. Yes. And he really does make a conscious effort to walk differently than the humans around him. Yes. I don't know if I said that's a beginning of this episode, but like, look at our last episode, because we have audio and clips and stuff from the interview in our last episode. A lot of fun. Go check that out. So we get our climactic ending to the first episode and it was everything I could have hoped for.

21:26 It was fantastic. I loved it. So we have this frantic drive to get Percy to Camp Half Blood, because the Minotaur is after them. Grover doesn't necessarily say that at first, but he's like, they're once the monster attacks start happening, they're just going to keep happening. So they're driving in the rain. They're trying to get there. And as we're getting there, there's a lot of exposition, right? There's like, this is how the mist works. This is you didn't tell them about Cam Half Blood, all this stuff. The entrance of the Minotaur. Yeah, it's so cool. I don't know how. What what was that? He's like a. Like teleported and then he was running on all fours. He was like. I'm going to get you Camaro.

22:07 But the this action sequence so good, and it also shows that Sally is a bad ass and she is not scared in the face of danger. When that minotaur comes right up to next to them, smashes the window, gets the horn stuck into the dashboard and she plays chicken with a minotaur and a semi and she's like, I got this gets him out I in the crash, yes. Yikes. I was not like, I was not expecting that. Even when we watched it the second time, I was like, it's so traumatic, the whole blackout. And then they wake up and everything's upside down and topsy turvy. So good, yeah. And we get our first full look at the Minotaur and all his what?

22:49 How did he describe him? Like a man out of Muscle Man magazine. Like baseballs wrapped in leather and. Bulging biceps. Veiny hair coming up to here. Oh my God. We don't really get a good look at him because it's like Dark and I. Liked his floppy ears? Though he was kind of cute, he was cute. Little floppy. Ears. He was pretty cute, yeah. And so Sally, because she is mortal, she can't go to camp half blood. So they have to part ways and Grover has to safely take him there. And they're like, OK, don't really like this, but bye. So she plays matador with a bull and then gets poofed. Yeah.

23:29 Bye. Bye. Yeah, so Percy was running up the hill towards Camp Half Blood. When he sees that happen, he turns right back around. Grover is just laying in the dirt, Like now come back and Percy has his fight with the Minotaur. So good, how are you? Just charged towards him, got that horn off of him, rode on top of him and stabbed him in the head with his own. Horn the head that was you're. So good. I like how when Riptide got thrown away from him and he was going towards it, it disappeared. He was like. It was in your pocket, Percy. Just reach in your pocket, but like. Rude. Yeah, like the I would hope that the magic would be like, OK, he's coming towards me.

24:11 Like, I'm not going to fake him out by, like, disappearing. It should have gone to his hand, It should have gone right back to his hand. We have some questions about Riptide. Yeah. Like, yeah. Riptide I feel like is is an inanimate object, but that is animate and so. And has jokes. Yeah, it's just like not my fault. Demigod shouldn't drop me. You shouldn't drop me. I did one of the things that like, I don't know why this stuck out to me, but when he does stab the minotaur in the head with the horn, he doesn't fall straight to the ground. He floats down because he's like, dissolving. He's dissolving. I was like, that's great because Percy would have gotten really hurt if he dropped from that height. One of the last lines that Sally says to Jax Jackson to Percy before they split ways, she tells him.

24:57 You are not broken. You were singular. You are a miracle. Mother's love. Yeah. Mother. Sally Jackson, The best mother in existence. So good you don't belong with smelly Gabe. Just saying. She She does. You know what? She doesn't. And she knows that, Yeah. That's why she frequently sits out in the rain. So can I just mention before we go to episode 2, I want to mention a few things about the episodes themselves. So one there was a Rick Riordan cameo in this episode in. The first one. He was one of the people that was sitting in the room when he was getting reprimanded at Yancey. He was dark and quiet in the corner, so he was there. That's it. That's his only cameo. That's what he told us, he said. He has one cameo and that's it.

25:39 I love it. Whenever authors appear in the TV shows or the movies of their works, I cannot help but exclaim at the top of my lungs. That's ex author. Like Stephanie Meyers? Stephanie Meyer at the diner. She's just like, I don't want that. OK, yeah. And then also the credits. Gorgeous. They showed the entire series, not series, the first like things that happened in the book in the credits. Beautifully done. But I love the extra added thing at the end of the credits that it shows like a next time on So good. It's just like, fun. Now in our Screener there was no like introduction to next time on.

26:21 I'm wondering if in the actual release if there will be a voice that would be fun. We got like the pre final decision you know. Maybe. Because it was like a surprise. We were like, wait, what's happening? Oh yeah, it just showed. Yeah. It just shows like next on or not. It doesn't say anything. It's just like. Yeah, exactly. This is the next episode, if it's not on yours, OK? That's just how they're doing it. They're keeping it mysterious. OK, so he passes out on to Camp Half Blood. Finally, welcome to Camp Percy Jackson. We've been expecting you. Episode one, All right, so in Episode 2, also written by Rick Reardon, Jonathan East Steinberg, and Daphne Olive.

27:01 Directed by James Bobbin I. Think he directs all the episodes? I think so too, and I'm wondering if these three are the three writers for all of them. We'll find out together. Percy wakes up in the Infirmary at Camp Half Blood. There he meets his fake father, Mr. D, and the horse half of Chiron. Camp introduces him to friends, foes, and many things he isn't good at. A raucous game of Capture the Flag leads Percy to Water and Triumph. Nice. You see what I did? I did. I'm glad because Trident triumph. I. Didn't want to say. Got it. I was trying to work Trident into Triumph and then it just kept coming. Tridumph not as effective.

27:41 So Percy wakes up at Camp Half Blood. Let's just talk about Camp Half Blood. Get that out of the way, right gorgeous. It looks exactly what I would think a camp for like descendants of Greek gods on Long Island would look like. I want to go to there. I want to go to there too. There's a gorgeous lake, beautiful woods, a bridge spanning a valley of 1,000,000 miles. With a lots of colourful. Ribbons. Oh, the ribbons Also. That's my type of bridge. Strawberry Fields? Fantastic. Little little seders everywhere, just tending to the land. It's really good. And the cabins. It looks, it's great, like this is what I pictured in my head.

28:26 I think one of the things that didn't work well for the movie was it felt so small and like you could tell the set was small, but it just didn't. It didn't feel expansive, like, it didn't feel like, OK, we need to like really carve out this and this and every little scene that we got in camp Half Blood was like really thought out. Even when he first meet, he first first meets Mr. D at the big house, like that stained glass that was behind him with the lake. Where can you and I go where we can play Uno in some sort of glass gazebo overlooking a lake? If any of our listeners know, let us know. Do. You have the Airbnb listing. Please send it our way.

29:08 Because I don't think there's any out here. It's gorgeous. So good. So the first God that we get to meet is Mr. DAKA Dionysus, AKA the God of wine and luxury. Banned from drinking alcohol ever again. Fantastic. So funny. Little little bit of a character change. I think he's more funny, but he does keep things that he shouldn't. Loved it. I loved Peter Johnson, although he just did not want to say his name correctly at all. And again, this is like we get to see Percy being a snarky little 12 year old where he's like Peter Johnson's here, He's like, that's not my name. And he, he would say his name again. And he was like, he's like, I just said your name. He's like, did you, I know that you did. And then we get to meet Kyron in all his horse glory. So good.

30:02 I loved now knowing that when we had that conversation with the visual effects supervisor, how he said that Glen, the actor, actually was riding a real horse and they just like removed the horse's head in post and moved him forward and it's just so good. And that's why his movements just seem so natural, because he's actually doing it. When he's first taking Percy around the camp and there's a shot of Percy walking next to him and he's walking next to the side of a horse, it's very cool because that's the real horse. I mean, he was really walking next to a horse the entire. Beautiful horse. Yeah. So good. I love you. He's like, you're a horse, OK? Just not fazed.

30:44 I think after like you got attacked by fury. He's the minotaur. His best friend is half goat. He's like fine with. Within a 24 hour span, he has killed 2 monsters in two different ways. He's he's seemingly unfazed. And he thinks his mom is dead. Yeah, he saw his mom blow up into golden light. Which, to be fair, just like Grover said, it could be worse. Yes, I loved Grover thinking about what a human would be like if they were squishing. He was like, in my mind it would be like a old banana. Yeah, he's like and that's not what happened. Yeah, he's like, it was a little more glowy than that. Yeah, so not as much blood and gore as I thought. Something's up, I think.

31:27 So we get our first look at cabin 11, the Hermes cabin, and this is where everybody goes. That has not been claimed yet. The unclaimed so cool. Just like bunks, kids hanging out. It looks very well thought out for kids. That makes sense. Like it it doesn't look like it's made for to look like luxury or to like chill out here or whatever. It's like it looks like it's for kids. Like there's tables here and there's like the bunks are the right size, you know? Yeah, I I agree. And you know, not to bring up the movie again. I I remember one of the things that lost me in the movie was when Percy finally gets to Poseidon's cabin, it's not really a cabin. It's like an open air lakefront dock. I'm like, what?

32:12 That's not a cabin? Like, that's ridiculous. So seeing the camp really look like a camp, a summer camp for kids, even the way the bathrooms look, right? Nothing super fancy. It's, you know, toilets and some wooden doors and that's the bathroom. It's like, this makes sense. And the Hermes cabin has all these bunks because it is for the Hermes kids and for the travellers and the unclaimed kids as well. So there has to be a lot of bunks there. And when Percy actually sets up his sleeping bag on the floor? It was already set up for him, which was nice. And he thinks, here comes a Luke, the big old bully. And I liked that Because of how he was treated previously, he assumes that these kids are going to be mean to him.

32:55 And Luke is really nice to him. He's just like, oh, hi, he's like. Dude, props. You kill the minotaur. That's pretty badass. Welcome to. Great. Oh, good. Yeah, I loved it. Yeah, and so Luke kind of gives him the back story on glory and, you know, kind of bringing yourself to feats of skill. And that's how people will notice you, and that's how you'll make your name for yourself. I really liked how Luke was the mouthpiece almost for a lot of background stuff that we find out, right? He tells Percy in this about the glory. He's like, that's kind of like you. You do quests and then you get glory, and then you're like, seen by your parents. And like, that's kind of what our job is. That's who we are as demigods.

33:40 But we also find out that, like, you know, there was a pact between Zeus and the Big Three and like, to not have any kids. That's a thing because the Big Three cabins are supposed to be empty, you know. But we also find out that Talia and Annabeth and him came here via coming to the camp, and Tali is no longer with us. We'll find out about her later. Yeah, I wonder if we'll find out more about her in the first season. There has to be a season. Well, I think we have to find what we're they better tell us about the tree. The tree. The tree. The tree. But yeah, I I There better be a second season. Yeah, I I also really appreciate that in these first two episodes, because this is really the only episode that we're at camp for the season. Not to spoil anything, but like by the end of this you know he's going to go on a quest.

34:29 Cross country trips common. Yeah, so fantastic. I liked how quick it was, right. It was like we need to train him. We need to see what he's good at. He's not good at archery, as we found out in the books. He's not good at anything except for swimming. Right. Yeah. And I mean, that's just Percy. He he's he's so new to all of this. How could he really be good at any event? And I and I do like that part of his story where it's not like, oh, I'm a demigod. It turns out I'm amazing at all this stuff. It's like, no, he doesn't have the skill yet. No, we also see that he he learns about burning the food. So then he takes his blue candy into the forest at night and he burns it to try and talk to his mother. You know what I loved about that is that Luke told him you burn this so that way you can pray to your parent, essentially, and what he does because he knows his dad's not there and he's like, my dad abandoned me.

35:22 He's not here. Why isn't he talking to me? He sucks, but he takes the candy that his mother gave him and goes and talks to his mother. He's even talked to his father, which is like, I love that. I love that even though his whole thing is like, I'm going to make sure that he sees me and he sees you, because he can't ignore both of us. But like, he could have tried to talk to his dad and he didn't. It just shows their connection. You. Know. And it's also like, who do what? What number do I dial? I don't know who you are, so I wouldn't even know who you you, dad, you know who I am, but I don't know who you are. So there was a lot of hints, Percy, but you know. Percy's a little lost water.

36:05 He gets there. He gets there. I Do you want to just also take notice of, just Speaking of mothers, that we get a little more of Grover's world in this episode as well? Because he sees that Chiron and Mr. D want us. They don't want Percy to know that Sally might be alive. And that's not sitting well with Grover. So he goes and fair. Yeah, he's like, look, I already faked double crossed this kid once before I threw him under the bus. I don't want to do that again. I believe that he should know what's going on here. Fair. So he heads into the forest to go talk to the council of cloven elders. Yes. Which we don't actually hear that conversation.

36:45 No, but we do see from our conversation with Becky Ray Orton, she did talk about the actor that played Helena, I believe. Helena is the actor. The actor, right. She's just a Nyad, but it's almost in effect kind of like Grover's mother figure, which I think is great for that character because especially in the book, we don't really find out much about Grover and Annabeth. We find out a little bit more about Annabeth and Grover, but like Grover gets almost no back story really in the first book. So I'm glad that they're giving him more things, right? And just layering that character, because I think for a television format, you kind of have to, you have to give me a reason to care for this character, right outside of just the protagonist, right?

37:32 And I I do like that he has somebody that he can go to and by the way looked fantastic. That that first appearance of kind of her waking up from the tree was such a cool moment because you didn't know what was going to happen. She was walking into the forest. Yeah, it's a face. Holy smoke. That's cool. God, we we talked. We got to talk to the the costume designer Tish Monahan, and I loved hearing her talk about that. She's like, no disrespect to group, but like, I wanted her to, like, not look like that. Mission accomplished. Mission. Accomplished. Absolutely fantastic, yeah. We also do get introduced to Clarice, who is the daughter of Aries. I love her.

38:14 I love this character. I love like a complicated. She's a bully, but like, there's more to her than meets the eye. She's fantastic. Yeah, it's she is a bully. But there's a difference between her and Nancy, I think. You know, Nancy, I think is mean to be me. Sour. Yeah, Whereas Clarice, it's like it's bred into her. It's that wrath, it's the war, she can't help it. And it's all about that glory. So if someone's coming in boasting a story of a fight of a victory, that doesn't sit well with her because she needs to bring the victory. And later on, she even says she's like, I'm not really interested in like maning or even killing you. I just want you to say that you're wrong and you lied. Because I think she needs to know, like, do I need to respect this person or are we going to have problems here? Agreed.

39:02 And I think it's also something about the glory. How could someone younger than me achieve more glory than me already? This punk. Because obviously Clarice is along the lines of Luke's age, I would say. Right, right. Yeah. They're a little older. And I I love that the show depicted them at the correct ages, right? Because I think we needed them to be at these ages for their decisions or even their mindsets or like, not really knowing things to make sense. Also, I want to say these kids and choreo just like stunting and fight choreo and all of that, They're like 12. Yeah, I I can't bend down in tie my shoes with revealing. Oh, don't talk to me about my back.

39:44 I completely agree. I think that these kids are killing these action sequences. It's so strong. It's so fluid. They're doing a really great job. I mean, I think it's Walker, but there's like a tuck and roll. Pick up a SHIELD moment. That's pretty badass. Definitely. They're they're killing it. So good. So we get we have to talk about the bathroom scene right before we get to capture the flag. The bathroom scene is very important for this series and for Percy's journey in the beginning, because it solidifies something, but also Annabeth sees something, so it wouldn't be, you know the the character of Clarice, she has to really strong arm him, right and show him. I'm the one that runs things around here. She doesn't, but she wants to show that. So they're going to give him a swirly, a very welcome first night, welcome to Camp Half Blood. Classic bully moment.

40:37 Classic. You're at camp Swirlies. That's just what happens. Kids, it's either that or or atomic wedgies, yeah. Swirl right and I don't want either. How many pair of underwear do I have with me at camp? I think. Yeah. But like, atomic is over the head. Oh yeah. And sometimes, if you're the child of a God, it can go straight through your body, I complained So. I don't either. But also I feel like there's like things you could get diseases from an end toilet. So like I'd. Rather, that. And let me say something about the The reality of this camp is that that porcelain pee hole is dirty.

41:21 Yeah. It's disgusting. The toilet. The toilet. Porcelain pee hole. I've never heard a toilet reference that way. That's from a movie. If anybody knows the movie, because I can't remember right now, let me know. Oh, I think it's from Harry the spy. Oh yeah, it's you love that movie. I was literally talking about it today with our Co worker. Yeah, there's a part where she ruins Janie's experiment and she's like four months of incubation down the porcelain pee hole. I think that's what it is. I don't want that. I've seen it once. I need to watch it again. So good, We'll watch it. So before they could get his head into the toilet, pivoting water shoots up and sprays them and whatever, Poseidon. But so Annabeth sees it, right?

42:12 And this is our really first true, like, look at Annabeth and like, conversation with Percy. And he's like, have you been stalking me? She's like, yeah, like, why See something like this would happen? And it did. So you can help me. Like, what are you? What's hard to understand here? But like, Leah Jeffries, so good. She's not really in the first two episodes, right? She's. She has moments, but every time she's in it, I'm just like, you're so cool. Yeah, I love. Your strength, You know what I mean? Exactly. When when she whenever she's on screen, I'm like, she's going to say something like, I can't, I can't wait for her to have more time on screen because she just has this charisma about her that you can't help but like, lean. Into.

42:58 But that's Annabeth, right? Like she's 6 steps ahead. She's a fierce warrior. She cares so much. But like, she always has a plan. And you could tell that with Leah's portrayal of this character. Like every time you see her, you're like, you know what you're doing. 100% it's not. It's never, at least of what we've seen so far. It isn't standoffish, right? It's taking everything in because she's working out the pieces. Yeah, and she'll let you know what you need to know. If you don't need to know, it might ruin the plan. So like, I'm not going to tell you. They don't know. We know, they know exactly. Exactly. So that leads us, of course, to capture the flag.

43:38 Capture the flag. So Percy is definitely lucky enough to be on Annabeth and Luke's team, and Clarice is out blood. Yeah, So what is it? Luke says that Leah Leah Annabeth has LED them to V3 times, and it's been a long time since somebody has fourth victory, right? So she's like, she's the brains behind everything, so they all trust her to do everything. I love seeing all of these children in all of this warrior gear. But also just like if you watch the episode again, just like look at them in the background. They are going at it. They're like having the time of their life. I loved it. Just like seeing these little tiny kids with these swords and like. And of course the the difference of Percy just wearing the leather and then Annabeth has the full armor. She's the.

44:28 Captain Heck, yeah, she is the captain. So I. Was going to say the most important part is that we are also introduced to the Yankees cap. Oh yes, Yeah. So when? So capture the flag I always thought was really interesting in this book. It's like you don't get much of it in this. You just get Clarice and her Hench people to let go attack Percy because he sprayed them on toilet water. That's all you get from that. You know, it's really funny because I feel like in in the world of Percy Jackson, two of the biggest things that you think of are Camp Half Blood and Capture the Flag. And those things are only in these two chapters of the first book, but they make such an impression that everybody thinks of them.

45:14 Oh, yeah. Oh, I think also because, right, it's like that has like the most importance for the character, right? Like that's where the journey began. Like he's always going to go back to Kim Half Blood or like, there's always a place for that, right? But like capture the flag is when he finds out, oh, that's who my dad is. Also, I took down Clarice and her lightning spear. Take that. Bam. But so, like I, the fight scene between Percy and Clarice, oh Jesus. Like when he was holding the spear, hitting people with it, also dodging other people. I was like. This is cool. It was 3 verse one. I didn't expect it. Like the action I wanted it to be, but like, I don't know what I was thinking going into it, right?

45:58 It's like, oh, they're kids. So, like, maybe they won't really go into the action. Or like, maybe go like, oh, they're going to get hurt. Oh, they did. Well, that's what I think is making this fun for the whole family. Yeah, right. It's like the characters are based as 12 year olds, but yet the action is really adult action. That's even what we were talking about with the entire Minotaur scene in the car chase, in the crash in the first episode. It's like it really heightens it for an adult audience. You can't. You really can't pull back, right? You can't pull back the stakes, the things that are like they can get hurt in this, like This is why they're doing this. They can't do that because this will happen Very good. I think that they needed to go head first into it and not pull back.

46:38 Yeah, and I think that one of the things that actually, you know, the the the little Derek inside me, he was happy when we saw Percy, just like waiting for something to happen during capture the flag. He's flossing, he's petting a lizard, he's peeing and whistling. It was like it. It made me chuckle. And it was all part of Annabeth's plan. I love that. Not only did she strategically know that was going to happen, she won. Capture the flag. Because I'm assuming she told them where to go. I think she did. She told Luke where to. Go. You're actually getting the flag. I'm going to watch Percy get beat up. We're going to do. We're going to do it.

47:19 Yeah. And she just put on her Yankee's invisible cap and was like, I'm just going to watch this happen. And I love that. Like when she reveals himself or herself, he's like, you were there the whole time. And she's like, yeah. He's like, so you were here the entire time you watched and you didn't do anything. She's like, yeah. So. And then she's like Percy, I'm so sorry. And pushes him in the water to prove her point that she knew. OK, he is part of the big three. He is Poseidon Sun because water like she figured it out before Percy, and Percy has experienced all this water. Never have I seen anybody go into the toilet and have it explode like that. Maybe firepower go around their. Head and hit the people.

48:02 Fantastic. Oh, I did want to mention so when One thing that really drew me to liking this interpretation of Clarice was when her spear breaks, when Percy breaks it, she's devastated. Scream. And, like, she's mad at Percy. But, like, I think ultimately she's mad that, like, I don't think it's often that they're defeated. Well, no, that their godly parents give them gifts. And that was a gift from her father and she is now broken. That's the point. Like what she's supposed to do? Ask for another one? Like what? Dad who never comes to see me. Exactly So. Like, that's kind of sad, right? It's like, oh, that sucks. And again, don't forget the whole part. Point of glory is to get your parents approval. And she broke the tool that her father gave. And she lost the fight, yeah.

48:52 Not good. Sorry, Clarice. I I I'm looking forward to the evolution of the Clarice character. Yes, I'm excited to see if we're going to see them again this season. Probably. We probably will. So he is now claimed right, He's what was that? There's like a bang. That was so weird. Below. OK, cool. So he's claimed Poseidon. As soon as it's a claim, there's like a Bang Zeus. I'm sorry. Great cabin. Cabin 3.

49:35 So good. Where does he sleep? Does he sleep in the water? In the pool? In the middle? He just floats. Yeah, I can't get wet. I love the thing of like because he's part of like the Big Three or like a higher on the hierarchy. God like, there's just more like aspects to his powers, right? He can heal in water, he can control water, he can speak to water, he can be dry in water, he can do all these things right. But like we see from some of the other ones, we don't really see them exhibiting powers like that right yet. But I want to think that he does have to sleep in that pool of water. That was the first thing I noticed. They open the door. They're like, you're the first and only one here.

50:15 I'm like, where's the bed? You might have to stir it a little bit because nobody's been here. Well, they're like, listen, the we are not taking care of this pool anymore. This is on you now. You've now inherited this. Here's the schedule of the cleaning. Well, don't forget though, sorry to segue from the the inner workings of Cabin 3, because we really only get a glimpse of it, right? There's really not. It's nice time. It looks nice, right? It looks spiffier. It looks higher end agreed than Cabin 11. But the bad thing of him being claimed by whom he was claimed by is that they're not supposed to have kids. Going to start a war secret love child, yeah?

50:56 Yeah, so not good. We get a conversation with Kyron, Mr. D and Percy at the moment, and we find out kind of the points of the first book. Slash first season, The master bolt, Zeus's master bolt, the bolt to rule them all has been stolen. And he did it. And he did it, apparently. Yeah, in the grand scheme of things, it would make sense, right? Like if I was Zeus, I'd be like, you have a kid when we weren't supposed to have kids. Of course he stole it. Like why would he not stolen steal it, stolen it? I think he interests brains. I think the interesting thing is that the gods are not all knowing, right?

51:42 They're very powerful, but they don't know everything. They can still try and surmise things, but not know the truth. Well, they like the smell of burnt food, so, or begging as the that one person said. But like, you're not all that great. No, they're just messy bitches. Yeah, but so he is given this thing of like, you have to, like, find it. Who took it? Probably Hades. And then Grover comes in to tell him your mom's not dead. And I've heard that when people mortals are at the edge of death, Hades can like poop. Cadet them. He's like, so take that Mister D and Chiron, we're best friends. Good for Grover, because also, like, if you think about it, if he's going to have to go to the underworld anyway, like, why not just tell him that his mom's probably there? Pick up your mom while you're down there. How rude.

52:33 Why not make the quest bigger? More pressure, More. You're sending a 12 year old across the country and. They're like, you got it kid. Good luck. We'll send you with two other 12 year olds. There's also a stipulation with the quests that it's always taken up by three We know who our three are. Luke, Clarice and Percy. Imagine. Twist, A twisted version. He changed for the show. What a mess that would. Be I wouldn't like it. No. I need my Grover and Annabeth and Percy together. He needs two people to support him, not try and take him down the entire time. The entire time. One thing that we haven't mentioned yet, though, that happens in these two episodes is these visions slash dreams that Percy keeps having.

53:19 They're a little different from the book, but I like it because ultimately the dreams are all kind of leading to one thing. I want to go out on a limb and say that that person in his dreams, that's like taunting him, like stop while you're a head little hero, you don't know what you're doing, blah blah blah. I'm curious, who do you think it is? Because if they're ultimately kind of setting it up for more of the series, you have a theory of who it might be. I think it ultimately is the Titan Kronos. Yeah, I think it's Kronos. That's what I'm thinking too. Like I don't think it's Hades, like that would be kind of odd. Hades, I think, is right now just stuck in the middle of his two brothers.

54:02 You're. Just like guys, it's. Like I'm under here, stopping, vomiting me in this. I have too many people here. Have you seen this place? It's overrun with the dead. So that's the first two episodes. I mean, this is very introductory, right? Very well done. I think it's crafted beautifully from the source material. I'm excited to see where they go next. I need to know. I want to see Medusa and I think that's the next I. Think that's the next one too. I so not to compare this to other things that we've watched, but usually when we watch things for a second time, I'm like, I've seen this already, no? Yeah, this time, the second time around I was. I couldn't believe how quickly it went because I was enjoying it so much.

54:51 It didn't feel like, oh, we have to watch it again because of this it. Was like exactly. I kind of want to. I want to watch this. Again. And I was excited. I was like, Oh my gosh, I forgot that but. They are a great length too, because it feels like a lot happens, but they're 3734 minutes, 40 minutes kind of standard, but like not that long, right? It's not an hour long, and I like how it had that feeling from the book. It's very episodic. This thing happens here. Now we're in Montauk, now we're in Camp Half Blood, you know? So it's not all about the extra stuff, right? You're. Right. They're the information they're giving you is pertinent to the pot. And now we have 6 more episodes and we have to go to New Jersey, New York, Denver, Las Vegas, Saint Louis, LA.

55:35 That's six places like. So we're going to be flying through these episodes. It's a lot, yeah. Oh my God. I'm excited to see our trio. They're fantastic. I think perfectly cast. I don't even know who could be them, right? They they had to find people that, like, are new because they're younger, right? But like, even just thinking about to put into context, this is like, hopefully like this generation's Harry Potter, right? It's like they're starting when they're young and they're going to like do this for a long time. But like that commitment from these kids to, like, be like, sure, I'll possibly do ten seasons of of probably the biggest series in the world going forward. So I don't know.

56:18 Kudos to them, you know. Definitely, and I really enjoy the tweaks that they have made to these characters. I feel like, especially in the first book, Annabeth and Grover, for the most part, are a little one-dimensional. They get. Better as the series gets. On yes, I completely agree. But I think that they're already laying the groundwork to see them as more mature characters, and especially in the three-dimensional. Yeah, exactly. And in the depiction of Grover, whereas Grover in the books is just a little nervous guy. Right. He bleats a lot. Exactly, which I do miss a little bit. He hasn't done it yet. No, but he does have his horns and his hooves. But I do like this Grover that truly does care for Percy and is willing to almost break some rules to make sure he's taken care of.

57:00 Yeah, I mean, the seder's job, right, is to get a seeker's license to then, blah blah, blah. I'm not going to spoil it for people that are only watching the show, but you can tell, right? It's not just like, OK, I just need to get these little demigods to the camp so I can do this thing. It's like, no he. Yeah, right. He's actually his friend, so. Good. That chemistry is great. I can't. I can't wait to see the other gods that we're going to see. It's very exciting. We have like, I'm just thinking in my head of like that list that I put together of like just the extras, the gods and monsters. We have a lot. Oh, so exciting. So let us know what you thought of the first two episodes. Did you like it? What cabin are you in?

57:43 That I want to know, is anybody hanging out with me? No. Which one were you? I don't remember. Oh, great. It was like it was it was the God. I don't remember. Demeter Yes, OK. I like how I remember. It was like some sub God that nobody thinks of. Typical. You know, Gavin, we're we're half brothers. You get you, You guys are just sleeping in the pool on inner tubes. I guess we want to get Bruni. That's fine. Maybe rafts. You sleep in the raft. So, so the next episode 3 and episode 4, we're going to be releasing the day the episodes come out. After that, we're in the dark.

58:28 We haven't seen anything. Just. Half the series. That's wild or easy. OK, so till next week. Also, Christmas is coming up. Happy holidays, Happy holidays. Yay. Thank you for being the gift that keeps on giving everyone. All right. So next week. Bye.