'The Lightning Thief' Ch. 12-16 | Percy Jackson

0:00 Hey, I'm Derek. And I'm Noah, And you're listening to the penultimate episode of A Bite of. Where we take ever. No Where we take our current favorite pop culture obsession and enjoy it 1 Nibble at a time. Surprise, OK Penultimate episode of covering Percy Jackson and Lightning. There you go. Chapters 12 through 16, when we decided to do which chapters we were doing to split it into four parts to carry us like the Tunnel of Love to the show, we did not know that these particular chapters would have everything in it.

0:43 We got your back story, we got your side quests, we got your talking animals, we've got everything. It's so. Heavy. There's so much so if we miss something that you really enjoyed, that's why our discord is there. That's why you can just yell at us and tell us, hey, I liked this thing. You know, because we'll probably miss something. Definitely, we definitely. Will so much in this one. So again, we're going chapter by chapter, covering the first book, getting really excited. We're on Swivel chairs again, so we're going to be doing this. If you're watching this on YouTube, make sure you're subscribing to the podcast. That's how you get all the episodes. That's how you get reminded. Hey, there's a new a bite of. Right there, your phone can just tell you there's a new episode. Yeah, When we release it at 5:00 AM, you're going to get that notification.

1:30 And you're going to say thanks guys. For waking me up. Wow, I'm going to listen to this right away. But if you are enjoying our read through of Percy Jackson, don't forget to throw some stars our way. No be shower us with those lovely stars. We're trying to get 200. Once that's at work, we'll stop asking once we get 2. 100 It'll truly be the penultimate episode. Once we get 200, then we'll stop forever. Yes, exactly. All right, so massive spoiler warning, we are one episode away from finishing this book, so a lot of you know, plot details happen in this one. So if you don't want to be spoiled, you know, go read these chapters and come back. Let us officially take a bite of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Lightning Thief, chapters 12 through 16. Chapter 12 is called We Get Advice From a Poodle as Night Falls, Grover tells the tale of Pan's disappearance. Percy has a pit premonition and a pink Poodle will pay for. Passage.

2:34 If you're watching this, which I hope you are, Derek has been really trying to be mindful of his blossoms. Because you know, when you push air into the microphone, it doesn't sound great. And so. Not to use another one, but I'm on 100% panicked. I don't think I got a noise on that one. I'm going to say you did a great job. OK, that was really scary. So this chapter, it's fairly short. The only purpose of this chapter is so we can get some back story with Grover a little bit, but it's like a transition chapter almost. And then there's a poodle that just, yeah, has no bearing on anything right now, and it helps them get to their next place.

3:18 So yeah, when we last left our heroes, they had just killed Medusa and they sent a package of her head to Mount Olympus. What I really liked about these chapters in general was that that Grover back story, and we got to know Grover a little more. And Grover, we see how conscious he is of the environment and of the natural world. And I really, I I I realized I remembered it was a it was a reminder of why I love the character so much. He's a great character. You know, whenever you have to make these characters that are going to be the titular characters or the protagonist carry a series, you have to really get them for you to care about them.

4:01 And I think what I like that Rick did in these books is that we're like halfway through this book and we still don't know really anything about these people that Percy is on this quest with. So we really are in that point of view of him. And I like that we're getting a little snippets. We know that Grover wanted to be a seeker. He supposedly failed in his last one. We'll find out a little bit about that later. But we in this particular chapter, we find out more about what exactly a Seeker is and what it means. So the Gods of the Wilds and disappeared. And so when the humans found out that Pan disappeared or died, the humans were like, oh, OK, bye. We're just going to pollute the Earth, right? So Rick really does a lot of themes and these chapters coming up where it's like consumerism, humans being awful and terrible, which we are, we destroy our planet. But the whole thing of a Seder becoming a Seeker is to find Pan, and to do that you have to excel in a quest. And he hasn't yet.

5:06 He hasn't passed his exam, essentially to be a seeker to find Pan. Yeah. And we, we get a little hint here about the timeline of Grover and Annabeth and things that happened at the camp. And so Percy says, wait a minute, your first keeper job was five years ago. Annabeth has been at camp five years. She wasn't. I mean, your first assignment that went wrong. End of sentence. End of sentence and we're not going to mention it and. Until 3 chapters from now. Right. And that does come into play. And I really like when it's talked about because I feel like our characters had to go through some of this again to really open up. Because remember, one of the things that the Oracle told Percy is that he's going to be betrayed, somebody close to him. So I feel like Percy isn't really giving much to these people and they start giving more to him so that he's going to have to reciprocate that in some way. Also, he's 12, so there's.

5:59 Also that to remember, absolutely a lot of pressure is being put on these kids. Okay, they're 12 years old. I know that they're half gone, but there's still 12. Yeah. I also think that we see here that each of our main characters has something other than the quest that they're trying to go for in their lives or just in this particular point in time. And we even see, you know, so Grover kind of confides all this stuff, and Percy and Percy just flat out says to Grover, look, I'm going to be honest with you, I actually don't care about the master bolt. My whole thing is that I'm just trying to get to the underworld to save my mom. Which is fair. Yeah, so I'm going to be on this journey with you. That's great. If I get the master bolt, cool. But really, my mom got exploded into right by the Minotaur.

6:40 Also, why would he care? Like, he didn't even know about this stuff, not like a month ago. If he if there's a chance that his mom is still going to be alive, the only good person and the person that was there to raise him, Poseidon, of course he's going to try to do that. And I think that they understand that because if they were to have a relationship like that with a parent or somebody, they would do the same thing. And I think there's also something to be said about both Percy and Annabeth. I'm trying not to hit the. Piece. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. I'm trying so hard. You're good. Nobody. No, nobody. Pay attention. To him, stop looking at me.

7:20 Is that those two characters, I'm not saying their names again. They both have this sort of deadbeat dad complex, right? Going on. I mean it just so happens that Anna Betts is mortal and Percy's is Poseidon. I don't know how to do it. You're good. You're. Too much. But they sort of have this thing where there is one parent that they really look up to, and in this case Percy, it's his mother and he wants to save her, whereas Annabeth is always looking to Athena for her approval. So again, they she's. Kind of like not helped out a lot. Well, I mean, that's really the saddest thing for Annabeth, right? Is Percy at least had his mom, who was there to take care of him and make sure he was OK.

8:01 Neither of Annabeth's parents want anything to do with her. Right, right. So in this chapter, this conversation, I mean the conversation we're having about their parents and everything, it's going to keep happening in this book because it's a huge part of this series as a whole. In this chapter, chapter 12, there's two more things I want to mention. So Annabeth thinks that there's something weird about the quest, like all the monsters seem to be holding back. And she recalled with the Furies, they weren't asking where is he, they were asking where is it. So what is everybody looking for? I think we can put two and two together, saying, I think they're also looking for the master bolt. So if 80s does have the Master Bolt, why would he then be sending Furies and Monsters to look for it? So I think there's somebody that's doing something else. Someone's pulling some tricks, OK, and trying to pass the blame on other people or gods or whatever. The only other thing I want to mention because Percy has a lot of visions and dreams throughout this book and the series, just like God's like to do and some of those that are more powerful or in higher number or lower number cabins can do. And in this one, essentially he's at he's at the edge of a chasm, and he hears a voice, and the voice is a creature of some sort.

9:27 He can't really see it, and it's as if it's using him to pull himself out or itself out of the chasm. Luckily he wakes up to Grover holding a poodle, but that begs the question of if it wasn't Hades and it wasn't a God that he can readily know, who was in this chasm, trying to use him as like an anchor to get out, which will be later. Says Help me rise, boy. Bring me the bolts. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods. If you're if you're listening to this on audiobook, it's very much the narrator. I should know their name is narrating it like it's for kids. So anytime there's a monster or like somebody that's bad, it's so hammed up, but it kind of makes him smile because exactly how you did it and that's how the narrator did it. Is the good, good.

10:20 I'm like OK. If it weren't for my plosives, I would have a future in audiobook. Yeah, you still can. Darn the luck. 2024 ABO Audiobook So Gladiola is the pink poodle. Yes. Has nothing to do with anything except that Grover can talk to it and ran away from a rich family. There's a $200 reward and they're like, we have no money. We can use that to get to where we're going end of Chapter 12. That's that's why I love Grover, OK? If it weren't for Grover, they wouldn't be able to continue on their journey. That little Underwood boy so good. Yes, and that little pink poodle is like Hey Grove. And they came together. But on to Chapter 13, which is called I Plunge to My Death. Playing tourist leads Percy to the top of the Ark, where he meets Echidna, who exclaims Call me Mother. So great.

11:13 Yeah, that's it. So is that RuPaul? Yes. So they kind of go on a detour here, which I don't know. If you're on a quest and you know that monsters are following you, I would never think to maybe go sightseeing. You know, but like the way Annabeth puts it out there, they have a layover. It's three hours, which I do agree. I think they're too young to understand that that's not any time at all to like leave and come back. But so they want to go to the Saint Louis Arch, and she wants to be an architect. So why not see something that she likes? I do like the conversation of them being like, you want to be an architect.

11:54 Like how? What does that have to do with like, Athena and everything? And she tells them not only are we we're supposed to build like my God, my mother also wants us to build things, not just destroy them. And I like that about Annabeth, like she is, I think, an amalgamation of a lot of good traits. She's strong, she's determined, she's super smart. She's not afraid to speak her mind, and so take that. Yeah, she's not afraid to go on a little excursion to do some sightseeing. But like the Saint Louis Arch, I've been there. It's fine. I. Haven't been there. Is the elevator scary? When we went, we weren't allowed to go up. Oh, so I will never know. Maybe it's better at the top. I just got to see it from.

12:35 Oh my God. Hello. I'm just putting this together. I literally did what they're doing. I took a train to Colorado that went through there. I was with my grandparents to go and we stopped. Is this a normal thing? Maybe that is. I'm going to text my grandma after this maybe. Why did we do this? Maybe. Maybe that is just the Amtrak route. It has to stop at Saint Louis Louis. So. So that way everybody could see the arch exactly. They force you to go see the arch, and it's always just the right amount of time to go see the arch and then come back. Oh. My God. Clang, clang, clang with the trolley. But OK, so before we get to the arch, though, there's an important part that happens. The travelling to Saint Louis is Annabeth's back story, so we get to know a little bit more about her. I know I was complaining in the last episode that I want to know more, and the only way that we'll actually find out about any of the stuff is if it's told to Percy and Annabeth decides to tell him some of that information. One of the things that I love about this book is the Annabeth and Percy relationship, or how a lot of fans like to call it Persa.

13:43 Beth and I like that. How Rick handles their relationship is that, like, they're so young, so they're figuring themselves out, they're figuring out their family drama bullshit, and they're also figuring out how they fit together. So it's not an immediate thing of like they're going to kiss. It takes books for it to, like, finally pay off, but it's just so sweet. And it's these moments, and there's one in the tunnel of love that are like the titular Persebeth moments. But so in this one, her story is really sad. And it's kind of it. It's reminiscent, and I hate to put it this way, but of kind of like, you know, like an orphan dropped off on a thing with people that don't like them.

14:24 It's very, you know, it's the, it's the Harry Potter thing, right? She has that kind of story where she was dropped off in like a golden cradle and an inconvenient time for her father, and he just wanted nothing to do with her. He got married, had kids, still wanted nothing to do with her stepmom. Yeah, there's always an evil stepmother, too. It's very Cinderella. It's it's those architects, right? It's like you need these things for like that relatable thing. Like, we all know what that means, but like, for Annabeth, that's really sad. And like, no wonder she decided to run away from all of that. You know, I think there's something to say about Annabeth and how strong she actually is and the fact that as a 7 year old, she knew that she had to leave, she couldn't stay there.

15:06 And also, I think she says something along the lines of the the stepmother didn't feel safe with her there because the monsters kept coming. Which fair, but also, like, figure out how to protect your stepchild. Like when you marry somebody that has kids, you're as you have to care for them as if they're your own. That's kind of the agreement with that. If you can't do that. Stop it. OK, so things we're learning about parents in this book. OK, they all. Suck. They all suck. Yeah, God parents, they just drop you off and they say see you never step. Parents are the worst. And really, that's about it. They are cause smelly Gabe also that's. What I'm saying Yeah, that's what. I'm saying I I some of the later on we'll get the whole confrontation between Poseidon and Percy.

15:51 But, like, it is an interesting dynamic, right? It's like, do they want to have a relationship with all of these kids they keep making, but they can't because there's that whole thing of, like, you're not supposed to be having kids. So there's like that line drawn. But like, how much of that do they actually want to break or not break because they've been doing it forever? Oh yeah, they're. Just making kids. And I mean, come on, contraception is a thing. Even for gods. Get a godly condom. OK? I'm sure, I'm sure they exist. If they can create, you know, little creatures, they can. They can create condoms as well. It's. Ridiculous. So the arch happens. Yes, they are the. Battle at the top of you, they get up there, and then of course, Percy gets separated from Grover and Annabeth and they're like, I'll see you on the way down.

16:35 Why? No, we can't do that. No, no, come on. We shouldn't even be on this little trip And then we. I'm sorry, you just don't go. You just everybody out of the elevator. We go down together. Yeah, yeah, but of course it goes down and it's closing and the Rangers like, blah blah blah. So he gets stuck in an elevator with the Ranger, which I don't know why there's a Ranger for the arch. National Monument. Rangers. I didn't know they had Rangers. National parks. Yeah, but monuments? Whatever. And there's an older woman with her Chihuahua and a little family. OK, I do want to just point out that I did not like the description of this woman. Oh, it's great.

17:18 Because she is a big fat lady. And and, he writes, she had beady eyes, pointy coffee stained teeth, a floppy denim hat and a denim dress that bulged so much she looked like a blue Jean Blimp. Did they? I just feel like it is not very sensitive to its differing body types and I didn't like that in her. It's like she's so disgusting because she's fat. Yeah, well, that's true. I mean, he has good descriptions of people that have like different types of descriptions, but when it comes to the monsters, I feel like he just let it all fly and he's like, I don't care. We got that sexy minotaur and now we have this.

17:58 I don't know what we're doing here at. Least he gave us that. OK, listen to our first. Episode for that description. That's true. So OK, so come to find out that this woman is a kidnap who is like the mother of monsters and everything and her little Chihuahua is a fire breathing chimera. I cannot wait for this in the show. I feel like it's going to be so cool because also like I feel like in this series, if I'm remembering correctly the few things I remembered, there's quite a few fights in elevators and like small closed in areas which I'm a fan of ever since Captain America be all those hydra agents in an elevator. I'm sold on them. But I'm really excited for this, just to have that, like close quarters.

18:43 There's pedestrians there, there's mortals that have a missed. So I wonder what it's showing is happening. And then also you have a chimera in there and this crazy woman like, so cool. I can't wait to see the Chihuahua transforms the chimera. This tiny little Chihuahua that's going to become this giant, what is it? Lion serpent creature. So I have the description here, just because I like chimeras, I think there's such a cool creature in mythology. It says the head of a lion with a blood caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat and a serpent for a tail. A 10 foot long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy head? That is insane. I like that. The next detail is the rhinestone.

19:25 Dog collar still hung around its neck and the plate sized dog tag was now easy to read. Chimera rabid fire breathing poisonous. If found, please call Tartarus Ext 954. So good. So the Chimera makes a big hole in the side of the thing, so it's good you can see the edge. There's a river you can see out of it. Percy. He loses Riptide out of the hole, of course, which we know it's supposed to come back, but like, he knows that it's not going to be right away. So I would really like to know the like duration that it takes for it to summon back because that should be key to know like he needs to.

20:05 Figure this out. Need a stopwatch moment and and also just the distance matter. So if it goes X amount of miles does that equate into some sort of time? What is the formula? I need to know. X equals what? I don't know. 2 Whatever that means 2. You guys, everybody designs like 2. Yeah, so. So Echidna is taunting him this whole time as well. You have a chimera there, you have mortals there. And she's taunting him like they're not attacking right away. He did get bit by the the snake, so he has venom in him and she's like, you're not going to do it. You're not going to do it. Watch. Is your dad going to save you or you going to do it? He ends up doing it and as he's falling down he praise to his father essentially, and turns out he's fine.

20:50 We can. He just cushions right into the water. Even though it should have been like a cement block, like he could have splatted all over the place, it cushions and and holds him like a baby. Right. And that's the end of Chapter 13. All right, so 14 is titled I Become A Known Fugitive, A wading water Woman waves Percy Santa Monica's Way. Oh wow. WS hardly any PS. So one detail that happened in the previous chapter is that he keeps saying stuff about him being wanted and everything. And I believe it was in the last chapter where I think smelly Gabe now has a bounty out on him. And also we find out that I think we had questioned like what does The Mist show mortals?

21:38 And Riptide was a bat. So, like, I just love the thing of like this crazy kid is terrorizing people with a bat across the country. That's the thing I love that it's national news as well. This 12 year old made national news. His horrible stepfather has news articles and, you know, online videos and Gabe is just on the warpath to just try and make some money or whatever he's trying to do. He's a Jackass, that's what he is. Yeah, he wants he basically wants Sally home to, like, make him dinner or something. Horrible. So in these next three chapters, Percy finds out that he has, like, more powers and abilities because of his lineage. So when he's in water, it's like he's dry. Like, he touches his clothes, he's dry. He picks up a piece of paper in there and a lighter, and he can light the piece of paper.

22:23 Everything becomes dry in water, which I think is so freaking cool that it's not just Oh yeah, he can breathe underwater and swim Morel. It's like, Oh no, he can like, produce fire as well. It's really cool. I like that. But he gets a little water visitor. Yeah, Nyad, I believe. And and she's just like, you must go to Santa Monica. Don't trust the gifts. Oh. What gifts? Hmm. What gifts? Who gave him gifts? No one talks straightforward. Everything's a Riddle. You got to figure it out yourself. Oh, sorry, he has a little puzzle. Good luck. My I. Can't help you, it's. Like no one is willing to just be straightforward. No, not at all.

23:04 He gets out of the water, news reporters are reporting that it was Percy Jackson, that blah blah, blah. So he's like becoming. He's not only terrorizing people on buses and destroyed his stepfather's car and everything, but he is also just destroying monuments in America. So it's getting worse. Like. This is like a federal offense. Exactly the. FBI are coming. Yes, exactly. Poor. Percy Yeah, so now they have to be on the run, but also a little more sneakier on the run. On to 15. Yeah, they can't go back on that train. That's. For sure. So a God buys us cheeseburgers. Wow. A mystical call to camp reveals trouble is brewing. A leather laden God gives the gang a side quest that leads them into a web of despair.

23:53 Wow. Oh, so good. I like that 10. My God I. Love that. So we find out that they so they can't use like technology or cell phones or anything 'cause like it'd be easy for monsters to track them I'm assuming. Monsters own AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. They're all implanted in all of those networks and they could just try and get like the signal. So they have to communicate via Iris Messenger or I. MIM. S which I love that this was what? In the early 2000s? So it's very much on brand, but I wonder if actually there's something later that I'm like, is he going, is something going to be changed to now times to make it more relevant?

24:35 Because I am like who's going to nowadays are like what? Yeah, I guess the equivalent of that would be like DM me, direct message me. To meter message. But then it's not rainbows. Yeah, so they have to use rainbows with water or rainbows in general to communicate with people. So they get to a car wash, they do the sprayer and he calls Camp Halfwood and who picks up? Of all of all people. Luke. That Luke. Luke. Luke. Luke this isn't Laura like Gilmore's Luke, OK? No, He had his issues, but not like Luke. No, he just wanted to own a diner and fall in love. So Luke tells Percy that because of, and I'm assuming that kids will just like demigods will naturally kind of fall into like how they're God.

25:29 Parents are feeling like when battle lines start to be drawn, they too start to do it. So at Camp Half Blood, there's a lot of fights breaking out, their sides being formed because Zeus is pissed off that his master bolt is taken and a lot of the gods are just like conniving being against each other and it's translating it to camp Half Blood, not good. Things aren't good at home. No, they're fighting. The kids have are running amok. And I believe it's Aphrodite. Aries and Apollo are backing Poseidon and Athena is backing Zeus. So we have Annabeth's mother on Zeus's side, and we have Percy on the other side.

26:09 Very awkward for our two of our protagonists here. Luke does say something where he accuses Hades of stealing the Master Bowl, and guessing that Hades this and this is a new magical item that's introduced that he used his Helm of Darkness, which turns him into complete darkness, invisible almost just like Annabeth's cap, but I'm sure it's like at a higher level of invisibility, like nobody could see him that comes into play later. Yes, I also think that Luke does well. He does a lot of seed planting, of trying to, I don't know, steer Percy in some wrong directions here. And he even talks about the past again. At this point, we don't really know what happened with Enebeth and Luke and Grover, but he starts to plant these seeds in Percy's head and he and he says something like and tell Grover it'll be better this time.

26:59 Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just, you know, and then it goes out. But it almost feels like he's telling Percy things, very personal, traumatic things that he shouldn't be telling him. No. And I think the way it's written, I think it's safe to say that there's something more to Luke than Luke is letting on. Like he's putting on a facade almost. And it is very heavy-handed in the book. Like there's more and more. Like we just got a spirit saying don't trust the gifts. Luke gave them a bunch of gifts when he left, when they left. I'm not saying he's the only person that gives them gifts, but it's seeming very much like the way it's written just for the age group. It's like Luke is doing these things like he's.

27:41 Almost too helpful. Right, exactly. And this next God that shows up. It seems like there's a lot of people using Percy as a pawn, and Aries shows up when they're at a diner. Can I read his description? I please do, because it's terrifying. It's leather biker. Daddy don't know, but it's scary, Daddy. It's not good, Daddy. Says the guy on the bike would have made pro wrestlers run for Mama. He was. That's verbatim. He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh.

28:22 He wore red wrap around shades, and he had the cruelest, most brutal face I'd ever seen. Handsome, I guess, but wicked with an oily black crew cut in cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights. Wow, but OK, but you missed the best part. Tell me. And it says that his motorcycle looked like it was wrapped in leather, but looked like Caucasian skin. Leatherface Chainsaw Massacre Ring a bell. Disturbing. He also has fire for eyes. Your eyes are like pools of. Fire. Oh my God, he's just so angry, full of rage.

29:04 So after this asshole of a waitress doesn't want to give these obvious children starving children food, Aries comes in and pays her the food, everything. But it seems like when he walks in a room, especially with mortals, he can kind of command the room and they show him respect in a way. But I don't know if he's like necessarily fully controlling them or if it's just like his presence that does that. He he has an effect. It. It reminds me of Blue Diamond from Steven Universe, where when she's around, you start crying, right? And you don't know why. And he also has this effect where he walks into a room and you bow to him, but you also can feel anger and resentment and bitterness. Like, he just emotes these things into the atmosphere and you can't help but feel them.

29:52 Right. It it just really cool detail and I like that type of descriptions that he puts for him. And of course it's like I I like that some of the stuff in this series is like, oh, that's a cool, unique way to like describe a God or something. And it's like, of course Aries is going to have like human skin on his. Oh yeah. So he essentially goes to the kids and he gets some food and he's like, look, I need you to go and get my shield back. You do that, then I'll like, help you or whatever. And of course Percy's like, no, I don't want. And because of that effect that Aries is having, Percy is becoming more like Persnickety. I was trying to think of AP Word. He did it.

30:34 It's his rage is bubbling a little bit, but they end up doing it because it's like 1. They're gods. Two they can help because he has no money. What is he supposed to do? So he tells him you have to go to the water park and get my shield, which sounds easy, but it's not. But he says that he was with his girlfriend on a date. We do find out that that girlfriend is Aphrodite. None other than the Goddess of love, if you know that she's married to Festus. That causes a problem. That causes a problem. But I did like the detail of them. It's in the conversation as they're going there and talking about it, that Hephaestus was thrown out of Mount Olympus, but he's still married to Aphrodite. But she still goes around his back, which obviously, like, I mean, I I do think it's funny that Percy is like, did you like, wait, I thought you were married? It's like, do you see how many kids are? I can't half.

31:29 Blood, I know. It's really funny. It's like it's like they can cheat with mortals, but if they cheat with each other, that's a no no. Exactly. You don't. How dare You don't. What is it you don't? Mingle. Crap where you eat. Or wherever you eat shit. Where you eat, yeah. You don't. You don't poop where you die. Yeah. So I really liked the sequence and I was really upset and I think this is another reason why I did not like the first movie is because they cut this out. They cut this. Whole thing out of Festus Aries, all that was not in this in the movie. And I'm so happy that we're finally going to get it, because we've seen a still of Annabeth and Percy in the tunnel of love.

32:12 Well, we really, I mean, that's the beauty of a series, right? Is that it gives us the time to experience all these things and let all the source material breathe. So we get to hit these beats because you know, what is it like 8 episodes? You know? So we really do kind of get to see these fun things. And this scene was really fun. You know it. I like seeing the three of them working together. You know, in these past couple of scenes, it feels like Annabeth and Grover being like, no, you dummy, you're doing this wrong, This is what's happening. Whereas since Percy's in the action with Annabeth and Grover is like flying above them, they get to work as a trio and solve. This problem I love right before they get into the boat that like, they know it's the Tunnel of love. So it's that very like adolescent trope of like they go to the tunnel of love and fall in love and like Grover's the red bearing.

33:02 I I like that Percy is like making him feel better for not realizing that the smell of monsters was actually real at the arch. And he's like you're the red bearing. You need to be up there. Like you got this. And he's like Annabeth when I go down there with me and she's like in there, OK? Smooching. Yeah, smooching. But when they get there, not only is the shield there, the Aphrodite scarf is there, and Annabeth takes it away from Percy real quick. And he's like, you don't you can't have any of that love magic which it will come into play later. And I love that Annabeth had the wherewithal to be like Nope. I love seeing how powerful these Talisman are, and it is kind of funny seeing Percy being the one that doesn't have all this knowledge and Grover and Annabeth having to teach him being like no, no, no, no, no, constantly. Yeah, don't go there, don't do this. They they're basically watching a demigod baby. Right.

33:54 And we find out that one of Annabeth's weaknesses is spiders. Yes, because her. Because her mother Athena and all of her children are cursed to always have any spider within with around them always come to them. Yes, there's the myth of Arachne that plays into this. And you know, Athena and Arachne had about together. And so Arachne was kind of it was a spider woman. I've read a young adult novel this year called Spin that was a retelling of that myth. That was really good, and it paints Athena as the worst, as the gods kind of were a lot of the time. So highly recommended. It was very good. I think it depends on what, like myth you're reading.

34:38 And that's how bad they are, you know what I mean? It's like, Oh yeah, this one is great and I love them. Like if you read Cersei by Madeline Miller, it's like she's the protagonist and everything, but it's like she's not great the whole way. No. The whole time. So this is fun. This is why retellings of myths, or like finding which stories you like is good because you could hate that God, but another story, you could love them. But either way, all the children of Athena don't like spiders, so Annabeth is pretty much, like, useless in this situation. They trip a wire, there's a pretty much like a spider web being built, and there's cameras on them. The whole thing is being live streamed because it's told to them it's a. Reality show. Because this is a Festus trying to embarrass his wife in Aries, catching him in the ACT again with a golden net. So Percy uses his water powers.

35:27 They get out of it, they got the shield, they go back. That brings us to Chapter 16. Called We Take a Zebra to Vegas. The last chapter, yes. A free ride to Cali turns into a rescue mission. Percy, Annabeth and Grover find out that what happens in Vegas really does stay in Vegas. Nice. So they they go to Aries and they're like, we got your shield. So he gives them fresh clothes, $20. And some drachma $20. That's it. That's all you need. They almost died. They were almost embarrassed on live Olympian TV.

36:08 They kind of were. And luckily they got out of it and he also gives them double stuff Oreos. And also a blue backpack. That's right. It's very important. The double stuff Oreos stuck out to me because I would have loved that. So there's this argument between Percy and Aries, and Percy is, you know, he's at his all time, like not wanting to deal with this guy. He's like, you knew this was a trap and you sent me there to do it. And Aries could have done it. He just don't want to get embarrassed. And so that's why he made Percy do it, right? And so he pretty much tells him the information that he wanted. He's like, your mom's not dead. Which is like, yeah, OK. I think we even knew that as readers like up to this point, it's like, thanks Aries.

36:49 But I do think the interesting thing is that he says she's. Being kept right, right more, you have to have hostages. Ay, yay, yay, Not my mother. Yeah, so they find out that their transport is one of the worst transports ever and it's called kindness, international, humane, zoo, transport, warning live wild animals. And in here when they go into this freight or carrier or transportation thing, they see these not really humanely taking care of animals. There's an albino lion, a zebra, and some antelope all mixed up. Yes, it's like, why would the turnips go to the lion?

37:30 Like, yeah, and the zebra has I. Think gum in its mane and the antelope has a balloon tied to its antler. This is over the hill. Yeah, it's it's not a good scene. It's definitely a trigger warning. Well, and of course also Grover. Is pissed off about that. Yes, he can talk to animals. And we also find out that Percy can talk to horses and a zebra is close enough to all checked out in my book. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I I. I think this situation is interesting for them to be put in because it's like it's showing that like again, Grover is put with this thing that's happening because nobody's been able to find Pan. And so, like, this is driving his quest a little more. But it also effects Grover a little more than it affects Annabeth and Percy, because it's he's connected to them in this transportation thing the way, yeah, from hell on the way to wherever they're going, we get more information about is it it's a dream, right?

38:36 Or is it? Well, they they're. Having a conversation and we finally get the missing pieces of the puzzle about Talia and the pine tree. And it's that Annabeth and Luke are the ones that made it to camp safely when she got turned into the pine tree. Right. So Grover. Was enabled because Grover was supposed to help Talia, right? And then Luke and Annabeth showed up with them. They got in safely, but Talia was the one that really protected him. So that's technically why he failed, right? Yes, he didn't succeed, but then he does have a dream. Right, and it it's written. I looked over at the desk at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straight jacket. She was my age, with unruly black punk style hair, dark eyeliner around her, stormy green eyes, and freckles across her nose. Somehow I knew who she was.

39:20 She was Talia. Daughter of Zeus, I mean. Hell, yeah, Yeah. So Talia, if she's showing up in his dream and it's also said, I believe Grover, there's a Grover that said it. Or Luke, somebody had told them that Talia and Percy are the most powerful ones to come to camp or to be in existence for a while. I mean, she's a daughter of Zeus, he's a sign of a sign. And we saw how empty their cabins are. So for them to have kids, they are like the most powerful out of all of them. The Chosen 1 quotes. I put that in quotes. For people that. Can't see what I'm doing. So that's an interesting part of the puzzle, right? It's so Annabeth has some guilt there with Talia, and Grover has so much guilt because the thing he was supposed to safely transport her there, he couldn't do that. But luckily Luke and Annabeth got there, you know? But that's also why Annabeth and Luke have that connection as well.

40:18 But they both came there at the same time. They were on that journey together. Exactly. Yep. We also get another. Thing here where Percy, sort of in his dream, crosses over into, I don't know, being we don't know who it is. Right. I think I remember who it is. I'm not going to say, but this God, which we can tell is talking to somebody, right? And there's this whole conversation of like, you know, they're talking, they're being sneaky, whatever. And the God notices that Percy is there. So it's not like Percy is having just dreams. He's actually transporting himself to those situations and that God was able to notice it, which is terrifying because Percy didn't know he was doing it.

41:03 He thought they were dreams. Yeah, so someone. Named the crooked one is there and he he has his mom. But it is interesting that Percy has his power to be in another place while he's sleeping. He's a high level demigod. Apparently so. Yeah, so they end up. Letting, of course, all these animals go. They switched their foods back prior to that, so they got to have a good meal. But they stopped in Vegas. Las Yes, of all places. Oh my God, Katy. Perry, They were so close. They. Stopped in Vegas. Sin City, baby. And they. End up at the Lotus casino or arcade, whatever you want to call it.

41:46 I do think it's really interesting that like and I didn't get the sense, I mean I'm, I think there might have been a line or so. So when they go into this casino, it like has everything a kid could want. It has all this food, it has all these games, everything that you can want. And I couldn't remember in the book and I I guess I missed it of it actually being a casino. I know they say casino in the name, but like in the movie they hammed up like it was just a casino. It was like sexy. It was dancing, it was all this stuff. But in the book, it's very much like arcade games and video games. Adabeth is basically playing The Sims. Yeah, she's playing Roller Coaster Tycoon. Yes, SIM. City SIM City, yeah, she's just building buildings, yeah. She loves being an architect so much. Yeah, it's called the Lotus Hotel and Casino, but I almost think it it becomes whatever will tempt you the most to stay there.

42:37 So maybe if an adult went in there, it would be slot machines and blackjack. Well, they did say the. Room was on the 4th thousandth floor. Plenty of room for. That's a lot. Yeah. Plenty of, yeah. I mean, what like? What is? Isn't it like Mount Olympus is on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building? So this is more Yeah, or is. It I feel like they're lying. They could be lying. They just make it sound fancy. So yeah, they're fancy. So essentially what this place? Is if you ever really read the Odyssey, there's a part of it, the Lotus Eaters. And essentially what that does is it makes you forget all concept of time and everything and you just like chill and you're OK with everything and you die.

43:17 So that's what's happening here in this casino is that there's stuff being pumped into the vents, which we can assume is like some type of Lotus gas in a way. And they're there and they're like, we'll just have fun, it'll be fine. They only had seven days. Mama. They're on a time frame. They. Had a week, OK. I love that Percy figured it out by somebody Groovy saying groovy, he said. I'm wearing bell bottoms. Man, but so this is what brings me to. Like, it's going to be 2023 when this comes out as a show. What are they going to say for Percy to know that it was so, like, what did we say in the 90s?

44:00 What did I say? In the 90s, like I feel like they would say like like tubular in the 90s. I don't know. I was. Five, OK. So let's say this isn't the. Future And it's like, what would they say that we say like, are they going to dab and they're going to be like, this is no, Oh yeah, they'll be like. He'll be like TTYL this is lit. This is lit such a biter. Man, this is dope. Dope that. I think I nailed it. There you go. Yeah, this is. Flipping dope, but I love. That he puts it together. Because he's like, wait a second, what year is it from the 70s? And then he finds out that all these people have been there. They never left, and they don't age, so they just kind of or they're forever just stuck forever. Yeah.

44:44 So when? Percy finally gets. His companions to wake up and get out of it. They only have one day, one day, five days. They were in there five days. Let you know. At first I will say that I did. I was like I was like Annabeth 5 days of SIM City. But then I thought about myself in quarantine and how I played Animal Crossing. Oh my God, I'm like looking for turnips. I'm flying islands. I'm trying to get the highest bound balance when a new patch. Or expansion comes out for World of Warcraft. I am in this office. Yeah, forever. I don't see you. At during the week I don't see you at night and on the weekends I don't see you at all. No.

45:27 Goodbye. I'm like. Let's get dinner. We got to record this podcast and then I'm. Going to go play? Exactly, yeah. And he's. Playing and editing at the same time very special, so I get. It. But I like this. I like this twist. Of course they had to do it right. It's like he had to speed it up and set cause a week to get there is not that long. So he had to leisurely. He had to raise the stakes, and they only have a day. But there is something peculiar. When they went up to the room and changed and everything, Hersey specifically threw out the backpack that Ares gave him, 'cause he's like, when we leave, I'll just get another one, which, I don't know why you wouldn't just, like, take the one you have, but whatever. When he gets out of the hotel, he has it on him and he's like, I'm pretty sure.

46:11 So it's like you lost five days, but somehow the backpack is still with you. It's Dora the Explorer. Don't trust the gifts. That you are given. So now he has gifts from Luke. He has gifts from Kyron. He has gifts from Aries. This kid. He's getting so many messages. He's getting messages from rainbows. He's getting messages from water nymphs. He's getting messages from voices in his sleep. He doesn't know what to do anymore, like what he is. Mummy lady, the Oracle. There you go, Mummy lady. So next week is our last read through for this book. We're going to finish it and then we have some very exciting things with Percy Jackson.

46:59 There's been some developments, there's been some cool things that happened. So keep a lookout for those. I'm winking very heavily, Very exciting stuff. So we are going to finish the book and then shortly after that the show premieres. I'm so excited. Yeah, I'm really excited. I can't wait I. Can't wait to dig into the show. I'm really enjoying rereading this and I kind of can't wait to do the little. This is what happened in the book and this is what happened in the show. And this is how they changed and this is how they modernized it. And I also think that there's just, you know, the, I guess how old was I? Probably like 18 when I first read these books. There's the 18 year old inside of me. That's just like really excited for a true adaptation of this book. Very excited.

47:41 What we'll do next time before we start the episode, we're going to take the quiz to find out what cabin we're in. And you guys do it too. So take the quiz. It's on BuzzFeed. It's like the first one that you search when you do it and let us know what you get. Yeah, I want to know. Let us know. And. Then you'll know, would any of us be? Bunking together. Fun. I don't. I wonder who I'm going to get. I'm probably going to get somebody I don't want. I hope. I hope I get. Someone fancy? I want to be Aphrodite. Oh well. Pretty. You are. You're pretty. Am I? Pretty all right. So we. Have tons of questions with Percy Jackson.

48:23 How is it going to end? Who has the Master Bowl? Who's pulling on the strings? Which gifts can we trust? Yeah. We have a lot. The conclusion next week, I hope those of you that are reading along, I did get a message that somebody was reading the book a book before and they wanted to like finish that book before they started this. And today they started reading Percy Jackson so they can catch up on the episodes. So that makes me very happy. Me too. And I know that, like down below in Spotify, we ask questions. And on the first episode, I was like, when did you first read Percy Jackson? And I believe her name was Sarah. She put last week because of the podcast. So it's like that just makes us happy, you know, just sharing this type of stuff, especially with people have never read it before.

49:05 So hope you guys are having fun. It's a lot of fun. Yeah, I'm excited. All right, next week. Yeah, next week. Goodbye.