#we visit the garden gnome emporium spoilers

[feelingtheaster99]

Leah Jefferies is SERVING Annabeth. She:

Immediately takes charge

Is annoyed by Percy’s pestering but keeps a fairly level head

Prioritizes Percy’s safety even in small things like having sit in the back of a smelly bus

[arcadialedger]

Episode 3 Percabeth: I would kill for you

Episode 5 Percabeth: I would die for you

Bearing in mind that they've known each other for all of less than a month.

[renegadesstuff]

ENEMIES TO LOVERS, HERE WE GO! 🥹🥹

[iwishiwasplayinglegorightnow]

"As soon as you guys hear me say, 'Maia,' you guys start--"

[lynsstrange]

It’s funny you had some issues with the tension in episode 3, because all of the interactions with Medusa felt like a horror movie to me! It made me so tense lol. And I don’t mean this in a confrontational or “I’m right you’re wrong” way, I just love how everyone can experience media differently.

Oh yeah, definitely. That was one of my favorite parts of the episode. I’m just not a fan of how that scene ended, particularly. There wasn’t much of a fight like in the book, and the show made it look like she was relatively easy to kill. Same thing with the furies, the bus scene more specifically. The entire scene in the book is chaotic, with Percy hijacking the bus, and it crashing into a forest. All three Grover, Percy, and Annabeth have to fight for their lives and just make it out of the bus after killing all three furies. The entire scene there’s also a raging storm, and it ends with the bus getting struck by a massive bolt of lightning of Zeus’s wrath.

In the show, that would have been a perfect scene to finally show stakes, and also showcase the true danger they are in due to the war between the gods (in the book it’s storming constantly, and odd natural occurrences are happening everywhere, creating a feeling of ominousness that the show is also missing.) But instead the scene is a total of like two minutes, with Percy, Annabeth, and Grover kind of just standing around trying to figure out what to do as a fury veeeeery slowly advances towards them in the aisle. Then Annabeth throws her knife at the fury, they hop out of a broken window, and that’s that. I like overall how Medusa’s part was done, like you said. I felt Rick did a really good job of expanding Percy and Annabeth’s characters during that while also keeping a fair amount of tension, but I should maybe rephrase to say that it more feels like there’s no stakes in the monsters they have to face, so far. Save the Minotaur, they’ve gotten away pretty easy each time.

Bc I know I’ve been rambling: tdlr; I’ve really liked the show so far but hope to see a really engaging action scene soon that has more stakes, and is a true challenge for the trio to face. Ik they might be saving that for Percy’s face off with Ares, so we’ll see.

[dncingthrghlife]

no, not a lin cameo pre-credits stinger

[artfulacrostic]

memes for Percy Jackson and the Olympians 1x03, "We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium"

*SPOILERS*

[clearascountryair]

Okay so I still can't get over how perfect "We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium" was and I have a lot of thoughts. I just can't get over how perfectly they're blending together character exploration and plot. It's all so perfect and cohesive and I want to talk a little about how they're dealing with the relationships between the characters.

Percy and Grover

I think at first we’re supposed to think Percy wants Grover on the quest because he is his only friend, so therefore has to be the traitor, but then at the end, we get that it’s just because Percy fully trusts that Grover won’t betray him because he is used to the world where he and Grover are each other’s only friends.  But that completely breaks for him when he finds out that Grover was Annabeth’s (and Luke and Thalia’s) protector first because he’s realizing that, while Grover would never betray him in malice, he, like Luke, might betray him if that’s what Annabeth needed (for safety, for the quest, for anything).  And it also speaks so loudly to Percy’s views of friendship and loyalty:  I don’t think Percy thinks he will be betrayed in some big malicious way.  I think that he believes it is tied to failing to save what matters most—he won’t be betrayed by a fake friend who actually hates him, but by a real friend who will try to stop him from saving his mom if it interferes with the quest.  He trusted that Grover will help him save his mom, even if that means risking the quest, but made that decision not knowing that Grover has an even longer history with Annabeth and might choose her not because he doesn’t love Percy, but because he loves Annabeth, too.

2. Annabeth and Percy

She’s so freaking determined to be the best.  And as must as I love that post going around on here and Twitter and TikTok about how Annabeth was struggling with the candy because, in addition to never having gone to a store before, she wanted to do something nice for Percy (and Grover), I don’t think it was just about friendship.  Percy was doubting her authority.  I don’t think she gives a crap (at least, she won’t admit to it) about whether or not he likes her.  I just don’t think she’s above buying his respect.  The way she refers to him is so mean?  Like, constantly referring to him as Grover’s friend, but in a way that feels like a pet.  She says “Grover, control your friend,” but might as well be saying “Control you dog.”  I could easily believe that she was effectively buying dog treats. But I also think both can be true.  Because she clearly was so hurt by what he said about them not being friends, so she must want to be friends. ***Very minor spoilers for the rest of the books here, so skip to the third section if you've never read them*** And the ONLY time Annabeth talks about something positive from the first seven years of her life in ALL ELEVEN BOOKS IN WHICH SHE PROMINENTLY FEATURES is when she talks about her dog.  For seven years, the only thing that loved her (and the only thing she loved) was her dog.  Obviously, she is 12 and knows that dogs aren’t people and people aren’t dogs,  but the only time she has probably ever had to work for someone’s affection and has been successful in that effort was probably with her dog.

(And yes, I know: Grover and Thalia and Luke.  But those friendships are all different because all three of them were in an inherent place of authority and protection over her.  I think we all tend to forget that while Grover and Annabeth appear the same age now, they probably didn’t when they met.  Thalia was the closest in age to her, and she’s still five years older.  And Annabeth doesn’t seem to have any other close friends).

I also love that it’s Percy who’s reluctant to the friendship here.  Annabeth is just too traumatized and un-socialized to do it on her own.  They’re not not friends because Annabeth is hung up on the Poseidon v Athena rivalry like she is in the books, they’re not friends because Annabeth (from Percy’s perspective) is a jerk.

3. Annabeth and Athena

The way Grover looks at her when Percy suggests leaving her hat with Medusa and she just says “Okay”!!!!  Like, you cannot tell me that that conversation went down the way it did with no relation to the earlier conversation with Medusa.  Despite her adamant defense of Athena, Annabeth was just told that her mother is a monster and a monster creator, straight from the mouth of one of her victims.  For the first time in her life, the pedestal Annabeth has put her mom on is deteriorating and, before Annabeth gets the chance to pry further, they kill Medusa.  And sure, this confirms to Annabeth that she was right.  But she can’t stop the nagging in her head that, even if Medusa is a monster, she’s a monster that Athena created and how can that mean Athena is anything other than a monster?  Especially when Medusa loved Athena just as Annabeth does.  Even if she doesn’t totally believe her, she doesn’t not believe her, either.  How can there not be a part of her brain that wonders, “will my mom turn on me one day, too?”  So when Percy suggests leaving her hat behind, that broken, doubting part of herself says, “Okay.”  Because, yes, it’s a gift from her mom.  But what does that mean when her mom is a monster?

(And so maybe we will get an Annabeth-driven emphasis on the Athena v Poseidon rivalry not because of Annabeth’s blind loyalty to her mother, but because she has seen what happens when favorites of Athena appear too loyal to Poseidon.)

[manygeese]

I watched the Percy Jackson tv series and now it’s time for the brainrot

Loved the series but I want to talk about one thing and only one thing rn

ARTHUR’S THEME

Spoilers ahead

At the end of one episode (I think it was “We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium”), Hermes is in the elevator which is playing Arthur’s theme. He sings a little bit of the chorus (only the “New York City” part) and instead of the normal theme at the end credits, Arthur’s theme plays.

The end credits open with the line “Arthur, he does as he pleases” which is probably symbolic of Percy disobeying Annabeth and Grover’s suggestion of burying Medusa’s head and sending it to the Gods. Percy is doing as he pleases, he’s showing how he feels to the gods, he doesn’t really care what they think about him. The episode ended with Hermes delivering the head to Olympus so big connection between the song, Percy, and his relationship with the gods.

Then we get to “All of his life, his master’s toys”. Percy has only just entered the control of the gods, as he didn’t know his heritage until the beginning of the series. He’s only been “his master’s toys” for a couple of days by this episode, and while I think this line could be interpreted to be about Percy, I think this line is more about Annabeth.

Annabeth has been striving for her mother’s approval for forever. She’s been waiting for a quest sent by the gods so she can prove herself. She has been at the gods’ mercies since she came to camp. She has been their toy until Percy came along and gave her a chance. Percy doesn’t make her prove herself to be his friend, to have his approval, he approves from the start (even if he’s scared of her lol).

“Deep in his heart, he’s just, he’s just a boy

Living his life one day at a time

He’s showing himself a pretty good time”

These lines may reflect Percy’s attitude toward the quest. He goes from one monster to the next. Mrs. Dodds, the Minotaur, the furies, Medusa, etc etc. Basically living his new life one day at a time (that’s kind of how I felt reading the book).

But he’s not ready for this- none of them are. Annabeth’s not ready to face her mother’s judgement, Grover’s… well, he’s Grover, and he’s the living definition of panic attack at least in the books, and Percy is totally unprepared. He’s just a boy. They’re just preteens. They’re kids, and the gods are forcing them to be heroes.

Yet despite it all, they’re becoming friends, they’re even having a little fun, they’re making the best of it. They’re enjoying their seemingly limited time on earth before the gods destroy it. They’re just kids, they’re just living, they’re just trying to do the best that they can do (AND that’s a lyric in the chorus lol). This is how Percy sees it. These lines explain Percy’s point of view.

And finally, the last line I wanted to talk about, “Laughing about the way they want him to be.” This a mixture of the previous lines- he’s “showing himself a pretty good time”, he “does as he pleases”. And most importantly, he sees that he and the other demigods are their “master’s toys”, that heroism is a vicious cycle of serving and not getting recognized for all the work you’re doing. And what does Percy do? He laughs. He acts impertinent. He helps Annabeth and Grover break out of the cycle, and he goes around telling everybody who says “it’s just the way things are” that it shouldn’t HAVE to be that way.

P.S: Hermes only sings the “New York City” part of the chorus. The full line is “When you get caught between the moon and New York City” (this is where I go into dumbass analysis mode). This could be Hermes not acknowledging that demigods are stuck in a cycle that the gods have trapped them in (leaving out the “when you get CAUGHT”). This is silly

[radioshackraider]

Changes on Episode 3 of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Only one episode to write about here, but still some changes made, so lets get on with it. The Changes I noticed: We don't hear the whole prophecy this time. Originally we see Percy receive the full prophecy from the Oracle, but this time we don't. We don't even get to see him being told to visit the Oracle. The oracle's prophecy is delivered differently, but that's to be expected since Gabe's poker playing is online in the show, as opposed to as a group. The oracle seems different? I want to say it was less of a full body in the books and more of a limbless torso type deal, or at least that's how I always interpreted it. Percy is given the choice of the entire camp to have on his quest, instead of basically being forced into taking Annabeth and Grover. Which, IMO, makes him choosing to pick Annabeth feel weird. They've barely interacted at this point. His reasoning for picking her makes sense, but also doesn't because it later comes up that he doesn't trust her, thanks to the prophecy. The Bus Journey only has 2 of the 3 Furies. Annabeth takes a more active role here, as well as showing familiarity with Alecto. Alecto being named is important as she isn't done so in this book originally. The Bus Journey has reminded me that we didn't see the Three Fates during episode 1. We've seen them in promotional material, but their absence so far is noteworthy, and I wish I had noticed it sooner. The bus isn't blown up, and as a result Alecto survives it long enough to hunt the Trio down to Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium. Speaking of Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, lets talk about Medusa. I originally was going to say that she comes across as VERY different to how she was in the book, but after thinking on it, she isn't. Sure, she has a bit of a disagreement with Alecto, "saving" the trio from her, but that's about the only major change from the book. She was introduce as sweet and kind to children in need, and that's exactly what she was here. She's far more open and honest with the trio about her intentions and identity, and feels far more sympathetic as well, but at the end of the day she's still largely the Gorgon we know from the book, turning innocent people to stone and selling them. The biggest difference is how she died, which was ingenious frankly. Using Annabeth's Invisibility Cap to make it so they couldn't see her was fantastic, and the kind of thinking one should expect from a Daughter of Athena. We see someone (Who, SPOILERS, is Hermes), deliver Medusa's head to Olympus. Something we didn't originally see in the book, and frankly means nothing currently, without us knowing that Lin Manuel Miranda is Hermes. Which honestly makes it feel like a very weak inclusion. I assume it's going to pay off when we see Hermes again, but without any kind of knowledge on who LMM is playing, it kinda just feels pointless to me.

[feelingtheaster99]

YAAAS “I am impertinent” is one of my favorite Percy lines; I’m glad it made the cut

[arcadialedger]

The look on Annabeth’s face when Percy said he didn’t think they could be friends.

Man, Leah is a brilliant actress: never forget Annabeth had abandonment issues too and had lost people. And the fact Percy will go on to always chose her? Impeccable. Soulmates.

[renegadesstuff]

Both were offered the opportunity to betray the other, but both chose to save the other 🥺🤍

[magnorious]

Review: We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium

TL;DR: Where the heck was this writing and directing in the premier? It's fantastic.

---

I admit, I was harsh on the premier. I stand by my opinion that Disney, with its endless Disney Money, should have strived to make a show that's amazing from the opening scene, not just get along by brand recognition. I nitpicked the inconsistences and there's still plenty here. With the lack of real combat scenes so far (the Fury fight in the museum, the hellhound at the creek, even the bus explosion) I'm wondering if the producers were too afraid of scaring children (in adapting a children's book) to really go for it. The rush this time at least had a creative re-write. All that said, episode three feels like it was produced, written, and directed by a completely different team. The acting is better, the pacing is better, the strange editing choices are fewer in between. The music is more memorable, the castings for new faces fit better, the tone is darker where it needs to be, the characters (minus Annabeth) feel so much more like themselves.

Is it completely faithful to the book? No. But as I said for the premier, changing how the source material happened isn't bad if the changes improve upon the existing story, or get to the same point if in a slightly different way. The encounter with Medusa is, book-to-screen, line-by-line, very different. But the vibe is the same. She's still creepy and threatening and a hell of an interesting perspective for Percy and Annabeth to face, being who they are, and she drops major hints on the entire theme of the book series: The gods' neglect and how many problems it causes. Her costume is different but it works. Her dialogue is longer, but it works. The Fury being there at all forces them underground and remain within Medusa's reach. I still also stand by that I wish this show had been animated a la Arcane or Spiderverse, but episode three proved the world over that this team is dedicated to telling the story, even if it mucks up a few plot beats along the way. **Minor spoiler** Percy's indignant "I am impertient" was perfect. 10/10.

It doesn't feel like it did in the premier, where the team certainly read the book, but didn't understand why some details were important to get correct. This feels like they really did their homework this time and I sincerely hope the rest of the series keeps going up from here. Side note: Costume department! I see you. I see you there dressing Percy in shades of blue and green when he's not in his camp t-shirt. I noticed. I see the 40s vibe you went with for Medusa. It mostly makes up for the Oracle looking more underfed than mummified corpse, but, you know, you win some and you lose some.

Side side note: The post-credits preview music sounds uncannily like the Avengers theme.