10 Easter Eggs & Hidden Details In Percy Jackson Season 1 Episode 4

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Percy Jackson & the Olympians season 1, episode 4, “I Plunge to My Death.”

Percy Jackson & the Olympians episode 4 brings Percy, Annabeth, and Grover one step closer to Los Angeles, but this leg of their journey is just as full of obstacles as the first one — and it contains plenty of references and Easter eggs to Rick Riordan’s books and Greek mythology. Episode 4, “I Plunge to My Death,” begins with the main trio on a train, two days out from the Underworld. Their ride is interrupted by an worrisome foe, forcing them off the train and into the city of St. Louis. Their excursion is anything but positive, and it forces Percy to question the Olympian gods even more than before.

Things look dire frequently throughout episode 4, which throws the biggest threat at the show’s main trio yet. In the process, Percy Jackson & the Olympians works in several nods to Greek mythology and Riordan’s source material. In fact, the villain herself is pulled straight from both, as are a number of other details.

10 Episode 4’s Title Is Pulled Straight From The Lightning Thief

Like all of Percy Jackson season 1’s episode titles, “I Plunge to My Death” is a direct reference to one of the chapters in The Lightning Thief. This chapter sees similar events playing out, though the Disney+ series elaborates on the confrontation that unfolds at the Gateway Arch. Still, the Percy Jackson chapter and the episode based on it both conclude in the same way: with Percy plunging to his death. Fortunately, Poseidon steps in during both iterations of the story, preventing a tragic end to the demigods’ quest.

9 Percy’s Dream References The Main Villain (Again)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians episode 4 opens with Percy dreaming about the disembodied voice again, but the Disney+ show has yet to reveal who’s speaking to him. Percy has a similar dream during his train ride in the books, though he’s more upfront with Annabeth and Grover about it — and the voice offers a trade for his mother, while its TV counterpart simply warns Percy, “She is coming.” Percy and viewers are meant to suspect Hades, but the voice and man in Percy’s nightmares actually belongs to the Titan, Kronos, who has his own goals for getting Percy to the Underworld.

8 Sally & Percy’s Pool Scene Alludes To Their Financial Situation

Percy Jackson makes allusions to growing up poorer than the other kids at Yancy Academy in The Lightning Thief, but the early episodes of the Disney+ show don’t focus on this. However, Sally and Percy’s pool scene during episode 4 references their financial situation when Sally snaps at her son during swimming lessons. When Percy doesn’t get in the pool, Sally tells him that they paid for the lesson. Her annoyance is a clear nod to their financial worries, proving the show’s commitment to staying faithful to the source material.

7 Percy Jackson Episode 4 References Annabeth’s Backstory

Annabeth’s backstory in Percy Jackson has yet to be unraveled in any depth, but episode 4 gives viewers the first taste of her home life outside Camp Half-Blood. She tells Percy how Athena brought her to life — using her mind — and it’s a clear reference to Athena springing from Zeus’ head in Greek mythology (via Rick Riordan). Her children are born this way in the Percy Jackson world, then given as gifts to Athena’s lovers. This is how Annabeth came to have a father, but her step-mother doesn’t view her positively. She tells Percy this in “I Plunge to My Death,” suggesting it’s why she ran away.

6 Grover Is Looking For The Greek God Pan

Percy Jackson & the Olympians episode 4 also digs into Grover’s motivations further, revealing his quest to find the Greek god Pan. Satyrs have a similar goal in the Percy Jackson books, and Pan’s disappearance is attributed to humans’ destruction of nature. Grover alludes to this in “I Plunge to My Death,” after the trio passes centaurs running parallel to their train. He also reveals that his Uncle Ferdinand was a “searcher” with the goal of finding Pan, opening the door for the Disney+ show to explore this book subplot in more depth.

5 Echidna’s Introduction Gives More Insight Into Monsters

Much like Medusa becomes the antagonist in Percy Jackson episode 3, Echidna takes on the role in episode 4, finding Percy and his friends on the train and chasing them into St. Louis with her Chimera. Echidna is the “mother of monsters” in Percy Jackson & the Olympians, a role taken from her depiction in Greek mythology, which describes her as bearing many major monsters to Typhon (via Drakon: Dragon and Serpent Cult in the Greek and Roman Worlds). Echidna doesn’t take the same half-serpent, half-woman form in the Disney+ show, but her characterization references her mythological inspiration.

4 The Gateway Arch In St. Louis Is A Temple To Athena

Percy and his friends find themselves at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri in the Percy Jackson books, but episode 4 adds an interesting detail to this. While Annabeth is simply attracted to the architecture in the source material, she seeks out the Gateway Arch because it’s a temple to Athena in the show. It serves as a sanctuary to those who worship the goddess, though Athena refuses to protect the young demigods following the incident with Medusa’s head. This allows the series to explore Annabeth’s relationship with her mother in more depth, and it also gives viewers a look at an Olympian gods’ temple.

3 Percy Jackson Episode 4 Continues Its Greek God Criticisms

Percy Jackson & the Olympians masterfully criticizes the Greek gods, just like in the books, and the Disney show alludes to the issues with these mythical figures multiple times in episode 4. Not only does Athena punish Annabeth for Percy’s actions, but Percy’s father takes a long time to step in and help his son — potentially because Percy spends much of “I Plunge to My Death” condemning him. Even Echidna acknowledges that the gods don’t often care about their demigod children, and these multiple references to their negligence tease the overall theme of the series and the betrayal that’s coming for Percy Jackson.

2 Percy & Annabeth’s Step Toward Friendship Is Right On Time

Percy and Annabeth almost admit that they’re friends in Percy Jackson episode 4, and this references the evolution of their relationship during this chapter in the book. Although they come around to each other in a slightly different manner in the source material, the chapter “I Plunge to My Death” sees Percy asking Annabeth, “Couldn’t we work together a little? I mean, didn’t Athena and Poseidon ever cooperate?” Annabeth reluctantly admits that they did with the chariot, opening the door for her and Percy to work together, much like their conversation does in the show.

1 Percy Faces The Chimera In “I Plunge To My Death”

Percy faces the Chimera during Percy Jackson episode 4, a monster Riordan pulls from Greek mythology. Although Percy Jackson & the Olympians takes some liberties with the creature, making the three-headed animal hybrid look less disturbing than its original imagining, its fire-breathing abilities and parentage (Echidna and Typhon) are faithful to its description in the myths (via Theoi Greek Mythology). The Disney show stays true to Riordan’s books by sending the Chimera after Percy and his friends at this point of their journey. However, it won’t be seen again, unless the series makes changes to the books.