Warning! This article contains spoilers for Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 5.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 5 contains one specific sequence that fixes a major issue with the 2010 movie concerning Percy and Annabeth’s relationship. The first adaptation of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson book series was released in 2010 under the title Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Despite being an enjoyable enough film in its own right, many familiar with the original books would agree that the Percy Jackson movie had its share of issues.
Aside from a few book changes the Percy Jackson TV show employs, the Disney+ adaptation has proven to be much more faithful to the spirit, characters, and stories of Riordan’s source material. This is more evident than ever in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 5 which introduces Ares, another of Percy Jackson‘s Greek gods. Through the inclusion of Ares, Percy Jackson episode 5 rectifies one of the biggest errors made by the 2010 movie adaptation that centers around the relationship of Percy and Annabeth.
Disney’s Percy Jackson Masterfully Continues The Books’ Greatest Criticism Of Greek Gods’ 5000-Year-Old Failures
Percy Jackson and the Olympians continues the book series’ best trait, that being the criticisms of the Olympian gods’ 5000-year-old failures.
Percy Jackson Episode 5 Features Percy & Annabeth’s Tunnel Of Love Sequence
The iconic book sequence has been restored after being removed from the original film adaptation.
The core premise of Percy Jackson episode 5 centers on Ares, specifically the god of war’s demand for Percy and Annabeth to retrieve his shield from an abandoned water park. After fetching the shield, Ares promises Annabeth, Percy, and Grover safe transportation to Las Vegas where they can subsequently be driven to Los Angeles by Hermes. This leads Annabeth and Percy to Waterland where they have to endure the Tunnel of Love ride to find Ares’ shield.
This Waterland sequence may seem like an inconsequential side quest, yet it has since become one of the more iconic chapters of the original book. The reason for this is the way it transitions Percy and Annabeth’s relationship from antagonistic acquaintances to genuine friends. This scene allows Annabeth and Percy to accept one another as companions and is often seen as the true beginning of their relationship which blossoms over the five books. What makes the sequence as it is seen in Percy Jackson episode 5 even better, however, is that the Waterland scenes were completely omitted from the 2010 movie.
Instead, 2010’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief replaced the Waterland sequence with the Parthenon in Nashville where Percy, Annabeth, and Grover fight the Hydra. This scene is exciting enough but replaces all of the development given to Percy, Annabeth, Hephaestus, and Ares with a mindless action sequence against a giant dragon. In rectifying this and including the Tunnel of Love scene in Percy Jackson episode 5, not only have the characters been improved over the film adaptation but the iconic beginning of Percy and Annabeth’s compelling friendship has been restored after being disappointingly absent in 2010.
Why Wasn’t The Tunnel Of Love In The 2010 Percy Jackson Movie
The Tunnel of Love sequence is slower-paced, thus fitting a TV show format better than that of the original Percy Jackson movie.
The appearance of the Tunnel of Love sequence in Percy Jackson episode 5 begs the question of why this section was replaced by the Hydra in the 2010 movie. The simple answer is that it was removed for pacing reasons with the Hydra offering a short but sweet action sequence whereas the Tunnel of Love is an extended chapter thanks to Ares’ involvement. Also, one of the main changes the 2010 movie made to the plot of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was the introduction of Persephone’s Pearls.
In the film, the core story centered on Annabeth, Grover, and Percy traveling across the country to retrieve Persephone’s Pearls so that they could escape from the Underworld. This was a departure from the book and caused several scenes to be added to the movie that were not in the original story, including the idea that one of the Pearls is guarded by the Hydra in the Nashville Parthenon. This explains why the Tunnel of Love sequence was not in the film as the Waterland scenes better fit the story the book and the Disney+ adaptation are telling rather than that of the 2010 movie.
The Secret Reason Why Percy & Annabeth’s Tunnel Of Love Scene Is So Good
Percy and Annabeth’s friendship is built in this scene. with no focus being placed on romantic love.
While the scene itself is fantastic, the Tunnel of Love aspects of Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 5 are made even better for one specific reason. Rather than make an admittedly creepy, romantic subplot for two 12-year-old characters, the Tunnel of Love scene is so good because it does not focus on romantic love at all. Instead, the entire sequence is centered on Percy and Annabeth’s friendly love, with the two finally bonding and solidifying each other as a true quest companion.
Percy Jackson episode 5 and the chapter from which it is adapted in the original book use the sequence as a means of getting Annabeth to realize that Percy is not the annoying, idiotic person she believed him to be. Annabeth realizes that Percy has a good heart and is someone she wants to be friends with, and the same goes for Percy when Annabeth saves him. The scene kickstarts their friendship that builds into a relationship, with Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 5’s Tunnel of Love sequence being so perfect because it focuses squarely on the former and saves the latter for future, more mature stories.
New episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians release every Tuesday on Disney+.
