Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 5!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians author Rick Riordan has opened up about episode 5’s book-altering moment with Hephaestus. In the episode, Annabeth tries to free Percy from the God’s golden throne in Waterland, only to be approached by the chair’s creator himself. After giving an impassioned speech about how poorly the Gods treat each other, Hephaestus frees Percy from the throne.
Speaking with TV Insider, Riordan explained why Percy Jackson episode 5 featured Hephaestus, despite the God not appearing until book 3 in the source material. The author detailed how Hephaestus’ early appearance in the TV show helps to reflect his character’s mindset in a relevant way to the series overall. Check out what Riordan had to say below:
Even in the few moments, he does interact with our youngsters in a way that tells you that maybe this is one of the gods who actually gets it, who sees all of the silliness of Olympus, sees past it, and knows that it’s an illusion and sympathizes with the demigods. He’s got heart, and you can see that he’s wearing the hurt of his experiences openly. And I think it’s a beautiful thing about him. He’s somehow an immortal, all powerful, but also he is in a way fragile, and that makes him somehow more human.
How Haphaestus Appearing Changes Percy Jackson Season 1
In the book series, Haphaestus does not make an appearance when Percy and Annabeth are dealing with his throne. The God doesn’t show up in the books prominently until book 4, The Battle of the Labyrinth, where he has his first interaction with the group. Moving up his first appearance all the way to the start of the story establishes him long before he becomes a more relevant character to the plot.
However, his early debut bolsters the show’s exploration of how unfairly the Gods treat each other, indicating how some – like Haphaestus – know this all too well. Because of how big a change it is, it sets the stage for Percy Jackson‘s remaining episodes to make similar alterations in service of the story’s message. Perhaps other characters that don’t appear until later will have similar early introductions.
Percy Jackson Episode 5’s Fates Scene Is A Genius Book Change
The scene involving the three Fates in Percy Jackson episode 5 marks a departure from the original books, yet the change is secretly genius.
What makes the changes in the show work is that, instead of altering events for the sake of it, they’re changed to further emphasize the story being told. Major events remain the same while minor alterations make them more engaging or thematically relevant. This is why additions like Haphaestus’ early appearance proves Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a worthy adaptation of the original book series.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians
Based on the novel series by Rick Riordan Percy Jackson & the Olympians is an action-adventure fantasy television series created for Disney+. When Percy Jackson is framed for the theft of Zeus’ almighty thunderbolt, Percy must clear his name, all while harnessing the powers inherited by his father, Poseidon, at a camp created for demi-gods.
- Release Date
- December 20, 2023
- Cast
- Walker Scobell , Leah Sava Jeffries , Aryan Simhadri , Jason Mantzoukas , Megan Mullally , Glynn Turman , Adam Copeland , Virginia Kull , Lance Reddick
- Genres
- Action , Adventure , Fantasy
- Rating
- TV-PG
- Seasons
- 1
- Story By
- Rick Riordan
- Writers
- Rick Riordan , Jonathan E. Steinberg
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney Plus
- Franchise(s)
- Percy Jackson & The Olympians
- Directors
- James Bobin , Anders Engström
- Showrunner
- Jonathan E. Steinberg , Dan Shotz
