Warning: This article contains spoilers for Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1, episode 3 and the Percy Jackson novels.
Rick Riordan brings a genius new change to Percy’s Medusa arc from The Lightning Thief in Disney’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which makes Percy’s book plan seem a little ridiculous. Primarily adapting the 11th chapter, “We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium,” from the original book, Percy Jack and the Olympians‘ episode 3 begins with Percy getting both a quest and a warning from the Oracle. With what follows, he chooses Annabeth and Grover as teammates and sets out on a mission to fulfill his quest.
Along the way, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover get lured into Medusa’s trap as they follow the scent of freshly cooked burgers. However, unlike the book, where the trio takes their time to figure out Medusa’s real identity, Annabeth is quick to spot that “Aunty Em” is Medusa. With what follows, the episode drifts further away from the source material as a showdown ensues between the trio and Medusa. However, instead of ruining the original storyline, it surprisingly improves it.
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.
Annabeth Using Her Invisibility Cap On Medusa Is So Much Smarter Than Percy Using A Reflection
In Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief, Percy uses a bronze ball as a mirror to look at Medusa and avoid looking into her eyes directly. The Percy Jackson live-action movie shows a different variation of this, where Percy uses the metallic back of his iPod to spot Medusa. Instead of treading the same path as the movie and the original book, the live-action series significantly changes Percy’s modus operandi of killing Medusa by showing how Annabeth sneaks up to her and puts her invisibility cap on her head. Since Medusa’s eyes, along with the rest of her body, are not visible once she has the cap on, Percy is able to “look” at her and decapitate her without turning to stone.
Annabeth using her invisibility cap to weaken Medusa is incredibly smart because it leaves little room for error. Spotting Medusa’s exact whereabouts using a mirror reflection can be challenging, especially when the mirror reflection is on a round surface. With Annabeth’s invisibility cap trick, Percy is able to swing his sword at Medusa while looking at her, reducing the odds of him missing her head. Annabeth’s invisibility cap plan not only prevents them from looking at Medusa’s eyes but also allows them to work as a team. While Grover uses his winged shoes to distract her, Annabeth takes the opportunity to place her cap on her head before Percy decapitates her.
Percy’s Reflection Plan In The Book Is More Accurate To The Real Greek Myth (But Is Still Way Too Dangerous)
Percy’s reflection plan in the book is more accurate to the real Greek myth but still seems way more dangerous than Annabeth’s invisibility cap idea. The reason is that Percy could have always accidentally looked into Medusa’s eyes and turned to stone in his pursuit of killing her. By turning her invisible with her cap, Annabeth makes it impossible for Percy to look into Medusa’s eyes. The invisible decapitation scene also allows the series to be PG-friendly. Instead of explicitly portraying how Percy beheads Medusa, Percy Jackson and the Olympians merely implies that Percy has done the job, which significantly tones down the otherwise graphic nature of the encounter.
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
- Season List
- Percy Jackson & the Olympians – Season 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
