Warning! This article contains spoilers for Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 7.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 7 begins with a sequence involving Procrustes, another figure from ancient Greek myth and the half-brother of the titular demigod. Throughout season 1 of the show, many threats are encountered by Percy, Annabeth, and Grover that take the form of Percy Jackson‘s Greek mythological creatures and monsters. The latest of these threats is Procrustes, though Percy Jackson episode 7 puts a twist on events in that the villain is a demigod rather than a monster like the Minotaur or the Chimera.
Every Demigod Introduced In Disney’s Percy Jackson Show (& Who Their God Parent Is)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians introduces a whole host of demigod characters, each with their own unique abilities, weapons, and godly parents.
With Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 on the horizon, the threats and dangers from ancient Greece will only continue to be explored. Until then, the final two episodes of Percy Jackson season 1 introduce a new slate of enemies for Percy, Annabeth, and Grover to overcome. The first of these threats takes another Greek myth and twists it for modern times as Procrustes guards the secret entrance to the Underworld.
Procrustes Is The Son Of Poseidon Who Traps Victims In His Waterbeds
In Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 7, Procrustes reveals himself as another son of Poseidon. As Percy enters the store, Procrustes claims “You’ve got dad’s eyes.” This is after Percy uncovers that Procrustes – or Crusty as the man prefers to be called – is the murderer of travelers. Crusty does not admit to this yet still attempts to get Percy to relax on one of his waterbeds. The reason for this is that Crusty’s waterbeds are magically enchanted to envelope whomever sits on one before he murders them as Percy hinted at.
This is proven later in the scene when Annabeth – donning her cap of invisibility – pushes Crusty onto one of the waterbeds in the store. The bed magically wraps itself around Procrustes and traps him there so that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover can look for the entrance to the Underworld. Procrustes then goads Percy by saying the latter will not be able to save his mother and that he will not be the first to try and fail in bringing someone back from the Underworld.
Procrustes’ Story In Real Greek Mythology Explained
As was the case with Medusa, Echidna, Chimera, and the Lotus Eaters in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 1, Procrustes is based on a real-world Greek mythological story. In the old tales, Procrustes has a dwelling in Greece that was often frequented by travelers as it was positioned on the road between Athens and Eleusis. Procrustes would take advantage of these travelers by offering the tired people a bed to sleep on. He would then take them to an iron bed that would keep them trapped just like the waterbeds in Percy Jackson episode 7.
Procrustes would then attempt to get his guests to perfectly fit the bed, stretching them if they were too small. All variations of the myth stated that no guest ever perfectly fit the bed, meaning all of them were stretched until they were killed. In later versions of the tale, Procrustes would also take in guests who were too big for the bed, killing them by cutting them down to size.
This is teased in Percy Jackson episode 7 when Crusty explains why he traps travelers as he does. Crusty says that his waterbeds show their users how to fit, as fitting in is not easy for men like him and Percy. Crusty states that the gods make it hard for demigods to fit in as they always try to stretch and twist their children, hacking off pieces to mold them into beings more like themselves. This explains why Crusty uses these methods, taken from the original myth, to trap travelers in the modern world.
Why Procrustes Guards The Underworld’s Secret Entrance In Percy Jackson & The Olympians
One of the unanswered questions in Percy Jackson episode 7 is why Procrustes guards the Underworld’s secret entrance. One answer for this is that Hades and his lieutenants likely do not want just anyone to find the entrance and enter the Underworld. Only those who have died and passed on should enter the land of the dead, meaning someone needs to guard the secret opening. Therefore, having someone like Procrustes who traps his victims is a good way to ensure travelers do not enter the Underworld without permission.
Also, Procrustes may be guarding the Underworld’s secret entrance as it is simply a good way for him to lure in demigod prey. He is aware that people will come searching for the entrance and set up his business around that as a means of continuing his reign of terror against Greek heroes. This is a likely possibility, though it seems Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 7 has put an end to his crimes after Procrustes was outsmarted by his half-brother alongside Annabeth and Grover.
New episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians release every Tuesday on Disney+.
