watched ep 3 & 4 of the pjo show. here are random thoughts:
ep 3
ive said before that ive put off watching the pjo show after episode 2 because the pacing seemed like a rush of getting from story checkpoint to story checkpoint and it never sat in one place long enough to actually grip me. episode 3 started off like that too, before the trio went on the quest. i only started to really like it when they were on the bus together and more of their dynamic was shining. theyre so funny bru.
i like all the acting but leah jeffries and aryan simhadri are CARRYING SO HARD. its like they took annabeth exactly how i imagined her out of my head and plopped her on screen and im so shocked at the accuracy??? her attitude and side eyes and sass is perf. and simhadri’s grover is insane because (dont come for me) i actually like the show version of him better than i did in the book 😭 perhaps reading him was rocky and i interpreted him wrong but seeing him on screen makes me SO attached to him. like in the books he always seemed like a sort of third wheel and annabeth and percy were outshining him so much but he’s actually slaying the show. i love him lots.
i like the dichotomy between percy and annabeth. their dynamic is already so juicy, especially with how they view both their godly and mortal parents. you can see some of their fatal flaws already shining through UGH i love them
i like medusa WAY more in the show. she seems so menacing yet classy and much more multifaceted. my only complaint was that she died way too quickly. there was so much build up in tension only for her to get one-tapped and it was honestly disappointing.
LIN MANUEL MIRANDA SPOTTED 🫵🫵
dialogue was great in this episode, btw.
ep 4
dream sequence went so hard -> “just breathe mummy ☺️ you’ll always be here 😁” *cuts to percy alone on a desolate plane where she is, in fact, not here*
sighhh sometimes i forget these kids are just twelve and theyre literal BABIES and percy just misses his mum 🙁
annabeth exposition time. a comment on all the exposition— there’s always something each episode but i think the show is doing a well enough job of not dumping everything in a way thats spoon-feedy to audience or in a way that makes viewers feel overwhelmed. theyre breaking information up nicely (imo).
echidna is slaying so hard. sorry but the villains are actually eating the whole dish up. mwah no balls.
its giving “im not a monster, im a mother” 🔥
fight scene annoyed me again but at least the mother of all monsters wasn’t ONE TAPPED. but i was annoyed because the monster was not thrashing him around as much as it had the opportunity to and it was giving plot armour im so sorry. might be cause of budget or target audience/rating though idk. the commentary of the show seems more mature however.
anyways yurr those are my observations. i like these last two eps more than the first two so maybe i should let this series cook.
remember to pirate this show if ur gonna watch it!!
Now I'm thinking about Echidna in the context of parenting and what makes a good divine parent. Like she's clearly a monster but she is a *good mother*. She's there for her kids, giving them protection, support and plenty of good training, teaching them to hunt. We have Annabeth's mother, who literally revokes her projection over a sanctuary bc she felt Annabeth disappointed her. And then we have Poseidon who despite Percy refusing him and his help goes against the grain and saves his son. He sends a messenger to tell him he's proud and apologizes for not being closer. The messages about parenting are real.
Rewatching Pjo 1 ep a day till the finale (as a book reader) Ep 4-
Opening scene~~~ Not my favourite, I like the kid percy actor but the scene doesn't make too much sense to me, why would percy be afraid of water at this age? (It happens later in HoO i believe because Percy almost drowns, although not in water, he develops a fear of drowning- Ill have to recheck) And I get what Sally means, like from a parent perspective. Assuming she knows that Poseidon is the dad(and she does), she should know that he would never let Percy drown (Kind of like Leo in HoO, he may be afraid of fire at first but it doesn't damage him because he's the first kid in Eons able to control fire, and that's cause his dad is literally THE blacksmith) So to me this scene serves no real purpose except for the naiad telling percy to breathe at the end, which is a bit boring to me
I think if they had shown Percy playing in water (think Moana with the ocean) breathing and playing with sea life, then Sally coming to "save him" with a big loud reaction(possibly scaring the animals and they respond by accidentally hitting Percy, leading to him temporarily forgetting this memory) because she wants to keep him safe from all things demigod-related(And then saying "Breathe Percy, just breathe." to calm him), would have been better because it would show that there was a time that he was comfortable with water, as it's within his nature AND it would've tied into Percy's book thought process of thinking the naiad was his mum
I kinda like this dream sequence, he's a kid and litch misses his mum, however, I don't see the point of Kronos warning?? Percy about Echidna, it seems silly
Train sleep scene, this was okay to me, Percy seems a lot more empathetic which is nice. Don't like how they've butchered Thalia though, in the book (Demigod Diaries), Luke explains that when it came to Annabeth, Thalia and him glanced at each other and decided from then on that they would be Annabeths family and show her what family really is. So,,, why is Thalia making Annabeth earn? her? love???
I like Percy's rebuttal but I feel like that is book 5 Percy talking, book 1 Percy is getting used to this new life and he hasn't really experienced how TERRIBLE the godly family tree is yet, so imo he wouldnt say this yet just based on time he's spent with them.
ALSOOO can we talk about the Athena-stuff rq, nowww,,, maybe im delusional but I don't think I can straight up blame Frederick Chase. HOLON LET ME EXPLAIN! Imagine being at the height of your career, making discoveries that haven't even been considered yet and then this goddess who you didn't even sleep with cause that's not how she reproduces, puts a baby that has half your DNA on your doorstep because she likes the way you think or sum bs. Personally, (like him) I would take care of the child but I don't think I'd be happy about it uno? Like I don't think how he treated Annabeth was right but I do think he has a little justification
Grover's scene was funny but they weren't even talking loud frfr, and I think it would've been nice to see a more vulnerable moment with Grover too, like him explaining the searching license a little more and his fears ig (Instead of later)
Echidna boarding the train made absolutely no sense to me, can she fly??
Unrelated but I really like the lighting on the train
Police scene and I really, REALLY hope they don't make racism a problem that Annabeth routinely faces, that would be so annoying. I hope they just make this universe one devoid of racism, homophobia e.t.c there can be issues but not ones we actually face
I love the side-eyes that Annabeth is giving, its so funny cause they are so deserved, like why is this lady who put us in this situation touching me
I also kinda wish they showed a small dog just giving the evil eye to the trio as they become more suspicious, that would've been funny imo because of the increasing danger
Also Grover mentioning glass but we don't even get a clear look at her jacket fr and her name, wack and personally I feel like that is a comment that Annabeth should've made, to show how she's calculating and studying people "Sees the world differently and 6 steps ahead" e.t.c
Feel like they explained things better in the books because I can just imagine being so mf confused if I only watched the show and heard Echidna's family tree explanation
Also the snide remark "Not that you would know" to Annabeth fits so well and is so funny because why did she just catch a stray rn 😭😭
Annabeth should've known what sort of monster has stingers
They should've given the explanation while running imo, and im ngl, when Annabeth said she knows a place to hide, I thought she meant a safe house, especially with how they've been talking a LOT about Thalia
And tbh, she didn't geek out enough for me to think that Architecture is her thing. I love Annabeth (and while this isnt the best example) but I feel like they've erased parts of her character that made her a person
And tbh Grover isn't really giving "I care about Annabeth" its more like "Percy is my bestie and I know Annabeth" (Not just from this scene but from the forest one too imo) Like there's no reason Percy should feel the need to tell Annabeth that Grover doesn't like when people mess with animals, dyu get me??
Cute Percabeth scene>>>
Also lol, where did Grover wander off to lol
I like the water splash scene, its fun and kid-like but I remember ambrosia and nectar being a helpful part when healing, sure would be nice if they mentioned that back in Ep 2
Glad i rewatched fr because the first time, I was like when did Echidna tell Annabeth jack and was so confused
I really like the sequence of these last couple scenes, I think its among the best in the show and works well with the characters. Percy sacrifices himself (or tries to)for the trio, Annabeth and Grover argue it and yeah, it fits
Although the fight is a little pathetic live, it was pathetic in the books too lol, because Percy really doesn't know HOW to fight, it's realistic and a nice touch, the only thing I would change is how the hole appeared lol, It should've been a concentrated blast of fire that melted the infrastructure
The fall was neat and the capture was cute, an easy fix to the location mix-up in the books
The lighting once again but back to what I said at the beginning, dyall get what I mean about the scene being for this moment?
End of Ep 4, what were your thoughts if you read all this?
