Get ready for this spoiler-filled Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 3 review, where we dive deep into the adaptation of The Lightning Thief and ask ourselves who’s the bigger monster—Medusa or Poseidon?

We are full steam ahead on our Percy Jackson and the Olympians coverage, including reviews for episode 1 and episode 2, plus an analysis of the Percy Jackson end credits and monster notebook. We even had a guest write in about how the show enhances Percy and Sally’s relationship from the books.

But now it’s time to discuss Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 3, “We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium,” which shows the trio embarking on their quest to find the master bolt, dealing with some clashing personalities, and coming up against none other than the infamous Gorgon Medusa. (Reminder that this is being written from the perspective of someone who’s a superfan of the book series, so there could be spoilers for future plotlines!)

First things first, Percy needs his prophecy. Venturing into the attic of the Big House, the newly claimed son of Poseidon makes his way through the maze of items shoved into this space over the years. Strange creatures mounted on the walls stare down at gruesome appendages stored in glass jars on various surfaces. Helmets and swords are piled on top of books, while Grecian urns litter the floor.

We get a glimpse of the Minotaur Horn, which is a spoil of war and therefore has some magical significance, though they never mention that in the show. I couldn’t spot anything else in the attic that might hint at past or future exploits, but at this point in time, the most important object in the room isn’t an object at all. It’s a person. Well, kind of.

The Oracle basks in the shafts of sunlight filtering through one of the round windows. Percy’s voice squeaks as he introduces himself before he says that he’s been told a quest isn’t a quest until the old, desiccated woman in the rocking chair says so. At first, he think she’s just a Halloween decoration, but then she sits up straight and green smoke billows from her mouth.

The Oracle is close to what I pictured from the books, and the inclusion of the green smoke made my heart soar. It’s not important in the grand scheme of things, but it goes to show that when given a chance to potentially move in another direction, they chose to stay true to the source material.

Hilariously, Gabe Ugliano is the one to give Percy the prophecy that will launch his first quest, though we only get the first two lines in this scene: “You shall go West and face the god who has turned. You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned.” There’s just something about Timm Sharp’s accent and delivery of these lines that kills me. It makes an otherwise terrifying scene seem a little less so, which is the hallmark of any Rick Riordan book.

Chiron and Mr. D gather the best candidates for the quest, which will take them to Hades’ domain, the Underworld, beneath Los Angeles. Before the old centaur has a chance to present the campers by name, Percy chooses Annabeth Chase, arguing that she’s the best person for the job because she’d be willing to shove him down a flight of stairs if it meant completing their mission. Chiron can’t fault him for his logic, and so Annabeth becomes his first quest-mate.

We know from the last episode that she’s been looking to go on her first quest for years. In fact, Annabeth’s only line in the premiere episode was, “He must be the one.” After all of the heartache of previous disappointments, you can see the excitement and resolution on her face as Percy names her as his first choice. I can’t imagine what’s going through her mind right now, but I doubt even she knows what she’s gotten herself into.

Out in the fields near the stables, Grover is shoveling pegasus poop as punishment for telling Percy that his mother was still alive. I love this scene because it’s something else we don’t get in the books, and it further expands Camp Half-Blood and the magical world Percy has ventured into. We get no explanation for the winged horses, as though they’re commonplace here, and yet, I have to wonder if the one closest to Grover is meant to be Blackjack, and whether we’ll see him again later in the season. In Sea of Monsters, Percy saves the pegasus from Luke and certain death, so perhaps this will be how Luke escapes Camp Half-Blood at the end of the show. If so, I love that they’ve introduced such an iconic character early on in the story, even if they haven’t placed a spotlight on him yet. Those that know, know.

Interestingly, Percy also doesn’t communicate with the pegasi (though Grover clearly does), but I imagine they’ll save that reveal for later, when he has better control over his powers. It would’ve been nice to get a hint at it here, but that might’ve been overload for both Percy and the audience. Whether Percy hasn’t honed that skill yet or Blackjack chose not to communicate with him is anyone’s guess. The bigger question is whether we, as viewers, will hear Blackjack’s voice, or if they’ll save that for season 2.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s bring the discussion back around to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 3 review. Percy informs Grover that he chose him as his other quest-mate, and we’re treated to the second half of the prophecy: “You shall be betrayed by the one who calls you friend, and fail to save what matters most in the end.” When Grover asks why him, Percy says it’s because he trusts him, but the implication here is that perhaps Grover already betrayed Percy, so he thinks he’s safe, or he’s keeping Grover close so he’s not surprised when it happens again. Either way, it casts an ominous cloud over the quest, even as Grover declares that that he’ll pack the best snacks.

Inside the Poseidon cabin, Percy fills his bag with supplies, including both dollar bills and a bag full of drachmas. Luke stops by to drop off a pair of shoes that are more than they appear at first glance. When he whispers the word “maia,” they sprout wings from the shoelaces and start flapping (an amazing effect, by the way). They were a gift from his father, Hermes, and though we don’t linger on this, it’s apparent that it doesn’t exactly hurt him to give up the magical item. Of course, everyone will know why by the end of the season.

Percy apologizes for not picking Luke as his second quest-mate, though the older demigod doesn’t seem too heartbroken over it. Still, Percy needs him to know that it wasn’t because he thought Luke was incapable. Instead, it was because Percy is dead-set on rescuing his mom, and if Annabeth tried to stop him, Luke would side with her without hesitation. Ironically, if anyone is going to understand the driving need to save their mother, it’s probably Luke. But that’s a long way off from this Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 3 review, so I’ll leave it there.

After leaving Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth says goodbye to Thalia’s tree, and Grover explains to Percy how Hades sent the furies after the group as they arrived, and how Thalia turned back to buy Annabeth, Luke, and their satyr protector some time. To save Thalia’s life, Zeus turned her into a tree—not exactly an uncommon practice in Greek mythology, though Percy rightfully questions the sanity of this decision.

Annabeth is quick to defend her friend, saying Thalia met a hero’s fate, and that she was the strongest out of all of them. Forbidden Children are targeted even more than other demigods, and she’s not exactly subtle as she tells Percy that he’s not as strong or as brave as Thalia. Percy will need to listen to her if he wants to survive the quest.

And as we learn in the next scene, it’s not just the monsters who want Percy dead. If they fly to Los Angeles, they’d be entering Zeus’ domain, and he might just strike them right out of the sky. That’s why they have to take a bus, and that’s why Percy has to stay close to the toilet to avoid detection. It brings back memories of the plumber in Gabe’s apartment, as well as Percy’s comment that the house in Montauk was cheap because it was so close to the sewers.

The tension continues between Annabeth and Percy as she forces him to stay behind on the bus while she gets them some snacks for the road. They turn to Grover to settle their argument about whether they should vote to make decisions, but he doesn’t want to be in the middle of this. The “Consensus Song” serves its purpose, but maybe not in the way Grover was hoping. Either way, I found the exposition less overwhelming and the pacing less rushed than in the premiere episodes.

Inside the store, Annabeth detects the presence of a monster—specifically the fury Tisiphone—which clues her into Mrs. Dodds’ presence on the bus. Meanwhile, Grover explains how the children of the Big Three—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—are easier to track than other demigods, and that the way monsters detect them depends on the specific creature. Some might smell their inadequacy, or their need for glory, or their shame. Honestly, this is a fascinating concept, and I wish we had time to delve more into which monsters focused on which weaknesses.

But right now, we have to deal with Mrs. Dodds—again. Just because Percy killed her outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art doesn’t mean she was gone forever. Slipping on her Yankees cap, Annabeth confronts Alecto, and the two trade barbs of their own before the fury makes the young demigod a deal—Percy in exchange for help with their quest.

What struck me in this scene was how reasonable Alecto appeared. Sure, she had some nasty things to say about Thalia, but she also said Annabeth was perhaps the most formidable demigod child alive. In her mind, Annabeth doesn’t have anything to lose. Not only will she gain the glory of completing a quest, but her mission will be that much easier if she doesn’t have to pick up Percy’s slack.

But that’s not an option for Annabeth, who takes her chance to slip away and warn the other two. After killing Tisiphone, they jump out the window and make their great escape into the wild woods of New Jersey—where Percy and Annabeth are at each other’s throats and Grover is once again thrust in the middle. Luckily for him, the scent of hamburgers is enough to distract them.

For better or worse, it leads the trio to Aunty Em’s Garden Gnome Emporium, where they find themselves stuck between Alecto and Medusa, the latter of which invites them in for lunch. Trusting his gut and his mother’s story about how Medusa isn’t the monster everyone thinks she is, Percy follows her inside, forcing the other two to trail after him.

Medusa’s lair looks a lot cozier than you would imagine, with sweets piled high on plates strewn across the table. Percy and Grover dig in, but Annabeth doesn’t even bother sitting. Medusa, for her part, is quick to say she doesn’t hold a grudge against the young girl, despite who her mother is. And then she asks them if they know her story—her real story.

Medusa is not a monster; she is a survivor. Her power to turn people to stone is not a curse, but rather a gift. The gods gave her the ability to never be bullied again. Devoted to Athena, Medusa was content to worship the goddess until her last breath, even if she never got an answer to her prayers. One day, however, Poseidon broke the silence of her devotion, declaring his love for Medusa and embarrassing Athena in the process. But instead of punishing the god, Athena punished the mortal.

Considering this is a children’s show, I never expected them to say Poseidon assaulted Medusa, though saying another god “broke that silence” hints at something intentional, even violent, despite them not going into detail. More importantly, Medusa’s story highlights the injustice aimed at the victims—how they are often blamed for the action of their assailants. With her sweet voice and quivering lips, it’s not hard to sympathize with Medusa, to understand where she came from and why she is the way she is.

Annabeth doesn’t want to believe this story to be true, saying her mother is always just. But Medusa pushes back. “They only want what all bullies want,” she says. “They want us to blame ourselves for our own shortcomings.” While Annabeth thinks Medusa is lying, Percy follows the gorgon into the kitchen to help her with lunch. But Medusa has other plans—and a proposition.

She feels a kinship, a sisterhood, with Sally Jackson, saying they were both targeted by the same monster. Percy never heard his mother speak about his father that way, but it’s clear he’s disturbed by this new information about the sea god. Medusa, feeling protective of Percy, tells him that Annabeth will betray him, which only feeds into his fear of the prophecy. She asks if his friends would be willing to help him rescue his mother, even if it meant failing at their quest. In that same sweet voice, she offers to remove them from the equation. All he has to do is ask. Percy doesn’t bother giving her an answer before he flees the room.

Removing her hat, Medusa returns to the dining room and peeks outside to see if the kids chose to brave Alecto. Finding the fury still standing guard, she spots the open door to the basement. All the while, the snakes of her hair are seen only in blurry background shots or in quick glimpses, as the camera stays tight to her face, focusing on the gray of her eyes now that they’ve been uncovered.

This point in my Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 3 review seems as good a time as any to talk about Medusa’s styling. During press week, costume designer Tish Monaghan described Medusa as a “human statue” and intentionally chose a dress that not only emphasized that imagery but also harkened back to Greek antiquity. She is beautiful and delicate, covered in silk and lace, and yet her edges are as solid as stone.

Even her veil looks a bit like snakeskin, though I didn’t notice that until I sat down to write this Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 3 review. In fact, I forgot she had snakes for hair at all until she removed her hat. Where her hair was coiled in a low bun when she was first introduced, it now falls around her face, and the snakes become more agitated as she stalks her prey.

Downstairs, the trio runs through the cavernous basement, dodging statues left and right. “We are not our parents,” Medusa calls out, adding to the line she uttered earlier in the episode, “until we choose to be.” She calls Annabeth self-righteous, like her mother, and accuses Percy of doing his father’s bidding instead of saving the person he loves most in this world. Like father, like son—and she cannot abide that.

Despite Grover’s plan going haywire, his crash-landing becomes exactly the distraction they need. Annabeth places her invisibility cap on Medusa’s head, negating her powers to turn them to stone, then points to the spot where the woman once stood. Taking aim, Percy slices off her head, then follows the wet sound of decapitation to the spot where it landed.

On the way out the door to turn Alecto to stone, Percy and Annabeth exchange awkward pleasantries. These two don’t know how to exist without bickering, and both of them find the uncharted territory quite uncomfortable. But we know this is just the first step in the right direction. Soon, they’ll be best friends. And after that? Much more.

Back downstairs, Grover discovers his Uncle Ferdinand’s statue, and it’s not long before Percy and Annabeth fall back into old patterns. After Percy suggests leaving the hat on Medusa’s head and burying it in the basement, Annabeth complains that she had to hear about Sally being alive from the woman who just tried to kill them. But Percy’s just as concerned about the mysterious offer from Alecto and how it could affect their quest.

Grover has had enough. He knows these two better than they know each other, which means he’s aware of how painful it would be for Annabeth to leave her Yankees cap behind, since it’s the only thing that connects her to Athena. Just like he’s aware that Percy currently has to decide between the fate of the world and the fate of the only person who ever truly cared about him.

And Grover isn’t done. He asks Percy to answer Annabeth’s question from earlier, about what he’s so afraid of. Finally, Percy tells them the last two lines of the prophecy, the one which states that a friend would betray him. He chose Annabeth because he couldn’t imagine them ever being friends. And he chose Grover because out of everyone, he thought he could count on Grover to be on his side, no matter what.

It puts that moment in the woods into perspective, doesn’t it? Thinking it would be two against one, Percy finds out that Grover was actually Annabeth’s protector first, meaning he has just as much—if not more—loyalty to her than him. And now he’s feeling so alone, and he doesn’t know who to trust.

That’s when Annabeth tells him how Alecto offered to help the quest if she gave Percy up—and then subsequently killed her sister. It’s a direct parallel to the offer that Medusa made to Percy, offering to help him rescue his mom if he gave up his friends, as well as his response—which was to cut off the woman’s head. As long as they’re together, Grover says, they’ll never be alone. And while the trio has more obstacles in their path before they fulfill their destiny, this moment laid the foundation for what’s to come.

And so does Percy’s next act. Handing the cap back to Annabeth, he boxes up Medusa’s head and addresses it to Olympus. “They will see this as impertinent,” Annabeth insists. “I am impertinent,” Percy replies. I swear to the gods, if this line hadn’t been in the series, I would’ve been so disappointed. Thankfully, Walker Scobell proves once again why he’s the absolute perfect Percy Jackson.

What I liked even better is that Percy convinces Annabeth and Grover this is the right course of action. In a way, since Medusa had beef with Athena, it’s like they’re paying tribute to the goddess of wisdom. I guess we’ll have to wait until next week to see if Annabeth’s mother sees it that way.

Closing out the episode, and this Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 3 review, we get a peek at Lin-Manuel Miranda in his full Hermes Express uniform, the box with Medusa’s head tucked under his arm. He’s a little bored and a little excited as sings “New York City” under his breath before walking into Mount Olympus to deliver Percy’s package. At this point in time, I’m finding it difficult to see the character past the actor, but I’m sure that’ll come when we get more interaction between the god and the trio.

‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ airs Tuesday nights on Disney+ at 9pm ET

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