Percy and companions near their destination, but first they must ask Hermes for help ā hereās our Percy Jackson And The Olympians episode 6 review.
This article contains spoilers for Percy Jackson And The Olympians episodes 1-5.
Disneyās TV adaptation of Percy Jackson And The Olympians has proven to be a fun fantasy adventure so far. Itās also been the most faithful adaptation of Rick Riordanās novels, with the author serving as the seriesā co-creator and executive producer. With six out of eight episodes now streaming on Disney+, Percy (Walker Scobell) is now coming towards the end of his quest.
He, Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) are getting close to their destination of Los Angeles, which houses the entrance to hell. There, Percy will find Zeusā stolen lightning bolt ā which heās been wrongly accused of pilfering. Also in the underworld is Percyās abducted mother, and saving her is arguably even more important to our protagonist than finding the bolt and preventing a war between the Greek gods.
Each episode of the series so far has taken on a āmonster or challenge of the weekā format, with last weekās episode seeing Annabeth and Percy venture into Hephaestusā theme park to recover Aresā shield. In return, the god of war helped them to cover a considerable amount of ground, getting the group as far as Las Vegas. But thatās still one state away from where they need to be, and the clock is ticking on their all-important quest.
Episode six, We Take A Zebra To Vegas, begins as the group reaches their destination, with the goal of finding Hermes and convincing him to reveal a secret entrance to the underworld before their deadline runs out. It wonāt be quite so easy, though, as Hermes can be found in the Lotus Casino. Itās a place that isnāt as it seems.
Compared to the previous obstacles the trio have faced, the casino is very much on the less threatening end of the spectrum. There arenāt any physical antagonists to be fought. They simply have to find their way through the casino, which is difficult when the passage of time works differently there and the lotus flowers served to guests cause them to lose their memory. Thereās definitely a lack of threat in this episode compared to the rest of the series. The Lotus Casino should feel disorienting and scary because of the effect it has on the characters, but no scenes there are shot in a way that conveys that.
Thatās not helped by the episodeās pacing. At just over half an hour, this is one of the seriesā shorter episodes, and it feels it. Just as time passes more quickly in the casino, the runtime goes by in the blink of an eye. It does, however, feel like the events of the episode have been rushed through in order for our heroes to get from A to B.
Unlike previously, thereās not a lot of world building done here. It feels very much like an instalment designed purely to get Percy to his destination. What little character development and world building that is done relates to Grover, who plays a fairly small part in this episodeās story. The information revealed about him and the wider goals of the satyr race doesnāt relate to the story being told in this season. It therefore feels largely irrelevant to the episode, as though shoehorned in to be brought up at a later date.
The highlight of episode five was Adam Copelandās amazing performance as Ares. So far the godly characters of the series have been extremely memorable, and well designed. Itās disappointing, therefore, that when the group reaches Hermes, heās much more subdued than expected. Weāve seen Lin-Manuel Miranda inhabit the role briefly at the end of episode three, and this gives him more of a chance to flesh out his character.
Sadly, thereās not much to flesh out. With Miranda being known for his musical talents, he can be a very personable performer when the role calls for it. Hermes isnāt a character that makes the most of that. When heās introduced heās wearing a beige tracksuit, and thatās pretty much a visual representation of his personality, too. Heās almost entirely defined by his regrets as a parent, and his godly powers and responsibilities hardly come into the picture. We know all too well by this point that the gods are a big dysfunctional family, but each member of that family has also had redeeming qualities and a sense of ācoolnessā about them despite that. Hermes is the first character to feel lacking in that department.
Luckily, episode six as a whole is redeemed by its ending. I mentioned earlier that the series has been faithful to Riordanās books. The ending of We Take A Zebra To Vegas diverges from them in an interesting way that adds a significant amount of tension. It will be exciting to see how the change affects the story of the two episodes to come.
Percy Jackson And The Olympians episode six is streaming now on Disney+, with further episodes streaming weekly on Wednesdays.