Finally, we’ve arrived at one of my most anticipated live-action scenes! The Gateway Arch, a scene tragically missing from the 2010 classic, is one of the best of the book. And it’s perfectly self-contained for its own episode!
In the opening, we get another Percy-Sally childhood flashback. I loved both Sally being the one to familiarize Percy with the water and that “breathe.” It’s a nice way to tie Percy to both of his parents!
Getting back to the modern-day kiddos… I just want Annabeth to be nice to Percy, is that so much to ask?? In the book, when Annabeth goes to far, she outright says “Sorry. That was mean.” It’s a combination of the fact that she hasn’t left camp in five years and she believes in their quest more than anyone else. In the show, I get that they’re trying to have Annabeth be hard on Percy like Thalia was hard on her, but I wish it came across as that more than her being this rude badass without any flaws. At least them sort of bonding over Grover isn’t the worst.
And hey, we get the wild centaurs scene, which was great, AND a Pan mention! This show toes the line between “cool reference for the OG fans” and “heavy-handed expo dump.”
I’m annoyed about the show outright saying “maybe the last line of the prophecy isn’t about the bolt!” Can anything not be spelled out so directly? Can’t we have nice things?
The same goes for the appearance of Echidna. It’s like the gang instantly recognizing Medusa – instead of letting them slip, having them miss a clue, they just figure things out before even the audience does. And ugh, this explanation for why they go to the Arch! In the book, they have a bus layover and Annabeth insists on them going sightseeing because a) she loves architecture and b) she hasn’t been outside of camp since she was seven! It makes the kids feel more like kids when they spend time chasing their own wants!
But because this show can’t show Annabeth having a modicum of childish glee, the reasoning for the Arch is completely screwed up. Instead of touring the Arch, the kids go there out of necessity to avoid Echidna. I like the Arch being a temple to Athena, but the nerve of Athena purposefully letting the chimera inside as a punishment for Annabeth… are you crazy? In the book, it’s emphasized that the gods don’t visit their children very often (if at all), and Annabeth’s invisibility cap was a significant gift from her mom. Now, she just tries to kill her daughter because of the Medusa head. Great.
But I can’t ignore my favorite part of this episode: when Percy is poisoned by the chimera and Grover and Annabeth decide he needs water to heal. The smash cut to Percy sitting in the fountain while the others try to splash him made me laugh out loud – it’s one of the few moments where the humor of the book was retained!
At the end of the episode, Percy pulls one of those “pretend I’m coming with you then I lock the door behind me” moves that were so popular in Rebels. I’m torn between “this gives Percy more agency” and “he’s supposed to be in this situation by ACCIDENT.” Either way, his exit from the Arch… that change annoyed me.
It’s a literal leap of faith! It’s Percy deciding, against himself, to trust his father. It’s Percy jumping off the Arch. NOT FALLING! It’s such a bad edit.
I don’t know how I feel about the change in Percy’s survival – having the water reach out to grab him rather than him hitting the Mississippi River and surviving. In one way, it’s more direct and explicit than falling into the River. It shows that Posiedon is actively looking out for Percy. But I don’t know if having Posideon being such an active participant in Percy’s life at this point is a help or hindrance to the story. It loses some of the nuance of their relationship, where Poseidon mostly tries to keep his distance from Percy for his son’s protection.
That ending though! The parallel to the swimming scene from the beginning, the way both Sally and Posideon are shown to be here for Percy when he needs help – fantastic, absolutely love it!
And here we are, already halfway through – and the gang still has a long way to go. Let’s hope for some more genuine character bonding, shall we?
Once more, here are my live notes!
