TL;DR – We get reminded again how good the casting has been in this series, and also what the stakes are, because you never know when things are going to explode.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review –

Well, we have heard a lot about the Sea of Monsters, but so far, we have been spending a lot of time not actually visiting it. Well, that all changes today, because cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war, because nothing will stop Percy when he is on a quest.

So, to set the scene, a long time ago, Luke was a demigod on the run from monsters with a young Annabeth (Marissa Lior Winans) in his care. They were hiding in a sewer to escape cyclopes that were chasing them and Thalia (Tamara Smart). It is a great sadness for Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) because Thalia never made it to Camp Halfblood. But it may be an illegal quest, but everyone is on board, right up until the part where Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn) blows up their boat. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Casting

There are a lot of unsung heroes in the film and television industry, and one of those is the casting director. A show lives or dies on its cast, especially one like this where the chemistry is just so crucial to the endeavour. Throughout season one, we saw time and time again just how good the casting team was in the show. You needed to feel when Annabeth was going through this week, and a lesser actor might not have been able to pull it off. You have to cast Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse, knowing just how much you will need her to step up to the occasion this season. We also saw today how they continue to excel. Tamara Smart perfectly captured the energy of Thalia Grace in the first moment she appeared on screen.  

Hard Choices

This was an episode all about hard choices, indeed that is one of the trials of the quest. Clarisse learning compassion for those under her command, which even Percy (Walker Scobell) off-handedly dismissed. She feels responsible for them, and also a little bit for lying to them, but whatever the cause, you can feel that tension when she watches them die one by one and refuses to sit back and let it happen. There is growth that will put her on the wrong side of her father. Do you keep helping Percy on his quest even if you know they will probably die? Because Annabeth has seen that before. Then there are the wise choices, like how Percy distracts Clarisse just long enough for Annabeth to stealth kill the three dudes that you need to replace. Annabeth is a rogue confirmed.   

Visuals

I am sorry to say that they are a bit of a mixed bag this week, which I am sad to say because a lot of it was great. I love the little touch of the water creature that I lamented being absent in Demon Pigeons Attack. The episode climax, as the ironclad is ripped apart in the vortex, piece by piece, was stunning. But then there were a number of establishing shots with such awkward digi-doubles that you could not help but get pulled out of the scene. It only happens a couple of times, and I get that budgets can only be stretched so far, but it was noticeable. The inconsistency didn’t ruin the episode, but it did occasionally break the immersion.  

Recommendation   

In the end, do we recommend Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Clarisse Blows Everything Up? Yes, I would. I am glad that we have finally reached the Sea of Monsters, and what an entrance. But beyond all the bombast this week, I think it was the smaller character moments, like Annabeth’s bracelet, that really shone. It is the characters that make the show work, so I am glad they are giving time for them.  

Have you watched Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Clarisse Blows Everything Up? Let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and producers of Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Directed by – Jason Ensler
Written by – Shae Worthy
Created by – Rick Riordan & Jonathan E. Steinberg
Based On – Percy Jackson and The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
Production/Distribution Companies – 20^th Television, Co-Lab 21, The Gotham Group, Mythomagic, Quaker Moving Pictures & Disney+ 
Starring – Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Charlie Bushnell, Dior Goodjohn & Daniel Diemer with Tamara Smart & Marissa Lior Winans and Adrian Hough, Kurt Ostlund, Sean Yves Lessard, Miles Merry, Shota Tsuji, Andre Roshkov & Emmanuel Akpoviroro