TL;DR – Today, we get to one of the most iconic moments in the book while also dramatically shifting the narrative of one of the characters.  

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 –

When you knew that there was a second season to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, there was a certain glee because you knew that one of the milestones they had to hit was going to happen, and in this episode, we get it in all its glory. But even if you like something from a book, it does not always translate to the screen, and we will see how they do that today.

So, to set the scene, after the ironclad was exploded due to an interaction with an iron boiler and a bottle of wind, our heroes were left for dead. But thankfully, Percy (Walker Scobell) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) wash up on an island, surviving but finding they might be in more danger than in the ocean. For they are in Circe’s (Rosemarie DeWitt) spa, a place of safety, but to continue their quest, they have to get past one thing … the sirens who lead everyone who ventures near to an untimely death. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Narrative

This is essentially a very silly episode filled with magic, costume changes, and animal conversions. But I did appreciate that they started the episode on a profoundly dark note to set the underlying tone. Besides being the first real reference to Romans running around the place, it also catalysed all the insecurities that they had built up over the years to bubble up to the surface. This gave the emotional beats that happened throughout the rest of the episode the weight that they needed, and Walker Scobell and Leah Sava Jeffries make the most of it. Their emotional resonance is what made those moments hit hard, even with all the silliness.

In our other story this week, we get Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn) and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) teaming up, which was as delightful as it sounds, including the odd sassy tree. However, what is the most interesting part of this section is how they have fundamentally changed one of the characters. In both the original Odyssey and the Percy Jackson books, Polyphemus (Aleks Paunovic) is a fool who gets tricked by everyone. Here he is crafty and duplicitous, not the fool that can be confused by a poor dress. This change drastically improves the character and actually gives substance to the coming confrontation.

Production

There were a couple of things we were waiting for in this episode, and one of those was the costumes. We got surprised with some full Roman armour at the start, which was nice. But the ‘traditional’ garb they dress Percy and Annabeth up in was a delight. I liked the choice to visualise the sirens as rock creatures attached to the land, so it makes sense, as predators, that they would have to work on a system to have people come to them. All the sets were also tonally appropriate for a spa that is both profoundly ancient and very modern as well. The circular stairway up to the lookout room was an interesting choice, but one I dig.     

Recommendation   

In the end, do we recommend Percy Jackson and the Olympians: We Check In to C.C.’s Spa & Resort? Yes, I would. This was as fun an episode as I was expecting it to be, but with some added weight to the proceedings. Have you watched Percy Jackson and the Olympians: We Check In to C.C.’s Spa & Resort? 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 – Catriona McKenzie
Written by – Sarah Watson
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 – Andra Day, Aleks Paunovic & Rosemarie DeWitt
And – Jasmine Vega, Camille Mitchell, Andrew Kavadas & Ryan Handley