Recap / Percy Jackson And The Olympians 2023 S 1 E 4

Airdate: January 2, 2024

Corresponding Chapters: 12-14

The heroes search for a refuge in St Louis, and come face-to-face with the Mother of all Monsters, Echidna, and the Chimera.

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"I Plunge to My Death" includes examples of:

• Actually Pretty Funny: Despite trying to remain serious, Annabeth is clearly amused by Percy's fake British accent when pretending to be her mother.
• Adaptational Context Change: In the books Annabeth wants to visit the Gateway Arch because it's one of her favourite structures, while here it's a temple of Athena she thinks they can seek sanctuary from Echidna in. Unfortunately, Percy's act of impertinence angered Athena and caused her to revoke the sanctuary, which Echidna telepathically taunted Annabeth about.
• Adaptation Deviation: Percy sending Medusa's head to Olympus isn't directly addressed in The Lightning Thief until the very end, but in the show, this action causes the gods to see Percy and Annabeth as impertinent, which in turn causes Athena to allow the Chimera into the St. Louis Arch, which is normally a temple that monsters can't enter.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: Echidna and the Chimera chase after the trio on the train, while in the books, their first encounter was at the Gateway Arch.
• Adaptational Explanation: In real life, the Mississippi River is not directly below the Gateway Arch, which would make it impossible for Percy to plummet down directly into the river as he did in the books. The show emphasizes this with a shot of Percy hanging over solid ground before showing that the river itself reached out and grabbed him from mid-air to pull him into the water.
• Adapted Out: The episode skips the trio's encounter with Gladolia to the train.
• Bait-and-Switch: Percy appears to offer Annabeth Riptide to help in her Last Stand against the Chimera on top of the Gateway Arch, but when she grabs the sword, he pulls her down into the staircase and switches places with her.
• Big Damn Heroes: As opposed to Athena, who allows Echidna to attack her daughter, Poseidon sends a giant waterspout to save his son.
• Book Ends: The episode opens with Sally telling a young Percy to breathe, and ends with a Nereid telling present-day Percy to do the same, revealing his ability to breathe underwater.
• Call-Forward: When talking about how Greek mythology is just one big family story, Echidna mentions her grandmother, who is the demigods' great-grandmother.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Annabeth learns that Athena had intentionally allowed Echidna and the Chimera into the Gateway Arch because her daughter had "wounded her pride" by mailing Medusa's head to Olympus, and Athena was likely the one who sent Echidna after the trio in the first place in retaliation. Percy points out that it was his idea to mail the head and the box was under his name. Annabeth states that Athena knows that, and she doesn't care; her daughter allowed it to happen, she wants Annabeth to face the consequences of Percy's actions. Percy, having none of it, takes Annabeth's place in the Last Stand against the Chimera.
• Gender Flip: The Chimera is Echidna's daughter instead of her son like in the books. This is accurate to the actual myth.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": As soon as the trio arrive at the Gateway Arch, Annabeth starts spouting off facts about it.
• Just Train Wrong: As in the books, the trio are riding an Amtrak train to Los Angeles when it stops in St Louis. However, when they get off the train, the camera shows Via Rail (Canada's national passenger rail company) train cars instead, with the logo of the Canadian government briefly visible on the side of the car as well.
• Monumental Damage: The Chimera torches the upper deck of the Gateway Arch while Echidna tears a hole in the floor, which Percy falls through.
• Mythology Gag: Young Percy's swim trunks have images of pink poodles printed on them, a nod to how the trio returned a pink poodle to his owner to get the cash to ride the train in the books.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Percy realizes that him sending Medusa's head to Olympus previously had angered Athena into allowing Echidna into the Gateway Arch in order to set an example to her daughter.
• Parental Betrayal: The Gateway Arch is meant to be a sanctuary from monsters as it's a temple to Athena. To Annabeth's horror, however, Athena is angry that her daughter had allowed Percy to mail Medusa's head to Olympus, therefore "wounding her pride". In response, she revokes sanctuary from the Arch, allowing Echidna and the Chimera to attack her own temple just to set an example. And based on how Echidna taunted Annabeth through her Telepathy, it's implied that Athena was the one who sent Echidna after the trio in the first place. Annabeth is deeply hurt that her mother would endanger her and her friends like this.
• Papa Wolf: Poseidon summons a waterspout to save his son from his long fall, sparing him from Athena's retaliation. He also sends a Nereid, a water spirit, to help a frightened Percy embrace his aquatic abilities.
• Soft Water: Percy survives an over 600 foot drop into the Mississippi River with no injuries. Justified as he's a son of Poseidon. Even more so, he didn’t fall directly in, as a water spout came up and caught him.
• Super Not-Drowning Skills: With the help of a Nereid, Percy discovers that he can breathe underwater.