Recap/Review: "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" - Season 2, Episode 3: "We Board the Princess Andromeda"

Recap:

In the attic of the Big House at Camp Half-Blood, Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn) seeks out the oracle for her quest to find the Golden Fleece and save the camp. Met by the haggard body of the ancient being, Clarisse attacks but is soon confronted with her task of what she must do.

Afterwards, Clarisse listens as Tantalus (Timothy Simons) gives her full authority to deliver justice to Percy and Annabeth (Walker Scobell and Leah Jeffries), who left camp without permission, if she encounters them during her quest. Since Annabeth has left camp without permission, Clarisse needs to find a new partner for her quest.

On board the Princess Andromeda, Percy, Annabeth, and his brother Tyson (Daniel Diemer) climb aboard their ride provided by Hermes and discover a regular cruise ship filled with passengers who take no notice of them. In their room, while Tyson is changing in the bathroom, Percy tries to get Annabeth to tell him the secret that Chiron told her. 

Thinking they are being quiet while talking, Tyson reminds Percy and Annabeth that his hearing is exceptional and that he can still hear them. Percy tells Annabeth that she shouldn’t tell him what she knows that he trusts her for having a good reason to try and stop him from leaving camp and going on the quest. 

While Percy is trying to convince Annabeth to use a codeword to warn him if he is doing something bad, Tyson interjects and tells the two that there is a terrible stink. (Readers of the book know that there is something wrong with the ‘Princess Andromeda’.) Percy is trying to convince Annabeth that they should check out the pool and enjoy their cruise, when Tyson tells them that he smells monsters on the ship.

Clarisse is leaving camp when she meets her father Ares (Adam Copeland). Bowing to honor her dad, Ares tells Clarisse to get up, and that being humble is for losers. Ares notices that Clarisse is short of two compatriots for the quest, when she responds she didn’t want any dead weight slowing her down. Her father offers her some help. 

Ares has raised a civil war iron-clad from the depths of the ocean, and defeated officers who owe him a debt of service that will serve as Clarisse’s line officers on the ship. Ares tells his daughter that he can’t do anything more to help her without getting into trouble, and he is already in the doghouse with Zeus. 

Warming up the officers, Ares tells the assembled sailors that they are to ensure that Clarisse succeeds, or else he will grind up their bones into dust and then sweep them into a bag and then throw the bags into the pits of Tartarus. 

Onboard the ‘Princess Andromeda’ Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson notice the monsters walking amongst the guests. The Mist is working overtime to conceal its appearance from the passengers. While Annabeth is talking to Percy, she is recognized by a friend named Alison Simms (Beatrice Kitsos) who is a graduate of Camp Half-Blood, traveling the world. 

Annabeth tries to warn Alison about the monster threats, and then Alison takes off to find her friends who she claims are monster hunters, but the empathy link that Percy shares with Grover (Aryan Simhadri) identifies Alison as being the rogue camp member that Grover encounters on his quest, and she works for Luke (Charlie Bushnell). 

A fight between the three begins, and Alison may be outnumbered, but she knows how to fight. Percy saves Annabeth, sending Alison over the side of the ship and into the ocean. Back in their suite, Percy and Annabeth search Alison’s bag, and find a card that has the mark of Kronos. Percy deduces why Hermes sent him on this ship. Luke is on board, and he wants Percy to save his son.

Annabeth grabs the card and connects it to the television. The mark of Kronos is an advertisement for the monsters on board to enjoy themselves, because the Mist will protect them. (The imagery of the monsters taking in the joys of a cruise are quite funny.) After the video ends, Annabeth tells the group that it’s not just Luke is here on the ship, the ‘Princess Andromeda’ is his ship.

In another part of the ocean, Clarisse tours her ship and recites the prophecy given to her, while listening to the crew complain about her. When Clarisse tries to gain her officers’ attention, they don’t listen, which requires the daughter of Ares to show her wrath. Still, no one listens, so Clarisse leaves the room frustrated.

Percy and Annabeth are trying to teach Tyson about Kronos and what happened in the past. Percy asks Annabeth where she thinks Luke might be. He believes that they could take Luke down and end the war tonight, but Annabeth stops him. Percy is annoyed, but Annabeth tells Percy that no one is angrier at Luke than she is, but she doesn’t want to see him dead. Annabeth wants to save Luke, while Percy thinks that nothing can save their former friend. They figure Luke would be in the admiralty suite, so the trio takes off after him. 

When Alison and a group of monsters appear from the elevator, they hide.  She marches into Luke’s suite, soaking wet. Percy asks Tyson to listen carefully to what is being said in the suite. Tyson can mimic Luke and Alison’s voices and recites what is being discussed, when Alison leads a group through the door, and surrounds Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson. Luke tells them to put their weapons down, because no one is going to fight.

Percy and Annabeth are led into Luke’s suite, while Tyson is separated from them. Wanting to know how they learned about the ship, Percy tells Luke that Hermes told them, because he has hope for his son. Trying to convince him to surrender, Luke says no and then shows Percy and Annabeth the coffin that is assembling the pieces of Kronos.

While Annabeth and Luke are talking, Percy learns about the Great Prophecy. When Percy questions what it means, Luke tries to divide Percy and Annabeth, but Percy states he doesn’t want to know. Luke tells him that he’s always liked him and that Percy deserves to know the truth. 

Luke takes Percy and Annabeth on a tour of the ship, and they see that demigods and monsters are working together. He goes on to explain that everyone is a child of the gods, and they are maximizing their powers to fight the oppression of the gods. Percy sees Tyson helping some monsters, and he looks happy to be using his talents to create. 

Trying to sell the possibility of a new golden age, Percy and Annabeth wonder where the humans stand in this battle. Luke explains that campers will join their side if Percy joins their side, and it could end the war tonight. 

While Alison is cornering Annabeth, Tyson has used his time to build a bomb, which detonates and allows him, Percy, and Annabeth a chance to escape. (The scene of Tyson calmly taking off his coat that is on fire, is cinematic power. He may be a cyclops, but Tyson has skills to add to this team.) The trio escapes on a lifeboat, with Luke staring menacingly from the deck at them fleeing. Percy wisely uses the power of the winds that Hermes gave him, to get as far away from the ‘Princess Andromeda’ as possible. 

On the iron-clad battleship, Clarisse asks her assembled sailors if they are tired of losing. (They failed in battle and owe Ares a debt. I especially love the Blockbuster worker who served in the ‘Streaming Wars’. Nice touch, writing team.)

Questioning them about what they owe to themselves, Clarisse tells her sailors that this is a second chance to change how they are seen, to change their fate. Clarisse states that this is their chance to take this victory and shove it down the throat of anyone who has ever doubted them. Telling them they will gain reward in the afterlife for their success, Clarisse asks who is with her, and the crew rallies around their captain. While the crew is excited, Clarisse soon learns that her coordinates are wrong and she needs Percy.

On the lifeboat, Percy asks why Tyson made the bomb if he was enjoying himself on the ship. Tyson tells them that Percy and Annabeth were in trouble and they needed help. Afterall a real hero stands up for everyone. 

Annabeth admits to Percy that she doesn’t know the full prophecy and that Percy deserves to know the truth about his fate. She proceeds to tell Percy what she knows about the prophecy. Percy learns that a child of the big three will decide the fate of the gods, by either saving them or destroying it. 

Percy admits that Annabeth was right, he wishes he didn’t know. 

The Tridents Review:

The big spectacle of the first two episodes have passed, so episode three could easily be a plot filler to jumpstart the quests, and it is.

However, the episode allows Dior Goodjohn’s Clarisse her time to shine, Annabeth gets opportunities to add depth to her relationship with Luke and Thalia, and Tyson is literally on fire as he proves his worth to his friends.

A filler episode is necessary, but ‘We Board the Princess Andromeda’ gets special rewards for making the episode claustrophobic and establishing the journey that will take place for both Percy and Annabeth, as well as Clarisse.

‘We Board the Princess Andromeda’ gets 3 ½ Tridents for pushing the plot along at a brisk pace, being funny when it didn’t need to, and for giving Tyson and Clarisse their star moments in the episode.