Recap/Review: "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" - Season 2, Episode 7 "I Go Down With the Ship"

Recap:

Annabeth is a young kid, being led to Camp Half-Blood by Grover, Luke, and Thalia (Aryan Simhadri, Charlie Bushnell, and Tamara Smart) and though they are close to safety, the Furies are upon the heroes. Thalia stands tall to save her friends and is turned into a tree thanks to the benevolence of her father Zeus. 

When Chiron (Glynn Turman) tells the saddened Luke and Annabeth that the spirit of Thalia in the form of the tree will protect them just as Thalia protected her friends and defeated the Furies to save them neither is happy with this explanation about the death of their friend. Annabeth (Leah Jeffries) wakes from her trip down memory lane, to find herself tied up on Luke’s boat, and in a world of trouble.

The guests from the Princess Andromeda have disembarked at a smaller dock in Long Island and while Aiden (Aiden Howard) is trying to maintain the cover of what is really happening, he is tricked by Tyson (Daniel Diemer) and is captured by Clarisse and Percy. (Dior Goodjohn, Walker Scobell). They want to know where Annabeth is. 

Percy and Clarisse argue over which to save first the Golden Fleece or Annabeth. Clarisse wants to get the Fleece and not risk the safety of camp anymore. Percy asks her to work together and then pulls out a line from Clarisse’s prophecy that hits home to the daughter of Ares.  But she knows he is right and listens to what he has to say, then steals the keycard to the ship. Percy tells Tyson and Grover to arrange another ride back to camp once he gets off the ship.

Luke is confronted by Alison (Beatrice Kitsos) and she wants to place the Fleece on Kronos immediately rather than use it to heal Annabeth, the enemy. Luke takes it and places it on the sarcophagus of Kronos. 

On the ship, all is quiet as Clarisse boards the vessel and Percy strolls the pool deck. Hearing the neighing of a horse, Percy hides while Clarisse hides in the locker room as Luke’s henchmen enter. She learns that the Iris network has most likely been shut down by Zeus because he knew that the forces of Kronos were using this network to communicate. 

Percy learns that the horse is a Pegasus and his name is Blackjack. (We get to see Blackjack.) Able to communicate with this legendary creature, Percy frees him and then proceeds onto his rescue mission of Annabeth. 

Chained to her bed, Annabeth is happy to see Percy appear out from under her invisible hat and cuts her free. When Annabeth learns that Percy is saving her and Clarisse is going for the Fleece, she tells Percy that the Fleece is all that matters. Annabeth knows what it can do and the Golden Fleece should be the priority. In the distance, a door opens, and Percy hides under the invisible hat. 

Luke has come back to check on her, and he wonders how she is feeling. He tells her that the Fleece is working its magic to heal Kronos and it was all thanks to Percy. Explaining that he defied the will of the gods and handed it over, Luke admits that Percy has a heart. Annabeth begs him to stop what he is doing. She tells him that he needs to take the Fleece off the sarcophagus and bring it to her. Hearing the door close in the back of the room, Luke is suspicious and orders his minions to check it out. 

Grover and Tyson are securing a ride and when they have no idea what to do. That’s when Tyson suggests they call someone stronger and wiser than them. They call Sally Jackson (Virgina Kull) and while she worries if he is okay, Sally wants to know if something happened at camp. Wanting a ride to camp, Sally is confused because she thought they were at camp, and when Grover tries to tell another long-complicated story, she reminds him that she’s been a mother to a demigod for thirteen years and now would be a good time to tell her what is going on.

Alison is summoned to the sarcophagus, and though the words are inaudible, Alison assures Kronos that it will be done and she leaves. Luke is explaining to Annabeth that if the camp gets the Fleece, they will want to fight back, and it will kill many demigods needlessly. He can’t let Annabeth have the Fleece because he doesn’t want any deaths on him. Annabeth tries to explain to Luke that the Fleece can bring Thalia back to them. He doesn’t believe her, and Luke says that Thalia is gone. Luke reasons that if the Fleece could bring Thalia back, why didn’t Kronos tell him before he poisoned the tree. (Gee Luke, maybe because he is an evil Titan who wants to conquer the world?) Annabeth tells him to ask Kronos, and that is when a loud piercing noise is heard and it incapacitates Luke. Annabeth decides to escape.

Alison collects her weapons and tells more minions of their army that she is going to kill Annabeth per Kronos’ orders. She tells them that if Luke gives her any trouble, she might need help. Clarisse hears this and uses it to her advantage to escape. Taking some of their weapons, the daughter of Ares is excited for the upcoming battle and follows them to Annabeth.

Percy approaches the sarcophagus of Kronos with a plan to steal the Fleece but is greeted by Kronos’ taunting hello. Annabeth is hiding when Alison and her goons arrive to kill her. Kronos tries to annoy Percy, but the son of the sea god is not going to be lied to by the mad titan. While Kronos tries to tell the Great Prophecy, Percy yanks the Fleece from the casket, and then Kronos goes quiet. This is when Luke walks in. He deduces that when the door opened it was Percy, and he accuses Annabeth of lying. 

Just as Alison is about to attack Annabeth, Clarisse dispatches one of the monsters and taunts the group of ex demigods. Simultaneous battles commence with Percy sparing with Luke, while Clarisse dismantles Alison and her squad of fools. 

Percy escapes to the elevator but the doors to the lift don’t close fast enough for Percy to avoid Luke’s sword. Luckily, Percy has the Fleece, and he will live to fight another day. Clarisse and Annabeth defeat their foes, and when Annabeth states that Percy went for the Fleece, Clarisse is doubtful that he could do that on his own. A boat-wide alarm sounds, and Clarisse states with exasperation that it doesn’t mean he has the Fleece. 

Just as Annabeth and Clarisse are about to be attacked on the pool deck, Blackjack swoops down to save the day, and Percy emerges with the Fleece. Percy introduces them to Blackjack and then asks the Pegasus to take Clarisse and the Fleece back to camp as fast as possible. Percy tells Clarisse that he was wrong to use her prophecy against her, and that she needs to complete her quest. Then, what Percy does next is the most Percy thing to do, he apologizes and tells Clarisse that she does have friends.

The daughter of Ares mounts Blackjack and takes off for camp. Before going, she thanks Percy. 

Back on the dock, Percy and Annabeth meet up with Tyson who tells them to get in the car. Sally Jackson is driving. While the car ride is filled with exposition about the possibility that the Fleece could bring Thalia back, Percy is worried. He sees the future as uncertain and remembers back to his nightmare of Thalia attacking him. 

Luke is back on his ship and confronts Kronos wondering why he didn’t tell him that the Fleece could bring back Thalia. Kronos attacks and tortures Luke, telling him that if he wants to prove his worth, he needs to join the attack on Camp Half-Blood, and to kill the son of Poseidon. (I cannot stress enough how fantastic Charlie Bushnell is as Luke. His vengeful anger as the episode ends elevates the character and shows how deeply conflicted and dangerous Luke is.)

The Tridents Review:

For episode 7, there are moments of brilliance, but a lot of slow dialogue that propels the story. I would have liked a lot more sword fighting, but alas, that was not meant to be. 

The best part of the episode is how Charlie Bushnell continues to make Luke such a deep complex character, and how Dior Goodjohn makes Clarisse so much more powerful than a one note secondary character. These two performances and the extra time they get to shine is what makes this show such a success and superior to the previous films from Fox.

Episode 7 ‘I Go Down With the Ship’ was enjoyable for many reasons plus the introduction of Blackjack, and that’s why this episode gets a 3 Trident review. More actions is needed, but I know it’s coming with the next episode.