TV Recap/Review: "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" - Season 2, Episode 8 "The Fleece Works Its Magic Too Well"

Recap: 

It’s the night that Luke, Thalia, Grover (Charlie Bushnell, Tamara Smart, Aryan Simhadri) arrive at Camp Half-Blood with a younger Annabeth. The Furies have landed, and while the group of kids are scared, Thalia has a plan. She tells Luke that she can battle the Furies, but Luke needs to protect Annabeth. While Thalia engages the monsters, the other three head for the protection of the camp. 

Percy (Walker Scobell) is sitting in his mom Sally’s (Virginia Kull’s) car being driven back to camp, as he thinks about the Great Prophecy. A child of either Poseidon, Zeus, or Hades would make the choice that would either save or destroy Olympus. Percy is now worried that the child will be Thalia. 

Sally slams on the brakes because Blackjack the Pegasus is in the middle of the road. Tyson (Daniel Diemer) wonders where Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn) is. Percy gets out and approaches the winged horse. While Percy is busy with Blackjack, Sally learns from Annabeth (Leah Jeffries) that there is a prophecy and that Thalia will help Percy carry the weight of expectations. 

Returning to the car, Percy tells everyone that Clarisse never made it to camp. She was surrounded by monsters and took off with the Golden Fleece on foot. Sally wants to join them, but Percy says no, because he doesn’t ever want to see his mom put into the danger she was when he fought the Minotaur. They part ways with Sally promising to stay a safe distance.

At Camp Half-Blood. Tantalus (Timothy Simons) is berating the campers as they clean up the chariot racetrack. Chris Rodriguez (Kevin Chacon) interrupts his speech and wants more people to patrol the border. Tantalus wants them to focus on the race, but Chris has had enough. He believes there won’t be any more races if they can’t defend the camp. When Tantalus picks a piece of food, only to realize his curse has been lifted, he is attacked with an exploding fireball and vaporized. 

The battle for Camp Half-Blood is on. Percy, Annabeth, Tyson, and Grover watch as archers led by Bronte (Sage Linder) are defending the camp. Tyson detects that something is coming towards camp. Luke and his army from Kronos have arrived to lay siege to the camp. As Percy and his friends listen to Luke’s group make their plans, Luke tells his assembled army that the tree must still stand, because they need to free Thalia from its confines. She is the most powerful demigod alive, and Luke believes that with her, she will destroy Olympus for them.

Clarisse has made it through the barrier, and she is stopped by Chris and a group of Ares campers. They act as Clarisse’s escort to the tree.

Percy wants to know how Luke knows that Thalia can be cured. Annabeth tells him that she is the one who told him. Annabeth believes that Thalia will be on their side, and that just because Percy had a dream doesn’t mean it is true. She reminds him that Kronos has the power to manipulate dreams. Before they can get anywhere, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are captured by Campers on patrol. They are exiles and not welcome back. They soon learn that Tantalus is gone and that Mr. D (Jason Mantzoukas) is the only one left in charge. 

Mr. D. is enjoying leading a sing-along, and when Percy enters, the joy leaves Mr. D. He wants them to be taken to Tantalus then he is reminded that Tantalus took a fireball to the head. Percy uses this opportunity to rally the campers to defend their home, and to warn them that Kronos is back. It works and the kids join Percy in the defense of their camp.

On the battlefield, through the smoke and fire, campers wait to see the whites of the eyes of the enemy before attacking. Soon, arrows are flying and we travel to Clarisse and Chris. We soon learn that Chris is a spy for Luke and a fight ensues with Clarisse fleeing to the camp. Trapped at the chariot track, Chris is trying to steal the Golden Fleece. He tells Clarisse that her mistake was thinking she had friends, because she doesn’t. Then Annabeth and Grover come riding in on a chariot saving her life and stealing the Golden Fleece back. 

Luke has taken control of Half-Blood Hill, and he stares at Thalia’s tree wondering what to do next. As he allows a monster to enter camp, Percy walks onto the battlefield ready to challenge his old friend to combat. Beside him Tyson joins the gathering, and then all campers come from behind and Percy is soon leading a large army of willing warriors. 

Much like ancient armies, the battle begins. Luke finds Percy in the battle and they fight. He starts off well, but soon Luke knocks Percy down, and beats him up badly. Just as Luke attempts to kill Percy, Tyson saves the day and defends his brother sending Luke flying away with a series of blows from his trident.

Horses can be heard neighing, because Annabeth has arrived with Grover and Clarisse, and more importantly, the Golden Fleece. But the celebration doesn’t last long as Annabeth is thrown from the chariot courtesy of an arrow in her shoulder from Alison (Beatrice Kitsos). Needing reinforcements Alison tries to cut Thalia’s tree down, and Annabeth begs Percy to save the tree. He rigs the Fleece with a spear and tosses it to Clarisse telling her to finish the quest.

The daughter of Ares throws the spear perfectly, sticking to Thalia’s tree. The healing begins instantly. From the tree, Thalia emerges, and she and Percy are both struck by lightning. Percy awakens to standing on the shore and is met by his father Poseidon (Toby Stephens) telling him that he is not dead. Percy asks his dad if the war with the Titans has started. 

Poseidon tells Percy that he was grateful for him looking after Tyson, and that is when his half-brother walks in. Poseidon tells his son that he has need for him to work in his forges, and Tyson immediately agrees to go. Tyson tells Percy that when he was alone on the streets he prayed to the gods for a friend, and he was sent a brother. 

Percy volunteers to help, but Poseidon tells him that his destiny lies elsewhere. When Percy mentions the Great Prophecy, Poseidon concedes that he had planned to tell him when he was closer to sixteen, but there is no particular good age to tell someone that they carry the fate of the world on their shoulders. Poseidon tells his son to never underestimate himself, and then he wakes up. 

Waking up in the Big House, Percy learns from Grover and Annabeth that he has been out for three days, that Thalia has not woke yet, and that Chiron (Glynn Turman) is reinstated and anxious to see Percy. In the Big House, Percy meets with Chiron and Clarisse. She tells Percy that she has been put in charge of training the campers and she invites Percy and Annabeth to join her.

Chiron tells Percy that he regrets not having told him his connection to Kronos. He expresses that he tried to heed the will of the gods, and Chiron explains that they, Annabeth and Grover, deserve to know what really happened the night they arrived at camp. Chiron described what he saw, because he was on that hill that night. 

The Furies kept their distance from Thalia but kept talking. Until they said too much and were vaporized by Zeus. Then Zeus (Courtney B. Vance) appeared to Thalia. Zeus tries to tell Thalia that what the Furies told her were nothing but lies from Hades. Trying to walk away, Thalia tells Zeus that she is going to get Annabeth and Luke and leave the camp, and that she will never be his weapon, because Thalia never wanted to be his daughter. This is when Zeus transforms her into the tree. 

Zeus had ordered Chiron to lie, and when he heard about the quest this year, he knew that Kronos was going to use the power of the Golden Fleece to raise a champion for himself. Thalia walks into the room and is shocked to see Annabeth so much older. They embrace and Thalia wants to know where Luke is. 

Review:

The second season ends with a battle that is epic, and a depth to the storyline that will no doubt please fans and excite others about the upcoming season 3. A mid credits scene showing Percy and Annabeth dancing at Westover Hall and an end credits scene brings us back to Circe’s (Rosemarie DeWitt) as she unveils the new statues to Percy and Annabeth for being able to escape the island and avoid the muses.

There is so much to enjoy from the whole season, but what particularly stands out is how the original book was expanded and given more muscle in the story is one of the greatest aspects of this season of the show. Luke gets a bigger storyline, Thalia gets more history so that we are already to meet her for her role in season 3, and the audience gets to connect with Clarisse more thanks to her expanded role in this season.

I thoroughly enjoyed Season 2 ranking the final episode and the whole season 4 Tridents of epic battles with detailed and in depth characters that excite the minds of the audience using classical storylines in a modern world.