"We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium" is the third episode of the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It was released on December 26, 2023.
Synopsis[]
Percy sets off on the quest to return Zeus' master bolt and stop a war between the gods.
Plot[]
Percy is sent to see the Oracle who gives him a message, in the form of a gaseous Gabe. Part of the message informs him that a friend will betray him. When Chiron asks Percy to pick two to accompany him, he picks Annabeth, due to her take charge attitude, and Grover, because he is his best friend. Luke gives Percy a pair of flying shoes to help with his journey. As they leave, Percy learns that the tree that guards Camp Half Blood is actually Zeus' daughter Thalia and that she came with Annabeth, Luke, and their protector. Annabeth insists that they leave at once.
The group take a taxi cab into the city before taking a greyhound bus to New Jersey. When they make a stop, Grover attempts to calm Percy and Annabeth who are acting curtly to one another. Annabeth gets off to get themselves some food, during which she starts to become suspicious of someone watching them. When she gets back on the bus, she uses her invisibility hat to confront Mrs. Dodds, who is actually the fury known as Alecto. Alecto offers to take Percy in exchange for recognition from her mother Athena, but she turns her down. The kids escape the bus with Annabeth killing another fury as they leave.
The trio traverse the forest to find a satyr trail. Percy and Annabeth once again get into an argument over their parentage and the latter accidentally reveals that it was Grover who was her, Luke, and Thalia's protector. They eventually find a road that lead's to Auntie Em's Emporium. Upon seeing the stone statues out front, they realize that Medusa lives there. They attempt to leave, but Alecto blocks their exit. Medusa, wearing a headdress, reveals herself and offers to let the children stay with her and even offers them food. Despite their reservations, the kids agree to stay with her.
Medusa explains that despite all that has happened, she has no ill will towards Poseidon, the one she loved, or Athena, the one who cursed her, and still admires them from afar. Annabeth cannot accept Medusa's solace and still considers her a monster. She then calls Percy away to the kitchen and reveals that she knows that Sally is in the Underworld. She offers to "remove" Annabeth and Grover for Percy's sake, but when he runs and hides, she removes her headdress and starts to hunt the children.
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover hide in the basement where Medusa has kept most of her victims. Percy gives Grover the flying shoes as they wait for Medusa to arrive. As she approaches, Grover distracts Medusa (albeit unintentionally), Annabeth puts her invisibility cap on her, and Percy decapitates her. Using Medusa's head, Percy kills Alecto.
After Grover finds the frozen remains of his Uncle Ferdinand. The group wonder what to do with Medusa's head. They get into an argument where Percy admits to what the prophecy told him. He soon realizes that Annabeth suffers from the same familial trauma he does and that Grover has been struggling to keep them together. Knowing that things will be even more difficult, Percy decides to use the Hermes delivery system to send Medusa's head to Olympus as a way to mock them.
In New York City, Hermes personally delivers the package to Olympus, somewhat amused at Percy's act of rebellion.
Cast[]
- Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson
- Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase
- Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood
Guest-starring[]
- Megan Mullally as Mrs. Dodds/Alecto
- Jason Mantzoukas as Mr. D/Dionysus
- Timm Sharp as Gabe Ugliano
- Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa
- Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan
- Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue
- Glynn Turman as Mr. Brunner/Chiron
- Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes (uncredited)
Co-starring[]
- Andrew Alvarez as Chris Rodriguez
- Threnody Tsai as Sarah
- Sara J. Southey as Tisiphone
- Jennifer Shirley as Oracle
- Brooklyn Scotland as Samara
- George Moran as Red Team Bully
- Darla Fay as Cashier
- Rick Riordan as Statue (uncredited)
Trivia[]
- The title comes from the eleventh chapter of the The Lightning Thief, while the episode adapts that chapter, the second half of chapter nine, as well as chapter ten.
- Series creator, Rick Riordan, has a second cameo as one of Medusa's victims. He is dressed as a mail man with the letters, also turned to stone, still in his hand.
- Rather than the typical theme, the episode ends with "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Christopher Cross.
Book comparisons[]
- In the book, the Oracle spoke to Percy using a vision of Gabe Ugliano and his friends playing poker in a throaty voice. In the series, it is changed to it emitting a green gaseous cloud that takes on the form of Smelly Gabe using his own voice.
- In the book, Percy chooses Grover who is reluctant to come along while Annabeth volunteers to join the quest. In the series, Percy is given the option to choose who will go with him and immediately picks Annabeth because of her character and Grover, who has no resistance to the idea.
- While Percy was told that someone will betray him, he has zero belief during the adventure that either Grover or Annabeth would do so. The series realistically depicts him with some doubt before eventually caving and telling them.
- Argus is absent. Due to this, the trio venture out some ways from the camp before they manage to hail a taxi cab, rather than being driven straight into town.
- Percy still has the pen, while in the book he gets it back from Chiron after returning it to him from the museum incident.
- The greyhound bus stops at a convenience store and Annabeth gets off to buy snacks. This does not happen in the book.
- Alecto briefly talks to Annabeth before attempting to take Percy with the help of Tisiphone whom Annabeth successfully kills. In the book, Alecto is accompanied by two more furies and a whole action sequence takes place with an out of control bus. The three escape with the furies still technically alive.
- Alecto is not seen again after the bus fight. The series expands her role somewhat by having her follow them all the way to Auntie Em's Emporium, before she is turned to stone by Medusa's head.
- In the book, the children do not realize that they are in the presence of Medusa as she happily offers them food. Grover encounters a statue that looks like his Uncle Ferdinand, which causes them to become suspicious before realizing that Auntie Em is Medusa. The series changes it to them knowing she is Medusa right away and cautiously staying with her to hide from Alecto.
- Medusa offers to only freeze Annabeth and Grover so that Percy can rescue his mother on his own. In the book, she wants to freeze all of them to "free" them from being pawns of the gods.
- The trio use the invisibility cap before Percy slices Medusa's head off. In the book, Percy simply sliced it off using a crystal ball as a mirror.
Gallery[]
Promotional[]
Screenshots[]
.jpg "Percy Jackson and the Olympians - 1x03 - We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (1).jpg (179 KB)")
.jpg "Percy Jackson and the Olympians - 1x03 - We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (2).jpg (150 KB)")
.jpg "Percy Jackson and the Olympians - 1x03 - We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (3).jpg (283 KB)")
.jpg "Percy Jackson and the Olympians - 1x03 - We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (4).jpg (197 KB)")
.jpg "Percy Jackson and the Olympians - 1x03 - We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (5).jpg (137 KB)")
.jpg "Percy Jackson and the Olympians - 1x03 - We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (6).jpg (139 KB)")
.jpg "Percy Jackson and the Olympians - 1x03 - We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (7).jpg (120 KB)")
.jpg "Percy Jackson and the Olympians - 1x03 - We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (9).jpg (110 KB)")
.jpg "Percy Jackson and the Olympians - 1x03 - We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (10).jpg (84 KB)")
.jpg "Percy Jackson and the Olympians - 1x03 - We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (11).jpg (93 KB)")
External links[]
v - e - d  | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|