ben-24558

Somehow nothing was memorable and there were parts that really should have been, felt more like a filler episode with 0 energy, genuinely more entertained by the Harry Potter map credits than any of this. More of the same issues as before. I wasn't a fan of the first 2 episodes but gosh it's getting worse at least at camp there was some atmosphere and distraction. It tends to be a bad sign when a fan of the book gets a new adaptation and doesn't bother to pause it when the kettle boils. Everyone praised it for being book accurate must be biting their tongue, why they felt the need to alter the reasoning for visiting the arch with no payoff is beyond me it just brings up issues that weren't there before. The monster bit is underwhelming, resolution to it unsatisfying and i felt a bit irritated by the stupid cliffhanger. They seem to be getting shorter runtime too and it's not as if they are packed to begin with.

Medusa as a victim rather than monster is genuinely interesting and has been done well several times before in other shows. This though was basic and bland, remove half you wouldn't notice. If the idea was a China vase the show was paper mache and the ending was paper mache hit by a spade. None of the characters learned anything either. Percy went from willing to listen to ditching her something i dislike and think out of character, annabeth started arrogant ended arrogant and Grover was just pathetic any sudden growth was unrelated to her. Just imagine what we could have got, annabeth questions the role of the hero after thalia died for nothing and she finds camp taught her to hate all monsters when some aren't so bad, how solitude can build resentment but she stayed true to herself, percy really showing his kind heart not only listening but finding a way to help her out of solitude, medusa only acts nice to teach kids people lie, or annabeth believing her a monster pushes her to snap as reminded of athena to teach kids you can turn good people bad. Any of this would have been better than saying how good she is that she doesn't blame them for their parents only to turn for no reason.

The acting is mostly bad. Walker is the exception. Grover is annoyingly awkward most of the flat jokes coming from him don't help, he doesn't feel like a best friend to percy or a guy annabeth has known for years who helped save her. Hasn't quite got the subtlety to pull off without seeming pathetic. Annabeth has no range, the condescending and deadpan looks actually annoy me now, she lacks any real body language and can't show hints of vulnerability or caring when required. Unfortunately she's a main character its not something i can just ignore, titans curse will surely be my favourite part of her work. Medusa delivered a solid show but hardly the masterpiece some suggest, go watch black sails if you want to see her really shine.

So far this episode and the show in general feels empty. While happy people enjoy it I don't think the show deserve half the applause it gets, can only assume since the movies didn't do well they have blinkers on bending over backwards ignoring the many faults to feel hey we got a good adaptation. Even if written for kids the fans of the books have grown up a bit and it lacks depth and appeal to general audiences to make it a lasting success like Harry Potter.

Also book accurate doesn't equal great. While it ticks boxes of plot beats it misses the atmosphere entirely. Take last of us ep3 it far from game version but was one of the best.

I did like considering luke for the quest and idea of nice medusa even if it played out poorly. Walker again the only beacon of hope this show has.

Lots of smaller issues I took. Annabeth learned nothing, got picked for quest her dream gave no appreciation, smartest girl around see Grover look at stone satyr ask what up. Percy picked Grover because he would never betray him but already did in the first ep, was near when Grover spoke to horses but didn't hear anything. Grover ignored a gods direct order his punishment scoop some poop. The fury is supposed to be hades lieutenant while I like it wary of medusa they killed it three times now and it can't push past a group of people in bus come on. I get inclusive and as long as just around camp don't really mind it but a girl in wheelchair popped up again how does that work in the demigod world with monsters. The whole head in box in book was badass here didn't hit. Finally spent a minute watching hermes walk and elevator just awful use the time to show the gods reaction or scrap it and give me anything else.