TV Review | Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Episode 6)

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians delivers another great episode. And Lin-Manuel Miranda is perfect as Hermes!”

It’s Wednesday, so this means it’s time for a new episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians! Every week, this series continues to be a satisfying adaptation of the popular book franchise. After today, there are only two episodes left this season.

HERMES

Last week’s episode ended with Percy, Annabeth and Grover heading to Las Vegas in order to find Hermes so he could help them in their quest. To be honest, this episode was my most anticipated episode of the season because of Hermes. I love Lin Manuel Miranda and I was so interested to see what he would do with the character. He had already made a quick cameo earlier this season at the end of episode 3. But this is episode. Like Adam Copeland as Ares, Lin-Manuel Miranda is perfect as Hermes. They really nailed it for the casting of these Gods. I do look forward to see Lance Reddick as Zeus next!

Hermes is a playful character but who is also tormented and Lin-Manuel Miranda captures both of these aspects of the character in his performance. Even though, he only has a short screen time, when he is there, he got your attention. That may be the only complain I have about Hermes – we don’t see him long enough.

LAS VEGAS

(L-R): Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood in *Percy Jackson and the Olympians*.

With episode 4, this one is shortest of the season with only a 33-minute runtime. And like I said in my review of episode 4, the runtime of an episode doesn’t make its quality, it is its content. A short episode can be great, just like a long episode can be bad or vice versa. It is what happens in the episode that matters. The stop at Las Vegas was an interesting part of the novel and it’s just as compelling in the series. Undoubtedly, it is a great episode. In Las Vegas, the characters are like in a maze, getting lost. When watching the episode, you really feel that sense of getting lost.

Moreover, it is also an episode with some deeply touching scenes. Everyone in the cast delivers heartfelt performances during these scenes. This series brilliantly explores the emotions of the characters, not just Percy and his friends but also the secondary characters like Hermes. This makes you care about all the characters.

VISUALS

Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood in *Percy Jackson and the Olympians*. Credit: Disney/David Bukach

On top of that, this series continues to deliver visually. However, I will say there are two exterior shots in Las Vegas that aren’t up to this series’ standards. It had the bad CG vibe, which is honestly not what we are used to with this series. The rest of the episode isn’t like that. In fact, I really like the colour palette of the interiors in Vegas. The use of purple creates a cosy and yet dangerous atmosphere, which is quite fitting for this chapter.