Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 Episode 3 Review: We Board the Princess Andromeda

Becoming fugitives of the high seas is a slippery slope for Percy and his crew.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 Episode 3, “We Board the Princess Andromeda,” battles the highs and lows of a dialogue-driven episode. While brave in the face of adversity, the crashing waves of conflict take their first casualty of the season.

But fear not, as Percabeth refuses to go down with the ship, carrying us into stronger tides just in time for the next outing.

One thing this show is not sacrificing is the connection between Percy and Annabeth, and Tyson as an extension of that dynamic.

Removing Grover forces two opposing personalities, just learning to care for each other, to work cohesively as a team. Watching Annabeth try to lead the group while Percy does his best to stay out of her way is beyond endearing

He’s gotten ridiculously good at saying the right thing to put her at ease and to send us spiralling. Even when these two aren’t speaking, it’s clear what emotions they are trying to convey to each other.

Not only are the romantic sparks starting to fly, but the Great Prophecy hanging over their heads complicates things beautifully. It’s great to see the show prioritizing their friendship first to enrich the romance later on.

Percy and Annabeth are steering this boat with a confidence and chemistry that is keeping this ambitious season afloat.

Additionally, two standouts help steer this episode away from trouble.

It’s exciting to have the quest from Clarisse’s point of view. Not only do we get a look at the turmoil that created the Daughter of Ares’ bully persona, but we see firsthand the strained relationship with her father.

Forcing Clarisse to earn the respect of the ghost soldiers not by intimidating her father’s brutality but by embracing her ability to be a better, more inspirational leader is teeming with potential.

Then there’s Tyson. Daniel Diemer is working double time to ensure his performance isn’t lost under that distracting CGI eye.

He turns what could be a cartoonish monster into an enduring, pure-hearted hero who desires to make the right choices for his friends. His mannerisms and comedic timing are very much reminiscent of a younger Dylan O’Brien in this role.

While these characters thrive in their respective roles, Allison Simms is an example of the issues this episode faces when they don’t.

She is essentially a faceless amalgamation of multiple book characters in Luke’s fight to free Kronos. It puts the Apollo demigod at risk of feeling out of place in a sea of characters with clear purpose.

Instead of giving her ambition, the show creates an angry crony to do Luke’s bidding and to escalate the conflict in place of a proper antagonist. The result is a two-dimensional villain that painfully highlights the cringier over-the-top action of the episode.

There’s nothing to cling to with Allison; she is a plot tool for whatever the scene calls for. By centering her in so many of the Princess Andromeda scenes, the episode risks taking on the uninspiring qualities it instills in her.

The issue is establishing what is fitting for a middle-grade show and what is poor storytelling hiding behind a middle-grade show.

The dialogue, for one, has demonstrated it can be miles above what we get throughout this episode. Most of it is weak, regardless of who is delivering the lines. Luke’s perspective is especially hindered by the lack of expression in this department.

This episode forces the conflict to a simmer on the sinister decks of the Princess Andromeda. With less action, the weight falls on the dialogue to move things along. Unfortunately, this script does not showcase the excellence of its cast or this crucial point in the story.

Sadly, the hand-to-hand combat is lacking the muster to save the day, too.

While we praise Percy Jackson for practical effects, that seems to work against the combat. The hits don’t give the impression that they connect, coming off more like amateur larping than an expensive Disney+ project.

Percy Jackson has to find a way to balance its PG rating without sacrificing authentic combat sequences. 

Rigid dialogue and stiff action nearly sink the Princess Andromeda before we can set sail for the Sea of Monsters. Luke might be on the wrong side of this battle, but the best shows flesh out their villains, so we resonate with them.

With so much rich context from the books to flesh out why Luke is betraying his friends, resorting to one-note confrontations with his henchmen is not the move.

Is this the weakest episode of the season so far? Yes. Thankfully, it seems to be an outlier, as the Oracle of Delpy foretells valuable insight into Luke and Thalia’s relationship during Episode 4 flashbacks.

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New episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians drop Wednesdays on Disney+.

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