Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Clarisse Blows Up Everything

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 Episode 4, “Clarisse Blows Up Everything,” gives Thalia Grace the introduction she deserves.

Thanks to a thunderous adventure of epic shots and heartpounding final stands, this journey through the Sea of Monsters is smooth sailing from a storytelling standpoint.

It forges a fun new partnership between three unlikely companions that exemplifies how fascinating the godly dynamics are from the demigod perspective.

In its most enjoyable moments, Percy Jackson lets us get to know these characters on a human level. However, at its best, it allows these characters to get to know each other.

Clarisse’s choice to corner Percy in the galley because she is overwhelmed with emotion and desperate to talk about her feelings with someone is rich enough to devour.

Once a bully, we are now seeing her desires to connect with her fellow heroes, not push them away. Clarisse also struggles to accept that she has a weakness for the well-being of her army, and she may have always envied Percy for being so open about that trait.

Her motivation to save her soldiers from a noble sacrifice is such a fascinating character study for the antagonist, and it is driven home by meaningful commentary with her reluctant new crew.

We get to see the daughters of Athena and Ares work through battle strategies in real time, which is such a valuable piece of insight into both their characters. We also get a moment of much-needed Percy humor when he lets out a victorious “finally” when Clarisse leaves.

To suggest he was entirely focused on eating his sandwich and helping Clarisse was simply an annoying road bump during that task adds another fun layer to the scene.

It’s the little moments of reflection and humor like this that exemplify what we adore about this premise.

And the dialogue is there to support the actors this time, allowing them to really sink into these characters and their deeper turmoils. Rather than rely on the over-the-top monologues and goofy villainy that drove Episode 3, this outing slows things down and lets the silences speak for themselves.

The by-product is a mature, reflective script that prioritizes its characters’ inner dialogue above all else.

The hand-to-hand combat still needs refinement, as demonstrated with Percy and Clarisse’s brief beach showdown.

Despite that hiccup, it takes up such little space in this story in comparison to the stronger character-driven scenes that everything balances out rather well. As long as the show prioritizes these stronger elements, Percy Jackson can get away with and even charm us with the child-geared action of this show.

Yet there isn’t a ton of child-geared action in retrospect, this episode is a serious affair at most turns.

The intensity surrounding Thalia’s battles on the streets feels appropriately upsetting. That final heart-pounding moment when the ship comes apart at the seams, and Percy watches his friends get carried away by the storm one by one, is bone-chilling.

This episode puts the demigods on the front line of danger, and the darker tone complements their quest beautifully.

Hands down, the most notable improvement from the previous episode is the handling of Luke’s perspective.

By introducing flashbacks to baby Annabeth on the road with Thalia and Luke, we peel back a vulnerable layer to Annabeth’s story as well as Luke’s reasoning for revolting against the camp.

We get our first glimpse at Zeus’ forbidden child, Thalia, and it feels entirely like the series shook the book and Tamara Smart fell out.

Her brief appearance has an earth-shaking impact on the episode as the actress brings an authenticity to the arrogance and ego of Thalia that expertly sets her apart from Clarisse’s bravado. Thalia is so clearly a weapon with or without her spear, as she tears through any threat.

Her fierce loyalty to protect Annabeth instantly makes us fall in love with her. However, you can see the cleverly placed fractures in Luke’s present-day logic when Thalia sacrifices her hatred for camp to make sure Annabeth has the chance to live a safe life.

We learn from this episode that Thalia would never have acted on her hatred for the gods at the cost of hurting Annabeth, and that is where reality and delusion diverge for Luke.

Ultimately, we discover so much about every character this episode touches from the original trio that fled to Camp Half-Blood to the present-day trio facing the Sea of Monsters.

The episode takes the time to flesh out the purpose of each demigod’s desire to embark on this quest. It also delves into a softer side of Clarisse, gives Annabeth some of the best dialogue of the episode as she grapples with trying to save Percy from the same fate as Thalia, and reminds us how down bad Percy was for Annabeth from day one.

It doesn’t waste a second of screen time between purposeful flashbacks and Percy’s time on the ghost ship.

More of this, please, Percy Jackson!

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

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