Recap:
The episode opens with a mysterious voice that is ridiculing the lightning thief. Percy (Walker Scobell) is seeing this in his dreams. When he wakes up on the Kindness Express, he is surrounded by animals, and Grover and Annabeth (Aryan Simhadri and Leah Jeffries). In the truck, the trio starts an Iris message to contact Camp Half-Blood.
After Percy pays, Annabeth pays tribute to the god Iris, and they reach Luke (Charlie Bushnell). Luke tells them that Chiron (Glynn Turman) is trying to keep the camp together because everyone thinks there is brewing war between Zeus and Poseidon. The campers are taking sides and fighting each other.
Percy and Annabeth tell Luke that they think Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn) is the lightning thief because Grover could tell that Ares (Adam Copeland) was covering for the real thief, and who else would he protect but his daughter. (Really? Can you imagine the god of war caring about someone so much that he would protect them? I can’t.)
While Percy and Annabeth recount their adventure, they argue over the specifics of what monsters they faced and when, to which Luke makes the joke wondering when Percy and Annabeth turned into an old married couple. As Percy is about to ask Luke about Las Vegas and meeting his father Hermes (Lin-Manuel Miranda) Annabeth cuts off the message and informs Percy that he can never ask Luke about his dad because they do not get along.
Grover tells Annabeth and Percy that the two drivers are animal traffickers and that they must help the animals escape. He explains that the animals have a plan they just need a little help, like thumbs. Percy and Annabeth agree so long as the animal liberation doesn’t jeopardize the quest. (The next scene of the animals running wild in Vegas is hilarious.)
Leaving the animals to navigate traffic, the group heads to the Lotus Casino. Inside the popular casino everyone is having a good time. Percy, Grover, and Annabeth have no idea what they have walked into. Percy mentions that even though they are supposed to be saving the world, he suggests that they spend some time and take a break for a few minutes.
Grover mentions that in The Odyssey how the men who land on the beach at one point in the story forget who they are and what they are doing. He explains that the men got this way because they ate lotus flowers. As the group looks around the Lotus Casino, they see lotus flowers everywhere.
Worried about entering the casino and forgetting everything, Grover is scared. Percy leaves it to Annabeth to make the decision, and the daughter of Athena tells the boys to not eat anything. They need to find Hermes.
Wandering through the casino Grover mentions that the place looks bigger than it did from outside. In search of Hermes, the group splits up into two teams, Annabeth and Percy, and Grover. Athena tells Grover to check the other side of the casino and the three will meet back together in the lobby in twenty minutes.
As they search, Annabeth informs Percy that she needs to speak to Hermes first because she knows more than anyone else about Luke and Hermes. She tells Percy that Luke’s mom is a seer, a person who could see through the mist, and predict the future. Annabeth figures that Hermes would be willing to help them because of how much this hurt Luke’s mom, and perhaps Hermes is willing to make it up to his son for the damage he has caused.
Grover sees a fellow satyr named Augustus. He tells Augustus how important he was to his family and how when his uncle Ferdinand was preparing for his search, he talked about Augustus all the time. The mention of his uncle brings some recognition to Augustus. To his shock, Augustus is alert and tells Grover that he found Pan.
Augustus says that Pan is in the Lotus Casino, and he wants Grover’s help. The offer is something Grover cannot turn down. Across the casino as Percy and Annabeth search, Percy admits to the weird and scary dreams that he has been having. He tells Annabeth that this man ends up talking to him in his dream, and that today Percy ended up eavesdropping on his dream. Annabeth thinks that Percy is listening to Hades, but Percy is wondering if his dreams are real.
Augustus draws Grover further into the casino and convinces him that he’s there with him, and now Grover has forgotten about Percy and Annabeth. At the craps table, Percy and Annabeth find Hermes telling tales and making wagers. The god knows what the kids want and tells them they are not the first demigods to ask for help. Annabeth cuts through the chatter and tells Hermes that they are friends of Luke.
This revelation catches the god off guard, and he brings the two to a private table at the restaurant. Hermes recognizes Annabeth from when they met before, and Annabeth reminds Hermes about how much Luke hates him. With Hermes’ help it will help Luke see how much he cares. The god admits there is a secret way into the Underworld, but it warns the two about what happens every single time someone uses this hidden entrance.
Hermes tells the two that he was warned to stay away from Luke and his mother. He was told that if he tried to help Luke and his mom, he would make things worse. Hermes ignored the warning because he loved Luke’s mom and wanted to be with her, and he regretted the pain he caused. Despite his pleas to walk away, Annabeth presses him to help them. Hermes refuses to get involved because it’s not worth his time.
Annabeth leaves the table in frustration. Hermes tells Percy that it was his father Poseidon who told him to stay away. It may have been awful to watch your child struggle, but Poseidon said that that was what parenting is sometimes. Hermes tells Percy that it doesn’t matter anyways because time speeds up in the Lotus Casino.
The trio have been in the casino for days. Percy reveals this to Annabeth, and then the daughter of Athena shows Percy that she stole Hermes keys. All they must do is find Hermes’ car and they can get to the Underworld in no time. Percy also tells Athena that the lotus flower is pumped into the air of the casino which causes people to forget who they are and why they came into the building. (I wonder if real casinos do this.)
The two see Augustus and ask about Grover. Fleeing, Percy and Annabeth chase Augustus and find out where their satyr friend is. Confronting their friend at a VR room, Grover doesn’t know who they are, but the mention of a quest has Grover excited to go.
In the garage of the casino, the three search for Hermes’ car. Finding a note on a taxi, Hermes tells the group in his letter that the car will take them wherever they want to go, they just have to get the car out on the street. Percy opts to drive, and after several crashes into the wall, Percy approaches an exit ramp out of the garage and slowly and dangerously gets the car out of the Lotus Casino. Just before a transport crashes into them, the car appears in California and Grover recovers his memories.
Standing on the beach in Santa Monica, Percy tells his friends that he thinks he needs to go meet his dad. Deep beneath the waves, Percy meets a messenger of Poseidon who tells Percy that he has gone to assemble an army because Zeus is ready for war, the deadline has passed.
Relaying a message from Poseidon, Percy hears how proud his father is of him, and that he is released from his quest. Percy Jackson doesn’t quit. He tells the messenger that he is going to see this through. The messenger gifts Percy with four magical items that will allow each of them safe passage back from the Underworld. When he wonders why there are four, the messenger tells Percy that after saving the world, he should save his mother.
Review:
Episode 6 turned out even better than I thought. Not only did we get a great view inside the Lots Casino which pays homage to the text in the book, but we finally got to see more of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hermes, which is what the show needs.
There could have been so much cut from this episode, but with the author guiding the adaptation we see how the original work is mentioned in small ways throughout this episode, and how things can be changed to tell an exciting and thrilling story for television.
Not everything in the book needs to be shown in perfect order in the television series. Similar to last week’s extra scenes with Adam Copeland’s Ares, we get more insight into Hermes which helps tell the story of Luke, and potentially gives viewers insight into what will happen in future episodes.
I know I shouldn’t want to do this, but I would love to spend some time in the Lotus Casino. I mean how bad could it be?
Episode Rating: A+++
For even more, be sure to check out this week’s installment of the From Page to Screen series looking at how this episode was adapted from the book series.