#oops i just realized i said i'd talk about walker's performance and then i didn't w/e i don't want to go back and add it

[phykios]

Review: I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

Yes, yes, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the meetcute of the century, it’s very exciting, but I have to ask–why is it framed like a horror movie? 

To be clear, I’m not saying I don’t like it. I can easily believe that it’s a character choice, that Leah decided Annabeth had been practicing that line over and over again to sound as cool and aloof as possible, and then not realize it makes her look super weird. That is the kind of intense, “formative years in magical summer camp” awkwardness that I always associate Annabeth with. But combined with the storm, the blurring of the curtains, and the sinister musical underscoring, it’s just a very odd choice. 

For me, personally, peak delivery of “You drool when you sleep” will always belong to Kristin Stokes, mostly because the comedic value of her cutting off Percy in the middle as he musically waxes poetic about how beautiful she is is very, very high. But, because it’s literally Leah’s first (technically second) line in the whole series, and because I think it does make sense with her character as the episode unfolds, I won’t say it’s the wrong choice. I won’t even say that I don’t get it. Just that, when combined with the rest of the framing, it’s an odd one. (Remind me to return to this point once the season is over, and we’ll see if my feelings have changed at all!)

I’m going to do my best to be normal about Luke, and I promise you, I will fail. Luckily for all of us, Luke is not yet babygirl; he is still only baby. As several others have pointed out, the fact that Luke’s first interaction with Percy is one of immediate sympathy, and that he more explicitly takes Percy under his wing, taking book!Annabeth’s position of being the lore explainer and confidante, is going to be so heinous in retrospect when the betrayal comes. As a side note, I loved the way that the other cabin members were side-eyeing Percy as the camera slowly picked its way through the room. Also, the fact that Luke’s words were repeated by the shadowy figure (presumably Kronos) in Percy’s nightmare? When Percy calls Luke his friend, still in the middle of his emotional separation from Grover? Amazing. It’s going to hurt so bad. 

You can tell Luke has a lot of sway in his cabin, from the little entourage–including Chris!–that follows him around camp, but I wish we had seen more of his status in the greater camp social circle, beyond him getting Clarisse to successfully back off. Even something as simple as people just calling out to him in greeting would help fill the gaps in. (Think “Hi, Barbie!”) This could easily bog down the pacing, though, so I get why it’s not here. You can also tell that Luke and Chris have their little grooming (ideological, not the other kind) routine down pat. “They like the smell of burnt mac and cheese?” “They like the smell of begging.” Might be my favorite exchange of the whole episode. 

Speaking of favorites, favorite performance this episode goes to Dior Goodjohn during capture the flag. However, Clarisse’s characterization here feels almost like the inverted version of Gabe from the previous episode–he’s been dialed down, but she’s been dialed up. In the books, she starts out as a bully, yes, but more of an ineffectual one, since she gets hit with a faceful of toilet water in her first appearance. Dior plays her much, much scarier than she ever was in text… but at the same time, could she be scarier just because the act of seeing someone in a fight can be scarier than reading about it? And again, the reverse for Gabe: was his character dialed down because seeing acts of domestic abuse at that level was a worse experience than reading about them? For Clarisse, this change works, but for Gabe, the jury's still out. 

Now, onto the claiming scene. Was it everything I hoped it would be and more? 

Not really. It was fine. (I thought the fight choreography was great, though–quick but still visceral, much more grounded than the standard Marvel featherlight beam fights.) For one thing, a glowing sea-green trident just doesn’t have the same visual oomph against a daylit background. For another, the drama of a hellhound coming out of nowhere and almost mauling Percy to death immediately raises the stakes, necessitating this equally dramatic resolution. But for a third, the claiming scene in the books is a hard subversion of what should be this triumphant, cathartic moment, where Percy is recognized by his father, but is instead immediately ostracized by his newfound community because of it. It’s a brilliant piece of writing, and it makes me go feral at the drop of a hat, and when the show decides to almost gloss over it, cutting from Percy in the water to Chiron’s exposition dump, it doesn’t feel like it has the time to settle, to impact the audience the way it should–or at least, the way that I want it to, the way it knocked me on my ass at age 12 and age 26 and age [redacted]. 

A lot of these last two episodes feel that way, in my opinion. I fear that, as someone who is clinically deep in the lore, my background knowledge fills in the gaps of the story that would otherwise be a detriment to a blind watcher. I recognize that there is a lot of book to get through in a relatively short amount of time, but we are skating along the plot at breakneck speed, and I worry that we are missing some key, grounding tentpoles in the meantime. 

So, with all that in mind, let’s talk about character arcs. 

Annabeth in the books clocks Percy as powerful from the moment she meets him–I think Annabeth in the show takes that to another level, using that fact to force Chiron’s hand in order to get her out of camp and on a quest. She is determined that Percy is “the one,” and if he isn’t, then she is going to make him so. It’s kind of hilarious to see a twelve year old as a kingmaker, but as Luke says, she’s always six steps ahead of everyone else. Based on this, I see why they’ve swapped some of Luke’s and Annabeth’s book personalities, because I predict that their show counterparts will switch roles as the season comes to an end. Annabeth will take Luke’s place as Percy’s friend, lore reservoir, and confidante, and Luke will become the cold, calculating one. Similarly, I bet that Grover and Percy’s arc will probably be about overcoming Percy’s feelings of betrayal towards Grover for getting him kicked out of Yancy. Percy’s new forged bonds with Grover and Annabeth will come in handy once Luke tries to stab him in the back. 

Stray thoughts:

Jason Mantzoukas, my beloved!! I’m glad he can dial down the insanity when necessary. As Dionysus, he has a really interesting dynamic switch between Percy (merciless trolling) and Grover (semi-stern authority). I wonder if it’s because technically Grover as a satyr kind of falls under his purview? Or am I overthinking it? 

At some point, if I can get good enough screencaps, I want to go through the set design and use my newfound ancient architectural knowledge to see where they pulled inspiration from

I wish Luke’s scar were bigger. And a little grosser. 

When Luke said the word “kleos,” I actually stood up and started pacing around the room. That, plus Chris name dropping an obscure god, makes me extremely happy.

It is so nice seeing Riordan’s continued commitment to expanding his world so that all kinds of kids can see themselves in his work!

It’s pronounced like “They-lia” with a soft th and I will die on this hill. But also, “forbidden kid” is kind of great and I kind of love it? 

One teeny nitpick: it looks most of the campers all have five bead necklaces, and I wish they had ones with different numbers: four beads, three beads, two beads, hell, throw in a 7 bead, just for fun

#pjo tv #pjo spoilers #pjo tv spoilers #sasha review #oops i just realized i said i'd talk about walker's performance and then i didn't w/e i don't want to go back and add it #tl;dr his undropped voice activates insane maternal instincts in me