December 4, 2025 • 28 mins
It’s time to set sail into the Sea of Monsters for Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2! We have our spoiler free review of the two-episode premiere, some things to remember about season 1 AND exclusive interviews with the cast and creator Rick Riordan!
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(00:00) - Intro
(01:22) - Season 1 Things To Remember
(04:00) - Season 2 Premiere Spoiler Free Review
(14:19) - Cast Interviews
Interviews feature: Walker Scobell (“Percy Jackson”) Leah Sava Jeffries (“Annabeth Chase”), Daniel Diemer (“Tyson”), Aryan Simhadri (“Grover Underwood”), Charlie Bushnell (“Luke Castellan”), Dior Goodjohn (“Clarisse La Rue”), Author / Co-Creator / Executive Producer Rick Riordan
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey everyone, welcome to a bite of We had a very special episode
today We got we're talking aboutinterviews.
We're talking about Percy Jackson season 2 spoiler free.
Putting that out there, we have a non spoiler 1 coming when the
premiere actually drops. But we couldn't wait to get our
thoughts out there. Very excited for this.
Are you ready for another seasonof Percy Jackson?
(00:21):
I'm so ready. I've never been more ready for
something in my life. I'm Noah and that's Derek.
We're here to officially kick off Percy Jackson's season 2
season. OK, before we get into all the
amazing stuff we have for this episode, make sure you're
following us. Just Scroll down a little bit or
just like move your thumb, hit that follow button be greatly
(00:44):
appreciated. Support indie creators, you know
page run. We got bite of the week
happening over there, bonus episodes, all that amazing
stuff. So let's get into it.
Heck yeah. So let us officially take a bite
of what we're calling before youwatch Percy Jackson and the
Olympians Season 2. And most importantly, OK, so
I've said this before, Noah has an encyclopedic memory.
(01:06):
He can store files away in his brain forever.
Whereas I, on the other hand, nopressure watch a beautiful
thing, really enjoy it. And then the details fly out of
my head. So we were lucky enough to get
the first few episodes of season2.
And so you all aren't as confused as I was.
I thought it would be great to remind you of a couple of things
of where we left off in season 1leading off into season 2.
(01:28):
And the first thing I want to start off with is that our trio
have not seen each other for almost a year.
Summer camp Summer. Camp.
So it's summer camp, right? Just like real life summer camp.
They meet during the summer months and then they go back to
their regular lives. So the things to know is that
Percy and Sally are on their own.
Sally has officially dumped Gabe, which is a wonderful
thing, and they're living together, doing their own thing.
(01:51):
He's gone back to school. Annabeth, on the other hand, has
finally, you know, had a year tobe a real teenager, which I
think is really exciting. So she's going to go see things
never seen, she's gonna go to school, she's gonna ride roller
coasters and experience life as a kid.
And then kind of one of the morecool things that's happened is
that Grover has his Searchers license, yes.
(02:12):
To find pan. Yes.
So that is really cool. So he is.
Off I mean really yeah, we we left the first season with them
in a good in a good place, you know, but as like a econd story
season 2 comes. We know that that's setting U to
be like MMM. Is this going to cause issues
later on? O Time has passed, they haven't
seen each other for a while. O What does that mean for them
(02:34):
going into Season 2? Next, I want to remind you that
there is a war at play. So yes, they left off quite
nicely, but they went to their normal lives realizing that Luke
is actually sort of on the otherside of things.
He was a bit of a double agent. That was the biggest twist at
the very end of season 1, Luke betrayed.
Yeah, Luke, who we thought was our bestie, was actually our
(02:56):
frenemy, so remember that. Another thing I want you to
remember is that Talia is a tree.
Is that where we're ending that?Pretty much I mean, there's one
more that the gods are bad parents because that pretty much
plays throughout the entire series.
But Talia is a tree. Now I, I want to say this
(03:17):
because I remember when I was reading the books and I read the
lightning thief and I thought, wow, that's a really sad story.
Like really cool that Talia, like, you know, sacrificed
herself and and Zeus made her a tree.
So she didn't go to Hades and was surprised that in the Sea of
Monsters, actually it has a lot to do with what's happening
going forward. So remember.
(03:38):
Talia is a tree. Talia is a tree.
Yeah. Is it?
I feel like in the show didn't wasn't there a revelation that
it was like Thalia, right? Am I wrong?
Did they say Thalia? But I noticed in the press
interviews, which we'll get to alittle later in this episode,
that they all call her Talia. OK, well whatever.
Teach their own. You can say however you want.
How do you pronounce Yeah? Talia All right, so we're going
(04:01):
to get into our I mean, that's really it, right?
I mean, there's a lot of things that I think we just go back and
listen to our episodes if you want to, if you want to hear our
full thoughts on every episode. And we also covered the book.
So we were really deep into likethe Percy Jackson lore of
everything. So we did all of that.
But I do like this little recap of like, you know, Luke
betrayed. There's demigods tree, that's
(04:24):
all we need to know. Y'all tree.
There's a lot of nuance and stuff obviously, but like, I
think that's good, right? It's like Luke betrayed and
that's where we left. And this, this season and from
what we know of the second book is all about who can you trust
everything. We're going to get into our
spoiler free review thoughts of the 1st 2 episodes of the
premiere and then we'll talk about the interviews that we had
(04:45):
with the casting creators and Rick Riordan.
What did you think going into these two episodes after the
first season? So one of the things that I was
reflecting on is that I think a lot of times when it comes to
the second of something, right, whether it's an artist's second
album, ATV Show's second season,there's always this bit of
pressure and we want it to live up to what the first season was.
(05:08):
Sometimes they deliver and sometimes they fail.
But in watching these two episodes, I really feel like
Season 2 is delivering what we got in Season 1 and also then
some. And, and I think that's what I'm
taking away from it. I think that there is a lot more
exploration of who these characters are, who they were,
(05:28):
who they're becoming, and the work that has gone into that as
the actors. And I think you could really see
that playing out on screen. Yeah, I think, you know, it's,
it's, we all have eyes, right? And our cast has grown up a
little bit, which is totally fine.
And I think it has that effect on the story as well.
The books, the the show and the cast.
It's all the older you get, the more intense things to get.
(05:52):
And I will say, even just in these first two episodes, while
it still feels like Percy Jackson, we still have that.
Not so much the mix between likethe real world and the mythical.
It's a little more leaning than mythical side I feel like just
in these first two episodes. But it seems older and not in a
bad way. It's just like, OK, a year has
passed and they've had some timeto either work through things or
(06:14):
not work through things and it just goes with growing with
them. And I really appreciated that.
I will also say that like one ofthe things that we kind of
touched on in the first season was it was kind of dark, not
like thematically, more like visually it was hard to see some
things. And I think the way it looks in
(06:34):
this one is already just kind ofa little more polished.
Absolutely, and I think that Polish comes through with the
visual effects, with the practical effects, the sets as
well. I feel like everything along
with the cast has grown up righthere, right And and you know
something else about season 2 isthat season 1?
You know, the first of anything you have to do a lot of
(06:54):
groundwork, right? We're introducing people, we're
telling their stories, they're figuring out who they are.
So now we're firmly in a lot of these characters in who they
are. They know their lineage, they
know about the world. So where does it take us from
there? Well, that allows us to dive.
Deeper into things, I mean, you're not to like jump ahead to
(07:14):
like the interviews and stuff, but even just in these first two
episodes, you can tell that the cast, Rick, the producers,
everybody was like, because thisisn't like the books.
And we're not stuck in the POV of Percy because that's how all
the books are, just what Percy sees.
It really gives us the opportunity to explore these
(07:35):
characters in a more nuanced, layered, complicated way that we
didn't get before. Be that via through flashbacks,
which we know is going to happenin the season.
That's not a spoiler. We know it's going to happen.
But even just like in these first two episodes, just seeing
how some of these characters interact when Percy isn't on the
screen, seeing Clarice, you know, which I think it's a big
(07:57):
stand out even just in these twoepisodes and going into this
story, I I like that a lot. You can really tell that it's
like, cool, we're going to get more of the thing that we really
appreciated from the first season.
Absolutely. And I, I, and another thing I
appreciate about this that I think carried over from Season 1
is the ability to match the sortof serious nature of things, but
(08:20):
also the joviality of things, right?
These are still young characters.
They're still figuring things out and there are still some
funny things that can happen. And I appreciate that they, they
do a really good job of balancing the light, the dark,
the action, and the quieter things as well.
So I just thought that these first two episodes were really,
(08:40):
really strong. I will say, like y'all, chariot
race, fantastic. Freaking fantastic, freaking
fantastic. The the cannibals cannonball
fight, all of that fantastic. I think these like things that
we all remember from reading thebooks.
If you're a fan of it, they don't.
I mean, they just do it with such care.
(09:01):
Yes, it's it's changed a little bit, but like I, I think I
thought in my head like I don't know when they're doing the
chariot races, like it needed tobe this big spectacle, like
they're in the Colosseum type thing.
But the way they did it was so much more planned in a way of
like, you can really be in the chariot with them, and I liked
that. And also, how do you ground a
(09:22):
chariot race in a summer camp setting, right?
And I think that's true. They did that though, right?
Is that this is a summer camp out on the East End of Long
Island. How do we have a chariot race
there? And and they did it.
And I think that that's also kind of what we were talking
about before. Is that like the sets, even in
these first two episodes, the details that are put in into
(09:43):
these Chariots, it's into the armor, into the weaponry.
It's just the creativity was really flourishing here and I'm
really excited to see what's coming in the next, what, 6
episodes of the season? Because we haven't even like at
the end of episode 2. We're just setting sail.
The Quest. The quest, right?
(10:04):
This is the Sea of Monsters, so we've just put our toes in the
sea. So I can't wait to see.
Yeah, we have screeners for moreof the episodes, but we're
trying to have journalistic integrity and not we're going
with you guys as well. We don't like to skip ahead.
(10:25):
Also, it's fun. I don't wanna waste all of it
and be like everybody is behind us.
I don't want to do that. But I will say, like even in
these first two episodes, there's a lot of new characters
and Percy Jackson, even in the first season, you get the sense
that they're not afraid to like hire a big star for like one day
of work, you know? But like in this one, we have
some characters, the Gray sisters, amazing.
(10:47):
Tantalus, I think is going to belike a good foil slash partner
to Dionysus. But Tyson, we're going to talk
more in like our non spoiler like folder review.
But Tyson, I really think is thestand out for me in these two
episodes. I agree, I agree and I think you
know the interesting thing that Rick does so Rick as I I know my
(11:10):
first name mate basis. You didn't need him that is well
from afar. I saw him live.
I think what he does so well in this series is he writes
characters that are both a ally and an enemy at the same time,
and he manages to find that duality really well, right?
(11:30):
It's like Tantalus as a character.
He is there to kind of, you know, poke our main characters,
but he's still part of this realm, you know?
And also part of the bigger story, there's like more like
political reasons on why he's there, right?
Because Chiron is no longer there.
So somebody needed to take the place.
And it's interesting that it's him.
(11:51):
I'm going to be really excited to see how they finish that
story, or at least continue why he's there and what happens to
him. But going into Tyson, I agree.
I just think Dan Deemer, Daniel Deemer just does such an
incredible. Job like nickname basis is with
these people. Yo, we hang out.
(12:13):
So you know what? Let's let's get into the the
press. Yeah, okay.
Yeah. So that's like generally our
thoughts. But before we get into that, I
do want to ask like is there anything in particular because
again, we haven't seen past these two seasons of what we've
seen so far, is there anything in particular that you remember
from the story or just what we've seen that you're kind of
(12:33):
looking forward to? Or do you have any predictions?
Again, as I said at the top of this episode, I read something,
I enjoy it, and it happens to goout of my head.
Not to get too deep into the folklore of Derek and Noah, but
our first date was in the city in Central Park, and we were
talking about books that we had both read.
And Noah could like name the page number and exact quotes.
(12:56):
And I was like, yeah, I really liked that book.
So I go on a motion, but I I I remember.
This is also, like, way too generous.
That is, it's kind of true, but not that true.
It's just saying definitely true, but I think that I'm
looking forward to them coming together again.
(13:16):
I was like. What are we doing?
So meaning, like, you know, we have Annabeth, Percy and Tyson
and we have Grover doing his ownthing.
It always excites me when the trio are together again, so I'm
looking forward to their storiesfinally coming together.
Yeah. This is a big season where
they're kind of apart and I, I'm, I'm looking forward to that
too. I think like the thing that I'm
looking forward to the most is that we not only have three main
(13:39):
characters, we have 6 main characters this season, which is
really exciting. We have Tyson, Clarice,
Annabeth, Grover, Percy and Luke.
And so to get all of those POV'sand a plot and B plot and all of
that, I think it's going to be really exciting.
And there's also Charlie Rodriguez.
Chris, Chris, sorry. How dare I was like Charlie
(14:02):
Bushnell, See. He knows, he knows, but he's
also thrown in there as well. I wouldn't.
Call him my main character. I'm just saying he's there.
He's there. Yeah, I'm very excited there's a
moment, okay, I'm not gonna spoil that.
There's a boiling with Chris. It's just amazing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so yes, let's get into
press and really, you know, we might insert a video here and
(14:24):
here and there with this, but wereally wanted to just kind of
talk about these interviews thatwe had with the cast and Rick,
and it was just really cool to see that how one they're just
really excited for again and to be here, but also how much they
got to explore these characters much more than in the first
season. Kind of like what you said of
(14:45):
just laying the groundwork. That's a lot of work to do, and
now they're able to actually live in this world.
That's very exciting to see. And I and I think hearing them
talk about the care that they took in crafting these
characters in the second season,you know, for some of the
actors, for Daniel, this was hisfirst time at obviously being
there. And so some of the things that
(15:05):
he thought about that he shared,I was, you know, you wouldn't
think about necessarily about how he is an actor that
obviously has two eyes, but is portraying a character that only
has 1. And so he thought a lot about
the movement of the character and the facial expressions that
he was making. Because what I'm doing now as a
person that has two eyes, what would that actually read as a
(15:27):
character with one eye? Building out the character, a
lot of the kind of emotional aspects of the character, we
were trying to like find a line of building out so that it would
work with an eye. And so I think we, we had
conversations around it was like, but it was like, how do I
push the energy so that when kind of it all comes together on
screen, you're able to kind of see that through just the
physicality with expression, butalso not push it too far and
(15:49):
then make it kind of weird for us when we're working together
with the actual day-to-day work where I do have two eyes.
But I thought that they did a great job with trying to with
retaining all that emotional aspect as well.
Yeah. You know, so these are the
things that they were really taking care with and thinking
of. And I think he also talked about
bringing that lovability and that vulnerability that Tyson
(16:10):
has to the screen. And I think seeing in these
first two episodes, we could really see that that work came
through. Yeah.
And they also had a lot of, you know, he had mentioned somebody
had asked Daniel about what was the chemistry like, or it was
either Daniel or Walker, what was the chemistry like?
And you know, Daniel had said, you know, this, it was just
immediate, like you have that chemistry or you don't.
(16:33):
You can't really necessarily manufacture that.
So in the chemistry read that they had it was just natural for
them. And because they're not only
playing like new Co stars, they have to also play brothers as
well. So like even in the beginning,
not knowing their brothers but acting like brothers, It's
really. Obvious that it was that we both
love the books, love the projectand we're really passionate
about kind of bringing it together in in as like special
(16:55):
way as we could. And so at least for me, that was
something that really kind of like felt like this was could be
another home for me. It wasn't something I've been
having having to fight against my Co workers try and do what I
want to do. And so that made it really,
really cool really, really quickly.
Yeah, like, like you said, I mean, it's not, it's kind of
just there or it isn't, you know, And I feel like it was
(17:15):
just there right away and, and we didn't have to work too hard
to find it on screen, you know? So that's really a fun dynamic
to see and to see that it was just immediate.
I mean, I think when it was first announced and you saw that
picture of Daniel next to Walkeron those stairs, it was you
could tell that there was some type of like camaraderie between
them. It's like what sometimes when
you see a casting and there's like a little bit of a question
(17:37):
mark in your mind, but when I saw the casting, it just seemed
to make sense and it seemed to fit.
So I was really excited to see Daniel talk about his work.
And another person that really kind of brought their own
personal story to the work was Dior Goodjohn as Clarice.
And this came from a question that you had.
Asked I was. I was so happy that I got to ask
(18:00):
Dior this question because I even just in the 1st 2 episodes
and just knowing what the story is going to be.
I was really curious how somebody goes about playing a
character like Clarice that can be a bully or an antagonist or
main character, but also when they have their moment and when
a story heavily involves them. How do they portray both sides
of that but also vulnerability? That's a lovely question.
(18:23):
I love that that's being clocked.
First of all, I think the biggest challenge in that was
having to be very honest with myself and where I was at in my
life and realizing that I am going through the same
experience that Clarice is goingthrough in the story and not
being afraid to put that on display and put that on camera.
(18:43):
I feel like a really fun part and big part for me about being
an actor is the fact that you get to shed yourself completely
and escape into a completely different world, be an entirely
different person. But when it came to Clarice's
story this year, it was hitting very close to home in a lot of
aspects. And don't get me wrong, I had an
amazing life. I have an amazing life.
(19:04):
I had an amazing childhood, but there definitely were some
aspects of it and also too in mycurrent wool, like past tense
current life that was happening while we were filming the show
that was very eerily similar. And it was a very therapeutic
process having to deal with whatwas at hand for myself and kind
(19:24):
of alchemize that and channel itinto queries.
So not necessarily any. I mean, of course there were big
acting asks, like I've never been that vulnerable emotionally
on screen before. And I've also, yeah, I think
that's a good way to put it. I've never been that vulnerable
emotionally on the screen before.
So there were big asks for acting.
(19:45):
But really it was more of a selfsacrifice thing that was going
on. And Andrew, and you actually
too, really like helped me get through that.
And it was a very, very beautiful experience.
It's a core memory. It'll be in my life forever.
Like this year and this season changed my life, but before it's
even come out. And I thought that was really
(20:07):
touching thing for them to shareand that they weren't, they
haven't been able to be that vulnerable on screen before.
So it's nice to see that like, oh, I'm down.
I'm down to do this. Like I didn't just sign up to be
an antagonist or a bully. I'm here to do the full gamut of
this character. And I think there's bravery and
vulnerability, right? And I think that that goes for
both Clarice, but also Dior as the actor bringing Clarice to
(20:30):
life and being able to share that part of herself both on
screen and in this interview, I think is really brave.
And I'm, I'm excited to see Clarice have multiple dimensions
in, in Rick's interview, he kindof hit the nail on the head that
in a lot of ways on the page, Clarice is very one-dimensional.
(20:52):
Especially in the book, I mean you have to think like this is
just some Percy's POV too. So it's just like, right?
How much is he going to know? 100%, and I think that that's
what we got as the reader. Like, she was kind of a bully.
She was an antagonist. But I think through the series,
through the television show, we're getting to flesh her out a
lot more and give her motivationto why she's acting the way
(21:14):
she's acting, right, Which I think is really important.
Yeah. Regarding these characters,
another thing that I thought wasinteresting, a question was
asked of what's kind of like themain differences of being in
Season 1 versus Season 2 and Leah Savage, Jeffrey said.
Something like Season 2 is a lotmore complicated because you're
fighting against your own family.
The difference definitely is it's it's still the amount of
(21:38):
monsters, but at the same time it's more fights between the
demigods. I feel like this season, there
was a lot where it was demigods fighting against monsters.
But in the second season, the intensity is not just intense by
itself, but it's also because it's fighting against your own
kind. And I think that's one of the
big differences of Season 1 to Season 2 because it's like, oh,
(22:01):
these kids, they're going on a quest to, you know, survive.
But now, since we find out that Luke has left and there's a
bunch of other kids that have changed as well, it's now like,
you know, fight against your ownfamily.
Yeah, they they really started to like lean into the the like
the demigods that betrayed camp and and that whole part of the
(22:23):
story that wasn't really talked about too much in the second
book, you know? Yeah.
In this season, they're older, they look a little different.
She even said that she said, youknow, because her and Walker,
they live on opposite sides of the country.
So during the hiatus they weren't like hanging out.
And so she said when I saw him, it was like, whoa.
But but I think that coming together in the second season,
(22:44):
the first season was all about building that bond.
Second season's a little bit about what happens after that
bond is created and things are alittle rocky.
Well, and on on top of that, just going off of what we know
from the story is that like there's the golden trio, which
is Grover. I was going to say Leah, I do
this all the time. I'm always like Leah, that's
Leah, Annabeth and Percy is thatthere was also the broken trio,
(23:07):
which is Thalia, Luke and Annabeth and Annabeth.
And so having that story kind ofcome back up into this and how
that dynamics going to work is going to be really interesting
just for that conflict and the friction between those
characters. And apparently we're going to
get some really great flashbacksof that trio.
(23:28):
And which is another thing that Rick said, he was really excited
to see that going from the page,which might have just been a few
sentences to actually fill out scenes to build that
relationship. Where we always start is I will
write an outline for the season based on the book and I will
break it into 8 rough episodes and I'll share that with the
(23:48):
showrunners and the writing team.
And normally we stick with that outline pretty much pretty
faithfully. Now the details may change or
when certain things are talked about may change, but generally
speaking, I've already kind of outlined my must haves.
So what you see in the second season, those are them.
And what surprised me most aboutthe changes would be some of the
(24:11):
flashback scenes. We can dig so much deeper into
them, showing Thalia, for instance, with Luke and Annabeth
back when they were adventuring together.
Some of the most powerful scenes.
They're only mentioned in the books, but they really work
well. They pop when you see them on
the screen. So I'm very excited to see that
because I think that that is some of the stuff that like we
(24:34):
don't we haven't gotten yet evenin the movie adaptation, right?
Like, there's just so many things that we, there's so much
more to this story that we're finally going to be able to get.
And these are the moments. Just sharing Rick's sentiment
that he said the big set piece is ironclad, the sea of
monsters, everything is amazing.But the quieter moment service
would really stuck with him. Yeah.
And that's also what I'm really excited about.
(24:55):
Me too. If Rick Reardon, the creator of
Percy Jackson, is excited for those things, I think that we
need to be excited for them as well.
What an amazing thing, like 20 years ago, he had started
something and he's able to continue to write and expand on
something. And that's that's I would think
is a blessing that any author would want.
And people are like loving it aswell.
(25:16):
Last thing that I will say with this interview, and particularly
the question that I had was ableto ask Rick was what did he,
what does he hope that fans understand about the mythology
of the series after Season 2 or even during Season 2?
I think that I hope they will bevery conflicted about whose side
(25:41):
is the right side in this conflict.
Luke is our antagonist, but he'snot wrong about some of the
things he's saying. And the gods are not necessarily
the best leaders or the best parents.
So we should at this point be asking ourselves, wow, if I was
a demigod, whose side would I choose?
(26:05):
And if you're not sure if you have mixed feelings, then we've
done our job and hopefully you'll be really chomping at the
bit for Season 3. I'm liking that that theme is
still being carried through this, yeah.
Yeah, he he had said something about the fact of like, although
Luke is is their adversary, Lukehas some good points.
(26:26):
I mean, those that have finishedthe series, I mean, sorry if
it's a spoiler, but like, you know, I mean, he did any
complicated care. I think any villain or even just
antagonist, I think that is written well.
You can always see good points, Yeah, that they're trying to
make. It's really the actions and what
they do to try to get to those things that.
(26:47):
Aren't good that aren't good, Yeah.
Oh man, OK, I'm very excited. I hope everybody else is
excited. I mean, I was just excited to be
able to talk about Percy Jacksonagain, talk to the cast, talk to
the. It's just amazing.
I'm so excited. Absolutely.
I'm super excited too, getting knowing that this is going, this
is we're in the second book. They're already planning and
(27:08):
filming the third book. Yo, stuff gets so real in the
third one, I'm so excited. Yeah, yeah.
I just think that a Percy Jackson is a franchise that I
think lives in a lot of our hearts, and the fact that it's
coming to life and coming to life really in a wonderful way.
It's just super exciting to see.And I can't wait to see what
happens the rest of the season, I hope.
(27:29):
You guys follow along with us asthe episodes come out, as we get
to talk about them. I'm very excited.
Let us know what you're most excited for if we're season 2.
Yeah, We'll see you next time, guys.
Yeah, for for a deep dive into the 1st 2 episodes of the
season. We set into you all right.
Bye bye.
Hey everyone, welcome to a bite of We had a very special episode
today We got we're talking aboutinterviews.
We're talking about Percy Jackson season 2 spoiler free.
Putting that out there, we have a non spoiler 1 coming when the
premiere actually drops. But we couldn't wait to get our
thoughts out there. Very excited for this.
Are you ready for another seasonof Percy Jackson?
(00:21):
I'm so ready. I've never been more ready for
something in my life. I'm Noah and that's Derek.
We're here to officially kick off Percy Jackson's season 2
season. OK, before we get into all the
amazing stuff we have for this episode, make sure you're
following us. Just Scroll down a little bit or
just like move your thumb, hit that follow button be greatly
(00:44):
appreciated. Support indie creators, you know
page run. We got bite of the week
happening over there, bonus episodes, all that amazing
stuff. So let's get into it.
Heck yeah. So let us officially take a bite
of what we're calling before youwatch Percy Jackson and the
Olympians Season 2. And most importantly, OK, so
I've said this before, Noah has an encyclopedic memory.
(01:06):
He can store files away in his brain forever.
Whereas I, on the other hand, nopressure watch a beautiful
thing, really enjoy it. And then the details fly out of
my head. So we were lucky enough to get
the first few episodes of season2.
And so you all aren't as confused as I was.
I thought it would be great to remind you of a couple of things
of where we left off in season 1leading off into season 2.
(01:28):
And the first thing I want to start off with is that our trio
have not seen each other for almost a year.
Summer camp Summer. Camp.
So it's summer camp, right? Just like real life summer camp.
They meet during the summer months and then they go back to
their regular lives. So the things to know is that
Percy and Sally are on their own.
Sally has officially dumped Gabe, which is a wonderful
thing, and they're living together, doing their own thing.
(01:51):
He's gone back to school. Annabeth, on the other hand, has
finally, you know, had a year tobe a real teenager, which I
think is really exciting. So she's going to go see things
never seen, she's gonna go to school, she's gonna ride roller
coasters and experience life as a kid.
And then kind of one of the morecool things that's happened is
that Grover has his Searchers license, yes.
(02:12):
To find pan. Yes.
So that is really cool. So he is.
Off I mean really yeah, we we left the first season with them
in a good in a good place, you know, but as like a econd story
season 2 comes. We know that that's setting U to
be like MMM. Is this going to cause issues
later on? O Time has passed, they haven't
seen each other for a while. O What does that mean for them
(02:34):
going into Season 2? Next, I want to remind you that
there is a war at play. So yes, they left off quite
nicely, but they went to their normal lives realizing that Luke
is actually sort of on the otherside of things.
He was a bit of a double agent. That was the biggest twist at
the very end of season 1, Luke betrayed.
Yeah, Luke, who we thought was our bestie, was actually our
(02:56):
frenemy, so remember that. Another thing I want you to
remember is that Talia is a tree.
Is that where we're ending that?Pretty much I mean, there's one
more that the gods are bad parents because that pretty much
plays throughout the entire series.
But Talia is a tree. Now I, I want to say this
(03:17):
because I remember when I was reading the books and I read the
lightning thief and I thought, wow, that's a really sad story.
Like really cool that Talia, like, you know, sacrificed
herself and and Zeus made her a tree.
So she didn't go to Hades and was surprised that in the Sea of
Monsters, actually it has a lot to do with what's happening
going forward. So remember.
(03:38):
Talia is a tree. Talia is a tree.
Yeah. Is it?
I feel like in the show didn't wasn't there a revelation that
it was like Thalia, right? Am I wrong?
Did they say Thalia? But I noticed in the press
interviews, which we'll get to alittle later in this episode,
that they all call her Talia. OK, well whatever.
Teach their own. You can say however you want.
How do you pronounce Yeah? Talia All right, so we're going
(04:01):
to get into our I mean, that's really it, right?
I mean, there's a lot of things that I think we just go back and
listen to our episodes if you want to, if you want to hear our
full thoughts on every episode. And we also covered the book.
So we were really deep into likethe Percy Jackson lore of
everything. So we did all of that.
But I do like this little recap of like, you know, Luke
betrayed. There's demigods tree, that's
(04:24):
all we need to know. Y'all tree.
There's a lot of nuance and stuff obviously, but like, I
think that's good, right? It's like Luke betrayed and
that's where we left. And this, this season and from
what we know of the second book is all about who can you trust
everything. We're going to get into our
spoiler free review thoughts of the 1st 2 episodes of the
premiere and then we'll talk about the interviews that we had
(04:45):
with the casting creators and Rick Riordan.
What did you think going into these two episodes after the
first season? So one of the things that I was
reflecting on is that I think a lot of times when it comes to
the second of something, right, whether it's an artist's second
album, ATV Show's second season,there's always this bit of
pressure and we want it to live up to what the first season was.
(05:08):
Sometimes they deliver and sometimes they fail.
But in watching these two episodes, I really feel like
Season 2 is delivering what we got in Season 1 and also then
some. And, and I think that's what I'm
taking away from it. I think that there is a lot more
exploration of who these characters are, who they were,
(05:28):
who they're becoming, and the work that has gone into that as
the actors. And I think you could really see
that playing out on screen. Yeah, I think, you know, it's,
it's, we all have eyes, right? And our cast has grown up a
little bit, which is totally fine.
And I think it has that effect on the story as well.
The books, the the show and the cast.
It's all the older you get, the more intense things to get.
(05:52):
And I will say, even just in these first two episodes, while
it still feels like Percy Jackson, we still have that.
Not so much the mix between likethe real world and the mythical.
It's a little more leaning than mythical side I feel like just
in these first two episodes. But it seems older and not in a
bad way. It's just like, OK, a year has
passed and they've had some timeto either work through things or
(06:14):
not work through things and it just goes with growing with
them. And I really appreciated that.
I will also say that like one ofthe things that we kind of
touched on in the first season was it was kind of dark, not
like thematically, more like visually it was hard to see some
things. And I think the way it looks in
(06:34):
this one is already just kind ofa little more polished.
Absolutely, and I think that Polish comes through with the
visual effects, with the practical effects, the sets as
well. I feel like everything along
with the cast has grown up righthere, right And and you know
something else about season 2 isthat season 1?
You know, the first of anything you have to do a lot of
(06:54):
groundwork, right? We're introducing people, we're
telling their stories, they're figuring out who they are.
So now we're firmly in a lot of these characters in who they
are. They know their lineage, they
know about the world. So where does it take us from
there? Well, that allows us to dive.
Deeper into things, I mean, you're not to like jump ahead to
(07:14):
like the interviews and stuff, but even just in these first two
episodes, you can tell that the cast, Rick, the producers,
everybody was like, because thisisn't like the books.
And we're not stuck in the POV of Percy because that's how all
the books are, just what Percy sees.
It really gives us the opportunity to explore these
(07:35):
characters in a more nuanced, layered, complicated way that we
didn't get before. Be that via through flashbacks,
which we know is going to happenin the season.
That's not a spoiler. We know it's going to happen.
But even just like in these first two episodes, just seeing
how some of these characters interact when Percy isn't on the
screen, seeing Clarice, you know, which I think it's a big
(07:57):
stand out even just in these twoepisodes and going into this
story, I I like that a lot. You can really tell that it's
like, cool, we're going to get more of the thing that we really
appreciated from the first season.
Absolutely. And I, I, and another thing I
appreciate about this that I think carried over from Season 1
is the ability to match the sortof serious nature of things, but
(08:20):
also the joviality of things, right?
These are still young characters.
They're still figuring things out and there are still some
funny things that can happen. And I appreciate that they, they
do a really good job of balancing the light, the dark,
the action, and the quieter things as well.
So I just thought that these first two episodes were really,
(08:40):
really strong. I will say, like y'all, chariot
race, fantastic. Freaking fantastic, freaking
fantastic. The the cannibals cannonball
fight, all of that fantastic. I think these like things that
we all remember from reading thebooks.
If you're a fan of it, they don't.
I mean, they just do it with such care.
(09:01):
Yes, it's it's changed a little bit, but like I, I think I
thought in my head like I don't know when they're doing the
chariot races, like it needed tobe this big spectacle, like
they're in the Colosseum type thing.
But the way they did it was so much more planned in a way of
like, you can really be in the chariot with them, and I liked
that. And also, how do you ground a
(09:22):
chariot race in a summer camp setting, right?
And I think that's true. They did that though, right?
Is that this is a summer camp out on the East End of Long
Island. How do we have a chariot race
there? And and they did it.
And I think that that's also kind of what we were talking
about before. Is that like the sets, even in
these first two episodes, the details that are put in into
(09:43):
these Chariots, it's into the armor, into the weaponry.
It's just the creativity was really flourishing here and I'm
really excited to see what's coming in the next, what, 6
episodes of the season? Because we haven't even like at
the end of episode 2. We're just setting sail.
The Quest. The quest, right?
(10:04):
This is the Sea of Monsters, so we've just put our toes in the
sea. So I can't wait to see.
Yeah, we have screeners for moreof the episodes, but we're
trying to have journalistic integrity and not we're going
with you guys as well. We don't like to skip ahead.
(10:25):
Also, it's fun. I don't wanna waste all of it
and be like everybody is behind us.
I don't want to do that. But I will say, like even in
these first two episodes, there's a lot of new characters
and Percy Jackson, even in the first season, you get the sense
that they're not afraid to like hire a big star for like one day
of work, you know? But like in this one, we have
some characters, the Gray sisters, amazing.
(10:47):
Tantalus, I think is going to belike a good foil slash partner
to Dionysus. But Tyson, we're going to talk
more in like our non spoiler like folder review.
But Tyson, I really think is thestand out for me in these two
episodes. I agree, I agree and I think you
know the interesting thing that Rick does so Rick as I I know my
(11:10):
first name mate basis. You didn't need him that is well
from afar. I saw him live.
I think what he does so well in this series is he writes
characters that are both a ally and an enemy at the same time,
and he manages to find that duality really well, right?
(11:30):
It's like Tantalus as a character.
He is there to kind of, you know, poke our main characters,
but he's still part of this realm, you know?
And also part of the bigger story, there's like more like
political reasons on why he's there, right?
Because Chiron is no longer there.
So somebody needed to take the place.
And it's interesting that it's him.
(11:51):
I'm going to be really excited to see how they finish that
story, or at least continue why he's there and what happens to
him. But going into Tyson, I agree.
I just think Dan Deemer, Daniel Deemer just does such an
incredible. Job like nickname basis is with
these people. Yo, we hang out.
(12:13):
So you know what? Let's let's get into the the
press. Yeah, okay.
Yeah. So that's like generally our
thoughts. But before we get into that, I
do want to ask like is there anything in particular because
again, we haven't seen past these two seasons of what we've
seen so far, is there anything in particular that you remember
from the story or just what we've seen that you're kind of
(12:33):
looking forward to? Or do you have any predictions?
Again, as I said at the top of this episode, I read something,
I enjoy it, and it happens to goout of my head.
Not to get too deep into the folklore of Derek and Noah, but
our first date was in the city in Central Park, and we were
talking about books that we had both read.
And Noah could like name the page number and exact quotes.
(12:56):
And I was like, yeah, I really liked that book.
So I go on a motion, but I I I remember.
This is also, like, way too generous.
That is, it's kind of true, but not that true.
It's just saying definitely true, but I think that I'm
looking forward to them coming together again.
(13:16):
I was like. What are we doing?
So meaning, like, you know, we have Annabeth, Percy and Tyson
and we have Grover doing his ownthing.
It always excites me when the trio are together again, so I'm
looking forward to their storiesfinally coming together.
Yeah. This is a big season where
they're kind of apart and I, I'm, I'm looking forward to that
too. I think like the thing that I'm
looking forward to the most is that we not only have three main
(13:39):
characters, we have 6 main characters this season, which is
really exciting. We have Tyson, Clarice,
Annabeth, Grover, Percy and Luke.
And so to get all of those POV'sand a plot and B plot and all of
that, I think it's going to be really exciting.
And there's also Charlie Rodriguez.
Chris, Chris, sorry. How dare I was like Charlie
(14:02):
Bushnell, See. He knows, he knows, but he's
also thrown in there as well. I wouldn't.
Call him my main character. I'm just saying he's there.
He's there. Yeah, I'm very excited there's a
moment, okay, I'm not gonna spoil that.
There's a boiling with Chris. It's just amazing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so yes, let's get into
press and really, you know, we might insert a video here and
(14:24):
here and there with this, but wereally wanted to just kind of
talk about these interviews thatwe had with the cast and Rick,
and it was just really cool to see that how one they're just
really excited for again and to be here, but also how much they
got to explore these characters much more than in the first
season. Kind of like what you said of
(14:45):
just laying the groundwork. That's a lot of work to do, and
now they're able to actually live in this world.
That's very exciting to see. And I and I think hearing them
talk about the care that they took in crafting these
characters in the second season,you know, for some of the
actors, for Daniel, this was hisfirst time at obviously being
there. And so some of the things that
(15:05):
he thought about that he shared,I was, you know, you wouldn't
think about necessarily about how he is an actor that
obviously has two eyes, but is portraying a character that only
has 1. And so he thought a lot about
the movement of the character and the facial expressions that
he was making. Because what I'm doing now as a
person that has two eyes, what would that actually read as a
(15:27):
character with one eye? Building out the character, a
lot of the kind of emotional aspects of the character, we
were trying to like find a line of building out so that it would
work with an eye. And so I think we, we had
conversations around it was like, but it was like, how do I
push the energy so that when kind of it all comes together on
screen, you're able to kind of see that through just the
physicality with expression, butalso not push it too far and
(15:49):
then make it kind of weird for us when we're working together
with the actual day-to-day work where I do have two eyes.
But I thought that they did a great job with trying to with
retaining all that emotional aspect as well.
Yeah. You know, so these are the
things that they were really taking care with and thinking
of. And I think he also talked about
bringing that lovability and that vulnerability that Tyson
(16:10):
has to the screen. And I think seeing in these
first two episodes, we could really see that that work came
through. Yeah.
And they also had a lot of, you know, he had mentioned somebody
had asked Daniel about what was the chemistry like, or it was
either Daniel or Walker, what was the chemistry like?
And you know, Daniel had said, you know, this, it was just
immediate, like you have that chemistry or you don't.
(16:33):
You can't really necessarily manufacture that.
So in the chemistry read that they had it was just natural for
them. And because they're not only
playing like new Co stars, they have to also play brothers as
well. So like even in the beginning,
not knowing their brothers but acting like brothers, It's
really. Obvious that it was that we both
love the books, love the projectand we're really passionate
about kind of bringing it together in in as like special
(16:55):
way as we could. And so at least for me, that was
something that really kind of like felt like this was could be
another home for me. It wasn't something I've been
having having to fight against my Co workers try and do what I
want to do. And so that made it really,
really cool really, really quickly.
Yeah, like, like you said, I mean, it's not, it's kind of
just there or it isn't, you know, And I feel like it was
(17:15):
just there right away and, and we didn't have to work too hard
to find it on screen, you know? So that's really a fun dynamic
to see and to see that it was just immediate.
I mean, I think when it was first announced and you saw that
picture of Daniel next to Walkeron those stairs, it was you
could tell that there was some type of like camaraderie between
them. It's like what sometimes when
you see a casting and there's like a little bit of a question
(17:37):
mark in your mind, but when I saw the casting, it just seemed
to make sense and it seemed to fit.
So I was really excited to see Daniel talk about his work.
And another person that really kind of brought their own
personal story to the work was Dior Goodjohn as Clarice.
And this came from a question that you had.
Asked I was. I was so happy that I got to ask
(18:00):
Dior this question because I even just in the 1st 2 episodes
and just knowing what the story is going to be.
I was really curious how somebody goes about playing a
character like Clarice that can be a bully or an antagonist or
main character, but also when they have their moment and when
a story heavily involves them. How do they portray both sides
of that but also vulnerability? That's a lovely question.
(18:23):
I love that that's being clocked.
First of all, I think the biggest challenge in that was
having to be very honest with myself and where I was at in my
life and realizing that I am going through the same
experience that Clarice is goingthrough in the story and not
being afraid to put that on display and put that on camera.
(18:43):
I feel like a really fun part and big part for me about being
an actor is the fact that you get to shed yourself completely
and escape into a completely different world, be an entirely
different person. But when it came to Clarice's
story this year, it was hitting very close to home in a lot of
aspects. And don't get me wrong, I had an
amazing life. I have an amazing life.
(19:04):
I had an amazing childhood, but there definitely were some
aspects of it and also too in mycurrent wool, like past tense
current life that was happening while we were filming the show
that was very eerily similar. And it was a very therapeutic
process having to deal with whatwas at hand for myself and kind
(19:24):
of alchemize that and channel itinto queries.
So not necessarily any. I mean, of course there were big
acting asks, like I've never been that vulnerable emotionally
on screen before. And I've also, yeah, I think
that's a good way to put it. I've never been that vulnerable
emotionally on the screen before.
So there were big asks for acting.
(19:45):
But really it was more of a selfsacrifice thing that was going
on. And Andrew, and you actually
too, really like helped me get through that.
And it was a very, very beautiful experience.
It's a core memory. It'll be in my life forever.
Like this year and this season changed my life, but before it's
even come out. And I thought that was really
(20:07):
touching thing for them to shareand that they weren't, they
haven't been able to be that vulnerable on screen before.
So it's nice to see that like, oh, I'm down.
I'm down to do this. Like I didn't just sign up to be
an antagonist or a bully. I'm here to do the full gamut of
this character. And I think there's bravery and
vulnerability, right? And I think that that goes for
both Clarice, but also Dior as the actor bringing Clarice to
(20:30):
life and being able to share that part of herself both on
screen and in this interview, I think is really brave.
And I'm, I'm excited to see Clarice have multiple dimensions
in, in Rick's interview, he kindof hit the nail on the head that
in a lot of ways on the page, Clarice is very one-dimensional.
(20:52):
Especially in the book, I mean you have to think like this is
just some Percy's POV too. So it's just like, right?
How much is he going to know? 100%, and I think that that's
what we got as the reader. Like, she was kind of a bully.
She was an antagonist. But I think through the series,
through the television show, we're getting to flesh her out a
lot more and give her motivationto why she's acting the way
(21:14):
she's acting, right, Which I think is really important.
Yeah. Regarding these characters,
another thing that I thought wasinteresting, a question was
asked of what's kind of like themain differences of being in
Season 1 versus Season 2 and Leah Savage, Jeffrey said.
Something like Season 2 is a lotmore complicated because you're
fighting against your own family.
The difference definitely is it's it's still the amount of
(21:38):
monsters, but at the same time it's more fights between the
demigods. I feel like this season, there
was a lot where it was demigods fighting against monsters.
But in the second season, the intensity is not just intense by
itself, but it's also because it's fighting against your own
kind. And I think that's one of the
big differences of Season 1 to Season 2 because it's like, oh,
(22:01):
these kids, they're going on a quest to, you know, survive.
But now, since we find out that Luke has left and there's a
bunch of other kids that have changed as well, it's now like,
you know, fight against your ownfamily.
Yeah, they they really started to like lean into the the like
the demigods that betrayed camp and and that whole part of the
(22:23):
story that wasn't really talked about too much in the second
book, you know? Yeah.
In this season, they're older, they look a little different.
She even said that she said, youknow, because her and Walker,
they live on opposite sides of the country.
So during the hiatus they weren't like hanging out.
And so she said when I saw him, it was like, whoa.
But but I think that coming together in the second season,
(22:44):
the first season was all about building that bond.
Second season's a little bit about what happens after that
bond is created and things are alittle rocky.
Well, and on on top of that, just going off of what we know
from the story is that like there's the golden trio, which
is Grover. I was going to say Leah, I do
this all the time. I'm always like Leah, that's
Leah, Annabeth and Percy is thatthere was also the broken trio,
(23:07):
which is Thalia, Luke and Annabeth and Annabeth.
And so having that story kind ofcome back up into this and how
that dynamics going to work is going to be really interesting
just for that conflict and the friction between those
characters. And apparently we're going to
get some really great flashbacksof that trio.
(23:28):
And which is another thing that Rick said, he was really excited
to see that going from the page,which might have just been a few
sentences to actually fill out scenes to build that
relationship. Where we always start is I will
write an outline for the season based on the book and I will
break it into 8 rough episodes and I'll share that with the
(23:48):
showrunners and the writing team.
And normally we stick with that outline pretty much pretty
faithfully. Now the details may change or
when certain things are talked about may change, but generally
speaking, I've already kind of outlined my must haves.
So what you see in the second season, those are them.
And what surprised me most aboutthe changes would be some of the
(24:11):
flashback scenes. We can dig so much deeper into
them, showing Thalia, for instance, with Luke and Annabeth
back when they were adventuring together.
Some of the most powerful scenes.
They're only mentioned in the books, but they really work
well. They pop when you see them on
the screen. So I'm very excited to see that
because I think that that is some of the stuff that like we
(24:34):
don't we haven't gotten yet evenin the movie adaptation, right?
Like, there's just so many things that we, there's so much
more to this story that we're finally going to be able to get.
And these are the moments. Just sharing Rick's sentiment
that he said the big set piece is ironclad, the sea of
monsters, everything is amazing.But the quieter moment service
would really stuck with him. Yeah.
And that's also what I'm really excited about.
(24:55):
Me too. If Rick Reardon, the creator of
Percy Jackson, is excited for those things, I think that we
need to be excited for them as well.
What an amazing thing, like 20 years ago, he had started
something and he's able to continue to write and expand on
something. And that's that's I would think
is a blessing that any author would want.
And people are like loving it aswell.
(25:16):
Last thing that I will say with this interview, and particularly
the question that I had was ableto ask Rick was what did he,
what does he hope that fans understand about the mythology
of the series after Season 2 or even during Season 2?
I think that I hope they will bevery conflicted about whose side
(25:41):
is the right side in this conflict.
Luke is our antagonist, but he'snot wrong about some of the
things he's saying. And the gods are not necessarily
the best leaders or the best parents.
So we should at this point be asking ourselves, wow, if I was
a demigod, whose side would I choose?
(26:05):
And if you're not sure if you have mixed feelings, then we've
done our job and hopefully you'll be really chomping at the
bit for Season 3. I'm liking that that theme is
still being carried through this, yeah.
Yeah, he he had said something about the fact of like, although
Luke is is their adversary, Lukehas some good points.
(26:26):
I mean, those that have finishedthe series, I mean, sorry if
it's a spoiler, but like, you know, I mean, he did any
complicated care. I think any villain or even just
antagonist, I think that is written well.
You can always see good points, Yeah, that they're trying to
make. It's really the actions and what
they do to try to get to those things that.
(26:47):
Aren't good that aren't good, Yeah.
Oh man, OK, I'm very excited. I hope everybody else is
excited. I mean, I was just excited to be
able to talk about Percy Jacksonagain, talk to the cast, talk to
the. It's just amazing.
I'm so excited. Absolutely.
I'm super excited too, getting knowing that this is going, this
is we're in the second book. They're already planning and
(27:08):
filming the third book. Yo, stuff gets so real in the
third one, I'm so excited. Yeah, yeah.
I just think that a Percy Jackson is a franchise that I
think lives in a lot of our hearts, and the fact that it's
coming to life and coming to life really in a wonderful way.
It's just super exciting to see.And I can't wait to see what
happens the rest of the season, I hope.
(27:29):
You guys follow along with us asthe episodes come out, as we get
to talk about them. I'm very excited.
Let us know what you're most excited for if we're season 2.
Yeah, We'll see you next time, guys.
Yeah, for for a deep dive into the 1st 2 episodes of the
season. We set into you all right.
Bye bye.
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