"A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers"[1] is the fifth episode of the first season of the Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Synopsis[]
The quest deepens as Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are tasked with a favor from a fearsome opponent.
Plot[]
After being attacked by Echidna and the Chimera, Annabeth and Grover are looking for Percy while also trying to avoid the police. Annabeth notices the Fates knitting, and witnesses Atropos cutting a thread before Grover grabs her and leaves. They eventually arrive at the waterway, where they see Percy climbing on to the pier. Annabeth hugs him, and Percy says his father will meet them in Santa Monica. However, Grover informs them that the authorities have blamed them for the incident on the train and at the arch, meaning they would be arrested if they use public transportation. With no other choice, the trio starts walking to their next destination.
As they walk, Percy speculates who could have stolen the Master Bolt on Hades' behalf, realizing he is the last one to realize there is a second traitor. He also understands he needs to take the quest more seriously when the three half-bloods see a motorcycle approaching and hide behind a barricade. Annabeth starts acting weirdly, which Percy mistakenly believes to be about their hug, but she reveals that she saw the Fates cutting string, meaning one of them is going to die soon. The biker suddenly addresses them directly, offering them help. They initially decline, but after the man tells them they're running late, they reveal their position. As the man talks, Annabeth realizes he is Ares, the God of War, and Clarisse's father. Ares tells them to meet him at a diner down the road if he wants his help before he rides off.
They find Ares at the diner, starting flame wars on Twitter. He reveals he knows that their quest will fail and that the trio is currently on the run from authorities, showing them a video of Gabe being interviewed, where he cries over his destroyed car and blames Percy for Sally Jackson's disappearance. Ares explains that Zeus will go to war with Poseidon even if the bolt is not returned by the Summer Solstice, but he believes that a war will happen either way, as that's what their family is like. Despite this, he wishes to help the trio get the bolt as ordered. Ares requests they find his shield and an amusement park down the road. In exchange, he'll help them get to Santa Monica without being arrested. Annabeth questions how Ares possibly left his shield at the park, which offends the God of War, causing him to threaten the trio. Not wanting to face Ares' wrath, Percy agrees to his terms. To ensure Percy and Annabeth's cooperation, Ares requests that Grover stay behind. Despite his companion’s protests, Grover agrees and walks them to the door. Percy and Annabeth promise to come back before heading out, and Grover returns to the booth.
Percy and Annabeth arrive at the abandoned water park, where Percy learns that Annabeth has never seen a movie, so he offers to take her to one after the quest. As Percy steps through the toll booth, Annabeth realizes that it is a trap made of Celestial Bronze, a metal harmful to only monsters and demigods. She realizes that the park was likely built by Hephaestus and tries to figure out how to save Percy before being distracted by the machine's ingenuity. Eventually, she instructs Percy just to step through, asserting that whoever built the park doesn't want to kill demigods, only to dissuade them from entering.
Meanwhile, Grover starts to make conversation with Ares, who is distracted by the fights he's starting on Twitter. He gets Ares' attention by mentioning they have met before, at the previous Winter Solstice. Ares initially thinks that Grover was a protestor, but he then claims to be a fan of Ares, as war is a part of nature, saying he likes the Turbot War, Lobster War, and the 335-Year War, wars where there were hardly any deaths tolling in those conflicts. This confuses Ares, but Grover clarifies the fact that he admires overwhelming force and a quick surrender, which impresses the God of War.
Percy and Annabeth wander around the park, discussing where to go. They realize that Ares likely met Aphrodite, Hephaestus' wife, in the park, which is how he lost his shield. Suddenly, the lights for the 'Thrill Ride O' Love' turn on and they tentatively enter, believing it's where Ares and Aphrodite got caught. As they are riding on the boat, the ride's speakers suddenly start blasting music, and an animation starts playing on the wall next to them. As the animation plays, Percy realizes it is telling the story of Hephaestus, who was rejected by everyone he's loved: his mother, Hera, who threw him off a cliff, and his wife Aphrodite, who unabashedly cheats with Ares. Sally told Percy these stories when he was younger, likely as a warning as to how cruel the Gods are to each other and keep him away from their lifestyle. The ride suddenly speeds up, and they rocket through tunnels before passing by a gold statue holding the shield. The two of them dive off before their boat can be destroyed by the next drop, with Percy using his powers to save them.
Back at the diner, Ares rants to Grover about how much he hates children, including his own, as they constantly pray to him and ask for things. It's at its worst on the Winter Solstice, when demigods go to Olympus and give presentations, which Ares finds extremely tiring. When Grover mentions that one of the demigods likely stole the Master Bolt during the Solstice, however, Ares dismisses this. Grover begins to prompt the God of War, mentioning how the thief has to be someone smart, bold, sneaky, and stealthy, before a frustrated Ares stops him. When he mentions Athena, Grover says that she makes things more complicated so people will believe she is the smartest, to which Ares emphatically agrees. He talks about her pet owl, which she always talks to and is her only friend, but nobody thinks it is weird. Grover mentions that people will stop thinking that now he's found the Lightning Thief, to which Ares becomes hostile, pointing out he knows Percy didn't steal the bolt, despite Zeus believing he did.
In front of the statue holding Ares' Shield is a golden chair, decorated to look like two peacocks, Hera's sacred animal. Percy realizes that it must be Hera's old throne, a gift that Hephaestus gave to his mother, which trapped her when she sat in it. Nobody, not even the Gods, could free her, and she was only freed when Hephaestus was offered Aphrodite as his bride. They realize that one of them has to sacrifice themselves to get the shield. Annabeth instantly offers herself, but Percy insists on the victim being him. The two get into an argument, but Percy points out that he picked her as she would sacrifice him if the quest required it, and that she would be more likely to succeed than he is. Against her protests, Percy gives Riptide to Annabeth, and she promises to free him after getting the bolt from Hades. He sits on the throne, which slowly encases him in Celestial Bronze, before Ares' Shield drops to the ground.
Annabeth instantly tries to reverse the throne's gears to no effect before a man appears on the balcony above, asking if she needs assistance. She tries to ignore him, but the man plays a note on his steel reed pipes, and a safety ladder appears, at which point the man reveals himself as Hephaestus. Annabeth continues to try freeing Percy as Hephaestus talks about how he knows Athena is displeased with her and that if Annabeth leaves, she can receive all the glory for completing the quest. Annabeth breaks down crying, saying that glory and power are all that matter to the Gods, but Percy isn't like that, and she proclaims that she doesn't want to be like that either. This emotionally moves Hephaestus, who also resents how his family sees the world, and he suddenly plays another note on his steel reed pipes. This frees Percy from the throne, and Hephaestus promises to put in a good word with Athena.
The two of them, exhausted, return to the diner and give Ares his shield back. He takes them to a large white lorry belonging to Kindness International, much to Percy's disappointment. Ares tells them that the truck is headed to the Lotus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where they can get help from Hermes. He tosses Percy a new backpack with supplies before he rudely dismisses the three half-bloods, taunting Percy in particular. Percy angrily tells Ares they are not going to fail and that he doesn't know who Percy truly is. Grover interjects before Percy goes too far, and thanks Ares for the 'emotional abuse and cheeseburgers' before dragging his friend inside the lorry. Percy and Annabeth wonder if Ares was telling the truth about the lorry's destination, before Grover says that Ares was lying, and that he now knows who stole the Master Bolt.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson
- Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase
- Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood
Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
- Ryan Cowie as Chaperone
- Joyce Robbins as Fate #1
- La Nein Harrison as Fate #2
- Cindy Piper as Fate #3
Differences[]
- In the book, Percy and Grover are the ones who the Fates cutting string when were taking a bus from Yancy Academy back to Manhattan.
- Hephaestus appears during the Quest for Ares' Shield, whereas he did not appear until the third book.
- Percy and Annabeth go to Waterland while Ares holds Grover as collateral. In the book, all three of them go.
Trivia[]
- The title is derived from Chapter Fifteen of The Lightning Thief while the episode itself is an adaptation of Chapters Fourteen through Sixteen.
- ”What is Love”, a song by the Trinidadian-born German singer Haddaway, is heard when Percy and Annabeth are on the Thrill Ride O' Love.