"We Take a Zebra to Vegas"[1] is the sixth episode of the first season of the Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Synopsis[]
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover must resist the alluring draw of a casino that feels outside of time.
Plot[]
As the Kindness International lorry heads towards Las Vegas, Percy dreams of his old headmaster berating an unknown student for failing in his operations, and that they can be easily replaced. The man addresses Percy shortly before he awakens. He wakes up to find Annabeth and Grover setting up an Iris Message to camp. As they work, Grover theorizes that Clarisse La Rue stole the Master Bolt and Ares is covering for her. They call Camp and are met by Luke. He tells the three that things at camp are becoming tense, with campers starting to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Before Percy can mention that they are meeting with his dad, Annabeth ends the call and reveals that Luke hates his father, blaming him for what happened to his mother. However, she also says Hermes will do anything to get into his son’s good graces. They then discuss that they have five days to retrieve the Master Bolt and return it before the deadline. Grover reveals he has been talking to the animals and has agreed to help them escape. Grover gives them Satyr's Sanctuary and lets the animals loose in the middle of the street, using them as a distraction to slip away in the chaos and head into the Lotus Hotel and Casino.
Upon arriving in the Lotus, Annabeth warns them not to eat or drink anything, as they could become trapped in the hotel for decades or centuries without realizing it. They search the floor for Hermes, and Annabeth suggests they split up. However, Percy is against it as he is the only one who has never met Hermes. Annabeth goes with him while Grover goes on his own. Grover sees Augustus, a satyr who was close to his Uncle Ferdinand. Augustus runs, but Grover catches up with him. He speaks with the older satyr, but Augustus does not remember him. Grover talks about how important he was to his father and mentions finding his uncle’s petrified form in New Jersey. Augustus remembers and offers Grover some of his nachos, but Grover declines. Augustus says he is close to finding Pan and invites Grover to help him, but the young satyr declines as he does not have his Searcher's License. However, Augustus insists, and Grover gives in, suddenly forgetting about his objective.
As Percy and Annabeth walk, he tells her more about his dream, and Annabeth has trouble theorizing why Clarisse would work with Hades. The two find Hermes playing Craps and ask for his help. The god rejects helping them get to the Underworld until they mention Luke, and Hermes takes them to talk privately. Annabeth tells Hermes that maybe Luke will see that he does actually care if he helps them. Hermes tells the two that there is a secret entrance into the Underworld, but he still refuses to help because it will only make things worse, like it did when he tried to help Luke, despite others' warnings. He shows Percy a memory of him being dropped off at boarding school, and Annabeth leaves before the god can show her a memory. As Percy gets up to leave, Hermes reveals Poseidon was the one who told him to stay away from Luke and describes that being forced to do nothing to stop his children from suffering has made him feel helpless, a feat not easily placed on a god.
He also warns Percy that he doesn't have much time left, as the staff pumps lotus flower extract into the air, causing time to move differently for the attendants, even if they don't eat or drink anything. This is confirmed when Percy catches up to Annabeth, and they look outside. In the time they found and talked to Hermes, days had passed outside, with the deadline being hours away. He tricked them, which makes Annabeth less guilty about stealing his car keys. As Percy says that there's something they need to do before they leave, Annabeth remembers that they left Grover alone upon seeing Augustus. When they ask about their friend, Augustus runs away, causing them to chase after the older satyr before Percy tackles him to the floor.
They find Grover playing a virtual reality game, and he gets annoyed when they pull off his headset. He does not remember Percy and Annabeth, but eagerly joins them when they mention he is part of their quest. In the garage, Grover reveals that the game simulated searching for Pan and actually felt the nature god's presence. They find Hermes's car, a taxi, with a note from the God of Thieves, who knew that they had stolen his keys. The note says that all they have to do is get the cab on the road, and it'll get them where they want to go. After deciding who will drive, Percy reluctantly takes the wheel. After much difficulty, they get onto the road and are teleported to Santa Monica Beach.
After getting over the shock, the three exit the cab, and Grover suddenly remembers Percy and Annabeth. As Grover questions why he forgot more than the demigods, Annabeth says it is because he was alone while they had each other. Percy then goes into the Pacific Ocean and prepares to meet his father. However, he is instead met with the Nereid from the Mississippi who informs him that they are too late. The deadline has passed, and Poseidon is preparing for war with Zeus. She tells Percy his father does not blame him and that he is to return to camp. However, Percy insists on seeing the quest through, and the Nereid gives him four pearls so that he, his companions, and his mother can escape the Underworld.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson
- Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase
- Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood
Special Guest Star[]
Guest Starring[]
- Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan
- Ted Dykstra as Augustus
Co-Starring[]
Uncredited[]
- Unknown as Nico di Angelo
Differences[]
- Hermes appears, whereas in the books he does not make an appearance until The Sea of Monsters.
- Rather than talking to the Lightning Thief from inside of Tartarus in Percy's dream, Kronos takes on the form of a headmaster sitting in an office.
- Annabeth does not tell Percy about her past while they are in the truck. As a result, Annabeth doesn't figure out the identity of the true culprit behind the theft after hearing about the dream when they leave the casino.
- Percy, Annabeth, and Grover Iris Message camp from a prism in the Kindness International truck rather using than a sprayer at a gas station.
- Annabeth also specifies Chiron's Office rather than just camp itself.
- Unlike in the book, Percy is shown to already know about Iris Messages, commenting on how he can never get used to them and joining Annabeth in the prayer to Iris.
- Luke doesn't imply that Annabeth could be thief like in the book.
- Clarisse La Rue is accused of being the Lightning Thief, a plot point original to the series.
- Grover and Augustus searching for Pan inside of the casino is a plot point original to the series.
- Rather than taking a taxi to Santa Monica by paying with Lotus Cash Cards, Percy, Annabeth and Grover take Hermes' magical taxi cab which teleports them from outside of the Lotus Casino straight to the beach in Santa Monica.
- The three arrive in Santa Monica too late, the Summer Solstice deadline having already passed, when in the book Percy makes it back to Olympus just in time.
- The Nereid gives Percy four pearls rather than three and she does not warn him to beware of the gifts or question him if he is able to do the things that a number of famous demigods could do.
Trivia[]
- The title is derived from Chapter Sixteen of The Lightning Thief while the episode itself is an adaptation of Chapters Sixteen and Seventeen.
- At about twelve and a half minutes into the episode, while Grover and Augustus are talking about Pan, a voice can be heard in the background calling for Bianca. This is a reference to Nico and Bianca di Angelo, the children of Hades who were stuck in the Lotus Casino at the time.
- Kronos is credited as Headmaster for this episode, with the Titan taking on the form of the Yancy Academy Headmaster from "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher" in Percy's dream.