Percy Jackson and the Olympians - I Plunge to My Death

My mixed reaction to Percy Jackson and the Olympians continues with "I Plunge to My Death," an episode that feels largely disjointed and half-assed as if several scenes have been randomly cut out to decrease the running time and get it to fit in at just over a half-hour. After buses turned out to be a no go,  Percy (Walker Scobell), Annabeth (Leah Jeffries), and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) have decided to take a train west. How exactly they paid for said train tickets, including their own compartment, is one of the many, many questions left unanswered.

While onboard the train the trio get framed for damage to their compartment (which they couldn't have possibly done while in full view of others in the common areas, but this is one of those shows were adults are predominantly stupid and incompetent). It's then that they meet and run from their latest threat: Echidna (Suzanne Cryer) and her pet (the most simplistic version of a Chimera possible). Cryer is fine in the role, although the writing doesn't do her any favors. And as the "mother of all monsters," I wouldn't be surprised if we'll see more of her over the series.

While the train police can's see the creature they can see the damage it causes making you wonder how such events get explained away with apparently no repercussions. (That's another one of those questions the show has no interest in exploring let alone answering.) Despite being attacked on a moving train in the middle of the countryside, the trio leave a stopped train in a train yard after it has arrived in St. Louis (did I mention large portions of connective tissue to hold the narrative together appear to be completely missing?).

Our wanderers attempt to take refugee in the Gateway Arch which Annabeth explains is actually a temple to Athena only to discover Athena has abandoned them after Percy's little trick to end the last episode. The episode ends on a bit of a cliffhanger with Percy surviving his adventure thanks to the intervention of his father (and or his acolytes) and learns about his new underwater powers which no doubt come into play again on the quest. I'll be curious to see if the next episode spends anytime reuniting Percy with his friends or just starts out with them all together again continuing their journey as that seems to be the fractured storytelling the writers are going for.

• Title: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - I Plunge to My Death
• IMDb: link