Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 Episode 4 Review

With ancient monsters and unlikely allies, Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 episode 4 finally finds its feet in the Sea of Monsters.

But the group will need more than some mysterious coordinates to face the Sea of Monsters and find the Golden Fleece to save the camp. At its entrance await two terrifying monsters: Scylla and Charybdis. If the demigods want access to the Sea of Monster they will have to literally choose between a rock and a hard place and decide whether to face Scylla, the man-eating monster with seven heads, or the sea-swallowing Charybdis, who could easily drag their ship and their men underwater. 

Episode 4 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 finally introduces flashbacks in its storytelling. This proves to be very successful as they are not only very engaging and interesting to watch, but they also reveal some key information about Annabeth’s past and her connection with Luke without relying exclusively on dialogue. In the past narrative, the audience is also introduced to Thalia (Tamara Smart), daughter of Zeus, who sacrificed herself to save Annabeth and was turned into the tree that now protects Camp Halfblood. As Thalia plays such a big role both in the search for the Golden Fleece and the main characters’ past, seeing her on our screens halfway through the second season of the show is incredibly satisfying. 

With a masterful final sequence, Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 finally finds its feet in episode 4. The stakes are heightened and the pace is faster, as making the right tactical choice in how to face Scylla and Charybdis could make the difference between life and death, and now that the demigos are approaching the Sea of Monsters, we can finally see the quest happening rather than hearing about it as we have for the last three episodes. Not only do they work very well narratively, but Scylla and Charybdis are also depicted exceptionally well, physically, in a sequence that will have audiences hold their breath until the very end of the episode.

Even if it is only for a short time, episode 4 also shows us Percy and the other demigods acting as 13-year-olds. This is especially important because, in the midst of a dangerous quest and with dangerous monsters that are out to kill them, the audience could easily forget just how young the characters are. This episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 also expands on Percy’s water-related powers, as we finally see the demigod use and discover his abilities as a son of Poseidon. This is both satisfying to watch and very necessary to the plot as the quest brings the characters closer and closer to the dreaded Sea of Monsters: will Percy’s godly powers be what saves them from seemingly certain death?

The references to the Odyssey, while a little too on the note at times, are also very interesting to watch and cleverly worked into the plot of Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Episode 4 in particular references Odysseus directly as the main characters set out on a quest not so dissimilar to what the Greek hero had once faced. This is especially important as the original book parallels Homer’s Odyssey quite a lot in the dangers the heroes will have to face and, therefore, also works as foreshadowing for what we are about to witness in the rest of this season. 

Unfortunately, episode 4 finally takes off only in its second half with a tense and action-filled final sequence that ends in a masterful cliffhanger. The first act of this episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 can easily feel overly long due to its slow pacing and lack of action. But, despite some very introductory elements, this episode finds its feet in the epic quest that our heroes will have to take in order to do what is right and save their home. 

Season 2 Episode 4 Percy Jackson and the Olympians will be available to stream globally on Disney Plus from December 24, 2025.