Percy Jackson Season 2 Episode 5 when Help is the worst obstacle.

Now I will fully confess that I was quite impressed by how they changed the Circe section of the Sea of Monsters to better convey the message that they wanted to convey.

And this was definitely definitely better than whatever the movie did for this section...

In the books Circe or CC is just an obstacle for Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase to cross as they go across the Sea of Monsters.

She simply has a hatred for men and turns them into Pigs(and now Guinea Pigs) simply because she can...

She just tries to trap Annabeth and trick her into staying there, abandoning her quest.

In this version... she does all of that... but in some sense, she is her own Jailer...

The very first difference is that this version of Circe doesn't even hide who she is.

Apparently her turning men to pigs was just a phase that she will never run down.

CC's spa and resort is the only sanctuary in the Sea of Monsters, according to the people running it...

And that should obviously be the reddest of flags for anyone who doesnt know the context.

Because in a place of terrors the most dangerous thing is someone pretending to help you as a disguise for their true intentions.

The aspect that most storylines like these leave out, is that, the offender doesnt always need to do this with ill intentions or even deliberately for that matter.

Sometimes the biggest Monster is once own inner demons.

You see, Circe makes all the Demigods that arrive at her Island believe that she has formulated a program to help them pass from the Sirens unharmed, who just happen to be the next obstacle on the Sea of monsters.

And maybe she has, at least she seems to be following the right steps(somewhat), The Sirens are definitely known to pull upon a Hero's fatal flaw in order to lure them in, a fatal flaw being the one thing that keeps heroes from being way too powerful and still on par with Humanity.

So finding out and confronting your Fatal flaw has to be the way to go about it.

The problem is, Circe doesn't really seem to have a plan, she pretends to be all enlightened like a therapist or a saint and says that you can't "rush the process" but the reality is she knows of a way out, and no process is required.

She uses the Beeswax from Aristaesus's personal hive to help a few Demigod's get past, basically helping them cheat.

It is a difficult escape when you are your own Jailer, when your own hope keeps you trapped in a place for all of your life, and who knows maybe some of them even figured it out!

But like maybe by that time it was too late and they were too attached to this place and the sad truth is, most Demigods do not make it to ages like fifty and Zadie in the shot above has been on the island for a fifty years.

So she is definitely way past fifty.

In a strange way this Island is what it claims to be, a sanctuary that protects all in it from the Dangers outside.

Maybe for some, helping out a lonely sorceress by giving her company for the rest of her life is a small price to pay for that.

In her own strange way Circe has become the very thing she dreaded being called, an obstacle for the Heroes to pass.

And she proves this when even though Percy asks for her to let only Annabeth go and let him stay and in exchange he will keep her secret, she turns him into a Guinea pig, as she cant let Anna pass without at least going through some of the program, or everyone will leave.

Yes my friends, that is Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch, Son of Ares, as a fucking Guinea pig no thanks to Circe...

A strange jailer fear is.

It is probably exactly this behavior that keeps her from making real friends no matter how hard she tries or how many people she keeps here.

And if she hadn't don this, both Percy and Anna probably wouldn't have left.

Percy was so scared after seeing his Fatal flaw that he was more than willing to let someone else go first, something that is actually strangely in line what the Flaw would want him to do.

As per the flaw, he would sacrifice anything, even the world for his friends... and here he is, sacrificing everything for his friends.

Thankfully his friends are ready to sacrifice just as much if not more for him.

Thank god for Hermes's multivitamins am I right?

And thank god Percy joined Anna because it seems Anna's fatal flaw is that she thinks she can win everything, so the Sirens set up an elaborate hallucination where she sees through what the Sirens show her, successfully sets a Trap for them and then Athena comes in to save her from the last of the three.

And it turns out the makers of the show were smart and also changed the Race of Athena.

So thank god for that.

I am just glad that we got to see her and now all the racists hiding behind wanting Anna to be blonde with grey eyes can be exposed for who they are... what are you looking at.. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM?!!

Anyways.

It seems Percy was safe from the Sirens all along because he only ever saw what he desired, and that was Anna.

A bit too direct there my guy, but you know what, she seems into it so...

But that is not all that happens in this episode.

Because speaking of people that were made more complex for this adaptation.

May I present to you: Polyphemus!!!

In the books, Poly didn't figure out till the very end that Grover was simply wearing a veil and tricking him as a manner of Stalling and using his poor eyesight to his advantage.

But this Poly is smart, he knew from the beginning who Grover was, and he was simply playing along to use him as a bait for his trap.

That... is interesting...

It will be nice to see where this actually goes now...

And I mean who wants an adaptation to be exactly as the original, then you know exactly what will happen before it ever does, and where is the fun in that?