Warning: Spoilers ahead for Percy Jackson Season 2, Episodes 1–2.
The first two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 are now streaming. In the premiere, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood to find it overrun with monsters, discovers he has a Cyclops half-brother and butts heads with the camp’s new villain, Activities Director Tantalus.
Based on Rick Riordan’s The Sea of Monsters, the season opens with Grover finally receiving his searcher’s pin to look for Pan. After discovering a wooden flute tied with a golden thread, he’s ambushed by demigods from Luke’s rebellion looking for the Golden Fleece, a magical object with the power to heal anything. Grover is ultimately dragged into the sea by a giant tentacle and taken hostage by the Cyclops Polyphemus.
Meanwhile, in New York, Percy has a nightmare about Grover. He hasn’t seen his friends in a year, and Tyson — a cyclops staying at their house — is joining him for the last day of school. Their trip is interrupted by a taxi driven by the Grey Sisters, where Annabeth appears and warns Percy she’s had a nightmare too. The sisters also reveal mysterious numbers tied to Grover’s location, and Percy and Annabeth demand to be taken to camp.
When they reach Camp Half-Blood’s border, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson are attacked by Laestrygonian giants. After Annabeth grants Tyson permission to enter the magical barrier, they discover the real threat: Luke is poisoning Thalia’s tree, attempting to destroy the camp’s protective forcefield.
Who Is Tantalus in Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2?
Tantalus arrives at Thalia’s tree shortly after Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson uncover Luke’s attack. Chiron has been removed from his position because he’s the son of Kronos, so Tantalus has taken his place.
A Greek demigod, son of Zeus and the former king of Anatolia, Tantalus has a dark mythological past. According to Riordan’s Fandom lore, he was once offered a seat at the Olympian table. When he asked to bring the gods’ food and drink back to his people to boost his own fame, Zeus was furious. Tantalus then murdered his son Pelops, cooked him into a stew, and served it to the gods, who were already traumatized by their own history with Kronos, who once swallowed them.
As punishment, Zeus struck Tantalus with his lightning bolt and banished him to the Underworld, where he was cursed with eternal hunger and thirst. (The curse is referenced in the series as well.) Tantalus makes his dislike of Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson clear from the start. He even orders Tyson’s death until a glowing trident appears above the cyclops’ head, revealing he is also a son of Poseidon and therefore allowed to stay at camp.
Percy and Annabeth insist that they need to embark on a quest to heal Thalia’s tree, but Tantalus and Dionysus ignore them and instead focus on the upcoming chariot race. Percy is ordered to stay in his cabin.
Who Plays Tantalus In Percy Jackson?
Timothy Simons portrays Tantalus. The 47-year-old actor is best known for playing Jonah Ryan on HBO’s Veep, and he also stars as Sasha in the first two seasons of Netflix’s rom-com series Nobody Wants This.
Simons was a special guest on Episode 2 of the official Percy Jackson and the Olympians podcast with showrunner Dan Shotz and director James Bobin. He revealed that his kids are huge fans of the books and that his eerie look as Tantalus was inspired by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Robert Smith of The Cure.
Shotz explained that Tantalus carries “a certain level of insecurity” in Season 2, noting that the character is “very nervous” about Percy in this universe, especially given his complicated past with the gods.
Why Does Tantalus Want To Kill Percy And Annabeth?
In Episode 2, Annabeth sneaks into Tantalus’ office and finds a file on Chiron, allowing her to contact him. Chiron warns that she must go on the quest for the Golden Fleece, but Percy cannot, due to the mysterious Great Prophecy.
Annabeth wants to protect Percy, so she hopes winning the chariot race will secure the quest, and she can go alone. However, the race is interrupted when Stymphalian birds break through the barrier and attack the camp. Percy and Annabeth grab a speaker from Chiron’s office and blast a high-pitched song to drive them away. Afterward, Tantalus finally approves the quest, but appoints Clarisse to lead it, even though she didn’t help.
Clarisse chooses Annabeth to join her and adds Chris as the third camper. Percy feels betrayed, and Tyson reveals that Annabeth told her chariot partner to take Percy out during the race. Determined to go on the quest himself, Percy seeks guidance from his father, Poseidon. He then receives unexpected help from Hermes, who gives him tools for his journey, offers him a ride on a cruise ship and asks him to help save Luke.
Annabeth rushes to stop Percy from leaving. Percy confronts her, saying he knows Chiron told her something about the quest that she’s not sharing. Annabeth finally opens up about the past year, revealing that she struggled to do everyday things after spending most of her life running from monsters. Before they can finish their conversation, Tantalus arrives and is looking for blood.
Tantalus says that Percy and Annabeth broke the rule requiring campers to stay within the borders of Camp Half-Blood, which means he’s now permitted to kill them. He reveals a special crossbow dipped with celestial bronze and designed to kill monsters and demigods.
Simons explained on the Percy Jackson podcast that he intentionally wanted to draw out this moment. “If you have been in the Underworld for a millennium planning revenge, I think you want that to take as long as possible. You have to relish the moment,” he added.
Bobin said Tantalus’s dramatic monologue at the end of Episode 2 is meant to send a message to the gods — the children he’s harming are meant to represent a form of revenge.
“He wants to make sure the gods can see that, that they witness what he’s doing. I think if he just kills them from behind, it’s not quite as good,” Bobin said.
As Tantalus prepares to fire, Tyson appears from behind and knocks him to the ground. Percy, Tyson, and Annabeth sprint to Hermes’ small motorboat and launch it into the water. At the end of the scene, Annabeth admits that Tantalus was right: they broke the law, and they may never be able to return.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Check out the full release schedule for Episode 2 here.
Watch the podcast episode referenced in this article below.
