Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Jessica Parker Kennedy Speaks on Medusa’s Look in Episode 3

The son of Poseidon’s quest hit a speed bump this week. After being claimed by the sea god at the conclusion of Percy Jackson and the Olympians‘ two-episode premiere, the titular demigod kicked off the latest episode by receiving his quest’s prophecy and embarking on his cross-country journey. Some travel woes led Percy, Annabeth and Grover to taking a detour through the woods which in turn led them to Aunty Em’s Gnome Emporium, the lair of Medusa. Caught in between the snake-haired lady and Alecto, the fury that had been pursuing Percy since the pilot episode, Medusa offers them refuge inside her home.

Played by Jessica Parker Kennedy, this version of Medusa is quite distinct from past interpretations within Percy Jackson adaptations. From graphic novels to Uma Thurman’s iteration in the 2010 feature film, Medusa’s fateful eyes are often covered by sunglasses while the rest of her physical appearance is more monstrous. For the Disney+ series, the creators took the character in a much more stylish direction.

“I freaked out. She was the coolest. I was like, ‘I can’t play this, I’m not that cool,’” Kennedy told ComicBook.com at the Percy Jackson and the Olympians world premiere. “It’s a very ’30s, ’40s vibe to her. ’20s too. It’s all of them combined. Her very long red nails and red lips. She’s very still. There’s something about her that made me very intimidated and afraid of her, but also I wanted to hear her story and give her a big hug.”

That story, a layered, dark tale, has been hinted at throughout Percy Jackson Season 1. The show’s pilot episode includes a young Percy looking on at a statue of the Greek hero Perseus holding Medusa’s decapitated head, admiring him for killing “monsters.” This leads his mother to question why he believes Medusa was a monster, noting that not everyone “who looks like a hero is a hero” and not everyone “who looks like a monster is a monster.”

As Medusa explains in Percy Jackson Episode 3, she was a devout worshipper of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Athena never acknowledged Medusa’s existence, leaving her feeling invisible to the gods above. That silence was eventually broken by Poseidon, the god of the seas, who made Medusa feel seen “in a way [she] had never felt seen before.” This embarrassed Athena and she took out her anger on Medusa, not Poseidon, punishing her with a curse that prevented anyone from seeing her and living to tell the tale.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians debuts new episodes every Tuesday at 9 PM ET on Disney+. Tune into ComicBook Nation presents Riptide Radio – A Percy Jackson Aftershow immediately after for an in-depth discussion and exclusive interview!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 1 is based off of the first novel in Rick Riordan’s critically-acclaimed book series, The Lightning Thief. Starring Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) as the titular demigod, this eight-episode first season embarks Percy on a quest to return Zeus’s stolen master bolt, as he is framed as the prime suspect. If he is not successful by the Summer Solstice deadline, the world bears the consequences of Mount Olympus in-fighting. The series also stars Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood), Leah Jeffries (Annabeth Chase), Glynn Turman (Chiron), Jason Mantzoukas (Dionysus), Dior Goodjohn (Clarisse La Rue), Charlie Bushnell (Luke), Adam “Edge” Copeland (Ares), Jay Duplass (Hades), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hermes), Timothy Omundson (Hephaestus), Lance Reddick (Zeus), and Toby Stephens (Poseidon).