#tlt commentary

1.) "There's gonna be a fight. There still might be a war. For a moment, we've got danger on the run." Talk about setting the tone. We're in the clear as of today, but something is coming. Something bad.

2.) "Feeling ready🌊" "Feeling stoked🦉" "Feeling quesy🐐". Love how they gave Annabeth the 'feeling stoked' line. Because, of course, she's waiting in the wings, ready to kick ass when need. But it's also hilarious that the actress playing Annabeth is Kristen Stokes. So, I just imagine the writers gave her that line to mess with her.

3.) "Bring on the monsters. Bring on the real world." Like, yeah. They physically spent the majority of this musical in the real world, but they were disconnected from it. The three of them singing this line is a declaration of unity between their human and godly side. They are neither here nor there, not bound to one world, but exist in both.

4.) "They'll be times when your faith is shaken." Yes, your faith in the gods will be on the brink of breaking at any given moment. But so will the faith in yourself. But sometimes, being a demigod means doing it scared. But you won't go it alone.

5.) "Gotta know where the real fight lies when it's time to rise and stand your ground." Annabeth and Clarisse singing about knowing which battles are worth fighting and when is utterly amazing. Because not only are they both children of war gods, but they also canonically struggled with being strong-willed and prideful. It's like even though were at odds at the beginning of the musical, they aren't as different as they first appear.

6.) "No, I'm never gonna once have it easy. I'll make mistakes, but my own, and it frees me." In TLT, Book!Sally says something along the lines of: 'If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.' This is as applicable to a demigod as it is to a mortal. And it's bittersweet because not every demigod gets the chance to choose. Or rather, they don't choose wisely because they're so spiteful when it comes time. But sometimes, you gotta let the anger fade and move forward.

7.) "I'll be back next summer. You'll see me again. I'll be back next summer. I'll survive 'till then." There's something about this line that makes me want to cry. Percy started this musical saying he didn't want to be a half-blood, essentially rejecting the idea of a demigod, but ends the musical declaring his eventual return. He isn't saying goodbye, but a see you later. Which just tugs at my heart strings knowing we'll never get a second musical, but it's okay because Percy's essence extends beyond the Broadway medium. Whether it be a book, musical, movie, or graphic novel, Percy will always be back.

8.) Also, if you listen to the instrumental of this song, the guitar riff at the very end is playing the same melody of 'I didn't wanna to be a half-blood' underneath Percy's declaration of unwavering loyalty to demigods. And it broke me like a bone.

1.) "It's not enough that they're omnipotent and all powerful. They need to feel appreciated." I love that Luke is the one who is outwardly expressing his resentment to the gods, like in the books. I consider this foreshadowing lol. Also, this line sets up the narrative that the gods always know when demigods are talking about them, and the song is literally all of the demigods shitting on the gods as parents, which is hilarious.

2.) "I met the guy once and once was enough! Annabeth?" I enjoy that right after Luke talks about how he never again wants to meet his dad, Luke is the one to get the 'I resent my godly parent' ball rolling and immediately encourages Annabeth to do the same. I've recently been interpreting this as Luke subtly manipulating Annabeth, which isn't too far off from what happens in the book.

3.) "Chiron! Who's your dad?" "Oh, well, my father is Kronos. Remember my lecture: he ate his children." I love how Chiron doesn't even sing a verse, but more so a couple of lines to mock the song, as if it's absurd of him to prove that his father, fucking Kronos, is bad, which is hilarious. But you can also interpret this as him just being like 'my father ate me when I was newborn🤪🤪" and that's equally as hilarious lmao

4.) "If I tried to sing, it'll probably cause an avalanche." QUOTE FROM THE BOOK! PUT SOME RESPECT ON THE CREATORS OF THIS MUSICAL!

5.) "So, my dad is some God. That's great, I guess😒" Percy is so unbothered by the fact that he is literally the descendant of a god. like, he had a huger reaction to Chiron being a centaur lol

6.) "But I don't care where our parents may be. As long as you are here with me!" I think this line is so sweet because these kids safe haven is not just the camp, but each other. No matter what, they got eachother's back and I love that for them. But this line becomes a bit complicated because Luke is the one singing, and we know that he eventually revolts against the gods. it's just sad because that part of Luke that wants to have camp as a support system never left him, I don't think, it's just that he went about finding a support system and avenging the lives of these demigods in an awful way.

This song is cute and funny and it'll break your heart is you let it lol

1.) “What belongs to the sea can always return.” I don’t remember if this was an actual quote from the book, but it is a damn good one. Percy having the seashell from the very beginning and using it to return to the ocean later on is so cool. It’s almost like Poseidon knew they’d have to face Ares. Also, Poseidon giving Percy a seashell in the musical has the same energy as Poseidon giving Percy a sand dollar in the books lol 

2.) “And I know right now things are less than fine, but I think my dad may have thrown me a line.” The water-related puns are very Poseidon-coded, which it makes sense being that Percy is his son.

3.) “And better late than never to finally get a sign!” And then the call back to ‘Their Sign’ from earlier in the musical!

4.) “Who wins if the gods go to war? Ares, the god of war.” I remember being taken aback by this plot twist when I read it for the first time, and it hits just as hard in the musical. I think some people in the fandom forget that Percy Jackson has always been incredibly observant, emotionally intuitive, and intelligent, and moments like this remind us of that.

5.) “Well, he’ll have to get through me! We’ll take him down. We work well in three.” “Plus, a half-goat with a great goatee. Let’s do this!” I love how even when Percy is being a bit reckless and impulsive, his friends still got his back. Also, I’m just now realizing that ‘goatee’ was a pun lol

6.) “You’re the two best friends this screw-up ever had.” And then Percy returning the sentiment by labeling them his best friends is all I really need. I love this trio!

7.) “You may be a god, but you’re going down all the same!” Leave it to Percy to disrespect a god to their face when he knows the god doesn’t deserve it. Sally raised him right.

8.) “Your meat is minced. I’m here to mince it.” And then having Ares sing about an action already taking place before he performs the action just like Clarisse did in ‘Put You in Your Place’ is an interesting way to shine a light on how similar children of Ares can be to their godly parent. 

9.) “You think the god of war is afraid of a little water?!” “How do you feel about a lot of it?” Percy coming up with witty comebacks that will either make the situation worse or turn the tide in his favor is so in alignment with his character, and I love the writers' attention to that detail. 

10.) “I’m the son of Poseidon. I never asked to be, but I’m the son of Poseidon. Now, face the tide inside me!” I feel like this song, particularly, this moment, is a callback to his first line in the musical/books: Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. Percy has come to terms with what his life is, and is starting to accept it. We love to see character growth. 

1.) "All your worries come in flurries, but we bested freakin' furries! Look how far we've come. We can't give in." I love how this song is mainly Grover being moral support for his two friends, which is so sweet, in-character, and in alignment with his motivation for being on this quest. Not only does he want to wash his hands of past mistakes, but he wants to protect Percy and Annabeth, whether that be from monsters with the intent to kill, or internal doubt of their abilities. He's such an amazing character and friend. We stan Grover.

2.) "Look, the Gateway Arch!" "Look, a lady with a puppy!" Yes, if course, Annabeth is immediately in love with national monuments, and Percy is captivated by a cute doggy. I just love them both and their little characteristics. I also love how they sneak in the whole 'blew up a national monument and got poisoned' part of the book.

3.) "We urge all citizens to stay off the road, and don't-" "Drive! Just drive!" I love how we know that they're on a quest to return to Zeus his master bolt and save Sally's soul from the underworld, but to the mortals, these three are just breaking every rule all of the time in the funniest way.

4.) "If you hadn't bought all those dam snacks-!" "Uh, it was the Hoover Dam, and I was hungry!" I love how they even reference books that they won't cover in the musical, and they did it in the right way, unlike the Sea of Monsters movie that introduced Kronos in second story of the franchise.

5.) "Why, my brother and I arrived just yesterday: May 1st...1939!" This is what I'm talking about. They creators of this musical even squeezed in a Bianca and Nico Di Angelo cameo in this song and they did it in such an amazing way.

6.) "The oracle can can it! I'll save my mom and save the planet!" I love how this remains Percy's energy throughout the books. Like, it doesn't matter what you tell him, his mind is set on saving the people he cares about and saving the world in the process if he needs to. His loyalty is a blessing (though it can bring about his demise if taken too far).

7.) "Oh, look, a bus to Los Angeles." "Are you sure that's a good idea?" "This one we just wont blow up." "Ha!" And their banter as a team and a group of friends???? I love the writers and creators of this musical. Top tier content.

I wasn't expecting this review to be so long, but I'm not mad. Drive is such a good song, and I hope it gets the attention it deserves!

1.) “What do you do when it’s up to you to choose: has something ended or begun?”  It’s the end of the book, the musical, but Percy has to decide if this is the end of his story. This line does an amazing job at explaining Percy’s dilemma.

2.) “Do I stay because it’s safer? Back to the home I left behind. I could stay and train for a peace of the action, but what about peace of mind?” In Good Kid, Percy complains that no has ever asked him if he’d like to come around and stay, but in The Last Day of Summer, the camp directors are asking him exactly that - and he doesn’t have answer. Being a year-round camper allows Percy to strengthen his skillset as a demigod so he can better prepare for a world of monsters, but it requires him to sacrifice the chance to lead a somewhat normal life. I find it admirable that even though he has begun to embrace his godly side, he still has a grasp on his humanity. 

3.) “Perry Johannsson, this means you.” I love this gag that Mr. D deliberately choose to say Percy’s name wrong the entire musical, and also the entire five book series. 

4.) “Sometimes, family is worth the trouble. Believe me.” “I guess we both have a choice to make, Seaweed Brain.” I love the contrast between that moment in Killer Quest when Annabeth calls Percy Seaweed Brain in an attempt to insult him versus in The Last Day of Summer when it becomes almost a mockery of their initial rivalry. Here, Annabeth acknowledges their rocky start, but chooses to not let it define the future of their friendship, and I love that for them. Additionally, Annabeth lets her guard down and briefly confides in Percy, which goes to show that she has begun to trust him and, more so, heed his advice. Their friendship is portrayed so beautifully. 

5.) “Tough last day?” I’m really enjoy all of these callbacks we are getting in this song. When Luke ask Percy ‘Tough first day?’ in Their Sign, Luke has yet to decide if Percy will be a threat to his plan to overthrow the gods. Here, Luke knows Percy is a threat and intends on eliminating him.

6.) “You’re the lightning thief.” “The oracle warned you. ‘Betrayed by a friend.’” Percy saying the title of the show, and Luke quoting the line referring to his betrayal >>>>

7.) “I’ll do anything. I don’t care if I hurt anyone. It doesn’t pay to be a good kid, a good kid, a good son.” This line right here forces the listener to empathize with Luke. While we may not agree with the decision he makes, we understand why he makes them: because he was once was where Percy is. 

8.) “Soon, you’ll see what I did.” Throughout the PJO series, we see Percy have resentment toward Luke for good reasons, but when Percy denies the gods offer in 'The Last Olympian', he, in a round-about way, defends Luke. Even as Percy grows older, he understands Luke’s stance toward the gods and the shitty system they created of sending their kids off to do their bidding. Luke was right. In time, Percy would soon see what he did and why he did it.