The title of the latest episode of Percy Jackson and The Olympians, “We Take a Zebra to Vegas,” gives a pretty major hint at what our trio of protagonists have to face next in their quest.
As suggested to them by the god Ares, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover arrive in Las Vegas to search for Hermes, the messenger of the gods and god of travelers and thieves, to ask him to arrange passage for them to Los Angeles—where the entrance of the Underworld is located.
And find Hermes, they do, gambling away at one of the tables of the infamous Lotus Hotel and Casino. Even before talking to Hermes, the trio realizes that this isn’t just any normal casino, but yet another piece of Greek myth adapted for the 21st century. In this case, it’s the lotus-eaters, a people whom Odysseus encounters during his eventful journey home from Troy.
Just like the lotus-eaters of myth, who ate the fruits of the great lotus tree located at the center of their island and forgot everything about the outside world, everyone inside the Lotus Hotel and Casino doesn’t seem to remember who they are or what they were doing before entering the hotel. That’s precisely what happens to Grover, who begins to look for Hermes separated from Percy and Annabeth, and slowly starts to lose his memories.
It’s while he wanders through the rooms alone that he encounters another satyr, Augustus, whom Grover recognizes as the mentor of his Uncle Ferdinand—one of Pan’s official searchers who sadly met his end in Medusa’s statue garden, as we all saw back in episode 3. Now, Augustus the Satyr is completely original to the show since he doesn’t appear in The Lightning Thief book, but it’s the actor portraying him that has given fans pause.
Is Augustus played by Mark Hamill?
You have to admit the resemblance is there, so much so that I’m willing to bet almost everyone had to take a momentary pause to wonder if that was none other than Luke Skywalker. Personally, it was the facial hair that did it for me. But no, Mark Hamill is not part of the Percy Jackson and The Olympians cast, and he did not play Augustus the Satyr.
The actor portraying Augustus is Canadian actor and playwright Ted Dykstra, who also starred in the movie Bach’s Fight for Freedom as the titular Bach and as Ed Broadbent in the satirical film Mulroney: The Opera. He’s also one of the founding members of the Soulpepper Theatre Company, based in Toronto.
Will we see Augustus the Satyr again? It’s hard to say since his character isn’t present in the original book, so we can’t know when he will pop up again or if he will at all. Still, hopefully, he won’t be stuck inside Lotus Hotel and Casino much longer.
(featured image: Disney+)
