Percy Jackson TV show pulls viewers in like the tide
Reading “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” can be considered a right of passage. Completing the series is a nearly uniform event for all middle schoolers and remains a prominent part of their personality for ages to come. For many it is considered a kickoff into a lifelong reading obsession. Rick Riordan’s best-selling series is a work of genius, capturing famous myths that were first unveiled approximately 2,700 years ago, and then conveying the legends of such heroes and monsters in a way that 12-year-olds can understand, and feel attached to.
The first book of the series, “The Lightning Thief” was published in 2005, and kickstarted a fascination in the ancient world of Greece among millions. This obsession is still thriving almost two decades later and has exponentially grown since the television adaptation of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” was released on Dec. 20 of 2023, on Disney+.
The show surrounds its first season around the first book, “The Lightning Thief”, which begins the narrative of 12-year-old Percy Jackson, who has been attempting to peacefully live his life at Yancy Academy, but he keeps running into problems. Namely, monsters from the Greek myths his mother told him as a child keep coming to life and attacking him, forcing young Percy to face the fact that he is a demigod, a.k.a, the child of a god. Upon this discovery, Percy is whisked away to Camp Half-Blood and learns that he is destined to go on a quest and find Zeus’ stolen master lightning bolt, to stop a civil war between the gods of Olympus. However, there are two small problems: one is that there are tensions brewing on Olympus, with many Olympians being set on preventing Percy and his friends from completing their job, and the second is Zeus, who is convinced that it was Percy who stole his bolt in the first place.
To say that Riordan’s universe is beloved is an understatement. Hundreds of millions of people have been enchanted by not only the complex storyline but also the characters and their relationships that readers admired growing up. The love and admiration of Camp Half-Blood prompted a slight fear among fans when the new television series was announced. There was a consensus that book adaptations never live up to the original, and several feared that their favorite childhood story would be “ruined” with the release of this alteration.
One such worry was that the television series would either not remain faithful to the plot, or simply be unable to include everything. However, upon watching the first episode, “I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher,” we were astounded by the level of detail, as well as the accuracy of “The Lightning Thief.” The characters have the personalities that are splayed out on the pages of the book, the episodes share the same titles as the novel’s chapters and the timeline of events is extraordinarily similar.
While the first few episodes remained strictly truthful to the book, starting from episode six, “We Take a Zebra to Vegas,” the plotline does tend to stray. This factor does not make the show any less of a great adaptation, it only slightly confuses those who read the books because it has become harder to see where the show is going in terms of certain plot points.
We also praise the first season’s visual appeal which demonstrates the many mythical elements uniquely and engagingly, the many familiar faces like Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes, Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus and Megan Mullally as Alecto, as well as the talent of the younger actors, such as Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson and Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase.
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is an excellent book adaptation. Rick Riordan himself stated that the primary goal of the new show was to be a complete imitation of his novels, and this goal was accomplished. However, one piece of advice that we would offer to anyone that is considering starting the show, is to make sure that they have read the books first. It appears that the creators of the series speculated that anyone who might press play would have already been fans, and therefore the audience sort of hits the ground running, and it might be easier for non-readers to understand the plot if they pick up the books first.
The show and the actors do a wonderful job portraying the beloved story, and everyone who participated in the creation of the show should be commended for their work. The only problem we could find amongst the show is some of the pacing, specifically in terms of the fight scenes. In their efforts to keep the show as TV-PG rated as possible, some of the most pivotal and tension-filled scenes were dulled down to a certain extent.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing our favorite characters come to life in a new, much more accurate adaptation. “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is a great show to watch if viewers are looking to stir up feelings of nostalgia, and although no subsequent seasons have been officially confirmed, there are nine additional books featuring Percy and his adventures, so it looks like we are in it for the long run.
