After the widely disliked live adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief absolutely flopped in box offices in 2010, it was a bit of a surprise when Disney announced a reboot of Riordan’s best selling book series “Percy Jackson”. With Rick Riordan getting creative liberties, fans, myself included, were bursting at the seems to watch an adaptation that this series deserved. But. has the reboot gone from zero to hero?
Episode 1/2) I Accidentally Vaporized My Pre-Algebra Teacher and I Became Supreme Lord of the Bathroom
Throughout the first two episodes, the viewer is immersed in the new, exciting world of Percy Jackson. With forty minute installments, these episodes were like getting hit with a nostalgia semi-truck. Hearing the iconic “My name is Percy Jackson” gave me literal goosebumps. From the elaborate set of camp half blood to the high action capture the flag, the worldbuilding of the first two episodes was extremely impressive. Although visually the episodes are impressive, the capture the flag and Mrs. Dodds fight just didn’t hit as well as they did in the books. I understand that changes need to be made for time’s sake, but the fight scenes don’t feel like they have the high stakes and high action they did in the books. Mrs. Dodds was extremely rushed and basically got swept under the rug.
Episode 3/4) We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium + I Plunge to My Death
The main set piece for episode three is the trio’s encounter with Medusa. Although many PJO readers are used to seeing her with a deep vengeful hatred of Percy and Annabeth, episode three brings her into a new light. Recounting her side of the myth and how she was wronged by the gods, she offers Percy a deal: let her get rid of his companions so he can save Sally or continue to serve the wrathful, unjust gods. Obviously Percy chooses his friends and fighting ensues. The whole Medusa sequence left a sour taste in my mouth. Her change in motivation of wanting to aid Percy instead of kill him basically rewrote her whole character. Yes, it does set up one of the central themes of the show, but it drastically changes a big plot point. In episode four we get introduced to Echidna, the mother of monsters, and her huge chimera. Instead of meeting her in the Arch, the trio sees her on a train, adding to the tension and fear of the Chimera sequence. Avid fans may have noticed but we get a little teaser to Percy’s fatal flaw, loyalty at the top of the Arch. Pushing Grover and Annabeth out of harm’s way, Percy (while being poisoned) fights the Chimera all by himself, showing his terrible self-sacrificing nature. Although the Chimera did have a bit more fear than previous action scenes, it again falls victim to being either too short or low stakes.
Episode 5) A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers + We Take a Zebra to Vegas
Percabeth fans rejoice! It’s finally starting! When I say tears were falling during episode five, I mean the literal waterworks. My Percabeth heart was exploding this episode. In A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers, Percy and Annabeth travel to waterland on a little side quest for Ares to retrieve his shield. Although much of the motivation for waterland is the same, the show plays out much differently than the books. In the book, Percy and Annabeth must ride the Tunnel of Love, and weave through booby-trapped Cupid’s arrows, all while being live streamed to Mount Olympus. In the show, only the Tunnel of Love remains, and poses Percabeth with a heartbreaking choice: In order to get the shield, one of them will have to sit in an inescapable chair designed by Hephaestus.
While the writing has its ups and downs, the production team absolutely nailed casting, especially for our golden trio. Walker Scobell, whom you might recognize from the Adam Project, does an impeccable job embodying our loveable seaweed brain. Scobell brings just the right amount of sass and humor to Percy while still giving him the depth and humility in emotional scenes. Meanwhile he and co-star Leah Sava Jeffries nail the banter and bickering of Annabeth and Percy as well as pulling at the heart strings of watchers with their emotional Percabeth moments (shoutout to the chair scene in episode 5, I was literally sobbing). All the while Aryan Simhadri shines as sweet, awkward Grover caught in the middle of everything.
I truly love this show, it feeds my soul, but I’m not sure whether it’s due to the storyline or nostalgia. Although I love Percy Jackson and anything even remotely close to its universe, there are scenes in the show that have lost the luster that shined when reading the books. Complaints aside, Riordan has done a great job bringing PJO to the big screen.
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