Camille Pfister
Editor-in-chief
On December 19, 2023, I was sitting on my couch, scrolling on Instagram as one does. This is when I saw many posts from fan accounts announcing that the much anticipated Percy Jackson and the Olympians pilot episode on Disney+ was dropping a day early. I sat up, grabbed the remote from my mom, went to Disney+, not saying anything in case I jinxed myself, and I saw the banner flash across my screen. My squeal was uncontrollable. My mom realized what was going on and chuckled. “It’s out?” she asked. “It’s out!” I said, grinning. I ran around downstairs, turning off all of the lights, and returned to the couch, snuggling under blankets. I forced my parents to sit down and shushed them. I pressed play. It began.
This is where I sat for the next 45 minutes. My mouth agape, a strangled squeal halfway out of my mouth at all times. My arms flapped like a bird trying to take flight. My parents just rolled their eyes and chuckled at their very nerdy 20 year old. Since May 14, 2020, when Rick and Becky Riordan announced to the world that the book-accurate adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was coming, I have been waiting for this moment. Since I first read the books I have been waiting for this moment.
For those of you who are not in the know, let me give you a quick debrief. In 2005, Rick Riordan wrote The Lightning Thief, a story about a modern day demigod, a (spoiler alert) son of Poseidon. Percy Jackson is a not so normal 12-year-old boy who, after getting kicked out of yet another school, discovers his dad is the Greek god Poseidon, and his life just got a lot more complicated. This first quest led to four more books in what made up Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and multiple spin off series. These books have been a huge part of my life and personality since I first read them. Ask my friends. Look at the back of my laptop. I’m obsessed.
In 2010, 20th Century Fox created a film adaptation of the first book and made the second book into a movie in 2013. There was just one problem: these movies were in no sense of the word “accurate.” They took a story that millions of people loved and turned it into a film with angsty teenagers, crappy special effects, and no honoring of the original story. It was such a disaster, they didn’t even finish the rest of the series. Fans of Percy Jackson have been complaining about the lack of a faithful adaptation for years, and finally, after years of work from the author, we got it.
Disney+, who in the purchase of 20th Century Fox, also purchased the rights to Percy Jackson, decided to work with the author and create a faithful, well done, TV show adaptation of the series. A 5 season TV show. I was elated. But after such an awful adaptation the first go around, I was cautious. It helped that Riordan was involved from the beginning, but still, my nerves were a flutter. Luckily, I needn’t worry; Uncle Rick (as the fans lovingly call him) had my back.
The show was incredible. All 8 episodes were banger after banger. The production was beautiful, the acting was phenomenal, the world building was elite. The show starred Walker Scobell as the main character, Percy Jackson, Leah Sava Jefferies as his questmate-turned-friend, Annabeth Chase, and Aryan Simhardri as satyr and best friend of Percy, Grover Underwood. The first season followed the plot of the first novel, and while there were changes, it largely stayed true to the source material.
The first difference between the inaccurate movie and the accurate novel: the ages of the main characters. All three of the main characters are 12 (Grover’s age is a bit more complicated, but he’s basically 12) in the book, and while the movies aged them up to 16, the TV show kept them at their correct ages. This may not seem like a huge deal, but Percy’s age becomes a larger deal later in the series when he is given a prophecy that will come to fruition when he is 16. Also, the story really only works when the characters are children. Their actions, their mindsets, don’t make a lot of sense if the characters are 16. The point is that they are children thrusted into a world trying to kill them. The actors perfectly portray the urgency of the situation, and the danger of the environment, while also being goofy kids, cracking jokes.
A perfect example of this is when the three kids are leaving for the quest, and Percy learns about Thalia, daughter of Zeus, and her fate. While trying to protect her friends from monsters and make it into Camp Half-blood (the safe place for demigods), Thalia sacrifices herself and is turned into a tree by Zeus, allowing her friends to live. Annabeth, one of the friends she protected, tells Percy that “she died valiantly and met a hero’s fate”, Percy quippily replies that she “met a pinecone’s fate.”
Another example is that when Percy and Annabeth are arguing, Grover begins clapping his hands and singing the “Consensus Song” which is supposed to help people get along. Percy’s deadpan of “Dude, what are you doing?” makes me cackle every time. The song lyrics are also insanely catchy and will get stuck in your head.
These are also perfect examples of changes that work. Both of those moments are completely new, created just for the show. But they stay true to the theme and heart of the series, and if I hadn’t read the series, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me they were lifted from the novel.
There are also changes that move with the current times. On a surface level, Jefferies and Simhardi are people of color. While most readers assumed the characters were white, unless otherwise specified, Annabeth and Grover’s races are never specified in the series, and Riordan made it clear every character had an open casting call.
On a larger scale, one of the first interactions the characters have on the quest is with Medusa. Medusa is a famous mythological character. After she was raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple, she was blamed by Athena for disrespecting her. Athena turned her into a monster who turns people into stone with her eyes. She was turned into a monster who can never be seen by anyone she loves again. It is a heartbreaking story, and Medusa has become a symbol for sexual assault survivors. In the novel, Riordan kept to the original story where Medusa is the villain, and doesn’t dive into her story at all. In the show, Riordan made changes where Percy makes the active choice to take a chance on Medusa, because his mom, Sally, taught him that she is often misunderstood. While Medusa still tries to kill the questers, they, and by extension, we first get to hear her story. Riordan’s intention with this change acknowledges his faults as an older, white man, and his active desire to change the narrative.
Some changes are practical, such as shortening or cutting scenes to make room to tell a better story, adding scenes to adjust to a different medium, and changing scenes due to production costs. For example, on this last point of costs, there is a side quest in the novel where Percy, Annabeth, and Grover have to get Ares’s shield back from Hephestus. In the novel, they activate a trap intended for Ares and Hephestus where mechanical spiders attack Percy and Annabeth. This is where we learn about Annabeth’s arachnophobia. In a message to fans after the episode aired, Riordan explained that it would have been way too expensive to properly include the sea of mechanical spiders and that “IOU some spiders”, reassuring fans that Annabeth’a arachnophobia would not be forgotten. The reimagined scene involved Percy sacrificing himself and Annabeth making the choice to not abandon him. It perfectly showed the character’s emotions and their growth. Annabeth learned that glory and power aren’t the end all be all of the world, and some things matter more. The viewers got to see Percy’s loyalty and sacrifice play out in a heartbreaking scene.
Was this show perfect? No. Were there some changes I disagreed with? Absolutely! For example, in one crucial scene in the books, the questers take a Zoo truck to Las Vegas. This is where we get a lot of character development. We find out about Grover’s history and guilt with what happened to Thalia, and we find out what happened between Annabeth and her mortal family. This is also where Annabeth first pledges her loyalty to Percy with the line, “I don’t know what my mom will do. I just know I’ll fight next to you.” And, “Because you’re my friend, Seaweed Brain.” It was a really sweet scene that provided a lot of really important development for the main three. In the show, this scene is largely removed. However, I can understand that not every scene can be included, and if this is my only major complaint, I’ll take it.
The most important thing for me going into this show was that it gave me the same excited, emotional, feeling the books gave me. On that account, the show absolutely delivered. The show has the same rewatchability that the books have in re-readability. The characters are the same sweet, sarcastic, goofballs I fell in love with when I was 12. The show got into its groove as it went on, and the final episode brought me to tears. It made me even more excited for season two, which after an anxious week of silence, was officially greenlit!
I know shows take a long time to write and film, so I don’t expect season two until at least 2025, but when it comes, I will be back on my couch, flapping my arms like a deranged bird, joining my friends in the Sea of Monsters.