Percy Jackson fans have been waiting for the TV series adaptation since its announcement in May 2020. The popular book series was a part of many people’s childhoods and fans have wanted a better TV adaptation since the movies that came out in 2010. On December 19th, 2023 the first two episodes came out and now every week on Tuesday at 9 pm EST a new episode will be released on Disney+ and later on Hulu.
“I like that it is more true to the books than the movie was,” Sara Milligan, Lake Shore junior, said.
One of the things they did wrong in the movies was that it wasn’t book-accurate, resulting in many of the movies being widely disliked among the fans. The show, while having differences from the book to show, is far more book-accurate. The changes that have happened are happening in a new and exciting way bringing new life to a story that is now about eighteen years old. For example at the end of episode six, there is a huge pivot and the fact that the summer solstice has passed makes the watchers new and old wonder what will happen next.
While the actors that were cast weren’t book-accurate in appearance, for example, Percy’s hair isn’t black nor does he have green eyes in the show as he does according to the books, I feel this didn’t matter as much compared to the movie because so far they have brought the personality of the characters to life in a great way, as well as I know that Rick Riordan pick each actor himself and approved of them.
Currently, there are six episodes out and each has been entertaining. Although it has been quite a few years since I last read the books, seeing all the events I remember and loved being brought to life is exciting, as well as the things I don’t remember or the new elements.
The iconic scene when Percy fought his teacher who turns out to be a monster and when he accidentally explodes the bathroom in camp, were both scenes I’ve been excited to see being brought to life. The monster, only he could see, and Percy fighting was nice to see and see a visual of.
In the fifth episode, when Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are running from the police they have to walk on the side of the highway and hide as people pass. It’s there Ares stops to talk to them so they must peek over the roadblock is a funny scene.
A new scene that I quite liked that brought relatability was in episode six when Percy, Annabeth, and Grover must drive a car out of the parking garage. Percy volunteers, saying it couldn’t be that difficult only to find it is far more difficult than he thought. The stopping, the faces, and the amount of space they didn’t have caused them to miscalculate and end up totally wrong. The entire scene was hilarious, and I found myself laughing immensely during it.
If you are fascinated with fantasy, Greek mythology, or even just enjoy a good story watching and reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians is for you.