It's Good to See You Again, Seaweed Brain

My thoughts on Disney+ 's Percy Jackson and the Olympians adaptation.

Percy Jackson has always been an important part of my life. I read the books in 2009, just as the original series was ending and The Heroes of Olympus books were being announced. I remember leaving the theaters after watching the first film, disappointed in the retelling but still proud to be a fan, decked out in my homemade camp bead necklace and the orange iron-on shirt my mom made. 

I remember having my friends over for my twelfth birthday party, which was, of course, Percy Jackson-themed. We wore brand-new Camp Half-Blood T-shirts, ordered from an Etsy shop, drank nectar (lemonade), and ate blue food. I remember seeing the success of Shadowhunters (a show based on Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments Series) on Freeform and writing a letter to Rick Riordan in 2016, begging him to turn the books I adored into a television show. While I don’t know if Riordan ever read my letter, I eventually got my wish. 

This past December, Percy Jackson and the Olympians finally aired on Disney+. The show followed the first book in the popular book series, The Lightning Thief, which depicts Percy Jackson, a young New Yorker, who finds himself thrown into the perilous world of Greek Gods and monsters. Through a series of highly precarious events, Jackson learns from his mother that he is a Halfblood (half mortal, half god) and must go to a camp for demigods, where he can be safe. There, he faces many challenges - an absent immortal father, daunting bullies, violent war games, and a quest for Zeus’s Master Bolt, which has been stolen from Mount Olympus. After finding out he is the son of Posideon, the god of the Sea, and receiving a prophecy, Percy heads out on the road with Grover, a Satyr, and Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, to reclaim it and gain the ultimate bargaining tool with the gods - glory. 

To start, I love the cast. Walker Scobell perfectly embodies Percy Jackson- he's sassy, sarcastic, loving, and oblivious. Leah Jefferies brought Annabeth to life from the second we saw her. Aryan Simhardi added such depth to Grover’s character and reminded me why he was always one of my favorites in the original series. Their love for their characters and the story is unmatched, and we were so lucky to have such talented young actors in this production. They are what truly made this season so memorable. 

Another thing I absolutely adored was the costumes and sets. When Percy first walked through Camp Half-Blood, I got the chills. It was everything I ever wanted from my favorite fictional place. Seeing the cabins and all the campers who will become friends later in the story felt like coming home. 

When it comes to the script, the writing could use some work. While some were nostalgic and fun, other parts were a little slow. The writing seemed to fall into the trap of telling us everything immediately, not showing us through characters and plotlines. Instead of allowing the trio to figure things out over time, they always immediately knew who or what the threat was. They also tended to forget about the urgency of situations to talk things through - standing around talking for ten minutes doesn’t exactly demonstrate the stakes of being chased by a Minotaur or trying to escape the mother of monsters. But the story as a whole was good. Most of the important aspects of the book were included in the writing, and the overall world-building was done very well. 

Going into the show, I promised myself I wouldn’t let any minor changes or modifications impact my perception. I feel like many movies or show adaptations are often judged very harshly by die-hard fans like myself, who want a perfect book-to-screen translation. This isn’t always possible. I made this promise to myself so I could enjoy the show for what it was and not automatically dislike it for not being perfectly identical to the book. While I didn’t mind most of the plot revisions and missing scenes, a few things were left out that irked me. The almost complete absence of Percy’s growing abilities made him seem much weaker than he actually was at this point. In the books, you really see him learn to control water, prevent himself from getting wet when swimming, and even talk to horses. These are all fundamental traits of his character and will need to be worked on for the rest of the story to make sense. Hopefully, they can fix this if the show is renewed for further seasons. 

So, is Disney +’s Percy Jackson and The Olympians a perfect adaptation? No, of course not. I don’t know many books to screen translations that are! But even though there were some changes and errors, what made this show so special and worth the watch was the memories that came along with it. Watching Percy, Annabeth, and Grover made me feel like I was a kid again, going on quests and fighting the bad guys. This time around, I am a little too old to be another young hero traveling with the demigod trio - I’m more of an older sister, wishing them well from a distance- but it was still a fantastic feeling. 

While the show wasn’t perfect, it captured the magical and cherishing essence of the Percy Jackson world immaculately. I mean, I got to sit with my childhood best friend in our old t-shirts and watch the story that brought us together over a decade ago. What could be more magical than that? 

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See you between the pages

-Nicolette C