The 8-episode run of “Percy Jackson And The Olympians” just concluded and it’s been a wild ride from start to finish!
Indeed, this season has been a very close adaptation of “The Lightning Thief”, which is the first entry in Rick Riordan’s critically acclaimed book series. It introduces us to Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) along with his friends, Grover (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth (Leah Jeffries) as they traverse a world of gods and monsters,
Of course, this isn’t the first time this tale has been adapted as there was a duo of films that… we would prefer to forget.
Much of the adventure here comes from Percy’s quest. Zeus and Poseidon’s months-long feud has culminated in making Percy a scapegoat for his stolen symbol of power, the Master Bolt. As such, Percy is given one week to return it, by the summer solstice, or Zeus will declare war.
While Percy wanted no part in such a war, the possibility of his mom, Sally Jackson (Virginia Kull) returning from Hades’ domain was something that he felt that he had to do.
One Medusa, plunging from atop the Gateway Arch, a time-consuming Vegas escapade, and a trip to hell later, Percy and co. must battle it out as the fate of their world hangs in the balance.
When Percy, Annabeth, and Grover make it out of the Underworld, they are greeted by the god of war, Ares (Adam Copeland). Due to the revelation that Hades, who had no interest in interfering with Poseidon and Zeus’ scuffle, was simply a pawn in Kronos’ evil bid to rise from the pits of Tartarus, the trio squared up against the god.
Due to training with Luke, Percy challenges Ares to single combat, recalling that rules can be used against his opponent. The first to draw blood wins both Zeus’ Master Bolt and the Helm of Hades, which were stolen. At first, Ares seems to gain the upper hand, but Percy summons a wave which comes crashing down upon the god of war. With a quick strike, the hero slashes Ares, drawing Ichor, the golden blood of the gods.
Ares is defeated. True to his word, he leaves the Helm behind, but not before leaving a warning for the trio as his true form is revealed.
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover then find one of the furies, Alecto, in a nearby structure. Percy gives her her master’s helmet, pleading to ensure Hades keeps his promise of letting his mother go.
While acknowledging the quest to return the Bolt to Zeus has failed due to passing the due date, Percy insists that the weapon has to be returned to its rightful owner. Our hero then makes a brave journey to Mount Olympus, which is located on the very top of the Empire State Building, to present it to Zeus (Lance Reddick).
As Percy approaches, Zeus sits on his throne, expectant. Utterly disappointed, the king receives the bolt but maintains his wish to declare war. As he attacks Percy, Poseidon immediately appears to stop Zeus, surrendering in the process. Zeus, still bitter, announces his victory but agrees to inform the council of Kronos’ threat.
Percy then meets his father, face to face, for the first time. After an emotional moment, the sea god sends Percy back home to Camp Half-Blood, where he receives a hero’s welcome.
Rumours are circulating that Clarisse had been behind the theft of the weapon. However, Percy isn’t entirely convinced. His smarts eventually lead him to realise that Luke is the real mastermind behind this operation. While alone with Luke, Percy questions his loyalties and motivations, especially since Luke gave him the shoes which almost dragged him into the Tartarus pit.
Luke admits to his affiliation with Kronos, revealing that he is recruiting soldiers within Camp Half-Blood, ones that would see that the gods were not noble creatures, who just craved the demigods’ worship and utmost fidelity. Percy argues against this notion and the two eventually come to blows.
As Luke overpowers Percy, Annabeth takes off her invisibility cap and reveals herself, telling Luke that she heard the entire thing. Instead of fighting, Luke opens a portal and flees.
With the threads of his quest tying itself up, Hades returns Sally to the land of the living, Annabeth leaves to reconnect with her family, and Grover obtains his searcher’s license to look for Pan, the god of the wild.
Of course, the threat of Kronos still looms over the world. Percy receives a vivid dream about the Titan’s return as Kronos speaks of him being the key. Regardless, Percy brushes it aside, opting to embrace his mother, whom he had fought so hard for.
In a mid-credits sequence, Sally’s ex-husband, Gabe, finds himself locked out of the apartment. He notices a package that had been returned to the unit which contained Medusa’s decapitated head, opens it and is petrified.
While the series itself isn’t perfect, it is a huge improvement over the two movies that came before. For starters, the actors are significantly younger and closer in character to their book counterparts. Logan Lerman, who played Percy in the 2010 film was 17 when he filmed it. His co-stars, Alexandra Daddario and Brandon T. Jackson, who played Annabeth and Grover respectively, were in their 20s at the time.
In the series, the main trio are all below 20 years of age, which certainly helps as well due to the sometimes nonchalant, playful nature of Percy and his friends.
Besides, Rick Riordan’s closer production involvement allowed for more details and story beats to be played out with a deeper focus on what’s important. This time it isn’t just an abridged version where all the toys come out to play at one time. We still cannot believe that Kronos was introduced in the second movie and defeated within 5 minutes!
As long-time fans of the books, this brought us back to the magic within Riordan’s writing, a blend of Potter-esque kids with powers, all while circling in the giant sandbox of Greek mythology.
As we said, it’s still not perfect. While we appreciate the narrative that has been drawn out, allowing for more character development, lore expansion, and build-ups, there are still times when the pacing doesn’t do it right. We think that some of the structure could have had a little compromise to make certain beats hit harder.
Besides, we do agree that a few scenes from the 2010 film are conceived better. One that comes to mind is the scene where Percy is claimed by Poseidon. There seems to be a lack of impact during the lead-up and eventual claiming of Percy in the series. However, in the movie, there is a very real danger, and we see the effects flowing through our hero better.
Regardless, this was a good effort by Disney, the showrunners, Rick himself, and everybody else who worked on the show.
While no announcement has been made about a Season 2, it is very possible that it would be greenlit.
Let’s talk about the viability of such through the ratings first. According to a report from Deadline, the series has been doing admirable numbers as a streaming original. The premiere surpassed over 26 million views on Disney+ last week and the subsequent episodes have all averaged at 10 million in their first weeks of release.
We think that the ratings will be encouraging enough for Disney to proceed with the next chapter.
As we mentioned earlier, the season adapts the first book. It would be a safe bet that the next season would continue with the second entry, which is “Sea Of Monsters”.
The Sea of Monsters itself is a spin on the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. So, yes, peril awaits those who dare enter.
Now, “Sea Of Monsters” expands upon the world that has been established and introduces us to a myriad of new characters. These include Tyson, who is… Percy’s half-brother… and also a one-eyed baby cyclops. We also get to see Polyphemus, an adult cyclops, who is one of the main bosses in this story.
As for returning cast members, we can expect most of Camp Half-Blood to return although some characters, like Grover, might have a diminished role. On the other hand, Clarisse LaRue is one of those characters who will be more prominent due to her quest intertwining with Percy’s adventure.
We can expect Percy and Annabeth’s relationship to blossom further. Yes, it was kind of teased in that carnival love boat ride that the two rode on while “What Is Love” by Haddaway blares over the light show. Of course, this is a teen romance so it goes through ups and downs as they discover who they are and who they want to be.
Now, we have to address the situation when it comes to Lance Reddick’s Zeus. The talented actor sadly passed away in March last year, with this role being one of his final works.
Despite the lack of focus on him, Zeus’ presence is still vital and he plays an important part in the overarching narrative of Camp Half-Blood, the looming threat of Kronos, along with the council of the gods. It would be difficult to just leave Zeus out forever and not have him make an appearance from time to time.
Ultimately, we think that the best way to go about this is to recast the character with another talent. We also think that this would fit with the idea of the gods having multiple forms. Their true forms are not revealed and are not for human eyes, but their human ‘avatars’ are chosen and can be altered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHb7au6Gmls
“Percy Jackson And The Olympians” is currently streaming on Disney+.
