Disney’s Percy Jackson And The Olympians Leaves Much To Be Desired
With two movies and a musical, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series added another adaptation to its portfolio— a streaming television series on Disney+.
The series features eight 30-40 minute episodes and has garnered a near-perfect score (92%) on Rotten Tomatoes.
Rick Riordan, the book’s author, was involved in various stages of the show’s development, including the casting and writing process. That’s a relief to fans who were eager for a faithful adaptation of the books.
Despite initial controversy surrounding casting because the actors didn’t look like the book describes them, the show’s leading trio—Walker Scobell, Leah Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri—blew it out of the water.
The TV series follows the plot of the first book, The Lightning Thief, in which 12-year-old Percy Jackson discovers he’s a demigod and Poseidon’s forbidden child after being accused of stealing Zeus’ lightning bolt.
Audiences follow Percy as he learns about himself through the trials and tribulations of being a half-blood (half-human and half-god). He embarks on a quest with his friends Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase to save his mom and restore peace to Olympus.
Like many adaptations, there are a few discrepancies between the show and the source material. A notable difference includes the severity of the characters. For example, Percy’s abusive stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, is portrayed as a comedic deadbeat. Other antagonists such as Luke Castellan and Zeus are also toned down. These changes could be due to Disney’s family-friendly brand.
The show adds more depth to certain characters. One of the most notable changes was Medusa. Originally a pretty one-dimensional villain, she is now portrayed as a victim of the Gods’ cruelty, adding a layer of moral grayness to the story. Percy and Poseidon’s relationship is also depicted with greater emotional intensity than in the books.
While most adaptations are not exactly like the original content, the show’s pacing leaves much to be desired. The episodes were not only extremely short, but many scenes were so short they left audiences unable to grasp more than a vague feeling for the characters.
Scenes felt like they were rushed and lacked depth, especially regarding character development. These deficiencies left viewers with little to no information on characters other than Percy, very little on Grover and Annabeth, and nothing left to endear viewers to other characters.
In addition, you would expect an action-packed show to have explosive, lengthy fight scenes with engaging fighting choreography, but that is not the case. The brevity of scenes in locations such as Camp Half-Blood and the Underworld makes it clear that much was left out, leaving much more unexplored than explored.
Despite the current trend for shows to have less than 10 episodes per season, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is far from conducive to the show’s success.
However, by the final episodes, the characters and plot finally started to gain momentum, leaving hopeful expectations for the second season, which was announced on Feb. 7. No official release date has been announced.
Regarding The Lightning Thief adaptations, Disney’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians was a step up from the movie and entertaining to the point that it leaves fans satisfied and ready for more. It’s a great introduction to Greek mythology, introducing characters in a digestible manner for audiences without prior knowledge.
