If you were obsessed with the Percy Jackson books in the fifth grade like me, then you also most likely had very high expectations for the new TV show adaptation. You also probably witnessed the terrible movie adaptation that came out in 2010. Well, I’m here to tell you if the show is truly worth the watch. Before you start reading, I would just like to say that this review contains a few spoilers up to episode six.
For those of you who have never read the books, here’s a little bit of background information: the story revolves around a troubled 12-year-old, Percy Jackson (played by Walker Scobell in the show), who resides in New York with his mother, Sally Jackson (Virginia Kull). We learn that Percy isn’t just an average kid, but (spoiler alert) a demigod. Ultimately, Percy gets thrown into a world full of monsters, gods and quests, discovering friends and foes along the way.
It was an incredible idea to have Rick Riordan (the author of the original book series) directly involved with the production process. This is what gave readers of the books a bit of hope for the show, as I can definitely say this was true for me. In terms of the casting, Scobell makes an excellent Percy Jackson, sass and all. The dynamic between him and his best friend in the show, Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri), and his other best-friend-soon-to-be-girlfriend, Annabeth Chase (Leah Jeffries), stays faithful to the book (thank you for actually getting their ages right) and honestly exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed seeing the three of them bring the characters to life while adding their own spin.
The pacing within the show is also pretty good and sets it up for future seasons. My only concern with this is the possibility of the actors beginning to age out and look older than the characters, which we have seen happen with shows like “Stranger Things.” Finally, the addition of easter eggs for fans of the books within the show is brilliant, specifically within the sixth episode of the series, “We Take a Zebra to Vegas.” You can actually hear Nico di Angelo crying out his sister’s name, Bianca, at the Lotus Casino (it’s true, I saw it on TikTok.) Hopefully, we’ll get to see these two major characters in future seasons.
Now, I would be lying if I said there wasn’t anything I would change. There were definitely a few things I found a bit questionable within some of the episodes. Initially, I felt that certain deviations from the book were unnecessary. For example, when the kids meet Medusa in the third episode, they know her identity right away; in the book, it takes them longer to realize. Staying faithful to the book could have heightened this episode in particular as well as the overall suspense of the show. On the contrary, I did appreciate them diving into Medusa’s backstory, depicting her more as a victim rather than a villian.
In addition, I felt that important details from the books were being omitted, such as the elaborate description of the Lotus Casino. In the series, it appeared to be a typical Las Vegas casino, falling short of the vivid portrayal in the books and leaving many fans feeling let down. There were a number of other instances where specific references in the book could have been handled better.
At the end of the day, it’s important to take all of this with a grain of salt. It is completely understandable that the show cannot be 100% accurate to the books. The active participation of Riordan within the directing process instills a sense of confidence in me regarding this new adaptation. Now that all episodes are out, I would most definitely recommend it to new fans. For those of you true book fans out there, I would say to go into it with an open mind. You might just be surprised.