Photo: Disney+
After kicking off with its first three episodes, it seems that the highly anticipated Percy Jackson TV series is off to a strong start. The show follows young demigod Percy Jackson as he embarks on a thrilling quest to the Underworld to retrieve the king of the gods Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt. With stunning visuals, book-faithful world-building and characters, as well as a complex portrayal of Greek mythology, the first few episodes promise a wild adventure leaving fans hungry for more.
Percy’s story picks back up with Episode 4, “I Plunge to my Death.” After a near-fatal run-in with the cursed gorgon Medusa, Percy, Annabeth and Grover find themselves searching for refuge at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Unfortunately for the young heroes, their pitstop results in an encounter with Echidna: Greek mythology’s mother of all monsters. As she faces off with the trio at the top of the arch, Echidna summons one of her most lethal children of all:the Chimera—a fire-breathing beast with a lion’s head, goat’s body and serpent’s tail. Compared to the 2010s movies, this adaptation of the Percy Jackson series excels at introducing new monsters, featuring as many mythological creatures as possible.
Percy’s battle with the Chimera is one of the show’s most thrilling moments thus far. Hundreds of feet in the air, Percy struggles to avoid plummeting to his death as the fire-spewing beast charges at him. Unfortunately, as the episode’s title suggests, Percy does fall from the top of the arch into the Mississippi River, only to be rescued by the powers of his father, Poseidon, where Percy discovers his power to breathe underwater. In this moment, after years of resenting his father’s neglect, Percy learns that his father does indeed care about him, challenging the idea that gods are purely selfish beings who have no regard for their children as well as his notion that he will forever be neglected and alone in this new world without his mother by his side.
The first few episodes promise a wild adventure leaving fans hungry for more
Not only does this episode develop Percy’s relationship with his father, but it also does an incredible job of providing backstory on Annabeth and her relationship with her mother, Athena. After fleeing a toxic family life as a young child, Annabeth received guidance and support from Athena, resulting in Annabeth’s trust and love for her mother. However, when Athena is upset by Percy’s decision to ship Medusa’s severed head to Olympus as an act of resentment towards the gods, she immediately turns her back on her daughter too, stripping her of the protection Annabeth once had, and allowing her to nearly be killed by Echidna. While devastating, Athena’s cold rejection of her daughter is particularly interesting, as it parallels a common misogynistic theme that exists in Greek mythology: women being punished for the bad behavior of men. Just as Medusa was cursed for Poseidon’s decision to pursue her, Annabeth was punished for Percy’s rebellious outburst, proving how cruel and unforgiving the gods can be.
The juxtaposition of Athena’s cruelty versus Poseidon’s support further complicates viewers’ perception of the gods, an idea that is explored even more in Episode 5, “A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers.”
In this episode, the trio meets Ares, the god of war, who promises to assist them in their quest in exchange for the retrieval of his shield. Adam Copeland did an excellent job portraying the god, entertaining viewers with Ares’s charm, humor, and Twitter obsession, only to flip a switch and immediately become the terrifying, lethal god known to be responsible for centuries of violence and bloodshed. This depiction reveals the deceiving nature of the gods—how they can appear humanistic, but can just as easily destroy a person.
In search of Ares’s shield, Percy and Annabeth venture to an abandoned amusement park, created by Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths, while Ares forces Grover to stay back with him. The two end up on a love boat ride, floating down a tunnel to David Guetta’s “Baby Don’t Hurt Me,” an unexpected yet hilarious song choice for the scene. Surprisingly, this scene strays from the book, a change that would likely make any fan apprehensive, but ended up being just as enjoyable. Instead of getting swarmed by mechanical spiders like they were in the book, Percy and Annabeth are faced with Hephaestus’s golden throne: in exchange for Ares’s shield, someone needs to sacrifice themselves by sitting in it, turning them into gold. Percy sacrifices himself and sits on the throne, but fortunately, Hephaestus takes pity on him and undoes the curse, resulting in a sweet, tender moment as a crying Annabeth runs forward and embraces a rejuvenated Percy. Viewers even get to watch her call him “Seaweed Brain” for the first time, a nickname fans of the book series will instantly recognize and swoon over.
The show has had some witty moments, but ultimately, the tone is largely grave and serious
Even though it is not a part of the original novel, this rewritten scene develops Percy and Annabeth’s relationship so beautifully and shows just how much she is coming to care for him.
Also, this scene once again presents a different view of the gods through Hephaestus, who offers mercy and kindness to the demigods. The conflicting depictions of the gods introduced thus far (Poseidon, Athena, Ares and Hephaestus) leave viewers feeling completely torn: are the gods good or evil? Ruthless or merciful? Selfish or compassionate? It is this complicated characterization of the gods that makes the mythological aspect of the show so compelling, making it easily one of its greatest strengths so far.
However, after five episodes, one criticism is how lacking the show has been in humor. One of the biggest reasons why the PJO book series is so entertaining is because of its constant use of humor, even, no, especially in dire, life-threatening situations. After all, the main characters are kids—of course they’re going to have immature and goofy moments. Furthermore, many of these characters use humor as a coping mechanism to deal with the constant peril they’re living with and make sense of their dangerous, unpredictable world. The show has had some witty moments, but ultimately, the tone is largely grave and serious. It would benefit greatly from more witty jokes, especially from Percy, who, in the books, couldn’t go a single page without cracking a joke or making some sort of sarcastic remark.
Additionally, another noticeable flaw has been the show’s pacing. The big advantage of adapting each PJO novel into its own TV show season, rather than individual movies, is having so much more time to plot out the story and flesh out each plotline. But despite that, the show seems to move over each plot point extremely quickly. There isn’t enough build-up, anticipation, and intensity for the story’s most critical moments, causing some scenes to feel a little lackluster. As exciting as it is to see these moments brought to life, many of them have the potential to be much more action-packed and suspenseful.
As a whole, though, the show is still proving to be an enjoyable, worthy adaptation. The core actors continue to put on excellent performances that bring each beloved character to life, and despite some slight changes and pacing issues, the storyline remains largely true to its source material.
There isn’t enough build-up, anticipation, and intensity for the story’s most critical moments, causing some scenes to feel a little lackluster
With only three episodes left, the show is nearing its final stretch as Percy, Annabeth and Grover race against time to recover Zeus’s lost bolt. The stakes are climbing, and it seems that viewers are in for plenty of more twists and surprises in the climax to come.
