Stepping into realms where Greek gods clash and ancient prophecies unfold, Disney+’s highly anticipated adaptation of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” follows demigod Percy Jackson on his quest to recover Zeus’ thunderbolt and most importantly, save his mother. With the previous adaptation of Rick Riordan’s tween phenomenon series universally hated by readers, critics, and Riordan himself, Disney+ was tasked with a seemingly easy job: make this adaptation better than the last. However, even with Riordan’s input, the live-action show checked all the boxes but lost the youthful charm and chaos essential to the books.
The show’s first season consisting of eight episodes, adapted the book’s pilot novel, “The Lightning Thief.” Suddenly thrust into the world of Greek gods, monsters, and magic, troubled preteen Percy (Walker Scobell) accompanied by best friends Annabeth Chase (Leah Jeffries) and Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri) embark on a quest that could wreak havoc on the world they know.
Considering the original book series provided younger readers with their first foray into Greek mythology, the show’s pacing worked counterintuitively. To new fans unfamiliar with Greek gods, the premise is overwhelming. The first three episodes lacked momentum as the combination of fight scenes, emotional outbursts, and exposition blurred into each other and confused viewers. Cramming 22 chapters into eight 45-minute episodes, the series glossed over pivotal scenes and ineffectively explained the mythology and background needed for quests.
Percy, Grover, and Annabeth are one step ahead as they predict the conflicts to come, losing the charming awkwardness of discovery. At the age of 12, they are confident and swift in their conquests, no longer seeming like kids who are learning to navigate a dangerous world but rather experienced fighters. As a result, the tense action scenes that populated the books were sparse in the show, and the characters often ended up catching the viewers up to speed with dialogue — a classic case of telling rather than showing.
Seen in scenes with the sinister Procrustes and cunning Medusa, the characters solved daunting, puzzling tasks in a matter of minutes, abandoning the high-stakes, suspenseful nature of the series. Especially seen in Episode 6, where the heroes enter the Lotus Casino, a place where time runs faster due to the magical lotus flowers pumped into the air. In the books, the trio falls into the trap and lose themselves in the discothèque atmosphere, only to realize their mistake when they accidentally encounter a kid from another decade. However, in the show, the logic behind the Lotus Casino isn’t explained at all and the god, Hermes blatantly reveals the secret, which is a cop-out for bad writing.
While “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” aims to immerse longtime fans and new viewers in enchanting reimaginations of Camp Half-Blood, it falls short due to its excessive reliance on dialogue-heavy storytelling. Now confirmed for season two, fans can hope for an adaptation that not only stays true to the books but brings it to life.
