Percy Jackson and the Olympians

This Tuesday, the season finale of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was released on Disney+. Percy Jackson and the Olympians follow 12-year-old Percy Jackson as he learns he is a part of the world of Greek gods and monsters. When he is blamed for stealing Zeus's master bolt, Percy and his friends must journey across America to find the bolt and clear his name. The Percy Jackson series is one of my favorite book series of all time so when I heard they were making a TV show, I was very excited. The first movie go around was not good so I was hoping this version would do the story right.

To cut right to the chase, I was very happy with this show. The show does a great job of staying accurate to the book and for the most part, only changes things that wouldn't translate well to screen. I thought the casting here was great. The three main actors do a great job portraying Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Here they are the correct age to play the characters which already puts them above the actors from the original movie. I thought the show did a great job with its pacing. There were never any filler episodes as any "filler chapters" from the book got included in an episode with an important event. I also liked how the ending wasn't too rushed. Too many TV shows do a great job up until the last couple of episodes and then rush through the ending. This managed to keep the same pacing the entire time and produced an ending that was both satisfying and natural. I also felt that the show does a great job of building out this world. In each episode, we get to encounter some sort of Greek element whether it be a monster or a god such as Hermes, Ares, Hephaestus, Hades, Zeus, or Poseidon. The inclusion of the gods in the episodes was also very well done as none of them really felt shoehorned in. Finally, I felt the show did a great job of translating the book to the screen. The characters all match their portrayals in the book and most of the events are pretty much exactly how I pictured them.

There are only a few issues I have with the show. One of the biggest issues was there were a few changes from the book that I wasn't on board with. One of the biggest changes was the timing of the summer solstice. I felt how it was changed in the show kind of impacted the stakes at the end. I also wasn't a fan of the Lotus Casino portrayal. It didn't quite live up to the potential that was in the book. Even not basing it on the book, I felt the Lotus Casino episode was the weakest of the season. Finally, I felt that the show loses a bit of the Percy POV we get from the book. We get to see some of his viewpoints but without the narration he gives in the book some of his perspectives just get a bit lost.

Overall, this was a great job that had great world-building, fun characters, and an exciting. Most of my hang-ups are because I read the book but I still think a lot of people, fans of the book or not, are going to enjoy this show.

Score: 9/10 Grade: A Recommendation: Check it out so they'll make another season