In the Disney+ Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, book fans finally get an adaptation that’s worthy of the gods. Capturing all the humor, heart, and heroics of Rick Riordan’s beloved series while adding some thoughtful new dimensions to the story, the series overall is a delightfully nostalgic watch for people like me who fondly remember sneakily reading The Lightning Thief underneath their desk in elementary school. Although I wasn’t 100 percent on board with all of the changes and omissions, holistically, I think it is a fabulous adaptation that really does do the book justice. If you have not watched the show yet (and I highly encourage you to do so), do as Percy says and “turn away while you still can,” because my reviews will contain spoilers! Without further ado, here are my thoughts on each episode, ordered from least to most liked!
Episode 4: Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with episode 4, it was just aggressively meh. It was also one of the shortest episodes of the show, which was heartbreaking considering we had to wait a whole week for it! I did enjoy the addition of having Athena refuse Annabeth sanctuary at the arch, as this added another layer to the complexity of the gods’ parental roles. It also helps to later justify Luke’s betrayal and Percy’s confrontation with Zeus. I was also thrilled we actually got to see the chihuahua! However, as a book purist, I was a bit disappointed by some of the deviations, specifically the portrayal of Echidna. Don’t get me wrong, she was still formidable . . . but in a different way. She just wasn’t as gaudy and campy as I pictured her in the books, nor did she go full-blown monster mode. My main criticism, if I had to give one for the series as a whole, is that it often hesitates to be as goofy as the book series. Take the way the gods — or characters like Echidna — are dressed as an example. Maybe it would be too cartoonish for a live action medium, but in the books, Ares has fireballs in his eyes, Poseidon wears a Hawaiian t-shirt, and even the gods’ thrones on Olympus are distinctly decorated. The books embrace the silliness, and I just feel like the show has a disappointing tendency to shy away from a lot of the goofier aspects.
Episode 6: This episode was definitely the most disappointing for me, because the casino scene is one of the most iconic parts of the book.I was sad that we really didn’t get to see much of the hotel itself, and aside from the VR games, it was pretty much a normal casino. In the books, the whole point of the casino is that it’s fun and believably enticing to a twelve-year-old, so wondrous it’s almost like a mini theme park. Again, this is what I mean when I say the show just doesn’t seem to push the envelope on the more cartoonish elements of the book and seems to try to tone them down to be more “realistic” (if a show about demigods can even be realistic). The show also has an irritating trend of having the trio always know when they’re walking into a trap. While I suppose this is more believable since they don’t want to make the kids constantly oblivious (especially Annabeth, who’s always “six steps ahead” of everyone else), it takes away a lot of the fun and suspense when the trio explains everything to us before it can happen. That being said, the interaction with Hermes was, in my opinion, a smart addition. I loved the added layers it provided to Luke’s character, further troubling the characterization of the gods. The Percy driving scene was hilarious as well, and it really captured the chaotic energy of the trio. If nothing else, the characterization of the main three is consistently on point in every episode, so that is something I have no complaints about, no matter how the plot deviates!
Episode 7: I think this episode falls so low on the list just because of how high my expectations were going into it. I mean, it’s the Underworld episode—what the entire season has been building to! Percy has a lot of great quips (“only suckers wait in line”), but the desert aesthetic of the Underworld was just kind of off and not what I pictured, as was the case with the Fields of Asphodel (fields, not forest, guys). The Cerberus scene, however, was great. I think the show does justice to portraying Annabeth’s background and her troubled relationship with both her godly and human parent, so that was both a fun scene and also an emotional one. The Tartarus scene was also great and very book-faithful. I was, however, very upset by the change of having Annabeth sent back early, which seemed completely unnecessary to me, because then she wasn’t in the entire rest of the episode! Also, justice for Crusty; his time was so short! And again, Percy knew the trap as he walking into it. I wish we’d actually had Grover and Annabeth get stuck on the beds to be “stretched” instead of Crusty just talking about doing it — it totally makes a bummer of what could have been a really fun scene. I also found the portrayal of Hades a bit odd because they chose to make him this quirky, chill guy instead of the formidable god of the dead with a cloak literally made out of tortured faces. Weirdly enough, though, Charon — who’s such a fun character in the books — barely gets any screen time and is reduced to just a stereotypical spooky guy instead of his much goofier book counterpart, a posh recording studio employee who loves Italian suits. I also wish we’d gotten the “we died in a bathtub” moment. The episode wasn’t terrible, it just certainly wasn’t as good as the book. I suppose all of my criticisms are very nitpicky, and I know the show has a limited runtime and can’t include everything, but I wish the creators had snuck in a few more book details here and there and preserved more of the original aesthetic.
Episode 1: There’s a big quality difference from this point onward from 4, 6, and 7, so don’t take episode 1 being fourth from the bottom as a sign I didn’t like it! I think episode 1 is a fantastic first episode and a great pull into the story, but comparatively, I just happened to like the episodes higher up in the ranking a bit more! One thing I love about this show and the changes it makes to the book is how much it fleshes out Sally and Percy’s relationship (as well as Sally herself), and I love that the first episode begins in a way that so clearly roots the show in their dynamic. The introduction of all the characters is great, and I think Aryan Simhadri in particular really shines as Grover. His delightful take on the character is so perfectly earnest and awkward, and the entire montage of Percy and Grover’s friendship at Yancy literally made me want to go through the screen and hug them because I just love these characters so much! The entire journey to Camp Half-Blood, and especially the Minotaur fight, was incredible. I love how much more active Sally is as a character, actually talking back to Gabe, and even taking the Minotaur on herself! The whole “hold fast” flashback and the callback to it at the end of the episode was so well-written and heart-wrenching and, again, really highlights the relationship between Percy and Sally as the heart and soul of the story.
Episode 2: I mean, how could you not love this episode? We spend the entire duration of it at Camp Half-Blood in all its glory! The t-shirts, the cabins, the lake, the strawberry fields — it all feels straight from the books in the most wonderful way, and it actually feels like a summer camp (except, you know, a summer camp where the campers learn archery and to-the-death sword fighting). The casting for all the side characters is so on-point, with Clarisse, Mr. D, and Luke being the obvious standouts (I’m so glad we got a “Peter Johnson” moment). Capture the flag was so fun to watch, especially the Percy-goofing-off-on-guard-duty montage, which captured his energy so well. The inclusion of other small details and scenes like the burnt offerings (and the added detail of having Percy burn his blue candy to try to contact his mom *sobs*) and the bathroom scene made me so happy. The episode also establishes Percy’s little brother/big brother dynamic with Luke so well, and the instant belonging he finds with Luke makes the eventual betrayal all the more heartbreaking. Charlie Bushnell is so perfect in this role and so overwhelmingly cool that he wins you over even when you know the path he takes in later books *cries in The Last Olympian.* That being said, I demand justice for the Big House and Argus, and I was sad that the “you drool while you sleep” scene was so short.
Episode 5: This episode was so much fun, and Adam Copeland brings the perfect balance of fun and fury to the role of Ares. His monologue in the diner was a particular standout, really helping us as viewers to better understand the gods, their logic, and the way that their family works. This episode is definitely for the Percabeth shippers (that hug at the beginning of the episode!!), and although a lot of things were changed from the book, I think they were smart changes in terms of making the begrudging tolerance to friendship shift believable between the two — you really see the moment that these two build a genuine trust and bond with one another. The “What is Love (Baby Don’t Hurt Me)” addition was so unexpected but so perfect.Annabeth’s monologue was also a great change that provided so much more depth to her own personal journey across the series beyond her role as Percy’s quest partner. We also got our first “Seaweed Brain” name drop in this episode, which had me giggling and kicking my feet. Also, we see the Fates for the first time! I have to say, Hephaestus, though, was not at all how I pictured him — he looked way too neat, frail, and put-together. I could not imagine this man getting his hands dirty, like, he was serving major liberal arts college English professor vibes.
Episode 3: This episode and episode 8 definitely tie as my favorites of the season. I adore the characterization of the trio that we get as we watch the first part of their quest unfold, from the enemies/friends dynamic between Percy and Annabeth, to Grover as the eternal(ly ignored) mediator. The “consensus” song was such a delightful addition and just so Grover, and when Percy sang it at the end? Perfection. I just love this trio so much. There are also so many great Persassy moments that prove Walker Scobell truly was made for this role (“our voting system is broken,” “she met a pinecone’s fate,” and “I am impertinent” to name a few). Of course, I can’t talk about this episode without also talking about “Aunty Em.” Jessica Parker Kennedy was a phenomenal Medusa, sympathetic yet also bone-chilling in the role. I absolutely love how much they flesh out her character by providing more of her actual background. She’s turned into a sympathetic figure with actual dimension, but she’s also still an incredible villain. She sets up a pivotal moment in Percy’s internal conflict between wanting approval from his father and the gods, but also deciding that he wants to be different.
Episode 8: Episode 8 was an incredible culmination of the entire season, everything I could have hoped for from start to finish! The Ares fight was so epic, that Kronos dream sequence twist was insane, the trio’s hug and pact did indeed bring out happy tears. But the standout by far was the betrayal scene. Charlie Bushnell truly is the perfect actor for Luke, and the subtleties of his acting and the changes in his expression as his betrayal is revealed were just incredible. He captures the complications of Luke’s character so well in the sense that what he says does make sense, but when Percy cuts him and apologizes and then Luke lashes back without any hesitation, you really can see his darker, corrupted nature. So well-acted on both sides. I only wish that after Annabeth says she “saw everything” that they lingered a bit more on her reaction and her sense of betrayal vs. just Percy’s. I also LOVED the addition of the Sally and Poseidon scene, which was so unexpected but also a great character moment. And don’t even get me started on the “do you ever dream about mom?” scene. TEARS!! You really get a sense of how much Poseidon cares about Sally and Percy (in his own weird, distant, godly way). It’s almost enough to make you an Olympian apologist (emphasis on almost). I also loved that Percy totally gave it to Zeus in the throne room, really tying together the confrontation the whole season had been leading to: the gods are imperfect beings whose authority shouldn’t be blindly accepted, and Percy (and Annabeth) decides he isn’t going to follow that path. My only nitpicky complaints were that they chose to make Hades’ helm just a stereotypical Greek helmet instead of a ski mask, once again toning down the goofiness and modern twists to make it more serious and mature. Part of me wishes Sally had directly turned Gabe to stone instead of him discovering the package and opening it himself, because that would have played into the “Sally saving herself” idea a bit more. That being said, I do get that this is a show for kids, and since they omitted the domestic abuse plotline, Gabe really isn’t evil enough in the show to justify that plotpoint.
While the series definitely does change or leave out a lot of plot points from the book, I think it’s fair to say that the heart of the story and the essence of the characters remains intact. While I struggled to get on board with some of the changes, others added so much more depth to the characters and enabled people like me, who have read the books and thought they knew what to expect, to be tossed some surprises and thrills. The performances were all amazing, and I feel as connected to these kids as their book counterparts. I am so grateful to be alive to witness this show as it is coming out in real time, and it truly made my nerd heart so happy. I’ll be counting the days until we get season two!