Season 1 of the highly-anticipated Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians finally came to an end last week with the release of the series finale, creating conflicting opinions among fans of the original books. This beloved middle-grade book series by Rick Riordan follows Percy Jackson, a twelve-year-old kid from New York City as he finds out he is a demigod and is sent on a quest to retrieve the Greek god Zeus’s stolen master bolt. Although reviews of the new TV series are generally positive (with a 92% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.2/10 on IMDb), some fans have taken issue with the changes from the source material and general direction of the show.
Riordan and the show’s team haven’t stayed silent on the changes to the original plotline. In an interview with The Direct, the series’ executive producer Jon Steinberg shared his perspective on Riordan’s decision to modify the story’s trajectory:
“He [Riordan] wrote that book 20 some odd years ago, and you don’t get a second draft… And I think it was exciting and fun for him to sit in conversation about, ‘Alright, let’s rip the lid off this thing again.’”
After the 2010 Percy Jackson movies, despised by both the readers and the author himself, fans were very worried about the possibility of their favorite details from the book not making it to the screen. However, with the show’s release, many long-time book fans seemed to enjoy the changes to the story after all.
Below are 3 things that the Percy Jackson TV series did amazingly… and maybe even better than the book.
SPOILER ALERT: This list contains spoilers for season 1 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+!
3. Sally Jackson
Hold fast. Brave the storm
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, S01:E01
A constant source of support for her son Percy, Sally Jackson has been a fan-favorite since the original books were published. The series, however, expands what the viewer already knows of Sally, limited by Percy’s first-person narration, and provides flashbacks into her time raising Percy. These scenes expand on her already admirable character and make the viewer more sympathetic to the struggles she faced as a single mother to a powerful demigod. Fans also get a more emotional glimpse into her relationship with Poseidon, only briefly touched upon in the source material, as he visits her in a moment of weakness and provides her the support she needs to make a tough decision.
2. The Tunnel of Love
He isn’t that way. He’s better than that. Maybe I was that way once, but I don’t want to be that way anymore.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, S01:E05
As if “Baby Don’t Hurt Me” suddenly playing as Percy and Annabeth ride a boat through the Tunnel of Love isn’t enough, the series adds to the already iconic scene by doubling down on how messed up the gods’ family dynamic seems to be. While the spider attack in the books was definitely missed, the new challenge set in the show increases the stakes for Percy and Annabeth as they are forced to choose who must sacrifice themself for the sake of the quest. The result is an emotional scene where the viewer sees the development of the pair’s friendship and Annabeth’s character growth as she confronts the god Hephaestus in order to save her friend.
1. Luke’s Betrayal
I didn’t think you’d give them to Grover to wear.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, S01E08
Undoubtedly the most shocking reveal of The Lightning Thief, Luke’s betrayal was a huge turning point for the series and set the stage for all major conflicts to come. In the books, Luke intends to kill Percy by poisoning him with a scorpion after revealing his identity as the true lightning thief. However, the TV series takes a different, more emotional approach by having Luke implore Percy to join him in his crusade against the gods. This leads to a climactic sword fight between Percy and Luke, who had taught Percy how to use his sword in the first place. The show builds up to this moment from the first episode to the last by exploring the gods’ injustice so that Percy and the viewers themselves understand Luke’s motivations. To top it all off, the new inclusion of Annabeth as a witness to Luke’s betrayal adds a whole new level of heartbreak for all characters involved and foreshadows much more to come.
You can stream season 1 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+.