Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is built on a pretty interesting premise: What would happen if, in modern times, the children of the Greek gods were made aware of their parentage and found themselves in a tug-of-war between various gods for control of Mount Olympus? After all, what adolescent – and despite broad appeal, these stories are meant for young adult readers first and foremost – doesn’t love reading about the heroes, legends, monsters, and gods of Ancient Greece? I know I absolutely did at that age. So the story of a 12-year-old Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, embarking on a quest with Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and Grover, a satyr sworn to protect Percy, to find Zeus’ lightning bolt that has been stolen by Hades (who has also stolen Percy’s mother) is a heck of story to watch. I just wish the Disney+ television series was better.

Now, this is where I should say that the initial two episodes of the television series are leagues better than the much maligned 2010 attempt to turn the book series – from Rick Riordan, who was not involved in writing the films but was heavily involved in the writing of the television series – into a film series, so, if you are looking for an upgrade on that debacle, you’ll be thrilled. After all, having a TV series means that you can provide additional time for plot points and characters to breathe, developing arcs and characters in ways a film cannot. And, to a point, the television series has done that. But much to my disappointment, the series doesn’t manage to take advantage of that extra time and space to craft a story that is layered and grounded in this world.

Sure, the initial introduction to the world of the gods and Camp Half-Blood should be frenzied and confused – after all, Percy is confused and unprepared for this new reality he finds himself in, so the viewer should be as well. But it was the choice not to spend an entire episode laying out this new world – a world where the children of the gods train together, build alliances and learn about their parents and their own unique abilities – that is first major misstep in the series. I can understand wanting to keep episode run times low, but the second episode of the series rushes through explanations of the Camp, the key characters we will need to recall over the course of the series – as several recur throughout various books, with varying degrees of importance – all while pushing Percy toward his quest. Now, I’m sure we’ll get to know much more about Annabeth and Grover as the story goes on – as they are the Hermione and Ron to Percy’s Harry Potter in this hero’s journey tale – but this was a golden opportunity to really flesh out some of the other characters and explore how the different gods treat their offspring. Sitting in Camp Half-Blood and taking the time to get to know the set-up and ease into the world of the gods would have been a net positive for the series. Instead, the first two episodes are both rushed and chaotic beyond the need to show Percy’s own confusion – and that means we, as the audience, don’t get the time we need with the characters and get the chance to immerse ourselves into this world as well.

The other issue with the series thus far is it’s casting of is titular character. When it comes to the adults in the story, it’s a murderer’s row of talented actors. And when it comes to the other two leads – Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth and Aryan Simhadri as Grover – the series is in good hands. But, as hard as it is to cast young actors who need to carry an entire story (seriously, ask Daniel Radcliffe what he thinks about some of his early work in Harry Potter, and you’ll hear how he is less than impressed with his work), Walker Scobell’s Percy doesn’t hit the notes he needs to. And it’s not an easy ask: Percy needs to be skeptical and lost in the early episodes then grow into a hero as the story continues, gaining confidence in his abilities and trust in his new friends, while also still working as an audience surrogate as he explores this new world of monsters and gods. But Scobell is just a blank slate, without direction, which means Percy also becomes lost in the world around him. There needs to be a spark, a charisma that make us want to follow him on his quest. Instead, we’re left wondering why anyone would want to team up with him and how he might have the abilities to survive this journey since we never saw him make the leap from confused kid to potential hero (and part of that is absolutely the fault of the writing that pushes the story too far too fast when it comes to Percy’s journey).

So, if you’re a fan of the book series, there’s much more here to like than there was in the films, although the series is still unable to take advantage of the one things television has over film: the chance to dig deeper and really understand the characters at hand. If the show was able to do that and not simply jump from key plot point to plot point in a race to hit them all before the season comes to a close, this series could be something special. As it is, it’s just alright.