For the most part, this is an enjoyable adaptation of the book that feels genuine to the characters and story. I was a massive fan of the Percy Jackson books as a kid and it's fun being able to dive back into that world today as an adult. The first couple of episodes really sold me on the show and while I don't think the rest of the adventure ever lived up to the excitement and intrigue promised in the beginning, I still had an excited anticipation each week to watch the latest episode all the way through to the end, although I bet a lot of that was due to my history with and love for the books. At the end of the day this opening season didn't live up to the expectations I had after the first couple of episodes and as a whole I think this was decent at best, but I'm still happy to have this IP back and will be looking forward to watching more.
Season 1 of Percy Jackson showcased a lot of growing pains, though there was potential for this series to hit its stride eventually. One of the biggest flaws for me was changing the characters to somehow be too smart compared to their book counterparts. They quickly figure out a variety of threats right away, and this strips away so much tension. In fact, most changes seem to be directionally driven to reduce the stakes. It does allow for the characters to explore the messed-up nature of the myths around the gods in more depth, but it also means that some episodes feel very lifeless. This is not helped by the fact that our kid actors are frankly not the greatest, often struggling to emote and create urgency through their acting. If we compare it to say something like The Last of Us, I think it becomes much more evident how the acting and changes via adaptation are a lot lower tier than they could have been. Another issue I had with this show is the format. Conceptually, PJO lends itself well to a monster-of-the-week style TV show. And certainly, the episodes are more or less split along these lines. However, the individual episodes tend to blur together in my mind because each episode struggled to create strong episodic arcs, and the monsters/visuals/style/cinematography simply do not stand out. There is a perfunctory nature to most of the episodes frankly.
Why then do I claim it has potential? Because the season finale was significantly stronger than the rest, and it showcased a path forward for the show. It felt like the season was rushing to get to the big moments at the end, but once there, the production looked much sharper, the acting improved, and the directing allowed tension to surface, both in terms of the larger stakes in the world as well as the more intimate character emotional stakes. If this episode becomes a blueprint for season 2, then there is hope for this series overall. However, I do think the showrunners need to spend a lot of time reflecting on what did not work in season 1, especially when it comes to changes from the book. I am always a proponent of making changes during adapting source material so it better suits the new medium, yet these changes felt much more within the mindset of still writing a book, not creating a TV show.
Great first season. Nice watching one episode per week.
However the story was so fast, no time to breathe.
That was a good first season! Loved the overall way it is kept very truthful to the source novel.
Character casting was on point, and Schobell has done a stellar job in Percy's role! Would love to see where Disney take this next season!
I’m enjoying this show overall. Lots of little laughs and I enjoy seeing so many actors I know. It’s like watching a mini movie every week.
My daughter who is Percy obsessed also likes the show and giggles at it quite a bit. As someone who is only a little older than Percy - it seems she can relate to the characters. The hardest part of watching with her is her constantly explaining how it should have went based on the book … overall she likes it though and wishes they could have made even more episodes with allllll the extra details lol.
Shout by syeuk2002BlockedParent2024-02-01T18:30:15Z
Percy Jackson and the Olympians kicks off season one with a visually stunning and faithful adaptation of the book, seamlessly integrating modern themes. However, the series falters in the latter half with a noticeable decline in storytelling.
Unfortunately, the writers stray from the engaging narrative of the first book, opting for excessive exposition on future plots, resulting in a lackluster and confusing conclusion.
The last three episodes suffer from boredom and a messy plot, diminishing the overall impact of an otherwise promising start.