First, they were books, then they were movies, then a musical, and now they’re a TV series. The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan has seen many different adaptations over the years. The final episode of the first season aired on January 30th, 2024, and left longtime fans divided on whether or not the show was actually good.
Fans of the books were unhappy when the Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters movies came out (in 2010 and 2013 respectively). The film adaptations had failed to stay faithful to the book series, and viewers were disappointed. There was also a lesser-known stage adaptation in 2014, a musical written by Rob Rokicki. The musical version was generally well-received by audiences, though it didn’t do very well during its Broadway run. The musical also wasn’t entirely accurate to the books, though most of that can be attributed to the limitations of stage work.
The new TV show kept up this trend, as many changes (some small and some large) were made to the plot for this new version of the story. Some viewers were upset by the casting decisions, as the actors cast in the lead roles didn’t fit their vision of the characters from the books. Others argued that it’s acting skills that matter, not looks. For actors as young as they are (Walker Scobell, who plays Percy, is only fifteen years old), they did a wonderful job portraying the characters. The casting directors knew what they were doing.
Others were more offended by the changes made to the story. The show makes an effort to make the Greek gods appear more sympathetic than they did in the books. Instead of being narcissistic parents who don’t care about their kids, they are tragic heroes who can’t spend time with their children due to rules that have been put in place. It’s an odd change to make, considering the gods ranged from morally grey to villains in the books.
There were also complaints that the series has made Percy too competent. A huge part of his character development is that he has no idea what he’s doing in the beginning, and grows to be a powerful hero by the end of the book series. In the show, he starts already well-educated on Greek myths and stories. This may take away from his character development in the long run.
To be fair, it would be difficult to portray the events of the books completely accurately on a screen. For an adaptation, the new show was pretty entertaining. The biggest issue is how obvious it is that it’s an adaptation. It doesn’t stand alone, functioning more as an accessory to the book series. A lot of what happens in the show requires the context from the books.
Overall, though, the show isn’t bad. It’s just not what a lot of people were expecting. It has been renewed for a second season, so we’ll see what happens then.
