On Dec. 19, the first two episodes of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” based on the renowned book series of the same name by author Rick Riordan, came out on Disney+. Every Tuesday up to Dec. 30, a new episode has been released following the main character, Percy Jackson, and his two friends, satyr Grover and daughter of Athena Annabeth Chase, in their quest to return Zeus’ lightning bolt to him. The first season follows the story of the first book in Riordan’s series, titled “The Lightning Thief.”
Since the first episode, “I Accidentally Vaporized my Pre-Algebra Teacher,” Virginia Kull, the actress who plays Sally Jackson, Percy’s mother, established herself as one of the best — if not the best — actors in the show. Sally and Percy’s mother-son dynamic feels so real, and although Walker Scobell, Percy’s actor, is great, a lot of that is in part due to Kull’s skillful acting. She regards Percy like her own son, from the way she looks at him with so much unsaid emotion to the way she gets exasperated when he doesn’t listen — the latter especially seen in the final episode. Kull has a short monologue in the first episode where she tells Percy to “hold fast” and “brave the storm,” callbacks to something she told him in the second grade. It’s an incredibly emotional scene that Kull seems to execute so personally and hits home harder than many long-time book fans expected. Achieving such a holistic impact on a fandom this large is a great feat, one that Kull exceeded within the first episode.
On the topic of Sally, Gabe, her husband in the show played by Timm Sharp, was changed to be more of a comedic relief character in comparison to the mean stepfather he was in the books. This makes one question the sudden shift. In an article in TVLine, Executive Producer Rebecca Riordan explains, “When you see [his abusiveness] visually, it is triggering and difficult to watch.” This was the correct decision as this show is geared towards younger audiences, so seeing Sally and Gabe’s dynamic is relatively funny and a nice change of pace in contrast to the books — a change that does not make a detrimental impact on the story.
Not only did “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” change Gabe, but they also made other adjustments. There are many firm believers in keeping adaptations entirely aligned with the books they are based on — a “there is a script right there; why stray from it?” kind of mentality. Many avid “Percy Jackson” fans feel strongly about this after the disappointment of the first movie adaptation, titled “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.”
While there was a bit of bickering amongst fans over Scobell’s hair being dirty blonde and Percy’s hair in the book being described as black, the biggest controversy that came with this show was the diversity of the cast. A lot of the main characters are people of color, which is different from how they were described in the original books by Riordan. The author himself had a hand in selecting the cast and has outspokenly had no issue with these changes, but this still sparked lots of debate in the fandom, specifically when it came to Annabeth played by young African American actress Leah Sava Jeffries.
These changes do not hinder the show at all, and more representation of people of color in media inspires children of color to follow their dreams after seeing someone who looks like them be heroes on the big screen. Jeffries is a talented actress who perfectly portrays this fan-favorite character, and fans just cannot imagine a better Annabeth.
In general, fans were greatly pleased seeing Percy, Annabeth and Grover played by younger actors as portrayed in the true story. In the movie adaptation, they were aged up to be high schoolers, but in this show, they look, act and sound like twelve-year-olds (albeit, Grover sounds a bit older, but it is still accurate as he is canonically 25 years old). Scobell especially feels like a perfect fit for Percy as his prepubescent voice matches well with his character’s youthful naivety.
Verdict: “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” has a rich story, diverse characters and solid acting that veterans can enjoy while also enticing new viewers. This is the kind of show that will make you take a BuzzFeed quiz on who your godly parent is as you finish it.
