Many members of Generation Z grew up reading the bestselling series Percy Jackson and the Olympians by award-winning author Rick Riordan. On Wednesday, Dec. 19, the TV adaptation of the same name was released on Disney+, drawing in many fans both old and new.
Young actor Walker Scobell stars as Perseus ‘Percy’ Jackson, a 12-year-old boy who finds out he is the son of the Greek god Poseidon and finds himself at a camp for other demigods, Camp Half-Blood. Disney reports that Jackson, “[comes] coming to terms with his newfound divine powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. With help from his friends Grover [Aryan Simhadri] and Annabeth [Leah Sava Jeffries], Percy must embark on an adventure of a lifetime to find it and restore order to Olympus.”
Jeffries revealed on her Instagram story on Dec. 19 that the series premiere would be dropping one day earlier than expected, saying “Get ready for tonight. Yes, tonight.” This took many by surprise, with people flooding comment sections with comments such as “No! I have to study tonight!”
As of Jan. 18, six episodes have been released – one being equivalent to a chapter in the book. So far, sophomore Mia Siegel says her favorite episode is episode five, “A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers,” because of the “tunnel scene,” where Percy and Annabeth must travel through a Tunnel of Love ride to retrieve a shield belonging to Ares, the god of war. Siegel adds that choosing a favorite is “tough, because there are so many things to like in all of the episodes.”
Likewise, junior Charlotte Erisman also chose, “A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers” as her favorite episode so far. In particular, she emphasizes the scene at the end, where the trio parts ways with Ares and Grover tells the god of war, “Thanks for the emotional abuse…and the cheeseburgers.” She also adds that she thinks it was really funny when “What Is Love” by Haddaway started playing in the tunnel, and was very excited when Annabeth referred to Percy as, “Seaweed Brain,” which is a nickname that is beloved by the fandom. In the next episode, “We Take A Zebra To Vegas,” Percy calls Annabeth, “Wise Girl,” which Erisman also liked.
The series comes 13 years after a movie adaptation was produced for the books; however, the Percy Jackson fanbase was “frustrated” with these films, according to smithsverdict.com. Not only that, but Riordan himself describes watching the movies as, “my life’s work going through a meat grinder when I pleaded with them not to do it.”
Overall, Siegel says she “really likes the show so far.” Noting that there are some “inconsistencies” with the books, she continues that the “pacing and casting is so good that it doesn’t bug me like it often does when scenes are missing in a television adaptation.” Erisman adds that she likes “how in the show, they show the real or tragic stories of the different characters.” For example, Medusa (Jessica Parker Kennedy), who makes her debut in episode two – “I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom,” – is portrayed briefly as “a victim,” while in the fifth episode, Percy and Annabeth learn the full story of Hephaestus, the god of fire.
Siegel says that she appreciates that the actors are “just like their characters in real life and the cinematic effects and sets are just really well done.”
