Percy Jackson: An Unfortunate Disappointment

[@reneecoons5057]

They left out the fact they were hungry and exhausted the whole time. They didn't get to change clothes until they raided the amusment park gift shop. They didn't get to shower until the Lotus Hotel. Part of the reason they didn't pick up on things is because they were to tired and hungry to take notice.

[@Irose_YTBE]

It's so disappointing that this show didn't go THERE. The books are fun and adventurous and youthful but they're also really gritty and serious. The show just misses all of these things

[@reactiverbossnetwork7619]

Literally made the obstacles in the quest seem not as impactful because we didn’t see the toll it took on them physically, like imagine Percy and Annabeth coming out of Tartarus without any injuries, with clean clothing, and perfectly showered

[@solmarcet6157]

THIS!!! THIS!!!! Literally the reason why they went into Medusa's house even when Grover said he smelled monsters was that they were starving. The reason why they accepted the room in the Lotus Casino even though they realized the whole situation was weird is that they would be able to shower and sleep in an actual bed. I don't remember well but I think those are basically the same reasons why they fall into Circe's trap in The Sea Of Monsters. A lot of the times they do acknowledge the circumstances are a bit suspicious from the beginning, but fall into it anyways because they're hungry, tired KIDS.

[@esharp86]

That makes a lot of sense. I went in blind to this series and was very confused by the nonchalance that these pre-teens exhibited after being sent out to do something impossible. It’s hard to drive across the country in 3 days, but they’re like “meh the bus didn’t work let’s walk.” And the just seemed to meander from encounter to encounter, like a dnd party that kept missing hooks so the dm just had to have the plot ambush them on the way.

[@abominable.7800]

adding to the element this show forgot, that they are just kids. Kids talk a big game but when it comes to life and death situations sometimes they're more reluctant to take a a sketchy adults for help. it also didnt feel like a journey, in LOTR we see how much of a toll it takes on frodo and sam to walk all the way to mordor, Now im not saying getting o the underworld is like mordor but those actors looked and felt exhausted and tired, so much so they wen to gollum for help.

[@faithhaight]

I wish the kids were allowed to organically figure out who the monsters are, not Percy every 5 seconds going "I know who you are" like a mini Sherlock Holmes.

[@izachi-chan2432]

Exactly. And that's the fun about the books! You get to figure out the Monsters with the characters

[@ltlmissscareall]

there are times in the books percy (and the readers) don’t even know what they’re fighting until it’s completely over and they talk about it. the show could have done w some of that

[@GustavoFernandesKing]

the books are kinda of that in a way, but it's really hard to translate that to video. The later two series, Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo both had a glossary with all the terms and names.

[@leftpawedpolarbear]

My sense is this change was an attempt to account for how much more *fans* tend to know about greek mythology now, simply by virtue of the phenomenon that the books became. I don’t think it was successful, necessarily, but I do see where they were coming from?

[@Plackowicz]

I think it was okay. Percy both in the book and in the serial is new to this thing, and knows about a few things. But Annabeth knows about the truth for a while, and as a very smart person, she probably thought that knowlage from the myths is valuable. Annabeth is executed better than in the first book. They show that she is smart, and not tell us that she is smart but can't figure out the most well known monster from Greek mythology by a filed of stone statues. And tbh, how many new viewers knew who Echidna or Procrustes is before watching the show. TLDR: Characters are not idiots

[@guccifer764]

The woobiefication of Hades in media is annoying. Yes, Hades is uncommonly sympathetic for a Greek god, but he's still a Greek god. He can be vindictive, petty, and a generally unpleasant person. He's not an emo sad-boy, he's a burned out Walmart manager who hates his job.

[@morpho_portis]

Never heard a more accurate description 🤣

[@TheB016]

Yesss, that's crazy because in the books he always seemed more reasonable but we still felt a lot of tension when he was around, like he could change his mind at any moment.

[@FelisImpurrator]

Hades from Hades: Technically both. Emo sad boy under a rock-hard facade of stern, emotionally distant, controlling dad.

[@soph996]

I saw so many people justify this Hades bc "yeah, that is Nico DiAngelo's dad lol" but no, that doesn't make this fruity knock-off a good Hades. He was described as the first god that really put fear into Percy and here he seems like a slightly sleazy uncle. Yeah, maybe seeing him and Nico interact later would be fun but not at the cost of ruined characterisation. And they kind of ruined the Palace too. Man, this was, for me, the worst part of the last episode

[@WaltDevil060]

​​@FelisImpurrator And a total badass. At least when Persephone isn't around. Hades is such as great fucking game!

[@thomaspaolucci460]

It felt like Riordan's biggest gripe with the original movies was that his ideas weren't adequately explained, and oh boy did they over course correct by having everyone explain everything.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

Yes, well said!

[@joylamarr8721]

Every time I hear people complain about the lack of mystery in the show i remember that Rick Riordan always tells a story about how he was originally gonna name the first book "The Son of Poseidon" until one of his students told him that that completely gets rid of the mystery,,, i feel like Riordan maybe just needed less creative control lmao

[@-Sai]

that story honestly makes so much sense for how the show turned out

[@straww_berryyy]

Later on we did get son of Neptune. Same thing different font lmaoo

[@AmelieKaren7_13]

Also, I feel like it was very obvious whose son PJ was? Maybe it's because I read them with the understanding and the knowledge of certain characters and situations already (I got spoiled bad, lmao. So bad I'm in the 3rd series waiting for a character to die cause I know they will), but i find it was pretty obvious to guess offspring of Poseidon. All PJ's weird antics happened near, in or involved bodies of water. Like???

[@joylamarr8721]

@@AmelieKaren7_13 honestly I definitely agree but I think it depends on how old you are when you read it, like a lot of the first series was opportunities for kids to figure out something before the book did, like Medusa or the lotus casino, and while all those twists seem pretty obvious as adults when you’re a kid it’s pretty cool to be able to feel smart by figuring it out before the book

[@simplykitcat1]

Man hated the movie so much he looked past some of the things that we kinda liked about the movie. CGI, Action, Characterization

[@chikannnn]

the way the lotus casino scene was reduced from an enthralling mystery to a lengthy conversation needs to be studied

[@ekdud2772]

No actually 😭 it was literally just a 10 minute long conversation with a character that Percy’s not even supposed to meet until season 2.

[@Samira-et4wf]

That episode was my last straw and made me not continue the series at all 😭 just so dissapointing

[@comicalcosmonaut959]

I hated how they immediately knew the lotus flowers they eat would keep them in there…only for them to realize that it’s also aerosolized and lose time in there anyways. Like wtf was that about

[@Weasleys93]

It was yeaaars ago I read the book and saw the movie, but one thing i remember the most is the lotus casino and the feeling it gave me and I was so excited for them to get there in the tv-show and it was just... Oh god.... Not even a little bit as exciting as I remember it

[@sara-linna.6983]

the way I was actively excited for that scene, and then they just turned it all into a boring exposition dump

[@Butterfly-ll7mm]

Next season they’re gonna be like “BE CAREFUL! You’ll turn into a guinea pig!” before they even reach the island

[@theimpersonator7086]

Season 5 of the show will be like: .Percy upon immediately receiving a certain vase goes up to the "Last Olympian," gives her said vase, and looks straight into the camera to explain the theme/message of the series. Also instantly knows Luke's and Hade's backstories. .Annabeth immediately figures out what part of the Great Prophecy applies to which characters after hearing it at camp lmao.

[@rreginap.9571]

😭😭

[@sorryimsamantha]

I would genuinely commit a crime if this happened

[@ThwipThwipBoom]

Annabeth is white on the cover of House of Hades. She is canonically white but racists who hate white people don't want to hear that fact.

[@joblessincarnateVG]

"You're Circe, aren't you? You used to turn men into pigs...but something tells me you've changed with the times"~ Infodump Jackson

[@Master_King_JJ]

"It's a kid's show" Yeah. It's a kid's book too., didn't stop it from being a smash hit

[@kkelseym]

To the fans that defend the author, writing a book is vastly different from writing a tv show and this is a prime example of how it's not easy to move between medias.

[@romankotas448]

Some people can do it but yeah it’s having to be good at two different things basically because the way of writing is so different

[@itsanu1420]

and that’s why they need lots of screenwriters to reign them in, like in Harry Potter where jk didn’t have full control

[@hailey857]

The fact theyre convinced it’s good bc the author is involved is stupid

[@ZeinaIan]

The thing is, if he followed the twists and fights in the book it would have been good, it's the changes that made it bad.

[@single_use_planet_]

Yes, writing a book where you describe every thought a character has is one thing and making a show where you have to show us emotions to convey those thoughts is very different, however there is no reason to immediately tell us exactly what happens before it even does, even dora the explorer has more suspense

[@CaptainaMARIca]

I hate how this show completely removed any sense of fun, adventure, or tension. While this was a more faithful adaptation than the movies, it essentially felt like 8 episodes of exposition being read at us in a monotone voice. As a longtime fan, I really hope season 2 is stronger

[@LynnHermione]

the show is fun, you are just an idiot

[@nsbm159]

It's made by Disney I doubt it... They seem to think nowadays that they know better than the people buying their products

[@theimpersonator7086]

Yeah, it's like the trio unlocked the power to read into the script for the show haha. What's so funny about that issue specifically is that the PJO books literally introduce a character that actually has some foresight powers, and the most she does is give Percy a nudge in the right direction. This issue seriously needs to be addressed in Season 2

[@BibiixMusic]

Oh my god, yes! My main complaint about the show that its missing the fun

[@TableCreed]

I agree with you. I watched the first 2 or 3 episodes and lost interest. The show felt light and fluffy, and kind of annoying actually.

[@FearfulWhale305]

“Why does Percy know fucking everything??” It feels like Percy read the book before going on his quest and finished each chapter right before the events in said chapters happened. Like he’s chilling with his copy of Lightning Thief before meeting Hades so immediately he’s like “oh yeah I just read that chapter, it’s Kronos!”

[@ggt47]

I do agree. I am currently listening to the audiobook,he knows stuff about mythology but not everything as well he is out Harry Potter/Luke Skywalker pov/ surrogate character. He should not know everything,there are ways can exhibit information

[@Plackowicz]

Except he doesn't know everything? He recognized Medusa, and that one was obvious, but for the rest someone had to explain in to him.

[@clementine1827]

This is such a good way of putting it 😂

[@deanxiii1595]

​@@PlackowiczHe knows about Medusa in the book but Percy and Annabeth at the time were in some kind of trance due to hunger when smelling the hamburgers while Grover got nervous. It was when they were eating that they realised they were in Medusa's lair when she mentioned Annabeth by name and her story. The show just goes on with "Hi I'm Medusa" and i was like what the hell 😂. At least, if they want to do that they should make it with more tension to balance the info exposition by lengthening the fight scene as Medusa was not a run of the mill monsters that can be taken out so easily. Oh well it was all said and done so there is no use thinking about it. Hopefully, in S2 they will fix that by giving the show more mystery and suspense cause it's the SEA OF MONSTERS. Not the sea of cute and cuddly animals.

[@MOLEMITTS12]

I mean it doesn’t take a brainiac to realize that if someone is making a power play against Olympus, the titans could be involved. Like if we’re talking about motive to overthrow Zeus, Kronos has more motive than anyone. He figured it out in front of Hades which was *after* Grover almost got pulled into Tartarus and realizing he had the Master Bolt, which is a huge hint that it was Kronos. He knew it wasn’t Poseidon and Hades was pretty convincing. You also have to remember he was raised on this mythology by his mom. My biggest complaint is that they fail to convey properly that he spent a while at camp and that being a demigod comes with an innate aptitude for this mythological side of the world. They really brush over the ADHD and dyslexia being part of their nature, the ADHD being their innate disconnect from the modern world combined with their “adventurer’s spirit” yearning for more stimulation and the dyslexia being a side effect of an innate understanding of ancient greek. Iirc it’s implied in the books that they have strong instincts/innate understanding of that world to a degree as well.

[@osimiri7111]

So glad you brought up Annabeth’s bad writing! I feel like a lot of people have focused a lot on the stripping of Percy’s humour and general unhingedness, but the fact that ANNABETH is SO FLAT in the writing is just as bad. I feel like the writers completely misunderstood her character and her personality? She is just as unhinged as Perseus, she’s just methodological and calculated about it. Where is her sass? Her obvious irritability at everything he says and his clapbacks? Especially book 1 Annabeth my god. Also the lack of “I’m supposed hate you because our parents are rivals” early on in the show is massive oversight, but? Justice for petty Annabeth amen.

[@godzillaboy011]

Damn, that's even worse than race swapping already-existing characters. It's even more shameful than it already is.

[@ishathakor]

what i love about annabeth is she's a really smart character and all but she also just gets to be a 12 year old. in the unflattering ways too. she gets flustered. she gets jealous. she gets angry. she gets petty. she gets to just be a bitch sometimes. she's a real 12 year old girl. she makes the group take a detour to see the gateway arch because she's 12 and she just reallyyyy loves architecture and who cares if we're on a time sensitive quest the arch is like RIGHT THERE guys come onnnnnn. she's embarrassed about the idea of riding tunnel of love with percy because omg it's called tunnel of love that's so embarrassing what the hell i can't get on this ride percy..... because she gets to just be a 12 year old.

[@umbra1948]

@@godzillaboy011it’s definitely not concerning that you’re trying to argue that casting a black girl in and of itself to “race-swap” is objectively as “shameful” as Annabeth’s character assassination in the show

[@NotASandMan]

@@umbra1948 It is pretty bad though considering three points. Annabeth Chase already had a full description of her appearance in the books which has yet to be realized in live action. The demigods all have specific appearances based on their parent, with Athenas children having blonde hair and grey eyes. All of the books including the ones about other mythologies are connected and the race swapping now affects the race of Annabeth's cousin Magnus Chase. Who in his books has an even clearer description than Annabeth due to being a main character. This decision would affect not only the Percy series, but also any attempts to make connections with other adaptations like the books did.

[@lama7763]

@@umbra1948also adding the point that they justified the race swapping and incorrect descriptions of ALL of the actors (without attempt to do simple changes like dye percy’s hair) because they claimed the actors personality matched the characters (which they don’t)

[@galijuran]

In the book, Hades is 10 feet tall, has a cloak made of souls of the dead, an army of skeletons of the soldiers of every army in western history, reminds Percy of Hitler and Napoleon, and has an aura that makes Percy feel the need to submit, as the souls of the dead do to the lord of the fucking underworld. In the series, he’s a dude.

[@erickesquivel6150]

And it tricks us thinking hades is just evil when in reality he's just tired and bitter. Underappreciated older brother vibes

[@bedrockboy2194]

To paraphrase the books He looks like you to smashed every serial killers face together.

[@galijuran]

@@erickesquivel6150 yes!! When he talks about how he doesn’t want a war because he’s already tired from running his kingdom at a time of rising deaths and Italian suits. He really did just get the short end of the stick.

[@williamtimonen6814]

Which considering how Rick is involved makes me question whether that is something he regrets? Like if he wrote them now would Hades just be some Dude to???

[@vanjagalovic3621]

@@williamtimonen6814 TBF, its kinda hard to adapt something like book Hades without a huge budget. Like, Disney had to spend a lot of money to make Groot look good. I'm going to assume that the show doesn't have the budget to surpass GotG and also needs to stretch out the budget over multiple episodes. In other words, the Percy Jackson show should've just been animated instead of live action.

[@TiredLex]

The day book writers learn that screenplay writing is a completely different beast than book writing, is the day book adapations will really take off.

[@veronicalarr7681]

fr the only author i can think of is neil gaiman

[@mayacollins3447]

The show is written by screenwriters

[@TiredLex]

@mayacollins3447 I was talking more in general with book adapations, which is why I didn't name actually name drop Rick. Also Rick had to have looked over the screenplay, he approved everything lol.

[@l.josino]

Gillian Flynn, Neil Gaiman and George R.R. Martin were the only ones who got the memo :/ (tho ofc george already wrote for TV a bunch)

[@madmank7881]

And with screenwriters learning how to respect the source material people would start to like and care about their shows.

[@shisuwu-5827]

I hated how the kids knew immediately what was going on and how to solve the problem they were facing. It made the show feel like a bucket list :/

[@joeluwerikowe1308]

I feel like it made sense, and was actually an improvement to the book. It didn’t make sense that someone like Annabeth would miss Medusa’s lair was always weird to me when reading as a kid.

[@Ren-0]

SPOILER: In the end percy is one who figures out luke is the one who betrays him, which is not as dramatic as in the book when luke reveals it himself and catches percy off guard. It doesn't even make sense how percy finds out what luke did, it's just bad story telling.

[@hi-rw4nl]

I​@joeluwerikowe1308 I understand that point however. Percy and the gang stumbling into random nonsense wasn't unintentional in the books. Rick was specifically calling back to the way heros would just randomly come across trouble and save the day on thier main quest. Also it kinda takes away tension if everyone knows what's happening at every given moment

[@emily72510]

@@joeluwerikowe1308yeah but it makes the show extremely boring. also them not knowing does make sense. they’re hungry, they’re on the run, they’re tired, they have a deadline, they have a prophecy to think about, they have a million things on their minds, and they’re 12. it makes complete sense they would be more susceptible to being tricked or deceived.

[@greatdude7279]

@@emily72510 "yeah but it makes the show extremely boring." No not really its execution of other things that makes it kinda boring. "also them not knowing does make sense." No it doesn't... These kids are DEMIGODS and not just any demigods but that of Greek Mythology which is the same mythology that was very big on FATES who were actual beings. Literally every Greek hero followed a path that was created for them. " it makes complete sense they would be more susceptible to being tricked or deceived." Again we are dealing with characters based on Greek Mythology that was very very big on destiny where people don't make their own life choices but are guided to the predetermined path. What I always found weird is movies or shows with "destiny" or "prophecy" while also having a very "I create my destiny" vibe and message which creates a contradiction.

[@stingray1740]

The actor Jason they casted for Dionysus is a comedic actor and I’ve seen him be genuinely hilarious and he often plays characters that are weird yet lovable , so that casting made sense, but again the writing just squashed it’s good casting potential.

[@connordettmer3714]

Percy felt more like a child of Athena than annabeth because of how much he knew

[@ggt47]

Foreshadowing plot twist.

[@Plackowicz]

What are you talking about? He barelly figured out who Medusa was.

[@VinnieMF]

​@@ggt47 Alabama couple incoming?

[@illuminaticonfirmed1389]

in the books even annabeth herself admits that percy is actually super intelligent so

[@vagueroy3959]

​@@illuminaticonfirmed1389In like the 4th or 5th book. Not the first one where percy isn't as intelligent as he becomes.

[@persephonemchades6231]

4:17 a real big problem... if you dislike something, you still should be able to see the good parts about it. And if you love something you should still be able to criticize it.

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

Exactly. I mean I like this show but I will also be the first to admit that there are things about it that I have issues with.

[@tanzenuanchorgreenps7864]

yes, I think that the movies failure set expectations to be higher for the show, leading people to focus on the smaller problems, instead of the big things they did correct compared to the movie

[@violetlavi2207]

@@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343 same here!

[@amberhernandez]

As a thinking exercise, throw criticisms left and right at what you love. Plot holes, character inconsistencies, bad dialogue, lack of chemistry, whatever you can think of. All that is important, and if you can justify which criticisms are valid on an objective level, you can come out on the other side with an even stronger appreciation for whatever it is you love.

[@VinnieMF]

​@@amberhernandez No one can point out the flaws in a piece of media quite like its own fans.

[@Cherry-qx6rk]

The writers forgot they're writing for general audiences and didn't include basic stuff from the book, like ambrosia or Percy's sword name, yet couldn't stop dropping boring exposition

[@alexsanderivan6511]

They don't mention Riptide's NAME ? ARE YOU KIDDING ME ?

[@kotlcbooknerd885]

I only realized that after I mentioned riptides name to my dad who was watching the show and he was like that’s the swords name

[@jo-binks]

@@kotlcbooknerd885omg, as someone who watched with my dad (casual watcher) this was my exact same experience.

[@damla5718]

They dont even mention any of the weapons name aside from the gods'

[@madimiss]

Nor did they mention that it magically reappears in his pocket… at least I don’t think so.

[@kadenadams9707]

I hate how the show is afraid to tackle the hard topics of the books, like Gabe’s abuse, they reduce him to a cartoon character in this show. Also the ending scene of Luke’s betrayal was one of the worst scene changes I’ve ever seen.

[@avaline3720]

Exactly, like I get it's disney and all, but like... in the books, Percy literally describes his mom flinching as Gabe raises his hand!

[@ishathakor]

it's kind of wild to see how much they sanitized gabe because they literally didn't have to because the depiction of abuse was already toned down for the child audience in the book. it basically all happens off screen and the stuff we see on the page is just hinting towards the stuff that's actually going on like sally flinching when gabe raises his hand so we know he's physically abusive, or him talking about how the montauk trip will come out of her allowance so we know he controls her finances.

[@Personian]

Gabe is one of the very few things the movie did better imo ... he actually seemed intimitating. He was a character you hoped would die

[@benluka1811]

​@@Personianand thats really saying Something given everyone hate the movies

[@VinnieMF]

​@@benluka1811 The three actors for Percy, Sally and Gabe nailed their dynamic in the movie though, to be fair, I don't think that's ever been one of the gripes the fandom had with that adaptation.

[@emmawagner8915]

I was disappointed with the spiders being taken out not because it’s not like the book but because it’s a great way to force Annabeth to be vulnerable. And I don’t just mean emotionally, like in the book Percy has to suddenly make all the decisions to save *them both* because she’s literally not responding

[@eaglefan2569]

Also the spider issue is quite literally something EXTREMELY important in Heroes of Olympus: Mark of Athena. To remove it outright also inherently removes some of the conflict with Arachne.

[@HannahBananabreadpudding]

To be fair, they really wanted to do the spider thing but when they tried it with the cgi it looked horrible so they had to scrap it. Uncle Rick said so on Twitter

[@emmawagner8915]

@@HannahBananabreadpudding but they didn’t replace it with something that developed the character in a similar way. They could have done the scene with like five big spiders instead. Or had something where annabeth had to depend on Percy and Percy had to learn to trust himself in that situation

[@bookworm598]

In today's media you can't make a girl look weak or scared, especially a girl boss like Annabeth. Which is so stupid

[@KhanMann66]

Women can’t look weak in today’s entertainment. Girl boss is rampant in Hollywood.

[@angieng6091]

Have been saying it for years now, they should just make a Percy Jackson animated series similar to ATLA. They can have more episodes, they won’t have to worry about casting or the actors getting older and could stay more faithful to the books, and it would make visual effects even better. I’ve seen so many amazing animations or animatics of PJO characters and I’ve always just been like “god this would so cool if they animated the whole book series”

[@nattteo]

Yeah, but that would require convincing Hollywood that animation isn't a baby medium for babies. The Oscars are a living example of how little the industry cares about animation.

[@glooming108]

@angieng6091 omg, you are SO right! That would be amazing

[@Nani.101]

Yesss could you imagine ATLA or Castlevania level

[@ArgoBargo]

If only Hollywood respected the medium of animation

[@SpaceandGoats]

Except animated shows are getting 8 to 13 episodes and are canceled after 1 to 2 seasons

[@rainbootsandroses]

You’re so right about the watered down characters. I just wish Annabeth was goofier - no fear of spiders, no crush on Luke, no geeking out over architecture. It’s like they stripped her of all personality in service of getting her as stoic as possible. And Percy is comically self-sacrificial, it’s like his first instinct is to martyr himself in any dangerous situation. And I know that he’s self-sacrificing in the book series, but come on, he’s not that extreme, he does have a survival instinct. Grover’s character is close to perfect, though, he can keep doing what he’s doing. And another thing - why has both adaptations insisted on separating them so much?? I get one-on-one character interactions are more dramatic, but what about group bonding :(

[@alorapendrak9752]

I agree on that front, Disney has this trend of making every female character either stoic or motherly. Though even Annabeth & luke set up as a brother sister duo still could of made her goofy without the crush. Annabeth know it all little sister figure who annoys Luke yes please!

[@Digdigi]

Just one question. How is percy comically self sacrificial? Not arguing, just want to know.

[@odinson2273]

What the did to Annabeth hurts and they wasted her actress's talent. And for what? Possible love?

[@RomanCzachor]

@@Digdigi His first reaction to like any situation is to sacrifice himself even before evaluating other options. see the hephestus throne scene or the chimera scene, like he totally did not have to do that

[@Digdigi]

@@RomanCzachor I agree with the throne scene but not the chimera one. I feel like chimera one mirrored the situation of Medusa.

[@Irose_YTBE]

I think what's interesting is that Rick was so hellbent on insulting the inaccurate movie (especially the lotus casino scene) when the lotus casino scene in the movie is actually...fun lmao

[@Personian]

While I don't really like the Lotus SCENE in the movie, I hate to say it, but the way the Lotus Casino looks in the movie is a lot more accurate to the book than the series. In the series, it's just a boring regular casino

[@renataaristimuno5269]

he can make out the movie scene as terrible as he wants; at the end of the day, the kids getting high to Lady Gaga’s Poker Face will always be more memorable than Lin Manuel Miranda’s Vegas cave could ever hope to be. I quit the show after that episode, it was such a buzzkill

[@Irose_YTBE]

@renataaristimuno5269 I think I quit after episode 4. Disney + is just not the streaming service to handle a Percy Jackson series. All their shows look cheap and feel rushed. A Percy Jackson show would've looked incredible if HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime or really anything else handled it. Disney + just doesn't make quality shows

[@orange_turtle3412]

If the original TLT movie has anything going for it, its the lotus casino scene. They didnt do much right in that movie but they absolutely nailed the casino. Genuinely felt like somewhere you could get lost in for decades

[@foxfireace]

Agreed 100%. It's crazy how they made them already know what the lotus hotel was doing so there was no problem, and completely took away from the fact that Percy was so excited to have FREE access to literally all the games and activities as he could imagine as a literal 12 yr old. Bro is 12, he doesn't have to be too mature for games, what 12 yr old is? Hell, adults still find that stuff fun. I feel as though it took every ounce of relatability and level of stakes out of it. At least the movie scene was fun and iconic even if it wasn't 100% accurate. Hopefully they can improve S2 though and show the actors' potentials.

[@victoriaklein994]

As someone who is very active in it, I can only appreciate your very thorough calling out of the fandom's behavior. It's been embarrassing to watch how whiny and petty we've been over the last few weeks, and we've proven to be incapable of accepting criticism. This video is full of hard but necessary truths. I hope season 2 goes on a path of improvement!

[@daughterofdune8480]

yup, hopefully both the show in the fans will be better with season 2...

[@-Sai]

crazy how the fandom treats Rick like a god. He is human, he can make mistakes. Not everything he does is perfect.

[@violetlavi2207]

@@-Sai yep! He’s made mistakes in the past too (like his minority rep), but the fandom gets VERY defensive about that. Which is a shame, because how is he supposed to improve if he can’t take criticism (and the fandom shields him from it)?

[@-Sai]

@@violetlavi2207 Like even a majority of the fanbase agrees that Blood of Olympus was underwhelming and the writing of characters like Piper McLean can be questionable at times. So I don't get why such a large portion of fans suddenly act like Rick can do no wrong. I have never seen a fanbase put an author on an untouchable pedestal like this before.

[@izachi-chan2432]

​@@daughterofdune8480I hope they end up not releasing the second season. I will not stand another wave of toxic PJO TV stans

[@GKnapptime]

I’m honestly so surprised you didn’t bring up how the trio were constantly “sacrificing” themselves for each other so often that the gesture just became meaningless. It definitely played into the feeling that the story carried no stakes for me because as soon as one of them would do that, the others would solve the issue minutes later. It was so ridiculous

[@taco_boi1167]

yeah!! the first couple times had genuine emotional weight but at some points i was just waiting for them to reveal "oH tHeYrE fInE" so we could get on with the story

[@DarkestKnightshade]

Yeah i brought that up to my sister who hadn't read the books like "yeah they arent supposed to be falling over each other trying to selflessly sacrifice themselves". Theyre actually pretty rough and crusty to each other and it takes time to trust each other

[@udaysoni2474]

ISTFG That sequence in episode 7 where it first looked like Annabeth was lost to Cerberus, then 5 minutes later she just sacrifices herself again in Asphodel made me wanna scream

[@icannotchoose]

Exactly this. It was the water park scene that really broke me. I just felt tired by it. Especially since, in the book, the real problem was a net weaved by a bunch of mechanical spiders. There was no brave self-sacrifice, but it felt like much more of a character building/bonding moment, since Annabeth and Percy had to solve a problem together AND Annabeth opened up about her fear of spiders. But in this show, Luke just says it in a flashback.

[@jimena6194]

Right? Like annabeth always felt so cold to me in the first book and shows very little trust into late in the book and not until the next one, and as a daughter of Athena I feel like she would never sacrifice herself that easily

[@zehraiyigun7551]

One of the things that really bothered me about the Gabe discourse is no one is talking about how the show never justifies Gabe's existence; it never tells why Sally married Gabe in the first place. As a book reader, we know Gabe smells so bad it cloaks Percy's demigod smell. That is what kept Percy safe for years. It is one of the biggest sacrifices Sally has made, marrying an abusive man to protect Percy. But even with the flashbacks with Sally, the show never reveals it. There isn't even any line about how smelly Gabe is. He is just there because, in the books, he was there, and then he is gone in the most goofy way. What was the point then? Sally getting rid of him on her own was also a critical moment, but for some reason, they decided to make it this uninteresting way for no reason I don't understand.

[@bookshelfhoney]

She should've just adopted a pet ferret, stinky creatures

[@unclenought6385]

Yeah, he's just kind if there and comes off as more goofy than mean. It such a huge turning point for Sally in the books. Not only is she getting out of an unhappy relationship, but she's choosing something for herself. She's accepting that Percy needs to grow up and face the stuff he's got to face. Not alone, she'll always be supporting him. But he needs more than just her support, and she's got to let him go and use that support. If the books are allegorical of diagnosis, it's kind of her acceptance that he needs extra accommodations that she just can't provide, but there are people who can. And that Percy has to learn to live with his diagnosis and find where his own independence lies, even if at times that is a struggle. It's a really beautiful moment and I'm sad they've done away with it.

[@acemaster1877]

Seriously... When Gabe got turned to stone in the book it was extremely cathartic to see a horrible person get their comeuppance. In the book, he was abusive, messy, and an all-around terrible guy. However, in the show, it's kind of sad because Sally essentially killed a guy whose worst crime (that we see at least) was being a little annoying.

[@cartoonishidealism582]

@@acemaster1877 I mean she didn’t kill him, he killed himself by trying to steal their package. I think it works… fine in the show. It’s framed more as a moment of black comedy where an annoying dumbass joke character dies because of his own stupidity. But it doesn’t have any of the same impact of the book.

[@pjomono4579]

Yes and also Sally is not supposed to argue back with Gabe the way she did in the series! she's supposed to pander to him, because she knows his smell will keep Percy safe.

[@Sploberrie]

If the movies didn't exist people would've most likely been MORE harsh on this show, because they wouldn't have had a worse adaptation to compare it to and say "eh, not as bad as that other one". Same goes for Avatar.

[@klm-r5k]

The movies were better At this point and the show was held to a standard whenit came to the Medusa scene (how do you outdo Uma Thurman as Medusa) and the lotus casino scene which is iconic.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

​@@klm-r5ktrue, the movie had some really good moments and it actually felt like an adventure.

[@augustvv]

As a late teen, I like the movies more. The show is a bit cringe for me

[@serenity794]

This season did with Percy’ character what the Harry Potter movies did with Ron’s character. Picked out all of their coolest moments and then said “yea, let’s just /not/ have them”

[@Simon200o]

Ron's moments were given to Hermoine.

[@serenity794]

@@Simon200o Yea, I meant, not have them be Ron's

[@Ives268]

Oh my god you’re right

[@Marely-b8m]

​@@Simon200o Fr

[@forg_tful.]

i feel like the show would be so good if the tv show landscape right now wasn't "stuff everything into 8 episodes to throw it online to people with no attention span". with more episodes, and longer episodes at that !!!, they wouldn't have to gloss over and speed up so much plot and development. it has so much potential.

[@giuliamartins15]

i think its no even about the number of episodes they could make it work but they were so short for no reason

[@gameb9oy]

Annoyingly, they added in so much stuff that didn’t need to be there. I legit actually think most of Luke’s backstory should’ve not been in this series

[@HerMajestyVelvet]

@@gameb9oysome of it should have been but it’s smth you can explain in a minute or two or have the audience infer it bc it’s a pretty basic backstory all things considered

[@forg_tful.]

​@@giuliamartins15with the whole world riordan built in those books, there's no way to stuff that properly into 8 episodes to begin with. it's why they had to make bad compromises and changes with the story that are a large part of what people dislike about the show. some of the changes, like gabe's character, are not just bad but soo wrong. but i also know that most of the issue is on disney and their system, not on the writers. they had to make do with the run time they got. it's unfortunate.

[@yassergg1689]

That's mostly Disney imo

[@Kanyewestlover911.]

In the books percy was actually in camp halfblood for 2 months and was pretty lonely after he got claimed, because he was ignored by everyone.

[@andalilbitqueer]

I'm pretty sure he was there for a few weeks before the Quest (until the summer solstice) and there for the remainder of the summer afterward.

[@nattteo]

yeah, of the few things that's always stayed in my brain from the books was him showing up to his empty dorm, because the kids are housed by their parentage, and there aren't any other kids of Poseidon.

[@user-sf5qi3di5q]

Exactly and that’s why Poseidon sends Tyson to camp, so he has a brother and isn’t alone.

[@Edward-W]

So people are just making up complete lies to trash on the series. That's... intetesting. As if the faithful adaption argument never actually mattered in the first place. People just want the show to be what they think it should be in their head while having forgotten most of the books themselves.

[@andalilbitqueer]

@@Edward-W no, they didn't idk how you got that from this comment, honestly, thus just makes you sound exactly like the idiots the video described. And yes, the people disappointed do have a right to be disappointed at a non-faithful adaptation because that's **exactly what Rick promised** the audience.

[@lucyloving1Direction]

When people discuss faithful adaptations they tend to focus on plot points, characters, scenes, dialogue etc. but forget the most important factor: tone. A good adaptation will make the audience feel just like they did when interacting with the original media. That's what this show failed at doing. The original book is fun, it's humorous and funny and adventurous. This show felt nothing like that, the characters are not allowed time to develop themselves and their relationships, they're not allowed to not know things and make mistakes. They only allow very small glimpses of that fun character Percy has, which sucks when the actor clearly has such good comedic timing.

[@jakebrook]

Honestly after rereading the first book I feel like the tv show did a better job with the tone of the quest. I love Snarky Percy and him laughing at the face of danger but this was Percy's first Quest where his mother's life was on the line. I found it natural that he was more serious in this Quest because it felt like if he made one mistake could cost his mother her life.

[@iGotBulletproof-Insomnia]

And it's crazy because Annabeth _is_ Percy's love interest. By book 3 we understand Percy at least feels passionate about her, and by book five they are together. It's an age-appropriate slow burn. The first two books are entirely setting up Percy and Annabeth as friends. The first two seasons should reflect that. Percabeth shippers shouldn’t feel thirsty and look for breadcrumbs _because theyve already won. Percabeth is canon. Shippers would have had much better content if Percy and Annabeth were allowed to be Percy and Annabeth from the beginning.

[@-._.-What-Is-Up-._.-]

Fr, They push it too much, There are many shipper in PJO Fandom, It was proved when Piper and Jason Break Up in ToA , Most of the Fans hate the 3rd book of just that reason (just like me - lol ) Buuuut, Annabeth supposed to have crush on Luke and kin of Hate to Percy in first book (tho im MoA She confess she had crush on Percy since she is 12 )

[@iGotBulletproof-Insomnia]

@__Savitar__The_God_Of_Speed tbf, she could have disliked Percy partially because she liked him when she was "supposed" to like Luke. I don’t remember if Annabeth also says that since it's been probably a decade since I read thay book, but you know, kids are weird.

[@-._.-What-Is-Up-._.-]

@@iGotBulletproof-Insomnia Annabeth had crush on Luke for 2 reasons 1 ) Luke is extremely handsome and hot 💀 2 ) Luke is the only one who cared about Annabeth That is Why Annabeth had Crush on Luke, Not only Annabeth, but Most of CHB Girls had crush on Luke, Then Percy came and Luke turn to evil .... You Know Rest 💀 In MoA, Annabeth said She had a crush on Percy since She was 12

[@iGotBulletproof-Insomnia]

@@-._.-What-Is-Up-._.- I said I don't remember if Annabeth ever did she disliked Percy because she was "supposed" to like Luke. I meant it in that people, especially kids, have this idea they can only like one person at a time, even if they like them for different reasons. So her liking both Luke and Percy at the same time could have made her frustrated at Percy because she's not supposed to like him, she's supposed to only like Luke.

[@iGotBulletproof-Insomnia]

Dunno why I only just got this notification, that's weird.

[@ironwolf56]

1:05:00 imagine if in Prisoner of Azkaban instead of seeing Harry find his inner strength and cast his Patronus to drive away the Dementors it just cut to the hospital wing and he's telling Ron "well I figured out it was me all along and cast a Patronus"

[@Safiyahalishah]

Imagine if in Prisoner of Azkaban, as soon as he gets the Marauder's Map, Harry realises that Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew. But wait - before that, when Harry ran away from home, Sirius Black had approached him in human form and they just had a nice chat laying it all out, so Harry actually knows everything! He traps Scabbers in a cage, turns him in to the authorities and voila! the entire plot is over! 👏

[@terezgrosaft3335]

this made me laugh out loud 😭 that’s brilliant 😭😭😭😂🩷

[@Sipu97]

Stop, it hurts D:

[@imperialsarcasm]

ong it rips all intrigue away

[@ishathakor]

in thor ragnarok instead of thor finding his confidence and reaffirming his identity as god of thunder and then taking out hela's army and the whole final battle where everyone comes together, it just cuts to them being on the ship flying away from asgard and loki says "wow, it was great that you got your powers back thor" and thor says "yes. thank you for unleashing surtur and causing ragnarok"

[@Lsd1021]

Also can we just talk about how physically dark some of these scenes are? Like the scenes in Medusa's basement and in Hades are so dark that you can barely see anything

[@VinnieMF]

Legit had to brighten my TV

[@Frank-zv4up]

i literally closed all curtains, turned off the lights, and increased my screen brightness and yet i still couldnt tell what was going on during the medusa scene.

[@burnt-croissants]

they did that cause they knew the CGI would look bad so they darkened it until you could barely see a thing

[@Nani.101]

The Luke reveal scene omg 😭

[@StabbyTheSkaven]

@@burnt-croissants this entire show screams "we didnt have much cgi budget so we cut all the scenes that would use it"

[@MaeArt725]

Honestly I feel like the lightning thief musical does such a good job of matching the books chaotic energy, especially when it comes to Percy.

[@amelie.1313]

So true! And they put in so much story in a small amount of time

[@El1society]

there’s a musical? 😭

[@MaeArt725]

@@El1society yeah, it’s really good and honestly just a lot of fun. You can find the full production on KZbin

[@zie233]

LISTEN TO IT ​@@El1society

[@MorningDusk7734]

In regard to the Lotus Casino, reminder that IT'S LITERALLY DISNEY!!! The show is owned by Disney, who owns SO MUCH ENTERTAINMENT PROPERTY!!! And they couldn't splurge for the kids to have any fun? How much would it have cost to send a film crew and the kids to one of the parks after dark, and film them on a few rides, really? The extent of being pulled into the trap is wandering around a couple slot machines and card tables, with a VR area that Grover ends up in by the end? Where's the indoor waterpark, the monsters walking next to regular people, the dazzle and glitz and glam and wonder? Where is the fun?

[@JC_Cali]

That was the most confusing aspect of the show - How is Disneu so... dull, gray, and boring?? Like, we've seen that across its live action remakes too... it's so disconcordantly confusing!

[@MorningDusk7734]

@@JC_Cali It's because dull, gray, and boring is cheap, and Disney hasn't taken a risk since Treasure Planet and Atlantis came out. Why do you think every Marvel Movie feels the same? And every remake does so little different?

[@ashleywu894]

@@MorningDusk7734 but also the budget of each episode was like 5 million dollars??? so it has the budget to be good, so what are tehy being cheap for?

[@alexispaten1329]

​@@ashleywu894 I'm pretty sure the budget per episode is like 15 million💀

[@gregorycope6099]

@@ashleywu894 as commenter above me stated, it is 15 million per episode, which is why a lot of people think it is just a money laundering scheme

[@ReptarKingOfMeat]

I absolutely hate the "It's made for kids" argument. Kids aren't braindead stupid and treating them like they are is just insulting. I remember being a kid and watching stuff like AtlA and The Incredibles and being hyped to have media that wasn't afraid to include mature themes without being edgy South Park humor. People forget there's levels of knowledge and maturity between toddler and 18.

[@saranemcova5448]

I watched Harry Potter with my 13-year-old stepsister. She liked it. Then Fantastic Beasts. The first one was good. We did not finish the second one. She could not say specifically why it does not work, she would not write essay about why it was bad. Doesn't mean she was oblivious to it.

[@indieree7987]

Like the pjo fans read the books/ Who are they making this for?? Kids 10 and under???

[@lucciqs]

I read a TikTok comment from a mom saying she watched it with her kids (like 6 and 8) and they got bored after the second episode and dropped the show I think about it since

[@parisknight1840]

@d.o.m.i.lol wut yes they can. You mean actually real kids (meaning under 12 ) have a harder time conveying what they mean? Sure I mean that’s dependent on the kid because we all grow differently especially if you don’t grow up sheltered like most American kids do but outside that age range? Like why are people putting teens in the same category as literal toddlers level of intelligence, this is insanity.

[@cartoonishidealism582]

You don’t get it, it’s made for kids! That’s why they cut out ALL THE HUMOR AND COMEDY! That’s why they cut out ALL THE COOL ACTION SCENES and replaced it with long droning dialogue! It’s why they only spent one episode in Camp Half Blood! Kids don’t like any of that stuff!

[@saraknapp7909]

I think skipping over the ADHD/dyslexia subplot did such a disservice to the books. Even as a child I remember thinking how impactful it was that Percy belonged BECAUSE of his disabilities, not IN SPITE of them. It’s such a great concept! This would’ve been so great to show kids/anyone watching and I think it’s so disappointing that they left it out

[@CreativeC13]

They definitely mentioned it in the first episode! I remember being glad they at least said something but I only saw the first few episodes so I presume they didn't continue it as a throughline

[@etherealtb6021]

As someone who didn't read the books, I'd never have gotten this if I hadn't watched videos about the book/show comparison on KZbin. Too bad!

[@joaovictor_of]

They didn't left that out, I think. We see Percy's dyslexia in the first episode, Luke says to him that all other demigods on camp are like him, their brains "wired for battle", and he mentions how his ADHD impacted his childhood during his narration. Honestly, I don't think they glossed over that, but I guess you just wanted to see more of it anyway which is understandable. I just don't think the books themselves focused much on that aspect of the demigods either apart from mentioning it from time to time.

[@etherealtb6021]

@@joaovictor_of I do remember that, but didn't know what a big deal it was in the books (from what I hear).

[@blobjorn3248]

This makes me question the intention of the casting of Annabeth. "The best choice"? Uh-huh, sure.

[@MickeyMouse-672]

It made me very sad to see what they did to Annabeth. They skipped around different parts of her character development. Her fears and passions were really lost. She really did seem like she was just inserted as the love interest. Especially when literally everyone else has that knowledge about what they’re facing and how to beat it. She doesn’t have that special wisdom that made her character

[@avaline3720]

yess! and one of her insecurities was that she felt inadequate because she didn't have powers or the strength that Percy had, but what made her strong, was that she had her intelligence, cunning and wisdom. But like you said, what's the point of having that, if everyone else has it too?

[@MickeyMouse-672]

@@avaline3720 exactly. Watching the show, I felt like every character was just a copy and paste of each other. Nobody really had anything that made them standout and be unique. Something I wish they put in this show was Annabeth kinda pushing herself into the quest because she had something to prove and she had ambition. In the show she was just picked, putting her in line with everyone else. And when she didn’t geek out over architecture at the arch it kinda bummed me out

[@MugiwaraNarf]

I dont understand why people insist on making fantasy into live action, percy jackson would be a GREAT animation series. Im tired of people fighting cgi monsters on fake backgrounds.

[@ReddlyFeddly]

well youre in for a pleasant surprise if you havent seen American Gods.

[@bookworm598]

Exactly! I feel the same with the attempts to make avatar the last airbender into a live action, some stories just fit better in animation. Plus I think the humor would translate better into animation

[@morg2040]

i'm hoping that the spider-man movies are going to change things deffinately if DC makes the batman beyond animated movie 🙏🏻

[@PrincessLockette]

That would be great!

[@PrincessLockette]

​@@ReddlyFeddlythere was a cartoon from 2005 called class of the titans that was kind of similar.

[@eden_jensen]

What I love about your channel is that you take an actual analytical lens towards everything you’re reviewing. It’s not just the blind rage of being a part of a fandom and shooting any negativity down. And as a big fan of Percy Jackson (I’ve read all of the branching series up until mid way thru Apollo trials) your take is HIGHLY appreciated!! The show is definitely rough around the edges and should have been finessed more with how much Rick Riordan was involved. But it does have a lot of potential!

[@victoriaklein994]

Agreed!

[@michelcomenta]

indeed! and i also think it has a lot of potential, the 2nd season could fix everything that was bad and be very good or be a downfall with no return.

[@lorenzozinco9664]

The bar is pretty LOW. The show can only go UP (hopefully)

[@eden_jensen]

@@lorenzozinco9664 yeah like on the floor low, we can on pray that Disney actually takes the criticism into account and does this series the justice it deserves

[@adharshmathew4980]

The best example of Percy being watered down is the scene where he is revealed as the son of Poseidon nd literally no one cares or even is shocked contrast to the book how everyone literally started to treat him like a different person showing him massive respect .

[@nat1346]

Exactly I was so disappointed when no one kneeled when he was claimed either. In the book it was so dramatic. Also after he’s claimed in the books everyone at camp is afraid of him and it’s like he doesn’t fit in again, which was missed in the show. That part of it highlights how bad and important being a child of the big three is without just exposition dumping again.

[@apoorv9587]

@@nat1346 i was waiting for chiron to announce "Son of Poseidon, God of the Sea" and everybody to bow down. none of these things happened in the show

[@VinnieMF]

Not to mention Annabeth only had the restroom scene in the show to figure out his parentage. In the books she gets the restroom scene, sees him fighting very well and healing after getting in the water, asks him to get out and sees how weak he gets. After being attacked by the hellhounds he goes back in the water and heals, that's when it completely sinks in for her. You don't just go around assuming one of the Big 3 broke their vital promise because a demigod did a toilet thingy.

[@-._.-What-Is-Up-._.-]

Fr, Same happen to Jason when he arrived CHB in TLH

[@ishathakor]

plus that's literally a plot thing too. they make a big deal expositing about percy being a "forbidden child" in the show but rick didn't have to exposit about that in every other scene because people literally started treating percy differently. the second he got claimed he became an outsider at camp.

[@Arch0202]

I would absolutely love the Percy Jackson series in a more episodic, longer format kind of like ATLA. It would allow for much smoother character development and tension buildup.

[@LoLovesLife]

The Percy Jackson books actually aren't YA, they're middle grade fantasy. That actually makes the lack of fun, adventure, and vibrance in this adaptation even more egregious.

[@turtle1658]

its called a fricking adaptaion for a reason

[@notavailable637]

percy is 12 at the start no? which is the start of YA books age demo

[@LoLovesLife]

@@notavailable637 Disney Hyperion is the publisher, if you go to their website the age range is listed as 9-12. Of course they can be enjoyed by all but the target demo of the original book series is children.

[@LoLovesLife]

​@@notavailable637Disney Hyperion is the publisher and in their website the age range for The Lightning Thief is 9-12. Of course the books can be enjoyed by all but the primary target demographic is children.

[@LoLovesLife]

On the publisher's website the reader range is listed as 9-12.

[@afra3044]

the "it's for kids" thing makes even less sense when u consider the books were also made for kids 😭

[@gtdc4685]

The Incredibles. That’s all I have to say

[@alexsanderivan6511]

Saying that Percy was "watered down" is the saddest irony ever

[@puppup5070]

That casting choice for Hades is like casting jimmy Fallon as the shredder for a live action tmnt series.

[@hannahw7023]

Saying the show doesn't need to be good bc it's for kids is so insane, because the source material was ALSO for kids and it still had more substance, stakes, maturity, and faith in its audience compared to the show. The source material itself is an example of how kids' media doesn't have to be dumbed down, and it was better for it

[@moon03726]

Fr, like most people read the books when they were young and still enjoy them as adults because they are not boring. And they are plenty of kids shows and movies that people of all ages enjoy with no problem. That's just a poor excuse from fans to defend this dull show.

[@loganjoh1]

The books are just good even reading them as an adult they hold up really well. The “it’s a kids show” excuse is not only insulting or kids but it doesn’t hold up when the source material is also for kids and is significantly more mature

[@antagonizingprotagonist8721]

Percy Jackson is the gold standard for "quirky" and fun writing. Saying its light hearted might not be the best word, but it isnt dark and depressing either. Its a book about teenagers that was specifically written to appeal to a teenage audience. A truly faithful adaption would have captured that.

[@VinnieMF]

Tone wise it's like the teen action hero version of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Quirky, ironic and tragicomic.

[@l.josino]

I don't think faithfulness is the problem.. What you needed was someone who understood the material but was, in the first place, primarily interested in making a good TV show. I saw the first episode and was genuinely embarrassed... Even 12 year old me who loved those books more than life woukd have been disappointed and I was a kid pretty easy to please.

[@leandrabarros3582]

The fact we lost the "Afraid?" when Percy was fighting with Ares was DEVASTATING to me, WE WERE SO ROBBED

[@henrysmith5521]

The "Community" section where you disassembled all the completely irrational defenses of the online fandom that refused to acknowledge any valid criticism was such a breath of fresh air. I waited what felt like forever to have in-depth critiques like this come out because I truly felt gaslit (lol) by the internet fans claiming everything about the show was perfect because of x, y, z when there were so many glaring problems

[@staceyann1180]

So in the book, the casino is a twist that we’re shown along with the characters. But in the show, we're told about it and not allowed to see the twist for ourselves. Isn't that the opposite of how book/movies handle plot development?

[@noobmasterruben5167]

Weeks later and I'm still baffled that this is the ONE THING the movie did better than the show 😢

[@naruske97]

Removing the twist also removes Percy's wits and intelligence

[@karofy754]

Man Percy in the books was so fuckin petty and sassy and on demon time. Im pretty sure everyone of his books starts with him either fighting bullies, monsters, or getting kicked out of school. The man told the 12 olympians yall gotta do better and declined immortality, fault chronos, held up the weight of the fucking universe/world. Dude is crazy

[@cherguicerine1465]

we did not watch the same show cause percy was super sassy and funny

[@inumidunoyenuga5333]

​@@cherguicerine1465no he wasn't

[@ekdud2772]

I just realized why the show wasn’t able to convey this. It’s because everyone and their mom was out here talking back to the literal immortal deities. The most insulting display of this was with Annabeth, like when she was being rude to Ares. Like girl. Ur supposed to be the smart one. I never once felt that any of those kids were in any immediate danger due to their blatant disrespect towards the gods. Except maybe w Zeus at the end, but because of the way the Gods had been portrayed prior to that, and from Percy’s attitude towards them, you still don’t really feel that tension.

[@Spac3_bar]

​@@cherguicerine1465 yea in some moments but a lot of it is kinda lost

[@BirdPeopleArentReal]

Worst part of the exposition is that it doesn’t even talk about the immediately important things. We didn’t ever learn about how monsters die nor why Percy couldn’t use the shoes. But we know the full backstory of random stuff that doesn’t matter!

[@violetlavi2207]

They’ve also completely done away with ambrosia and nectar for…some reason. Even though that’s literally how they healed Percy after his battle with the Minotaur (in the book at least. Who knows what they did in the show)…and it could’ve been VERY useful after Percy got poisoned in the Echidna episode

[@octosadventures1949]

One of the things I kept saying while watching the show was that they spent sooo much time on either stuff that didn't matter or stuff that they added in for no reason when they could have spent that time on recreating things from the books

[@dakotaouzts6477]

I feel like that's the point, the nectar and ambrosia would have just been a cop out, there would be no real reason for percy to have to stay behind because they all would have been able to run away@@violetlavi2207

[@dakotaouzts6477]

We do learn why percy can't wear the shoes, I believe annnabeth tells him and that's why he gives them to grover

[@richardmalagar9168]

damn i totally forgot about those things too lol and they're so crucial to the world building of the story thats crazy

[@rabl3535]

The biggest missed opportunity is having a WWE star and not having them bodyslam/throw around Percy Jackson

[@ved95]

Walker Scobell felt more like Percy Jackson in the ADAM Project than he did in the Percy Jackson TV show.

[@buttermotth]

That's cuz he was making jokes and was allowed to improvise

[@ImSoSpookyy]

Tbf he was pretty good tho and did his best with what he got i still think he did well enough in the role.

[@PosiWritesStories]

@@buttermotth Seems like more of a script issue than an acting issue if so.

[@buttermotth]

@PosiMakesStories yeah I never mentioned acting lol. The script and director are so strict they don't give the actors breathing room to experiment

[@PosiWritesStories]

@@buttermotth Hopefully that's something that loosens up next season. I think it's obvious Walker, Leah and Aryan are pretty passionate about these roles so in time I'm hoping they get more of a chance to shine.

[@Nani.101]

Thank you for bringing up how watered down Annabeth's devotion to Luke was! And you can instantly tell its in favor to push the Percabeth storyline, which doesnt even really start hitting till book THREE. Annabeth has such a debilitating infatuation with Luke in the beginning of the story, and its our first glimpse into seeing variety in her personality. And its the reason why she continues to have faith in him despite the terrible things he does in the rest of the series. I cringed SO hard at the Iris message scene. "Since when did you two start arguing like a married couple" 🥴 Not only did Annabeth suffer for Percabeth, so did Grover, who got significantly sidelined AGAIN

[@romankotas448]

Why do they do Grover dirty every time?

[@sidiwvwhi]

it feels very fanservicy, like they know fans like percy and annabeths relationship so they leaned super hard into it.

[@chikannnn]

@@sidiwvwhi exactly and it just wasn't good, too much percabeth not enough plot

[@ianbrudnakvoss3126]

@@sidiwvwhi which is especially frustrating because it was good because of how slow it was, the fan service hurts the fan service!

[@piscis210]

Percy and Annabeth slowly falling in love as they grew up was one of the best things about their relationship.

[@elle_rose_xx]

I’m genuinely baffled as to why they made the show unfunny. Like, WHY?? The books are genuinely hilarious and it made them really unique in the YA scene at the time cause every other book was trying to be “deep”. Like the books have deep themes within the character development and relationships but they’re SO FUNNY and wild and it made for such a fun read and was one of the MAIN REASONS people read the books. WHAT IDIOT WAS LIKE ‘hm, axe the series biggest selling point’?!?!

[@kiera1017]

@myironlung. considering they rewrote the entire show, they could've added jokes tho. besides, other characters made jokes and percy also made jokes out loud. however, a lot of the humor came just from how egregious the situations were. grover flying around w his eyes closed wildly swinging a bat is a funny visual.

[@capnclips1263]

Can't believe the internet tried to gaslight me into thinking I was POS for liking the og over the show. At least the first film was fun 😭

[@ginokami475]

i found it kinda weird that percy's adhd and dyslexia were barely present, rick started this story for his son who has these conditions and loved hearing stories about greek mythology, the show could have been some cool representation for it

[@feliciaroyers1646]

rightt, the movies had better representation of that too

[@KhanMann66]

Typical Disney move. Don’t want to be seen as ableism no no no.

[@slsthewriter1299]

It's odd because it almost feels symbolic that Rick might've forgotten where Percy Jackson came from, and so now we're watching how he goes about writing stories. With the catch that he's working with a new medium to boot-that certainly doesn't help.

[@shanleenkinnjaskey2419]

The fact that the musical does this story the best in a couple of hours with far better character writing is insane

[@iurymikaelsobraldossantos646]

Yes!!! The musical is way better

[@studmuffin-o5i]

THERE'S A MUSICAL?

[@girlypop-563]

THEY HAVE A MUSICAL?!

[@Kanyewestlover911.]

@@girlypop-563AND ITS UNIRONICALLY GOOD

[@girlypop-563]

@@Kanyewestlover911. My Sunday plans are made 😌

[@123Saulytea]

WHY WON"T THEY MAKE ANIMATED ADAPTATIONS :( this should just be animated and it could be so good, why did we as a society forget so fast why ATLA was so huge. I honestly will never believe that any live action adaption can be as good for a fantasy element as animated could be.

[@LittleHobbit13]

Thiiiiisssssssss. People keep ignoring animation as a perfectly good medium for storytelling. If anime can use it for the full range of stories from Hamtaro to Attack on Titan _for literal decades,_ there's no reason why Hollywood should continue to treat it like an inferior form of media.

[@purplesharpie]

I just watched Netflix’s ATLA adaptation and I wished so bad PJO got that same level of adaptation…

[@dhdz5103]

I quit at the Medusa episode. It felt like a different story being told. Several big reveals were removed. Ms Dobbs revealing herself at the museum, seemed to be taken away. They took away Percy’s big reveal during his fight with Clarice. Originally in the book, Percy gets beat up by Clarice then he finds himself in the water, and he gets re-energize, and then using that power beats Clarice. But in this one, he was already good at fighting, and then Annabel just magically figured it out and pushed him into the water. The Medusa reveal was ruined in seconds. “Don’t look it’s Medusa”

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

I quit on the same episode.

[@lyne_4049]

I totally agree with you

[@JDM-is-my-name]

The movie is kind of "so bad it's good", where the series is kind of "so bland it's boring"

[@TheAsuraeva]

Perfect description

[@JDM-is-my-name]

@@TheAsuraeva thank you

[@santi_super_stunts2573]

Huge 🧢 you clearly did not watch the show.

[@JDM-is-my-name]

@@santi_super_stunts2573 I found the show so bland it was boring and other people agreed. So, no 🧢, just my opinion. I watched the first episode and watched the beginning of the second and I found it extremely boring. While I don't like the movies, at least the first one was so bad that it did make me laugh on occasion. Nothing about the show felt alive to me, nor compelling. A part of it might just be that I grew out of love with the world, because as I grew up and became more invested in the art of story telling, the newer stories (which, for me is anything after HoO) felt weird and hallow, not to mention the weird inclusions of Age Gap relationships (Frank and Hazel was the first one to truly give me the ick and then I learned that one of the main siblings in the Egyptian inspired one was going to end up with an immortal god who happened to possess her other love interest and that's just really fucking gross and weird). It's OK that you liked the show. You go pal! Have your opinions! I just don't share them and I think it's quite rude for you to assume that I didn't even try. I also watched the Ares fight, albeit, technically out of context and it was so boring. The acting was stiff, the actors felt like cardboard (not the actors' fault, but it doesn't change anything), every bit of world building I love about the books wasn't in the show because the show feels like it's made for 8 year olds who grew up with Dora and need explaining to at every turn, there was no tension and any potential emotional moment fell flat. For me, that is. I didn't connect with the show, because, to me, there was nothing to connect to. So, yeah, it was "no bland it's boring" to me. Please, learn to understand perspective

[@LoweMartin-ew7ee]

@@JDM-is-my-nameok bro...😭

[@Prophint]

I grew up with a rough childhood, and I gotta say I hate that they changed the stepdad from an abusive asshole to just...kind of a bum? Like that sucks so much out of the story for me, completely ruins his mom's whole sacrifice for his safety, it wasnt a huge part of the story but it's just one of those small things that tells me "this story is gonna be bland. If you're looking for a show with character, find something else."

[@captainblighe7297]

Disneyified him

[@samuelademeso9041]

wanst rick supposed to be involved in this thing

[@VinnieMF]

They think children are brainless, as exemplified by them removing Grover's apetite for non eatable stuff because it would "make children try to eat unusual stuff".

[@hiddenechoes]

I am with you! That was the one character I missed the terrible films in terms of portrayal. The film's Stinky Gabe was intimidating.

[@aj_san3788]

​@@samuelademeso9041 I mean, it is supposed to be a kids show on Disney plus and domestic abuse isn't exactly on brand for them.

[@Maguspwns2]

My biggest issue with the writing is that they got rid of basically all of Percy's humor. Even when he's dealing with all this overwhelming stuff he's making jokes in his head or to himself and here he just seems sad or angry all the time. I wrote it off as him being depressed about his mom and lack of internal monologue but when he's still that way five episodes in it's obvious that they just changed his personality. Grover lost most of his humor and dynamic with Percy too. They had so many chances to compensate and they just don't...like at all.

[@roadrollerdio565]

Reminds me of how they took away a lot of Harry's sarcastic sense of humour and clapbacks in the movies, which is why if you never read the books, it really nerfs his personality.

[@blazeproxima5558]

I agree but I think it’s because Disney didn’t give the writers enough episodes to have time to do any of that stuff

[@kristienwhitney-johns5863]

This is the complaint that always baffles me. Percy is legit hilarious in this show

[@Maguspwns2]

@@kristienwhitney-johns5863 Can you think of any examples? It's totally possible I just missed those moments

[@soph996]

​@@kristienwhitney-johns5863he has witty one liners but he's not "Persassy". Part of it is bc we don't have his inner monologue but a team of writers should be able to figure out a workaround

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

Disney were stingy with episode count but it was Riordan who lost his mojo.

[@Marenks]

A great exemple of the show taking the fun out of the book is the Lotus chapter. In the book, the hotel/casino was the every kids dream. Everything a kid could want has far had entertainment was there. You could play there for a eternity and if you wanted to leave, a magical new floor opened up with new things to do. In the show, it's a boring casino with some VR headset.

[@littlesparrow303]

I mean kids these days are into technology & arcades no longer exist except a few. Every time I pass one it seems like it’s always dead. They aren’t into stuff like we were. For the fun stuff I can see if they had food creativity like an ice cream bar or candy machines to appeal to kids

[@lucdhecc9398]

@@littlesparrow303hi, teen here, we actually like arcades, jungle gyms etc. but we can’t go to them because they keep getting shut down/ steamrolled for shit like fast food and apartments, or because they couldn’t survive the lockdown (also because of social media & peer pressure telling people that it’s not cool for teens/kids to like that stuff)

[@kenzarty5999]

I know! The Lotus casino is one of my most vivid memories of reading the books as a kid. It’s so sad that it wasn’t magical in the show.

[@samuelademeso9041]

not only that it also meant to be a place that was difficult to leave

[@Dannvhdh]

@@littlesparrow303teen here. Kids love arcades, they just aren’t as accessible as they used to be😊

[@nevenamartinez]

The problem with book adaptations in the last years is that it doesn't feel like a believable world, it doesn't feel lived in, if that makes sense. In the Harry Potter series and LotR, you can immerse yourself into this world without any problems, because everything feels "real" in a way. I know that the budget is something to consider here, but if they were developing this show for 3.5 years, it should feel more authentic. The point of a good fantasy movie/tv show is to be able to transport yourself somewhere completely different and magical and to feel as if you were there.

[@naruske97]

The budget is 15 million per episode,the same GOT had,so who know where that money went to

[@nevenamartinez]

@@naruske97 oh, the budget was not an issue then, just poor choices 😅

[@mgp1203]

Yes this! media nowadays feels so inauthentic. They stopped feeling like immersive experiences and started to feel like just mindless content. I assume it is because of new age HD cameras and studios using less practical effects and more CGI, but even then, media nowadays lack so much charm and personality that they once possessed. It's so bland nowadays.

[@nevenamartinez]

@@mgp1203 I was just thinking about that, how everything just looks kind of plastic and completely fake because it's all done on computers. None of those effects wow me anymore, I think a lot of people just want a really well done and complete story.

[@VinnieMF]

This show, much like other modern media, is very clean. Their clothes all came straight out of the production line.

[@MorganEdgy]

Percy Jackson being watered down in this show is so ironic because he's the son of FUCKING POSEIDON

[@whatscookingoodlookin1]

LMAO

[@slytherinqueen7960]

I said this when the live action movies came out and I’ll say it again. The Percy Jackson series should have been turned into an animated television show.

[@jagrant9624]

This is like a prime example of just because something is made that is more faithful to its source material than its predecessor doesn't mean it's going to be good. Rick was more focused on making the show not like the movie instead of making it fun for the audience and embrace it. The movie did things that were actually cool and if Rick wasn't so stubborn he would see that.

[@42Caio]

Keyword being "than its predecessor", it's still only similar to the source material in very broad strokes. Like it follows the general plotline but has a lot of cut and added stuff. Ultimately the big problem is the same: the characters, which is what most fans actually enjoy about the book series, act nothing like themselves. I guarantee you they could change up the plot a whole lot but if they got the characters right people would care way less about picking apart plot differences.

[@noobmasterruben5167]

Such a shame because I really like the cast they picked. Walker Scobell was the right choice for Percy, same with Dionysus and Ares

[@mgp1203]

Yup the new Harry Potter show might make a point to prove this too. It aims to be more book accurate, but whether it can hold the charm and fun the films did is a whole other thing. Just goes to show book accuracy can’t save a show

[@marisol9606]

@@42Caiobut also the plot is integral for character development and if u change the plot too much, the characters will naturally have different arcs and they will not be the same as in the source material. i think it’s just a general problem of not rly paying attention to important plot points that are integral to character development plus not caring about what makes the characters so great in the first place and so we get…..whatever the hell the show did

[@spikehammer3112]

As a show with a budget of 12-15 million per episode, why did it constantly feel like they were making budget cuts. So many times things were just out of frame or just after the camera cuts away. So few episodes, and many of them short episodes as well. It really did not seem to match its budget

[@Samira-et4wf]

Yeah I really dont understand where all the money went...we didnt even have that many cgi scenes

[@PidgeonRoost]

One thing I feel ab Percabeth shipping stuff is like, Wdym “We won!”, My brother in christ, You won in the later books. Allow the characters to develop over time, it doesnt need to be immediately shipping in the show.

[@loganjoh1]

Right? You literally won 15 years ago.

[@julianskilton200]

The two at the beginning did not even mesh well, which made them starting to work together so much better. Percy was awkward, impulsive, constantly taunting or sarcastic, and the first and only time in the first book where he was genuinely respectful was to Hades due to Hades basically deep frying his brain with his divinity, and it didn’t even last the entire conversation. All of this being a product of his ADHD producing endless intrusive thoughts that Percy listened to due to being borderline suicidal, heavily depressed, and had his pride so bruised it barely existed. In the series he just seems bratty and disinterested, alongside having none of his actual positive traits. He learns about Thalia in the books and instantly becomes depressed about her death, in the show he basically spits on her memory by immediately insulting her fate. Meanwhile, Annabeth was an anti-social mess that had extreme abandonment issues and near-sociopathic tendencies covering up layers of insecurity and pride with a complex to always be right and capable. The key scenes to them bonding were Annabeth telling Percy about her father, the animal truck, and Annabeth offering up her life so Percy can rescue his mother from Hades. She lowers her guard in the train, finally looking at Percy as “Percy Jackson” instead of “the son of Poseidon”. In the truck, she finally let’s him into her heart, truely trusting someone for the first time since Luke, Thalia, and Grover. All of this culminating in her being willing to sacrifice herself for his mother, knowing that he truly loves his mom. In the show, she didn’t even enter the throne room. The whole of the series their relationship getting closer was half the joy. Percy becoming the focal point of her ideal world. Percy being willing to fight a god just to go in the quest. Annabeth’s instability during the labyrinth coming from her fearing his death and jealousy of the women around him. Hell, they even messed up the drool line. She says that they nice he leaves the infirmary and sits down with Mr. D, said to quash his growing ego at hoping to be congratulated for slaying the Minotaur.

[@Pineapplecrispy]

So true! It’s like… you were gonna win ANYWAY but we LOST because the characters lack ANY PERSONALITY WHATSOEVER

[@wishfulthinkin3478]

I'm so scared what's going to happen when Nico turns up in season 3...

[@morg2040]

there literally were only 1-3 scenes that were even remotely romantic in the first 1-2 books they don't really get too deeply explored until book 3 and even then it's not a confirmation of feelings it can be taken as two close friends who are worried about the other lol

[@faraday3035]

Annabeth is a shell of herself in this show, I feel horrible for Leah for having to play such a bland character when she must have been excited to be cast as her just to realise how little she has to do.

[@pugslife3466]

They should have casted Keanu Reeves as Hades. He can perfectly encapsulate tired, intimidating, and taking no shit and doing this all while wearing a basic black suit.

[@naruske97]

That would be incredible!

[@heliotikis]

I was think Jeffrey Dean Morgan would make a good Hades too

[@pugslife3466]

Oh! He would be a great Hades as well. He can pull of threatening but also knows how to add levity to the roll since he did that really well in TWD@@heliotikis

[@vidhisharma6898]

Maybe Disney can take notes for Hercules live action

[@CreativeBliss-x9m]

They don't have keanu money

[@soph996]

I saw a comment on TikTok say that the everyone who criticises the show is saying the same thing and that's why their criticism is invalid, obviously everyone is just copying each other and no ounce of that criticism is valid. How?? How can that be one's conclusion??? If multiple people say the same thing, differently structured and with different examples, while often highlighting different things they did enjoy, it should be obvious that these critics aren't in one shared delusion but have all picked up on the same mistakes?? Glaringly obvious mistakes that happen more than once Truly baffled my mind when i read that.

[@e.ogigia]

If everyone agrees on the faults of the show maybe it is because those are the faults...

[@VinnieMF]

"Everyone identified this... so it's false"

[@laurensimendinger8887]

That’s like saying that because everyone sees the sky is blue, it must not actually be blue

[@annahks]

1:36:56 “and i think that is THE fatal flaw of stan culture. it’s this notion that being a ‘true fan’ of something is rejecting any criticism it could be subjected to and only being able to see it as perfect and untouchable” THANK YOUUUUUUU

[@fresh_vanilla]

friend space ninja challenge: take a shot every time he says "we'll talk more about this later"

[@trinaq]

Out of all the squandered potential, I'm most disappointed by the portrayal of Sally and Gabe's relationship. In the books and first movie, it was made clear that she only married him to protect Percy, and that she'd sacrificed a lot for his sake. Gabe even hit Sally in the books, yet she stayed anyway, out of love for her son. Here, it's like he's an idiot roommate who is constantly bossed about, instead of the fearsome husband and stepfather.

[@lokalcrow1470]

Well Rick Riordan has stated, and we can agree or disagree with the choice, that they toned Gabe down on purpose because it's a lot more brutal to see abuse on screen than read on paper, its impact, and it would've affected the tone of the show. I was also very disappointed that he was toned down, I feel like there could've been a better work-around for this.

[@LS.356]

I think the problem with toning down Gabe's abuse is that his death at the end might look too harsh of a punishment in the eyes of someone who hasnt read the books. I think they didnt need to show him hitting Sally, but maybe show her bruises at some point to imply what happened? I dont know, but that would definitely show how much she sacrifices herself for Percy

[@hope-cat4894]

​@@lokalcrow1470In the movie, you got a sense that Gabe was a bad husband even without him hitting Sally, so it seems odd to tone it down even further than that. Even just having him slam a fridge and Sally flinching from the loud sound or having her show a change in her tone of voice when he walks into the room could tell us all we need to know about their dynamic.

[@arjuscarlet55555]

Yessss

[@Em35nyc]

@@lokalcrow1470Thats a super weak response from Rick imo. More likely is there was some interference from Disney telling them to not have any abuse dynamics on the show, that’s more believable to me

[@justinehercthehuman]

Annabeth: The quest is gonna be hard! Also them: *kills two furies and Medusa on their first day with no struggle*

[@amberhernandez]

I'm so used to thinking of PJ's Furies with a capital F, seeing it without the capitalisation made me read that as furries lmao

[@justinehercthehuman]

@@amberhernandez LMAOOOO

[@VinnieMF]

​@@amberhernandez Noooooooooo

[@missladyhaha]

I hated the scene where Annabeth and Percy were bickering and Luke goes like, “when did you guys become like an old married couple?” I’m like…what? When? How? I always knew they were being set as a couple but it was not there

[@Rox7ne]

Exactly. They simply became friends by the end of the 1st book. And (spoilers for the next books, but I'm sure you've read it) Annabeth was basically crushing super hard on Luke back then. Meanwhile, it took Percy a bit more to develop his crush. Their friendship started with them arguing and bantering, but they were never shoved together from the get-go. Their banter and their iconic "seaweed brain" and "wise girl" was a start yes, but it didn't have Annabeth being annoyed at Percy every. single. time.... just why? As a fandom, we never won. 💀

[@Booksaremysolace]

Omg same. It feels like a moment for the shippers to latch onto, it was so cheap

[@imperialsarcasm]

it was so awkward like they just shoved it in there for book fans

[@f4llenleaves]

Annabeth saying "seaweed brain" for the first time felt so unearned. It felt weird to hear her saying it in such a serious moment. I'll admit that Percabeth were 12 y/o me's parents but this felt like a cheap appeal to nostalgia.

[@f4llenleaves]

@@Rox7ne They were just friendly until BotL but it was implied that Percy and Annabeth started crushing on each other at roughly at the same age. It's just that Percy, as we all know, is dense and "obtuse" as Annabeth called him; hence, it took him some time to process that he actually has feelings for Annabeth. Annabeth was explicitly mentioned to have had a crush on Percy since she was 12 in MoA while Percy was implied to have found her attractive for a while. In TLT, as in the first book, he said his "face felt a little warm" when Annabeth gave him her necklace. In SoM, he focused waaay too much on how pretty Annabeth was when he was a hamster. In TTC, Aphrodite looked half like Annabeth. We just happened to get Percy as our unreliable and dense narrator lol. Now I don't mind the subtle eye contact in the show, since viewing the story in a POV that's not locked on Percy is bound to be a different experience. But the way Annabeth said "seaweed brain" for the first time made me feel nothing. We weren't shown enough interactions (whether heartfelt or banter) only between them that could've made me think Annabeth earned the right to call him that so quickly. Plus she said it at such a serious moment so it felt so awkward. Overall, I think the Percabeth romantic tension was not too strong and quick for the first season but, then again, every relationship in this season felt so forced and inorganic. The creators seemed like they didn't care about writing an accurate adaptation nor its own, engaging thing. Heck, Game of Thrones is such an inaccurate adaptation yet it's a pretty good standalone. Disney's PJO is... just there 😭 It's like they're willing to sacrifice quality writing and cinematography because they know us nostalgic PJO readers will eat it all up regardless.

[@anacpereira5]

I'm so glad I found this video because PJ twitter has been all "this show is way better than the books" and if you say you don't like it, they say you're racist. Like my brother in christ, I hate the script Leah was given, not her. It felt very bland. As a PJ fan (I've read the books a lot of times, one of those times this year), the movie was more fun than the show (the only part I genuinely enjoyed on the tv show was Ares being a hater on twitter, that's kinda on brand and Grover trying to play detective) but otherwise, they knew everything, they had everything handed over on a plate to them, they started pushing Percabeth too soon - like Annabeth's crush on Luke is supposed to be a big thing for her character. The books are fun because they actually need to think and grow.

[@gtdc4685]

I understand liking the show, but "better than the books"?

[@itsclaudiamusic]

Not to mention a lot of fans blame the flaws of the show on 'Disney', and not Rick or the writers, because 'he couldn't possibly be the one making all the big creative decisions/ it was the evil top executives at Disney controlling everything' when Rick was the one who even wrote parts of the script himself!

[@genevieveowusu885]

Exactly!

[@Vor567tez]

I am honestly confused how the author can give pass to such poorly written script? When he hated the movies for being bad so I thought he will do everything best to fix it but that didn't happen.

[@sonea9444]

​@@Vor567tez you have to express emotions, objections and Situations very different in book vs moving picture. it is also one of the many flaws of the fantastic beasts movies. Book authors have the option to use inner monologue or just background info drop without it feeling out of place whereas for script writer adapting a book they have to generate partly new scenes and make use of direction in order to transfer these things into a movie. it is a completely different discipline and should be treated as such from both authors and producers. it is however often not.

[@Vor567tez]

@@sonea9444 But that doesn't mean the book writers suddenly forget how line arrangement works. Eg Rick cleverly didn't hv Grover or anyone instantly tell Percy the moment he enters the Casino bcs he realise it will take away the mystery. But in the show he let it pass when anyone while reading the script can see the glaring issue. Isn't he a writer? Didn't he went through yrs of figuring out how to make the story interesting and better? How to plan and arange the situation in such a way they keep the mystery and also reflect the character's trait? Sure, he may not be a screenwriter but after reading the script he very well can understand and compare how the changes affect vs why he didn't do it in the books that way.

[@moon03726]

Those fans need to accept the fact that Rick is not a good screen writer. He is good at telling, not showing.

[@tomasdowbor1184]

I feel like everyone skips over the Ares fight, but it was so poorly done to me. The whole point of the fight was that, 1. Percy had to be strategic/smart about the fight, leading Ares into the water and taking him by surprise, and... 2. Kronos was influencing Ares to hold back (which should also be a sinister feeling we get during the battle that helps us learn about the Kronos reveal for LATER) In the show somehow Percy just legitimately decks the God of War after like no training and Ares just watches as this wave builds up and knocks him on his ass. Glad to see Percy finally getting challenged a bit more than other fights but come on...

[@Mairuiz13]

Also I always felt like that was the moment in the first book that as a reader you go "oh shit he's that badass" like, it was the first time he fought a god and it was the god of war, he beat him in his own game by thinking on his feet and being good with his sword, It felt so grand in the books and it was over so quickly in the show, you don't really get the feeling of percy being percy

[@Vor567tez]

Basically it's Percy Jackson : minus fun

[@filmfangirls9163]

Agreed

[@ianbrudnakvoss3126]

Also Ares doesn't get nearly as much dialogue, which took a lot away from it, for me at least

[@autumnrose9655]

I started shouting at the screen when Ares kicked Percy, a demi-god of the sea, INTO THE WATER. Like, sir, you are a god of war, where is the battle strategy?

[@nataliesquire969]

1:03:04 this is something I just realized now that you mention it- Rick being closely involved in this project maybe is what made it have this huge exposition problem. Rick is an amazing writer- of novels. Not of screenplays. You can give all the exposition you want in a book because words are the only thing you have to work with. When we have Percy’s internal monologue, he can contextualize things without awkwardly saying it out loud to the other people in the scene. I know Rick wasn’t the only writer on this but he did have a big say. Everyone thought that him working on it would make it better but I think it might’ve made it worse. I don’t think he should’ve been completely detached from the project but maybe he should’ve stepped back a bit.

[@nataliesquire969]

Lol you talk about this later in the video I didn’t get that far but yeah I agree😭

[@VinnieMF]

The 2.0 version of JK in Fantastic Beasts 2&3

[@isaacgray2909]

And also many authors even prolific ones like Stephen King and GRRM have editors to correct and proof-read their chunks of writing, a fact that overlook many fans. Since the other person mentioned JK Rowling, a fun fact that Rowling's editor was said to take a year off and eventually retired by the time she wrote Order of the Pheonix, and it really shows given the last 3 books in the series became much longer than she usually wrote for.

[@lilyyalva]

at the time that show was being released, everyone on my tiktok fyp was defending it & rick's writing WITH THEIR LIVES. i was like are we watching the same show? the casting is good but the writing, excessive exposition, unnecessary changes, and lack of mystery & fun fully buried the good parts of the show, i was so disappointed. like where did that game of thrones-level budget go to?

[@chesssse6607]

Imo, the worst crime of this show is lack of fun. There is funny moments here and there but the whole fun vibe when I was reading the book or even the first movie (which made me pick up the book) was just lacking

[@noobmasterruben5167]

Same. I said this before and I'll say it again. This show shud take some inspiration from TOH & Wednesday. Both shows managed to balance humor and levity while still allowing the audiences to discuss theories or ongoing mystery 😒

[@redenavari]

37:50 "We officially won" It's been canon for fifteen years. When were you ever losing

[@nope19568]

seriously lol

[@katherinealvarez9216]

Yeah, I remember that Percy and Annabeth are in a long term relationship in the books.

[@PhileasLiebmann]

Not to mention that there is only like one other possible legitimate ship for either of these characters respectively in this story in the first place (Calypso for Percy and Luke for Annabeth and obviously neither of these were ever going to happen)

[@Atlantafan21]

@@PhileasLiebmannwell Rachel was realistically the rival love interest but yeah Percy and Annabeth was obviously was always endgame

[@PhileasLiebmann]

@@Atlantafan21 I mean, sure, Rachel was technically a rival to Annabeth in that she was also into Percy. But Percy was never into her, at least not in any way that mattered. And besides, with her being the Oracle a relationship was basically out of the question anyway. There are so many caveats to this ship, it hardly counts.

[@BiancaG1999]

"It's a kid's show" Yeah. It's a kid's book too... didn't stop it from being awesome.

[@Thaxannadrote]

This! There's this insane stance in media (especially film) that because something's target audience is kids it can be shit. I don't think I was even in my teens when I picked up the LOTR books and immediately dropped all of the shitty children's fantasy that I had been sustaining myself with until then.

[@-PVL93-]

Different times so naturally we can't have kid oriented material be good anymore

[@hugh-jasole]

You read it when you were a kid bro Big difference

[@biancag9603]

@@hugh-jasole I read it when I was like 19…

[@yeyosilver7067]

The books are amazing for kids, but if you're an adult, you'll see how basic it is I read it when I was 10/12 and 15 years old, I thought it was incredible I tried reading again with 20, I couldn't get past the first 10 pages

[@33awesomeman33]

I am a 30 year old man grown up on Percy Jackson, and while visiting, I watched the show with my parents. We were all watching it together for the first time, they having never read the books. The first episode was good albeit a little rushed. Then it was all downhill from there. They stopped watching after episode 4. Episode 2 and 3 it felt like I had to explain everything to them because without context from the books you would have NO idea what the heck is going on. I've never been so ashamed in my life. Disney ruins everything it touches, you can add percy jackson to that list.

[@strike4177]

Sadly the crime of being "mid" is so much more severe when you have a well of source material like this to pull from. In 2024 and with Disney money, you just have to be better. They've checked the necessary boxes, but just no heart. Not doomed, though. Hopefully they can pull it together

[@BingQilin]

The movies set the bar so low

[@haydenlare2079]

An animated adaptation is what we SHOULD’VE got.

[@puterboy2]

Yeah, me too.

[@saulthechicanootaku]

Agreed as this show, when executed in live-action, is visually dull, uninspiring, bland, and boring. It just has the same things people hate about the Disney live-action remakes in terms of visuals.

[@buuny2233]

🎯

[@anurati2441]

Did anyone feel like there was no sense of danger ? Like no matter what monster they faced they’d beat them without breaking a sweat

[@postmasters6453]

One of the issues in the book was them being absolutely clueless about any situation they walked into. However, for the show, they knew what was going on and who each person/monster was within ten seconds. Take the Crusty scene, for example. In the book, it was excusable that Percy ran away from people trying to rob him. Still, in the show, he walked in, saw a random guy selling waterbeds, and immediately knew it was Procrustes, and his friends weren't even being stretched to death. So tldr, you're right, and they knew anything and everything that would come after them.

[@terezgrosaft3335]

yea, the whole time i was like: whatever, they’re gonna figure it out in the next 2min anyway

[@twilightdream]

Exactly, there was barely any tension. When Annabeth immediately figured out Aunty Em’s was Medusa I rolled my eyes, and then they all immediately figure out the point of the Lotus Casino. It just becomes formulaic. The books actually had tension.

[@gottesurteil3201]

Echidna felt somewhat different.

[@cinderelenn]

there was no sense of danger because there was no mistery! with all being said, we cant fear the unknown

[@bandotaku]

Seeing people say "Percabeth nation, we have won" in reference to the show, is so weird to me. Like, do they not know they are a canon couple? Or worse, they do know and are using the show for some validation of their ship, when they really don't need to? Like what do you mean, you "won" when there wasn't a contest to begin with?

[@-._.-What-Is-Up-._.-]

I don't know what they will do when Calypso / Rachel show up or Annabeth reveille that She had crush on Luke 💀

[@bandotaku]

@@-._.-What-Is-Up-._.- If they reveal it at all. I wouldn't be surprised if those characters are introduced just to make Annabeth jealous, and nothing to do with their actual purpose in the story. I used to have more faith. but now I'm not so sure. If they do reveal her crush, I hope we get some flashbacks of them because she seemed really ok about fighting him in the finale, with no hesitation. As if he was just another camper.

[@-._.-What-Is-Up-._.-]

​​@@bandotakuFOA, I don't even think this show would made it S4 to Show Rachel / Calypso ( You Know I am *really excite* to see balck version of Calypso who is suppose to be more beautiful than Aprodite herself 💀😅😂 ) I can totally Imagine how This version of Annabeth who get mad at everything and everyone for No reason shit on Rachel 💀 and beat shit out of her in first place I don't even think This version of Annabeth had friendship with Luke and Thlaia Let aone crush on Luke ( ya ya *Excite* to see Black version of Thalia since Zeus himself is Balck 💀 ) I know In MoA Annabeth said that she had Crush on Percy since She is 12 yo, But Again, HoO series Itself has lot of Plot Holes, So we can't take it Serious In TLT Book, Annabeth or Percy has NO ROMANTIC attraction to each other at All, They were literally like tyring to kill each other every 5 minutes in Books 😂

[@bandotaku]

@@-._.-What-Is-Up-._.- I don't think this series will get cancelled, and they will make it to the end of the first series. They just need to make some minor improvements for it to be a great show and the hype will keep up. It all depends on the second season and whether the show runners listen to criticism or not. I'm going to keep my expectations low, but I have hope it will improve.

[@-._.-What-Is-Up-._.-]

@@bandotaku The Hype is only inside of part of PJO Fandom Literally, MAN, The First PJO Movie earn more fans to PJO fandom than this show The PJO Show ( 2023 ) IMDB Rating : 7.1 / 10 The 1st Harry Potter Movie ( 2001 ) IMDB Rating : 7.6 10 Disney's bots and brainwashed 12yo kids are everywhere sayIng ' THIS PJO SHOW IS THE BEST ADAPTATION OF A BOOK SERIES EVER MADE' I am pretty sure these 12yo kids haven't even watch First Harry Potter Movie which was released in 2001

[@kaylafig]

I agree with the magic being taken away. If you want to show Percy being a demigod which is more than just a regular 12-year-old kid, why didn't they keep in the fact that he can talk to horses and that he doesn't get wet when in water? It adds an other worldly feel to Percy which is not shown in the show at all

[@emmawagner8915]

That boy came out of the water! That’s nice dear But he’s dry!

[@gtdc4685]

@emmawagner8915 nice quote 👍👌

[@crimsoneclipse0618]

It's sad cause it feels like it's almost there, but they refuse to take that final leap to really commit to it. Like it feels a bit neutered, like the little sharp edge it had was blunted and filed away.

[@MADAMEJANAANIUTA]

this!!

[@polinachirkina4816]

Yeah, it feels underwhelming unfortunately

[@Luchux177]

Part of it is because it feels like it is almost embarrased to use the campier parts of the books, just look at how the Underworld changed between book and TV

[@FelisImpurrator]

The hand of Disney chokes the life out of yet another project.

[@crimsoneclipse0618]

​@@Luchux177 Yeah, I feel like it's also why they made this Percy more 'mature', because the actor can absolutely do a great energetic, adhd kid acting from his previous works, but here he feels super toned down. Also could be why they removed the more goofy parts like the mechanical spiders, which is a shame because that's part of the charm

[@deedee0912]

I graduated uni with a degree in Creative Writing. Although my focus was on novel writing, I had to take a playwriting/screenwriting class. And let me tell you (just like everyone has pointed out) IT’S NOT THE SAME THING. It’s such a completely different medium which you have to approach in a completely different way than novel writing, which Rick is great at. Screenplays - not so much. I feel like he also approached this first season from the perspective of Percy Jackson from the newest book Chalice of the Gods. He’s writing from the perspective of an older Percy who already knows the outcome of everything which is why all the kids seem too knowledgable than they should be. Especially Percy. Annabeth could be understood, but even she struggled a lot with figuring things out etc. I’m kind of afraid that when we go into The Sea of Monsters, she’ll immediately clock Circe and the guinea pigs. The whole fun of it was that Percy was gullible and Annabeth was enchanted by Circe… Rick needs like 3 editors who can go over the scripts and can actually stand up to him

[@larajackson239]

I talked to my sister about the story and pacing and she pointed out that a lot of the shows faults could also be due to them foregoing making a storyboard? so if they didnt do that ...they definetly should ... it would also help with boring shots and directing too

[@deedee0912]

@@larajackson239true, but that is more so from the directorial/editing part, rather than writing. In any case, the LEAST they could do is bulletpoint it from all angles (writing, editing etc) and figure out what needs to be there and what filler has to be there. Bulletpoints are the meat. Filler is the seasoning (if done well), directing is the plating and presentation. All is needed for a good story. Also - just up the lighting of the show, I can barely see it 😭😂

[@-._.-What-Is-Up-._.-]

I agree, Rick is Human not a God, Almos every book he wrote after House of Hades suked Even new PjO Book, 6th PJO book sucked so hard that I think I can't even give it 4/10 So, is for the Show, It would really good show if a real fan (A Fan who wrote Fan fiction which are basically better than some of Rick's books) involve in Script writing rather than Rick

[@arielrose9874]

Yeah this feels the same as George Lucas and the dialogue issues in the prequels. Their choices were theirs alone, and that doesn't necessarily reflect a solid product. A lot of the charm in the aOT trilogy did not come straight from George, but he was a bit of a yes man by the time of the late 90s-mid 2000s for the prequel era. Based off how bad the earlier PJO movies were received, finally having the actual creator involved could've created the same environment. It's got that Disney, sanitized feel that the shows like the Mandalorian and Ahsoka suffer from despite their OG creators also being involved as well with Favreau and Filoni. Dave was amazing in the Clone Wars, but clearly struggles with the jump to live-action. It feels like a combo of Disney's relationship with overusing CGI/The Volume, and Rick not doing super well as a screenwriter.

[@tsuki3752]

right, i knew rick was going to be involved but i didn’t know he was going to actually be a writer. i thought he would just be a heavily relied on creative consultant for character dialogue or representation of scenes or settings or whatever… not the one in charge of it all.

[@ding4634]

So the thing I find funny: this is literally not a new thing to have happened. Steven King did the exact same thing. He hated the Shining, talked about how much he despised it and didn't consider it to be a good adaptation of his book, and then he went and made a terrible TV miniseries himself that he was touting as being better than the Kubrick movie. It's really amusing how history is repeating itself yet again.