Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV Show Review

Hey, everyone! Since all of the episodes for the Percy Jackson TV show are out, and I have watched them all, I wanted to write a review for it. I have been waiting for this show for years, and now that I’ve seen it, I have a lot of thoughts.

There will be TV show spoilers in this review!

The first two episodes were not my favorite. There was a lot of condensed information, and it was very fast-paced. There were some major points in the book that weren’t included, such as the hellhound appearing during the capture the flag game and Percy learning about his sword. He never gets told that its name is Riptide. We also don’t see Percy given ambrosia or nectar after his fight with the Minotaur, so he doesn’t learn about the magic of it.

Also, why is Annabeth introduced so late? In the books, she is the one who shows Percy around camp since she’s been there for so long. In the show, Luke does that, and Annabeth isn’t introduced until the bathroom scene.

After the first two episodes, things start to get better. The trio’s meeting with Medusa was a lot of fun to watch, and the fight with Echidna and the chimera was done well. I love seeing all the monsters come to life through the screen. The scenes were filmed well, and I liked some of the different paths they took.

However, some of the scenes felt rushed, and the situations were too easy. They figure out the issues too quickly and get out of them without much hassle. For example, in the show, Percy knows the concept of Crusty’s Water Bed Palace and isn’t fooled when Crusty tries to get him to lay on a bed. In the book, the whole trio is tricked by him, and they barely make it out alive.

I read a review done by the Atlantic, and they said that the wonder was taken out of the show. I think that’s a great way to describe what happened. Here’s the link if you want to read them full review.

Switching gears a bit, let’s talk about casting. The trio: perfection. Even though they don’t align to their descriptions in the book, Walker, Leah, and Aryan fit their characters so well.

I don’t love the actor they choose to play Sally Jackson, Virginia Kull. She’s a great actor, and she did an amazing job, but she didn’t exude the warm, motherly vibe I imagine when I think of Sally Jackson. Maybe it was a choice made for the show, I don’t know. Sally Jackson was just a lot more feisty in the show. Every time one of the flashbacks happened, she always felt a little . . . mean.

I also feel like the actor for Hephaestus didn’t fit quite right. I’ve always imagined him as a big, brawny guy since he works in the forge and builds stuff. But he was portrayed as an older, more polished guy.

As for the other characters, I don’t have a major opinion on them. I will say though, young Percy is so cute!

I didn’t dislike the show; I thought it was pretty good. It’s gotten renewed for season 2, and I will most likely watch it when it comes out. What I think needs to happen, though, is for them to have more episodes. Season 1 jam-packed so much information and plot into 8 episodes that they weren’t able to take their time with the scenes. I feel like they need at least 10 episodes.

I give season 1 a 3.5/5 rating.