By Emma Coleman, Film & TV Subeditor
From the age of 12 I have been a Percy Jackson super-fan, I read the book series by Rick Riordan (2005-2009, and a new one in 2023), and all his spin-off series. Followed by the two films, The Lightning Thief directed by Chris Columbus (2010) and Sea of Monsters directed by Thor Freudenthal (2013) and was entirely obsessed with the demigod universe. So when the first season of the series Percy Jackson & The Olympians came out in 2023, I just had to watch it and, unsurprisingly, loved it (at 20 I'm still hooked). Now we are back for round two of Camp Half-Blood and it did not disappoint.
Directed mainly by James Bobin, although a great amount of teamwork went into the show by other directors and Rick Riordan himself, Percy Jackson got a second chance three years ago and it has thrived ever since. Both the film adaptations got a LOT of hate when they came out with people complaining they were too different from the books, they missed out key characters, and the use of aged up actors made a third movie impossible and ridiculous. This led to the third film, The Titan’s Curse, being cancelled in 2013. The series, however, has had the complete opposite reaction, receiving various Children’s and Family Emmy Awards and growing incredibly popular.
One of the first things I noticed about the show was the amazing casting. Percy Jackson played by Walker Scobell was only 14 when filming began for season one (when his character is meant to be 12), whereas Logan Lerman (who played Percy Jackson in the film series) was 17. It is shocking to see child characters actually being played by child actors, and makes the show feel so much more authentic and truly aimed at a younger audience. The inclusivity in the casting is also phenomenal with Grover being played by Aryan Simhadri, who is Indian American, and Annabeth played by Leah Jeffries, who is black. Unfortunately, but sadly unsurprisingly, Riordan received severe backlash for this choice, with people complaining that in the books they are described as white; he replied saying “If you have a problem with this casting, take it up with me.”, aiming to protect the young actors from racist criticism. All three actors play the trio perfectly, having great chemistry, depth of emotion and expertly portraying the personalities of their individual characters.
The plot of season two followed the plot of the books very closely, another element of the positive reception. This was the most major complaint of the film series, so it was great to see Bobin's focus on accuracy. Spoiler warning - the main plot line followed Percy, Annabeth and Tyson (Daniel Diemer) with Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn), who was on an initially separate quest, searching for the Golden Fleece and heal Thalia’s tree to restore the border around camp, whilst also saving the captured Grover. Meanwhile, Luke (Charlie Bushnell) worked against them to steal the fleece and heal Kronos to end the Age of Olympus. Each episode was executed wonderfully, frequently changing setting from Luke’s cruise ship to Circe’s sanctuary to Polyphemus’ island, keeping it exciting and the action fast paced. However, the use of low quality CGI for Tyson’s eye has received some criticism and much of the show is studio-based filming with special effects, making some scenes look blaringly fake. Considering the substantial budget of $95 million I did think this could have looked a little more realistic, yet the main audience is older children, and I don’t think their complaining.
The reason I think Percy Jackson is so great is because it fosters an interest in Greek mythology in children (it certainly did for me), which is still broadly explored in literature such as Circe by Madeline Miller, academia in the study of the Classics and various films that are targeted at adults. It feels like a stepping stone into the mythical world. We learn about mythical figures like Zeus, Poseidon, demigods, cyclops’s, which expands far beyond Riordan’s imagined world and into a long-established tradition dating back for millennia. Sadly, we were left on a cliff-hanger with Thalia (Tamara Smart) coming back to life, but it remained unclear what side of the war she will join. If you stuck around for the credits, we saw a sneak peek into season three, which was revealed to be coming out later this year (again, compare this to the three year gap we saw between the films including a change in director).
Lottie Merchant
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Bobin’s representation of Percy Jackson & The Olympians, far beyond that of the original films. Yet I think the most important part of the show is that it helps keep Greek mythology alive in the next generation and introduces it to a potentially younger audience. I am glad that Percy Jackson got it’s redemption with Bobin, although I have to admit I didn’t think the films were that bad (die-hard fans don’t kill me). Riordan’s world of demigods is truly timeless and now we will hopefully be able to see it play out in five seasons of mythological greatness.
Featured Image: IMDb / Percy Jackson & the Olympians
What did you think of Percy Jackson & the Olympians S2?
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