Streaming on: Disney+
Episodes viewed: 4 of 8
With a glut of teen and YA adaptations and franchises currently available to stream — and many just as quickly cancelled (sigh, Lockwood & Co.) — it’s a surprise that Disney has rebooted Rick Riordan’s bestselling Percy Jackson book series. Following the backlash from both fans and author to the release of Harry Potter director Christopher Columbus’ 2010 feature Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief — and subsequent sequel — the studio has enlisted Riordan directly to help with a more faithful adaptation of the beloved source material. But will Percy — and this latest reboot — go from zero to hero?
Throughout the first two episodes, co-creators Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg quickly immerse viewers in this new world, while establishing a charming coming-of-age narrative. The breezy, 40-minute episodes — filled with ancient Greek gods, monsters and mythology — fly by, as Percy discovers his true parentage and undergoes fun demigod training at Camp Half-Blood.
The episodic format works much better for this adaptation, with an eight-episode series affording greater room for character development, evolving dynamics and impressive world-building, all the while laying groundwork for the overarching quest to recover the lord of Olympus’ missing bolt.
While Riordan and co stick closely to the source material, the third episode (‘We Visit The Garden Gnome Emporium’) marks the biggest change. Following the current literary trend of reframing and retelling female characters’ stories from Greek mythology (Circe, Ariadne and Atlanta etc), the episode gives us a fascinating glimpse at the tragedy of Medusa. Her change in portrayal — and motivation in wanting to ‘aid’ Percy — cleverly ties into the key themes of the series, questioning the gods’ murky motives and morality.
_The Adam Project’_s Walker Scobell shines in the lead as Percy.
However, much like Disney’s adaptation of Artemis Fowl and the more recent Willow series, Percy Jackson does skew rather young, with the dialogue, often sanitised action and humour aimed more at pre-teen than YA audiences. This may be disappointing for those who enjoyed the more mature YA offerings such as Shadow And Bone, His Dark Materials and Lockwood & Co., but for parents it might prove a boon, offering up a weekly watch for all the family.
Beyond the overarching quest, the real heart of the show is the sweet and often goofy dynamic between the young central trio. _The Adam Project’_s Walker Scobell shines in the lead as Percy, managing to capture the awkwardness, kooky wit and bravery of the young demigod. Meanwhile, he and co-star Leah Sava Jeffries nail the bickering dynamic between Percy and Annabeth, while Aryan Simhadri shines as the sweet satyr Grover who’s constantly caught in the middle (hello, Consensus Song!)
Jason Mantzoukas is particularly inspired casting as the obnoxious Dionysus, god of wine — hilariously manipulating Percy into retrieving a bottle of 1985 Château Haut-Brion when he’s been banned from booze — and a certain Hamilton star also makes an intriguing but all-too-brief cameo as Hermes, teasing his appearance in the upcoming Lotus Casino episode.
Visually, the show is rather a mixed bag. The interweaving of magical creatures and monsters into modern-day America doesn’t quite land — particularly in a murky early showdown with the Minotaur and the comical Chihuahua-come-Chimera. Throughout these sequences, it’s hard not to feel that this has been done more successfully by similar shows_._ Still, there are plenty of fun sequences to enjoy, including the key game of Capture The Flag that leads to Percy being ‘claimed’ by Poseidon.
