If I’m being honest, I don’t think any show could actually live up to the book “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan.
This was one of my favorite books as a kid, and won’t receive any bad talk about it, so I might be biased. A book has the opportunity to describe characters’ thoughts and emotions, the stress or panic of a situation and the setting with any variety of words. I’m well aware of the fact that series and movies actually show the setting and the characters, but with those, you’re robbed of creating your own mental image of them.
But despite this, the Disney Plus show of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” truly did an amazing job bringing one of my favorite books to life. Aside from the obvious difference in appearances, I thought the characters were very well cast. The casting for Luke Castellan was spot on with Charlie Bushnell, and Walker Scobell plays the awkward and a little overwhelmed but brave and heroic Percy Jackson with ease. The editing on the show was great. All the monsters they face are very realistic and don’t look like straight CGI.
My one piece of criticism has to be the flow of the series. The pace is too fast, especially in life and death or extreme situations. I don’t get to feel panic for the characters or actually experience the stress of those moments. There’s no build up or suspense that really pulls me into the story. Percy and Annabeth’s relationship grew too quickly and without enough emotions, so I didn’t giggle and kick my feet when Annabeth hugged Percy in St. Louis.
In the show’s defense, each episode spans multiple chapters in the actual book, so I can see why it’s a little rushed. I wish they would’ve added more episodes or made each episode a little longer. The actors for Percy, Annabeth and Grover are also very young at ages 15, 14 and 17 years old. I love how the show cast actors who are similar in age to the characters they play to maintain the integrity of the show.
The show also has yet to release the final episode, but I’m excited to see how the directors are gonna end the season.
