‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Review as A New Fan (2024)

Iyanna Wise, Staff Writer • March 27, 2024

I’ve never been a Greek mythology person, mostly because I never understood it. So, it wasn’t a shock that I’d never heard of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” until now. The closest I’ve ever been to liking Greek mythology is the 1997 Disney movie “Hercules,” but “Percy Jackson” was different and caught my attention in a good way.

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is a book series written by Rick Riordan. The series gained attention for its lovable characters and lighthearted comedic moments, but it wasn’t afraid to go into darker topics, like death, for a children’s series. The series’ popularity resulted in adaptations of the first two books, many spinoff books, and now this TV show.

The show follows Jackson (Walker Scobell), a 12-year-old who always felt and knew he was different. He soon discovers he’s a half-blood — half mortal, half god. Jackson is sent on a journey alongside his best friend Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri) and frenemy Annabeth Chase (Leah Jeffries) to prevent a war between Poseidon and Zeus while also saving his mother from Hades.

Something I liked about the series was the characters and their relationships. All the actors did an amazing job bringing the characters’ personalities from the book to life while being able to give a more emotional performance when needed.

Scobell and Virginia Kull, who plays Percy’s mother, Sally Jackson, portrayed the close relationship between Jackson and his mom. It pulls some heartstrings when you look at Jackson’s face as he “reunites” with his mom, and you see how happy he was. Throughout the season, you could see the love Sally had for her son and how hurt she was that she had to lie to him about his Greek background.

Jackson and Chase started as frenemies at the beginning of their journey, eventually building a friendship throughout the season. Their relationship went from small name-calling to self-sacrifice to help the quest. There are some sweet, “more-than-friends” moments between them that set them up for their relationship in the future, like when she defended Percy on how he wouldn’t end up like the power-hungry, backstabbing gods on Olympus.

The comedy throughout the season was also on par and fit very well with the characters. Chase had never been outside Camp Half-Blood, so her never seeing a movie and not knowing what Disneyland was are very fitting for her character. Underwood’s sassy, cranky scene on the train when he kept getting woken up was an episode highlight. But Jackson takes the comedy crown in the scene where he crashes Hermes’ car multiple times in the parking garage after saying driving couldn’t be that hard.

From a musician’s perspective, the score created by Bear McCreary was amazing. There’s a rich brass sound, and the balance between them with the woodwinds and strings on the lighter, articulate end is incredible. But I liked how the roles can switch, like when the strings take on the heavier sound while the brass is lighter. I also loved the gradual switches in tempo, changes in dynamics, and style shifts. This might be basic, but I really enjoyed the show’s theme. The low brass is really present with this serious but heroic tone, but the strings and upper woodwinds push them back to balance it out to keep it light and optimistic. I also love the trill of the flute; it was unexpected yet pleasant.

I think the fight been Jackson and Luke Castellan (portrayed by Charlie Bushnell) in the finale could have been longer. There was a lot of anticipation since Castellan was already known as the villain in the books. But when it came to the fight, the emotional elements, like Jackson’s feeling of betrayal, were there but the physical elements weren’t.

But what I disliked was the hate from most of the fans, especially about the casting. Good representation in media for people of color isn’t very common. It is especially important for young people of color to have someone who reminds them of themselves when they look at TV. Characters like Chase and Underwood are the focus of this criticism because they were race-swapped, but the race change of the characters didn’t impact the actors’ portrayal of them. Riordan himself even supported the casting, and the actors of these characters were phenomenal.

All episodes of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” are currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Season two has also been confirmed.

Your donation will support the student journalists of Omaha Central High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.