I've never read the books or seen the movies, but I really liked the first episodes. After the first season ends I might have to read the rest of the books to find out what happens.
Finally got around to watching the first 4 episodes the other day, and I'm a bit torn. I loved the books growing up and the voice they had, and I'm not sure the series is capturing it just yet. Everything feels way too serious. I get it, the stakes are high, but these are still teens, and they don't take everything seriously. What few comedic moments there have been feel glossed over in favor of exposition that's delivered way too directly and seriously. It also kinda feels like there's an odd lack of whimsy and magic, ironically. I know it's all in Percy's blood and he shouldn't feel too surprised by anything, but there's still that sense of discovery in the books, and they get darker as the series progresses, whereas this already feels a bit too dark.
I think the cast is pretty good, but a bit of a mixed bag. Walker Scobell is good as Percy- he can certainly hit the more dramatic moments pretty well, but he feels like he's playing Percy way too old. I know Walker himself is only 15- probably 13/14 when they filmed, but he's got an old soul, it seems. I don't necessarily get the whole "reluctant hero" thing like I did with Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, for instance.
Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth isn't doing it for me, but I can't quite put my finger on why. I get that Annabeth is a bit of a spitfire, and angsty, and all that, but Leah plays her like some grizzled, world-weary character. I know a lot of that is probably the writing, but I haven't really seen many moments of vulnerability from her. Even the few softer scenes with her lately, she feels a bit too defensive? Which would work for a character like Clarisse, but I don't buy for Annabeth.
I do like Aryan Simhadri as Grover, though. Grover was always my favorite in the books, and while I don't entirely think the humor is there with him just yet, I appreciate the levity and lighter tone he brings, and I think Aryan does it pretty well. Grover is a bit of an exposition dump, but he plays it off well enough, I feel, and with a little time, I think can nail the humor and sarcasm that Grover brings.
The rest of the cast is fine so far, albeit a little light on the characterization. Jason Mantzoukas' Mr. D is probably my favorite, but I always loved him in the books. Was nice seeing Megan Mullally play something a bit more sinister, even if there isn't much to the role. Glynn Turman is pretty good as Chiron, though feels a little underused? I haven't read the books in a while, but I feel like I remember his role being a little bigger in the first one? Feels like they took out a fair bit from the first episode, probably to help with flow, but I think also took away a bit of development. Virginia Kull is good as Sally, but again, feels like she's missing a little warmth? I don't know, hard to explain.
All complaining aside, I am quite liking it. The visual effects are top notch, and the writing skews much closer to the book (which is to be expected, since the author of the books wrote the show). The world feels full and lived in, even if it's not quite to the level of something like, say, Harry Potter (but the later books definitely go a bit harder into the Greek mythology side of things). I like that it was given a second chance, and I think Disney is a great place for it. I just worry that they're going a bit too seriously for the first season, and won't have much place to go in future seasons, at least without it feeling a bit too "samey". But I'm excited for the future, and to see how other big parts of the books are adapted. I'd love to see more of a merch push from Disney; feel like there's hardly anything out there.
Generally liking this so far. I think the adaptation has been impressive. Not the "throw all the good stuff out the window and write a whole new plot" that you saw in the Lightning Thief movie, but also not a "must hit every major plot point from the books even where it would make a lot more sense to skip over them" that you saw in some of the Harry Potters. It finds a solid middle ground, where the plot is expedited by trimming or merging scenes in a way that's still generally faithful to the tone of the books.
[Show spoiler]For example, Dionysus never claims to be Percy's dad in the books, but that scene is used to illustrate how demigods are used to perform tasks the gods can't perform directly, and it's completely in character and performs the exposition very naturally. Similarly, they don't know Medusa's identity so early, but again she helps illustrate the strained relationships with and among the gods.
Pleased with the kids' casting so far. Too early to tell for the adult casting, although they do seem to have nailed Dionysus.
Finale was a good end to a good season. Having not read the books/seen the movies, I wasn't sure how it was all going to end besides Percy winning obviously. Excited for more seasons I'll probably get impatient and look up the rest of the books on my Kindle before that though. I read some book/show differences pages and it seems like the core of everything is pretty intact.
[Show spoiler]
Liked how he used Luke's lesson of the gods having to play by the rules against them, even though I don't know if it's really believable he could beat the god of war in a sword fight, evenwith the added surprise of the waves
The final confrontation with Zeus was well played. I love how Zeus is so above everything and not caring about petty mortal concerns, as opposed to Poseidon's "humanity". It played really well.
So many shows/movies make big deals about prophecy but then forget them or don't follow through. Nice to see one actually be fully followed through. Even though he does save his mom in the end, so one could say he doesn't "fail to save which matters most"
At first I was confused why he was leaving the camp (since they make a big deal about the mortal world not being safe), but then I figured it was like Hogwarts where you left for the summer. A differences page clarified for me that Percy choose to do summers there instead of staying year round.
[Show spoiler]I'm super annoyed they showed him on the Disney Plus title screen. It would have been so much better to have seen him for the first time in the show.
Fingers crossed for a season 2. I loved every single episode and it was an excellent finale. I can now forget about the awful Percy Jackson movies.
I was five minutes in to the first Jackson film, and everything about it seemed phoned in and artless. I like Chris Columbus, would be curious to ask him what happened on that shoot. Never finished it, never saw the second. My wife met Riordan, though, at a librarian convention in San Antonio, and she told me he ripped the films to shreds.
I was five minutes in to the first Jackson film, and everything about it seemed phoned in and artless. I like Chris Columbus, would be curious to ask him what happened on that shoot. Never finished it, never saw the second. My wife met Riordan, though, at a librarian convention in San Antonio, and she told me he ripped the films to shreds.
I will give the movie two compliments,
1. IMHO their version of the Lotus casino was better than the TV version (minus the Grover dance sequence).
2. The fight with Mrs. Dodds in the movie is better than TV show and the line, 'this is a pen' is classic.
Other than that the TV improves on the movies in every way.
[Show spoiler]I that was indeed his last role he leaves on a high because I thought he was great. You have to feel sorry for Raul Julia whose last role was M Bison in the Street Fighter movie.
[Show spoiler]I that was indeed his last role he leaves on a high because I thought he was great. You have to feel sorry for Raul Julia whose last role was M Bison in the Street Fighter movie.
[Show spoiler]Combing through his 5 IMDB "upcoming" projects. He has one in "pre-production" (obviously not going to be in that one), one Danny DeVito directed film which was completed in 2012 but has never found distribution, and three others that do indeed look to be on the way:
Ballerina (the John Wick spinoff film)
Shirley (a biography about Shirley Chisholm)
and a Kite Man animated series spun off from the Harley Quinn animated series where he'll be voicing Lex Luthor (apparently replacing Giancarlo Esposito from the HQ series).
I'm gonna go with "pretty good first season". The adaptations were MOSTLY good (great, even -- they compressed a lot of text into a much smaller timespan, and kept the tone, themes, and characters intact), but there were a few I didn't like as well as the others. But even then, they did the job.
[Show spoiler]Even though I didn't really like the "chair" in the Tunnel of Love, for example, it was probably a decent way to avoid a bunch of fake-looking CGI spiders, and it introduced Hephaestus -- a little early -- as a somewhat sympathetic and reasonable God (albeit with deadly toys).
Backbiter also functioning as the Subtle Knife seemed out of left field to me, but I can see how that could be used for expediting plot developments down the road. Also, they never make much of a deal about celestial bronze and the like in this series, so I guess they needed something else to make it special. It worked, but I wasn't as impressed as I was by some of the other adaptations.
Acting-wise, I still think the kids nailed it repeatedly. I'm still not really sure about the grownups, and honestly it might stay that way. After all, the kids are playing "real people" with real motivations, conflicts, and emotions. The adults are playing Gods and archetypes, which sort of by definition are a little more cardboard. They may be doing fine with what they have. Dionysus stands out, but again I think that's because in the book he's also acting like a real (petulant, unreasonable, sarcastic, petty) person more often than he's acting like a God.
Just finished the 1st episode...best Disney+ fantasy show since Andor. Appreciate the sincerity everyone's bringing to it, so kudos to the entire team.
Now watch the whole thing go to hell in the next 7 episodes....looking at you Ahsoka...
[Show spoiler]I MUCH prefer Luke telling Percy about Annabeth’s fear for spiders being a metaphor of small but scary than seeing her fear of spiders in the Tunnel of Love. Brilliant use of exposition over visuals.
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I'll probably get impatient and look up the rest of the books on my Kindle before that though. I read some book/show differences pages and it seems like the core of everything is pretty intact.
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