And we finally get to the show. I was excited for this show, and when I learned more about it, I became even more optimistic about it, partly because Rick Riordan’s name was on the ads and partly because it featured child actors. Before we get into the review, I need to announce that the next book series I will be looking at is The Hunger Games.

“Percy Jackson is on a dangerous quest. Outrunning monsters and outwitting gods, he must journey across America to return Zeus’ master bolt and stop an all-out war. After losing his mother, Percy is sheltered at Camp Half-Blood, a sanctuary for demigod children. He must prove himself and confront his origins once he discovers he too is a demigod and will take off into the perils of pursuing enemies in search of the Underworld. With the help of his quest mates Annabeth and Grover, Percy’s journey will lead him closer to the answers he seeks, how to fit into a world where he feels out of place, if he’ll ever see his mother again, and if he can ever find out who he’s destined to be.”

The book free review. This series is amazing. The action and the effects are a lot of fun. This will make you want to read the book. The child actors all feel real.

For this review, I am going to go episode by episode with my thoughts on them. But because this is already going to be a bit long, I’m going to change how I review each episode, and  I will be repeating myself a bit, so please be patient with me.

Before we get into the episodes, there are three things that I would like to talk about in the entire series. Firstly, I love the flashbacks because we see more of Percy and Sally interacting. Secondly, I need to talk about the elephant in the room. I need to talk about the reaction to the casting of Annabeth. This is a partial list of characters who do not resemble their in-book counterparts: Percy, Annabeth, Chiron, Grover, Mr. D, Clarisse, Hermes, and Zeus. And 8 of them don’t have the same skin color as the books. Thirdly an interesting that these versions of Percy, Annabeth and Grover are a lot smarter than in the book. Everyone knows more of the myths and understands what is happening, for example, Annabeth realizing from seeing Anite Ems Garden Gnome Emporium that this must be Medusa.

Episode 1 I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher.

Before we get into anything else. Even if you have watched the show, rewatch the scene with the principal and take a closer look at the only adult who doesn’t talk. Hello, Uncle Rick.

It is so cool that we have Mythomaniac cards as a teaching tool for demigods.  The Minotaur fight is so dramatic, and the fact that Percy cuts the Minotaur horn makes so much sense as to how Percy can pull off the minotaur horn.

Episode 2: I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom.

I enjoy Jason Mantzoukas as Mr. D., even if we never see Mr. D trying to trick a demigod into getting him wine in the book, but I can imagine him doing that. The Hermes cabin didn’t look as crowded as it is described, which, while I understand why that is because it would be hard to film but I wish it would be a bit more cluttered, as this is a plot point in later books. I enjoy how Luke acts as a big brother, and you can believe that he wants to help Percy. It is such a wonderful thing to see Percy trying to pray to his mom. It makes so much sense that he only does the quest because his mom is alive.

Episode 3 We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium.

The balance of both Percy and Annabeth being given the chance to betray the team and turning that chance down cements at least some friendship. When we meet Medusa, we have a reference to a much darker story of how Medusa became a monster. This feels like a reference to the fact that there are many different myths about how Medusa became a gorgon.

Episode 4 I Plunge to My Death.

This episode is a look at how the show changes things from the book, but it works a lot better. Meeting Echidna at the train, she is so creepy and sweet. This is the point where the show is much better than the book. Specifically, in the book, they just visit the Gateway Arch, but in this one, the Gateway Arch is a monument to Athena in the hope they will be safe. Also, and this is just an example we’re seeing, this story just works better. I’ve never seen the arch in real life. It hits differently when the camera pans up to the arch, and you know that Percy is going to fall off that.

I find it interesting that the introduction of Grover’s desire to find Pan specifically, the fact that in the book, Grover rails against pollution and Grover in the show is sadder about hunting. I find it very interesting because of the difference between the destruction of nature instead the large number of animals that could be wiped out, especially the look at buffalo hunting in the Manifest Destiny display in the Gateway Arch Museum.

Episode 5: A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers.

This is the only episode that is just one chapter. Aries, minus the flaming eyes, is Aries from the books brought to life. The fact that Aries starts Twitter wars for fun makes so much sense. There is madness behind his eyes. Also, the way that we get the lore about Kronos in this episode as how this family keeps fighting. I would like to talk about the Hephaestus Theme Park. From what I understand, the idea of metal spiders would be hard and time-consuming to do, so instead, they pulled from the mythology to create a different challenge. Also, it’s fun with Hephaestus being one of the few supportive gods, which makes sense because Hephaestus is a bit of an outcast. Grover was so manipulative, with Aries getting to talk more than he meant to, and because Percy already knew that his mom was alive, he needed a different motivation, which was why Aries kept Grover.

Episode 6 We Take a Zebra to Vegas.

 I find it interesting that we see Kronos as the principal where he was expelled.  Maybe because this would be a painful memory. In this episode, we see an example of an Iris Message, but I have a question: Why in none of the other books do we never see the demigods having a crystal to make an IM? It feels weird that they are told specifically to go to the Lotus Casino instead of wandering in. I knew that there was no chance to have Nico and Bianca in the casino because there is no chance that they would be the same age in three to four years.

Lin Manuel Miranda as Hermes. He feels old, and I love the fact that there is a reference to Luke’s backstory. This makes sense because Percy does not learn this until the fifth book, but Hermes knows all of this because he was there. The fact that they fail this feels like it adds to the pressure.

Episode 7 We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of.

I wonder when there is a reference to Crusty being a son of Poseidon and maybe why we don’t see Percy kill Crusty. On talking about the underworld, I am ok with not seeing differently, and we don’t see the field of punishment because this is Disney, not HBO.

I enjoy the fact that Hades is so calm. He doesn’t want war and just wants his stuff back, and it’s not until after he knows the Kronos is coming back that he is even interested in the lightning bolt. And even then, he isn’t demanding; he tries to make a deal, promising sanctuary.

Episode 8. The Prophecy Comes True.

It’s great that we see Luke giving Percy sword-fighting lessons; this explains how Percy can have a glimmer of hope against Aries. I enjoy the fact that we see the Aries fight in the ads for the show was proof that this show would be true to the book.

Why don’t the Thrones look like they do in the books? By this, I mean that in the books, you can recognize whose throne is whose at a glance. Ok, if you look closer, you may be able to recognize this, but it’s not clear. I enjoy it so much that Percy talks back to Zeus, telling him that he needs to be a better father. It makes so much sense that Luke tries to recruit Percy because he does that in later books. Because we see Percy complaining about the gods, so he might join him. I love that Luke leaves after finding out that Annabeth knows that he is turning on the camp.

For anyone who has stuck through this review of this series. I hope you will stick with me for my Hunger Games review.

Happy reading to all, and to all a good night.