Percy Jackson fans cannot seem to catch a break.

After two failed attempts of rebooting Rick Riordian’s “Percy Jackson” series, the light – seemingly – appeared at the end of the tunnel: Riordan announced that he would be writing, and having complete control over a Disney+ series adapted from his famed Percy Jackson novels, with the first season set to adapt the first book in the series, The Lighting Thief. However, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” did very little to meet the expectations of long-time fans.

The series was first announced in May 2020 and ever since, has been one of Disney+’s highly anticipated premieres. The show follows a young “troubled kid” with a gift for seeing things that “aren’t really” there, such as his monstrous pre-algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodds. Before long, Percy discovers that he is not crazy, and everything he has been seeing is in relation to his Greek god of a father, Poseidon, making Percy a demigod.

Being a demigod is dangerous business, with monsters like Mrs. Dodds (a fury) and the minotaur constantly attacking the young hero; he ventures to the only safe place on Earth for people like him: Camp Half Blood. 

It is there Percy meets the other two main characters in the series: Annabeth Chase (daughter of Athena) and Grover (a young satyr). When he is not making friends, Percy is quickly forging enemies. Before long, the young hero learns that he is being accused of stealing Zeus’ (god of the sky) all-mighty lighting bolt. 

Percy is then tasked with a quest: a journey in which he will undoubtedly prove his innocence to the gods of Olympus. So, with the help of new friends Annabeth and Grover, he ventures across America. 

The original book series captivates the magic of youth, which is why it had such an appeal to kids, and even preteens. But it is clear the Disney+ series does not know its target audience. Obviously, the original fans of the book are a good place to start, but the show does very little to adapt to the age of its audience. The book came out in 2005, and the original fans, and a large majority of the show’s viewership, is now older. Riordan should have altered the script and aesthetic to please the modern-day fans and audience.  The show does not attract kids, either because of its abnormally fast-paced action, or the terrible “Gen Z” jokes that do not land. Who is this show for?

To describe “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” in one word would be “mediocre”. The episodes are 28-30 minutes long, and everything seems to be rushed and watered down in comparison to the books. One example? In the books, the friendship (and soon to be romance) between Percy and Annabeth does not blossom until the end of the quest, towards the conclusion of the book. In fact, the two demigods tolerate each other only for mutual benefit. The show completely skips over this tension, and provides little-to-no build up. By episode 5, the duo already has a strong friendship, which makes the show – overall – very underwhelming.

The show does provide solid performances for the age of the young actors; however, performances from Leah Jeffries (Annabeth) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover), at times, can come off a bit flat and monotone. Yet, Walker Scobell perfectly embodies the character of Percy Jackson.  His performance was a standout among the rest cast; this could be due to the fact that he has had more roles than his co-stars in blockbusters like “The Adam Project”.

It is important to note that there are at least a dozen books that take place in the “Percy Jackson” universe, which gives the young actors a dozen chances to improve their acting skills, if the series continues. 

One of the problems with book-to-movie adaptations, especially books that are written in first person, is that there is no way to explain what the narrator is feeling or thinking in any given moment or time. To combat this issue, the show provides a number of prolonged conversations between the core three characters. After awhile, these conversations drag, and leave the reader bored.  

The show is not bad.

In fact, there is still a lot of potential for “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”, especially because there is still so much to accomplish in terms of adapting the original books. However, in order for the series to grow, they should appeal to the original audience of the book, and take on a slightly darker themes and aesthetics. The actors will grow into their roles, but it is up to the directors and scriptwriters to really drive this change. Do not tell the audience what a character is thinking, show them.