By Ava Grippo – Staff Reporter

The new Percy Jackson adaptation is better than the movies – by a landslide. 

The first episode of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” was released on December 18, 2023. The show was long awaited by fans. The first season consists of eight episodes that span from 30 to 45 minutes. Walker Scobell plays the iconic demi-god Percy Jackson, alongside Leah Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri, who play Percy’s closest friends, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. 

The series kicks off as if straight from the novels, with the iconic speech from Percy: “Look, I didn’t want to be a half blood. If you’re reading this because you think it might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life. Being a half-blood is dangerous.”

The show follows a 12-year-old boy named…Percy Jackson. He discovers he is a half blood and the forbidden son of Poseidon. He is sent on a quest to retrieve Zues missing lightning bolt and return it to the king of the gods. The eight episodes follow his journey through fighting a minotaur, adjusting to Camp Half Blood, a sanctuary for all demigods, coming face to face with medusa, battling the mother of all monsters, encountering Ares, confronting the god of the underworld, encountering Ares once again, and finally returning the lighting bolt to Zues, bringing Percy, Annabeth and Grover on one chaotic adventure. 

The Percy Jackson TV show follows the storyline of the books much more than the movies ever did. Even with the few changes that were made, the TV show still left fans satisfied with what was given. The differences were thought out and nicely done, while the movies felt all over the place and felt completely different from the original story they were trying to portray. The movies followed a completely inaccurate plot and the character did not honor the ones shown in the books. 

The new adaptation did well in developing the relationships between Percy, Annabeth and Grover, as well as the situation between the gods, portraying the depths written in the books. Although the show did feel as if it was a little fast paced at times, it was still able to hit all the important plot points and scenes that were needed. 

The important and most memorable scenes from the books – Percy’s battle with Ares; and the Betrayal of Luke, the son of Hermes who took Percy in when he arrived at Camp Half Blood – were both written well. The show did a good job of bringing the beloved characters to the screen and giving the watchers an entertaining story which the movies had failed to do. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars