The Jabberwock

A boy with superpowers goes on a journey with friends to save the world. We’ve heard and seen this story a thousand times over and many have gotten used to this narrative. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, however, was a novel that had a truly different and unique take on this normalized trope. Percy Jackson is introduced as a boy who seems to always attract trouble wherever he goes. His best friend, Grover, is his only friend and he always seems to do something wrong no matter how hard he tries. After what seems to be a mysterious turn of events with a substitute teacher named Mrs. Dodds, Percy finds out that things aren’t what they seem and he gets transported into a world where Greek gods and Greek myth exist, but not without losing his mom on the way. Percy comes to understand that his dad, who has never been in his life, was a Greek God, which we later find out is Poseidon— the Greek God of the seas, earthquakes, and horses. After this revelation, Percy and his friends, Grover who is revealed to be a satyr or a faun, and Annabeth who is a daughter of Athena, are sent away on a quest to retrieve Zeus’s famous thunderbolt because the gods are convinced that Percy was the one who stole it. By the end of the book we discover that not only all of the suspects on who stole the “master bolt” were incorrect, but Percy’s other only friend who accepted him into Camp Halfblood, Luke, was the real lightning thief. Percy Jackson’s stories continue in further books, however the new TV show that was just made has only just finished with this first book.

Now, the new Percy Jackson TV show was a highly anticipated TV show that was directed/written by the author himself.  There was some controversy with the casting , specifically with the actress casted for Annabeth. In the books she is described as a “typical California girl”,  and is assumed as white with curly blonde hair. The actress that was casted is black, however what some people forget is that almost every single TV show or movie adaptation is never completely accurate to the books and this type of singling out is blatantly coming from a mindset of racism. I don’t have any criticism on any of the casting other than the fact that the person who was casted as Percy, Walker Scobell, has blonde hair and blue eyes, which is literally the exact description of another major character who is introduced later in the Percy Jackson books and if they want to continue with this series something will have to change. This is not actually that big of a deal, but fans of the show, I included, are nitpicky like that. Other than these things, all energy and anticipation of the show have been very positive, especially because of the author’s involvement. Percy Jackson was once interpreted into a movie that would have been considered well done if it was considered not an adaptation because it was completely unfaithful. The fans have been reasonable hyped about this show, so let’s see how each character compares to the book in each episode:

In episode one we are introduced with, in my opinion, one of the best openings to a book ever, where Percy Jackson is introduced as the main character. We find out he has had trouble in school and has a vivid imagination of creatures in Greek mythology. Percy is narrating in this opening scene which would be expected because the book is in first person, Percy’s perspective. One issue with this however is that once you start narrating, people are going to expect it throughout and that doesn’t necessarily happen throughout the show, which is kind of disappointing for what is supposed to be an adaptation of a first person book. Grover is also introduced as Percy’s best friend within this first scene. The next big scene happens in a public place rather than the private corridor in the book. Mrs. Dodds, who is in reality a type of Greek monster trying to kill Percy, turns into her monster form in broad daylight. This is actually a much more effective scene compared to the one in the book because it makes Percy that much more unsure of himself.

Another character that has a big  role in this is Gabe, Percy’s stepfather. In the book Gabe seems much more verbally aggressive than he does in the show. In the book he is much more controlling and has a very negative impact on Percy’s life. The TV show portrayed him as a much less aggressive character in my opinion. This is probably for the best considering it is a TV show for kids, but the fact still remains that Gabe is toxic and very controlling and is not fully represented as such in the show. This leads us to Percy’s mom, Sally Jackson. She has always been a fan favorite and so far in the show she is represented as such in the start of the episode, but as it progresses she tends to not feel like the Sally Jackson character everyone loves in the books. Percy’s mom is this badass type of character that eats blue food just out of stubbornness. She’s understanding towards Percy and loves him a lot. In this adaptation she seems to act awkward and she can’t really get words out when she is confessing to Percy that his dad is a god. This scene did not happen in the book so this makes sense why it was relatively hard to write, however blatant background information that Percy had already established at a young age was taken out of the show which would have made Sally Jackson less of an awkward mom trying to break bad news, than the actual strong mom everyone knew her to be. These are just basic contrasts between characters, but overall the actor who played Percy sort of benefitted from the less toxic version of Gabe and awkward Sally Jackson because of how sarcastic he was allowed to be. As I mentioned before, the narration is the only first person we see from Percy so the actor had to portray Percy differently. After watching episode one I can confidently say that there is much more to work on as the actors become more set into their own characters, but Grover so far is the most well portrayed as the quirky best friend, that is also literally half goat.

In episode two we finally see Annabeth, Luke, Clarisse, and Mr. D. Annabeth is pretty well represented in this scene except originally she is supposed to be the one who gives Percy the tour of Camp Half Blood instead of Chiron. Because she didn’t do this it actually left out a huge amount of information for Percy to understand how this “new world” worked. Key details were left out which not only doesn’t benefit Percy, but doesn’t benefit the viewer. Luke was another character that was introduced. He is Percy’s first actual friend in Camp Halfblood. Luke is the one that helps Percy fit in and find a place in camp Halfblood. Luke is pretty well represented just because his character is not that complex and easy to grasp so far into the story. Clarisse is Percy’s next bully– in the book, Percy   compares her to a bigger and badder Nancy Bobofit, his bully in the first episode.  Clarisse is actually one of the best represented characters in the show so far, other than Grover, just because we can see exactly where she is coming from in the show. She was jealous that Percy got to defeat a minotaur while she is working super hard to even be able to defend herself. In the book this fact isn’t even mentioned which boosts character development for Clarisse and helps the viewer understand her more. Mr. D is the last important character that is introduced in the show. He is actually the god of wine, Dionysus. Mr. D is supposed to be someone who absolutely hates his job and is completely tired of kids and camp in general. In the show he seems to be in much better spirits. He even makes fun of Percy’s name as well as his father situation. Mr. D is still very much Mr. D, but his personality is just a little confusing because he can be joking one second and yelling the next. Other than that Mr. D is well casted and pretty close to the book.

In episode three we meet Medusa. Episode three is probably the only episode that is the closest to the book in the entire series. Medusa in this episode however is greatly changed. Originally Medusa has a lot of control over a thing called the Mist, which is another this Annabeth wasn’t able to explain. The Mist basically can disguise monsters and things involved with the gods from regular human eyes. Medusa is able to convince Percy, Annabeth, and Grover that she is trustworthy and she almost kills them, but Annabeth figures out her tricks. In the show however everyone knows exactly who she is the second they see her. She tells her story about how Athena and Posiedon punished her. She tries to convince Percy to leave his friends, but then he ends up running away and eventually killing her. Percy and Annabeth fight more in this episode, but this is relatively to the same extent in the book. They do end up sending Medusa’s head to Mount Olympus just like in the book.

In episode four we get introduced to the Mother of Monsters, Echidna. She has a much more prevalent role and is in this episode much more than she is in the book. She is represented as a relatively older lady and reports Percy, Annabeth and Grover to the cops. Then she sets her Chimera, or son, onto them. This does happen in the book as well, but not on the Amtrak train. Percy gets poisoned so they all head to The Arch. Originally this is where Echidna first attacks them, however the long and vigorous attack coincides with who Echidna is a character more. Eventually Percy reaches the top of the Arch and is pushed over the edge. Echidna acts the same way she does in the book and taunts Percy by saying he doesn’t believe his father will save him. Percy eventually falls into the Mississippi river and is saved by Poseidon. Overall the Mother of Monsters definitely lives up to her name.

In episode five we get introduced to the biggest and baddest bully of them all, Clariesse’s dad Ares. Ares is helpful towards the trio originally, but because of this he sends them on a side quest to go get his shield he left. In the book this is very clearly a trap, but in the show Ares seems to just only want his shield back and doesn’t know of the trap. He keeps Grover behind, which doesn’t happen in the book. Ares has a very aggressive and shifting personality as he is the God of War. Grover can easily get under his skin, but this leads the trio into thinking that Clarisse is the Lightning Thief. Ares has much more of a personality in this show and is mostly just all anger and aggression in the book. Ares, like Clarisse, has more depth to his character and is well represented as the God of War.

A pop up character that was not originally in the book is Hephaestus. Annabeth meets Hephaestus when she is trying to save Percy from Hephaestus’s trap. Annabeth convinces him that Percy is different and wouldn’t ever do something like what happened to Hephaestus to get his limp. She tells him that Percy is unique and that he should let them both go. There is nothing to really compare Hephaestus to, but he is well represented as someone who has been hurt by family before.

In episode six we get to meet Hermes. He is another character like Hephaestius where originally he is either barely mentioned or never turns up. In the show Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are actually specifically seeking him out.  They find him at this place called the Lotus Casino, which looks like an actual casino inside and is very busy and drawing. In the books this is very different from what is represented in the show. There is a true  message for the Lotus casino in my opinion and that is that games and electronics truly suck you in and the next thing you know hours have passed. This message is completely diminished in the show which I am truly disappointed in. The show just says that “time moves differently there” and nothing about how they got stuck in the trap of playing the games. The Lotus Casino is one of my favorite points in Percy Jackson and I’m just disappointed that it wasn’t truly represented and only used as a plot point to have them meet Hermes. Hermes however is very well represented as a father who cares about his son a lot, but recognises that he messed up. Hermes is a great character that was very well acted and shown in this TV show.

With episode seven we get introduced to Crusty, Charon, and Hades. Crusty is the monster Procrustes, who sells beds. In the show he is a monster that guards the path to the underworld and Percy traps him in his own trap. In the book however Percy actually kills Crusty and is much more gruesome about it. Crusty also does not guard the underworld. This is just a weird plot point that was added and wasn’t necessary. Charon on the other hand is supposed to guard the underworld and in the book is convinced by Percy to let them get into the underworld. Charon’s weakness is money and Percy basically bribes him. In the show however Charon actually calls Cerberus on them and they have to run away from Cerberus. The way this character is written is almost the exact opposite from the book and also is another plot point that could’ve just been used from the book instead of creating just a random character. Hades is another god that Percy has made mad in the book, but hasn’t really made mad in the show. Hades seems to be very agreeable and just wants his Helm of Darkness back. He is willing to trade Percy’s mom’s life for this Helm. Percy realizes that it is actually Kronos who is behind everything and suddenly Hades wants the master bolt too. Percy quickly gets himself out, but not before promising to come back to save his mom. Hades is not like this at all in the book. Hades is very angry at Percy because he thinks he stole his Helm of Darkness and practically doesn’t let Percy get a word in. Hades isn’t necessarily a villain, but he just isn’t as pleasant as the show is making him out to be. All of these characters have very different personalities and aren’t really like who they are in the book at all.

The last episode introduces Zeus, Poseidon and the mysterious character in Percy’s dreams, Kronos. Zeus is represented as a strong king and in the leader position of his family. He reacts to Percy in the way a Court Judge reacts to someone who was thought to be guilty of murder, but instead did other bad things. When Percy tells him his story Zeus seems unsurprised and unaffected and only shows emotion when Percy doesn’t want to leave. When he does this, Zeus takes his master bolt and is about to kill Percy with it, but then he gets stopped by our second character. Poseidon is Percy’s father and it is clear that he cares about Percy. Poseidon knows that Percy is special and he clearly has love for both Percy and his mom. Poseidon is also well represented as someone with a level mind as well as being caring. Kronos however is the complete opposite of caring which is right on character. Kronos was actually introduced earlier in the show however we don’t know it’s him. Kronos looks a little like a death eater in Harry Potter, but he also shows up in a form quite like the principal at Percy’s school in the first episode. Kronos is creepy, old and evil and he has a mastermind for planning. This is very well represented even with the few lines he has. Percy is scared of him at first but by the end Percy learns that he is not as he seems.

After watching all eight episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and then comparing each character to how they were represented in the book I can confidently say that this show is a very unique take on a book to show adaptation. The author, Rick Riordan, was the one who wrote the show as well as wrote the books, but honestly I feel like Riordan should have communicated that this show was not actually a full book to show adaptation. This was by far better than the movies to say the least, but because of all the hate of how the movies weren’t at all like the books, I was expecting a lot more scenes from the book, but those just didn’t happen. The actors all did amazing jobs with what they were given and all of them have very bright futures ahead of them. Personally I would rate this show a 6/10 solely because of how much it was advertised as going to be a much closer adaptation from the books to the movies and also how it turned out. I would recommend this to a fan of Percy Jackson, but I wouldn’t recommend this to someone who is just being introduced to the series. Overall as a fan of Percy Jackson, I did like the show and I thought most characters were represented well, however I was disappointed with how much was different from the book. I am excited for the next season to see how the characters are represented in The Sea of Monsters.