With the new Percy Jackson and the Olympians series premiering on Disney+ on Dec. 19, I took it upon myself to reread one of my favorite childhood books and see if the new on-screen adaptation and first three episodes lived up to my expectations. The TV series, premiering an episode per week, starts its first episode showing Jackson, the main protagonist, struggling to fit in at numerous schools, much like the books. The first thing you notice about Jackson himself is that he isn’t exactly portrayed the way he’s described in the books. For instance, in the books, he’s described as having black hair and green eyes whereas in the show he has blond hair and blue eyes. I may have had some issues with this at first, but once you keep watching you can see that actor Walker Scobell even with his blond hair and blue eyes was born to play the role of Jackson. The same can be said for the rest of his costars and the cast of Jackson, many of them straying from their book descriptions but seemingly fitting their characters with their own personalities.

The main issue I have with this show is not the contrast between the character’s appearances but rather the acting itself. While many readers of the books were upset by the earlier versions of the Percy Jackson movies because of their differences from the books (mainly the age differences between the book characters and the actors themselves), I would argue that the actors in the earlier movies gave a better performance than the show has so far acting wise.  I think to some extent that it is mainly because the actors in the new series on Disney+ are truly just younger than the movie actors. Rick Riordan himself pushed for the actors to be around if not the same age as his characters in the books, but so far the acting and delivery of the lines are amateur at best. A part of me wants to brush it off because they are so young and I truly love the Percy Jackson franchise but many of the new cast recognize how important this franchise is to readers worldwide. So for important dialogue in the show to come out as mumbled or rushed, just doesn’t feel right considering how many fans have been waiting for a true book-to-screen adaptation. 

Additionally, the pacing of the show felt rushed and simplified what felt like major plotlines. For instance, Sally Jackson, Percy’s mother, married a terrible man Percy described as “Smelly Gabe,” to hoard away any monsters trying to attack him; however, this was completely overlooked in the new series so far. Even a major first moment at Camp Half-Blood (the place where Jackson travels and shares his demigod home with) where he attempts sword fighting for the first time, and showcases his strength when he is by water alluding to the fact that he is the sea Gods, Posidean’s son, is completely wiped from the new series. 

Even with my doubts, I can’t deny that the show did a brilliant job of bringing this imaginative Greek mystical world to life. My hope in the future is that with experience, some of these younger actors will develop and hone their acting skills so that they can continue to give us the book-to-screen adaptation we have been waiting for. While I can’t say yet whether the series will be better than the earlier released movies, or even the books, I think it has kicked off to a great start and I will be tuning in every week.

On this blog, members of the Carmel High School chapter of the Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists (and the occasional guest writer) produce curations of all facets of popular culture, from TV shows to music to novels to technology. We hope our readers always leave with something new to muse over. Click here to read more from MUSE.