After eight episodes, the Percy Jackson season one finale finally dropped on January 30, 2024. We take a look at how it compares to the book and how the readers feel about it. We’re also addressing some controversial changes that the showrunners made, their decisions, and thoughts regarding their changes. Read on to see our thoughts on this highly anticipated adaptation!
Spoiler Alert: This article may contain spoilers, so please be advised when reading.
Summary
If you’re new to Percy Jackson, it is a series of books by Rick Riordan, which has recently been adapted into a TV show on Disney+ here. Our Protagonist, Percy Jackson, unbeknownst to him, is the son of the Greek god Poseidon. He is half-god and half-human, and the first book opens up with a new school and a new school year, hopefully one that he won’t fail. Quickly, Percy begins to find his life turned upside down when things start going sideways.
His algebra teacher turns into a monster, he fights a minotaur, and his mom is kidnapped by Hades. The worst part? Zeus believes he stole his master bolt and is threatening to destroy the world if Percy does not return it. The problem? Percy didn’t steal it, which means he has to find out who did before Zeus and Poseidon go to war with each other. With the help of his friends Annabeth and Grover, Percy sets out to find out who has tried to frame him, all while trying not to get killed by the monsters — and gods — after him.
Season Finale
The season finale, despite the movie’s bad reputation for not following the books, was very similar to the original storyline. (Spoiler Alert) Just like in the books, Ares is the one who puts the lightning bolt in Percy’s backpack to frame him when heading to the Underworld, and Luke, as Percy finds out, is the one who stole it. Why, you might ask?
Well, just like in the books, Luke is irritated with the gods, and Ares just likes war. Luke wants to overthrow the gods, as does Kronos, Titan and the father of the Olympians, as well as the mastermind behind it all. Unlike the movies, which placed all the blame on Luke, the TV show follows very similarly to the plot of the books and sets up further seasons, as Kronos is the true antagonist of the book series.
So, how did we, as readers, feel about it? Well, a couple of us sobbed at the beautiful scene between Percy, Annabeth, and Grover when Percy made them promise they would meet him back at the exact same spot next summer. Walker, Aryan, and Leah portrayed their characters beautifully, and Walker absolutely shined as Percy Jackson. Additionally, we got that first meeting between Percy and his father, which featured Poseidon’s famous line, “the sea does not like to be restrained.”
Despite the similarities to the books, some readers found a small detail to be controversial. In the book series, the trio manages to make it back before the deadline to give Zeus the lightning bolt, but in the TV show, the showrunners decided to change the deadline, and the trio did not make it on time. Despite this, Percy still returns the bolt to Zeus, and all is well. However, one of the showrunners, Jon Steinberg, addressed this change and the reasoning behind the change.
Character Development
Steinberg states that the showrunners decided to change the deadline to allow for more character development in the character of Percy Jackson. Without a deadline to adhere to, Percy technically has the choice not to return the bolt, as it is assumed Zeus would continue with the war. Despite the deadline, Percy still decides to return the bolt, revealing his intentions as a hero, which are to the safety of the earth and humans.
Even though there’s a great chance he would get murdered by Zeus for returning the bolt after the deadline, the TV show Percy still decides to do so, allowing for more character development as a hero who just wants to do the right thing. He has no obligation in the show, yet he does it anyway, and the showrunners wanted to emphasize this trait about Percy.
Have you watched the finale yet? What did you think of it?
For more Percy Jackson articles, click here.
For more YA Fantasy recommendations, check out our Bookshop YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Shelf here.
