REVIEW: ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Starts Out Surprisingly Dark, Then Just Gets Darker

in Disney, Television

Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson in new Disney+ series

Credit: Disney+

After years of author Rick Riordan bemoaning the early 2000s adaptations of his YA fantasy series, fans are finally getting another shot at an adaptation of the adventures of Perseus “Percy” Jackson (Walker Scobell), Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries), and Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri) via Disney+. Much has been made of the Walt Disney Company’s eagerness to one-up the 20th Century Fox (which it now owns) films, and judging by the premiere episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, it’s got a good shot at it.

Percy Jackson from Disney+ series in front of waves
Credit: Disney+

Percy Jackson kicks off with “I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher,” which dropped on Disney+ a day before its officially announced streaming premiere. Similarly, the first episode of the series drops viewers, especially those who might not be familiar with the source material, into the deep end and keeps going. The show (adapted by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, who co-wrote the premiere) basically throws out the idea that the Greek gods of classical mythology are real, they have part-human children dubbed “Half-Bloods,” and Percy is one of them in rapid succession, and hopes audiences will buy into it fast.

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Fortunately, Walker Scobell’s (taking over from Logan Lerman as the title character) performance gives a newcomer to Percy Jackson a little reinforcement, as he spends the majority of the premiere upset, confused, and disbelieving of his new reality. And, to be fair, being told that you’re the son of Poseidon the sea god, and a lot of mythological monsters want to kill you would probably upset most people.

Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson
Credit: Disney+

Much like Harry Potter (who Rick Riordan has extensively played down as a direct influence) before him, Percy Jackson starts out bullied, ignored, and generally treated like garbage by everyone but his mother Sally (Virginia Kull), and his best friend Grover. Naturally, both of them turn out to have been lying to him his whole life, and things just get darker from there. Suffice it to say that more than one major figure appears to be killed off shockingly quickly, and Percy Jackson one-ups Harry Potter by having its title character straight up kill a minotaur in anger.

However, this is not a criticism of the Disney+ Percy Jackson series. Rather, it’s actually rather refreshing to see a YA series lean into the darkness and frequent misery of adolescence, with Percy realistically lashing out at a world he doesn’t understand with sarcasm and petulance.

Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson entering Camp Half-Blood
Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson
Credit: Disney+

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The premiere episode of Percy Jackson is unquestionably mostly table-setting for the rest of the season, which presumably will take our hero everywhere from Mount Olympus to Hades to Camp Half-Blood, the unfortunately-titled training ground for demi-gods. But, if Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg have to give viewers a primer on the premise, they at least do it with efficiency.

The first season of Percy Jackson will largely adapt The Lightning Thief, the first book of the series, and will feature an array of celebrity faces, like Megan Mullally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jason Mantzoukas, and the late Lance Reddick in his final TV role. It’s clear that Disney is going all-in on making this version of Percy Jackson a success by bringing in well-known character actors in small roles and leaning into fans’ desire for a more book-faithful version than the previous movies. We’ll just have to wait and see whether those fans are also on board with the darkness.

What did you think of the series premiere? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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