The Last Olympian

Hello everyone, it is so good to be back! 

Today, I would like to talk about one of my all-time favorite things: Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It has been a topic that has been so close to my heart for many many years. This series is actually part of the reason why I became an avid reader and so much of the reason why I love reading today! My family had a great deal to do with it, but I also immensely blame this beautiful series.

I could literally go on about this forever (ask Emily and Chloe), but what I would really like to focus on today is the newly released TV show, which I absolutely love. But for context, you need to know a bit about the books. 

If you haven’t read them, they start with a young demigod protagonist, Percy Jackson (Who would have guessed?). Percy is sent on a bunch of quests throughout the series with Annabeth (daughter of Athena and the absolute wisest girl I know) and his best friend Grover, who is a satyr (or a half man, half goat in Greek myth). Through the books, Percy is taking on the world and defeating it every single time. 

As if that wasn’t enough, Percy also has this prophecy looming over his head that tells him he will either save or destroy the world based on his actions as soon as he turns 16. No pressure. I don’t know, but that seems to be a heavy burden to carry on your shoulders from the age of 12. So, if you want to see how that all ends, I highly recommend going to read the original series. Rick Riordan is one of my all-time favorite authors and I always enjoy reading anything by him. 

Percy Jackson is also super important to me because I feel so close to the characters. They truly are the characters that I’ve had the opportunity to grow up with. I read each book when I was at the age Percy is in that book, and I’ve found many important lessons through their stories. At this point, I have all my camp blood T-shirts and hoodies, and I absolutely love all of them. I’ve done the quizzes on who is my “godly parent” (even though I know that I am a child of the one true God). I have grown up with the series, and I adore it. Even in the second series, The Heroes of Olympus, we meet so many more characters and get to follow Percy and his crew on yet another epic adventure.

Anyways, leaving that, I would also like to talk about the newly released Disney+ Percy  Jackson and the Olympians show!!! Right now, the first season is being slowly release on a weekly schedule. If you haven’t watched it already, again, I highly recommend going and watching it. My family and I have been very diligent in watching it. We are on the couch every single Tuesday at seven sharp to watch (mostly because I make them).

First of all, I would like to talk about the original announcement of the show from Rick Riordan. I cannot express how much joy it gave me when I first heard the news nearly four years ago.

He originally announced the show in May of 2020 on his Instagram. I believe the only reason I remember that is because I remember seeing a meme saying that “Rick Riordan single-handedly saved 2020 by announcing the show”, so I have been following the production of the show from the very beginning. From writing it to casting and everything else.

When the casting for our Golden Trio was released, I was overjoyed. Our Percy Jackson is Walker Scobell. He is most well known for his work in the Adam project, which was another movie that I absolutely loved. His sass and overall demeanor make him the absolute best Percy Jackson out there. Leah Sava Jeffries is Annabeth and she also completely embodies the spirit of her role. And last but certainly not least, Aryan Simhadri plays Grover. 

I love seeing the memes all the time saying that “all the casting directors did is shake the book really really hard and these three popped out”. Which, I think, is completely accurate and absolutely hilarious because I adore all three of them, and I am so so happy that they are the ones that get to play some of my favorite childhood characters. Watching the interviews with them has become one of my favorite things to do, as they embody their characters, even off-screen.

Past the casting, it has also been so much fun to get to watch the show come to life and be able to go along with so many other fans. The production of the show is stunning, and getting to see so many moments that are so close to my heart played out on the screen and being able to see my Percy and Annabeth playing their roles is absolutely huge.

I genuinely don’t think that I can describe that feeling to a lot of people because it just means so much to me. Getting to see Camp Half-Blood for the first time and getting to look around at a world I have always wanted to visit. Getting to meet Luke (played by Charlie Bushnell) for the first time again and seeing Clarisse (played by Dior Goodjohn) and all of these other characters that, again, I feel that I’ve grown up with.

There is one scene in the original books that was just recently released in Episode 5. This is the Tunnel of Love scene, one I have been waiting for and was overjoyed to see on screen. The dynamic between Percy and Annabeth was perfectly nailed in that. Walker and Leah’s chemistry is so much fun to watch, even as young actors whose characters deeply care for each other. 

As an unpopular opinion, I have also been really appreciating what is being changed in the show. Obviously, there will always be some people that want “word for word, everything in the book needs to be in the show,” and I don’t necessarily agree with that. I think some of the things in the book are amazing, but it’s good that they stay there. It’s so much fun to get another perspective on the story. Even seeing the abandoned waterpark, where Percy and Annabeth are sent to grab Aries's shield.

Originally, it truly was just an abandoned waterpark in the books. However, in the show, it is now portrayed as a water park that was completely built by Hephestus, who is the Greek god that they meet in this episode. However, I feel that the way that it was changed made it feel so much more enriched.

The Percabeth scenes in the tunnel absolutely broke everything inside of me. It was so heartbreaking to watch Percy, for the second time (the first time at the arch), sacrifice himself for Annabeth and their mission. Percy knows that if he sits in the chair, he isn’t getting up. Annabeth knows that, but he still sits down all for the good of the mission. The entire time this is happening Percy is reassuring her that he’s okay (even though he’s obviously not). “It’s okay,” and Annabeth is freaking out but knows she can’t do anything to stop it. 

I’m super excited to see the rest of the season. Really, if this goes well, I’ll be super excited to watch these kids grow up and watch the series grow up with them. I think it would be so cool to get to season 5 of the show and get all the big fights and events that happened in the…

Thank you, Dear Readers, for allowing me to rant about this show, and I hope that I’ve been able to convince you to some degree to go and read the books and watch the series. I have grown up with these characters and this fan art. Seeing it all come to life means so much to me. I’m going to be back sometime with an article on my endgame couple (forever and ever), Percabeth. They will forever be relationship goals.

Until Next Time, 

Peace Out Lovers!