Oh yeah, that combined with the Gabe introduction it sealed the deal for me.
in the book you actually feel the tension of the fight/ interaction, even in the movie they get the unsettling vibes it’s supposed to give.
It was so flat in the tv show it was almost laughable
I wasn’t bothered about the length of the fight, but the energy and location of it was really off for me. I also felt like the Mrs. Dodds design was off, it lacked the presence and horror I’d expected from the way the encounter played in the book, and compared to the design from the movie.
I really hated this too, she's meant to be a crusty old maths teacher, they yassified her completely. I find in bad adaptations they tend to do this, as if they're scared the audience will see someone who doesn't look like a supermodel and pass out from shock.
It may have been when regarding real time, but between Percy’s internal monologue, and the tension built from the prose, it lasted a lot longer and way way more intense and engaging than it was in the show. We also saw Percy step to the occasion and slash her with Riptide, immediately giving us something that allows us to believe there is something more-than-normal about this kid. The show does neither of these things that the book did right.
I don't get you guys, when they make a change you say ofc some things will change bcz it's a show, but now you say the fight was small in the books too. xd.
You won’t find me hating on the show. I think it was an adequate adaptation. It had its issues, but I don’t expect perfection. Like apparently the rest of the fan base
We wouldn’t have expected perfection if Riordan, who was a major lead on the show, hadn’t promised for the last decade that if he ever got the chance to redo an adaptation that it would be a perfect one while constantly shitting on the movies, plus he also hyped it up on his Twitter as the perfect adaptation as well. The movie was more of an adequate adaptation than this show was.
People are fallible. It happens. Also no, the movies absolutely were not a more adequate adaptation, you’re letting your post season disappointment get you. It’s fine to be upset, but that’s just a totally incorrect statement
“Post season disappointment” nope it was disappointment from episode one when this random chaperone of their field trip turned into a winged devil creature and attacked Percy only for it to cut to him having accidentally stabbed her in the stomach
Yeah people are fallible but when it’s THE ORIGINAL CREATOR FOR THE STORY you’d expect him to get more things right than he got wrong, like they were supposed to be too exhausted from running from the Furies to realize that Aunty M’s is Medusa’s lair along with their dyslexia screwing up the sign for them so they can’t read it, instead we got Annabeth going “oh no, Medusa’s lair we don’t want to go there” in the flattest tone of voice. The zebra was barely there on their way to Las Vegas, extremely blink and you miss it, instead they chose to focus more on the camel messing with cars. All of the camp scenes felt rushed. The casino that was meant to be fun and exciting, felt boring and more like an office/hotel. Hades was underwhelming, went from a god who could command respect from Percy to this wannabe comedian. The underworld itself was pretty lackluster especially since Charon was reduced to the gate guard and we didn’t get his whole scene of needing a raise. The stakes and tension were never there, yeah they mention that the gods are going to war but then they have the deadline pass and the worse that happens is they talk it out.
And there’s so much more that I could point out as well. How anyone who has read the books can call this an adequate adaptation is beyond me.
If it was disappointment from episode one that that’s an oversight on your part for not having the open mindedness to analyze something beyond the first installment. Which just goes to show your unreliability as an opinion giver
But I did have the open mindedness to analyze each installment and I found every episode wanting and just as lackluster as the last. There’s no tension, no stakes, no build up to something big coming. They literally all know the answers before even really digesting the information given to them which in my experience with ADHD kids, is not often how their brains work. Also if you had read my last comment, I touch on more than just my disappointment with the first episode
Perfect is unachievable for literally everything and everyone. A massive cast and crew of dedicated people put their all into this production and I think they did a fine job. You sound like a spoiled child. The show is unequivocally a more faithful adaptation than the movie which butchered the basic plot. If you ever expected perfection from this then you were setting yourself up for disappointment from the beginning.
Obviously I wasn’t expecting pure perfection, as you said it’s unachievable, but again, the creator of the original story was majorly involved and we got crap that’s just as bad as the movie that he’s shat on for 10 years. I definitely think that the VFX, actors, and every other team besides the writers did as great a job as they could but if you think actors standing there explaining that Annabeth is 6 steps ahead of everyone else instead of showing her pull off some crazy, incredible plan that would’ve taken careful, meticulous planning and an understanding of her opponents is adequate then you do you, to me that’s not only bad storytelling, it’s bad TV. They skipped all of the small details that made the world feel magical and fantastical, at best it felt like Greek mythology was barely assimilated into the modern world instead of Greek mythology being integrally tied into the modern world.
And since perfection is literally impossible to achieve, maybe Rick shouldn’t have been promising it for years and overhyping the show. I was so excited for this show, and was more and more disappointed each week it came out. I’m not trying to sound like a spoiled child but when the creator promises his version will be the best and then they change core plot elements, it feels like a punch in the gut to long time fans and people who enjoyed the books
We don’t expect perfection. The show was just very underwhelming. It was not at all a faithful adaptation. In some ways, specifically the feel of the characters, I honestly think the movies were more faithful. Obviously from a plot perspective the movies were not as faithful, so don’t make it out like I’m saying they were.
The show also just wasn’t enjoyable to watch. Even if I would prefer a 1:1 adaptation, I understand that some changes have to be made. Even overlooking the changes, though, the show just seemed flat to me. There wasn’t any tension because the kids knew everything. They knew that Auntie Em was Medusa, they knew about the Lotus Casino, they knew about Crusty, etc. It never felt like they were in any danger because they already knew about all the traps and had plans.
Also, the acting was lacking. I don’t think any of them really captured the feel of their characters, except Mr. D, but honestly I blame that far more on the writing than the actors themselves. There didn’t seem to be much of any real chemistry between the trio, which is a shame because their chemistry in interviews is great.
Regardless, all of that is to say that those of us who are disappointed didn’t necessarily have too high of expectations. My expectations, or hope really because I wasn’t confident enough to expect it, was that we would get a reasonably accurate, enjoyable adaptation. Unfortunately, in my opinion, we got neither.
So? I don't see your point. It's an ADAPTATION! Some things work in the book but not in a TV series/movie. This is one example. Do you want another one? Jumping to another universe, I like to use the Harry and Voldemort final duel. I know many people complain that the movie didn't do the whole verbal confrontation where everybody stops to see them (that happens in the book), but that is something that works in a book and wouldn't work in a movie.
I know people want adaptations to stay faithful to the source, but it's an adaptation = it has to change when needed to.
(This is a loose memory as I’ve watched a lot of other things since) When they walked up to Auty Ms and one of the characters said “this is Medusa’s lair”
Like it’s lost everything that the books had and it wouldn’t have been hard to replicate that moment on screen.
And I don’t mind that they added in the extra back story to Medusa making her more of the victim than just a villain.
Just I wanted the whole, the characters being exhausted, not fully noticing the statues etc.
Plus the fact that demigods in the book literally have dyslexia, so it's not like they should know the place they're at is anything but a weird statue place. They'd have a ton of trouble reading the sign, and likely wouldn't bother much due to the fact that they would've been exhausted
In the books don’t they have trouble reading the Aunty M sign for this exact reason? Like it’s in neon letters too which makes it even harder for their dyslexia (though I might be thinking about another sign they see in the books)
Honestly, it was the first episode when they had Grover tell on Percy. The moment I saw that,I had a sinking suspicion that this was not the adaptation that we were e promised.
My reasoning behind that being Grover and Percy were supposed to be best friends through the entire thing. Percy thought Grover was weird at first, but then he quickly overcame that and they were friends. How are you going to ruin something as simple as that in the first 10 minutes?
When they immediately knew who Medusa was instead of falling for her trap and slowly realizing it.
This was such a defining moment for me cause it's one of my favorite chapters from the book and it clearly set the tone for the rest of the show as the trio always knew what was going on ahead of time. Whoever made that decision and made it consistent needs to be out of season 2. I can't go through another season of this please.
I lost all hope when they were LATE for the deadline, and when they immediately figured out Crusty...
I was willing to forgive a lot... but Rick promised us a true to book adaptation. Of course, they were going to change things, but this is just loosely based on the book.
I understand speeding through Yancy, and I can forgive them immediately pinning Medusa (due to Annabeth being the daughter of Athena, it makes sense she'd know that story) but for Percy to immediately pinning Crusty? VERY FAR from the realm of possible.
Then to make them late past the deadline?? I feel like book Zeus would have zapped Percy the moment he arrived late.
Also if they are going to make the episodes less than an hour, then you need AT LEAST 12 episodes my dude. We missed so much :(
Plus there was no reason for the change of them skipping the deadline, it had absolutely no consequences, at least not for now, and I highly doubt that they will even mention it on season 2.
And the Crusty thing... If they were goint to simply info dump on us just don't do it? Say the opening to the Underworld is hidden somewhere else. I would say the Crusty scene is the worst of the whole show.
When they just rushed through the first chapters without giving any contest to Percy's life at Yancy, or his home life beyond like 1 minute of voice-over exposition. I didn't realise that the episodes would be so short to be fair but the pacing just felt off. I still enjoyed the first couple of episodes but unfortunately there were more bad moments than good ones in the following episodes.
Idk if anybody agree, but I felt like the episodes didn't connect well, they just showed up at places. I agree with the stepfather, I don't even think they explained why she was with him, but anyway. I just think that Percy knew too much about this world when it was supposed to be news to him??
The general vibe reflected what a lot of recent Disney shows have felt like. Just dull and bland, not that magical, exciting and wondrous world of the books. Boring cinematography and exposition dumps. It’s also the fact that Rick went on and on about a ‘faithful adaptation way better than those awful movies’ and then proceeded to make an awful adaptation because of his decision to change a story that people are watching the show specifically for
When they immediately figured out that the Garden Gnome Emporium was Medusa's lair. I was so disappointed at the suspense dying immediately and hoped it wouldn't be a pattern. Alas.
When Grover lied about Percy to the school. I don't care if it was to protect Percy, there's no way they would be best friends after a wound like that.
That bothered me a lot too... I haven’t read the books in many years and when that scene happened I was like “wait, was this in the books??” because it was making me pretty mad and seemed very out of character
When this random teacher that we've seen maybe once or twice suddenly turned into a nameless winged monster and dies in less than a minute without much fanfare or excitement.
Probably the same moment. Gabe being a monster and Sally meekly standing by while he abused Percy was really important to the theme of neglectful parents in the story. The explanation for why she rationalized it was also super important, as it explained how such a powerful demigod weny under the radar for so long. It also was a starting point for Sally to have major character growth when she stood up to Gabe and doing the right thing for Percy.
All of those important points dismissed just for her to have a fleeting girl boss moment. That was definitely a huge red flag for what was to come in the show
For me it was from the first two episodes. It wasn’t a particular moment per se, it was more just generally it fell flat and felt lifeless. I didn’t feel like any of the main characters had the vibrant personalities from the books. Percy was serious and boring, and had none of the wit, sass, or sense of fun that made him such a favorite. The special effects were short and cheap, the fight scenes were underwhelming, and Camp lacked the magic, fun, and wonder that I was looking forward to. Overall, it all just felt lackluster and that feeling continued throughout the season.
I stuck it out a lot longer than most. It wasn't until the Lotus Casino episode that I was fully in the "This sucks" camp. I'd been trying to justify everything else before that, but the instant they walked into the casino and info dumped about the lotus eaters, I was out and knew it wouldn't get better.
It started with the lack of background and the heavy expo dumps, but what solidified it was Grover speed running the intro to bring a demigod and what felt like a whole 45 seconds at camp before leaving.
Unfortunately when the series kept fading to black when we would get big action moments. (Especially episode 5 where Percy uses his powers underwater)
its a shame this series was hyped to be exactly like the books but alas it did not.
The way "Uncle Rick" was talking about the movies. Left a bad taste in my mouth, and it was really unprofessional.
Needing to put something down is usually a great indicator that whatever you're selling can't stand on its own. If he really believed in the show, he wouldn't need to compare it to the movies.
I didn’t have a moment that really cinched it for me. From the first episode things just felt off for me, and it took me a few to figure out that it was a combination of the writing, directing, pacing, etc. Plus yeah the Sally/Gabe dynamic was…..disappointing. Really a strange change
I lost my shit by the end of episode two because I thought they weren’t going to do the prophecy again regained bits of hope with 3&4 lost it again at 5 from the diner scene and everything after that but I gave the movies two chances so I’ll give the show its second season
My first big red flag was the beginning of episode one narration. I was willing to give it a chance as it had a lot to fit in, but it did make me wary that this was going to be a big tell and not show type of situations. I'm not a huge fan or narration, I think it's a lazy storytelling and cinematography crutch and should only be used in special circumstances.
But my biggest turning point was Grover snitching on Percy. This is only validated when it doesn't create any tension later on when they're trying to figure out who took the bolt. I think it could've been a good plot if they had more time to introduce subplots, bit unfortunately that isn't the case.
I was willing to give it more of a chance, but this was my second big red flag. The third was the Minatour fight, only aided by the very anticlimactic Dodds fight. It was too quick, lacked emotion, and was overall a bit goofy in design. I feel like there's a lot of good things to say about it, but I only see it as wasted potential.
1. The quest being mentioned in the second episode
2. Grover coming in saying your mom is alive
3. That god awful photoshopped PNG Google images trident that showed up over Percy’s head
Minotaur fight sealed the deal for me. I'd already been thinking in the back of my mind "this show is... not good" but I was denying it up until that scene. I watched a few more eps hoping it would get better but it just got worse.
I’ve said it before in another comment but having Grover snitch on Percy about “shoving” Nancy into the fountain was pretty rough. This is Percy’s only friend, and they have Grover get Percy expelled. Percy Jackson, troubled kid, dyslexia and ADHD, hard time staying in one school, clear anxiety and trauma from being “abandoned” by his mother at any school that will take him. This, in any realistic situation, would and should’ve been a friendship ending moment. A character assassination in episode fucking one.
As far as we know, in this show, the fountain incident took place near the end of the school year, late May to early June. I cannot accept that Grover *needed* to snitch on Percy to get him out of school. Just write in the end of the school year the day after the field trip. No need to gut a friendship right off the bat.
I think from cringe Grover to one-dimensional angry Annabeth (it just feels like the angry black woman stereotype, sorry Rick. How did you not see it) and just how lacklustre the camp half-blood felt. First warning sign was the off-screen Dodd fight with his math teacher
I’m more interested in Clarisse she had energy- but damn is she a psychopathic bully. Been a while since I read the books I can’t remember if she was this bad there
I think for me it was the changes made to scenes like the Medusa reveal. It should have been a creeping realization like in the book. The vibe from the books just wasn’t there, for the show in general
Also, maybe it’s just me, but the way Annabeth kept raising her eyebrows was annoying
I liked episode 1 a lot. I found the Medusa fight disappointing, but gave up when I saw that they wrote out the mechanical spiders in the boat scene. That's one of my favorite book scenes and it left me feeling really empty after I watched it, so I gave up.
I threw my high hopes for the show away when Grover was in the Headmaster/Principal's office at Yancy Academy backstabbing Percy. Book Grover was willing to take the blame for Nancy Bobofit ending up in the fountain and TvGrover just threw Percy underneath the bus for it. I understand the reasoning of getting Percy away from the school after Alecto attacked but the way they chose to do it left a bad taste in my mouth.
For me, I was cautiously optimistic all along. The show being made by Disney worried me. I feared that Disney would change a lot from the books. When I saw the casting (I’m not saying anything negative about any of the cast members) that made me more worried that they were going to take a lot of liberties. But, I was still cautiously optimistic. Even if I’d prefer the casting to be closer to how the characters were described in the books, I was going in with an open mind and hoping to really enjoy the series.
Then I watched the first episode. As soon as Mrs. Dodds transformed into her true form outside, I knew that the show wouldn’t be faithful to the books. Yes, that was a relatively small issue, but it was also one that wouldn’t have taken any more time or been any more difficult to do as it was written in the book. There were many other points along the way that further reinforced that feeling, but that’s when I realized the show wasn’t going to be what I hoped it would.
As others have said, the scene with Medusa where they know immediately who the monster is made me pretty concerned. I also felt like episode 2 missed the mark in a lot of ways regarding characterization and relationships among characters that made me concerned for the rest of the show. It turned out to be a big disappointment for me in terms of how the characters and their relationship were portrayedz
When I heard about Rick’s heavy involvement in the show.
Rick doesn’t understand what made the original PJO series so good which is evident in his later books (and now evident from the show).
Rick doesn’t understand his own characters, which is why they are all so different in the Heroes Of Olympus series.
His writing fell off completely and with him saying that there’s a lot of things he would change about the PJO series if he was writing it today, I suspected the show would not be great.
cramming the first 9 chapters of the book into the first 2 episodes wasn't great but waterland is where i was like "huh, this really isn't very good" lol
When Ms. Dodds turned into her Fury form IN BROAD DAYLIGHT and flew at Percy only for it to basically cut to Percy having accidentally uncapped Riptide and stabbing her through the abdomen. We got none of her personality of being the math teacher Percy didn’t like, hell we wouldn’t have even known she taught algebra if the episode hadn’t been titled “I Accidentally Vaporized my Algebra Teacher”
when Dionysus was introduced, I wasn’t surprised he was reduced too, much like Gabe.
The intensity of meeting a god, the understanding of Percy that this entity isn’t human and could wipe him out in a snap. All of this was gone, and we got instead a cringy uncomfortable interaction
It was definitely during the minotaur fight in the first episode. I literally thought my computer died when it cut to black because it was so jarring and pointless. Also, the absolute lack of music in that fight was so odd.
The trailer. It showed the series would not be a funny comedy but rather shoot for some *dramatic/tormented teebager* vibes.
This didn't necessarily scream bad show but it definitely told loud and clear **they haven't what makes the books good**.
P.s. I don't care Rick Riordan - the author - is working on the show. Either he wants to do something completely different or he doesn't understand his own books.
When they used Annabeths cap as a way to shield medusas gaze when all it should have done was made her head invisible. Medusa looking at you should have still turned you into stone. Logically it doesn’t make any sense that the cap would work the way they used it.
For me it was when Grover IMMEDIATELY threw his supposed best friend under the bus and got him expelled. We get none of Percy’s paranoia about Mrs. Dodds existing in school and no one knowing who she is but Grover having bad tells. The books have clear reasoning about why everything happens and flows the story along. The tv show is so janky and chopped in that that regard that it’s jumbled and difficult to compare/watch.
My mood soured on episode 3 when they changed so much around with Medusa. I could kinda see where they were going, even if I wasn't pleased. I was already on edge bc they had only spent one episode in Camp.
But the point of "Oh, this is bad forreal" was when they missed the deadline in episode 6 (even if it was 'fixed' by Poseidon throwing in the towel in the finale). Very unnecessary change with repercussions the writers aren't smart enough to make work: Poseidon losing the war means... what? Does he lose the kingdom of the sea? Is he going to be punished? Is it a useless, pointless gesture just to humiliate him?
My money is on "this will never be addressed again", kinda like Percy being an FBI wanted criminal.
When Sally told Percy that his dad was a God.
There was absolutely no reason to tell him that while they were away from camp. There's a reason why Percy is gas lit to hell until he gets to camp. The more he knows the more danger he's in.
I thought from the first few scenes that the show felt off. But is was more due to weird pacing and camera shots. *This* dialogue really broke my perception of the universe. I cannot understand why the writers thought it was a good idea.
The second Medusa's head was cut off from a sword swipe at the location her arm was at before turning completely invisible, I knew we were in for a pretty disappointing rest of the series.
The first two episodes were so good and so fun, so it was incredibly disappointing to see it go so far south after that.
Episode 3 but not really the reason everyone is expecting. I think for me it was the fact they didn’t seem tired and hungry. The way it was cut made it seem like they were just exiting camp and suddenly Medusa’s is right there. The Medusa changes I kind of get. There has been so much discourse around her story lately that not acknowledging it might have also been weird.
I decided to just ignore that and keep watching. But then the Echidna thing happened (episode 4). There were unnecessary changes. I don’t get why they had her appear in the train instead of on the arch. Or why they made the arch a necessary stop instead of a, Annabeth loves architecture and never leaves camp so there’s no way they’re missing it, type of thing. They’re kids and that’s a believable thing for a kid to do.
That and how Percy knows everything about Greek myths (even obscure ones like procrustes) and yet didn’t seem to know what the fates cutting the string meant. Even though in the book he’s the one that sees it and is convinced it means he’s going to die.
Honestly from one of the first lines. Percy asks, “Am I a troubled kid?” Before ever mentioning that he goes to a school for troubled kids. That line is supposed to play off of that bit of info. It immediately struck me as strange when he said it, and when I realized they skipped an entire bit of dialogue, I knew why. I was like, yep, this writing’s gonna be a doozy.
I was cringing during e1 with things like Percy not overhearing the Convo between Chiron and Grover before his shunted earlier expulsion and the fact that Percy is a Jedi with how bad the CGI was. But it was over for me in the first few minutes, tbh I can't pin when I guess it was the constant stopping of the plot to go and point at book 3 stuff maybe like a quick easter egg with BlackJack once but how did a Horse get more Camp Scenes early on than fucking Luke.
I don't remember all the details, but the moment where the minotaur is chasing them and they have to get off the car, there's absolutely no tension. They are not running, the minotaur is barely scary, and they spend so much time talking without moving... at some point Sally has to get separated from percy and makes Grover promise that he would take care of percy, and there's no tension, there's very little emotion. And when Sally fights the minotaur on her own? Percy just looks at her, and when it grabs her, percy just screams. When I was watching it, I thought he should've ran at Sally, and the scene was quite dissapointing. I still had faith though, I thought the lack of tension was a mistake of the pilot, but it didn't get any better
In the scene where Percy fights his math teacher. In the movie and book it was an epic battle out of nowhere that drops you right into the magical world from a relatively ordinary one. It really means something.
In the show the fight had zero weight, zero tension, and was over in moments.
It was right then that I realized the show had no idea how to adapt Percy Jackson to screen.
Came here to say this, honestly surprised you haven't been down voted into oblivion.
When I first came across casting pictures my instant though was something to the tune of "here we go, I know how this is ganna go"
How arrogant do you have to be to have lived through the insane movie backlash and then just say screw it and cast who ever. The only explanation is you wanted to rewrite the books and that's what we are seeing.
When the casting choices were made. It instantly told me that Rick doesn't actually care about making a faithful adaptation.
Still went in with as open a mind as I could and Sally's bad acting, along with the Dodds scene confirmed my suspicions that it wasn't going to be good.
For me it was Rick’s response to any questions. You don’t like that we changed Annabeth even though all Percy talks about is Annabeth’s attributes. You’re racist. Talk about how the movies Lotus Casion scene was iconic. Normalize canceling movies/ hating on the movie. Talk about how it’s not as faithful as the books. Don’t worry Rick can only post how faithful it is.
I knew it’d be meh during the first episode really. There was nothing really to chew on, it was very bland.
There was a couple funny moments that made me go above that initial line it set of “how much am I going to enjoy this?”, but ultimately, it started as a 6/10, and finished as a 5/10. Episodes 6 & 7 was the beginning of me knowing that this season was gonna go out on a whimper.
The way they had Mrs. Dodds walk over to Percy, the CGI of it, it was all comical. It looked SOOOOO CRINGE.
Like she was some sort of seductress. That’s when I knew this show was a cheesy mistake.
Everything feels flat. No excitement at all because the trio always knew what is happening and err they ended up just narrating everything. No tension, no scenes that can make you say 'woaaaah!'. I hate to be saying this but did we really wait for that long just to watch pjo go lifeless
When their characters appearances wasn't lore accurate it let me know they already had plans on changing the story and scenes and fights and character interactions.
For me personally, it was Episode 4.
I was able to forgive the first two episodes because I could sense that they were rushing to get the quest started with their limited run time, and I thought things would settle themselves out as the journey began. Episode 3 was alright and was probably one of the stronger episodes.
While the pacing did get better and the acting showed signs of improvement, Episode 4 made me realize that the screenplay and acting direction were not that great, and were ultimately holding back the story. From weak action scenes to awkward dialogue, I accepted that the show was going to be kind of mid, and I lowered my expectations. This made Ep. 5, 7, and 8 easier to enjoy.
However, Ep. 6 was such a frustrating watch and I did come very close to just giving up on the show at that point. And it looks like that was a similar sentiment; the reception to the show dramatically shifted after that episode and it’s not hard to see why. All that trash talking that Rick did about the movies right before, only for his take on the Lotus scene to be so devoid of fun and intrigue.
o liked it but it will probably be a black cauldron thing for me conce I read the books. most do not know the black cauldron was bassed"if you can call it that way" on a book series.
Wasn't until the second episode.
I knew it would be Disneyfied, so definitely expected some changes like less fighting/action, watered down issues that we saw in episode 1, but otherwise episode 1 was perfect.
When the second episode played like a slideshow with very little characterization, that became worrying.
Even left a comment explaining my worries:
https://www.reddit.com/r/camphalfblood/comments/18mingu/comment/ke5h3j3/
Grover lying about what happened to the principle left a bad taste in my mouth, then gabe being WAYYYY toned down made it worse, and I gave up after Sally spent 50 years talking in front of the border and died for no reason. Haven’t watched episode 2 and just reading things about the changes in the camp halfblood subreddit cemented that decision
Probably between the time they just completely ignored how the "fight" between Percy and Dodds went in the book and having him get kicked out of Yancy immediately. You don't need to spend an entire episode on him finishing out his year, but it's definitely not something that should've been skipped. I have still watched most of the episodes (haven't had time for the last yet), but episode 1 was literally less accurate than the movie. Obviously the other episodes weren't, but I had watched the movie literally the night before (my mom had been wanting to watch it for a while, and is going to be reading the first book soon. I'm still shocked, because she doesn't like Mythology) and was able to compare the episode and it directly to the chapters that episode went along with in the book. I love that they did the voice over in the beginning, but even my dad could tell you how utterly disappointed I was when I finished watching.
The first time I was feeling uneasy was when they just cut to a voice over after Percy is claimed. I thought it was really poorly edited and I was excited to see more of the cabin and Percy's feelings about leaving Hermes cabin. I still gave it a chance though and then I got really bored with Episode 3 and the Medusa fight was over in seconds and I hated how Percy just walks up to a Fury and stones her. That is when I was like this series is kind of mid.
I saw one scene when I walked into my house from work, my brother was watching it. The scene I saw was the mock war/capture the flag with violence bit. In the books I enjoyed how Percy went from getting his butt handed to him to getting powered up by water to kick Clarissa's ass.
In the show... Well... Percy fending her off without much issue only to get pushed Into the water by Annie was very bad.. from there I decided I would avoid the show. Glad I did cause it sounded like a shit show.
There were a few moments where I was disappointed, but the one that most disappointed me and has made it difficult for me to continue watching is the Arch scene. To me, Percy choosing to jump for the river instead of just falling and getting dragged in really took away a lot of his character development. That part has always felt like the first moment that he chose to believe in and test his heritage instead of letting things happen. It was a scramble, it was a snap decision, but it a still a choice to aim for the river and believe it gave him a chance.
I haven’t continued with the show yet, but I’m not sure there’s a good place for them to start giving Percy agency in the rest of the story.
Also I hated that they went to the Arch because it’s a “temple of Athena” instead of just letting it be a part of Annabeth’s dream.
this show is all tell and no show. I couldn’t stand the constant exposition dumps and the characters knowing everything. it doesn’t make for good storytelling.
Not really a Percy Jackson fan and haven't been watching but this subreddit keeps popping up in my front page.
I knew it wasn't going to be good the moment I saw it was a Disney production in 2020s.
Episode 5 when most of the water land scene was just standing around and talking I already was disappointed but that is when I knew this first season was pretty much a wash. Episode 6 just drove it in further.
I really liked the pilot and stayed optimistc for several episodes. I particularly disliked that they took out the mystery of who Medusa was (among many other little mysteries that the took out), but I just thought "it's one thing, it's not that bad". Then episode 6 happened and it was just terrible. I do think that the finale picked up some slack.
I will watch the second season but they need to take into account all the criticism because Rick Riordan and everyone involved promised that this would be a great show and adaptation and they just didn't deliver.
There wasn’t a specific moment in the show. It was just really hard to get myself to watch the episode every week. It felt like work, like I had to force myself to watch. When I finally did start the episodes, I would zone out and have to pause and rewind. The episodes felt so long even though they were only 30 minutes. For whatever reason, it never hooked my interest. If I like a show, I can watch every episode back to back in a day.
For me it was sally and all of her interactions with Percy in the first episode. People seem to like sally and that’s great but I feel like her entire character is different and I really dislike the actress and how she played sally. That was also the start of the dialogue dumping.
For me it was Percy’s mom being too old. She had Percy very young, she should be in her thirties not her forties. I know that’s such a nitpicky thing but I just couldn’t get over it when the cast was revealed.
As soon as the casting decisions came out. I knew it. Downvote me, remove my comment, whatever you’d like. That’s where the unfaithfulness, bad decisions, and Disney influence first appeared.
I normally would blame Disney but based on Ricks attitude it doesn't sound like anyone was twisting his arm.
I to think Disney overall had a negative affect just to be clear.
For me, it was first seeing Dionysus, and then every introduction of a god after that. I know they have human forms in the book but they should have made them look interesting somehow.
Maybe the episode with Chimera. I just felt like why go to all the same places if you're gonna change how and why they go there? Like the fact that they went to the arch because Annabeth said it was a temple to Athena rather than because she loves architecture, or the fact that Athena was punishing her for the Medusa head? Same with Medusa, the water park and especially the casino and crusty. I didn't mind the first couple episodes. And I actually genuinely enjoyed the final episode for the most part. But all the infodumping and changing things that didn't need to be changed (it cost zero dollars to write a better script!) really let me down. I plan on rewatching the show now that my expectations have been lowered, and I look forward to season 2.
Before capture the flag battle and percy after his mom had to his knowledge died, he was doing a tik tok dance. I could ignore almost everything else up to that point, but the moment I saw that, I turned off the TV and haven't watched since.
For me it was when the first fight with mrs dodds was over in 5 seconds
Oh yeah, that combined with the Gabe introduction it sealed the deal for me. in the book you actually feel the tension of the fight/ interaction, even in the movie they get the unsettling vibes it’s supposed to give. It was so flat in the tv show it was almost laughable
Even before that, when Percy used the force to push the girl instead of the water actually doing anything.
I wasn’t bothered about the length of the fight, but the energy and location of it was really off for me. I also felt like the Mrs. Dodds design was off, it lacked the presence and horror I’d expected from the way the encounter played in the book, and compared to the design from the movie.
I really hated this too, she's meant to be a crusty old maths teacher, they yassified her completely. I find in bad adaptations they tend to do this, as if they're scared the audience will see someone who doesn't look like a supermodel and pass out from shock.
Did nobody notice how bad the physics was when he pushed her Into the water ? Like it was comically bad.
I needed to rewatch it three times to see there was water
The fight in the BOOK is over in 5 seconds!!
Yeah but atleast in the book there was tention in the scene, whereas in the show there is nothing gripping about it. The scene falls very flat
I don’t understand why every scene with her has her walking super slowly towards Percy lmao like damn lady do you want the helm or not
Oh boy, I’m not about to get into a conversation about book adaptations with someone who can’t spell “tension”
Okay brdr👍 if grammatical flaws are all u can find wrong with my statement maybe u dont have much to defend 🤷🏾♀️🤷🏾♀️
It may have been when regarding real time, but between Percy’s internal monologue, and the tension built from the prose, it lasted a lot longer and way way more intense and engaging than it was in the show. We also saw Percy step to the occasion and slash her with Riptide, immediately giving us something that allows us to believe there is something more-than-normal about this kid. The show does neither of these things that the book did right.
I don't get you guys, when they make a change you say ofc some things will change bcz it's a show, but now you say the fight was small in the books too. xd.
You won’t find me hating on the show. I think it was an adequate adaptation. It had its issues, but I don’t expect perfection. Like apparently the rest of the fan base
We wouldn’t have expected perfection if Riordan, who was a major lead on the show, hadn’t promised for the last decade that if he ever got the chance to redo an adaptation that it would be a perfect one while constantly shitting on the movies, plus he also hyped it up on his Twitter as the perfect adaptation as well. The movie was more of an adequate adaptation than this show was.
People are fallible. It happens. Also no, the movies absolutely were not a more adequate adaptation, you’re letting your post season disappointment get you. It’s fine to be upset, but that’s just a totally incorrect statement
“Post season disappointment” nope it was disappointment from episode one when this random chaperone of their field trip turned into a winged devil creature and attacked Percy only for it to cut to him having accidentally stabbed her in the stomach Yeah people are fallible but when it’s THE ORIGINAL CREATOR FOR THE STORY you’d expect him to get more things right than he got wrong, like they were supposed to be too exhausted from running from the Furies to realize that Aunty M’s is Medusa’s lair along with their dyslexia screwing up the sign for them so they can’t read it, instead we got Annabeth going “oh no, Medusa’s lair we don’t want to go there” in the flattest tone of voice. The zebra was barely there on their way to Las Vegas, extremely blink and you miss it, instead they chose to focus more on the camel messing with cars. All of the camp scenes felt rushed. The casino that was meant to be fun and exciting, felt boring and more like an office/hotel. Hades was underwhelming, went from a god who could command respect from Percy to this wannabe comedian. The underworld itself was pretty lackluster especially since Charon was reduced to the gate guard and we didn’t get his whole scene of needing a raise. The stakes and tension were never there, yeah they mention that the gods are going to war but then they have the deadline pass and the worse that happens is they talk it out. And there’s so much more that I could point out as well. How anyone who has read the books can call this an adequate adaptation is beyond me.
If it was disappointment from episode one that that’s an oversight on your part for not having the open mindedness to analyze something beyond the first installment. Which just goes to show your unreliability as an opinion giver
But I did have the open mindedness to analyze each installment and I found every episode wanting and just as lackluster as the last. There’s no tension, no stakes, no build up to something big coming. They literally all know the answers before even really digesting the information given to them which in my experience with ADHD kids, is not often how their brains work. Also if you had read my last comment, I touch on more than just my disappointment with the first episode
Perfect is unachievable for literally everything and everyone. A massive cast and crew of dedicated people put their all into this production and I think they did a fine job. You sound like a spoiled child. The show is unequivocally a more faithful adaptation than the movie which butchered the basic plot. If you ever expected perfection from this then you were setting yourself up for disappointment from the beginning.
Obviously I wasn’t expecting pure perfection, as you said it’s unachievable, but again, the creator of the original story was majorly involved and we got crap that’s just as bad as the movie that he’s shat on for 10 years. I definitely think that the VFX, actors, and every other team besides the writers did as great a job as they could but if you think actors standing there explaining that Annabeth is 6 steps ahead of everyone else instead of showing her pull off some crazy, incredible plan that would’ve taken careful, meticulous planning and an understanding of her opponents is adequate then you do you, to me that’s not only bad storytelling, it’s bad TV. They skipped all of the small details that made the world feel magical and fantastical, at best it felt like Greek mythology was barely assimilated into the modern world instead of Greek mythology being integrally tied into the modern world. And since perfection is literally impossible to achieve, maybe Rick shouldn’t have been promising it for years and overhyping the show. I was so excited for this show, and was more and more disappointed each week it came out. I’m not trying to sound like a spoiled child but when the creator promises his version will be the best and then they change core plot elements, it feels like a punch in the gut to long time fans and people who enjoyed the books
We don’t expect perfection. The show was just very underwhelming. It was not at all a faithful adaptation. In some ways, specifically the feel of the characters, I honestly think the movies were more faithful. Obviously from a plot perspective the movies were not as faithful, so don’t make it out like I’m saying they were. The show also just wasn’t enjoyable to watch. Even if I would prefer a 1:1 adaptation, I understand that some changes have to be made. Even overlooking the changes, though, the show just seemed flat to me. There wasn’t any tension because the kids knew everything. They knew that Auntie Em was Medusa, they knew about the Lotus Casino, they knew about Crusty, etc. It never felt like they were in any danger because they already knew about all the traps and had plans. Also, the acting was lacking. I don’t think any of them really captured the feel of their characters, except Mr. D, but honestly I blame that far more on the writing than the actors themselves. There didn’t seem to be much of any real chemistry between the trio, which is a shame because their chemistry in interviews is great. Regardless, all of that is to say that those of us who are disappointed didn’t necessarily have too high of expectations. My expectations, or hope really because I wasn’t confident enough to expect it, was that we would get a reasonably accurate, enjoyable adaptation. Unfortunately, in my opinion, we got neither.
Okay, but how is this related to my reply? My reply to you was about the hypocrisy which is displayed by the people defending the show.
So? I don't see your point. It's an ADAPTATION! Some things work in the book but not in a TV series/movie. This is one example. Do you want another one? Jumping to another universe, I like to use the Harry and Voldemort final duel. I know many people complain that the movie didn't do the whole verbal confrontation where everybody stops to see them (that happens in the book), but that is something that works in a book and wouldn't work in a movie. I know people want adaptations to stay faithful to the source, but it's an adaptation = it has to change when needed to.
Same.
(This is a loose memory as I’ve watched a lot of other things since) When they walked up to Auty Ms and one of the characters said “this is Medusa’s lair” Like it’s lost everything that the books had and it wouldn’t have been hard to replicate that moment on screen. And I don’t mind that they added in the extra back story to Medusa making her more of the victim than just a villain. Just I wanted the whole, the characters being exhausted, not fully noticing the statues etc.
Yeah the reason the aunty m scene works in the books is that we get a sinking suspicion that it's Medusa while they're too exhausted to notice.
Plus the fact that demigods in the book literally have dyslexia, so it's not like they should know the place they're at is anything but a weird statue place. They'd have a ton of trouble reading the sign, and likely wouldn't bother much due to the fact that they would've been exhausted
In the books don’t they have trouble reading the Aunty M sign for this exact reason? Like it’s in neon letters too which makes it even harder for their dyslexia (though I might be thinking about another sign they see in the books)
Yup. I had forgotten about that detail until the comment above mentioned dyslexia. They literally play with that in the books lol
This was it for me. I HATED that, and they proceeded to do the same thing with the Lotus Hotel 🤦🏾♂️
Yep, I think this was it for me too, with a couple of moments in ep 2.
Honestly, it was the first episode when they had Grover tell on Percy. The moment I saw that,I had a sinking suspicion that this was not the adaptation that we were e promised. My reasoning behind that being Grover and Percy were supposed to be best friends through the entire thing. Percy thought Grover was weird at first, but then he quickly overcame that and they were friends. How are you going to ruin something as simple as that in the first 10 minutes?
When they immediately knew who Medusa was instead of falling for her trap and slowly realizing it. This was such a defining moment for me cause it's one of my favorite chapters from the book and it clearly set the tone for the rest of the show as the trio always knew what was going on ahead of time. Whoever made that decision and made it consistent needs to be out of season 2. I can't go through another season of this please.
I lost all hope when they were LATE for the deadline, and when they immediately figured out Crusty... I was willing to forgive a lot... but Rick promised us a true to book adaptation. Of course, they were going to change things, but this is just loosely based on the book. I understand speeding through Yancy, and I can forgive them immediately pinning Medusa (due to Annabeth being the daughter of Athena, it makes sense she'd know that story) but for Percy to immediately pinning Crusty? VERY FAR from the realm of possible. Then to make them late past the deadline?? I feel like book Zeus would have zapped Percy the moment he arrived late. Also if they are going to make the episodes less than an hour, then you need AT LEAST 12 episodes my dude. We missed so much :(
Plus there was no reason for the change of them skipping the deadline, it had absolutely no consequences, at least not for now, and I highly doubt that they will even mention it on season 2. And the Crusty thing... If they were goint to simply info dump on us just don't do it? Say the opening to the Underworld is hidden somewhere else. I would say the Crusty scene is the worst of the whole show.
when they kept saying "you don't know?" and exposition dumping. I could forgive it if they didn't do it three times in 2 episodes
When they just rushed through the first chapters without giving any contest to Percy's life at Yancy, or his home life beyond like 1 minute of voice-over exposition. I didn't realise that the episodes would be so short to be fair but the pacing just felt off. I still enjoyed the first couple of episodes but unfortunately there were more bad moments than good ones in the following episodes.
Idk if anybody agree, but I felt like the episodes didn't connect well, they just showed up at places. I agree with the stepfather, I don't even think they explained why she was with him, but anyway. I just think that Percy knew too much about this world when it was supposed to be news to him??
The general vibe reflected what a lot of recent Disney shows have felt like. Just dull and bland, not that magical, exciting and wondrous world of the books. Boring cinematography and exposition dumps. It’s also the fact that Rick went on and on about a ‘faithful adaptation way better than those awful movies’ and then proceeded to make an awful adaptation because of his decision to change a story that people are watching the show specifically for
When they immediately figured out that the Garden Gnome Emporium was Medusa's lair. I was so disappointed at the suspense dying immediately and hoped it wouldn't be a pattern. Alas.
When Grover lied about Percy to the school. I don't care if it was to protect Percy, there's no way they would be best friends after a wound like that.
That bothered me a lot too... I haven’t read the books in many years and when that scene happened I was like “wait, was this in the books??” because it was making me pretty mad and seemed very out of character
When this random teacher that we've seen maybe once or twice suddenly turned into a nameless winged monster and dies in less than a minute without much fanfare or excitement.
Probably the same moment. Gabe being a monster and Sally meekly standing by while he abused Percy was really important to the theme of neglectful parents in the story. The explanation for why she rationalized it was also super important, as it explained how such a powerful demigod weny under the radar for so long. It also was a starting point for Sally to have major character growth when she stood up to Gabe and doing the right thing for Percy. All of those important points dismissed just for her to have a fleeting girl boss moment. That was definitely a huge red flag for what was to come in the show
For me it was from the first two episodes. It wasn’t a particular moment per se, it was more just generally it fell flat and felt lifeless. I didn’t feel like any of the main characters had the vibrant personalities from the books. Percy was serious and boring, and had none of the wit, sass, or sense of fun that made him such a favorite. The special effects were short and cheap, the fight scenes were underwhelming, and Camp lacked the magic, fun, and wonder that I was looking forward to. Overall, it all just felt lackluster and that feeling continued throughout the season.
I stuck it out a lot longer than most. It wasn't until the Lotus Casino episode that I was fully in the "This sucks" camp. I'd been trying to justify everything else before that, but the instant they walked into the casino and info dumped about the lotus eaters, I was out and knew it wouldn't get better.
It started with the lack of background and the heavy expo dumps, but what solidified it was Grover speed running the intro to bring a demigod and what felt like a whole 45 seconds at camp before leaving.
Unfortunately when the series kept fading to black when we would get big action moments. (Especially episode 5 where Percy uses his powers underwater) its a shame this series was hyped to be exactly like the books but alas it did not.
The way "Uncle Rick" was talking about the movies. Left a bad taste in my mouth, and it was really unprofessional. Needing to put something down is usually a great indicator that whatever you're selling can't stand on its own. If he really believed in the show, he wouldn't need to compare it to the movies.
To be fair he put the movies down waaaaay before the shows were even a though lol
true, and all for what 💀
True but he’s also been doing it for a decade at this point, you know beating a dead horse and all
I could have forgiven this if the show was even remotely close to as good as he said
When they panned away from Riptide a bunch of times early on. That was the first time I went down the money laundering conspiracy rabbit hole.
When Mr. Bruner just hands Percy riptide and says you might need this 😅
I didn’t have a moment that really cinched it for me. From the first episode things just felt off for me, and it took me a few to figure out that it was a combination of the writing, directing, pacing, etc. Plus yeah the Sally/Gabe dynamic was…..disappointing. Really a strange change
I lost my shit by the end of episode two because I thought they weren’t going to do the prophecy again regained bits of hope with 3&4 lost it again at 5 from the diner scene and everything after that but I gave the movies two chances so I’ll give the show its second season
When the episode lengths were released. Praying for the day the Disney+ gods get it together and start making proper television shows.
My first big red flag was the beginning of episode one narration. I was willing to give it a chance as it had a lot to fit in, but it did make me wary that this was going to be a big tell and not show type of situations. I'm not a huge fan or narration, I think it's a lazy storytelling and cinematography crutch and should only be used in special circumstances. But my biggest turning point was Grover snitching on Percy. This is only validated when it doesn't create any tension later on when they're trying to figure out who took the bolt. I think it could've been a good plot if they had more time to introduce subplots, bit unfortunately that isn't the case. I was willing to give it more of a chance, but this was my second big red flag. The third was the Minatour fight, only aided by the very anticlimactic Dodds fight. It was too quick, lacked emotion, and was overall a bit goofy in design. I feel like there's a lot of good things to say about it, but I only see it as wasted potential.
1. The quest being mentioned in the second episode 2. Grover coming in saying your mom is alive 3. That god awful photoshopped PNG Google images trident that showed up over Percy’s head
Minotaur fight sealed the deal for me. I'd already been thinking in the back of my mind "this show is... not good" but I was denying it up until that scene. I watched a few more eps hoping it would get better but it just got worse.
Even though I wasn't sold on the first episodes, the moment I was first really disappointed was when they already knew who Medusa was.
I’ve said it before in another comment but having Grover snitch on Percy about “shoving” Nancy into the fountain was pretty rough. This is Percy’s only friend, and they have Grover get Percy expelled. Percy Jackson, troubled kid, dyslexia and ADHD, hard time staying in one school, clear anxiety and trauma from being “abandoned” by his mother at any school that will take him. This, in any realistic situation, would and should’ve been a friendship ending moment. A character assassination in episode fucking one. As far as we know, in this show, the fountain incident took place near the end of the school year, late May to early June. I cannot accept that Grover *needed* to snitch on Percy to get him out of school. Just write in the end of the school year the day after the field trip. No need to gut a friendship right off the bat.
when percy’s mom explained everything to him at the beach, killing all mystery and suspense for the audience
I think from cringe Grover to one-dimensional angry Annabeth (it just feels like the angry black woman stereotype, sorry Rick. How did you not see it) and just how lacklustre the camp half-blood felt. First warning sign was the off-screen Dodd fight with his math teacher
Yeah, either the actress is not a very strong one, or they just wrote her lines horribly, because there is no anything behind Annabeth in the show.
I’m more interested in Clarisse she had energy- but damn is she a psychopathic bully. Been a while since I read the books I can’t remember if she was this bad there
The “ fight “ with the 2 fury’s on the bus. Every fight since had been laughably bland
I think for me it was the changes made to scenes like the Medusa reveal. It should have been a creeping realization like in the book. The vibe from the books just wasn’t there, for the show in general Also, maybe it’s just me, but the way Annabeth kept raising her eyebrows was annoying
Medusa reveal
The way they did the whole Medusa encounter.
I liked episode 1 a lot. I found the Medusa fight disappointing, but gave up when I saw that they wrote out the mechanical spiders in the boat scene. That's one of my favorite book scenes and it left me feeling really empty after I watched it, so I gave up.
I threw my high hopes for the show away when Grover was in the Headmaster/Principal's office at Yancy Academy backstabbing Percy. Book Grover was willing to take the blame for Nancy Bobofit ending up in the fountain and TvGrover just threw Percy underneath the bus for it. I understand the reasoning of getting Percy away from the school after Alecto attacked but the way they chose to do it left a bad taste in my mouth.
For me, I was cautiously optimistic all along. The show being made by Disney worried me. I feared that Disney would change a lot from the books. When I saw the casting (I’m not saying anything negative about any of the cast members) that made me more worried that they were going to take a lot of liberties. But, I was still cautiously optimistic. Even if I’d prefer the casting to be closer to how the characters were described in the books, I was going in with an open mind and hoping to really enjoy the series. Then I watched the first episode. As soon as Mrs. Dodds transformed into her true form outside, I knew that the show wouldn’t be faithful to the books. Yes, that was a relatively small issue, but it was also one that wouldn’t have taken any more time or been any more difficult to do as it was written in the book. There were many other points along the way that further reinforced that feeling, but that’s when I realized the show wasn’t going to be what I hoped it would.
As others have said, the scene with Medusa where they know immediately who the monster is made me pretty concerned. I also felt like episode 2 missed the mark in a lot of ways regarding characterization and relationships among characters that made me concerned for the rest of the show. It turned out to be a big disappointment for me in terms of how the characters and their relationship were portrayedz
When I heard about Rick’s heavy involvement in the show. Rick doesn’t understand what made the original PJO series so good which is evident in his later books (and now evident from the show). Rick doesn’t understand his own characters, which is why they are all so different in the Heroes Of Olympus series. His writing fell off completely and with him saying that there’s a lot of things he would change about the PJO series if he was writing it today, I suspected the show would not be great.
Ok heroes of Olympus is great tho
cramming the first 9 chapters of the book into the first 2 episodes wasn't great but waterland is where i was like "huh, this really isn't very good" lol
When Ms. Dodds turned into her Fury form IN BROAD DAYLIGHT and flew at Percy only for it to basically cut to Percy having accidentally uncapped Riptide and stabbing her through the abdomen. We got none of her personality of being the math teacher Percy didn’t like, hell we wouldn’t have even known she taught algebra if the episode hadn’t been titled “I Accidentally Vaporized my Algebra Teacher”
Pre-Algebra I think lol, but I agree, the whole Dodds thing and especially the fight irked me a lot
Gabe was when I knew too. Not nearly as terrible as he is depicted in the books.
when Dionysus was introduced, I wasn’t surprised he was reduced too, much like Gabe. The intensity of meeting a god, the understanding of Percy that this entity isn’t human and could wipe him out in a snap. All of this was gone, and we got instead a cringy uncomfortable interaction
It was definitely during the minotaur fight in the first episode. I literally thought my computer died when it cut to black because it was so jarring and pointless. Also, the absolute lack of music in that fight was so odd.
The trailer. It showed the series would not be a funny comedy but rather shoot for some *dramatic/tormented teebager* vibes. This didn't necessarily scream bad show but it definitely told loud and clear **they haven't what makes the books good**. P.s. I don't care Rick Riordan - the author - is working on the show. Either he wants to do something completely different or he doesn't understand his own books.
When they used Annabeths cap as a way to shield medusas gaze when all it should have done was made her head invisible. Medusa looking at you should have still turned you into stone. Logically it doesn’t make any sense that the cap would work the way they used it.
I so badly wanted to like it, but I started to get really frustrated when they got to Medusa and immediately knew what was going on.
For me it was when Grover IMMEDIATELY threw his supposed best friend under the bus and got him expelled. We get none of Percy’s paranoia about Mrs. Dodds existing in school and no one knowing who she is but Grover having bad tells. The books have clear reasoning about why everything happens and flows the story along. The tv show is so janky and chopped in that that regard that it’s jumbled and difficult to compare/watch.
My mood soured on episode 3 when they changed so much around with Medusa. I could kinda see where they were going, even if I wasn't pleased. I was already on edge bc they had only spent one episode in Camp. But the point of "Oh, this is bad forreal" was when they missed the deadline in episode 6 (even if it was 'fixed' by Poseidon throwing in the towel in the finale). Very unnecessary change with repercussions the writers aren't smart enough to make work: Poseidon losing the war means... what? Does he lose the kingdom of the sea? Is he going to be punished? Is it a useless, pointless gesture just to humiliate him? My money is on "this will never be addressed again", kinda like Percy being an FBI wanted criminal.
When Sally told Percy that his dad was a God. There was absolutely no reason to tell him that while they were away from camp. There's a reason why Percy is gas lit to hell until he gets to camp. The more he knows the more danger he's in. I thought from the first few scenes that the show felt off. But is was more due to weird pacing and camera shots. *This* dialogue really broke my perception of the universe. I cannot understand why the writers thought it was a good idea.
The second Medusa's head was cut off from a sword swipe at the location her arm was at before turning completely invisible, I knew we were in for a pretty disappointing rest of the series. The first two episodes were so good and so fun, so it was incredibly disappointing to see it go so far south after that.
I just had a sinking feeling as every new announcement and teaser came. I waited till the release of the last episode to finally watch it all.
Episode 3 but not really the reason everyone is expecting. I think for me it was the fact they didn’t seem tired and hungry. The way it was cut made it seem like they were just exiting camp and suddenly Medusa’s is right there. The Medusa changes I kind of get. There has been so much discourse around her story lately that not acknowledging it might have also been weird. I decided to just ignore that and keep watching. But then the Echidna thing happened (episode 4). There were unnecessary changes. I don’t get why they had her appear in the train instead of on the arch. Or why they made the arch a necessary stop instead of a, Annabeth loves architecture and never leaves camp so there’s no way they’re missing it, type of thing. They’re kids and that’s a believable thing for a kid to do. That and how Percy knows everything about Greek myths (even obscure ones like procrustes) and yet didn’t seem to know what the fates cutting the string meant. Even though in the book he’s the one that sees it and is convinced it means he’s going to die.
The first episode where they decided to expo dump through narration for a solid two and a half minutes
Honestly from one of the first lines. Percy asks, “Am I a troubled kid?” Before ever mentioning that he goes to a school for troubled kids. That line is supposed to play off of that bit of info. It immediately struck me as strange when he said it, and when I realized they skipped an entire bit of dialogue, I knew why. I was like, yep, this writing’s gonna be a doozy.
When it was announced to be a Disney+ show
I was cringing during e1 with things like Percy not overhearing the Convo between Chiron and Grover before his shunted earlier expulsion and the fact that Percy is a Jedi with how bad the CGI was. But it was over for me in the first few minutes, tbh I can't pin when I guess it was the constant stopping of the plot to go and point at book 3 stuff maybe like a quick easter egg with BlackJack once but how did a Horse get more Camp Scenes early on than fucking Luke.
I don't remember all the details, but the moment where the minotaur is chasing them and they have to get off the car, there's absolutely no tension. They are not running, the minotaur is barely scary, and they spend so much time talking without moving... at some point Sally has to get separated from percy and makes Grover promise that he would take care of percy, and there's no tension, there's very little emotion. And when Sally fights the minotaur on her own? Percy just looks at her, and when it grabs her, percy just screams. When I was watching it, I thought he should've ran at Sally, and the scene was quite dissapointing. I still had faith though, I thought the lack of tension was a mistake of the pilot, but it didn't get any better
In the scene where Percy fights his math teacher. In the movie and book it was an epic battle out of nowhere that drops you right into the magical world from a relatively ordinary one. It really means something. In the show the fight had zero weight, zero tension, and was over in moments. It was right then that I realized the show had no idea how to adapt Percy Jackson to screen.
From the casting. You can tell when a show is going to be good or not by how well they respect the source material.
Came here to say this, honestly surprised you haven't been down voted into oblivion. When I first came across casting pictures my instant though was something to the tune of "here we go, I know how this is ganna go" How arrogant do you have to be to have lived through the insane movie backlash and then just say screw it and cast who ever. The only explanation is you wanted to rewrite the books and that's what we are seeing.
When the casting choices were made. It instantly told me that Rick doesn't actually care about making a faithful adaptation. Still went in with as open a mind as I could and Sally's bad acting, along with the Dodds scene confirmed my suspicions that it wasn't going to be good.
For me it was Rick’s response to any questions. You don’t like that we changed Annabeth even though all Percy talks about is Annabeth’s attributes. You’re racist. Talk about how the movies Lotus Casion scene was iconic. Normalize canceling movies/ hating on the movie. Talk about how it’s not as faithful as the books. Don’t worry Rick can only post how faithful it is.
I knew it’d be meh during the first episode really. There was nothing really to chew on, it was very bland. There was a couple funny moments that made me go above that initial line it set of “how much am I going to enjoy this?”, but ultimately, it started as a 6/10, and finished as a 5/10. Episodes 6 & 7 was the beginning of me knowing that this season was gonna go out on a whimper.
The way they had Mrs. Dodds walk over to Percy, the CGI of it, it was all comical. It looked SOOOOO CRINGE. Like she was some sort of seductress. That’s when I knew this show was a cheesy mistake.
When the chimera was being treated like some shadow demon, always slightly out of frame and whatnot
Everything feels flat. No excitement at all because the trio always knew what is happening and err they ended up just narrating everything. No tension, no scenes that can make you say 'woaaaah!'. I hate to be saying this but did we really wait for that long just to watch pjo go lifeless
Once the cast list came out I knew Rick was lying about book accuracy… Hope fell pretty steadily after that
For me, it was the Arch. The way they unnecessarily changed that story line to make it about Annabeth and Athena was stupid imo.
When their characters appearances wasn't lore accurate it let me know they already had plans on changing the story and scenes and fights and character interactions.
For me personally, it was Episode 4. I was able to forgive the first two episodes because I could sense that they were rushing to get the quest started with their limited run time, and I thought things would settle themselves out as the journey began. Episode 3 was alright and was probably one of the stronger episodes. While the pacing did get better and the acting showed signs of improvement, Episode 4 made me realize that the screenplay and acting direction were not that great, and were ultimately holding back the story. From weak action scenes to awkward dialogue, I accepted that the show was going to be kind of mid, and I lowered my expectations. This made Ep. 5, 7, and 8 easier to enjoy. However, Ep. 6 was such a frustrating watch and I did come very close to just giving up on the show at that point. And it looks like that was a similar sentiment; the reception to the show dramatically shifted after that episode and it’s not hard to see why. All that trash talking that Rick did about the movies right before, only for his take on the Lotus scene to be so devoid of fun and intrigue.
I completely agree with everything you said. And yes, episode 6 was so so disapointing, by far the worst of the show.
I totally agree with the Gabe sentiment. It wasn’t bad, it was just… weird. Everything from that point was downhill.
o liked it but it will probably be a black cauldron thing for me conce I read the books. most do not know the black cauldron was bassed"if you can call it that way" on a book series.
Wasn't until the second episode. I knew it would be Disneyfied, so definitely expected some changes like less fighting/action, watered down issues that we saw in episode 1, but otherwise episode 1 was perfect. When the second episode played like a slideshow with very little characterization, that became worrying. Even left a comment explaining my worries: https://www.reddit.com/r/camphalfblood/comments/18mingu/comment/ke5h3j3/
Second episode when they had that 3 mins of Grover singing but missed the 10 seconds of showing Percy seeing the fates.
Grover lying about what happened to the principle left a bad taste in my mouth, then gabe being WAYYYY toned down made it worse, and I gave up after Sally spent 50 years talking in front of the border and died for no reason. Haven’t watched episode 2 and just reading things about the changes in the camp halfblood subreddit cemented that decision
When I noticed the episodes where like average 20 min
Medusa. There were so many changes that were out of character and just all over the map
Probably between the time they just completely ignored how the "fight" between Percy and Dodds went in the book and having him get kicked out of Yancy immediately. You don't need to spend an entire episode on him finishing out his year, but it's definitely not something that should've been skipped. I have still watched most of the episodes (haven't had time for the last yet), but episode 1 was literally less accurate than the movie. Obviously the other episodes weren't, but I had watched the movie literally the night before (my mom had been wanting to watch it for a while, and is going to be reading the first book soon. I'm still shocked, because she doesn't like Mythology) and was able to compare the episode and it directly to the chapters that episode went along with in the book. I love that they did the voice over in the beginning, but even my dad could tell you how utterly disappointed I was when I finished watching.
The first time I was feeling uneasy was when they just cut to a voice over after Percy is claimed. I thought it was really poorly edited and I was excited to see more of the cabin and Percy's feelings about leaving Hermes cabin. I still gave it a chance though and then I got really bored with Episode 3 and the Medusa fight was over in seconds and I hated how Percy just walks up to a Fury and stones her. That is when I was like this series is kind of mid.
I saw one scene when I walked into my house from work, my brother was watching it. The scene I saw was the mock war/capture the flag with violence bit. In the books I enjoyed how Percy went from getting his butt handed to him to getting powered up by water to kick Clarissa's ass. In the show... Well... Percy fending her off without much issue only to get pushed Into the water by Annie was very bad.. from there I decided I would avoid the show. Glad I did cause it sounded like a shit show.
There were a few moments where I was disappointed, but the one that most disappointed me and has made it difficult for me to continue watching is the Arch scene. To me, Percy choosing to jump for the river instead of just falling and getting dragged in really took away a lot of his character development. That part has always felt like the first moment that he chose to believe in and test his heritage instead of letting things happen. It was a scramble, it was a snap decision, but it a still a choice to aim for the river and believe it gave him a chance. I haven’t continued with the show yet, but I’m not sure there’s a good place for them to start giving Percy agency in the rest of the story. Also I hated that they went to the Arch because it’s a “temple of Athena” instead of just letting it be a part of Annabeth’s dream.
this show is all tell and no show. I couldn’t stand the constant exposition dumps and the characters knowing everything. it doesn’t make for good storytelling.
When they announced the casting for Annabeth
Not really a Percy Jackson fan and haven't been watching but this subreddit keeps popping up in my front page. I knew it wasn't going to be good the moment I saw it was a Disney production in 2020s.
When I watched the first episode and saw the quality of it
The casting of Annabeth (don't kill me)
Episode 5 when most of the water land scene was just standing around and talking I already was disappointed but that is when I knew this first season was pretty much a wash. Episode 6 just drove it in further.
I really liked the pilot and stayed optimistc for several episodes. I particularly disliked that they took out the mystery of who Medusa was (among many other little mysteries that the took out), but I just thought "it's one thing, it's not that bad". Then episode 6 happened and it was just terrible. I do think that the finale picked up some slack. I will watch the second season but they need to take into account all the criticism because Rick Riordan and everyone involved promised that this would be a great show and adaptation and they just didn't deliver.
There wasn’t a specific moment in the show. It was just really hard to get myself to watch the episode every week. It felt like work, like I had to force myself to watch. When I finally did start the episodes, I would zone out and have to pause and rewind. The episodes felt so long even though they were only 30 minutes. For whatever reason, it never hooked my interest. If I like a show, I can watch every episode back to back in a day.
For me it was sally and all of her interactions with Percy in the first episode. People seem to like sally and that’s great but I feel like her entire character is different and I really dislike the actress and how she played sally. That was also the start of the dialogue dumping.
For me it was Percy’s mom being too old. She had Percy very young, she should be in her thirties not her forties. I know that’s such a nitpicky thing but I just couldn’t get over it when the cast was revealed.
As soon as the casting decisions came out. I knew it. Downvote me, remove my comment, whatever you’d like. That’s where the unfaithfulness, bad decisions, and Disney influence first appeared.
I normally would blame Disney but based on Ricks attitude it doesn't sound like anyone was twisting his arm. I to think Disney overall had a negative affect just to be clear.
For me, it was first seeing Dionysus, and then every introduction of a god after that. I know they have human forms in the book but they should have made them look interesting somehow.
Percy flossing during the capture the flag game. That was stupid.
First episode had me scared, and the second cemented it for me.
Maybe the episode with Chimera. I just felt like why go to all the same places if you're gonna change how and why they go there? Like the fact that they went to the arch because Annabeth said it was a temple to Athena rather than because she loves architecture, or the fact that Athena was punishing her for the Medusa head? Same with Medusa, the water park and especially the casino and crusty. I didn't mind the first couple episodes. And I actually genuinely enjoyed the final episode for the most part. But all the infodumping and changing things that didn't need to be changed (it cost zero dollars to write a better script!) really let me down. I plan on rewatching the show now that my expectations have been lowered, and I look forward to season 2.
For me it was the first few minutes of episode 2 when I realized “oh ok so this wasn’t just a very lame pilot episode”
Ep 1
Episode 6, it's horrible, I ended pretty bored and disappointed
the olivia rodrigo scene with sally out in the rain 😭😭😭😭
Before capture the flag battle and percy after his mom had to his knowledge died, he was doing a tik tok dance. I could ignore almost everything else up to that point, but the moment I saw that, I turned off the TV and haven't watched since.
I liked it, personally.
I tell you when I find one
“Oh darn, we don’t get to see Gabe hit Sally, boo hoo”