When Grover is talking to Augustus near the VR section, you can hear Nico saying Bianca, twice, and when Percy and Annabeth find Grover in the VR section, you can hear him saying Bianca again
Can't believe I missed this but I'm so happy it was included 😁 It's also really fitting that Nico's first line is screaming out in fear for his sister, that kids story is gonna be so tragic!!
Now that the solstice deadline has passed, Luke and Percy both failed their quests. Except one of them turned to bitterness and the other fought for his mother and friends ! :')
ABSOLUTLEY LOVE THIS!! There's so many things that missing the deadline has actually helped with this story, not only does it make Percy more similar to Luke as you said but it also makes it his own quest, not is Father's, no one can argue that Poseidon is using him now which is quite a point in the book and now it's fully Percy's will to go through with it!!!
Agreed, this context immeditelty sets him apart from the other campers and gives him the actual reason for turning, not that his Godly parent doesn't care which is the same for literally every Demigod.
I really enjoyed the changes SPECIALLY knowing Riordan is all in on the changes. Friendship building is key for future seasons so their growth is important. Loved the air idea instead of eating food., Glad you enjoyed it as much as you did, i felt you would being clear of mind about also doing series for ALL readers & non readers alike. I havent been dissappointed YET in an episode or casting choices ❤
The fact that Rick is in on all the changes just makes them so much better as he knows what's best for his creations and he knows where he could have improved when he first wrote them. The friendship is absolutley pivotol for the first season as they need to cement this trio now before getting into all the chaos that's gonna enfold, especially when Annabeth is missing for an entire book holding up the sky, their bond has to be so loved that audiences will stick around till they get reunited, and I have to say they've done an incredible job so far! It's shocked me how well it's going considering Annabeth didn't get a main role till episode 3 and yet already they have formed a golden trio!! As a fan of the books, I want this show to be continued and cover everything, even Trials of Apollo if they ever get round to it, and for that to happen they need to get a general audience on board with it to show it's success and to grab a fresh viewer base, Book fans would never be able to suport the show alone so there has to be changes to work for a live action show that not only grabs new people but also keeps people who know everything entertained. Can't wait for the final to episodes, I from everything we've seen so far I know it's gonna be great!! 😁😁
Spoilers for non-book readers. In the book, Luke does just poison Percy kind of out of nowhere. The best thing this adaptation is doing is exploring Luke's reasoning. I think they're overdoing it a bit, but it's still a good change I'm pretty sure that Luke's tragic backstory is given to Percy by Hermes in the second book with more exploration in the last one (where they go meet his mom). Luke alludes to daddy issues in the first book, but it's not explicit. Luke's mom is broken because she tried to take on the spirit of Delphi and it failed (because of the curse). Hermes tries really hard to stop her, and gives the quest that injures Luke in an attempt to do something nice for Luke. In the book, Hermes absolutely cares for both of them, he just realizes that he's causing them more pain by being too close. He's essentially a parent who's kid is in a destructive spiral and just doesn't know how to help.
Hermes does break my heart in the books. He sends Percy in the SoM quest to see if he could save Luke from the "dark side". He desperately hopees Annabeth will somehow be able to change his mind. And from the start he wanted nothing but the best for May and Luke. Unfortunately May thought she could become the Oracle - which wasn't possible back then because of Hades' curse, so the visions just broke her sanity. The worst part, though, was her getting glimpses of the future and the big prophecy, and _knowing_ the hero was Luke and that he'd die. What made Luke and Percy different were their moms. I do believe May would've been a good mom for Luke. The way she treated Percy thinking he was Luke was so..... caring and loving. But the whole Oracle thing ruined everything, and Luke blamed Hermes for not saving her, curing her, and letting him grow up in such a horrible house, seeing his mother like that. I don't blame Luke for hating Hermes. He's a god, couldn't he change that? But these gods do have limitations. I remember my heart breaking in a million pieces when Luke's body was being taken away and Hermes kissed his forehead, while Percy thought of May, alone and out of her mind in her house,forever waiting for a son that would never come back. That single part just... destroys me, man. I wish things were different for that family.
I dont think they are overdoing it at all. hermes was pretty vague about the details of the story and annabeth only stated what she heard that night but even she has no idea on the whole story. so all they did was set up the exploration of lukes reasoning without giving away or even scratching the surface of what really happened with his mom. so they can explore it a lot more in future seasons and then give the full flashback story in season 5.
Love that Luke's betrayal has been given more context here, reading the book it just seems like he's done it because his Godly parent doesn't care which is the same for every Demigod, only later do we learn what sets him apart so I'm glad they've at the very least teased it here and implies there is way more going on with him than the other campers. I completely forgot about Luke's Mom and Delphi, their story was so heartbreaking that neither Luke nor his Mom actually got a happy ending. This is the kind of darkness I want from the show but I just don't feel like it would fit right now so hoping as we get more seasons they'll experiment more and grow, also love that it was actually Hermes' choice to leave Luke and his Mom as it did demonstrate how much he cared, having Poseidon tell him to stay away in the show is different but I'm hoping that's just without context, maybe in later season's we'll see that Hermes went to Poseidon for advice, and this is what he got, and it came from a place of love and compassion.
I also thought it was odd that there was no zebra since it’s right in the title. Someone told me there is a zebra on screen for like two seconds, but I hadn’t seen it. Also, I didn’t notice the person feeding the camel, that’s hilarious! I was sort of disappointed that they knew the situation again, but like you said, they should know this stuff since it’s from one of the more famous Greek myths, so it makes sense. But what they did, pumping it into the air, that was a new angle, and it works well! The casino with the roller coaster going around it outside looks so amazing, but yeah I really wish it would’ve been longer and had them interact with someone from a different era. I liked all of the extra Luke stuff though, because otherwise that backstory doesn’t really show up until the final book of the series. His mom did go crazy, she’s constantly awaiting for her son to come home. She called Nico and Percy “Luke” when they went to her house for help. She was baking him cookies and sandwiches. She’d have fits, her eyes would glow, she’d mutter to herself and call out to Hermes for help. She doesn’t know Luke's never coming home. It’s so sad🥲 Annabeth stealing the keys to Hermes’ taxi was a great addition! I saw some didn’t like that they drove the taxi themselves, but I loved it. It made my skin crawl watching Percy hit or scrape every pole, wall, and barrier because he was stressed… but also because he was looking at Annabeth smiling at him. I love that you’ve been just as excited about the nereid, too! Her design is so beautiful, the way she glows, her hair being seaweed, her sparkling eyes. It’s magical! I didn’t even realize that them going past the deadline and failing checks off part of the prophecy that way!!! You’re so right! (Edit: I didn't realize how long this was until I sent it, sorry😂)
Yeah didn't see a Zebra at all but if one did show up that would be better than nothing, just having in the title of the episode then the episode having nothing to do with a Zebra is very bizarre. Think this was a good intorduction to the Casino and it can definitely be built off of but it we really should have gotten to see more of the consequences for staying to long, they kind of did with the Satyr but I think it would have been darker showing the effects on a Mortal. Luke's story is honestly such a tragedy and I can't wait for it to get explored more cause that alone will bring in the dark and serious tone I'm hoping for and plus it just makes him a really compelling antagonist who's motivations you can kind of sympathise with. The Car scene was such a fun addition and honestly I really don't mind them changing scenes like that cause all that was in the book was them discussing Percy's dream, here it added much more and made the episode better, I imagine if that scene was kept the same to the book this episode would have come off as well and they just needed something to keep the ending part lively. For me one of the best parts about this show is getting to see all the magical things we've imagined while reading come to life so getting to see how they've been designed is just amazing. I'm so happy this show has had the courage to change things like meeting the deadline cause now it just reworks a lot of flaws from the book and this story actually becomes Percy's instead of Poseidon using him.
Even in the book I got the impression that the gods didn’t normally get close to their children because the other gods would get jealous and have their kids attack the other demigods whenever the god parents got into an argument. They can’t kill each other, but they can kill their children. If the gods stay away, the other gods don’t get so jealous and attack. For example, if Poseidon hadn’t claimed Percy, he wouldn’t have even gone to war with Zeus.
Yeah, some monsters and other immortals will target Percy saying essentially they want to kill Poseidon's favorite son because they either have beef with Poseidon or just want that reputation boost. Especially forbidden children, like Hades pretty much hunted Thalia to death because he was so upset Zeus broke the oath he made Hades swear.
True, I think this works especially well with the big three as the Gods are basically toddlers throwing temper tantrums half the time so halving the leaders not allowed to have children would certainly make them jealous of any other god who can, plus they'd be super petty and try to destroy the relationships between those with children. Also I did hear about the Bianca part and I love that Nico's first line in this is him crying out in fear looking for his sister, his story is going to be tragic!
@@heyitsmira17yes, though I was thinking Poseidon could have protected his son from going on a quest in the first place, because there’d be no declaration of war.
Hermes very much cares for Luke, later on in the books he almost kills Percy for implying that he didn't care about Luke, he legit turned into his giant form and was about to strike Percy with his weapon but decides against it due to his pet snakes interference so that type of reaction, would definitely mean he cares about Luke XD And he gets angry at Annabeth for not being able to win Luke back over to their side.
The more it gets brought up the more I sit and think did they make it before the solstice? I'm like 90 percent sure they did. Man I need to read the book again. Bad time for me to lose my copy 😂. You'll find what was lost and see it returned doesn't necessarily mean it was going to be returned before the timeline so again not a hurtful change. This show keeps me on my feet it's so good.
Finished re-reading the book now and they make it back on the day so this was a big change but I love that it still lines up with the prophecy and really that's all this show has to do, if they keep the prophesy consistent they can make these changes as it still lines up with the books but lets us who know the story get suprised.
Zeus ordering the gods not to interact with their kids was a movie invention, that was never a thing in the books. The gods are just forbidden to show favoritism to their kids and help them on their quests.
Ah okay, that movie messed me up a lot 🤣🤣 Glad they're fixing it here though and honestly this way it makes the relationships much richer and more complicated.
In the books, Luke's mum goes insane, not because of Hermes, but because (spoiler) Hades' curse on the Oracle causing her mind to become corrupted when she volunteers to take her place, mixed with her learning of her son's turn to (for lack of a better term) the dark side and his fate as a result of that.
I forgot about the Curse of Delphi 😭 Honestly their story is so tragic and that's the kind of darkness I want for this show, it definitely wouldn't fit with this season so hopefully the tone will change as it continues.
@benspiller well, considering the vast tonal shift in the Harry Potter films from the Philosopher's Stone to the Deathly Hallows, it would not surprise me if this television series took a similar route.
Annabeth would be the worst choice to drive because she has been at camp since she was seven. She would have had the least amount of time in cars. Even if she read about them, she wouldn't know the practical application. This scene was amazing. I love how it's filmed and scored like an action sequence. And Percy being so bad at driving as a 12 boy from NYC, was great. Because only 10-15% of native adult New Yorkers in Manhattan know how to drive.
In that moment I completely forgot about her Seven year stay 🤣🤣 Though any of them is a horrible choice to drive! Loved the scene too, it's so cool that they added so much to an otherwise dull scene in the book, had no idea the driving rates where that low 🤯🤣 and I guess that does add a lot to having Percy drive!
Pretty much my only complaint so far has been the annoying change of how the characters know so much. It takes away all the tension. "Oh yeah that's Medusa's house." "Oh yeah. Lotus hotel bad."
I mean, to me it makes sense. It always sorta bugged me that Annabeth, who has been training and learning for years, and who knows that Greek gods and monsters are real, always seemed to just wander into situations completely clueless
@@user-re3rb9cl7f I agree. And I also think it makes sense with the changes that were made in the show. They show up to the casino specifically looking for Hermes. It would be kind of stupid of the trio to not suspect that there is something 'off' about the casino
@@pinsandneedles3i think there could still be elements of caution whilst still keeping the anticipation in the casino scene. it was one of the most exciting parts of the book and i feel like they completely rushed it and watered it down.
@@ShyGuy1347 The problem is you don't solve that problem by making your characters identify and neutralize every trap before they fall into it. It removes all the stakes. A more appropriate way of handling this would be to lean into the characters' fatal flaws (these are Greek Demigods after all). Annabeth is a parallel for Odysseus, the cleverest hero in the lore. His most famous story, the one where the Lotus myth comes from, is just a collection of him getting repeatedly stuck in traps because he's got too arrogant to think he can make mistakes. The fun with Odysseus comes from him getting himself out of the traps he walks into, not avoiding them completely.
Interesting note about the Casino set! Well, I forgot most of the details, and who said it (it might have been DP Pierre Gill in the Riptide Radio episode 6), but they were planning on using a different set for the casino, but to quickly change sets. I'll have to watch that video I mentioned again to double-check everything. EDIT: I remembered the right video! Pierre said that they were planning on using one building that was more Vegas-y, with a sort of American Wild West vibe, but it turned out to be impossible to shoot. So they had to find a new empty building, add all the furniture and block out all the windows, so they could shoot it all over 3 to 4 days, mainly in daytime since the kids can't work too late.
As long as the original intent was there I'm fine with having to shift things around for workability, having the casino be enticing for all ages worked well with the VR thing too cause then it can literally give anyone anything. Hopefully, we'll get to see more of it in future seasons and the place can be expanded upon.
Love these reviews! Ep 4 also my favorite so far. It would be so great to show the other parts of the casino/darker elements in future seasons with Nico & Bianca (maybe flashbacks?). Would perfectly fit the tone of book 3 onward.
Thanks! 😁😁 Same episode 4 was just amazing and was a true testiment of what could be done in a short runtime, plus they changes they made in that far surpasses thoses chapters in the book for me! I think adding the darker parts to the casino in flashbacks would be perfect, especially with how Nico and Biance actually got to the casino and how there Mom dies, my main concern is that they might miss planting the seeds for this dark tone as this season is far lighter than what's to come so it could be quite a jump if they don't start leaning into it soon.
Luke's turn was a twist. Something no one saw coming. Foreshadowing this hard is ruining the twist. There is plenty of things in this book they aren't showing. Why throw in something from later books now when they could make this story better
I watch non-book reader reactors and a lot of them still hasn't clocked in to Luke's betrayal yet so I don't think they're ruining it. 🤷🏻♀️ Instead of looking at it in a lens of "runing the twist", look at it as them giving Luke a backstory and making the audience care why he turned the way he is. This choice is making the story the better. Because for me, when I was reading lightning thief for the first time Luke was just an asshole for no reason. I didn't get his motivations until later in the series. It's good that they are doing this now, makes the series something that can stand alone on it's own but still has opportunities for things that can be fleshed out in the future. I also think they've already laid enough of the important things in the book. Other things (such as spiders, talking to horses) can be explored in future seasons when they are actually relevant to the plot and the world building can breathe better.
@@nicoleterego All these things about luke can be explored in future seasons. Like they were in the books. Moving things around causes plot holes and lost focus.
@@clydelilly3960 No, you didn't understand what I said. Moving this Luke's background story is a great way for the audience to understand his character. So that Season 1 can stand on it's own. You don't have to wait for future seasons to understand why he betrays Percy. How does it lose focus when it's literally what we're building into the whole time? Lol. What can lose focus is the unnecesarry details like again, the spiders, etc. If you use an ounce of media literacy, you'll see why this change is great also for painting Percy and Luke being foils of each other. Luke turning evil will be more meaningful than just doing it for no reason (in the book his only reason is that the gods are absent, but that's such a weak motivation). I think you also forgot that Rick wrote Lightning Thief without knowing what would happen in Last Olympian. The other books hasn't been written yet at that point. May Castellan might have been created only after he has published the first book and so she was added in the later books. Him bringing up May Castellan this early might be a way for him to update the things he wrote from almost 20 years ago to make the story feel more cohesive. They already said that thid is one of the advantages of having the full source material in their hands instead of when he was still writing them and he pretty much do not know how he will write the next book.
@@nicoleterego I understand far better than you may think. Book 1 stood on it's own. It told a complete story. It doesn't need to be rewritten and changed to make it complete. We fell in love with the series from the first book. Stayed for the rest because it was a great series. And let me make one thing clear "(in the book his only reason is that the gods are absent, but that's such a weak motivation)." That is beyond simplistic.
@@clydelilly3960 Complete but missing nuance. Is it perfect? No. Can it be improved? Yes. And that's exactly what they want to do in this show. Nothing has been ruined by this addition, you're just assuming they did because you clearly want everything to be exactly like the books which you'll never get. We literally still have two episodes left and you're already claiming that they ruined it without even seeing how they execute the finale. And you said plot holes, where? Again, the show is not done yet. "Lost focus" again, how is it losing focus when everything's building up to Luke's betrayal. Besides, if you want an exact replica of the book, then just go read the book. It's so easy.
When Grover is talking to Augustus near the VR section, you can hear Nico saying Bianca, twice, and when Percy and Annabeth find Grover in the VR section, you can hear him saying Bianca again
Can't believe I missed this but I'm so happy it was included 😁 It's also really fitting that Nico's first line is screaming out in fear for his sister, that kids story is gonna be so tragic!!
Now that the solstice deadline has passed, Luke and Percy both failed their quests. Except one of them turned to bitterness and the other fought for his mother and friends ! :')
ABSOLUTLEY LOVE THIS!! There's so many things that missing the deadline has actually helped with this story, not only does it make Percy more similar to Luke as you said but it also makes it his own quest, not is Father's, no one can argue that Poseidon is using him now which is quite a point in the book and now it's fully Percy's will to go through with it!!!
For me, one of the best things in this episode is the anticipation of some context about Luke. It will give a lot more sense to what is ahead...
Agreed, this context immeditelty sets him apart from the other campers and gives him the actual reason for turning, not that his Godly parent doesn't care which is the same for literally every Demigod.
I really enjoyed the changes SPECIALLY knowing Riordan is all in on the changes. Friendship building is key for future seasons so their growth is important. Loved the air idea instead of eating food., Glad you enjoyed it as much as you did, i felt you would being clear of mind about also doing series for ALL readers & non readers alike. I havent been dissappointed YET in an episode or casting choices ❤
The fact that Rick is in on all the changes just makes them so much better as he knows what's best for his creations and he knows where he could have improved when he first wrote them. The friendship is absolutley pivotol for the first season as they need to cement this trio now before getting into all the chaos that's gonna enfold, especially when Annabeth is missing for an entire book holding up the sky, their bond has to be so loved that audiences will stick around till they get reunited, and I have to say they've done an incredible job so far! It's shocked me how well it's going considering Annabeth didn't get a main role till episode 3 and yet already they have formed a golden trio!!
As a fan of the books, I want this show to be continued and cover everything, even Trials of Apollo if they ever get round to it, and for that to happen they need to get a general audience on board with it to show it's success and to grab a fresh viewer base, Book fans would never be able to suport the show alone so there has to be changes to work for a live action show that not only grabs new people but also keeps people who know everything entertained.
Can't wait for the final to episodes, I from everything we've seen so far I know it's gonna be great!! 😁😁
Spoilers for non-book readers.
In the book, Luke does just poison Percy kind of out of nowhere. The best thing this adaptation is doing is exploring Luke's reasoning. I think they're overdoing it a bit, but it's still a good change
I'm pretty sure that Luke's tragic backstory is given to Percy by Hermes in the second book with more exploration in the last one (where they go meet his mom). Luke alludes to daddy issues in the first book, but it's not explicit.
Luke's mom is broken because she tried to take on the spirit of Delphi and it failed (because of the curse). Hermes tries really hard to stop her, and gives the quest that injures Luke in an attempt to do something nice for Luke.
In the book, Hermes absolutely cares for both of them, he just realizes that he's causing them more pain by being too close. He's essentially a parent who's kid is in a destructive spiral and just doesn't know how to help.
Hermes does break my heart in the books. He sends Percy in the SoM quest to see if he could save Luke from the "dark side". He desperately hopees Annabeth will somehow be able to change his mind. And from the start he wanted nothing but the best for May and Luke. Unfortunately May thought she could become the Oracle - which wasn't possible back then because of Hades' curse, so the visions just broke her sanity.
The worst part, though, was her getting glimpses of the future and the big prophecy, and _knowing_ the hero was Luke and that he'd die. What made Luke and Percy different were their moms. I do believe May would've been a good mom for Luke. The way she treated Percy thinking he was Luke was so..... caring and loving. But the whole Oracle thing ruined everything, and Luke blamed Hermes for not saving her, curing her, and letting him grow up in such a horrible house, seeing his mother like that. I don't blame Luke for hating Hermes. He's a god, couldn't he change that? But these gods do have limitations.
I remember my heart breaking in a million pieces when Luke's body was being taken away and Hermes kissed his forehead, while Percy thought of May, alone and out of her mind in her house,forever waiting for a son that would never come back. That single part just... destroys me, man. I wish things were different for that family.
I dont think they are overdoing it at all. hermes was pretty vague about the details of the story and annabeth only stated what she heard that night but even she has no idea on the whole story. so all they did was set up the exploration of lukes reasoning without giving away or even scratching the surface of what really happened with his mom. so they can explore it a lot more in future seasons and then give the full flashback story in season 5.
Love that Luke's betrayal has been given more context here, reading the book it just seems like he's done it because his Godly parent doesn't care which is the same for every Demigod, only later do we learn what sets him apart so I'm glad they've at the very least teased it here and implies there is way more going on with him than the other campers.
I completely forgot about Luke's Mom and Delphi, their story was so heartbreaking that neither Luke nor his Mom actually got a happy ending. This is the kind of darkness I want from the show but I just don't feel like it would fit right now so hoping as we get more seasons they'll experiment more and grow, also love that it was actually Hermes' choice to leave Luke and his Mom as it did demonstrate how much he cared, having Poseidon tell him to stay away in the show is different but I'm hoping that's just without context, maybe in later season's we'll see that Hermes went to Poseidon for advice, and this is what he got, and it came from a place of love and compassion.
I love this episode because of the Easter eggs where we for example can here a certain child yell his sister’s name👀👀
I also thought it was odd that there was no zebra since it’s right in the title. Someone told me there is a zebra on screen for like two seconds, but I hadn’t seen it. Also, I didn’t notice the person feeding the camel, that’s hilarious!
I was sort of disappointed that they knew the situation again, but like you said, they should know this stuff since it’s from one of the more famous Greek myths, so it makes sense. But what they did, pumping it into the air, that was a new angle, and it works well! The casino with the roller coaster going around it outside looks so amazing, but yeah I really wish it would’ve been longer and had them interact with someone from a different era.
I liked all of the extra Luke stuff though, because otherwise that backstory doesn’t really show up until the final book of the series. His mom did go crazy, she’s constantly awaiting for her son to come home. She called Nico and Percy “Luke” when they went to her house for help. She was baking him cookies and sandwiches. She’d have fits, her eyes would glow, she’d mutter to herself and call out to Hermes for help. She doesn’t know Luke's never coming home. It’s so sad🥲
Annabeth stealing the keys to Hermes’ taxi was a great addition! I saw some didn’t like that they drove the taxi themselves, but I loved it. It made my skin crawl watching Percy hit or scrape every pole, wall, and barrier because he was stressed… but also because he was looking at Annabeth smiling at him. I love that you’ve been just as excited about the nereid, too! Her design is so beautiful, the way she glows, her hair being seaweed, her sparkling eyes. It’s magical! I didn’t even realize that them going past the deadline and failing checks off part of the prophecy that way!!! You’re so right! (Edit: I didn't realize how long this was until I sent it, sorry😂)
Yeah didn't see a Zebra at all but if one did show up that would be better than nothing, just having in the title of the episode then the episode having nothing to do with a Zebra is very bizarre.
Think this was a good intorduction to the Casino and it can definitely be built off of but it we really should have gotten to see more of the consequences for staying to long, they kind of did with the Satyr but I think it would have been darker showing the effects on a Mortal.
Luke's story is honestly such a tragedy and I can't wait for it to get explored more cause that alone will bring in the dark and serious tone I'm hoping for and plus it just makes him a really compelling antagonist who's motivations you can kind of sympathise with.
The Car scene was such a fun addition and honestly I really don't mind them changing scenes like that cause all that was in the book was them discussing Percy's dream, here it added much more and made the episode better, I imagine if that scene was kept the same to the book this episode would have come off as well and they just needed something to keep the ending part lively. For me one of the best parts about this show is getting to see all the magical things we've imagined while reading come to life so getting to see how they've been designed is just amazing. I'm so happy this show has had the courage to change things like meeting the deadline cause now it just reworks a lot of flaws from the book and this story actually becomes Percy's instead of Poseidon using him.
Even in the book I got the impression that the gods didn’t normally get close to their children because the other gods would get jealous and have their kids attack the other demigods whenever the god parents got into an argument. They can’t kill each other, but they can kill their children. If the gods stay away, the other gods don’t get so jealous and attack.
For example, if Poseidon hadn’t claimed Percy, he wouldn’t have even gone to war with Zeus.
Did you hear about the part where people heard a boy yelling, “Bianca! Bianca!” in the background?
I mean, Alecto was already asking about the master bolt before Percy even knew he was a demigod 😭 idt claiming him made that much of a change there
Yeah, some monsters and other immortals will target Percy saying essentially they want to kill Poseidon's favorite son because they either have beef with Poseidon or just want that reputation boost. Especially forbidden children, like Hades pretty much hunted Thalia to death because he was so upset Zeus broke the oath he made Hades swear.
True, I think this works especially well with the big three as the Gods are basically toddlers throwing temper tantrums half the time so halving the leaders not allowed to have children would certainly make them jealous of any other god who can, plus they'd be super petty and try to destroy the relationships between those with children.
Also I did hear about the Bianca part and I love that Nico's first line in this is him crying out in fear looking for his sister, his story is going to be tragic!
@@heyitsmira17yes, though I was thinking Poseidon could have protected his son from going on a quest in the first place, because there’d be no declaration of war.
Hermes very much cares for Luke, later on in the books he almost kills Percy for implying that he didn't care about Luke, he legit turned into his giant form and was about to strike Percy with his weapon but decides against it due to his pet snakes interference so that type of reaction, would definitely mean he cares about Luke XD And he gets angry at Annabeth for not being able to win Luke back over to their side.
The more it gets brought up the more I sit and think did they make it before the solstice? I'm like 90 percent sure they did. Man I need to read the book again. Bad time for me to lose my copy 😂. You'll find what was lost and see it returned doesn't necessarily mean it was going to be returned before the timeline so again not a hurtful change. This show keeps me on my feet it's so good.
I think they got there like hours before the solstice in the books. Like barely making the deadline
@@Zi-Ara03 yea you are probably right 👍
Finished re-reading the book now and they make it back on the day so this was a big change but I love that it still lines up with the prophecy and really that's all this show has to do, if they keep the prophesy consistent they can make these changes as it still lines up with the books but lets us who know the story get suprised.
Love your reactions and observations, Ben !! I'm not a book reader so it really helps me understand things when you make comparisons between the two.
Wow welcome to the fandom. Hope you're not getting spoiled as much so you can still experience the fun.
Thanks so much! 😁 Hope I'm not spoiling anything for you and you can still enjoy the show.
Zeus ordering the gods not to interact with their kids was a movie invention, that was never a thing in the books. The gods are just forbidden to show favoritism to their kids and help them on their quests.
Ah okay, that movie messed me up a lot 🤣🤣 Glad they're fixing it here though and honestly this way it makes the relationships much richer and more complicated.
I called it after 1st 2 episodes & interviews They are the next 3 .WILL & are as close as Rupert, Daniel & Emma were & STILL are
Well in Percy's eyes HIS quest was his mother 1st & formost.
In the books, Luke's mum goes insane, not because of Hermes, but because (spoiler) Hades' curse on the Oracle causing her mind to become corrupted when she volunteers to take her place, mixed with her learning of her son's turn to (for lack of a better term) the dark side and his fate as a result of that.
I forgot about the Curse of Delphi 😭 Honestly their story is so tragic and that's the kind of darkness I want for this show, it definitely wouldn't fit with this season so hopefully the tone will change as it continues.
@benspiller well, considering the vast tonal shift in the Harry Potter films from the Philosopher's Stone to the Deathly Hallows, it would not surprise me if this television series took a similar route.
Annabeth would be the worst choice to drive because she has been at camp since she was seven. She would have had the least amount of time in cars. Even if she read about them, she wouldn't know the practical application.
This scene was amazing. I love how it's filmed and scored like an action sequence. And Percy being so bad at driving as a 12 boy from NYC, was great. Because only 10-15% of native adult New Yorkers in Manhattan know how to drive.
In that moment I completely forgot about her Seven year stay 🤣🤣 Though any of them is a horrible choice to drive!
Loved the scene too, it's so cool that they added so much to an otherwise dull scene in the book, had no idea the driving rates where that low 🤯🤣 and I guess that does add a lot to having Percy drive!
Pretty much my only complaint so far has been the annoying change of how the characters know so much. It takes away all the tension. "Oh yeah that's Medusa's house." "Oh yeah. Lotus hotel bad."
maybe with the lotus but with medusa it was kind of out of character for annabeth to not know so im glad they changed that
I mean, to me it makes sense. It always sorta bugged me that Annabeth, who has been training and learning for years, and who knows that Greek gods and monsters are real, always seemed to just wander into situations completely clueless
@@user-re3rb9cl7f I agree. And I also think it makes sense with the changes that were made in the show. They show up to the casino specifically looking for Hermes. It would be kind of stupid of the trio to not suspect that there is something 'off' about the casino
@@pinsandneedles3i think there could still be elements of caution whilst still keeping the anticipation in the casino scene. it was one of the most exciting parts of the book and i feel like they completely rushed it and watered it down.
@@ShyGuy1347 The problem is you don't solve that problem by making your characters identify and neutralize every trap before they fall into it. It removes all the stakes. A more appropriate way of handling this would be to lean into the characters' fatal flaws (these are Greek Demigods after all).
Annabeth is a parallel for Odysseus, the cleverest hero in the lore. His most famous story, the one where the Lotus myth comes from, is just a collection of him getting repeatedly stuck in traps because he's got too arrogant to think he can make mistakes.
The fun with Odysseus comes from him getting himself out of the traps he walks into, not avoiding them completely.
Interesting note about the Casino set! Well, I forgot most of the details, and who said it (it might have been DP Pierre Gill in the Riptide Radio episode 6), but they were planning on using a different set for the casino, but to quickly change sets. I'll have to watch that video I mentioned again to double-check everything.
EDIT: I remembered the right video! Pierre said that they were planning on using one building that was more Vegas-y, with a sort of American Wild West vibe, but it turned out to be impossible to shoot. So they had to find a new empty building, add all the furniture and block out all the windows, so they could shoot it all over 3 to 4 days, mainly in daytime since the kids can't work too late.
As long as the original intent was there I'm fine with having to shift things around for workability, having the casino be enticing for all ages worked well with the VR thing too cause then it can literally give anyone anything. Hopefully, we'll get to see more of it in future seasons and the place can be expanded upon.
Love these reviews! Ep 4 also my favorite so far. It would be so great to show the other parts of the casino/darker elements in future seasons with Nico & Bianca (maybe flashbacks?). Would perfectly fit the tone of book 3 onward.
Thanks! 😁😁 Same episode 4 was just amazing and was a true testiment of what could be done in a short runtime, plus they changes they made in that far surpasses thoses chapters in the book for me!
I think adding the darker parts to the casino in flashbacks would be perfect, especially with how Nico and Biance actually got to the casino and how there Mom dies, my main concern is that they might miss planting the seeds for this dark tone as this season is far lighter than what's to come so it could be quite a jump if they don't start leaning into it soon.
@movieflame has a video about finding Bianca and Nico in the casino. You hear them and possibly see them at the virtual reality area
I heard about this!! Absolutley love that Nico's first line in this show was him screaming for his sister, his story's gonna be so tragic 😭
Yes
Luke's turn was a twist. Something no one saw coming. Foreshadowing this hard is ruining the twist. There is plenty of things in this book they aren't showing. Why throw in something from later books now when they could make this story better
I watch non-book reader reactors and a lot of them still hasn't clocked in to Luke's betrayal yet so I don't think they're ruining it. 🤷🏻♀️ Instead of looking at it in a lens of "runing the twist", look at it as them giving Luke a backstory and making the audience care why he turned the way he is. This choice is making the story the better. Because for me, when I was reading lightning thief for the first time Luke was just an asshole for no reason. I didn't get his motivations until later in the series. It's good that they are doing this now, makes the series something that can stand alone on it's own but still has opportunities for things that can be fleshed out in the future. I also think they've already laid enough of the important things in the book. Other things (such as spiders, talking to horses) can be explored in future seasons when they are actually relevant to the plot and the world building can breathe better.
@@nicoleterego All these things about luke can be explored in future seasons. Like they were in the books. Moving things around causes plot holes and lost focus.
@@clydelilly3960 No, you didn't understand what I said. Moving this Luke's background story is a great way for the audience to understand his character. So that Season 1 can stand on it's own. You don't have to wait for future seasons to understand why he betrays Percy. How does it lose focus when it's literally what we're building into the whole time? Lol. What can lose focus is the unnecesarry details like again, the spiders, etc. If you use an ounce of media literacy, you'll see why this change is great also for painting Percy and Luke being foils of each other. Luke turning evil will be more meaningful than just doing it for no reason (in the book his only reason is that the gods are absent, but that's such a weak motivation).
I think you also forgot that Rick wrote Lightning Thief without knowing what would happen in Last Olympian. The other books hasn't been written yet at that point. May Castellan might have been created only after he has published the first book and so she was added in the later books. Him bringing up May Castellan this early might be a way for him to update the things he wrote from almost 20 years ago to make the story feel more cohesive. They already said that thid is one of the advantages of having the full source material in their hands instead of when he was still writing them and he pretty much do not know how he will write the next book.
@@nicoleterego I understand far better than you may think. Book 1 stood on it's own. It told a complete story. It doesn't need to be rewritten and changed to make it complete. We fell in love with the series from the first book. Stayed for the rest because it was a great series. And let me make one thing clear "(in the book his only reason is that the gods are absent, but that's such a weak motivation)." That is beyond simplistic.
@@clydelilly3960 Complete but missing nuance. Is it perfect? No. Can it be improved? Yes. And that's exactly what they want to do in this show. Nothing has been ruined by this addition, you're just assuming they did because you clearly want everything to be exactly like the books which you'll never get. We literally still have two episodes left and you're already claiming that they ruined it without even seeing how they execute the finale. And you said plot holes, where? Again, the show is not done yet. "Lost focus" again, how is it losing focus when everything's building up to Luke's betrayal.
Besides, if you want an exact replica of the book, then just go read the book. It's so easy.