Maybe this is just me... but..I feel like the whole "glory" thing is less supposed to be a tangible point-system and more just Luke's, and/or other kids', own personal viewpoint/mindset on reputation and notoriety and shite. Like "street cred" or "fame"/"popularity", but greco-roman mythos style?.😅🙃🤔🤷♀️🤷🤷🏻♂️😂😂😁
Playing up Percy's daddy issues could be a good thing, if they want to highlight the differences between how he and Luke respond to that issue. The series ends with Percy demanding the gods acknowledge their children more and earlier, to avoid half bloods going astray like Luke and co did. It's an important plot point.
I also think it is important to highlight that, even if he takes it a bit too far, Luke did have a point, and even Percy and most other demigods felt abandoned by their parents at some point...
But demanding the gods do that for those particular reasons kinda implies that individuals like Luke aren't still fully accountable for their own actions[ or how they responded to that abandonment and what they personally did or not because of it] even regardless of what anyone else had or hadn't done to them that should or shouldn't have been done. What has or hasn't been done to someone by others might explain why those individuals might be more or less likely than others to make such kinds of choices themselves, and endeavoring better to not put those individuals in situations or circumstances which make somebody feel or be so abandoned as that might decrease the likelihood they would or will make those kinds of choices. But, ultimately, each individual is still responsible for themself and for whatever they do or do not choose to do-even in spite of what anyone else has or hasn't done to them that should or shouldn't have been done. He shouldn't demand the gods claim their children to prevent their children from going astray-he should demand the gods claim their children simply because claiming their children and taking some responsibility for the fact that these individuals exist because it's their parent's choices and/or actions which have brought said-individuals into existence AND because being a decent individual who gives at least half a rip about others[ or about exactly what effects things somebody has or hasn't done have had or not on others] but especially caring about one's own family instead of only caring about oneself[ or instead of just doing whatever the flip one wants to do for one's own self regardless of what effects doing that thing does or doesn't have for anybody else] is kind of just the right thing to do. But maybe that's just me and my own opinion on it anyhow. 🙂
@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 to be fair, Percy's motivations in the book are multilayered for making that wish. While part of it is so that someone doesn't pull a Luke again, it's also partly because he's just grown tired of the gods evading their kids. Throughout the series, Percy expresses is frustration with the constantly overfilled Hermes cabin and when Percy gets the chance to do something about it, he does.
@@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 I think that is why he does it anyways, that as parents they have a responsibility to their children and being a god doesn't absolve them of it. Luke is responsible for his actions but his anger and frustration with gods is completely justified and what he and co did is also the faults of the gods, for neglecting their children for so long.
I am one of the actual people who made the Prop Swords (amongst a lot of the stunt gear and other props). You were half right about the budget, the other half was wonky/shifting deadlines, and certain criteria they wanted that had to compromise with safety. we told them how it's normally done, and that we can do it how they want, but something like that bend would happen. we made them....30 something swords i think.
They look good, but i guess a gambeson or padding would spoil the branding. Besides, bronze is a pretty soft metal i think? Theres bound to have been bent swords through history. And with a cabin full of half divine smiths, they need to find stuff to keep them busy between battles! xD
The scene where Dionysus where he pretends to be percy's dad is not only hilarious but great subtle worldbuilding as it enables Chiron to explain why Dionysus is at the camp and how gods use poor demi-gods to do their bidding, when they cant use their own godliness.
Yeah, that bit was a very clever way to subtly insert the implication that a demigod must have stolen the bolt without having to explicitly spell out "a god couldn't do it, buuuuuut...." *looks the camera*
It was a good idea, but I thought the way it was done was not great. It also didn’t let Percy figure out who Mr. D was on his own and that felt not great.
@@atharvadeshpande4749 And now I'm just going to run with the headcanon that either Pimento's true identity was Dionysus... Or Pimento just took Dionysus's place and no one on Olympus or in Camp Half-Blood bothered to point it out - either out of apathy, or fear of what Pimento would do to them.
Personally I'm Convinced that Gabe and Sally's dynamic was chiefly altered by Disney's notes, as they thought it wouldn't be "child friendly" enough for Percy's stepfather to be a physically abusive alcoholic. However, there are Subtler implications of Gabe's abusive behavior; answering Sally's cell phone, gambling all of the money she makes away so she can't afford to do better, controlling where they go (Sally is the one with a job but Gabe owns the car), and possibly more to be revealed later. Something I have less evidence for, but keep thinking about, is how Percy didn't think it strange for a child to fetch some alcohol for his father in the hilarious scene with Dionysus, he was only upset that his "father" didn't seem to care about him being there to talk. It's possible that Gabe has done similar things to him before, a connection I mainly draw because Book Percy immediately hated Mr. D on sight because he initially reminded him of Gabe. Additionally, there were several implied points in the book where Sally stood up to Gabe before, the most notable being Sally and Percy's shared appreciation for blue foods (a big "fuck you" to Gabe claiming it didn't exist). It's very possible that Gabe's behavior worsens without Percy there, as is common in these situations, and is true to the book as well (Percy only finds out that Gabe was physically abusive to Sally at the end of the Lightning Thief). Even if that's not the case, I don't think that this change takes too much away from Sally's arc, because she is still sacrificing a lot and making her life worse for Percy's protection, and her... Leaving Smelly Gabe also marks her beginning to live for herself for the first time in her adult life. Great video as always, I just had a LOT of thoughts on that particular point haha.
This, and that someone who’s seen the first 4 episode (that were given to certain people) say the Medusa story ends the same way as it does in the books, meaning Percy mails the Medusa head to Olympus. And one of the show runners said the last episode is almost 100% accurate to the books, meaning more than likely Gabe will get turned to stone. We just gotta trust and wait to see how this plays out, there are more Gabe scenes coming in flashbacks as confirmed by the crew.
I thought they made the change from abusive to “toxic, but at least on somewhat equal terms” to not potentially have the message that women should stay in abusive relationships to protect their kids. That’s not a message that I say the books had, but I can see why a studio like Disney would gladly avoid even the possibility of promoting that message.
@@spacelia3920 It's still definitely abusive. Even if Sally isn't a helpless victim she is still being emotionally, financially, and potentially physically abused.
@@spacelia3920 didn’t even think of that, but you’re right. That’s not a message you want. When it’s in a book you can kinda get away with it since books are a different medium, but on screen showing harsh abuse and then justifying it is not the message you want to send, especially for kids. But I’m sure they have a workaround for it, let the season progress and see where they take it, everybody is acting like we never see Gabe again but there are more moments with him to see what happens with him.
I gotta say, that moment when Percy gets distracted by everything around him before getting jumped by Clarisse and her goon patrol was the most relatable part of the show for me given my own ADHD 😅
@@Dominic-Noble i know but it is currently Christmas Eve and me and my nerdy kid brother was thinking about watching it. And prefer to see it without "spoiler" 🤣
"Grover would never lie to Percy" Grover lied to Percy for months about Mrs. Dodds at the beginning of the book. He also didn't tell Percy about the link that ties his life to his until he was kidnapped by Polyphemus. I love Grover as much as anyone, but we gotta stop pretending he didn't make mistakes or was honest 1000% of the time.
He couldn’t lie *successfully* to Percy. His bad acting was the only reason Percy believed his own memory in the face of everyone telling him Mrs. Dodds never existed.
@@pomaranczowaszarlotka Grover was black in the film adaptation. His race outside of 'satyr' was not really described in the books, but art didn't tend to make him black
Grover didn't create the empathy link until he was captured by Polyphemus. He needed a way to contact Percy and even offered to dissolve it at the end of the book. Percy choose to keep it, despite knowing the danger.
I gotta agree because I used to do that when I was a little kid and I was bored. They might have a name for it now but that movement is as old as ADHD kids with nothing better to do.
As an ADHD person myself (I absolutely refuse to use the term “neurodivergent”) I can confirm that this is a pretty accurate depiction of us being bored.
My biggest issue with the Gabe change is that Gabe's behaviour in the book (and movie actually) showed that Sally not only died for Percy, but she lived for him. And also the depths of her desperation. Poseidon kind of just pawned him off on her with no help. She was amazing, yes, but she wasn't perfect and she had to raise a monster magnet on her own for 12 years and that led to her being with a physically abusive man who smelled awful because... well, it was quite literally the best she could do. Even without Gabe masking Percy, perhaps the only semblance of peace Sally managed to get since his birth, he was a provider. She worked part time at a candy store, that's not bringing in much money and Gabe was willing to take in this middle-aged single mother with a "delinquent" child. It was one of the more harrowing parts of the book because of how dangerously close to reality it was. Percy might be a demigod, but he still needed to eat. Still needed clothes and school supplies and Sally might have decided that Gabe wasnt worth it after all, but the added bonus of his presence literally meaning that she and Percy wouldn't be torn apart by monsters sells her desperation tenfold.
As someone who was in a car mere centimetres away from being ploughed by a truck while in high school, I will defend the lack of screams in that scene. We were all quiet in that car as we stared at the truck approaching us, hoping there would be an opening in the line of cars in our lane. Thankfully, there was (the other drivers were doing their best to speed up/slow down to make room for us without causing an accident since they also saw the truck) and we managed to avoid a collision. We only started talking after we were safe. I think, subconsciously, we all fell silent so as to not distract the driver.
I wish my family had that same instinct. I swear I’ve almost gotten into a few collisions because they startled me by yelled due to a driver getting too close while I was focusing on avoiding it. I’m more the silent under pressure type myself
I'm also one of those people who the more stressed/alarmed/freaked out I am, the quieter I am. I almost can't make noise in those types of situations. I might utter an expletive once, but after that there's no screaming, no crying, no yelling. Just a clenched jaw and lips pressed together so hard they ache and turn colors, lol.
I was in a highway accident when I was 14. I think I said "Oh my god!" once but yeah, I don't really remember any screaming (there were 4 ppl in the car total).
I liked that they showed that his fighting ability, at least for now, comes more from instinct than skill. He’s very roguish at times with the way he redirects peoples attacks towards eachother and tries disarming his opponents
I like that too! It’s consistent with how demigods are wired in the books, some of them are literally made to fight. Having him be kind of terrible in training because there’s tons of distractions and the stakes are low but being able to instinctively fight when he’s actually threatened is a good way to portray that
As someone who never read the books, it felt very apparent to me that Percy's fighting skills increased the closer they got to the shore. He was about as close to the water as he could be without actually being in it by the time he broke Aries's kid's spear (sorry, don't remember her name).
The thing with Gabe is that he's still abusive, just a different flavor. He's a leech that's constantly relying on Sally's money, dares to argue with her despite not contributing at all to the household, trying to control whether she's allowed to leave or not without a proper reason and let's not forget he's picking up her calls. He's not physically abusive like it was hinted in the book (at least from what we've seen so far) but he's super manipulative. And Sally still has no choice but to stay with him for Percy's sake because even though she's stronger, she's not strong enough to protect her son 100%.
He wasn’t physically abusive to her in front of Percy in the books either, but there was a moment where he raises his hand, Sally flinches, and Percy realizes just what he was shielded from. I think we could still see that, potentially.
@@charliemallonee2792 Yeah, I know it wasn't shown but if I remember correctly there was a part where Percy realizez that Gabe was hitting Sally in the past
As for Percy having a bit more Daddy issues, I think that's fair enough if they want to highlight that, even if Luke takes it too far by siding with forces that would literally destroy humanity, he did have a point: Most demigods feel alienated by their parents at some point and they deserve to at least know who their parents are.
Okay but that kinda changes Percy as a character. Making his main goal to see his dad when in the books he could give less of a shit until he needed something because in his eyes it was always just him and Sally is ridiculous. Like Luke was RIGHT there if they wanted to go further into detail with that.
@@blackvendaeta7104to me it doesn’t seem like seeing his dad is his main goal, it seems like he’s missing his mom and wants to fill that hole + get some answers and tell him off
@@blackvendaeta7104 Except his main goal is not to talk to his dad. That was only when he thought that his mom was dead but when he finds out from Grover (that she is alive), he immediately has motivation and a goal to get his mom back. That is his main goal. Finding his dad was only temporarily in like what 25 min or something.
It's not that hard to pronounce. It's "min" like in "minute" and then the vowel pronounciation varies and doesn't matter and then "taur" like "torment." If you see the word "tauro" you don't say "taro," do you? The "min" is harder but not that hard to figure out. It's intuitive with the way the word is stressed. For the record, I don't care if people pronounce it wrong, but if you're trying to find the right pronounciation it's really not that hard to figure out.
I saw the "Glory" to ones name was less a camp thing and more about the amount of recognition a name has, remember names have power, so the more well known for being powerful the more well known they will be to the rest of the world, as well as less likely for weaker monsters to attack.
It also ties into the more general idea of greatness that the ancient Greeks maintained. You can have the coolest dad possible, but you've gotta do cool things on your own if you want to be worth anything. So that personal glory thing is a big deal.
It fits the new motivation Clarisse has this time, if she hasn’t done something as big as slaying a Minotaur then discrediting Percy means she’s not lesser than a newbie to the camp.
I actually really like the tone of Walker’s voice for percy. It’s high and raspy bc he’s young but doesn’t fully sound like he’s 12 years old. It matches Riordan’s dialogue; feeling genuine to the age range in spirit but taking liberties with the details.
I believe the change to Grover could play well into the prophecy later on, especially the bit where it mentions Percy will be betrayed by someone he considers a friend. With Grover having betrayed Percy back at the school already, having his own motives for Percy going on a quest and just the fact he was given less screen time than he did in the book at this point. It also applies to Annabeth. They both have their own reasons for this going on this quest, which could give Percy a reason to be suspicious of both of them. In the book, that was rarely brought up, and even Percy talked about how he can't imagine either of them turning on him at one point.
As to Sally Jackson, you can absolutely yell back at your abuser, and it still be a very one-sided, abusive relationship. Whether or not that is consistent with the character of Sally Jackson in the books, who doesn’t really do that, is a different discussion. But the fact that she does match energy with him sometimes does not mean that he is not abusing her.
@@jinxcrafter Yeah, it’s actually kind of distressing. But movies and tv tend to show abuse in a very particular way that doesn’t cover what a lot of abuse actually looks like, so I guess it can be hard to spot when it doesn’t fit that picture? I don’t know.
I've only watched episode 1 so far, but at least in that episode the only abuse seems to be minor bullying of Percy. He picks up the mum's phone, but that's normal in a functional relationship. He tries to bully Percy, but Percy makes fun of him. He tries to decline the car, but ends up giving Percy's mum what she wants and says please at the end. So all you really see is him telling Percy not to wear shoes in the car, which I'm pretty sure Percy ignores. In a film or TV show you cannot assume abuse unless shown or at least hinted at, and nothing in episode 1 does that. Yes both parties in an abusive relationship can be shouty, but the mum seems pretty dominant and Gabe just seems pathetic. I haven't read the books, so maybe I'm missing something, but given how easily the mum deals with him nothing suggests to a first time viewer that there is abuse in the relationship.
I actually think Gabe’s more subtle abusiveness is really interesting, because they left plenty of hints that he’s awful, but it’s more realistic to people actually in abusive relationships that it feels like you “should” be able to deal with it and it’s “not that big a deal” when it absolutely is. Most abuse is sneakier than outright attacks.
Exactly this!! I am not an expert but every other thing he said made him out to be a bad partner to Sally. He has her phone, she has to nevotiate with him to be able to go somewhere with her son and has to assert herself to get him to be nice to her in front of Percy. Wrecking Gabe's car seems like a perfect catalysis for him to hurt Sally or at least be horrible to her in more obvious ways because he would feel justified so I am still not dismissing the possibility of book events. The changes they made from the books make him out to be a bad partner EVEN MORE in the first chap than in the book, which mostly focused on him being smelly and a bully to percy, not much about him as a husband.
Especially since it was very explicit in the books that Percy didn't know Gabe was physically abusive until the very end, which we obviously have not gotten to in the series yet.
I think my only major complaint in terms of casting is probably Clarisse. The actress they have is great, but... Clarisse was pretty dang butch in the books. She was *not* "conventionally" pretty. And I make that note because *having* someone like Clarisse, who while she's a bully in Book 1 turns into a stalwart ally later on once Percy helps her out, is in my opinion really important. To have that heroic representation of someone who isn't "conventionally" attractive is a really nice thing for young girls who read those books, especially those who, like Clarisse, did not fall under society's rigid definition of feminine beauty. She was representation for them. And while I'm sure the actress they cast was the best fit for the role, it feels like they didn't really care enough to try and still get that aesthetic across. Even ignoring make up or whatever, they could have leaned into a punk aesthetic for her. Piercings, biker jacket, leather gloves, that whole look. And it would have been great visual foreshadowing for Ares later on. But they have one of her lackeys wearing the biker jacket instead of her. It just feels... Off.
Yeah right, felt a bit mean but I also thought Clarisse was too pretty and not quite burly enough. I do have to say though the actress still did a great job portraying her character
I tried to explain this to my roommate and she was going off on how a bully doesn’t have to be ugly. Obviously I didn’t explain it well so I might try again with your words.
@@Miyanoai14 Yeah, it's not about Clarisse being "ugly," it's about her not being conventionally pretty. And once Percy isn't a 12 year old, focused entirely on looks, he recognizes that she's a great person who deserves happiness just like everyone else at camp.
@@goldencyclone4984She's a great person? Maybe later, but in the first book she's just a bully, so Percy wasn't judging her on her looks. Did you even read the books?
One thing that was a little odd for me was how underwhelmed everyone seems to be after Percy was claimed. Maybe it will be shown more in the next episode, but it pretty much jumps straight to Chiron & Mr D and they don't seem to think it's a big deal other than Percy being blamed for Zeus's lightning bolt being stolen.
They have a chance to reflect that with how the other campers treat him after-- the weird looks, not sitting with him during dinner so they can whisper and stare at him from their tables, etc. in the next episode. We'll see tomorrow!!
One thing that I love is that they took the only thing that worked about the films (the dislexia thing) and moved it over. They saw where the film worked, where it didn't, and where the book worked, and learned.
Huh ironically as a dyslexic person I never liked that much (maybe cuz that’s really not how it works for me personally) the blurring and line shifting was nice though. Anabeth trying to spell cyclops in sea of monsters was painful relatable though.
@@the_demon_cat337 i was referring to the blurring and line shifting. Like how it made the writing difficult to focus on. As a visual shorthand, it kinda worked
My biggest fear with this show is how fast it is blasting through the story which doesn’t give it time for foreshadowing and setup. My second biggest is definitely that Gabe doesn’t seem downright evil. He really needs to be for that plot line to work. I absolutely hope you keep up reviewing this series!! Love seeing more Terrence❤
Considering we know for a fact that the gang is going to be dealing with Ares this time around I wouldn't be surprised if they're just blasting through the intro stuff first. There's a lot of things that happen to the gang on the road, and while some camp characters are important (WHERE ARE MY PRECIOUS BOIS CONNOR AND TRAVIS) it makes sense for them to brush past it a little
The pacing is my biggest gripe so far. I've got other nitpicks, but this is the one is going to make it hard for me to keep watching if it stays as is. I think they're setting things up, just not giving the that stuff time to breathe so it has no impact. I'm hoping that since the exposition is out the way now and the focus should shift to just the main 3 that things can slow down a bit. The episodic nature of the upcoming content should help some too, I hope. I'm mostly worried that they're going be afraid to edit out parts less necessary parts of the book so nothing gets enough time. I'm feeling like the end result will be the same, but Gabe will take care of himself. He's been introduced as a mooch rather than explictly abusive. He could take a turn though. In the books Percy doesn't really appreciate how abusive Gabe is until the end, and in the show, the handyman's dialouge suggests Gabe's worse than just an unemployed bore. Next episode should be enlightening for how the rest of the show is going to work.
@@vultar9999So far each episode has covered 4 chapters from the book. Since the book has 22 chapters total and the show is going to have a total of 8 episodes in the first season, they’re definitely going to have to slow it down. I assume they probably wanted to spend more time on them actually being on the quest and therefore rushed the introductory parts more.
I am also a bit sad Gabe doesn’t have a job now. No: “my uncle is so happy im safe, he will offer seek you stuff for free, if you call this number:” which is sad. But if they keep the interviews we see with Gabe through out the story, I believe he will definitely become more easily to hate. But maybe they won’t. Idk
Not to sword-splain to someone probably more knowledgeable than me, but bronze swords getting bent out of shape during use was historically known. It was actually an argument in favor of bronze over iron. Bronze would get bent out of shape but could be bent back. If iron bent, you had to take it back to a smith.
Okay but... They don't use regular bronze, they use celestial bronze. In the books it's a common thing, Percy's sword is only special because of it's pen form and returning enchantment.
@@Ugly_German_Truths ...because it's magic. As in doesn't break, bend, or yield. Can you guys just admit the props they're using are shitty instead of defending it? The show isn't even that good so far, I have no clue why you guys are acting like it's any better than the movies at this point. They're about on par for now, the show has a lot of room for improvement.
In regards to Smelly Gabe, I was also upset with how toned down he was until I found out apparently Disney intentionally did this so as not to trigger any kids who might be going through something similar, and I can fully respect that, which I am also sure you would as well, Dom.
Dude Gabe triggered me so much in the books and movies I'm genuinely relieved he's toned down Reminds me of another of my mom's exes who seemed harmless enough only to be another psycho. Like tried to run over someone psycho
I LOVED how much more likable Gabe was in those episodes. The bickering between Sally and Gabe felt endearing in a not so serious way that can FEEL so much more alienating and infuriating as a kid. One can argue Gabe only comes across so shitty and abusive in the books because it's told through a 12-year-old boy's eyes who LOVES his mom (but I'd have to reread the series to have a genuine convo about that). I never liked the idea of his mom putting herself and percy in truly dangerous situations just to avoid another dangerous albiet harder to explain situation. @@desireeloveros1055
I call a bit of bs. Cause if that was the case all they had to do was simply downplay it. But they went out of their way to not only make him evem more obviously pathetic but also made Sally confront him and win by basicaly outscream him, anyone who read the books knows why this would never happen and why. Combine that the fact that they made her straight up fight the minotaur and even hold her ground a bit and whe can see the real reason why Disney did that. Sally Jackson was already one of the strongest characters of the books, changing her like they did just take away from her. Aside from that and a bit more I realy liked the episodes. Hope they maintain the quality.
I second all of this. Gabe and his comeuppance was so cathartic to preteen me who dealt with an emotionally neglectful, sometimes physically abusive father. I was originally upset that he was toned down. But reading about abuse and watching on screen are VERY different things. I honestly can’t say one of the Gabe scenes played as written wouldn’t trigger me NOW as a 22 year old, let alone a child still actively in an unhealthy household. As long as his eventual fate feels earned, i am happy.
There are a couple other minor character appearance changes (Percy not having black hair, Luke not being blond) that make me think they did the casting without much regard for book accurate looks. I personally think that’s a great thing, it means they put their casting effort into finding people who could really embody the book characters in their acting, not just people who superficially resembled them.
Rick had released a statement sometime last year when we first got the news that there might be a pjo TV show. He had said since then that it would be a colour blind casting so that's why I wasn't that surprised by some of the choices made. Seems Rick himself isn't too hung up on the physical appearance of the actors🤷
exactly. same thing happens in comic book movies, people champion for actors jsut because they have a vague resemblance to fictional people. its so foolish to get caught up on the casting when Rick himself made the call.
I will note that the introduction of kleos (glory) is something I’m super excited about. If you’ve done any academic study of Ancient Greek classics you’ve heard that word before - it’s a crazy major theme of the Iliad and odyssey and it’s fundamental to what made Greek heroes, heroes. I’m intrigued and I want to see where they go with it.
Honestly, the glory thing makes sense. Not only does it help explain *why* Percy becomes so well respected by others as the series goes on, but also why half-bloods would bother risking their lives to begin with.
One thing I noticed right away was something they left out. When Percy and Grover are heading home on the bus. Percy sees 3 old ladies with yarn that they cut. Turns out they are the fates and the yarn is someone’s lifeline. This pays off at the end of the series. But I don’t want to say more for anyone who hasn’t read the books.
In regards to the fight scene with Clarisse, I was watching closely and it doesn't show where Percy is standing when he starts competantly fighting, so I presumed he could have stepped slightly into the water. Which actually fits neatly into your summary of annabeth testing his parentage by shoving him in the water as she, as invisible observer, would not have the camera's limits and could see that he got better standing in water.
Yeah, I just assumed it was more a technical/practical limitation than an outright plot point. We're supposed to see he's by the lake and he gets a power up (which is how Annabeth figures it out). They cut around it so they don't have to actually put the kids in the water during the fight. Probably either to make the fight choreography easier, or just to simplify resetting the scene between takes.
It's been a while since I read the books, but changing his power from 'in water' to 'within a couple of metres of water' would probably be fine (and save the actors and stunt team from having to deal too much with fight choreography in water). He definitely got noticeably more competent after fleeing from the hilltop to the beach.
I mean, it could have been mentioned but it wasn't super necessary and would have just been included for the sake of it rather than for any actual plot reason.
I like the somewhat menacing intro Annabeth is given, before Percy is fully conscious and hears her rag on him, not her little cool-girl act in the bathroom. In the book, she was a red herring, implicated by both Luke and Aries, and her directly referring to Percy as a friend shortly after Aries' implication seemed to line up with the Prophocy. It looks like that's going to be retained from the books as well (which would also explain the mysterious behavior which wasn't in the book, either), and I'm super excited!
I liked the performance of the actor that was playing the 'gross step dad' character. It gave me perfect 'guy who thinks he's in the right and is put out by being treated like he's in the wrong but is capitulating anyway to get what he wants' vibes.
To be honest I think they changed Gabe specifically because they didn't want to do that particular plot point. (Spoilers for the end of Lightning Thief) Sally straight up murdering him and selling his petrified corpse for money, while justified given the abuse and implications of marital rape, was always a weirdly dark plot point for a kids book. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Disney wasn't comfortable with it. They're probably making him less of an outright monster because his comeuppance will be lesser in the show -She'll probably just leave him or something. FWIW the movie didn't adapt it directly either (no surprise there) they changed Gabe's death to be an accident caused by his own stupidity rather than something Sally did to him on purpose.
For the record, just like the Mist, Kleos/Klewos is a massively important part of Greek culture that’s a huge theme in both “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey”.
I was hoping we'd get a LiA about this! Rick Riordan has changed a lot since he wrote Percy Jackson. I have a lot of respect for the way both h and Sir Terry grew in their understanding and representation of gender and of marginalized groups in general, though they in very different time frames and with the point that Riordan started out with representation for kids with ADHD and dyslexia.(Sir Terry the writer, not the cat, though I of course respect all cats, our liquid masters who are also babies.) But I actually think one of the best thigs Riordan has done for representation is to use his name to uplift other authors to tell stories with mythologies from their own cultures with the Riordan Presents imprint. They've published some great books. I think all the ones I've read are worth a go if you like the Percy Jackson universe. (Edited to add the name of the imprint, because I didn't actually say it originally for some reason.)
Rick has been interesting to read over the years. It's weird, he seems to fulfill every different aspect of writing with regards to inclusion. In the original series, there was no emphasis put on it really, just telling a good story, and it worked. In the Kane Chronicles, there was a little more, and it was fitting with the characters and worked. In the Heroes of Olympus, it seemed to be a pretty heavy motivation, and every character had intrinsic character motivations and traits that their various features brought out, improving the characters greatly (also why HoO is my favorite series). Then there's Magnus Chase, where the focus seems to be inclusion over character, even to the detriment of story (Sam and Alex were really out there and poorly written imo). I haven't finished trials of Apollo yet, but I'm hoping it's more of a return to the HoO and/or PJO styles.
Annabeth being blond was important... but it was about her often being assumed to be less intelligent than she is. Her being black can fullfill the same purpose and therefore is a casting choice that effectively doesn't change anything about her.
Yes, a lot of people talk about it like "the dumb blonde stereotype subversion is lost", but that was more of a 2000s stereotype, and certainly being of a race that can often be considered uneducated or not smart at all by some over prejudiced people, has a similar effect.
I don't mind that they change to her. And there are definitely racists who just are mad that it was a race swap. But I can't get over the hypocrisy of how it's fine one way, but not the other.
@@patax144The whole "the Dumb Blonde stereotype is a 2000s thing" would be a decent argument… if it weren't for the fact that this was *exactly* the time period where the first book dropped. The Lightning Thief came out in 2005. Frankly that whole thing is a bizarre argument that I'm seeing, like are you saying that somehow people in the modern year can't grasp the concept of that stereotype? Gee if only we had a piece of fiction from an earlier time period that could educate people on this type of thing… oh wait. Furthermore adapting a book from a specific time period and removing things related to the beliefs of that period under the belief that it's the modern age and that doesn't happen anymore seems frankly backwards to me, like should we not acknowledge the fact that blonde people were indeed stereotyped to be stupid at one point in time? And saying it was a 2000s thing is *severely* underestimating just how old that stereotype is. Seriously the stereotype at least dates back to the *1900s,* so saying it was a 2000s thing is acting like its far more recent than it actually is.
I doubt people would’ve had the same opinion of such casting choices though if she was black in the original book and in the adaptation they casted a white girl to play as her.
@@brandonlyon730 Hard to say, really, but many people did at least have the same opinion when she was cast white in the movie but still was not blonde.
Absolutely LOVED the first two, pitch-perfect adapation so far! I saw the ill-fitting helmets and seeming discomfort with the armor as being akin to the life-vests or climbing helmets at a summer camp: they're very "one size fits all" mass use equipment, so odds are the campers just have to settle for armor/helms that are close enough to their size but still have some wiggle room.
Hello Terrance lovely to have you back! Will make one counter argument on the whole poor fitting helmets and stuff. Yes it’s important to see the actors faces but also this camp has always had the connotation of a run down public school, seeing as Riordan had teaching experience in once: the packed spaces in Hermes cabin, everything feeling a bit second hand, the camp having to sell the strawberries they have to make ends meet with the Delphi Delivery Service, and I think that applies to the armor and helmets. It’s all second hand and being passed around to literal kids, a large portion of them die between summers since they’re forced to go back home or only stay if they have no where else, everything fits a bit funky. I always had that assumption while reading the book where once you get to Heroes of Olympus you have that contrast between the Greeks kinda slapdash but feral approach and the Romans more sterilized and militarized approach.
Prior to watching the show, I thought Anabeth being black was interesting, but still would have preferred her to be blond with grey eyes - CGI or prosthetics. After seeing it and realising none of the characters _look_ like their book counterparts, but certainly _act_ like their counterparts, I'd say the casting is solid, and considering the other CGI corners they've had to cut (The aforementioned objects in the foreground covering Grover's legs, and the low angle they constantly shot Chiron at) trying to change hair and eye colour would have been a disaster. Overall, this is a fantastic adaptation so far.
i saw rick and his wife say that gabe’s behavior was subdued for younger audiences. they said it was a little triggering to watch how he was originally written. i think it also adds a subtly of abuse to him that is much more common.
Terrence is back!!!! Also I hope you make videos for each of the Percy Jackson episodes. As a massive fan of the series, I can't believe this ever actually happened. I'm excited to see how they adapt the rest of the series. However, now we know Terrence is a Demigod, who is his godly parent? I reckon Athena.
thanks, this had made me even more depressed that those old Harry Potter videos aren't available anymore. They were big comfort videos for me back in the day
My favourite changes so far was the early introduction to mythomagic as a card game to get demigods introduced and get interested in Greek myth which kind of want to see how that affects Percy and Nico’s interactions with each other later (if it gets to that stage fingers crossed), and Annabeth being the one to test her theory of Percy’s parentage as her being one a child of Athena so super smart and then seeing him manipulate the toilet water which is a clear sign of parentage. Curious on others favourite changes?
Oh, you're so right! Of course she noticed the toilet powers and then how he was fighting, so it checks out that she would then throw him into water to see if her theory is right.
I never got into the books myself (only just went through the first one last year), but I am glad you're getting what seems to be a better adaptation at last. And nice to see Terrence again!
It’s nice to see Mr. D in modern clothes with his Diet Coke. In the previous movie, the gods all stayed pretty ancient in style (with the possible exception of Hades). I look forward to seeing more.
Yeah, they managed to get just about everything about the depiction of the gods in the first movie wrong. In the books, Hades was probably the only god who was _supposed_ to look somewhat archaic.
Hell yeah! Just watched the episodes last night. Personally, it's not as faithful as I would have liked but it does a great job of capturing the vibe of the PJO and it's obvious it's been adapted with heart and the author's input
As to the bronze sword being bent, Bronze is a rather soft metal, so would bend and deform rather than flex and spring back to shape, or even break. So having a bent sword after intense fighting would bee more common than not, and reparing it is as simple as bending it back into shape and sharpening it back up.
I agree with you about the acting feeling a little stiff and understated, but putting that down to a director choice makes sense. And while Percy does at times feel a little stiff, confusion is a difficult emotion to play without that issue. I do really like this Percy though. We can already see beginning of 'Percy Jackson is Done With This Shit' attitude beginning to build. I could see this Percy going 'ya know what, lets see what Zeus thinks of THIS on his doorstep' in the next couple episodes. He feels very much like a kid with ADHD who doesnt know wtf is going on half the time (i speak from experience). The standout against the stiff complaints is Sally, Grover, and Annabeth but more subtly. Shes doing a good job of playing removed/aloof. Sally is doing amazing, and i think theyre downplaying some of Grovers more brave and heroic qualities so its more of a growth for him later. Honestly the main trio have good chemistry so far which im looking forward to seeing as the quest begins. I hope next episode begins with the Oracle. I know its a bit of a darker moment in the series and disney might want to avoid it, but the mummified Oracle is one of the most vibrant images from the books that stuck with me, as does the story behind it
While... yes. He does need to succeed in a quest to get his searcher's license... In Episode 3 we find out he missed the choosing ceremony, because he was commanded to clean the Pegasus Stables as punishment for telling Percy. Percy tells him that he picked him for the quest, and he doesn't believe him at first- implying that he just told Percy the truth out of friendship.
I'd be cool with seeing more of this as the series goes on. also, re: Percy's actor's voice, I got less of a "pitched up adult" vibe and more "younger Jonathan Taylor Thomas" vibe, like he's halfway between young Simba and his more grown in voice from later seasons of Home Improvement.
As a 6 year long fan of your channel, I love seeing Terrance back! Jokes are always on point. Percy Jackson really is like a Greek Myth alternative to Harry Potter with actually good cultural representation. From what I can tell the writer is a stand up guy who uses his platform to promote charities & the voices of smaller creators who do similar mythological novels as him--Rick says he can't write fantasy books about every cultures myths out of time, familiarity, & promotes writers who do belong to those cultures and tell them tell their story.
My only note so far is how almost everyone has 5 beads on their camp necklaces not just Annabeth and Luke it was supposed to be a stand out detail that percy noticed and emphasizes how long they've been there and why Annabeth is so desperate to get away for awhile
Well, all those people are also much older than her, so her desperation still makes sense to me. Even if other people come to the camp each summer, she lives there year round, and has for almost half of her entire life. If anything, others coming and going would make her feel even more isolated from the others.
Yeah, I noticed that too. I specifically saw in the scene where Clarisse and Luke were talking and I was like "What? They shouldn't have the same amount of beads."
@samlewis6487 right?? Also Clarissa looks closer to Luke age when I thought she was supposed to only be a year or two older than percy but that very well might have been a mix up on my part idk its not the biggest deal but it's still bugging me considering how close to perfect it was
@@kyab2815tbh, they’re in the age range where growth spurts happen, and they tend to happen earlier for girls than they are for girls. Clarisse could honestly just have started her growth spurt early (Her demeanor and muscles also make her come across more mature, but like, she’s still clearly childish enough to think sticking younger kids’ heads in toilets is fun, so I don’t think she’s that much older than Percy - probably just looks older than she is because of an early growth spurt + aggressive and confident demeanor with the muscles to back it up)
As a person who never really got into Percy Jackson, I'm just here to see you talk passionately about things you're into so I'm all for continuing this!
Your Percy Jackson video was what brought me to your channel and the Harry Potter videos with Terrence were what kept me here, so this feels like a bit of a full circle moment for me!
The whole "the entire world is very unfair to me in particular" this is very true if you are in any way different. A very popular and wealthy guy brought water guns to school and ran into my classroom spraying people with it. The teacher said he could have charged the guy with a crime and sent him to jail, but chose not to. That same teacher kicked me out of class because I looked at an open closet. Not even touching anything, just looking at it. I had a learning disability and was regularly seen as an odd ball of the school. My teachers regularly reminded me that if I wasn't normal enough, I would end up homeless pushing a shopping cart down the street. When you are different, it is true to life for adults to be wildly unfair to you for no other reason than they can.
Terrance finally said it! I remember a comment on the video a few years ago that he was now going to say “hello mortals” Also I’m pretty sure Percy’s water power up can also be from being near a body of water, though that may have been established in The Heroes of Olympus. Percy Jackson-athon sounds fine to me. I think Demigodathon has been done.
I’m so glad you found a way to keep Terrance. I’m not the kind of person who burns all their books when the author turns out to be an asshole and that goes infinitely for the Harry Potter verse when I have read hundreds of thousands of stories written by other people. I consider each and every one just as creatively relevant. It makes me sad to see how some authors and other creative people have abandoned the fandom or even destroyed their works because of one woman. It feels so misdirected.
Anoia. Definitely the goddess of things that get stuck in drawers and other mildly inconveniencing things... I mean he even lives with a Sir Terry and all...
I had to watch the first scene with Dionysis a second time. When he first showed up, I thought "I guess the D stands for Derek" and laughed so much I had to rewind it about four minutes.
I love it when people change up the things that everyone loves because... kids don't know what they like, and that's why we can't adapt the best things. Also, it didn't start with Percy sitting in a pool for a very long time even though he didn't know what he was. That's when I knew that the movie would suck. Also, when I read those books, I saw a lot of myself in the characters, because I just connected to the characters so much and no other reason, and also I totally have ADHD. But in the movie, there isn't really any that, which I thought was a choice. I think that Annabeth being brunette in the movie was worse because it cut out the "underestimated because people think she's a dumb blonde" thing, but the series can do something similar. I think that all of Riordan's works are pretty well suited to a show, because they are very episodic, which, to be fair, is like the Odyssey. I have noticed it in other works of his, so I think it's just the way he writes. Edir: It's actually confirmed in the Son of Neptune that Hades is Hitler's father because Hazel looks at him (he's technically Pluto at this point) and is like "Wow, they look like the same person!"
12:22 I like this change. It shows that Percy's sword skills don't come from being in the water. He is a badass on his own. All the water does is boost what's already there and provide him with near infinite stamina.
Can't wait to see week by week reviews. I'm adoring seeing my childhood finally come to life on the screen, and I'm filled with joy seeing someone else like it too
I know nothing about Percy Jackson, but I just wanted to say that it makes a lot of sense for someone with sea related connections to have dyslexia. In sea water is constantly in motion, bending light and distorting visuals. So for the brains to struggle to focus on recognizing stationary symbols makes sense when the said brains are supposed to be adapted to comprehending things in constant motion of some sort. I dunno if it's meant as that sort of a thing, but I just thought it fits perfectly. Would be even cooler if later on there's some sort of text that only makes sense when either seen underwater or by someone with brains that already decipher symbols differently.
I like how they are handling the story... really digging this series so far and I even like the modifications/changes since they seem to be well thought out. And it makes me happy that RR is happy with THIS adaptation...
😅I would absolutely love to see more of the new PJO content! Also, if you weren't aware, there was a Broadway musical of the Lightning Thief in the late 2010's that was both enjoyable and a solid adaptation. I definitely recommend you check it out, Terence.
YES! The musical is phenomenal and I find myself listening to it to this day - just really wish it was still running bc I would've loved to see it live...
I couldn't very much care about Annabeth being black in this adaptation, but I do wish they still gave her her gray eyes. For one, while rare, black people CAN have that eye color. For another, it's a standard description of the children of Athena regardless of their race.
I just hope Mr Dominic remembers to edit his Earthensea video. Back then he complained they race swapped Sparrowhawk and I agreed with him. Now he seems to have changed his mind about race swapping so we wouldn't want him to be hypocritical would we...
And when the world needed him most........He Returned! LOL So glad to see Terrence back! I look forward to your overall thoughts on the series once it's finished.
I love how Dom mentions how Percy is a hero who rises to the occasion. In most parts of the books, Percy is more of a looser and almost always, everyone around him knows more or has more skill. But ever so often there are situations where things look grim and its Percy who either comes up with a clever solution or pulls an amazing stunt to save them all.
I'm sure some of the people complaining were genuinely racist, but it was mainly a collective objection to what we assumed was another move by the "woke crowd" ignoring the source material Even in the first movie, people were complaining about how Annabeth wasn't blonde And she still isn't. She was in Sea of Monsters, but... we don't talk about that one
Okay, so the “glory point system” (Kleos) was actually a HUGE deal the Homeric epics, particularly the Iliad, so I thought it was super neat for them to include it. There are a ton of references to both The Iliad and The Odyssey in the books, and I like that they’re being faithful to that influence, but flexible with what they’re incorporating.
@@jdrvargo287 Whether it was the publishers or the studios, they were definitely riding Harry Potter coattails but I shouldn’t have pushed the books away for that regardless of how awful Rowling turned out to be
So glad to see have you back to cover the Percy Jackson tv show! Now 3 episodes in, I'm really loving the direction the show is going - it's not perfect of course, but the character dynamics, the story beats, and the dialogue are absolutely nailing it for me and I do think the show gets better after ep 2 because they finally have time to breathe and focus on the main trio instead of all of the setup. I'm just hoping they keep it up for ep 4 - this is the one show I absolutely wish got 10 or even 12 episodes instead of 8 because 8 feels like such a short amount of time for a full book, even with longer episodes themself.
I was hoping Terrence would reappear for this series after all he went through with the movies 😂 had to put pause to my annual doctor who's Christmas carol rewatch when i got the notification 😁 hope you have a great holiday and well deserved rest ❤
14:30 As someone working with teenagers, that's fairly on track for boys going through puberty. 12 is on the earlier end and the actor was 13 which does make a difference at this age, but while you can probably work around this I don't think it's a bad thing to have actors voices change in a series about growing up. I get how it'd sound strange or even fake when you're not around teenagers much, most media just skips over any voice changes beyond one or two awkward moments, but some kids just sound like they inhaled helium for a while.
I'd love to see more LIA for Percy Jackson! Plus, maybe Smelly Gabe will have the same fate as in the movie, as I believe Rick Riordan did like that in the movie, where he opens the fridge despite the warning and gets stoned.
2 things) I loved Grover betraying Percy in that Yancy meeting! The book is actually pretty dark at that point, Percy is scared out of his mind (he keeps hearing about death) and beyond frustrated (finals while you think you're going to die??!!) And I think Grovers betrayal helped set up that tone without needing those other scenes. Percy is scared from Dodds, and confused why no one can remember her, but Grovers betrayal leaves him friendless and hopeless. Exactly the vibe they needed to achieve (and hopefully, the audience realizes Grover had no ill intent, he was just doing what he had to to protect Percy) And secondly, I have a hypothesis about the Clarisse fight by the water. We don't see any indication that Walker/Percy steps into the water, but I think it's fair to say his sword fighting improves massively as the fight leaves the hilltop and approaches the water. In some interview, we learn that that water was FREEZING, and the scene where Annabeth pushes Percy into the water was a very cold day for Walker. My theory is that they didn't have him step into the water for that reason, opting instead to have Annabeth put the pieces together from more subtle hints (which makes her seem ever smarter than the books, imo)
Another person mentioned that she was there during the bathroom scene, so if anything, her pushing him into the water was testing a theory to see if he was who she thought he was.
Grover betraying Percy makes sense, in the same way Chiron (as Mr Brunner) is implied to have encouraged the school to kick Percy out so that he would come to camp.
As long as it either continues to not suck or begins to suck so hard that it becomes hilarious, I will comply tinge watching everything I can on this show. Please keep it coming!
I had the same concerns with the Gabe and Sally dynamic! Gabe in this version currently isn't nice, but he is not the absolute grabage of a human he is in the book - which is an essential element of the plot imo 😅. Also, I get condensing and stating things for the sake of the plot, but to me it felt like there was too much telling of the story in the beginning. Maybe it's just because I already know the story, but it felt like so much that we gathered over time as readers was dumped on us in the first few minuets. Also in the book the water was supposed to reach out and grab the bully at the start. That was really the first hint at Percy's heritage, but in this adaptation it looks more like he shoved her with the force or something 😅. I quite like Walker and the cast, but I share the same mild concern for future potential character shifts 😅. I reserve judgement for now. All in all, I am quite happy with this adaptation so far, and I hope it continues to impress! 😁
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Can't get over the opening missed You terrence🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤😂
Terrence is alive !!
Maybe this is just me... but..I feel like the whole "glory" thing is less supposed to be a tangible point-system and more just Luke's, and/or other kids', own personal viewpoint/mindset on reputation and notoriety and shite. Like "street cred" or "fame"/"popularity", but greco-roman mythos style?.😅🙃🤔🤷♀️🤷🤷🏻♂️😂😂😁
@Dominic-Noble... did you ever do HOGFATHER?! IF NOT.... COULD YOU
I'd love to hear Terrance continue these!
Playing up Percy's daddy issues could be a good thing, if they want to highlight the differences between how he and Luke respond to that issue. The series ends with Percy demanding the gods acknowledge their children more and earlier, to avoid half bloods going astray like Luke and co did. It's an important plot point.
It also builds up Percy's connection to Luke in the first book, which is really important to sell the betrayal later
I also think it is important to highlight that, even if he takes it a bit too far, Luke did have a point, and even Percy and most other demigods felt abandoned by their parents at some point...
But demanding the gods do that for those particular reasons kinda implies that individuals like Luke aren't still fully accountable for their own actions[ or how they responded to that abandonment and what they personally did or not because of it] even regardless of what anyone else had or hadn't done to them that should or shouldn't have been done. What has or hasn't been done to someone by others might explain why those individuals might be more or less likely than others to make such kinds of choices themselves, and endeavoring better to not put those individuals in situations or circumstances which make somebody feel or be so abandoned as that might decrease the likelihood they would or will make those kinds of choices. But, ultimately, each individual is still responsible for themself and for whatever they do or do not choose to do-even in spite of what anyone else has or hasn't done to them that should or shouldn't have been done.
He shouldn't demand the gods claim their children to prevent their children from going astray-he should demand the gods claim their children simply because claiming their children and taking some responsibility for the fact that these individuals exist because it's their parent's choices and/or actions which have brought said-individuals into existence AND because being a decent individual who gives at least half a rip about others[ or about exactly what effects things somebody has or hasn't done have had or not on others] but especially caring about one's own family instead of only caring about oneself[ or instead of just doing whatever the flip one wants to do for one's own self regardless of what effects doing that thing does or doesn't have for anybody else] is kind of just the right thing to do.
But maybe that's just me and my own opinion on it anyhow. 🙂
@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 to be fair, Percy's motivations in the book are multilayered for making that wish. While part of it is so that someone doesn't pull a Luke again, it's also partly because he's just grown tired of the gods evading their kids. Throughout the series, Percy expresses is frustration with the constantly overfilled Hermes cabin and when Percy gets the chance to do something about it, he does.
@@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 I think that is why he does it anyways, that as parents they have a responsibility to their children and being a god doesn't absolve them of it. Luke is responsible for his actions but his anger and frustration with gods is completely justified and what he and co did is also the faults of the gods, for neglecting their children for so long.
I am one of the actual people who made the Prop Swords (amongst a lot of the stunt gear and other props). You were half right about the budget, the other half was wonky/shifting deadlines, and certain criteria they wanted that had to compromise with safety. we told them how it's normally done, and that we can do it how they want, but something like that bend would happen. we made them....30 something swords i think.
I seee. That explains a lot, thanks ^^
Thanks for explaining.
ok. thanks for letting us know that. i can put that in the "ok ignore wonkiness of props" catagory and just enjoy the story :3
They look good, but i guess a gambeson or padding would spoil the branding. Besides, bronze is a pretty soft metal i think? Theres bound to have been bent swords through history. And with a cabin full of half divine smiths, they need to find stuff to keep them busy between battles! xD
@@bjornk14 ahh but they are CELESTIAL bronze. this is special night indestructible bronze
The scene where Dionysus where he pretends to be percy's dad is not only hilarious but great subtle worldbuilding as it enables Chiron to explain why Dionysus is at the camp and how gods use poor demi-gods to do their bidding, when they cant use their own godliness.
That was hilarious
I rolled my eyes at that scene. I found it to be poorly directed and acted.
Yeah, that bit was a very clever way to subtly insert the implication that a demigod must have stolen the bolt without having to explicitly spell out "a god couldn't do it, buuuuuut...." *looks the camera*
Easily funniest moment of the episode
It was a good idea, but I thought the way it was done was not great. It also didn’t let Percy figure out who Mr. D was on his own and that felt not great.
Jason Manzoukas as Dionysus is just brilliant casting imo
He is pretty great. But all I see is Adrien Pimenton 😂
Yep. Excellent casting choice.
Agreed 100%
While I agree I will say I did love Stanley Tucci’s portrayal. Only good part of the movie to be honest.
@@atharvadeshpande4749 And now I'm just going to run with the headcanon that either Pimento's true identity was Dionysus... Or Pimento just took Dionysus's place and no one on Olympus or in Camp Half-Blood bothered to point it out - either out of apathy, or fear of what Pimento would do to them.
Personally I'm Convinced that Gabe and Sally's dynamic was chiefly altered by Disney's notes, as they thought it wouldn't be "child friendly" enough for Percy's stepfather to be a physically abusive alcoholic. However, there are Subtler implications of Gabe's abusive behavior; answering Sally's cell phone, gambling all of the money she makes away so she can't afford to do better, controlling where they go (Sally is the one with a job but Gabe owns the car), and possibly more to be revealed later. Something I have less evidence for, but keep thinking about, is how Percy didn't think it strange for a child to fetch some alcohol for his father in the hilarious scene with Dionysus, he was only upset that his "father" didn't seem to care about him being there to talk. It's possible that Gabe has done similar things to him before, a connection I mainly draw because Book Percy immediately hated Mr. D on sight because he initially reminded him of Gabe.
Additionally, there were several implied points in the book where Sally stood up to Gabe before, the most notable being Sally and Percy's shared appreciation for blue foods (a big "fuck you" to Gabe claiming it didn't exist). It's very possible that Gabe's behavior worsens without Percy there, as is common in these situations, and is true to the book as well (Percy only finds out that Gabe was physically abusive to Sally at the end of the Lightning Thief). Even if that's not the case, I don't think that this change takes too much away from Sally's arc, because she is still sacrificing a lot and making her life worse for Percy's protection, and her... Leaving Smelly Gabe also marks her beginning to live for herself for the first time in her adult life.
Great video as always, I just had a LOT of thoughts on that particular point haha.
This, and that someone who’s seen the first 4 episode (that were given to certain people) say the Medusa story ends the same way as it does in the books, meaning Percy mails the Medusa head to Olympus. And one of the show runners said the last episode is almost 100% accurate to the books, meaning more than likely Gabe will get turned to stone. We just gotta trust and wait to see how this plays out, there are more Gabe scenes coming in flashbacks as confirmed by the crew.
I thought they made the change from abusive to “toxic, but at least on somewhat equal terms” to not potentially have the message that women should stay in abusive relationships to protect their kids. That’s not a message that I say the books had, but I can see why a studio like Disney would gladly avoid even the possibility of promoting that message.
@@spacelia3920 It's still definitely abusive. Even if Sally isn't a helpless victim she is still being emotionally, financially, and potentially physically abused.
@@spacelia3920 didn’t even think of that, but you’re right. That’s not a message you want. When it’s in a book you can kinda get away with it since books are a different medium, but on screen showing harsh abuse and then justifying it is not the message you want to send, especially for kids. But I’m sure they have a workaround for it, let the season progress and see where they take it, everybody is acting like we never see Gabe again but there are more moments with him to see what happens with him.
Does the pacing get better in 3 and 4? How long are the episodes? @@TheIndianDeity
I gotta say, that moment when Percy gets distracted by everything around him before getting jumped by Clarisse and her goon patrol was the most relatable part of the show for me given my own ADHD 😅
Aso the flossing could totally be explained by Percy having to much built up energy and it needing to go somewhere
@@gennybaratta2460 As an ADHD adult, flossing is a surpricinly fun way to stim...I may be cringe, but I am free
@@Misora7303best quote of 2023. "I may be Cringe, but I am Free". I'm getting that as a back window sticker.
@@Misora7303 exactly
I also appreciated annabeths indecision paralysis when deciding which snack to get
Glad to have you back Terrence! You know we gotta have more. Especially with Percy Jackson finally getting a solid adaptation.
So just to be sure since i have been hurt to many times with adaptations is the new percy a good or decent adaptations of the source material?
That litirally the subject of this video XD @ageridthesilverdragon4440
@@ageridthesilverdragon4440 did...you watch the video? lol
@@ageridthesilverdragon4440 i wonder if theres a video that answers this question
@@Dominic-Noble i know but it is currently Christmas Eve and me and my nerdy kid brother was thinking about watching it. And prefer to see it without "spoiler" 🤣
"Grover would never lie to Percy"
Grover lied to Percy for months about Mrs. Dodds at the beginning of the book. He also didn't tell Percy about the link that ties his life to his until he was kidnapped by Polyphemus.
I love Grover as much as anyone, but we gotta stop pretending he didn't make mistakes or was honest 1000% of the time.
Also, do I remember correctly that in the books Grover was black?
He couldn’t lie *successfully* to Percy. His bad acting was the only reason Percy believed his own memory in the face of everyone telling him Mrs. Dodds never existed.
@@pomaranczowaszarlotka Grover was black in the film adaptation.
His race outside of 'satyr' was not really described in the books, but art didn't tend to make him black
@@pomaranczowaszarlotka He was white in the books but his race was barely mentioned.
Grover didn't create the empathy link until he was captured by Polyphemus. He needed a way to contact Percy and even offered to dissolve it at the end of the book. Percy choose to keep it, despite knowing the danger.
I’ll defend the flossing bit as feeling very authentic to a bored neurodivergent preteen trying to keep himself entertained
I have to agree, I laughed so hard cuz I saw my young cousin do the same thing once while we where waiting
I gotta agree because I used to do that when I was a little kid and I was bored. They might have a name for it now but that movement is as old as ADHD kids with nothing better to do.
As an ADHD person myself (I absolutely refuse to use the term “neurodivergent”) I can confirm that this is a pretty accurate depiction of us being bored.
Just thought it’s kinda a outdated joke that they could have done something a bit more current
This is literally my nephew's 10 and 13 everytime they are alone and bored 😅
My biggest issue with the Gabe change is that Gabe's behaviour in the book (and movie actually) showed that Sally not only died for Percy, but she lived for him. And also the depths of her desperation. Poseidon kind of just pawned him off on her with no help. She was amazing, yes, but she wasn't perfect and she had to raise a monster magnet on her own for 12 years and that led to her being with a physically abusive man who smelled awful because... well, it was quite literally the best she could do. Even without Gabe masking Percy, perhaps the only semblance of peace Sally managed to get since his birth, he was a provider. She worked part time at a candy store, that's not bringing in much money and Gabe was willing to take in this middle-aged single mother with a "delinquent" child. It was one of the more harrowing parts of the book because of how dangerously close to reality it was. Percy might be a demigod, but he still needed to eat. Still needed clothes and school supplies and Sally might have decided that Gabe wasnt worth it after all, but the added bonus of his presence literally meaning that she and Percy wouldn't be torn apart by monsters sells her desperation tenfold.
Dom's original Percy Jackson video was my first introduction to his channel. Good to see these Terrence videos bringing it full circle.
same here!
dito
It was mine too! I had been pissed off because I tried rewatching Sea of Monsters and stumbled onto Dom's video
As someone who was in a car mere centimetres away from being ploughed by a truck while in high school, I will defend the lack of screams in that scene. We were all quiet in that car as we stared at the truck approaching us, hoping there would be an opening in the line of cars in our lane. Thankfully, there was (the other drivers were doing their best to speed up/slow down to make room for us without causing an accident since they also saw the truck) and we managed to avoid a collision. We only started talking after we were safe. I think, subconsciously, we all fell silent so as to not distract the driver.
I wish my family had that same instinct. I swear I’ve almost gotten into a few collisions because they startled me by yelled due to a driver getting too close while I was focusing on avoiding it. I’m more the silent under pressure type myself
I'm also one of those people who the more stressed/alarmed/freaked out I am, the quieter I am. I almost can't make noise in those types of situations. I might utter an expletive once, but after that there's no screaming, no crying, no yelling. Just a clenched jaw and lips pressed together so hard they ache and turn colors, lol.
I was in a highway accident when I was 14. I think I said "Oh my god!" once but yeah, I don't really remember any screaming (there were 4 ppl in the car total).
Not to mention people respond to those types of stimuli differently
I liked that they showed that his fighting ability, at least for now, comes more from instinct than skill. He’s very roguish at times with the way he redirects peoples attacks towards eachother and tries disarming his opponents
I like that too! It’s consistent with how demigods are wired in the books, some of them are literally made to fight. Having him be kind of terrible in training because there’s tons of distractions and the stakes are low but being able to instinctively fight when he’s actually threatened is a good way to portray that
And his reappearance in Son of Neptune also highlights that when his fighting style contrasts with the Legion's
As someone who never read the books, it felt very apparent to me that Percy's fighting skills increased the closer they got to the shore. He was about as close to the water as he could be without actually being in it by the time he broke Aries's kid's spear (sorry, don't remember her name).
The thing with Gabe is that he's still abusive, just a different flavor. He's a leech that's constantly relying on Sally's money, dares to argue with her despite not contributing at all to the household, trying to control whether she's allowed to leave or not without a proper reason and let's not forget he's picking up her calls. He's not physically abusive like it was hinted in the book (at least from what we've seen so far) but he's super manipulative. And Sally still has no choice but to stay with him for Percy's sake because even though she's stronger, she's not strong enough to protect her son 100%.
He wasn’t physically abusive to her in front of Percy in the books either, but there was a moment where he raises his hand, Sally flinches, and Percy realizes just what he was shielded from. I think we could still see that, potentially.
@@charliemallonee2792 Yeah, I know it wasn't shown but if I remember correctly there was a part where Percy realizez that Gabe was hitting Sally in the past
+ there’s more moments where he’s horrible like the newspaper thing in the books and also there will be flashbacks in the show
And he's so smelly, he covers the smell of Percy being a forbidden child.
Kleos was a huge part of ancient Greek stories like the Illiad and the labours of Heracles and I love that they added it in.
As for Percy having a bit more Daddy issues, I think that's fair enough if they want to highlight that, even if Luke takes it too far by siding with forces that would literally destroy humanity, he did have a point: Most demigods feel alienated by their parents at some point and they deserve to at least know who their parents are.
Okay but that kinda changes Percy as a character.
Making his main goal to see his dad when in the books he could give less of a shit until he needed something because in his eyes it was always just him and Sally is ridiculous.
Like Luke was RIGHT there if they wanted to go further into detail with that.
@@blackvendaeta7104to me it doesn’t seem like seeing his dad is his main goal, it seems like he’s missing his mom and wants to fill that hole + get some answers and tell him off
I think it'll create a juxtaposition between the two sons.
@@blackvendaeta7104 Except his main goal is not to talk to his dad. That was only when he thought that his mom was dead but when he finds out from Grover (that she is alive), he immediately has motivation and a goal to get his mom back. That is his main goal. Finding his dad was only temporarily in like what 25 min or something.
@@elliex9664 dude, he literally has a dramatic scene next to a fire talking about how he's going to try to get his attention, are you kidding me?
The struggle to find the correct pronunciation of Minotaur before giving up and calling it a Bullman was too relatable.
Sounded like he said Boar-man? I agree that would be wrong.
Might just be Terrence's accent.
I think it's Minnow-Taw because of Minos and Taurus pronunciations but honestly I could be totally wrong still!
It's not that hard to pronounce. It's "min" like in "minute" and then the vowel pronounciation varies and doesn't matter and then "taur" like "torment." If you see the word "tauro" you don't say "taro," do you? The "min" is harder but not that hard to figure out. It's intuitive with the way the word is stressed. For the record, I don't care if people pronounce it wrong, but if you're trying to find the right pronounciation it's really not that hard to figure out.
I saw the "Glory" to ones name was less a camp thing and more about the amount of recognition a name has, remember names have power, so the more well known for being powerful the more well known they will be to the rest of the world, as well as less likely for weaker monsters to attack.
It also ties into the more general idea of greatness that the ancient Greeks maintained. You can have the coolest dad possible, but you've gotta do cool things on your own if you want to be worth anything. So that personal glory thing is a big deal.
It fits the new motivation Clarisse has this time, if she hasn’t done something as big as slaying a Minotaur then discrediting Percy means she’s not lesser than a newbie to the camp.
I can’t get over this opening, missed you so much Terrance!! You are the best bit.
I actually really like the tone of Walker’s voice for percy. It’s high and raspy bc he’s young but doesn’t fully sound like he’s 12 years old. It matches Riordan’s dialogue; feeling genuine to the age range in spirit but taking liberties with the details.
I believe the change to Grover could play well into the prophecy later on, especially the bit where it mentions Percy will be betrayed by someone he considers a friend. With Grover having betrayed Percy back at the school already, having his own motives for Percy going on a quest and just the fact he was given less screen time than he did in the book at this point. It also applies to Annabeth. They both have their own reasons for this going on this quest, which could give Percy a reason to be suspicious of both of them. In the book, that was rarely brought up, and even Percy talked about how he can't imagine either of them turning on him at one point.
As to Sally Jackson, you can absolutely yell back at your abuser, and it still be a very one-sided, abusive relationship. Whether or not that is consistent with the character of Sally Jackson in the books, who doesn’t really do that, is a different discussion. But the fact that she does match energy with him sometimes does not mean that he is not abusing her.
1000x this. It's actually really bugging me that this is the take some people are getting.
@@jinxcrafter Yeah, it’s actually kind of distressing. But movies and tv tend to show abuse in a very particular way that doesn’t cover what a lot of abuse actually looks like, so I guess it can be hard to spot when it doesn’t fit that picture? I don’t know.
THIS!!! YES!! ❤
Plus I have a feeling in Gabe’s mind he’s thinking “if I play along I may get more things I want from her easier, and have more sex if I want.”
I've only watched episode 1 so far, but at least in that episode the only abuse seems to be minor bullying of Percy. He picks up the mum's phone, but that's normal in a functional relationship. He tries to bully Percy, but Percy makes fun of him. He tries to decline the car, but ends up giving Percy's mum what she wants and says please at the end. So all you really see is him telling Percy not to wear shoes in the car, which I'm pretty sure Percy ignores. In a film or TV show you cannot assume abuse unless shown or at least hinted at, and nothing in episode 1 does that. Yes both parties in an abusive relationship can be shouty, but the mum seems pretty dominant and Gabe just seems pathetic. I haven't read the books, so maybe I'm missing something, but given how easily the mum deals with him nothing suggests to a first time viewer that there is abuse in the relationship.
I actually think Gabe’s more subtle abusiveness is really interesting, because they left plenty of hints that he’s awful, but it’s more realistic to people actually in abusive relationships that it feels like you “should” be able to deal with it and it’s “not that big a deal” when it absolutely is. Most abuse is sneakier than outright attacks.
Exactly this!! I am not an expert but every other thing he said made him out to be a bad partner to Sally. He has her phone, she has to nevotiate with him to be able to go somewhere with her son and has to assert herself to get him to be nice to her in front of Percy. Wrecking Gabe's car seems like a perfect catalysis for him to hurt Sally or at least be horrible to her in more obvious ways because he would feel justified so I am still not dismissing the possibility of book events. The changes they made from the books make him out to be a bad partner EVEN MORE in the first chap than in the book, which mostly focused on him being smelly and a bully to percy, not much about him as a husband.
Especially since it was very explicit in the books that Percy didn't know Gabe was physically abusive until the very end, which we obviously have not gotten to in the series yet.
I think my only major complaint in terms of casting is probably Clarisse. The actress they have is great, but... Clarisse was pretty dang butch in the books. She was *not* "conventionally" pretty. And I make that note because *having* someone like Clarisse, who while she's a bully in Book 1 turns into a stalwart ally later on once Percy helps her out, is in my opinion really important. To have that heroic representation of someone who isn't "conventionally" attractive is a really nice thing for young girls who read those books, especially those who, like Clarisse, did not fall under society's rigid definition of feminine beauty. She was representation for them.
And while I'm sure the actress they cast was the best fit for the role, it feels like they didn't really care enough to try and still get that aesthetic across. Even ignoring make up or whatever, they could have leaned into a punk aesthetic for her. Piercings, biker jacket, leather gloves, that whole look. And it would have been great visual foreshadowing for Ares later on. But they have one of her lackeys wearing the biker jacket instead of her. It just feels... Off.
Yeah right, felt a bit mean but I also thought Clarisse was too pretty and not quite burly enough. I do have to say though the actress still did a great job portraying her character
I think that Dior play Clarisse wonderfully but I agree that they could have made her a bit more butch it would have added a lot
I tried to explain this to my roommate and she was going off on how a bully doesn’t have to be ugly. Obviously I didn’t explain it well so I might try again with your words.
@@Miyanoai14 Yeah, it's not about Clarisse being "ugly," it's about her not being conventionally pretty. And once Percy isn't a 12 year old, focused entirely on looks, he recognizes that she's a great person who deserves happiness just like everyone else at camp.
@@goldencyclone4984She's a great person? Maybe later, but in the first book she's just a bully, so Percy wasn't judging her on her looks. Did you even read the books?
One thing that was a little odd for me was how underwhelmed everyone seems to be after Percy was claimed. Maybe it will be shown more in the next episode, but it pretty much jumps straight to Chiron & Mr D and they don't seem to think it's a big deal other than Percy being blamed for Zeus's lightning bolt being stolen.
They have a chance to reflect that with how the other campers treat him after-- the weird looks, not sitting with him during dinner so they can whisper and stare at him from their tables, etc. in the next episode. We'll see tomorrow!!
@@pucklebearryturns out they just skipped over that
One thing that I love is that they took the only thing that worked about the films (the dislexia thing) and moved it over. They saw where the film worked, where it didn't, and where the book worked, and learned.
Huh ironically as a dyslexic person I never liked that much (maybe cuz that’s really not how it works for me personally) the blurring and line shifting was nice though. Anabeth trying to spell cyclops in sea of monsters was painful relatable though.
@@the_demon_cat337 i was referring to the blurring and line shifting. Like how it made the writing difficult to focus on. As a visual shorthand, it kinda worked
My biggest fear with this show is how fast it is blasting through the story which doesn’t give it time for foreshadowing and setup. My second biggest is definitely that Gabe doesn’t seem downright evil. He really needs to be for that plot line to work. I absolutely hope you keep up reviewing this series!! Love seeing more Terrence❤
Considering we know for a fact that the gang is going to be dealing with Ares this time around I wouldn't be surprised if they're just blasting through the intro stuff first. There's a lot of things that happen to the gang on the road, and while some camp characters are important (WHERE ARE MY PRECIOUS BOIS CONNOR AND TRAVIS) it makes sense for them to brush past it a little
The pacing is my biggest gripe so far. I've got other nitpicks, but this is the one is going to make it hard for me to keep watching if it stays as is.
I think they're setting things up, just not giving the that stuff time to breathe so it has no impact. I'm hoping that since the exposition is out the way now and the focus should shift to just the main 3 that things can slow down a bit. The episodic nature of the upcoming content should help some too, I hope.
I'm mostly worried that they're going be afraid to edit out parts less necessary parts of the book so nothing gets enough time.
I'm feeling like the end result will be the same, but Gabe will take care of himself. He's been introduced as a mooch rather than explictly abusive. He could take a turn though. In the books Percy doesn't really appreciate how abusive Gabe is until the end, and in the show, the handyman's dialouge suggests Gabe's worse than just an unemployed bore. Next episode should be enlightening for how the rest of the show is going to work.
@@vultar9999So far each episode has covered 4 chapters from the book. Since the book has 22 chapters total and the show is going to have a total of 8 episodes in the first season, they’re definitely going to have to slow it down. I assume they probably wanted to spend more time on them actually being on the quest and therefore rushed the introductory parts more.
I am also a bit sad Gabe doesn’t have a job now.
No: “my uncle is so happy im safe, he will offer seek you stuff for free, if you call this number:” which is sad.
But if they keep the interviews we see with Gabe through out the story, I believe he will definitely become more easily to hate. But maybe they won’t. Idk
the pacing seems pretty perfect to me. its only 8 episodes and they dont leave camp till episode 3. any slower and people would complain its boring.
Not to sword-splain to someone probably more knowledgeable than me, but bronze swords getting bent out of shape during use was historically known. It was actually an argument in favor of bronze over iron. Bronze would get bent out of shape but could be bent back. If iron bent, you had to take it back to a smith.
Okay but...
They don't use regular bronze, they use celestial bronze. In the books it's a common thing, Percy's sword is only special because of it's pen form and returning enchantment.
But itsnot inaccurate to have bronze bouncy, thats yeah the pint it boznces back.
@@marocat4749 my guy, it's a magic metal. It doesnt need to "bounce"
@@blackvendaeta7104 but it's wielded by demigods that would be way stronger than normal human fighters, so who cares if it bends here or there?
@@Ugly_German_Truths ...because it's magic. As in doesn't break, bend, or yield.
Can you guys just admit the props they're using are shitty instead of defending it? The show isn't even that good so far, I have no clue why you guys are acting like it's any better than the movies at this point. They're about on par for now, the show has a lot of room for improvement.
In regards to Smelly Gabe, I was also upset with how toned down he was until I found out apparently Disney intentionally did this so as not to trigger any kids who might be going through something similar, and I can fully respect that, which I am also sure you would as well, Dom.
Dude Gabe triggered me so much in the books and movies
I'm genuinely relieved he's toned down
Reminds me of another of my mom's exes who seemed harmless enough only to be another psycho. Like tried to run over someone psycho
I also hope that they do tone down his punishment at the end too
I LOVED how much more likable Gabe was in those episodes. The bickering between Sally and Gabe felt endearing in a not so serious way that can FEEL so much more alienating and infuriating as a kid. One can argue Gabe only comes across so shitty and abusive in the books because it's told through a 12-year-old boy's eyes who LOVES his mom (but I'd have to reread the series to have a genuine convo about that). I never liked the idea of his mom putting herself and percy in truly dangerous situations just to avoid another dangerous albiet harder to explain situation. @@desireeloveros1055
I call a bit of bs. Cause if that was the case all they had to do was simply downplay it. But they went out of their way to not only make him evem more obviously pathetic but also made Sally confront him and win by basicaly outscream him, anyone who read the books knows why this would never happen and why. Combine that the fact that they made her straight up fight the minotaur and even hold her ground a bit and whe can see the real reason why Disney did that. Sally Jackson was already one of the strongest characters of the books, changing her like they did just take away from her.
Aside from that and a bit more I realy liked the episodes. Hope they maintain the quality.
I second all of this. Gabe and his comeuppance was so cathartic to preteen me who dealt with an emotionally neglectful, sometimes physically abusive father. I was originally upset that he was toned down. But reading about abuse and watching on screen are VERY different things. I honestly can’t say one of the Gabe scenes played as written wouldn’t trigger me NOW as a 22 year old, let alone a child still actively in an unhealthy household. As long as his eventual fate feels earned, i am happy.
There are a couple other minor character appearance changes (Percy not having black hair, Luke not being blond) that make me think they did the casting without much regard for book accurate looks. I personally think that’s a great thing, it means they put their casting effort into finding people who could really embody the book characters in their acting, not just people who superficially resembled them.
I kinda wish they still dyed Percy's up. I get that they would not want to bleach the black hairs into blond though.
Uncle Rick was involved with the casting process, and even confirmed as much.
Rick had released a statement sometime last year when we first got the news that there might be a pjo TV show. He had said since then that it would be a colour blind casting so that's why I wasn't that surprised by some of the choices made. Seems Rick himself isn't too hung up on the physical appearance of the actors🤷
exactly. same thing happens in comic book movies, people champion for actors jsut because they have a vague resemblance to fictional people. its so foolish to get caught up on the casting when Rick himself made the call.
@@Nintentohtorito me, Walker having curly blonde hair suits so well to the beach vibes and so cool for a child of seas
I will note that the introduction of kleos (glory) is something I’m super excited about. If you’ve done any academic study of Ancient Greek classics you’ve heard that word before - it’s a crazy major theme of the Iliad and odyssey and it’s fundamental to what made Greek heroes, heroes. I’m intrigued and I want to see where they go with it.
Honestly, the glory thing makes sense. Not only does it help explain *why* Percy becomes so well respected by others as the series goes on, but also why half-bloods would bother risking their lives to begin with.
One thing I noticed right away was something they left out. When Percy and Grover are heading home on the bus. Percy sees 3 old ladies with yarn that they cut. Turns out they are the fates and the yarn is someone’s lifeline. This pays off at the end of the series. But I don’t want to say more for anyone who hasn’t read the books.
I am irritated that the part where Percy noticed Grover seemed to remember Dodds is omitted.
I'm so happy, I hope we keep seeing Terrence week to week for more Percy Jackson
In regards to the fight scene with Clarisse, I was watching closely and it doesn't show where Percy is standing when he starts competantly fighting, so I presumed he could have stepped slightly into the water. Which actually fits neatly into your summary of annabeth testing his parentage by shoving him in the water as she, as invisible observer, would not have the camera's limits and could see that he got better standing in water.
Yeah, I just assumed it was more a technical/practical limitation than an outright plot point. We're supposed to see he's by the lake and he gets a power up (which is how Annabeth figures it out).
They cut around it so they don't have to actually put the kids in the water during the fight. Probably either to make the fight choreography easier, or just to simplify resetting the scene between takes.
It's been a while since I read the books, but changing his power from 'in water' to 'within a couple of metres of water' would probably be fine (and save the actors and stunt team from having to deal too much with fight choreography in water). He definitely got noticeably more competent after fleeing from the hilltop to the beach.
I assumed the competent fighting was a sort of "he's destined to be a greek hero, and in this moment of pure instinct that destiny is awakening."
I'm surprised no one is talking about the lack of amber and ambroisa, which in the books is introduced when Percy is in the infirmary
I mean, it could have been mentioned but it wasn't super necessary and would have just been included for the sake of it rather than for any actual plot reason.
@@AeonKnigh432 I mean it could've been good world building because they do use it later on in the other books
I like the somewhat menacing intro Annabeth is given, before Percy is fully conscious and hears her rag on him, not her little cool-girl act in the bathroom. In the book, she was a red herring, implicated by both Luke and Aries, and her directly referring to Percy as a friend shortly after Aries' implication seemed to line up with the Prophocy. It looks like that's going to be retained from the books as well (which would also explain the mysterious behavior which wasn't in the book, either), and I'm super excited!
I liked the performance of the actor that was playing the 'gross step dad' character. It gave me perfect 'guy who thinks he's in the right and is put out by being treated like he's in the wrong but is capitulating anyway to get what he wants' vibes.
Oh I guess they didn't mention his name super notably in the show, did they? Huh. As a book fan it's weird to see someone not know. His name is Gabe.
To be honest I think they changed Gabe specifically because they didn't want to do that particular plot point.
(Spoilers for the end of Lightning Thief)
Sally straight up murdering him and selling his petrified corpse for money, while justified given the abuse and implications of marital rape, was always a weirdly dark plot point for a kids book. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Disney wasn't comfortable with it. They're probably making him less of an outright monster because his comeuppance will be lesser in the show -She'll probably just leave him or something.
FWIW the movie didn't adapt it directly either (no surprise there) they changed Gabe's death to be an accident caused by his own stupidity rather than something Sally did to him on purpose.
For the record, just like the Mist, Kleos/Klewos is a massively important part of Greek culture that’s a huge theme in both “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey”.
I was hoping we'd get a LiA about this!
Rick Riordan has changed a lot since he wrote Percy Jackson. I have a lot of respect for the way both h and Sir Terry grew in their understanding and representation of gender and of marginalized groups in general, though they in very different time frames and with the point that Riordan started out with representation for kids with ADHD and dyslexia.(Sir Terry the writer, not the cat, though I of course respect all cats, our liquid masters who are also babies.)
But I actually think one of the best thigs Riordan has done for representation is to use his name to uplift other authors to tell stories with mythologies from their own cultures with the Riordan Presents imprint. They've published some great books. I think all the ones I've read are worth a go if you like the Percy Jackson universe.
(Edited to add the name of the imprint, because I didn't actually say it originally for some reason.)
I love the “Presents” imprint. It’s a great idea.
Rick has been interesting to read over the years. It's weird, he seems to fulfill every different aspect of writing with regards to inclusion. In the original series, there was no emphasis put on it really, just telling a good story, and it worked. In the Kane Chronicles, there was a little more, and it was fitting with the characters and worked. In the Heroes of Olympus, it seemed to be a pretty heavy motivation, and every character had intrinsic character motivations and traits that their various features brought out, improving the characters greatly (also why HoO is my favorite series). Then there's Magnus Chase, where the focus seems to be inclusion over character, even to the detriment of story (Sam and Alex were really out there and poorly written imo). I haven't finished trials of Apollo yet, but I'm hoping it's more of a return to the HoO and/or PJO styles.
Annabeth being blond was important... but it was about her often being assumed to be less intelligent than she is. Her being black can fullfill the same purpose and therefore is a casting choice that effectively doesn't change anything about her.
Yes, a lot of people talk about it like "the dumb blonde stereotype subversion is lost", but that was more of a 2000s stereotype, and certainly being of a race that can often be considered uneducated or not smart at all by some over prejudiced people, has a similar effect.
I don't mind that they change to her. And there are definitely racists who just are mad that it was a race swap. But I can't get over the hypocrisy of how it's fine one way, but not the other.
@@patax144The whole "the Dumb Blonde stereotype is a 2000s thing" would be a decent argument… if it weren't for the fact that this was *exactly* the time period where the first book dropped. The Lightning Thief came out in 2005. Frankly that whole thing is a bizarre argument that I'm seeing, like are you saying that somehow people in the modern year can't grasp the concept of that stereotype? Gee if only we had a piece of fiction from an earlier time period that could educate people on this type of thing… oh wait. Furthermore adapting a book from a specific time period and removing things related to the beliefs of that period under the belief that it's the modern age and that doesn't happen anymore seems frankly backwards to me, like should we not acknowledge the fact that blonde people were indeed stereotyped to be stupid at one point in time? And saying it was a 2000s thing is *severely* underestimating just how old that stereotype is. Seriously the stereotype at least dates back to the *1900s,* so saying it was a 2000s thing is acting like its far more recent than it actually is.
I doubt people would’ve had the same opinion of such casting choices though if she was black in the original book and in the adaptation they casted a white girl to play as her.
@@brandonlyon730 Hard to say, really, but many people did at least have the same opinion when she was cast white in the movie but still was not blonde.
Absolutely LOVED the first two, pitch-perfect adapation so far! I saw the ill-fitting helmets and seeming discomfort with the armor as being akin to the life-vests or climbing helmets at a summer camp: they're very "one size fits all" mass use equipment, so odds are the campers just have to settle for armor/helms that are close enough to their size but still have some wiggle room.
Hello Terrance lovely to have you back! Will make one counter argument on the whole poor fitting helmets and stuff. Yes it’s important to see the actors faces but also this camp has always had the connotation of a run down public school, seeing as Riordan had teaching experience in once: the packed spaces in Hermes cabin, everything feeling a bit second hand, the camp having to sell the strawberries they have to make ends meet with the Delphi Delivery Service, and I think that applies to the armor and helmets. It’s all second hand and being passed around to literal kids, a large portion of them die between summers since they’re forced to go back home or only stay if they have no where else, everything fits a bit funky. I always had that assumption while reading the book where once you get to Heroes of Olympus you have that contrast between the Greeks kinda slapdash but feral approach and the Romans more sterilized and militarized approach.
Prior to watching the show, I thought Anabeth being black was interesting, but still would have preferred her to be blond with grey eyes - CGI or prosthetics. After seeing it and realising none of the characters _look_ like their book counterparts, but certainly _act_ like their counterparts, I'd say the casting is solid, and considering the other CGI corners they've had to cut (The aforementioned objects in the foreground covering Grover's legs, and the low angle they constantly shot Chiron at) trying to change hair and eye colour would have been a disaster. Overall, this is a fantastic adaptation so far.
She definitely gives the right performance. She's just a confident smart child of Athena. Can't wait to see more.
i saw rick and his wife say that gabe’s behavior was subdued for younger audiences. they said it was a little triggering to watch how he was originally written. i think it also adds a subtly of abuse to him that is much more common.
Terrence is back!!!!
Also I hope you make videos for each of the Percy Jackson episodes. As a massive fan of the series, I can't believe this ever actually happened. I'm excited to see how they adapt the rest of the series.
However, now we know Terrence is a Demigod, who is his godly parent? I reckon Athena.
My guess was Hecate or one of the other magic gods. That *would* explain his past as a wizard, after all.
I'm thinking either Dionysus or Hermes, due to his personality.
thanks, this had made me even more depressed that those old Harry Potter videos aren't available anymore. They were big comfort videos for me back in the day
My favourite changes so far was the early introduction to mythomagic as a card game to get demigods introduced and get interested in Greek myth which kind of want to see how that affects Percy and Nico’s interactions with each other later (if it gets to that stage fingers crossed), and Annabeth being the one to test her theory of Percy’s parentage as her being one a child of Athena so super smart and then seeing him manipulate the toilet water which is a clear sign of parentage. Curious on others favourite changes?
Oh, you're so right! Of course she noticed the toilet powers and then how he was fighting, so it checks out that she would then throw him into water to see if her theory is right.
Welcome back, Terence. I'm glad that you're back covering this show. So far, it seems faithful to the source material, more so than the 2010's movies.
I never got into the books myself (only just went through the first one last year), but I am glad you're getting what seems to be a better adaptation at last. And nice to see Terrence again!
It’s nice to see Mr. D in modern clothes with his Diet Coke. In the previous movie, the gods all stayed pretty ancient in style (with the possible exception of Hades). I look forward to seeing more.
10/10 for the tiger shirt. Loved it.
In the movie the Olympians were ancient looking,and Hades was modern Mick Jagger. "Look,Rock because it's the devil's music haha."
Yeah, they managed to get just about everything about the depiction of the gods in the first movie wrong. In the books, Hades was probably the only god who was _supposed_ to look somewhat archaic.
Hell yeah! Just watched the episodes last night. Personally, it's not as faithful as I would have liked but it does a great job of capturing the vibe of the PJO and it's obvious it's been adapted with heart and the author's input
As to the bronze sword being bent, Bronze is a rather soft metal, so would bend and deform rather than flex and spring back to shape, or even break. So having a bent sword after intense fighting would bee more common than not, and reparing it is as simple as bending it back into shape and sharpening it back up.
I agree with you about the acting feeling a little stiff and understated, but putting that down to a director choice makes sense. And while Percy does at times feel a little stiff, confusion is a difficult emotion to play without that issue.
I do really like this Percy though. We can already see beginning of 'Percy Jackson is Done With This Shit' attitude beginning to build. I could see this Percy going 'ya know what, lets see what Zeus thinks of THIS on his doorstep' in the next couple episodes. He feels very much like a kid with ADHD who doesnt know wtf is going on half the time (i speak from experience).
The standout against the stiff complaints is Sally, Grover, and Annabeth but more subtly. Shes doing a good job of playing removed/aloof. Sally is doing amazing, and i think theyre downplaying some of Grovers more brave and heroic qualities so its more of a growth for him later.
Honestly the main trio have good chemistry so far which im looking forward to seeing as the quest begins.
I hope next episode begins with the Oracle. I know its a bit of a darker moment in the series and disney might want to avoid it, but the mummified Oracle is one of the most vibrant images from the books that stuck with me, as does the story behind it
The Oracle is also a very important character who you kind of need to establish if you wish to adapt later books
While... yes. He does need to succeed in a quest to get his searcher's license...
In Episode 3 we find out he missed the choosing ceremony, because he was commanded to clean the Pegasus Stables as punishment for telling Percy.
Percy tells him that he picked him for the quest, and he doesn't believe him at first- implying that he just told Percy the truth out of friendship.
I'd be cool with seeing more of this as the series goes on. also, re: Percy's actor's voice, I got less of a "pitched up adult" vibe and more "younger Jonathan Taylor Thomas" vibe, like he's halfway between young Simba and his more grown in voice from later seasons of Home Improvement.
As a 6 year long fan of your channel, I love seeing Terrance back! Jokes are always on point. Percy Jackson really is like a Greek Myth alternative to Harry Potter with actually good cultural representation. From what I can tell the writer is a stand up guy who uses his platform to promote charities & the voices of smaller creators who do similar mythological novels as him--Rick says he can't write fantasy books about every cultures myths out of time, familiarity, & promotes writers who do belong to those cultures and tell them tell their story.
My only note so far is how almost everyone has 5 beads on their camp necklaces not just Annabeth and Luke it was supposed to be a stand out detail that percy noticed and emphasizes how long they've been there and why Annabeth is so desperate to get away for awhile
Well, all those people are also much older than her, so her desperation still makes sense to me. Even if other people come to the camp each summer, she lives there year round, and has for almost half of her entire life. If anything, others coming and going would make her feel even more isolated from the others.
Yeah, I noticed that too. I specifically saw in the scene where Clarisse and Luke were talking and I was like "What? They shouldn't have the same amount of beads."
@samlewis6487 right?? Also Clarissa looks closer to Luke age when I thought she was supposed to only be a year or two older than percy but that very well might have been a mix up on my part idk its not the biggest deal but it's still bugging me considering how close to perfect it was
@@kyab2815tbh, they’re in the age range where growth spurts happen, and they tend to happen earlier for girls than they are for girls. Clarisse could honestly just have started her growth spurt early
(Her demeanor and muscles also make her come across more mature, but like, she’s still clearly childish enough to think sticking younger kids’ heads in toilets is fun, so I don’t think she’s that much older than Percy - probably just looks older than she is because of an early growth spurt + aggressive and confident demeanor with the muscles to back it up)
For years I thought the ideal director for Percy Jackson was another P. Jackson, but this series is fine so far.
As a person who never really got into Percy Jackson, I'm just here to see you talk passionately about things you're into so I'm all for continuing this!
Your Percy Jackson video was what brought me to your channel and the Harry Potter videos with Terrence were what kept me here, so this feels like a bit of a full circle moment for me!
Commenting just in the hopes that it will help push you in the direction of making more of this. Love Percy Jackson and your videos!
The whole "the entire world is very unfair to me in particular" this is very true if you are in any way different. A very popular and wealthy guy brought water guns to school and ran into my classroom spraying people with it. The teacher said he could have charged the guy with a crime and sent him to jail, but chose not to. That same teacher kicked me out of class because I looked at an open closet. Not even touching anything, just looking at it.
I had a learning disability and was regularly seen as an odd ball of the school. My teachers regularly reminded me that if I wasn't normal enough, I would end up homeless pushing a shopping cart down the street.
When you are different, it is true to life for adults to be wildly unfair to you for no other reason than they can.
Terrance finally said it! I remember a comment on the video a few years ago that he was now going to say “hello mortals”
Also I’m pretty sure Percy’s water power up can also be from being near a body of water, though that may have been established in The Heroes of Olympus.
Percy Jackson-athon sounds fine to me. I think Demigodathon has been done.
I’m so glad you found a way to keep Terrance. I’m not the kind of person who burns all their books when the author turns out to be an asshole and that goes infinitely for the Harry Potter verse when I have read hundreds of thousands of stories written by other people. I consider each and every one just as creatively relevant. It makes me sad to see how some authors and other creative people have abandoned the fandom or even destroyed their works because of one woman. It feels so misdirected.
Good to see Terrence back!
Suggestions for the continuation name:
Percy+
Jackson’s back Son!
The Re-Adapt recap.
Camp Re-Boot
I could see them saying that Percy just being near the water helped give him a boost
So what is Terrance’s godly parent? I’m thinking Hecate because of the magic
He makes a point during his intro thst he has a father and 'step mother'
So it's gotta be Hecate 😅
Anoia. Definitely the goddess of things that get stuck in drawers and other mildly inconveniencing things... I mean he even lives with a Sir Terry and all...
I had to watch the first scene with Dionysis a second time. When he first showed up, I thought "I guess the D stands for Derek" and laughed so much I had to rewind it about four minutes.
I love it when people change up the things that everyone loves because... kids don't know what they like, and that's why we can't adapt the best things. Also, it didn't start with Percy sitting in a pool for a very long time even though he didn't know what he was. That's when I knew that the movie would suck.
Also, when I read those books, I saw a lot of myself in the characters, because I just connected to the characters so much and no other reason, and also I totally have ADHD. But in the movie, there isn't really any that, which I thought was a choice.
I think that Annabeth being brunette in the movie was worse because it cut out the "underestimated because people think she's a dumb blonde" thing, but the series can do something similar.
I think that all of Riordan's works are pretty well suited to a show, because they are very episodic, which, to be fair, is like the Odyssey. I have noticed it in other works of his, so I think it's just the way he writes.
Edir: It's actually confirmed in the Son of Neptune that Hades is Hitler's father because Hazel looks at him (he's technically Pluto at this point) and is like "Wow, they look like the same person!"
12:22 I like this change. It shows that Percy's sword skills don't come from being in the water. He is a badass on his own.
All the water does is boost what's already there and provide him with near infinite stamina.
Can't wait to see week by week reviews. I'm adoring seeing my childhood finally come to life on the screen, and I'm filled with joy seeing someone else like it too
Holy crap that was fast.
I was expecting this to come at least 3 months after the full series was out.
Oh yes please do the rest of the show when it drops, I love your Percy Jackson content!
Also Merry Aslan's birthday Dom.
I know nothing about Percy Jackson, but I just wanted to say that it makes a lot of sense for someone with sea related connections to have dyslexia. In sea water is constantly in motion, bending light and distorting visuals. So for the brains to struggle to focus on recognizing stationary symbols makes sense when the said brains are supposed to be adapted to comprehending things in constant motion of some sort. I dunno if it's meant as that sort of a thing, but I just thought it fits perfectly. Would be even cooler if later on there's some sort of text that only makes sense when either seen underwater or by someone with brains that already decipher symbols differently.
To explain: all demigods have dyslexia, because their brains are wired for ancient Greek, not English
Welcome back Terrence and nice to see the adaption going well!
I like how they are handling the story... really digging this series so far and I even like the modifications/changes since they seem to be well thought out. And it makes me happy that RR is happy with THIS adaptation...
😅I would absolutely love to see more of the new PJO content! Also, if you weren't aware, there was a Broadway musical of the Lightning Thief in the late 2010's that was both enjoyable and a solid adaptation. I definitely recommend you check it out, Terence.
I hadn’t heard of a musical adaptation. That would be interesting to hear Terrence’s take on.
@@grutarg2938 it's very good. There's a bootleg on TH-cam if you were interested.
I love the musical!!
YES! The musical is phenomenal and I find myself listening to it to this day - just really wish it was still running bc I would've loved to see it live...
@@thoughtsofaleo2916 same!!! It's so good. It's the reason I got into the books!!
i'm glad terrence is back. i knew because of jk rowling's downward spiral that he probably never appear again, glad i was wrong.
I couldn't very much care about Annabeth being black in this adaptation, but I do wish they still gave her her gray eyes. For one, while rare, black people CAN have that eye color. For another, it's a standard description of the children of Athena regardless of their race.
I just hope Mr Dominic remembers to edit his Earthensea video. Back then he complained they race swapped Sparrowhawk and I agreed with him. Now he seems to have changed his mind about race swapping so we wouldn't want him to be hypocritical would we...
And when the world needed him most........He Returned! LOL So glad to see Terrence back!
I look forward to your overall thoughts on the series once it's finished.
Oh Terrence, how I’ve missed you. Needed this
I love how Dom mentions how Percy is a hero who rises to the occasion.
In most parts of the books, Percy is more of a looser and almost always, everyone around him knows more or has more skill. But ever so often there are situations where things look grim and its Percy who either comes up with a clever solution or pulls an amazing stunt to save them all.
I'm sure some of the people complaining were genuinely racist, but it was mainly a collective objection to what we assumed was another move by the "woke crowd" ignoring the source material
Even in the first movie, people were complaining about how Annabeth wasn't blonde
And she still isn't. She was in Sea of Monsters, but... we don't talk about that one
The original two percy jackson videos were my first two videos on this channel its amazing to see the topic come back. Especially with Terrence in tow
Terrence has returned!!
and also merry christmas & happy holidays🎄🎄
Okay, so the “glory point system” (Kleos) was actually a HUGE deal the Homeric epics, particularly the Iliad, so I thought it was super neat for them to include it.
There are a ton of references to both The Iliad and The Odyssey in the books, and I like that they’re being faithful to that influence, but flexible with what they’re incorporating.
I never touched the franchise before this, but man was this show my jam. Very excited for the rest.
Welcome, friend.
@@jdrvargo287 Whether it was the publishers or the studios, they were definitely riding Harry Potter coattails but I shouldn’t have pushed the books away for that regardless of how awful Rowling turned out to be
The line "Yes I got the Ravenclaw tattoo removed, it wasn't that difficult I'm fucking magic" got me. Missed you Terrence.
Asking neighe to cover “Good Kid” from the musical, would be cool for this miniseries.
So glad to see have you back to cover the Percy Jackson tv show! Now 3 episodes in, I'm really loving the direction the show is going - it's not perfect of course, but the character dynamics, the story beats, and the dialogue are absolutely nailing it for me and I do think the show gets better after ep 2 because they finally have time to breathe and focus on the main trio instead of all of the setup. I'm just hoping they keep it up for ep 4 - this is the one show I absolutely wish got 10 or even 12 episodes instead of 8 because 8 feels like such a short amount of time for a full book, even with longer episodes themself.
I was hoping Terrence would reappear for this series after all he went through with the movies 😂 had to put pause to my annual doctor who's Christmas carol rewatch when i got the notification 😁 hope you have a great holiday and well deserved rest ❤
14:30 As someone working with teenagers, that's fairly on track for boys going through puberty. 12 is on the earlier end and the actor was 13 which does make a difference at this age, but while you can probably work around this I don't think it's a bad thing to have actors voices change in a series about growing up. I get how it'd sound strange or even fake when you're not around teenagers much, most media just skips over any voice changes beyond one or two awkward moments, but some kids just sound like they inhaled helium for a while.
I'd love to see more LIA for Percy Jackson! Plus, maybe Smelly Gabe will have the same fate as in the movie, as I believe Rick Riordan did like that in the movie, where he opens the fridge despite the warning and gets stoned.
That small bit of flexing caught me so off-guard i might've had a bit of gay panic on my hands
2 things)
I loved Grover betraying Percy in that Yancy meeting! The book is actually pretty dark at that point, Percy is scared out of his mind (he keeps hearing about death) and beyond frustrated (finals while you think you're going to die??!!) And I think Grovers betrayal helped set up that tone without needing those other scenes. Percy is scared from Dodds, and confused why no one can remember her, but Grovers betrayal leaves him friendless and hopeless. Exactly the vibe they needed to achieve (and hopefully, the audience realizes Grover had no ill intent, he was just doing what he had to to protect Percy)
And secondly, I have a hypothesis about the Clarisse fight by the water. We don't see any indication that Walker/Percy steps into the water, but I think it's fair to say his sword fighting improves massively as the fight leaves the hilltop and approaches the water. In some interview, we learn that that water was FREEZING, and the scene where Annabeth pushes Percy into the water was a very cold day for Walker. My theory is that they didn't have him step into the water for that reason, opting instead to have Annabeth put the pieces together from more subtle hints (which makes her seem ever smarter than the books, imo)
Another person mentioned that she was there during the bathroom scene, so if anything, her pushing him into the water was testing a theory to see if he was who she thought he was.
Grover betraying Percy makes sense, in the same way Chiron (as Mr Brunner) is implied to have encouraged the school to kick Percy out so that he would come to camp.
As long as it either continues to not suck or begins to suck so hard that it becomes hilarious, I will comply tinge watching everything I can on this show. Please keep it coming!
I had the same concerns with the Gabe and Sally dynamic! Gabe in this version currently isn't nice, but he is not the absolute grabage of a human he is in the book - which is an essential element of the plot imo 😅.
Also, I get condensing and stating things for the sake of the plot, but to me it felt like there was too much telling of the story in the beginning. Maybe it's just because I already know the story, but it felt like so much that we gathered over time as readers was dumped on us in the first few minuets.
Also in the book the water was supposed to reach out and grab the bully at the start. That was really the first hint at Percy's heritage, but in this adaptation it looks more like he shoved her with the force or something 😅.
I quite like Walker and the cast, but I share the same mild concern for future potential character shifts 😅. I reserve judgement for now.
All in all, I am quite happy with this adaptation so far, and I hope it continues to impress! 😁