Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E8

Spoilers

“The Prophecy Comes True”

I was unaware that this would be the season one finale of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I had it in my head that the show would be 10 episodes. I don’t know why, but I did not anticipate that tonight was the final episode on Disney +.

Of course, it made everything happening during the last seven episodes make more sense. I did think that some of the episodes were rushing through their stories, but with this being the finale, I understood that more.

I also did not anticipate the late , great Lance Reddick showing up as Zeus in one of his final TV appearances before his way-too-soon death last year.

Percy stepped up big time in this episode. When he had his showdown with Adam Copeland’s Ares, I thought that was cool, but as he marched himself off to Mt. Olympus to go face to face with Zeus, well, that took some guts. 

I really think Walker Scobell showed some serious progression of his skills over this season. You could see the confidence in the young actor as the character became more his with each episode. To the point where he was absolutely a leader and a hero by the finale.

Season one was a lot of fun and I was surprised how much I looked forward to a new episode every Tuesday night. I did not miss a Tuesday night and I sure do hope that this will receive another season promptly. 

Oh, and the tag at the end of the episode….gold!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E7

Spoilers

“We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of”

I have really enjoyed this new series of the Percy Jackson shows on Disney +. Episode 7 has found Percy, Annabeth and Grover entering the Underworld, and in search of Hades in order to find the Master Bolt and save Percy’s mother.

It wasn’t going to be as easy as it sounded.

Who knew, but the Master Bolt was inside Percy’s bag. However, it was not Percy’s bag, but Ares’s. Ares had some kind of manipulative reason that he needed Percy to bring the bolt to the Underworld. We don’t know why yet, but I always love to see Adam Copeland.

We see some flashbacks to Percy as a child with his mother trying to get him into schools. The schools kept turning her down because of the way Percy was. (I have to say… every time I have tried to type the word Percy, in my head, I think Harry. I wonder why…)

When Percy and Grover came face to face with Hades, they discovered Ares’s lies. Of course, Hades isn’t going to help them without something on the line. 

We get a cool sequence with Cerberus too. The three headed dog that guards the Underworld chased our heroes around. The CGI looked really good for a TV show.

Percy and Ares faced off at the very end of the episode, setting up a huge showdown next week.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been excellent all season long. It does feel as if the show is a touch rushed, but it is a lot of fun.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E6

Spoilers

“We Take a Zebra to Vegas”

This week’s Percy Jackson episode felt a touch more comedic than we have had over the first five. That was an interesting tone as Percy, Annabeth and Grover attempted to find Hermes, played by the one and only Lin-Manuel Miranda. They had to go into a casino in Las Vegas called the Lotus, which leads to them to start forgetting details.

Based on the Odyssey, the Lotus was pumping forgetfulness into the air. While inside the casino, Grover forgot just about everything and went on a virtual quest to find Pan.

Meanwhile, Percy and Annabeth found Hermes, but discovered that time was passing slower inside the casino than it was outside, meaning that they missed the window to get into the Underworld. 

While this was still a solid episode, it did not feel as great as the last couple of weeks. However, it seems as if our trio is ready to head into the Underworld and complete their quest for the Master bolt. 

Not sure where the zebra comes into it though. Maybe I missed it.

Oh, and Percy is having dreams, including Hades in them. I was happy that he told Annabeth about it instead of just keeping them to himself. He’s a Greek demigod, dreams are part of the gig.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E5

Spoilers

“A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers”

As a fan of the WWE, I was looking forward to seeing Adam Copeland, a former WWE wrestler under the name of Edge, appear on tonight’s Percy Jackson episode on Disney +. Copeland was playing God of War Ares on the show. He did a great job providing Ares with some quirky traits.

However, Percy and Annabeth went on a side adventure to recover Ares’s shield as the God of War kept Grover as insurance. 

Grover showed he was smarter than Ares as he was able to suss out (at least, according to the cliffhanger) who it was that stole the master bolt. I guess that Grover will let us in on the secret next week.

Percy and Annabeth are really bonding, much more than either of them expected. 

They found themselves in an amusement park created by Hephaestus. There was a trap that Percy had to trigger in order to get the shield, but Annabeth would not give up on him and talked Hephaestus into freeing Percy.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been a consistently good show every week, with a cast of charming and engaging young actors and some fun appearances by Olympians. It looked like the previews for next week has Lin-Manuel Miranda showing up as Hermes.

The quest continues in Vegas!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E3

Spoilers

“We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium”

I have always loved mythology, especially Green mythology so the new Percy Jackson series on Disney + has been right up my alley. We got one of my favorite Greek mythology monsters this week… Medusa.

It is a solid episode too as there are some growing pains with the friendship between Percy, Annabelle and Grover. The three of them do not trust each other and they are struggling to get along. 

The Oracle told Percy that someone he called a friend would betray him and would cause his quest to fail. Percy did not know what that was to mean, but he selected Grover and Annabelle because of that. He said he did not think that Annabelle would ever be his friend, which was brutal. 

Walker Scobell is a star in the making. He makes such a charismatic Percy Jackson. He is smooth and feels so real that you can’t help but like him. He has that Ryan Reynolds-like wit about him to as some of his under his breath remarks are very funny.

The trio came out with the truths that they had been keeping from each other and you can see how they changed from the beginning of the episode. 

Plus, we get a slight glimpse at Mt. Olympus… sort of. And it looks really clever.

Percy Jackson has been solid so far and with luck it will keep it up.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E1 & E2

Spoilers

“I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher”

“I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom”

The new Percy Jackson series dropped its first two episodes on Disney + today and I watched them tonight.

What did I think?

It was okay.

Lots of exposition at the start. The introduction of the characters have been decent. The key to the series will be the casting of Percy especially. Walker Scobell, the young star of the Ryan Reynolds film The Adam Project, is playing Percy Jackson. How did he do? Okay, I guess. He seems to be trying hard. He definitely has potential and some charisma. I have liked what he has done before so I have hope.

We just met Annabeth in episode 2, played by Leah Jeffries. Percy, Annabeth and Grover, played here by Aryan Simhadri, and their chemistry is absolutely the key to this series. 

I have to say that the first two episodes were decent enough that I am ready to continue to watch this weekly. It did not blow me away, but I do think there is a lot of potential for this series.

It did look pretty decent. The shot of the Minotaur in episode one was awesome. 

I have not read the Percy Jackson books and I only know this franchise because of the movies, which I know were not great (the first was …okay). I am curious to see where this goes. I have heard that this series is closer to the books by Rick Riordan so we’ll see.