Percy Jackson ~ Lost in Adaptation Episode 6
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- Опубліковано 21 січ 2024
- You know the score by now: How closely did Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+ stick to The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.
Special thanks to my friend Lucas for his insights.
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My biggest disappointment is that in the books Ananeth gets sucked into playing a video game about designing her perfect world and plays into both her being super into architecture and her fatal flaw of thinking she knows what's best for everyone. I think it was a crucial part of character development and brought up the idea of fatal flaws which also was super important in Greek myths. So I'm sad to see that part cut
I thought the fatal flaw didn't come in until she heard the sirens in SoM? IIRC she just played the game because she loved architecture and the hotel was trying to suck her in (like with Grover and his reverse deer hunting game)
@Hordaki Yeah, fatal flaws weren't a thing in book 1 at all, Sea of Monsters and the Sirens introduced that concept.
It's kind of unofficially a fatal flaw though?
That's a thought, a lot of people have noticed that SoM retreads a lot of ground from the first book. If there's a second season a lot of things dropped here could be included then in a way that doesn't feel repetitive.
Except that makes her super dumb
Still tho, with all the other things they’re introducing early, Annabeth having a habit of “knowing what’s best” might’ve been snuck in here. Just like Grover having the conversational skills to let a god/cyclops lower his guard & be convinced of something that might be against his interest.
By having Hermes in the casino and talking to them for so long makes it that he was actively sabotaging their quest, instead of just bad luck
Remember it was Ares who told the kids to find Hermes at the Lotus Hotel to begin with.
@@Catalyst375 So they both sabotaged it then
Sure but he seems genuine in what he says, so I don't hate him all that much for it.
@@CheesyLizzy I kinda assume so. Hermes stated in the last Olympian that he knew what Luke's fate was and that trying not to change it was his hardest decision. This could be his attempt at trying to save Luke (since Percy succeeding the quest made Luke leave the camp) and once he sees that his attempt failed or made it worse, he probably will stop trying
I kinda get the idea that Hermes is trying to ride the storm out because he KNOWS who stole the bolt, and Ares purposely led them to Hermes know that Hermes will be uncooperative because of that.
Funny how both adaptations have the kids deliberately go into the casino to find something as opposed to getting sidetracked. The whole point is that the casino is a waste of time they gain nothing and lose almost everything.
The other version have Teenagers not kids.
^last time I checked teens are still considered children
@@islasullivan3463 Teenagers are not children anymore lol.? Bro Teenagers are like those older lads in High School not those kids in elementary.
@@robertbench5187 Strictly, teenagers would encompass anyone 13-19. That would include middleschoolers, highschoolers, and some young adults. Either way, it is extremely common even for older teenagers to be referred to as kids. 18 and 19 year olds are generally not expected to be fully independent, even if they are legally adults.
@@Salsmachev What? Lol your joking right. When a person turned 18 that person was already an adult and must not rely to his or her parents. Infact when you turned 18 you should've already moved out of your mom's basement and become an indipendent person or else your a pathetic loser who can't take care of yourselves.
I actually think having the gods constantly be like “oh no, I really love my kid! I promise!” kinda adds to them being deadbeat parents. because they’re doing the deadbeat parent thing where they go “oh i can’t be a bad parent because i took you to that football practice or showed up for your recital that one time.” or when you call them out they go “oh i guess i’m just an awful mom/dad aren’t i?!”
the gods claim to love their kids but then only pay attention to them when they need something and ignore them the rest of the time. I don’t think the gods laying it on thick to the kids how much they love them takes away from this concept, I think it actually adds to their hypocrisy. The gods are terrible parents who think they’re good parents and make excuses as to why they can’t be better.
No joke, this is basically how Trials of Apollo goes, especially the last book near the end.
It showcases the everlasting effects that the actions of the gods have on other people, even other gods, regardless of whether they intend to or not. Deadbeat is the perfect word to describe them.
No exactly, it’s all well and good for them to tell these three they care about their kids, but they’re still not SHOWING IT. It reads much more accurate to how deadbeat parents actually behave - if they’re put in a situation where they have to acknowledge they have kids they’ll put on a fantastic act, but heaven forbid they actually show up when their kids need them.
Ares makes it clear that his kids are his least favorite part of the job. He’s the kind of parent who spends the recital watching the football game on his phone.
I think the writers don’t mind putting the audience in a position to understand Luke’s decisions. To make the audience skeptical of all the gods, even Lin Manuel Miranda as Hermes, or Percy’s dad, seems to be kinda the point. Whether the writers clear things up by showing the gods caring in the future, we’ll have to wait and see.
Of course, all book readers even have different interpretations of the gods. My personal interpretation is that most of the gods who care, they stay away because they want to protect their children. Their children become ripe for attack by other gods/titans/monsters because of their presence. However, they should still be visiting their children once they are at Camp Halfblood, which is what Percy changes about the gods’ decisions.
Other reasons the gods might not visit their children:
We have to remember that Poseidon is also married and his wife gets jealous. These bastard children are in danger from other sides of the family.
On that note, it is quite interesting that the show had the Nereid make it clear that she was his sister, “our father,” and that she is so kind to him instead of jealous. This puts Ares’ statement that Poseidon loses interest in his children in conflict with what Percy has actually experienced. So clever!
Would be a good point, if that were the intent. Though then they would have to shine more attention on the blatant neglect the kids endure and call out the hypocrisy more deliberately. Somehow I don't think this version of pjo will go that way.
My biggest complaint about this episode is that it completely ignores one of the earliest moments that Annabeth likes Percy! When she tells him that if the Gods were going to war with each other, she would fight by his side, even if it meant going against her mother because in her words “Because you’re my friend, Seaweed Brain. Anymore stupid questions?”
I think she's gonna tell him next episode, after he tells them that the deadline has passed and Gods are preparing for the war. I think he'll ask what she thinks Athena is gonna do and then Annabeth will thel him that they're friends and she will be on his side.
after athena granted entrance to Echidna to one of her temples to kill her daughter for "embarrassing" her and everything that has happened between Percy and Annabeth since, I thought it was pretty clear she will stay by his side. I know the show has suffered from a lot of exposition but I don't think this particular detail needs to be spelled out. Then again, we could be having that scene in the next 2 eps. who knows
Didn’t they do something very similar last episode where Annabeth responds “You think you have to ask” when Percy asks if after the quest is over she could come back and try to free him.
Then immediately gets to work on trying to save him even telling Hephaestus that if he’s not going to help them then to get out so she can focus.
i love that moment but last episode we got a full speech from annabeth about why percy is a hero and unlike anyone she's ever met before, not to mention the fact that she instantly stepped over the shield to try and free him when the literal reason he picked her was that she wouldn't hesitate to choose the quest over him...
book percabeth are great but if we're comparing just the first book to s1 of the show... ngl show percabeth are kinda outdoing them
@@chelisey13I think spelling out emotional ties is far more important than the unnecessary expositions we've gotten in the show.
The kids immediately know that eating anything will get them trapped as soon as they walk in. Sure, lets assume they knew the myths.
However, since it is being pumped into the air and not in the food they still lose track of time. Which is a nice twist as they still get trapped despite their precautions.
But how do they realize several days has passed? Does Percy slowly figure it out by talking to a kid from a different decade? Nope. Hermes just tells them. Percy never gets to use his wit, everything is just laid for him. What is the point of telling a story in a visual medium if the characters are just told everything? Having them know that the hotel is a trap both kills the tension and creates a "show don't tell" issue.
To be fair it is kind of a plot hole in the books that they didn't think the Lotus Hotel would have any relation to the Odyssy. Also it's not THAT witty to think a teenager speaking in slang from before he was born is weird. I think it's the same level of witty to see someone tap their watch and realize "hang on, have we really dodged the casinos powers?"
@@MrDrewwills Yea I'm not saying Percy realizing is an insane feat of intelligence. But it is still better than being outright told. They don't even let him have that small personal win using his own intelligence.
@@-Sai What i'm saying is that scene to me doesn't read as Percy being smart, but as a dramatic rug pull for those who don't know the myth and a pay off for those who do. Basically I don't think much was lost by cutting it and there are a lot of other scenes that show Percys smarts.
@@MrDrewwillsbut why would they immediately think about the lotes eater when they just went into some random hotel? In the books, it made sense that both percy and annabeth even grover doesn’t immediately know about the lotus eater because it was such little part in the odyssey itself (hell percy and annabeth are still tricked by circe in the second book and circe is one of if not the most famous immortal in the odyssey)
@@merlinrecon7528 Because it's called the lotus hotel. They'd at least be weary, and considering how many other myths they'd stumbled into i'd 100% believe i'd walked into that lotus retreat.
Also yeah they were tricked by circe, and that could also be called a plot hole.
I'm glad you mentioned the lack of tension, cause that's been my main issue with the way this show is directed. It lacks urgency. The kids are constantly talking and walking very slowly, clearly not knowing what to do cause the directors give them no interesting blocking.
Are they supposed to run across the country, that sounds tiring. Given their only direction is "west towards the god that turned" I doubt you would know what to do with it
@@isdrakon9802 The story is on a timer cause a war is imminent. The small quests encountered also have their own urgency. It doesn't mean they have to be running around. There is stress in being lost, frustrated, tired. That tension should be reflected in the camera work, the music, certain line deliveries. It all seems very off. Even the action scenes are weirdly staged and cut, when they're supposed to be epic moments.
@@isdrakon9802that's what makes the whole quest URGENT!!!! They should be running. The action should be more intense and more fast paced and every distraction should count for more.
8:47 Book Percy(and, presumably, Book Poseidon) didn't know that Sally wasn't actually dead. Because Show Percy(and presumably Show Poseidon) do know this, it would be an especially jerk move to not give Percy enough pearls for all of them, where in the books, it had more of an appearance of Poseidon not wanting to actively facilitate stealing a soul from Hades that he had a rightful claim to.
This definitely felt like Riordan overcompensating for the PJ movie’s interpretation of Lotus Hotel events. There’s one to many Lotus flower references and he recently took a jab at the Poker Face on Threads lol
Shame as well, its one of the exceedingly few scenes the movie did a good job at (minus Poseidon just flat out telling Percy what to do lmao).
I'd also argue going from horrible threat to terrible inconvenience like in the book is right in line with the kind of miserable bad luck you see heroes in mythological quests suffer lol
You're underselling that "jab" at Poker Face. He specifically said "pretend the 'bad movie' does not exist."
See, I'm just not sure how much involved he was woth this episode because he wasn't credited for it (I think, I just know he didn't write it)
Right! And regardless, he didn't even have to recreate the scene in the movie. They could've done something completely different that was still just as fun and crazy. I saw someone say they should've had a giant musical number in the casino which slowly bewitched the trio and made them stay at the hotel. That would've been PERFECT (especially since they already cast LMM). Instead, they just walked and talked the whole time.
As someone who didn't read the books, I felt that this episode was completly empty. Nothing happened, and not in the "the casino wasted their time" sense, in the "this episode wasted my time" sense. They enter. They have a discussion with Hermes. Grover is having a mini-adventure. They come out. At no point did I feel the slightest concern or interest for the protagonists :(
Good to hear that perspective. I felt the the same but read the books and wasn’t sure if I was being too critical in that specific sense.
I had completely the opposite experience. I also didn’t read the books but I thought, while not a lot happened, there were some really important character developments for Percy and his friends, as individuals and as a team. Plus, I loved Lin’s acting as Hermes because he really sold the role of a dad who is tormented by not being able to be with his son, and I loved how he interacted with the kids as well, not talking down to them or belittling them but treating them almost like equals, in terms of being straight with them (for the most part). Anyways, I thought it was still pretty fun, if a lot more “chill” than the rest of the show
Slight correction, Nico and Bianca didn't loose their memories because of the Hotel
Hades ordered Alecto to dip them in the river Lethe after their mum was executed by Zeus(see book five)
The hotel does have some memory altering properties, but only in so far as it dulls the drive to leave, and only limited to the interior of the hotel
There are some other memory loss properties. In the book percy can’t remember parts of the dream he had in the zoo truck when he’s telling Grover and Annabeth about it on their way to Santa Monica
@@emmawagner8915 that's not necessarily because of the hotel
That might as well just be a 12 yo adhs boy not remembering something after a day of awesome video games and stuff
Having been a 12 yo adhs boy, that's not out of the ordinary
@@Soguwe percy says “I told Annabeth and Grover about my latest dream, but the details got sketchier the more I tried to remember them. The Lotus Casino seemed to have short-circuited my memory.” So it’s definitely the hotel
@@emmawagner8915 again, not necessarily
Not-so-fun fact about adhs: _everything_ short circuits our brain and memories
Especially when it's fun
I played 5 minutes of baba is you yesterday and forgot everything about the 2 hour lecture before
@@Soguwe I mean I have ADHD, too, and yeah sometimes I forget small things, but if I’m trying to actively remember information it’s still there. It’s more out of sight, out of mind but if someone asks me about something I saw I can still tell them. I think he would know the difference. Plus this dream was a big deal to percy because it probably scared him and also revealed a lot of info that he would want to share later.
So the di Angelos forgetting their mother? Of course that’s from the Lethe. That was when they were young and could basically start over. But forgetting random details of their past, like the actual city they lived in? Lotus.
Not to mention it’s explicitly in the book. Percy tells us the hotel did this to his memory.
Regarding the love that Divine Parents show their demigod children you have to keep in mind that Percy and Luke are Poseidon's and Hermes' favorite children at the time.
It's true that the gods are usually pretty hands off with their offspring but these two are special cases because Poseidon broke a vow to the River Styx by being with Percy's mother and getting her pregnant, so he must have cared for her a great deal, and Hermes was legit traumatised by Luke's mother's personality getting shattered because she tried to host the Oracle
i also fundamentally disagree with the satement that the gods love their kids because one episode prior ares said that he hates his kids and the episode before that athena went out if her way to let a monster into her temple to put annabeth in danger. like just in the context of the series we know that the olympians don‘t give a shit about their kids, this episode is hermes justifying why being an absent father is good. even poseidon hasn‘t actually shown up for percy yet, he always ended up encountering a servant.
Personally I don't mind that Hermes would hang out in a casino, since he is not only the god of travellers but also that of thieves and con men.
Another recurring pattern that I noticed about this show is how it sort of repositioned the setting of the story from the early 2000s in the books to 2023/24 current date, no doubt as a way to appeal to today's youth.
Also it's easier because you don't have to look for early 00s clothes. And won't have annoying nerds point out an extra is using a modern smartphone or has some other 2023 detail that wasn't caught during filming
I'd think it's that latter change is more to do with book's premise, "greek myths in the modern world". If it weren't updated to reflect 2023/24, it wouldn't be modern anymore. Additionally, as the books have gone on and become less year-by-year with their timeline, they've still reflected modern culture and events. The Lightning Thief is just "set in the early 2000's" because it happens to reference relevant, trendy things from its writing period, some of which is now very outdated.
Also definitely like that theory on Hermes hanging out at a casino, I've not seen the thieves/con men one before. I've only seen the theory that it is related to the fact that pretty much everyone who's in the Lotus Hotel & Casino are travellers originally from outside Las Vegas.
@@nicolaashamman6201 this exactly! the books have never stuck to any type of real world analog timeline and that was kinda the whole point? to make it feel like it could happen at any time. the lightning thief is set in the 2000’s cuz that’s when it was written and all the other series take place within a couple years of the last olympian, yet the modern references have persisted, despite the fact that it would only technically be 2011 as the characters would’ve experienced it.
@@nicolaashamman6201The books were always set “around now” without being specific. Due to the books taking longer to write then the characters are feeling, there are technically anachronisms if you look deeply, but the series has never fixed itself to any time deliberately to avoid those issues.
Hermes is also the god of luck. People always pray for luck in a casino.
He’s also the god of animal husbandry, but we’re not seeing that just yet.
Something Dom hasn't mentioned yet but has been bugging me, and will absolutely come up next episode: They've completely changed Percy's backstory with regards to school, and back in episode 3 his feelings about immediately being sent out on a quest. Book Percy was constantly moving schools and being expelled. See the musical, where one of the reccouring lyrics is literally "six schools in six years" to show Percy's feeling of inadequacy and lack of 'place'. It would be a stretch to say show Percy went to more than two schools, it's theoretically possible but the reason he got kicked out was "hallucinations" and not "set off a civil war cannon on his class". It's just a bit weird.
I also have a similar feeling of increasing dissolution, especially where it feels like the characters aren't allowed to be kids and the tone is not allowed to be light, ever, bar for a few occasional jokes. It also impacts the characters. Annabeth feels flat, because she's never allowed to do things that make her fun! Last ep she didn't get to just go to the arch bc she's a nerd, this ep she didn't get her architecture simulator. See also, the no screaming rule and Percy's hypercompetance. I genuinely don't mind that they made some plot changes I just wish I was having fun and that plot holes weren't being introduced.
I didn't remember exactly how the hotel's influence worked in the book, so I read it again, and it actually does say that the air conditioning smelled like lotus flowers
No, it doesn't. I just went back and checked, and nothing about air conditioning or lotus smell is mentioned, not in the first book at least
Interesting. Could it have been a translation issue?
I have a physical copy of the brazilian portuguese version, and it definitely does say it. Maybe it isn't there in English? Or is the wording different enough?
@@sindrevangenrobberstad2889I found an online english version and yes, it is there:
"We must have taken a wrong turn, because we found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers-lotus blossom, maybe. I’d never smelled one, so I wasn’t sure."
@@pedrobrito4461 I went and checked again, and you're right. When I wrote that first comment, I initially just read from when they had entered the casino. I read the book recently, too, so I was cocky with my recollection. Sorry for being very confidently incorrect there 😅
The best adaptation so far has been the musical. It follows the story pretty well, while making changes that make sense for the format. It also gives the characters some sense of intelligence (they notice the Lotus Casino trap immediately and just don’t stay at all) while also letting them act like 12 year olds. It also lifts lines directly from the books throughout the entire thing.
The musical is the gold standard. Everyone can fight over if the show is a good adaptation or not but it’s no where near as good as the musical.
In a handful of songs and limited dialogue it captures 1) the characters individual flaws and strengths 2) the wacky and still tragic tone and 3) the themes of finding yourself and what is asked of you, accepting imperfections especially in adults but also your friends.
And it is catchy af- pls go listen to all of it. You will understand
There's a musical?!
Love for the Percy Jackson musical? Hell yeah!
Yep. It came out in 2017. It’s a lot of fun. I believe there are some slime tutorials for it on UA-cam. And the entire sound track is on UA-cam officially.
Not to mention Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are the absolute perfect casting
What I've been most suprised by is how they haven't mentioned (or included) Percy's ability to speak to horses. They had the chance when we met Blackjack in the campa nd we certainly had the chance in this episode in the truck.
Memory loss is not a side effect of the Lotus Hotel. Nico and Bianca were dipped in the River Lethe on Hades’ command before being sent to the Hotel. Nico discovers that when he tries to talk to his Mother’s ghost.
I do wonder if they sneaked in a cameo for them in there. If they do get to the Titans Curse it would he fun to see if they were at the Casino as background extras
Apparently in the background of one of the scenes, you can hear a little boy yelling “Bianca” twice (I did hunt this down, it’s during a scene with Grover and a satyr in front of a video game. It’s like a blink and you’ll miss it.
@@kassandragoldstein4661Huh awesome to see they managed to get Nico in there, even in a small subtle way.
That kid has got shit coming his direction, poor bastard
Someone on Reddit had the brilliant idea to just have the name on a high score board on one of the arcade machines so you can acknowledge them without casting so far in advance.
I know Rick recently more or less confirmed that Bianca and Nico were at the hotel at that time, but I always thought they were moved from the hotel to the boarding school as soon as Hades realized that Zeus had broken the pact on not having any more demigod children...
you can hear a child yelling the name Bianca at 12:30
Hermes' behaviour actually isn't that different from the books. The only (significant) difference is that in the books we only meet Hermes *after* the twist, so he's already been confronted with the (ultimate) consequences of his actions and has "more reason" to have regrets. Sooo, it makes me wonder if show Hermes already knows what's going on with Luke? (edit: just was reminded that technically he, in fact, does know, which I kinda forgot)
And memory loss on a scale of Nico and Bianca isn't a side effect of the hotel, it's a side effect of bathing in the river Lethe ;)
Hermes was fully aware, likely from the time Luke was a baby. Him and Luke were definitely having issues before the twist was revealed, that's a major motivation for why Luke did what he did to begin with. The first (and last) time Luke met Hermes was after he ran away cause he came back home to help Annabeth and Thalia, before any of them made it to camp. Hermes just happened to be there. They got in an argument, and his mom isn't much help cause she went mad trying to become the Oracle. There was likely some kind of prophecy that Hermes was aware of, but the audience is never really let in on what that prophecy may or may not consist of. Its implied that it's fragmented because the only person who truly knows is Luke's mom, and shes not really in a place to communicate coherently. Even if she could, many of the things Hermes did were in an effort to prevent and change Luke's "terrible fate", however it's implied that his direct interference only cemented Luke's betrayal and subsequent sacrifice. This all happened well before Percy knew any of them, or knew their story, so it still makes sense for it to be a part of Hermes' character in the show even if the audience and Percy aren't fully aware of all the reasons why he responds that way.
@@vyrarose4773 Yes, I was just reminded that Hermes is likely well aware of all that when I saw another comment. I completely forgot about it. Hermes' demeanour already makes sense for readers of the books, because we know what's going on, so I specifically linked that to post-twist (since that's also the first time Hermes makes an appearance in the books) and forgot that for Hermes it *already IS* post-twist. I hope this makes sense ^^
Also, that's a self-fulfilling prophecy if I've ever seen one.
“Im a throwback to when every youtube channel had its own lore and characters”
And you were the best terrance. Dominic lore was always in the sweetspot of not overwhelming the videos but still funny
8:15 The book does have Percy briefly bring up Clarisse as a suspect during his final confrontation with Ares, but it doesn't really go anywhere there either
When I first read the books, I distinctly remember thinking Clarisse was the thief. I was ssooo happy they were making that very clear in the tv show.
It still matters though because its why hes so blindsided by Luke, he still thinks Clarisse or another of Are's kids was the thief
I was a part of the crew that oversaw the construction of that Casino set. It took millions of dollars, and took nearly 3 months of construction to get it ready, and they only filmed there for 1 week. Everything from the lights to the carpets were all new, and took place in a building built nearly 25 years ago to be a retail center, but was never used for it, sitting unoccupied for nearly quarter century. I spent MANY nights and days there, seeing things being brought in and built and it was rather amusing to realize it was only going to be used for a week, yet took three months of construction to nuild.
I’m watching this show with my parents who have not read the books and only vaguely remember the movies. The last couple episodes they kept asking me “whats going on?” And “who’s that?” And I have to respond I don’t know what’s going on either it’s so different.
I already went into the series knowing that Rick Riordan would change up stuff he didn't like / wanted to change and was ok with that. I do appreciate the Lost in Adaptation video's just to see if there's anything I missed myself.
Why are they so competent? They’re 12 year olds who have never been on a quest before. The show isn’t letting them make mistakes, and how do they always figure out what they’re going to face before they face it. It’s almost like the characters read the book before leaving CHB.
It’s the downside of modern storytelling, the goodies are perfect and the baddies are sympathetic
Cuz geek mythology is an elementary school subject and 2 literally live in a world revolving around it and the main character was actively taught it. The fact that any had an issue with this stuff in the book makes far less sense.
Grover and Annabeth literally trained their entire lives. It makes sense.
I don't even mind the kids immediately know that eating anything will get them trapped as soon as they walk in from the myths. As since it is being pumped into the air and not in the food they still lose track of time. Which is a nice twist as they still get trapped despite their precautions.
But the problem lies in how the trio realizes several days has passed. Does Percy slowly figure it out by talking to a kid from a different decade? Nope. Hermes just tells them. Percy never gets to use his wit, everything is just laid for him. What is the point of telling a story in a visual medium if the characters are just told everything? Having them know that the hotel is a trap both kills the tension and creates a "show don't tell" issue.
They also seem to be relying on the gods a lot more too? Like asking for Athena’s help at the arch (although they cut Percy’s prayer to his dad) and asking Hermes directly for a ride to California. It seems out of keeping with the book for these characters, who know that the gods rarely get directly involved and are very easily offended, to trust that the gods will help them automatically. Idk, it just seems like they’re not trying to solve their own problems as much, which was a big part of the book.
The description of Percy NewGame Plus (Disney Plus?) fits very well. It’s alittle out of sequence, and they keep completing things early compared to certain scenes, but the story is flowing in the same general direction.
Rather apt since Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is the first game in that franchise to have branching storylines. How you navigate choices will affect up to the end of the main story, and will determine how some bosses are fought, and even if some bosses are fought.
One of my favorite things about the books was how disinterested all the gods came across except for the usually drunk, insane dude.
Dionysus being allowed to be around his kids made him care about them and that made it so much more interesting to me.
I had decided I wouldn't watch this series, but seeing the picture of this video, I knew I had to :) I knew this series would not follow the books, because they have already tweaked too many little things.
I wouldn't be surprised if they changed how various people react to the actual traitor in camp
It shows that much when Dionysus has no interest in Dakota's death in The Tyrant's Tomb. Even if he was the son of Bacchus.
9:22 I am pretty sure Rick Riordan said he was less concerned about being 100% accurate to the almost 20 year old book, but more to the spirit of them.
I read that too. Which I do understand. I can see why an author would take this opportunity to build upon a 20 year old project. Makes sense! Whatever changes have been made I can accept.
My issue is the pacing feels weird. It was a similar issue in the first book though. Every "threat" or "obstacle" is essentially defeated before it feels like there's any real danger. The Minotaur was done pretty well, but everything since has felt anti-climactic.
The moments that just consist of dialogue have been really well done because the actors have really good chemistry and skills, but those are also the moments where they aren't "moving," thus making the pacing feel off again.
If they can correct this in Season 2, I think the series could last a long time!
This was the episode I've kinda given up on. I get updating Medusa, but I dont understand the bigger changes. The choice with the three pearls felt like a HUGE character moment. An important one. Everything else I could live with, I'd grumble but live. Now I don't even know what story they are trying to tell.
Percy was supposed to realize he could talk to horse this episode like he did in book
I got no idea where there going with this ending. These changes are getting WILD!
they are but i love that i don‘t know everything about it yet. i really enjoyed the show so far, with its changes to the book and all so i trust the writers that they know what they‘re doing.
I think the whole thing with Hermes and Poseidon was supposed to be the exception to the rule. I think they wanted to use this to create another parallel to Percy and Luke. None of the other gods seem to care
For me a lot of changes (specifically, order of events and who experiences them) comes down to a difference in pacing between books and TV and a difference in POV. In the books, the only way for the audience to experience something is for Percy to experience it; in the show, anyone (or at least any of the main three) can experience it and the audience can experience it first hand.
I actually really like the idea of bringing up the flowers but they are a red herring.
I think it is 100% fitting in with myths, and stories ro have clever people be prepares for one thing and still *miss* something that they could have figured out but wince they "knew what to expect" they fell for it anyways. Them being kids who have mostly been successful on their quests would imo lead to them feeling clever and confident on "figuring out the trap."
I do feel like the book takes the win. The show has been entertaining and much better than the movies, I do hope we get all 5 books adapted into 5 seasons, but the book just allows you to really build up the lore and plot.
Obviously a book has more time to tell the story but I do feel like that gives it the win. Again still really enjoying the show.
Actually Percy and Annabeth maintaining their memories by sticking together is a rather ingenious move on the writers part because it’s going to make a LOT of sense in retrospect once Bianca and Nico come into the picture
Apparently there’s an Easter egg about them, I’ve read you can heard a kid calling out “Bianca” but it’s very easy to miss even you are looking for it.
didn‘t they take a dip in the lethe before hades put them into the lotus casino? maybe magic flower dust can be defeated by the power of friendship but the river of forgetting everything likely has different rules.
Honestly, I see this series as a way to "sell the books" to new fans/readers. It gives them this entirely new world, which should convince them to pick up the books and find out more by themselves. Not unlike the live-action One Piece series was mostly made to increase interest on the anime.
I'm kinda miffed they breezed past the Lotus Hotel since that's my favorite part of the book, maybe because I'm obsessed with the whole casino aesthetic.
Also, the gods seem way too nice in this version; like you said, them being jerks is kinda the point of the Olympians series. It makes them abandoning their kids at Camp Half-Blood seem oddly out of character now.
The bitterness expressed at camp? Athena allowing her daughter to be attacked by monsters? Ares saying he can’t stand his own kids? He actually makes fun of them. We didn’t get ANY hint that the gods were ok until Percy “plunges to his death.” You see the flip side with Hermes: he tried to help and made everything much, much worse. Maybe you missed that?
@@professorbutters But that's the problem for me, and it's unfortunate it wasn't pointed out in the video. On both sides, it's taken to extremes in this show, which no longer leaves room for nuances. Posideon is good. He'll save Percy even when Percy is badmouthing him only hours earlier. Athena is bad. Athena will literally put Annabeth in the path of a monster that is very likely to kill her because she's a bit embarrassed that Annabeth's friend sent the head of Medusa to Olympus. In the books, all the gods were distant, expected a certain amount of respect (to varying degrees) from even their children, and they didn't seem to quite understand why some of their children resented them for not being there. Of course, there was still a spectrum. Hades is often depicted as loving his kids more than, say, Ares, in the books. Poseidon has more of an awkward relationship with Percy, while Athena has a more stern attitude towards Annabeth (at least in the first series). But the point was it was a murky situation, and different gods treated different children differently, depending on whether that kid was more or less useful to them, and depending on how much they were seen to be attached to their parent. It made the conflict more rich because it wasn't so black and white. This just feels so heavy-handed, imo.
@@professorbutters Yeah, like a couple of episodes ago everyone complained Athena was "out of character".
Really not a fan of this trend they're doing where they just flat out tell you what everything is. It doesn't let us (through the eyes of Percy, the fish out of water) experience any mystery or have any fun piecing together clues or just watching the characters figure out the fun mythology easter eggs we already know. It also just saps the tension completely. I also hate that they made them pump Lotus gas or whatever through the air vents, it completely removes the element of eating the food as an active choice you have to make or an allegory for resisting temptation (to be fair, maybe the movie did this more, I forget whether the book was that explicit).
The book doesn’t have lotus flowers that they eat (from what I remember), it’s just a really flashy and fun-looking place that magically distracts them from what they’re doing. The show is more accurate in the sense that the trio doesn’t literally eat lotus flowers, but the “pumping into the air” thing kind of takes the mysticism away, plus it seems like a leap to make that assumption
Yeah I've noticed it too, it's *very* fast paced and concepts/mysteries aren't really allowed to sit with the characters before one loredumps the answer and they move on. I think this is a side effect of a short series with quite short episodes, they have to cram in enough exposition to hit the plot beats but much faster than in the book. I hope this is better in subsequent seasons.
They told you everything in the book. Thats how you learn...
I had to read this part again, and the book does actually say that the air conditioning smelled like lotus flowers
I don't even mind the kids immediately know that eating anything will get them trapped as soon as they walk in from the myths. As since it is being pumped into the air and not in the food they still lose track of time. Which is a nice twist as they still get trapped despite their precautions.
But the problem lies in how the trio realizes several days has passed. Does Percy slowly figure it out by talking to a kid from a different decade? Nope. Hermes just tells them. Percy never gets to use his wit, everything is just laid for him. What is the point of telling a story in a visual medium if the characters are just told everything? Having them know that the hotel is a trap both kills the tension and creates a "show don't tell" issue.
The lotus hotel was my favorite part - the fact that as a kid i wouldve totally fallen for it too, which is a real bummer
Percy inspiring the gods to at least try to do better is a bit of an overarching theme in the books. Particularly in his last exchange with Hermes in the Last Olympian.
I think they're going to demonstrate this by giving Hermes an arc, by having his help in the Sea of Monsters be the start of him trying to help again.
This is why paying attention to fandom news is important. While the show was in production Rick made a point to state that the show wouldn't be a 1 to 1 adaptation, and he aimed for it to be the same story, just with the aid of over fifteen years of newly gained experience guiding it to create a new experience. Basically if the published book was draft 10, the show is draft 11.
Witch is funny considering the books did so much better in storytelling than the series. It's not bad but as Dom's said in a previous episode it relies too much in people already knowing the universe and characters. Luke's (lack of) development is a good exemple of it. In the books he was stabilished as basicaly the camp's champion, in the series he is just one more.
@@kuorin9190 every time someone says " relies too much in people already" i get so confused, because I don't have any knologe, but i'm enjoying the show. you are noticing the changes because you read, i don't notice anything wrong, because i didn't read. the show doesn't relies on the reading, it makes almost no difference. I don't feel lost, i don't feel like a lack information
@@kuorin9190 you sure about that, because I haven't met a single show only fan that has trouble following the series. And judging from most of the reaction videos, I'm guessing that's the norm for non book readers.
@@gisela_oliveira Ok let see if I can explain.
I thing the best exemple I can give is the character of Luke. How much you know of the story btw? I don't want to spoil anything.
But in a nutshell in the books the entire time Percy was in camp Luke's character was develop as the big bother figure not just to Percy but for most of the camp, he was the best swordsman, the most charismatic, the bravest, etc.
In the series while he did offer suport to Percy, ultimale he's just another one.
That all being said I'm also enjoying the series, but I sincerely recomend you to read the books after the 1st season cause you understand the amount of stuff they cut that, while small, both serve to creat a much richer world they also payed off later in the story. Sure they can be added later, but still wouldn't be the same. Read the books, you'll like them.
@@BookBat The problem is not that they can't follow the story of this season, the problem is that by cuting so much stuff from the books they made a world not only poorer but one that you just don't care as much. A better comparison can be made once the season end, still a good adaptation though.
As someone who's been a fan of the books since I was a kid, honestly I'm really liking the show. I think it balances giving a different version of the story with keeping the heart of the original. I actually don't mind the kids being more competent (seeing that the traps are traps) because it also kind of makes sense given the kids know about Greek mythology. I also enjoy the happening into random challenges/mythology things in the books but I feel like it would feel really disjointed and weird if you translated that directly to a show format
It worked for Medusa but not the casino. In the book, the kids are tired and dirty. They just want to relax for just a few hours and the casino is very inviting. Their plan was to just stay the night and head out in the morning
Also, since it's their first quest, I would expect them to be a bit innocent and unassuming instead of going "this is a trap" at almost every location
@@cooperminion825 yeah it’s like I don’t mind them seeing some things coming but seeing everything is a bit much. Plus they can be somewhere in the middle where they have a bad feeling but it’s not immediately apparently what the trap/monster actually is and they have to figure it out. IMO the only time they did this was with echidna, and even then she just walks at them slowly for a while before they actually fight the chimera
Watching this as my family is trying to pirate the newest episode of the Percy Jackson series
Yaarrrrrrr
The lotus casino was the monent in the book where i liked annabeth because when the kids get a penthouse suite and percy wants to have fun annabeth turns on the NatGeo network
4:45
Ooh! The memory loss thing wasn't actually the Lotus Hotel. Common mistake!
The Titan's Curse left it vague as to why Bianca and Nico had no memory of their mother, but the Last Olympian confirmed that Hades had their memories erased using the River Lethe.
3:43 That clip of BG3 makes me wonder whether or not D&D is played by the gods and half-bloods, or perhaps even influenced by them. I can imagine Athena being a dungeon master, Ares a Leeroy Jenkins barbarian and Zeus flipping the board whenever he rolls a 1.
I like both versions of the story, as they offer up intriguing ways of going about it and also serves as a fascinating way of looking at how the culture of writing and storytelling has evolved.
I'm surprised Dom didn't notice or comment on the lack of Nico and Bianca in the hotel or the fact that people have found an audio clip pumped so high to perhaps something in the background screaming "Bianca" perhaps. I do think those are some interesting choices.
If you pay attention you hear Nico calling out to Bianca.
I mean, they probably didn't do anything with them because they still got one more season before they get there, and they haven't been approved to continue.
I kinda like some of the changes. In a world were everything wants them dead it makes sense that demigods would be able to recgonize these things a mile away, so consequently the monsters had to get smarter to. "No will eat the flowers? Fine, turn it into an airborn weapon." It shows that monsters are always evolving to and thus demigods need to be smart rather then just swish swish stab to survive in this word.
There’s mention of the air smelling like lotus flowers in the book
I've been viewing the show as it's own thing from the start, I think it's what let me have so much fun with it.
Not seen this episode yet 😔 will hopefully get to watch it tonight then i'll watch your lia 😊 hope your doing well and i appreciate all the hard work that goes into all your videos ❤
I might be wrong (have yet to read the books) but I get the feeling part of Hermes role in his inclusion here is to prevent the audience from inferring that actually, the gods are all bad. At this point, Posiden has helped out but didn’t actually show up
So, having enjoyed the book, the show, and to a lesser extent the movies, (yes, I know, those movies were bad, but legit can't bring myself to hate them!) I will say while not quite loyal to the books the show has been really enjoyable overall and I've been trying not to let book loyalty paint my experience of it. This is something I needed to learn when re-remembering why I love the Scott Pilgrim movie and how it was that movie that got me into the books, not the other way around.
I think it is almost impossible to have a 100% true adaptation. It's just a different medium, with other possibilites and other pitfalls. But I agree that it was a missed opportunity to have them figure out the danger of the Lotus later instead of immediately after setting foot in it. It reeks of Disney's inability to give their protagonists any flaws and mistakes.
the setup for the lotus hotel was also fundamentally different in the show. ares sends them there specifiacally with a goal in mind and they definetly spend some time in that truck. not at least thinking ‚hey maybe this is linked to reknown graphic novel the oddessy and the lotus eaters‘ doesn‘t make sense. in the book they stumble upon it after their journey aprubtly ending in vegas and then the hotel draws them in too much to think about it. in the book the lotus hotel is a trap to waste your time, in the show it‘s a talk to npc side quest with the gimmick of wasting your time. i don‘t think that change makes it bad tho, there is a lot of exposition and setup in this episode with effects on the whole series. and they still get trapped in the sense that they think they have it all figured out but when they realize they don‘t, it still has the effect it had in the book but with a different way of getting there. overall, i don‘t think the changes hurt the adaptation, especially once you stop splitting hairs about what they change from the book and start apreciating how strong the show goes on its themes and all the other lovely things it does
I have a different point to add, dear Dominic: I think it's good, that the three see through a lot of traps. I understand that you were hoping for a very faithful adaptation, and in most cases I'd agree. But consider how LONG we've been waiting for this. Hell, the actors are allowed to spoiler IN INTERVIEWS. For a DISNEY production! If anything, it shows how aware the entire team is of how intimately knowledgable the fandom is of source material.
My hot take: it would have been boring of they'd done a 1-1 adaptation. Because we know what's going to happen. I think even Ticktock's found out about Luke. So these changes they've made -in a super skillfull manner as I find- were very necessary to keep us on our toes! Imagine if we were basically holding the script in our hands.
Love your channel, man. Cheers :)
I don’t think people are upset about changes. I know I would want changes in any adaptation because you can’t do everything the same way in different mediums. But unfortunately the changes made don’t hold up themes and character. Hermes talking to them for so long in the hotel knowing how it worked? That means he intentionally was stalling the quest. The trap in the last episode in the books was designed to publicly shame ares and Aphrodite because that was Hephaestus revenge…. But neither of them would ever sit in the chair because they are so vain. Plus the main three characters have slowly dissolved into all basically having the same personality.
I am great with changes. Changes are needed to tell this story again in a new format. Look at the musical. Tons of changes but it’s excellent. I just think this show hasn’t held onto the intention behind actions and characters very well.
@@cara3566I disagree, I think the changes actually do a good job of keeping to the themes of the original book, while actually adding more depth. I’ll use the same examples you did. Hermes’ actions actually make a lot of sense to me because he already knows that his sone is then actual lightning thief and he already knows how things are going to go. He stalls them because he knows that he needs to stall them for things to turn out the way they are supposed to.
I also actually really like the changes made to Hephaestus’ trap because it shows that he actually learned from the last time he tried to humiliate them and no one cared. The version of Hephaestus in the show knows that exposing their affair won’t do anything because everyone already knows and no one cares, instead he has set up a trap to show his wife that the person that she is cheating on him with doesn’t care about her and would be willing to try to force her to sit in the chair and get turned to gold just to get his shield back. The version of Hephaestus in the book comes across as someone who doesn’t learn from past mistakes and just tries the same thing over and over again, the Hephaestus in the show HAS learned and is trying an new approach with a trap that is much more personal, intimate, and mature than the one in the book. The trap isn’t about exposing their infidelity to everyone on Olympus, everyone already knows and nobody cares, instead the trap his designed to expose their true nature to each other, that Aires cares more about his shield than he does about Aphrodite, and that Aphrodite would never be willing to sacrifice herself just so Aires can get his shield back. I think Hephaestus might be hoping that by reveling their true nature to each other, that they will no longer want to keep sleeping with each other and his wife will stop cheating on him. I think this change highlights just how much RR has matured as a writer over the years since the first book was published.
I also disagree with you that the 3 main characters’ personalities are all blending into each other. They still very much feel like separate characters with their own distinct personalities to me.
This is not a hot take. The show is brilliant. In an eight episode format, each episode is nicely wrapped with a bow and all the major points in the book are being hit. The overarching theme is focused on understanding Luke, from the main trio’s perspective. I don’t miss anything from the books, honestly. What did we want to see Gladiola the poodle? We might get her in the last episode, so I’m not saying anything, yet, but seriously….analyzing this show’s writing is making me happy. The passing of the equinox (Kronos=time) is a brilliant way to show that it’s too late to save…Luke. Yet Percy’s determination is what is going to see us through to the heroic end.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how 2005's Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe didn't heavily rework the story with the foreknowledge of the other books. Outside of alluding that the Professor is aware of/has been to Narnia, they played the story mostly as is. No references to the other regions of Narnia.
Because the original author wasn't on the production team and didn't want to update and improve on his own work?
@@frosthammer917 Can we realy say that the series did any imporvement on the story what so ever? As much as I liked the series, and I did quit a lot, it make the very same mistakes the Harry Potter movies did in omiting some details of the story that payed off later, except this series is being made 10 years after the books cama out so it has no excuse. The only thing can be considered a genuine improvment is Equidna, everithing else is at best a decent, but not as good, interpretetion and at worse a straigh up downgrade.
@@kuorin9190 Sorry for confusion, I didn't mean to say that the series is better. Just that the author wants to "improve" on it, not that it is always an improvement to anyone else
I miss when every UA-camr had their own universe and cast of characters...
Honestly i adore both versions of the story. Like yes theres stuff i miss but this version of events still feels true to the universe of Percy Jackson
Always appreciate your hardwork and passion! You're the Best 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤
I read these when I was in elementary school and middle school, and honestly I’ve been enjoying both. I think there are benefits in both stories, and although it’s not book faithful, I am thoroughly enjoying the journey. I’m curious to see where they’re going to go with the parental dilemmas though. I like that Hermes cares before hand about Luke before he turns honestly, it makes it feel less like “oop, he’s my kid, I guess I gotta fix it” but I think it also removes the emotional weight of not being around and then something horrible happening.
The whole series has just been “they know it’s a trap/there’s monsters” instead of “they slowly figure it out/stumble their way through it” I feel in an effort to make them seem more competent and independent. However, the fact that they know what they’re up against from the beginning and still manage to get trapped, caught off guard, etc. only makes them seem MORE incompetent
The point about godly parents seeming to care much more about their children in this version is absolutely true, I read the most recent Percy-centric book (the chalice of the gods) just before this episode came out and Percy literally describes the relationship between gods and their children by saying
"I know he loves me in his own way. It's just hard for gods to be close to their mortal offspring. We demigods don't live long compared to the gods. To them we're sort of like gerbils. Gerbils who get killed a lot." (Page 12, hardcover).
Which I think is a more compelling and a more realistic relationship dynamic? I'm very willing to keep watching the show and see where they go with this plot thread, but my first instinct is that it weakens one of the more interesting recurring themes of the books
I like the upload timing dom. It gives everyone a good chance to watch before they see your video, no matter what they've got on in their lives that week
been waiting for this
This series really feels like the product of wanting to smooth over the "problems" of characters and the plot and in the process, making everything sort of flat and safe.
I'm loving the series so far, other than the couple of really dark scenes which my TV apparently don't have the brightness or contrast settings to make visible. As for the story, as I'm not as much of a hardcore Percy Jackson fan as other series, I'm not really bothered by most of the changes. While some are clearly not that good others make me appreciate the moments and characters more. I for example liked the changes to Medusa, I felt it as a callback to how her myths actually vary quite a lot in various retellings and because of it we don't know which one is "true" (to the degree there's such a thing as the "true" myth). Annabeth refuting Medusa's version also felt like such a tribute. In a way, many of the changes made feel similar, maybe even a meta decision, making this an alterate telling of the myth of Percy Jackson like how myths evolved over time in ancient Greece.
I am however getting tired of seeing people being constantly negative about every single detail changed in the series, as if any adaptation would ever be a 100% accurate retelling. I'm also convinced a lot of these people don't actually have a brain because I've seen so many posts and comments along the lines of "The movies were better than this". That's just plain moronic.
To be fair to Rick Riordan, he's been sitting on this adaptation for 15 or so years. There's gonna be a desire to make changes when he's written so many books since the Lightning Thief. That's why there's a lot of setup now that originally didn't come up until later books. They even left intentional hints in the background for the other series in the casino episode.
Real irl Hermes worshiper here! And I actually liked Having Hermes in a casino setting because while he is indeed the god of messengers and travelers, he is also the god of gambling and thievery, very much matching the theme of casinos. He’s a trickster and loves to play games/tricks on people he was still technically helpful in the end, letting them steal his car and all that. While I still love the books more(I only recently read them, just before the show) I am quite liking the show for their portrayal of the characters.
Me and my friends are going to do some Percy Jackson fanfiction eventually and I created a character that was a son of Hermes by having him have a hand in the casinos in Oklahoma (more specifically Tahlequah).
My girl Viria has become the official Percy Jackson's fanart provider 😂
I couldn't see her credited. Maybe I missed it. If not please credit her for the thumbnail art, she is an amazing artist.
Oooh, did I just spot a clip of Baldur's Gate 3 in the background? Awesome, I love this game and am always excited to see parts of it in unrelated videos.
Awesome review ‼️ the best part of this series is the attention to detail about how it is for both boys and girls to have ADHD and to have to live in a non ADHD world/society. The films completely missed that point. I I was introduced to this series from the films and while as a 10yo I had crush on Percy and I hated Annabeth because I saw her as a rival because she had a crush on Percy and she was so pretty and i didn’t see how she could possibly have ADHD, I got that she had dyslexia. So to all the fans of the books that don’t have ADHD or dyslexia or both they are viewing the series as childhood book series that got them into reading but for those of us that have ADHD or dyslexia or both this series means so much more because it means that we are finally being seen. Also this series and has made me an Annabeth fan because I can finally relate to her. 😅😊
I might encourage you to read the second series Heroes of Olympus. I think you will relate to Nico even more.
Not me looking for hints of Nico and Hazel in the background even though it was unlikely.
Nico and Bianca. Hazel didn't come around until the Son of Neptune.
so glad you are making these video dom because i'm not watching the show. it's not what i hoped for honestly
Nice one terrance old boy. I thought your mate Dom had slacked off in the new year but turns out it was just UA-cam not sending me his bloomin shows!!! Anyway, I came a looking so here we are. Good to see u old chap
When I was watching this episode, I turned to my friend and told her the movie did this scene better. I hated that came out of my mouth, but it's true
You do see a little of the memory loss in this book, mostly while in the casino, but when Percy comes out, he has forgotten about his important dream that he really wanted to tell Annabeth and Grover about.
The kids being smart enough to see through all the traps where they weren’t originally is so cringe.
Them trying to humanize the gods so much really undermine their complexity as characters imo
About the lotus hotel memory problems: it's never actually stated that the hotel's at fault for the DiAngelo's memory issues in Titan's Curse, and Last Olympian includes a flashback that has Hades ordering them to be dipped in the River Lethe. So this is technically completely new here
I also don't like how crowded the casino is in the live adaptations. It was specifically mentioned there were no waits or lines and I feel like they could have made it feel both chill and exciting, maybe it's just me, but those crowds would make me want to leave as soon as possible
I like this. Thank you
You always make My day! May the Gods bless you😊😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤
I relate to Percy on reading the graphic novel version of Greek mythology because as a kid (about the same age as him) I would read the kid version of my church’s scriptures (aimed more for 3-5 years olds) which were set up like comic books (a picture with narration underneath). So yes totally counts.
So many of the changes being complained about are 100% "it's a Disney adaptation" changes. Personally, as someone who adores the books, I don't really mind any of the changes so far and have very much enjoyed the show, because no matter what has been changed everything is still in the full spirit of the original source.
On one hand, I get the complaint that them stumbling constantly into danger is more accurate to the Greek myths. But on the other... I actually kind of like that they know they're walking into danger and still get caught anyway? It's a different, but also still just as true, reflection on Greek heroes and tradgedies. Sometimes they do everything right and still get screwed over in the end. What's that famous Picard quote? "You can do everything right and still lose. That is not weakness, that is life."
Hermes, as mentioned in the episode is also the god of thieves. What is a casino if not thievery
Great video
My biggest issue with the show so far is simply that it was marketed as an accurate adaptation of the books, one that would be as close as possible to a word for word retelling. However, as the show goes on, more and more stuff has been changed. For example, any and all mention of Luke’s failed quest has been cut (which is weird because it’s a large part of his motivation), Percy being given 4 pearls instead of 3 and being late for the summer solstice deadline is a major change to the plot….there are lots of other smaller changes too but I think I made my point.
It feels like we were lied to tbh, we were promised accuracy above all else and we haven’t gotten that.
3:08 Nitpicky I know but the Kraken isn't originally Greek. That's just the Movie. The monster is Ceto
In th books krakens are also part of th greco-roman mythosphere tho
I always got the impression in the books that the gods were simply too different from mortals to care about their kids in the same way that mortals do. Like, they care as much as they're able to (claiming kids, giving magic items, answering prayers) but they just don't exist on the same level as mortals. They live so much longer and they can't really comprehend the day-to-day lives of their children that they are almost physically incapable of caring about them in the way they KNOW their children want them to.
I also feel like playing up the family aspect with Hermes specifically really takes away from the development of Luke's character. Luke's entire premise for this war is that the gods don't care about their children. Making Hermes care so specifically about Luke makes Luke's whole idea feel like a tantrum from a child. A big draw of Luke's plan in the book was that he was right about the gods not caring for their children like they should. Many of our demigods (including Percy) agreed! That was why Percy made them metaphorically pay their child support in the end! He just didn't think burning it all down and starting with evil incarnate was the best course of action.
I really would've liked if we got a Nico De Angelo cameo..
You can hear him call for Bianca
When you think about it though, it's only been the two gods who seem to care about their kids. Ares flat out said he can't stand kids, and he just tolerates his own. I also liked that the kids thought they had the hotel figured out and were completely wrong. It felt very age appropriate. Like yeah we're going into this trap but it's okay because we've figured it out. Not so much.
I really liked your analogy of replaying an RPG and making different choices (particularly true as most choices in RPGs are superficial and will not actually change the main story beats)
There have been rumors of a Mass Effect TV show, and I'd honestly like them to take such an approach: keep the main story, but have the Commander make choices that didn't present themselves in the games (such as a new romance, a different backstory, saving or converting previously unsalvageable characters, etc).
I think that's the only way to make an adaptation succesfully divert from the source material: stay true to the core, but take this opportunity to meaningfully expand upon the original, if not improve.
I've only read the first few books and watched videos on the saga, but so far it sounds like the show is very hit or miss with its changes. As someone who's seen what Disney did to my childhood Artemis Fowl, I dearly hope you guys will end up with a satisfying adaptation when this season ends
You can hear, presumably Nico, yell out for Bianca in the background at the casino.
Yes I watched it a second time to catch it. I squealed when I heard it.
I miss those days and the connected reviewer universe
Whenever they say Master Bolt, I keep hearing Master Ball and can't help but think that Zeus is a Pokémon trainer.
I wonder if it's not Rick who wants the gods to be nicer but the director or someone else. Like I'm sure he signed off on it but he hasn't forgotten that the gods are meant to be jerks in the new PJO book he released. In it Percy compares how the gods see their kids to pet hamsters.
You forgot the Nico di Angelo easter egg that was confirmed by one of the showrunners
I think the differences other than just moving things around is in keeping with like the new medium? like all the same contributions to the characters is not in line with the shortness of these episodes or the visual medium, I think its actually kind of hard to translate a lot of them into film (ADHD is a lot easier to show not tell when you can hear an inner monologue). I also think we all need to defo approach this show as more for the age the books are directed at rather than us as book fans now adults