Percy Jackson ~ Lost in Adaptation Episode 7
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- Опубліковано 28 січ 2024
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians descend into the underworld on Disney+ but how does it compare to The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan?
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I wonder if the real reason Annabeth doesn't get tricked was that the director took one look at "young girl gets tied to a bed" and decided they didn't want that on their filmography.
Yeah that's actually a good point. Honestly any idea where the trickster adult traps a kid in bed already sounds really creepy and bad.
@@poenpotzu2865 You're wrong and a creep for sexualising this
@@poenpotzu2865 Almost as if the guy doing it is a deranged serial killer.
if the person was supposed to be some super creep I could understand that change but that doesn't really fit within the meaning of the trap. It's just like any of the other situations where the main trio are not capable of failing for traps/making mistakes
Fair enough@kuorin9190
Did anyone else think that Annabeth and Ares were waiting for the whole time on the beach just staring at each other 😅
Great example of how sloppy the directing is
That hilarious
Annabeth : Teleports back to the beach, hears someone playing "Imperial March". Turns around
Ares (standing there with a boombox kept near his feet): So, you have fina- wait, where's the brat of Poseidon.
Annabeth: He's still down there.
Ares: Oh.
My first thought lol
Yeah like you're telling me Ares saw this kid from the quest on the beach and did nothing but vibe till his dramatic walk in
We’ve missed out on so many good character moments for Annabeth: her petty rivalry with Percy based on their parents’ relationship, her passion for architecture, her embarrassment at going into the Thrill Ride O’ Love with Percy, her paralyzing fear of spiders, and her crying when they have to leave Cerberus behind. It’s a lot harder to connect with her now and I wish Leah had more character moments to shine.
I find they go too dramatic for my liking in this early relantionship of the 2 and even if I love percabeth I don't really like that sort of stuff here, their friendship felt a lot more genuine in the books at least for me
@@HectorT52I agree with both of you. If you are hoping/expecting all 5 seasons you have to plan their relationship moments out you can’t just cram them all into this one season. Personally I need more subtly, not a long hug in addition to dramatic emotional moments not even in the book
Yes I've noticed that Annabeth is very underutilized in this show. They don't feel like friends just like classmates, or coworkers. Nuetraly nice to each other, not even a hint of Percy's crush on her, and a lack of their signature banter.
All the direction seems to be letting her do is sad face, all the time. Now she doesn't yet have a large body of work for me to compare this to, but I really think she is capable of more than tragic kitten eyes if only she'd be given a chance.
@@dashzag I actually have the opposite problem regarding "Percy's crush" in the show. I'm actually a firm believer in the notion that Percy didn't start developing romantic feelings for Annabeth until book 2. Something I love about Percabeth in the books is that they have a strong foundation of friendship that their romantic relationship is built upon, and the first book focuses on them becoming close friends. One of my issues with their portrayal in the show is that it feels like they're forcing them into a romantic trajectory without establishing a strong friendship first ie. the prolonged hugs, the dramatic declaration of admiration in the tunnel of love, the forced line about them being a "married couple" etc. None of those moments felt earned because they don't even feel like friends, as you put it. And yeah no banter either. I found the relationships in general to be lacking in the show, and these two are no exception.
Unfortunately, this episode with the Underworld is the episode that finally broke me.
It isn't just that the Underworld lacks personality, it's that the adaptational choices actively took away aspects of the book that tied into the overarching themes of the series.
We didn't just lose the intimidating Hades, or Charon's Italian suits. We lost the stress Hades felt ruling the underworld, we lost the rant that Hades went on about how much of a pain it was to manage the dead when they just keep flooding in. We missed that Charon wants a raise, we miss that Cerberus actively needed Hades to give him more positive attention and that that was why Annabeth playing with him worked. This rant goes so far in the book that when Percy learns about the helm it helps us believe Hades that he didn't steal the Lightning Bolt, but in the show, he says he stole the Lightning Bolt and Percy just believes him. Despite the show constantly insisting that this family only operates in infighting and duplicity, Percy just believes the guy everyone's convinced is a villain because Hades... said he didn't do it.
There's still an episode to go, but for my money I'm backing the Percy Jackson musical for being the beat adaptation of the Lightning Thief. I hope that this does get a season 2 and that the good-natured criticism gets through to the showrunners so that we can get a Sea of Monsters season worthy of the book. And I don't want to give up on the show yet, but my expectations for the finale have unfortunately been... dampened.
it's weird they didn't include all of this and in fact represented the exact opposite, as the Underworld in the show is just so empty. I was waiting for Hades to say "Why would I want a war, to get more work?" But that wouldn't have made any sense in the show and just would have incriminated him more :P
I still like the show and I am very much hoping for a next season, hopefully with longer and/or more episodes. The kids are just too good to leave it at one season. That would be a shame.
All this exactly!
I agree with everything you're saying, and I think this episode was the most disappointing as well as the dullest yet.
They probably ain’t gonna change. There’s so many fans that overhype this for some reason. Like I saw video calling this episode better then the book. And he basically focused only on the sally scenes and not the other 30 minutes of the show
not only did we lose the stress Hades felt for ruling the underworld, but they actively showed that he has *little* work to do in the underworld, it seems like he doesnt even care about the war thats going on, he says that things are quiet there, the exact opposite of the books, in the books its clear that he doesnt give attention to Cerberus bc he doesnt have time, now it just seems like he doesnt care about him, also he says he is fine with his brothers and doesnt really care about what they do, but it was also the opposite in the books, he *HATED* Zeus with all his heart for something he did a long time ago (im not saying it just in case someone hasnt read all the books).
Boring is the key word. This is the underworld and friggin Hades and they’re forgettable. Sure Hades isn’t evil but he should still be intimidating.
Why does Hades actor look like Sandman?
In the books hades isn't that scary either. It just seems like he doesn't care for the modern world and for guest. I hate that they put him in modern clothes instead of ancient Greek. Also the underworld isn't really surpose to be actively aggressive besides cerbus it just has alot of passive threats. Nobody really go down there but the dead the brothers don't even like going down there.
@@walkingtheline1729It was relatively harmless but had a lot more, like percy watching Elysium and thinking "I wanna go there" which is mentioned in the books again, the watching and reflecting about the other fiels and maybe I was too distracted but barely noticed the styx which is one of the most important parts of the origial series.
I can agree that he's not very scary in the later books, but he's definitely supposed to be godly and intimidating here.
Hades needs to be intimating, he is the God of the underworld afterall. Making him into a B grade goofy character is such a waste. U need to be intimated by Hades to make the reveal of him being kindda a misunderstood "Evil" God more impactful. Its so basic but it feels like this show just used AI writers rather than real human writers.... Overall, the most disappointing ep for me.
I saw someone say something about this episode that really stuck with me and it’s made me a lot less kind to the show
“The show emphasizes the struggle of being the parent of a neuro divergent kid, while the books are about the struggle of BEING a neurodivergent kid!”
The Percy Jackson series are children’s books but so was Narnia and putting so much focus on the adults like the gods monsters and Percy’s mom just feels like they think the audience of book reading adults can’t relate to kids struggling with disorders THEY ALSO may have while trying to save the world
Fair point and honestly I haven’t been kind to the show from the start lol
I think a lot of that too comes from the fact a lot of kids who grew up with these books are probably watching this ::with:: their children, so I do like the focus on the parental side of it too for that reason. I'm not a parent, but I am the neurodivergent kid of two (debatably) neutotypical parents who weren't exactly... Willing to Accept something was wrong until I was old enough to get tested without needing their permission, and I just think if there'd been more Sally Jacksons in the media we consumed when I was a kid maybe that would've been different
I had a similar take away, which was "They erased the character's personalities to make it a story about how they are not they're parents". It is a bit of a exaggeration, but think back on how they didn't go to the Louis Arch because Annabeth liked architecture, but because it was a sanctuary of Athena's and so they could show Athena abandoning her daughter. Or how the second opportunity to show Annabeth's fondness of architecture, The Lotus Casino and the city sim video game, was cut out so they could talk with Hermes.
@@Justforcommenting5 valid points
I've thought something similar, particularly in the first episode. They emphasize Percy's trouble being that he sees things that couldn't be real. That is mentioned in the book, but more of his troubles revolved around the kind of issues that kids with ADHD often have. He acts out & faster than he can think everything through, he's not focused, he clowns around to distract from his struggles. Just really relatable things that are then reframed as talents & trates common to half bloods. Things that will help keep him alive. That was special & not what was shown.
Riordan makes a clear point of having Percy explicitly describe Hades as the first God he's met who looked appropriately godly and powerful and imposing. Instead, here we just get....some guy who is way too upbeat and riffs like a watered down James Woods. The overall show isn't godawful (no pun intended) but jeez, some PJO fans are way too forgiving, it has some clear flaws and people should be comfortable demanding more from what they consume. Especially with everyone raving about how finally we were going to get a 'perfect book accurate' adaptation and instead we've been getting really weird, underwhelming or unnecessary changes. Yes, the series is better than the movies, but the bar was on the floor, that's the bare minimum :/ Just my opinion of course, no actual hate to anyone involved or anyone who enjoys the series, this is all subjective.
This show kinda reminds me of the Game of Thrones T.V series where there is a perfect adaptation within the source material but maybe we just won’t get right now. Not to say I don’t like the Disney plus PJO series, but I agree it’s not a perfect adaptation although one is doable perhaps in the future die hard fans will get an animated series one day ❤
I very much agree
Also I can’t help but feel it would’ve been much more loyal if the main writer of the books, the one who’s dissatisfied with the early (and most popular,) ones so feels the need to “fix,” them when imo they were perfect as they were and we didn’t need to have Medusa be a r*pe victim or have Annabeths mom try to kill her for basically no reason.
Some of the fans have been obnoxious in comments sections regarding any crit of the show (like how it’s edited together and too much happening between scenes)
It’s like just cos the author is heavily involved with the show and how much he criticised the movies they are all “Rick thinks it’s great so it is!”
I only hope that despite the fans toxic positivity the production team actually take the criticism onboard cos I think the show has many of the pieces right it’s just stitched together poorly
Honestly, some of the stuff in the movies was better even, like not knowing what monster or god was showing up immediately after encountering it, and having the trio always interacting with each other (even if movie annabeth never really felt like annabeth, but then neither has show annabeth even if she’s closer)
Tbh, them finding the bolt early is the only "Percy figures everything out ahead of schedule" moment that really worked for me. They make a point of the fact that their quest is officially over now, they can just turn back and be done with it. Percy and especially Grover deciding that they were going to Hades' palace anyway was a really nice character moment
As is Percy figuring out that Kronos was the real mastermind; the tension is still there, and the audience was given the clues Percy stated to figure it out.
I think a few of them can work on their own, the problem is that literally every single moment in the show does this so they're all bad now to me
@@nebula8893 Exactly. Moments that are good in isolation can be tainted if they fit into a bad pattern.
I think a lot of people felt betrayed about the depiction of Hades because in the credits of the show, the art section with Hades is practically a perfect match of his book description.
So much this, he looks AWESOME in the credits(same goes with hephaestus honestly so I wasnt too surprised). Theres been so much of this that I have been starting to wonder if they blew all their budgets on the credits(and having lin manuel miranda)
It also makes sense for him to look like that when he is at his literal seat of power. This underwhelming Hades makes me feel nervous for Olympus.
At this point Zeus probably goes to Percy like "Oh hey Perseus, thanks for my bolt, good job, the deadline didn't matter anyway."
@@lk6lu12 Almost none of the gods feel like they have any sort of godly presence.
Like I can excuse Hephaestus and Hermes because it kinda makes sense for them to take the form of regular humble people, but Ares especially should have been TERRIFYING. This is the main villain of the season but he feels like just SOME GUY.
The only gods that have any sort of dramatic presence are Kronos in Percy’s dream and Poseidon in THIS episode.
100%
Absolutely insane that the last episode has to include:
- the climactic battle with Ares
- resolving Percy’s fugitive status
- the entire meeting with Zeus and Poseidon in which Percy clears his name and finally meets his father
- Sally returning to the surface and killing Gabe
- Returning to camp for the summer
- Annabeth going to her dad’s and Grover leaving to find Pan
- Luke revealing his true nature and trying to kill Percy
In 45-ish minutes
It's ridiculous how they managed to ruin the pacing of a quite short book isn't it.
8 episodes should have been easy and yet they have to cram so much into the last hour, it's going to be such a rushed mess
They should’ve made more episodes
@@icemanlj2k7Not even most of the episodes have maxed out at like 30 minutes
@@librochicamore like 30ish most likely
I liked Hades but I agree that he (and the underworld) felt underwhelming compared to the book. I also almost turned off the episode when Percy walked into Crusty's and immediately knew who he was. And then I almost turned it off again when Percy figured out that Kronos was behind everything... I don't know why this show is allergic to having Percy learn things gradually.
I think they're relying on episode 1's "Sally was telling him all the myths, and he reviewed them for months with Grover" explanation; I can understand Procrustes's though due to the connection with Poseidon.
@@MasterZeus94 Pretty sure they knew about Procrustes as per Hermes' instructions on how to find the passage to the Underworld. Though I think they probably should have made this more obvious.
@@MasterZeus94
My issue is even in the books the kids knew the myths, Annabeth especially, the problem was the monsters hid better and learned to blend in modern times which I feel the show leaves out plus the effects of the mist, so they have a good explanation they just choose to skip it
the way the percy jackson musical was the only adaptation with the balls to include DOA records and charon in an expensive italian suit 😭
and it’s such a bop too!
Whenever someone tries to offer even the most constructive criticism for this show, the PJO fandom immediately descends upon them, calling them all sorts of names and claiming how they're clearly not a true fan. My favourite reasoning is "But Riordan approved these changes himself!"
I love Rick Riordan, he's one of my favourite authors working today...but he's not a screenwriter. This is the same problem JK Rowling had when writing the Fantastic Beasts films instead of letting someone more experienced tackle it. Anyone who did both novel and screenwriting knows that the two are worlds apart. You can't just approach a screenplay the same way you would a novel, or vice versa.
If Rick was one of the main writers, you can kinda understand why the action was cut, and I don't believe it's all for budgetary reasons. Writing action in screen form is tough. Nothing against Rick but...I think he may have been slightly overwhelmed? It certainly feels that way in many scenes. A lot of the more energetic moments are cut and replaced by quiet exposition. It just feels like someone was trying really really hard to write it "safe".
Then there is Rick wanting to rewrite parts of the story. This is the one main disadvantage of having the original writer involved in the adaptation. The author is his own worst critic. Of course Rick is gonna want to change things. If he's anything like most authors, he probably resents the way he wrote many scenes, whereas the fans want to see them adapted as accurately as possible.
I liked a few of the changes. Hephaestus appearing, Poseidon having a moment in a flashback, Kronos talking to Percy earlier, etc. But many of the more creative scenes are incredibly watered down to their most basic foundations. Take the Lotus Casino and the Underworld for example. Those were some of the most interesting, vibrant, creative parts of the book. Here they just feel...bland.
I liked that they knew about Medusa, because everyone knows about Medusa. However, when it came to Echidna and Procrustes, that's where it lost me a little. I don't like how the main trio just knows everything before they walk into it. If that's the direction the other four seasons will go in, I will unfortunately find myself incredibly bored.
They didn't know about Echidna though. Sure they knew Echidna existed but they didn't know she was standing right in front of them until she dropped a few hints. As for Crusty, It's most definitely implied that Hermes told them about Procrustes guarding the Underworld (Which is how they knew that)
They missed the perfect opportunity for an obvious joke. Especially with how often people say Percy has a millennial's sense of humor. When Charon asked if they're dead. Percyshould have said, "Well, we're all dead inside, so does that count?"
I thought thats what they were going for
@stephaniewilliams6756 Nah, in the episode, Percy was more referring to how we're literally dying through the process of aging.
I 100% thought that's what he was going to say
This series feels like they took everything enjoyable about a children's book: cool imagery, funny and likable characters, and goofy problems with goofier solutions, and replaced it for a more adult audience: earthier colors, dramatic character motivations and sensible plot points. When I watched the first few episodes I was forlorn bc it felt like they sucked all of the life out of Percy Jackson ):
Fax, But again this show is feel like really stupid, No humor, No joke at all, terrible dialogs and acting
Especially weird when Gabe's abusiveness was turned down to be more family friendly
That makes sense, given the fact that those who read the books as kids are now adults.
Yeah like how did they make percy jackson into some boring show, percy is supposed to be a hilarious and epic adventure tale. Not even kids would want this. It's supposed to be an interesting way of learning mythology not some power point presentation
I don't even think the show knows who it's audience is. It's not fun enough for kids and it's not intriguing enough for adults. Also for those who have read the books, a lot of the excitement and suspense of the book is gone
I believe the point of the flashbacks were 1) to show more of his and Sally's relationship and 2) to emphasise Percy's feelings of abandonment right before he has to abandon his mom.
I think the show is potentially also setting up a theme around the differing reasons for absentee parents, which would be a new iteration of the existing theme in the books. Sally loves Percy deeply, and a school that will help him with his learning disabilities probably is the best place for him, but that doesn't make it any easier for either of them to separate for so much time out of the year. And it really looks like Poseidon genuinely loves Sally and cares deeply for Percy, but hasn't been able to safely be there with them for reasons outside his control. Having Poseidon be a positive example of how to develop a relationship with an abandoned pre-teen vs. how the other gods are dealing (or more commonly not dealing) with their children would be a genuinely interesting direction to go in.
It reminded me alot their virsion of Good Kid from the musical. Showing more of Percy's feelings of abandonment and self image issues due to being moved between schools a lot and having to be sent away from his home/mom.
Sally acts super toxic towards Percy in a way she'd never act in the book
@@gui4816 What do you mean? She just seemed like a normal incredibly stressed single mom. Nothing she did seemed out of character here.
@@bluesnake4626 she screams at him in a treatening way. Book Sally would be reasonable with him
My most disappointing moment was the lack of Annabeth's original handling of Cerberus.
As someone who loves dogs - especially big ones - it was such an important scene for me in the book.
Far more emotional in any case (to me at least)...
Like I remember almost crying about it as a kid the first time I read it
What happened in the book? I can't remember
@@antonizajkowski9698 They got past Cerberus by Annabeth befriending with him using a massive ball she had. She got a soft spot for him too but she promised to come back and play with him again.
You're definitely not wrong for being disappointed in this. The show is seriously risking damaging future seasons by being so loose with themes and characters like this. It won't matter if we get more of the correct events if all the reasons for them hapoening have been removed or rewritten over time.
It's especially annoying because a lot of the staff, including Rick Riordan himself, seem to be completely confident that they're improving everything they change, even to the point of directly attacking the movie.
i genuinely don't think they have damaged any future seasons or characters with the changes they've made so far. On the contrary. For example, because we haven't seen Luke since the beginning of ep 3, having a conversation with his father on the lotus casino and expanding on his story, actually made a lot of sense and I think it helped both Hermes and Luke's character development.
I think everyone is afraid to honestly critique the show because we all want it to keep going even if this first season is not meeting expectations (my own opinion). They have changed a lot, but my biggest issue is with how it's filmed. The pacing is strange. The fade to black transitions are off-putting. The episodes feel like extended additions of recaps/teasers and not full-fledged episodes.
I just listened to the audio book version of the Lightning Thief because it had been many years since I read it, and it is just so fun, light-hearted, and enjoyable--balanced with some nice dramatic moments that feel earned and are more effective because the serious moments are far outnumbered by fun/exciting moments.
Everyone has brought up their frustrations with the trio knowing all the dangers/risks of a situation and while it may technically make sense for them to know a lot of the threats because they have studied greek mythology extensively, etc., it begs the question of why keep the scene in the show at all, because as new viewers and readers of the books, the scenes are boring. Boring for book readers because they knew which "greek monster/threat" is being presented along with the trio (yawn), and for new viewers because while they may not immediately know the threat, the trio is about to just tell them through boring exposition instead of letting the surprise play out.
I think a different solution that could have been tried is to completely set up new monsters/threats that have not been explored in an equally exciting way as portrayed in the books. The Haephestaus scene sort of tried this but it replaced what originally happened with a rather boring substitute (sitting in a chair). Medusa could have been replaced with a completely different monster which would have made some people mad, certainly, but if they would have preserved the suspense, mystery and payoff of the original scene in the book. I feel like there were many other options to convey the activities at the Lotus Hotel. I would have picked a different song that was popular in the early 2000s/2010s because that would have at least teased the stopped-time aspect of the scene. They really just needed one scene of the trio getting distracted and having fun. I have seen cast interviews with the main trio that fully encapsulate the great chemistry they have together when they are allowed to have fun and laugh!
So yes, everyone wants another season because each book is so interesting and unique that the overall series could easily overcome the shortcomings of a less than stellar first season so everyone is really afraid to talk about their true criticisms becuase it seems so hard for any show to make it past a couple of seasons these days. I get it. I want the show to go on, and I want them to listen to our suggestions and work on the pacing, try and find some creative ways to entertain both new viewers and old readers without sacrificing the spirit of the source material and let the main cast shine by letting them have fun!
I think you really got to the heart of how I felt about the show, wanting it to get more than one season and have the chance to improve over time. The show felt the strongest in the first episodes. Also, seeing the actors behind the scenes really made me want to see their acting improve to reflect how naturally they fit their roles irl (and I want to see them laugh more/have fun more in the actual show, not just in the behind the scenes clips). But it was easier for me to just take the show for what it was because I haven’t read the books in years.
@@pheonixrises11 I agree! It's so strange how they feel more like their characters outside of the show. The clear lack of lightheartedness and banter (to me) affects how their friendship is presented - as very surface level especially between Annabeth and Percy.
I think fans were so disappointed with the movies that they are doing their best to gin up love for the show. To keep it thematic, I rate this episode and the show in general as: Asphodel
This ep is what killed any lingering hope I had for the series. The completely uninspired design choices, the tell-don't-show of Percy's (apparent) ability to read the future in every trap/potentially interesting scenario, and goddamit the lack of Cerby with his lil red rubber ball being sad and cute!! It's like they ran the books through a generic 2010s YA filter and made a show off that, instead. Also, the treatment of Annabeth has been shockingly bad - we fell in love with an awkward, genius, bossy, stubborn, genuine, good-hearted architect nerd and got...the dictionary definition of "go on girl, give us nothing 😘" I don't blame the actor for this at all - the trio has great chemistry on their press tour, way more believable than anything onscreen so far! It's just clear that the writers just had no idea how to bring book Annabeth to life.
I still really wish this show was animated. So much cool visual stuff described in the book gets cut to make it easier to do in live action, meanwhile with animation they could do all of that and more. In animation we could get scenes set at night that aren't impossible to see, and they can put all sorts of fantastical details in the background without expensive cgi.
Also it would be significantly cheaper per episode by at least 9 million per episode
Fax, Animated sound better, We ot physical accurate characters like A White Percy with Black hair Sea-Green Eyes, A While Annabeth with Blode hair and Grey eyes etc .. Plus we got better voice actors and my be more time saving for minor details
If it was animated it wouldnt have a fraction of the viewership it does now.
@@JamStan1978 I wouldn't be so sure of that
yeah i have been thinking this the whole time. A quick google tells me the show was sporting a insane 12-15 mil budget per episode. And is this really what we can get out of this amount of money now? it seem that they sacrifice every little fun detail, scenario and worlbuidling in order to have one single setpiece to a unreasnoable standard. and the whole world feels lesser for it.
Seeing what wonderfull worlds animation series have done with a tiny fraction of that budget, it's hard not to feel a bit bitter imagining what we could have gotten instead had that money been relocated to an animated production. Wonderfull movies like the Wolfwalkers was made on 10 mil and we could be getting that every week.
I'm really annoyed that they cut Annabeth from the Hades confrontation. I can't see what purpose this serves.
Also, I had the same reaction to the way they subdued Cerberus. As for Asphodel... the souls that go there bathe in the river Lethe, thereby forgetting their lives, so they wouldn't have regrets.
It's so you will suspect Annabeth is the one who stole the bolt. It doesn't make sense but it's just a red herring
@@videogamesworld01 that might've worked better if they'd had the original Iris message, with just Luke and Percy, discussing the need to be invisible to steal the bolt, and Luke backtracking, once he realized he'd accidentally implied Annabeth could've done that.
@@Mirilah I'm a bit mad now that this wasn't included.
@@Mirilah actually, th souls of th asphodel meadows automatically forget their life as soon as they enter in it, they don't drink frm th lethe 1st, that's what th souls of elysium who want to be reborn do. Here they pretty much mixed th asphodel meadows w/ th forest of suicides n squanderers of dante's inferno
@@upgoop1021 ok, I knew they forgot. I just assumed they drank from the river, in order to do so.
I've decided to listen to the audiobook because of this series and... yeah, the underworld was much more interesting in the book. As was Hades. It also made me realise how much I prefer the characters not seeing multiple traps coming.
The narration talking about how many people spend their lives on empty pursuits really stuck with me. Even if I can't remember the exact wording, it hit hard in a way that still gets me as an adult.
I'm a big fan of the audiobooks!
Really? When I read the books, I kind of got annoyed at how often they stumbled into traps, especially the more obvious ones. But, different strokes I guess?
@@BeyondSafewords I feel like you have to keep in mind that they are 12 year-old kids making their way across the country by themselves with an overlay of Greek monsters. Percy is a certified dumbass (I use that term lovingly) and Grover is a coward. Everyone and everything is out to get them.
Hades would have been an EXCELLENT casting for Alan Rickman, god rest his merry soul.
Changing the way Asphodel works is going to make things really weird if they ever want to do a Heroes of Olympus adaptation given the backstory of one of the characters in that series.
I had the same thought - will Hazel have to have been a tree and Nico somehow un-tree's her??
"I can't promise I'll shut up, but if you let me know I will take it under advisement" has to be one of the best lines I've heard in a while. XD
FINALLY, someone agrees with me regarding Hades!! I mean, I am glad he was not all cartoony but seriously he DID NOT felt like the lord of the dead and the Big 3! And I wanted his dialogue to have that weight and have that Godly presence. Literally Percy says in the book that Hades's presence was soo strong that he had to resist the urge to kneel down but here Percy was totally talking to him upfront. It felt so out of place!
I have no problem with the boys finding bolt early on (It was funny how Grover said, well Zeus have to wait, lets go get your Mom) but the self-sacrificing thing is wearing on me now. But I like Percy saying 'Hold fast mum' like she did to him in first chap, making it feel like, he would return for her.
One another thing I am noticing which is giving me horrendous Hermione-Ron flashback, that they are giving the smartest moment if Percy to Annabeth. Like Percy figuring out the lotus hotel thing or outsmarting Crusty (in both cases they showed Hermes informing them about it and Annabeth using her smarts). I hope it does not continues. I hate it when they takes away all the flaws from a character and dumb down another!
Yet at the same time, Percy feels smarter than he did in the books. Boy makes connections rather quickly. I wont be surprised if he figures out Luke stole the bolt before going into the woods with him.
Honestly, the flashbacks are my favorite part. Poseidon is a genuinely conflicting character because you know he's a deadbeat cheater but at the same time, the moment Sally made any kind of offering, he was immediately THERE.
I do find it really funny that Crusty was the most intimidating figure out of the 3 main men guarding the underworld, but I like Hades' vibe because I can see bits of Nico and Bianca in him. I also do like that Hades had that "I want to stay out of the family drama as much as possible" vibe.
See, the thing about Poseidon is that he genuinely wants to be there for Percy and Sally (I mean come on, he called her a queen among women and offered to build a palace for her in the books) (and Percy remembers his smile, so he was definitely there for the formative years), but isn’t able to due to outside forces. Also, he blames himself for all of this but knows that if gives too much attention, Zeus will get suspicious and will definitely kill them (like he did with Maria in the books).
@@vicenzostella1390 It's been a hot second since I've read the books, who is Maria?
@@dashzag Maria di Angelo, Nico and Bianca's mother. Her relationship with Hades was very similar to Sally and Poseidon's. She unfortunately died a the hands of Zeus, because the latter was trying to kill the kids (to control the Prophecy). Hades was fast enough to protect the kids, but wasn't able to save Maria, leading to him cursing the Oracle for spewing the Prophecy in the first place. Thus creating the Oracle curse, which would impact May Castellan later on.
I was today years old when I finally understood why Charon developed a taste for expensive Italian suits in the books
Why pls tell me
@@Q33Rwitch when people die in Greek Mythology, their corpses are given coins so they can pay Charon to ferry them across the river Styx and get to the Underworld. Since people die all the time for a variety of reasons, he's made a boatload of money ferrying people across the river, and is basically wearing expensive Italian suits to flaunt his wealth.
From someone who hasnt read the books, this series is very underwelming. Very messy plot with characters that arent that interesting or have great chemistry
Very true
Great to have your input - almost everyone else has read the book, so it's nice to hear that the show is flawed in its own right in addition to being disappointing adaptation-wise
Americans can't do a version of Hades not inspired by christian hell. They just can't do it
Read lore olympus and punderworld. The former is modern myth mixed with fantasy, and the latter is fantasy. Both portrayed hades as not too villainous.
@@HenshinHeroesMedia No I mean the place hades not the guy
@@HenshinHeroesMediaLore Olympus is disgusting and it is very obvious the creator has a “younger girl x older guy” fetish, and definitely made Persephone 19 because then they could say it was legal.
This episode desperately needed an additional 30 minutes.
Rick Riordan frequently mentioned that he is reading The Divine Comedy during his Italian lessons and he seemed to really like it so that probably explains how it ended up in the show. Not saying that it now makes perfect sense, just why it's there in the first place.
Th asphodel meadows here have practically been merged w/ th forest of suicides n squanderers of dante's inferno

This show is the epitome of “had me in the first half, not gonna lie”
I think they should have skipped Krusty entirely and had the magic car take them straight to DOA Recording studios.
But this is certainly my least favourite episode so far and I’m actively dreading how they’re going to fit everything post-Hades into episode 8 since it’s the end of the season
Tbh, while I didn’t hate this interpretation of Hades? A note made awhile back of “Riordan wanting to re-write his work in a different medium” still rings in my mind and…
It’s weird. As a creative? I kinda do get the desire to revisit your old work and rewrite the mistakes you think you made. I don’t think it’s Disney’s fault as much as the onus is on Riordan and… Well… I want to say it’s fine, but I think it would be more book accurate if he wasn’t as involved.
Authors being involved in adaptations of their work can go either one of two ways: Either the adaptation is almost a word for word representation of the original (which doesn't always mean it's better), or, the author feels like they need to go back and "fix" their work, making changes that sometimes diverge very hard from the original. The PJO tv show seems to be very squarely in option 2
@@zero-pl3tt Right? I’m actually being reminded of the adaption of A Series Of Unfortunate Events adaptation and how in season 1, it felt like the original author was revising his work.
It started being more book loyal when he left the show funnily enough.
@@zero-pl3ttI like the third way where it’s nearly word for word but there is extra stuff that completely enhances the original (good omens season 1). That’s what I was hoping pjo would be and what I thought from the first two but the more it goes on the worse it gets, every change is taking something away and not replacing it with anything at all
the line up to charon with all the grey people is how i imagined asphodel in the books but like fields and fields of people, not just a line
I’m fully in agreement with your feelings, Dom.
The word that’s been clinging to me for so long with this show is “disappointment”. Rather fitting for a Disney+ show, I feel like I’m just at a theme park that wants to give me the surfaces of something I really like, with nothing much beyond it to back it up.
Everything is just… boring. Boring visuals, boring dialogue, all taking place in a rather boring world. To quote an artist unappreciated in his time: “It’s just repetition. You’re using the rhythms of storytelling with no soul or charm to add to the punctuation.”
I think the lame reason for Annabeth being separated is the writers last such effort to cram in her subplot with her mortal family. In the books it was mentioned she tried living with them but bailed once they had a fight by the end of the book she goes back to live with them during the school year in Virginia, she mainly does this do to some convincing by Percy but the show didn’t have that so this is their way of showing Annabeth regrets not giving them a chance that way it will make sense when she goes live with them at the end of the season so the trio can go their separate ways
My pet theory is that Leah couldn’t be on set when they where filming the underworld because that’s the week she had to do promo for Beast so they wrote her out
See, my first thought was Thalia.
At least there was one time Grover wasn’t the one separated from the trio
I feel like this is it exactly. I don't mind them trying to hint at it, but I also think Dom hit the nail on the head. It's from a different mythological tale and also implies Percy and Grover don't regret a thing.
I also think for non-book-readers it was meant to make them think she could regret betraying them. One more red herring.
I’m sorry unpopular opinion… (even tho people pointed out about filming). Like ok then why not just film that and leave out the backstory of Percy with his mom. Like if we were tryna go long term with this thing why aren’t we sticking to the script more
One thing I will give the underworld design is Tartarus. The pit in the show was, for some reason, way worse than I imagined. So props for that.
I agree so much with you and I was really looking forward to your video about this episode. This episodes seemed somehow so random and empty, and well... it really makes me want to read the books again.
Honestly, I think that’s the point of the show to begin with: to get people interested in the books. Disney wins either way, because they get profit out of the show and from book sales.
@@vicenzostella1390 definitely!
"An insanely high rock ceiling with big stalagmites."
If they're hanging from the ceiling, they're stalactites. Alternatively, the term speleothem can be used to refer to either.
Would you be interested in looking at this obsidian knife I have here?
Absolutely agreed on u with everything related to underworld. Sally and Percy stuff however, WAS INCREDIBLE. as a recent father, i have no idea how someone would have strength to do anything like this, and it brought tears to my eyes!
I'm divided on Percy finding the master bolt before schedule. On one hand, it establishes his willingness to jeopardize an important quest to save her mother, which is very in line with his fatal flaw. On the other, I really liked how the bolt was revealed in the book.
The Underworld felt a bit safe all things considered, but I wouldn't say that it was _worse._ For all its flaws, I rather enjoyed this episode... although I do wish the Procrustes part wasn't cut so short (Ha, get it?). Hopefully Disney greenlights longer episodes for season 2.
I was describing this adaption to my friend, and im not sure if i commented on a video yet, but this movie is like I went to a resturant. I wanted to eat thier taco. Ive had thier taco at another location and it was great. But i wanted a Taco. I expected it to be similar but maybe more cheese or whatever that might get changed in location.
But instead i got a Tamale. It's not a bad Tamale. But it is not the taco i wanted either. So I'm disappointed but i can't say they served a bad Tamale. And part of me wonders if the waitstaff was just bad over all or of they were saving me from a subpar Taco.
Because sometimes some scenes just don’t translate from book to film. IE i can kinda understand why they didn’t want to visually show Annabeth being tied to a bed. That might attract the wrong kind of viewers. Y'know, y'know.
I also really dislike that they transferred all of his feelings of getting in trouble with being thought mentally unwell. I don't understand the choice and it comes off very differently. The idea of a child trying their best and being assumed trouble is super relateable, as is the emphasis on ADHD and dyslexia (it was the first reprrsentation I saw of myself when I was a young teen) but the monsters following him to school angle is just not transferrable. Like maybe if they had channeled it all into trying to advocate for yourself and not being believed, but instead it just comes off as nothing.
I also thought what they did with the Fields Of Asphodel was weird. But I didn’t even think about how Percy and Grover have their own regrets but for some reason didn’t start growing roots.
It seems like the entire show was held back by budget. The further into it we got the more it makes sense why something like this should be either a movie or a premium subscription selling series. Like GoT with a budget that can make the books come to life.
It really sucks because ive always believed that Percy Jackson could have had just as much mainstream appeal as Harry Potter if it had a better screen adaptation
Lack of budget is definitely a concern as later books in this quintet really ramp up the action and scale of encounters. There’s only so many monster encounters that can be skipped or underplayed before the overall product is compromised. Polyphemus needs to be big and monstrous in Sea of Monsters.
The show has a budget of 15 million PER episode, Godzilla Minus One a movie with a gigantic cgi lizard in it only had a budget of 10 million. Budget is NOT the shows issue
This show has the same budget as GoT SEASON 8. $15mil per episode. With GoT's being way larger in scope, scale, complexity, and runtime.
With the description of Asphodel in the book and if they adapted that into the show, I feel they could have done a lot to play with the imagery of "a wheat field in kansas" doing references to Field of Dream and also Gladiator (moreso Gladiator since that seems to be what Grover is directly making fun of).
and Terrence still could've used the MoonKnight line ^^
I got It’s a Good Life (the Twilight Zone with the omnipotent kid) vibes from the wheat field in Kansas for eternity imagery.
It always bothered me that they didn’t build up the Helm of Darkness by never even mentioning it till now
They didn’t in the book either. I think Hades said he never brought it up because the Gods rarely invited him over so it wasn’t worth making demands.
@@benwasserman8223 Annabeth mentions the Helmet while explaining her invisibility hat on the train
@@benwasserman8223 Wasn't it brought up once with the furies on the bus ? Granted it was really really vague, but at least it was brought up
Which was the best way to do it, in reference to something the audience would already be familiar with @@kowo1610
@@catmiaou9511 Yeah, part of the reason the furies are so relentless is because Hades helm is missing, and they already know the thunderbolt is also missing. That leads directly to brother number 3.
I was really looking forward to book accurate hades but alas no. Also wanted charons fancy suits and shades . Not the stereotype man in robe.
Yeah, I didn't expect them to let the opportunity slide to have some fun with Charon's character design :(
I'm not 100% sure how good fabric made from humans souls comes across on screen, there's a good chance it'd just be cringeworthy if it's not done just right.
They probably just got scared since investing the CGI budget if it didn't pay off would be seen very badly by the execs.
@@scragarCharon wears normal, expensive, Italian suits
I feel like this series is like the Netflix Series of Unfortunate Events where the author is getting to do a rewrite/tell the version he’d tell now that he’s written more things.
Like when he wrote Lightning Thief there were no other pantheons or God so everyone went to the Greek underworld and saw what they wanted. Then he wrote books dealing with the Egyptian and Norse pantheons and portrayed characters from abrahamic faiths like a Muslim character who says she thinks Allah created the beings who call themselves gods.
In LightningThief it seemed like other religions aren’t real, people from other religions go to the Greek underworld but think they’re in their religion’s afterlife. Now the canon is there are many pantheons and many potential afterlives and no one knows for sure if God exists or where the souls of His worshippers go.
So it makes sense to change that bit of the underworld.
I don’t get making Percy the Greek Mythology Expert/info dump person. It might cool if there were more flashbacks of his mom telling him the myth and a little imagine spot of the myth story for viewers learning the myths for the first time. But him just knowing everything makes him less of an Everyman self insert.
I think the adaptation of a series of unfortunate events was better and hit the tonal feel and humor of the books. Other than the excessive spy emphasis moved forward it was really good
@@seanmaddex4104 I feel like with this show, he’s also doing rewrites based on conversations and feedback from fans. Fans pointed out the Arch isn’t over the river so he fixed it. Fans pointed out the interpretation that Medusa was a victim of sexual assault by Poseidon so he tried to address that. It’s a rewrite that’s not just telling the story as he would have written it knowing what he planned to write but also trying to fix/address things fans have brought up.
I dont take issue with those changes I just think the comedy is much weaker than the book. percy is hilarious in the books but the tone of the show is bland and the humor doesnt come through. it feels very generic and not like the book that I really enjoyed@@CameoAmalthea
In the regrets forest (I know that isn’t the name I thought it was funny to call it) it was only when you had a regret that you couldn’t move on from as you are stuck in life hence why you are rooted. Percy sure has the regret but he’s on the quest moving forward. Grover definitely regrets not getting Thalia to camp as he was her protector but he was able to move forward by being Percy protector. Now I’m not sure what Annabeth regrets it might be her relationship with her dad but she does fix that up. So I thought I would just tell you.
Okay with the finale coming, we need to be clear it was nice to get the show and we do want more, but we want a more faithful adaption moving forward.
I was disappointed with Asphodel because this was supposed to show how crowded the underworld is and how Hades really didn't want the war. You could actually understand his point. Now you just have to trust his word and we all know how reliable Hades is when he doesn't swear on the river Styx
I was disappointed we didn't get Charon's original intruduction too, I honestly would've prefered it if they'd cut the waterbed shop instead. I re-listened to that bit in the audiobook again to refresh on it after this episode and the original scene is really funny. Charon asking them how they died before realizing they're not mortals and all they can come up with is ''we drowned in the bathtub'' and Charon being lowkey impressed that all three on them managed to drown in a single big bathtub. There's an actual visual gag that would've been great on screen, with Percy continuously piling on more and more coins as he greases up Charon and convinces him to let them board the barge. I wish they'd included the part where Tartarus starts sucking them in and they just barely get out of range to escape it. The underworld was so rich in the book and all of it is missing. It's too bare, at least show a little bit of Persephone's garden or the skeleton deceased warrior guards from different eras including a US marine. Hades looks so awesome in the end credits art, I was hoping we'd get a similar visual, just getting the actor in regular size and dressed as some guy was really disappointing.
It really feels like they took every opportunity to cut corners and save money. Maybe they are saving their wad for a spectacular final episode… Let’s hope so.
I feel like Percy being willing to sacrifice himself is a good thing for two reasons. One, it is actually super admirable to put yourself after everyone you care about. Two, it’s kind of in keeping with Percy’s character. He’s the kind of guy who sees the trolley problem and says “OK. I’ll just derail the trolley.“
The fact that the end credits include designs for more 'godly' versions of the gods gives me hope that we might get at least a flash of a more book-esque Hades in the last one. They clearly have the design for it right there...
I do like the overall emotional moments they give us, and the overall themes they clearly portray in the show. Those are a reason I want them to go on and improve.
i think the two things im getting as the series goes on are
1) all the actors feel like theyre in a stage play, cheating to the audience and playing to the back with lines like 'i seem to have lost more memories than you both did, i wonder whats up with that' that feel less like a genuine character moment and more of a 4th wall address to the audience's questions and
2) several of the changes, while achieving the same results, have done so in ways that rob our trio of some of their agency. the more these changes ad up, the less it feels like this quest is shaped their choices and more of a railroaded goal. i'm starting to get the feeling that if we had swapped out any one character for luke's exposition friend from camp, nothing too significant would have changed from then to now in the overall story.
You're definitely not the only one disappointed. I've been so let down by the show. It's good, and I understand why some changes were made, but it feels like a very watered down version of the books. I thi k I could get behind more of the ot changes if they hadn't also drained the humor from the books. Everything feels so much more and somehow less serious at the same time, and I feel like it's lost the humore that made the books so special
I feel that way exactly. The humor is what I am missing most. And I don't really understand why they left it out (it's not like Rick Riordan regrets writing funny books. I read his newest book "Chalice of the Gods" and it's as funny as the others!)
If you're missing the humor, definitely check out the musical!
I don't watch this show, I didn't read the books, but knowing how hard you work to get these videos out, I feel it's only fair that I watch the videos. For the ruthless algorithm. Plus as a writer who has adapted/had things adapted/wants to adapt more, it's at least educational in how the process can go even if I don't know the source material.
Well, if you don’t read the books or watch the show first, you let these video influence you opinion of them and you can’t go in unbiased.
See, this is a perfect example of why I wanted this show to be animated. This feels like the underworld of a tv series, it's obvious the reason for it being so empty and downgrading Hades appearance is money.
I haven't read the books, but the action in this episode reads like Annabeth is the one who stole the helm of invisibility (her hat being the helm not a gift from her mom after all) and then the Master Bolt.
With how much of a chokehold Disney likes to have, I do wonder which of these changes were on Riordan or not. Hades looking less intimidating can be more of a budgeting thing, for instance. This show already has an insane amount of unreal creature designs as it is.
In the books Hades is everything but not scary of were being honest. So why should we have the hades personification from the movies again?
agree. people keep blaming Riordan for every single change, but he isn't the only producer or writer on the show. Plus, he has explained a lot of changes involve budget reasons, and given the runtime of the eps, I'd argue the lots of exposition we get have to do with it, there's just a lot of world building and not enough time.
This is why I actively think that this franchise would have benefited heavily from Animation instead of Live Action. I fucking hate live action for a show that requires a lot of fantastical elements. This is why.@@chelisey13
I don’t think it’s a matter of budget though. Poseidon and Kronos for example, have at least SOMETHING of a serious, dramatic presence, without any VFX or anything.
It doesn’t take VFX to establish a character as intimidating or powerful. Hell, I don’t think they even needed to change his costume for that.
It's suspension of belief. I also hate Live Action anymore since it's all bad CGI so. I guess I have a bias. @@cartoonishidealism582
I don't think you're being too harsh at all. If anything, I think you're being very restrained. I don't get why they decided not to just follow the books, because I think for the most part they're paced perfectly for a series as is and very little, if any, of the changes have been for the better.
its a different medium. They cant just copy the book...
I thought for sure they were going to cut Crustys Water Bed Palace scene and was so excited when they showed him entering the shop as this was one of my favourite scenes from the book given how tense it was. Only to have all of that tension cut was super disappointing, I think I'd rather they had just cut the scene entirely and gone straight to DOA
okay, i agree with pretty much all your points.
BUT. you have to admit: the score of "the lord of the dead" is amazing.
Me: Oh, I can't wait to see an amazing design of the fields-
Annabeth: This must be Asphodel
Me: Or not, we will just do super dark forest I guess
9:02 Fun Fact: You can see (shifting?) faces on Hades's costume. He now has a lounge robe of faces
I only have a phone atm. But I went back to the hades scene and turned the brightness all the way up. His jacket has motled colouring, but I didn't see any shifting faces.
@@carpevinum8645 Ah, dang it. My bad then.
@@MasterZeus94 all good. A shame though. I would have loved it. Continuity if he changed to his other form in later seasons.
Lance Reddick plays Zeus which makes it even more sad he passed away so soon
I swear this show is too short! It's crazy there's only one ep left and no doubt it'll be 30-40 mins long. Just doesn't seem like enough time...
Agreed! It's not the right format, especially if they're covering multiple chapters' worth of stuff in each episode.
I learned that they cut the river scene for filming time constraints. That being said, this episode confirmed to me something: THIS series needs to be animated
The extra pearl being lost in the dog rather than being dropped into tartarus hurts a lot because of the potential that would have had if this show ever somehow gets a season 10 lol
After Supergiant's Hades, any depiction of the Greek Underworld feels flat. Sidenote: Even a lava-filled Asphodel feels better than ripping off Dante Alighieri
What I find kind of funny is that Crusty was played by Julian Richings. He's been in a lot of movies and television shows but is probably the most well-known for playing Death in "Supernatural."
I remember really liking book Charon, so the fact that he's just a generic grim reaper type here disappointed me too.
One thing I did like was how Hades completely changed his tune when when he heard Kronos was involved. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall the titan's direct involvement in the story not coming up until a little later in the series. Hades was the oldest of Zeus' siblings, meaning he was the first one swallowed by Kronos. The webcomic Lore Olympus is phenomenal and really gets into how traumatic that was for Hades, so the fact there's signs of his trauma here too was a good development for me.
It also ties in nicely with Hades' behaviour in The Last Olympian, where Nico has to convince him to not just sit everything out in the Underworld.
The book is about unreasonable adult expectations and how to deal with them (hence Procrustes' "fit" speech).
Annabeth takes the prove everything all the time path.
Percy's on the other end of the spectrum. He wants to find the few people who inherently like him (Grover, Chrion, Sally) and ignore adults who blame him for stuff that isn't his fault (Zeus, Gabe, Mrs. Dodds). This is where his loyalty flaw comes from.
The flashbacks are meant to show why only latching onto people who unconditionally cares for him and never branching out isn't good for Percy.
The book is about finding a balance between Percy and Annabeth.
Nah, I agree.
I think a thing with adaptations, is that it's a lot easier to look for changes in story or characters as long as people look like them or not, or do the same actions or not, but I notice the biggest issue is that the writers need to understand what makes a book tick to make it so popular. Percy Jackson is most of all good because it's good at character's emotions, and character development. Every one of these character have their own journey, their own personality and reactions to stuff, and they're clearly different people. I love that.
Another is a general vibe, I guess? I miss the fantasy elements, and the weirdness of it all. The books dared to be weird, and dared for the characters to interact with that weirdness on a human level.
I like the adaptation, but it's kinda bland. The characters come across as kinda dull, and it's too serious, I miss their spunk. I also miss a 'normal' reaction to all the odd stuff, just a little bit more emoting (which I feel is more of a directorial choice, especially with the actor for Percy, I've seen him in other roles were he was a lot more like Percy than in this series). I also wished they could've had just one or two more episodes to have Percy interact with the world for the first time, getting to know stuff a bit instead of going off on the quest that quick. I think that if we got even half a episode more about camp halfblood, everything would feel a tad more grounded, and we know the rules and the world a bit better. Why they know every monster that quickly, because also that feels a little too easy for things to go.
Also, reading Hades introduction in the book made me soooo curious to a live action (or animation) adaptation and how he would be portrayed because he just sounded badass, and I'm still so disappointed. I just wish the gods felt more like gods, and not just average people you'd meet at a coffee shop or a train station. You can make people look like gods regardless of budget, it's not just about clothes, it's about good lines and actors would can feel imposing. Till now the gods just come across like your average joe you might take one look at before you go on about the rest of your day. They're not really imposing or impressive and don't really feel like gods besides text. Ares is the best till now, but even he feels like he misses some spunk.
But, I do like the adaptations, and I enjoy the episodes and being introduced to this world again through a visual media, it's just the few things that irk me.
The show is putting heavy focus on the messed up family dynamic of the gods, but it might be sacrificing a bit too much in order to achieve it
I loved the Sally flashbacks. It makes Percy's connection with her stronger and I think it makes him more self-reflective. Like, he had no idea why his mom was putting him through all this change, but with everything he knows now, he understands and wants to save her even more because of it. I also loved the Sally/Poseidon scene, because it highlights how complicated the god-parenting situation is in a way that's very in spirit with the book.
And I actually liked Hades here lol I don't care if his personality wasn't completely book accurate, his circumstances and motivations are still there.
To me, the biggest obstacle for me in this episode was how dark the lighting was. I couldn't see what was going on when Annabeth got stuck, so that scene basically got turned into a radio show for me. I didn't _see_ anything until I watched Movie Night with Jacqui react to the episode because she turned the brightness up very high.
That being said, I do recall the episode being not _exactly_ captivating for me. It was okay. I thought Hades was entertaining, but I get how he's so different to the book depiction. They dialed up is "I'm literally so over the family drama" and dialed down his intimidation factor until the former is basically all that's there. Fun, for sure, but not true to the book.
Honestly? Every episode tears another small piece of my soul away
Didn't notice before this review: through the whole show we almost don't see any other people. It doesn't feel like it's in the real world and makes it feel less real. Dunno how to explain
When it comes to the Lightning Bolt appearing in his bag when it did, it might have been a consequence of what was happening and where they were - right at the mouth of Tartarus where Kronos was imprisoned in a million pieces.
If I were to make sense of the change, the Lightning Thief and Ares might have intended for the bolt to remain hidden in the bag until it could be delivered to Tartarus and Kronos, so it would have only appeared when near the pit.
In the book, it appeared right as they entered the underworld. Percy just never thought of stopping and checking what was going on, he had a job to do.
It's not that the change doesn't make sense, what bothers me is the fact that the main three keep figuring out the plot prematurely. It takes all of the suspense out of the story when the characters know what is going to happen before it does.
That’s exactly what happened. In the chapter, Percy mentions that his backpack felt heavier but because at the time they were trying to rescue Grover and not get sucked in he didn’t check the bag. When he then faces Ares, Ares says he modified the magic around the lightning bolt so it would only return to its sheath (the backpack) when they approached Tartarus.
@@mindymulligan2397 That really only changes how they approach the plot. In the adaptation, Percy was told the stories of the Greek Gods by his mother, and Grover and Annabeth have lived in Camp Half-Blood for years.
In that context, it wouldn't really make sense if everything they came across just blindsided them and they knew nothing about what was going on.
Production design-wise, it really seems like a lot of the changes are boring and bland, and I definitely agree that the book-accurate version would be more interesting visually! Sometimes it seems like shows are afraid to make big choices and look goofy, but that results in very samey shows. One thing I liked about the video game Hades was how they weren't afraid to make big choices aesthetically, even when it wasn't myth-accurate. It means you could tell their take apart from the many, many other depictions of the Underworld if you mixed a bunch of screenshots together, whereas this take will be completely impossible to distinguish after a while, especially when there are no recognizable actors in the shot. It's very disappointing to have Disney money and not even be able to show a distinctive aesthetic!
Thanks for all the work you’ve been doing on this series Dominic! I agree that this episode was unimaginative, but overall the series has been fine. I appreciated the subtle jab at your ex bosses too.
THIS is the best episode to me
You’re not alone!
Watching your thoughts on this series is so incredibly satisfying
I had most of the same ones while watching and it feels very good to be validated
You are the one UA-camr that isn’t absolutely glazing the show and I thank you for it.
The movies made Hades the villain when he wasn’t. The show makes Hades content and friendly when he wasn’t. But Book Hades was NUANCED! Bitter and resentful but not outright malicious. An outsider among the gods but no better of kinder than them for it.
No I think you're 100% in the right to feel like this, I really love the books and this series just feels like it's getting under my skin with how it changes from the book, I can see so much potential but it always feels like it needed a second go in the writing room and laying it all out, like they never got a chance to refine the ideas and had to start cutting around the changes they wanted to make. I mean he'll the runtime alone for some of these episodes feels like crap, how did they not have the money to make these episodes longer??
my favourite part of this lost in adapation episode is that i get to find out what happened in this percy jackson episode -- i watched it! i just couldn't see a single thing....... why is it so dark.......
Yes, it's a bit different from what I expected, but 1. I expected it to be more different than not.
2. At this point, I'm just happy that this show is a thing.
3. And I can't stress this enough. This show is by far better than both the movie combined, and I love it for that.
show hades is a "hey pal, hey slick, look at me, I'm doing my best Jeff Goldblum impression "dudebro.
I thought this episode was really boring. I didn't even realize I had spaced out through most of it until the end credits music started playing and then I went back to check the runtime because I thought it'd only been 10 minutes
Love how we heard Nico's name in the creepy forest
What annoyed me most was the show wanted to have its cake and eat it too with the pearls. Poseidon gives them 4 pearls instead of 3, like the book. So they had Grover "lose" one when he got eaten, so they'd only have 3 pearls again. Sigh.