Percy Jackson, the sarcastic son of Poseidon who constantly finds himself in more trouble than necessary, is nearing the end of season two of his own show. This season follows the events of Rick Riordan’s second book in the series, The Sea of Monsters.
In the book, Camp Half-Blood comes under attack when its magical border weakens after Thalia’s pine tree is poisoned. As a result, Chiron, the camp’s advisor, is blamed and removed from his position, allowing Tantalus to take over and introduce chaotic changes such as chariot races. Meanwhile, Percy begins having dreams of Grover, who is trapped in the Sea of Monsters while searching for the Golden Fleece. Percy, Annabeth, and a Cyclops named Tyson secretly join Clarisse’s quest to retrieve the Fleece and save the camp. Along the way, they battle monsters, including facing Circe, who turns Percy into a hamster, and surviving Scylla and Charybdis after losing their ship. Eventually, Percy and Annabeth reach Polyphemus’s island, rescue Grover, and retrieve the Golden Fleece. When they return to camp, the Fleece heals Thalia’s tree, bringing her back to life, and restores the camp’s borders.
In the show, the overall storyline remains similar, with a few notable differences. Chiron is already gone at the start of the season, and a new character named Allison, the daughter of Apollo, is introduced. She appears even more evil and angry than the main villain, Luke, adding a darker twist to the story.
Anyways, the fans aren’t too annoyed by these changes. In fact, they seem to like it. YLHS student, Layla Radmard (12) says, “I understand for pacing, it would just be a waste of time for the first episode to have the dodgeball fight that happens between Percy, Tyson, and these giants at their school.”
But what the fans are upset about is the lack of a certain Percabeth scene. Percabeth is the ship between the two main characters, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. The scene they are referring to happens after Annabeth almost gets eaten by the sirens. Percy runs in to rescue her, and while doing so, he hugs her and creates a bubble around them. In the show, it seemed more rushed, where Percy gets her and just drags her through the water onto the boat. Faith Saba (12) says, “I feel like the creators aren’t doing enough to add in that element where we can see growing feelings between the two characters”.
So, the book delivers a more emotionally grounded, cohesive story, while the show succeeds as a strong adaptation that offers a fresh perspective on the same world. But the question is, which do you prefer?
