Jan. 21 marked the conclusion of season two of Disney+’s “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” The adaptation of author Rick Riordan’s popular 18-book series is proving to be a fan favorite, yet there are some concerns from long-time fans about the execution of certain plot points. However, the conclusion and subsequent preview have fans looking forward to an anticipated season three.
This season, audiences were introduced to many new and important faces, including one lightning-wielding demigoddess, Thalia Grace (Tamara Smart), and the fan-favorite junior cyclops son of Poseidon, Tyson (Daniel Diemer).
The season kicks off with us being introduced to Tyson as a new member of the Jackson family, as Tyson and Jackson (Walker Scolbell) get ready for school. The brothers' dynamic is refreshing to see, with Tyson being the overprotective, physically bigger, younger brother, while Jackson is still trying to figure out how to be comfortable with a new sibling.
On their way to school, they are interrupted by Annabeth Chase, played by Leah Sava’ Jefferies, who is in the Gray Sisters’ taxi, on the way to get Jackson because of her prophetic dream of the destruction of Camp Halfblood. Jackson received a dream that his best friend and protector, Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri) is in mortal danger after being ambushed and kidnapped on his quest to find the Greek god Pan.
On top of that, watchers are introduced to the new shady director of Camp Halfblood, the demigod son of Zeus, Tantalus (Timothy Simons), who was cursed to never drink or eat again after killing his son and feeding him to the gods. He sets Clarisse La Rue (Dior Goodjohn), the demigoddess, daughter of Ares, on a dangerous quest to the sea of monsters to recover the golden fleece.
The golden fleece, being the camp's last hope after Luke Castellan (Charlie Bushnell) poisons Thalia’s tree, the only protection around camp, is a segment of his plan to resurrect the king of the titans, Kronos (Nick Boraine).
After a confrontation on the beach, our new trio, comprised of Jackson and Tyson, along with Chase, has to set out on their own mission to save the camp, after Tantulus tries to kill Jackson and brands them as traitors to the camp.
The season takes many twists and turns, introducing new plots that are going to be elaborated and further developed as our favorite half-Grecian-god characters are both introduced and developed in further seasons.
This season does a magnificent job at introducing and foreshadowing the key players in the upcoming war of the gods. The season ended with Poseidon talking to Jackson, and confirming that not only did he send Tyson to Jackson to answer Tyson’s prayer for a friend, resulting in one of the most heartwarming brotherly confessions in the show, but also the reality that Jackson will need allies in this war of the gods. Poseidon is now at war with Zeus, and Castellan’s plot to revive Kronos makes a second war with the Titans inevitable.
Important characters like the children of Hades, Nico and Bianca Di Angelo, will be introduced in the next season, due to their importance in the upcoming war.
The world-building of Percy Jackson was expertly done in the season with Circe’s island, the Furies, the chariot race, and meeting the children of other gods like Aphrodite, Hephestus and Apollo. Viewers even get foreshadowing of one of the most notable children of Hephestus to come from the books, Charles Beckendorf.
Audiences are introduced to all of the cabins that will have major players in the upcoming seasons.
While the series is overall exciting and refreshing to the mainstream, the acting of some key characters falls a little flat. Many of them are young, upcoming actors, so improvement in their performances is to be expected in the upcoming seasons. However, the writing for Chase and La Rue doesn’t always fully encompass the true complexity of their characters, which seems to cause a disconnect between their performances.
Sava’ Jefferies and Goodjohn both play characters with a flat affect and monotone expression. Some of which viewers saw Goodjohn remove when displaying La Rue’s crush on Hermes' kid, Chris Rodriguez (Kevin Chacon). Sava’ Jefferies does the same during three pivotal scenes in the show: her confrontation with Jackson, the Fruries disguised as her mom and the revival of Grace at the end of the season.
However, it needed more. Scolbell plays a highly emotional character whose internal dialogue is what really expresses his complexity in the books. Scolbell can truly transfer that internal dialogue into something tangible on the screen. Diemer and Simhadri did the best job at matching the level of character that Scolbell brings to the show.
However, it is fair to point out that they don’t play emotionally constipated characters who have been trained as soldiers their entire lives, though they do check the mark for years of unimaginable trauma.
While the show has its kinks, including some fans expressing they would like to have seen more of Jackson’s water manipulation powers, the show does a good job of showing that our rookie demigods are truly rookies. Their scatter-brained adaptability, deadly mistakes and sheer luck are what got them through this journey.
The season ends with a preview of Jackson and Chase at a school dance, a scene from the upcoming season three, which premieres this December.
The Percy Jackson fan base has a lot to look forward to, and sooner than first imagined.
Rating: 4/5
