Lilly Smolenski ’27
Photo courtesy of moviefone.com
The first time I read Percy Jackson and the Olympians was in third grade. From the first book to the last, my life was irrevocably changed. I was fascinated by the history and mythology discussed throughout the series, and even more captivated by the characters, how they developed, and the challenges they overcame in each book.
I was not the only one who felt this way about Percy and his adventures. As the series took the world by storm, numerous adaptations of the original material took place. Starting with movie adaptations of the first and second books in 2010 and 2013, respectively, and then a musical based on the first book in 2017, the fan base expanded from book lovers to just about everyone.
Even so, it was widely known that the books did not receive the justice they deserved, especially in the movies. “The movies were so bad. The show is a much better adaptation than the movies, but again, we were working with nothing, the bar was on the floor,” Lydia Wright ’27 notes. Other fans noted that the lack of involvement from Rick Riordan – the author of the novels – in the movies was a key factor in its shortcomings. Chloe Islam ’26 states, “In the movies they made before, [Rick Riordan] wasn’t very involved, so that’s why a lot of people who watched them were unsatisfied with how it turned out.”
As a result of this Greek tragedy, fans waited with bated breath for the Disney+ series of Percy Jackson, starring Walker Scobell as Percy, Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth, and Aryan Simhadri as Grover. On this quest for a good adaptation, though, Rick Riordan had a major role in directing and production. The first two episodes premiered on December 19, 2023, and followed the plot of Percy’s first adventure, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. The book, and the first season of the show, describe Percy’s journey as he discovers he is a halfblood, or demigod, and his subsequent quest to find Zeus’ lightning bolt, which he is accused of stealing. I will refrain from spoiling anything, but the story sets the scenes for the books to come and navigates prominent themes of adolescence.
The season hit the ground running, with its first episode amassing 13.3 million viewers within the first six days of its release across both Disney+ and Hulu. This statistic placed the series “among the top five most-watched season premieres in all of 2023 on both streaming services,” according to Variety. Sheli Hay, Middle School Librarian, emphasizes the season’s success, sharing, “I absolutely adored the Disney adaptation. Knowing they had Rick Riordan’s backing was huge, and simple things were accomplished, like Percy is actually twelve. Rick Riordan’s a really light and pithy author, and while things can be serious and heightened, you also have goofy gods, and fun, and I really thought [the first season] was fun. Whether or not it was an exact adaptation word for word, it really captured the spirit [of the books].”
Because of this initial success, hopes are high for the second season, the adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. The first two episodes are set to premiere on December 10, 2025, and the following episodes will come out weekly, every Wednesday, following the events of the second book in the series. Already the trailer has surpassed the first season’s by 60%, with 135.9 million views within the first ten days, whereas the first season’s trailer had 84.3 million in ten days.
This excitement is due to both anticipation and curiosity. The plot of the season is not a complete mystery, as it will most likely stick to Percy’s second quest across the Sea of Monsters, but there are still numerous theories as to how specific events will go down. Maggie Sgaramella ’26 mentions one specific moment from the trailer she was excited about, sharing, “In the trailer, Luke is shown poisoning Thalia’s tree, and that is the one change I am really excited about. There is a lot you can do with her character building, and it’s such an emotionally charged moment. Because the books are from Percy’s perspective, we don’t get that as much.” Sgaramella also notes, “One theory I actually saw on TikTok this morning was if Annabeth divulges the prophecy to Percy more, which she isn’t supposed to do.” Hay also notes a more general hope for the season, stating, “Season 1 was pretty bold in dropping in gods I hadn’t expected to see, and I am hopeful they drop more fun lore for us even if it’s not part of the second book.”
Overall, the enthusiasm for the second season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is palpable. Whether you’ve been loyal to the series since you were in third grade, or just hopped on the bandwagon when you saw Walker Scobell on your TV, the second season of the show is sure to make you exclaim, “Oh my Gods!”
