Warning! This article contains spoilers for Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Summary
- The Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson provides more insight into Percy's childhood, delving deeper into his character's history, while simultaneously leaving out elements of his boarding school life.
- Changes in conversations between Mr. Brunner and Percy foreshadow different aspects of the overarching story of the series.
- Other notable book elements like the Camp Half-Blood character of Argus or the food and drink of the gods, ambrosia and nectar, are not found in the Percy Jackson TV show.
wrong with the Percy Jackson movies, leading to a third film being canceled and a TV reboot being placed into development on Disney+.
Concerning the Disney+ show, the book in Percy Jackson's release and chronological order. While the faithfulness of the show to this book is evident, the Disney+ adaptation is not afraid to make changes where necessary, with several being found in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1.
68 Percy Jackson’s Childhood Is Not As Fleshed Out In The Original Book
The Disney+ adaptation offers more insight into Percy's younger years.
One of the more interesting changes made to Disney's Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the increased insight into the titular character's childhood. The opening montage of Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 1 details scenes of Percy spotting Greek monsters as a child, as well as details about why Percy's mother named him after the Greek hero Perseus. These scenes are not found in the original Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief book, allowing the Disney+ adaptation to delve deeper into his character's history.
67 Mr. Brunner’s First Conversations With Percy Are Different In The Percy Jackson Books
The book more overtly sets up the overarching story of all five Percy Jackson books.
In the opening of the original Lightning Thief book, Mr. Brunner's first conversations with Percy involve mention of Kronos and the Titans, and how these beings once had a war with Zeus, Poseidon, and the rest of the Olympian gods. This foreshadows several aspects of Percy Jackson's overarching story, though these sections in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 1 are slightly different. In the early sections of Mr. Brunner's interactions with Percy in the show, the former explains how the gods have plans for the latter that will become clear soon enough.
Hints towards Kronos and the other overarching villains of the Disney+ Percy Jackson are included in other scenes to compensate for Mr. Brunner's lack of mention of them.
66 Percy’s Trip To The Museum Is Shortened In The Disney+ Show
Percy's school trip is missing certain elements from the original The Lightning Thief book.
The different conversation between Mr. Brunner and Percy in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 1 takes place during a school trip to a museum in New York City. This museum trip is shortened in the Disney+ adaptation of The Lightning Thief, mainly concerning the fight between Percy and Alecto/Mrs. Dodds. In the original book, Percy is taken inside the museum before being attacked by Alecto, with Mr. Brunner interrupting and handing Percy a sword. However, in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 1, Brunner gives Percy the sword before Alecto's attack, which takes place outside in the street, thus making for a significantly more fast-paced scene.
65 The Fates Appear In Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief’s Early Chapters - But Don’t In The Show
The foreshadowing of Percy's destiny is found earlier in the original Lightning Thief book.
In Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Percy returns outside after defeating Alecto before noticing three old women across the street. These women are shown knitting a large piece of yarn. It is revealed that these women are the Fates, who knit together the destiny of every person in Greek mythology. In Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 1, the Fates are not shown after Percy's fight with Alecto, though a featurette promoting the show hinted they would be involved in future episodes.
This hint came to fruition in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 5. During Percy's conversation with the Nereid, Grover and Annabeth are shown waiting for Percy beneath the ruined St. Louis Gateway Arch. During this scene, Annabeth notices the Fates and watches them cut a thread of yarn, just as they do to Percy in the early chapter of The Lightning Thief. Rather than Percy viewing the Fates early in his journey, Percy Jackson and the Olympians has Annabeth see them later in the story.
64 Percy’s Life At Yancy Academy Is Not As Detailed In The TV Show
Disney+'s Percy Jackson show highlights less of his life as part of a boarding school.
The original story of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief shows more of Percy's life at boarding school before he is expelled. Some scenes in the book at Yancy Academy involve Percy waking in his dorm room and eavesdropping on Grover and Mr. Brunner as they discuss Alecto's attack and what will happen to Percy. That said, these sequences are not in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 1, instead moving straight from Alecto's reveal to Percy's expulsion and subsequent return to his mom's apartment.
63 Percy Jackson’s Stepfather Gabe Is Not As Abusive In The Disney+ Show
Gabe is more of a deadbeat character in Percy Jackson and the Olympians rather than the awful, abusive partner he is in the book.
The character of Gabe Ugliano, Percy's stepfather, has some differences between Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief's original story and Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 1. In the original book, it is hinted that Gabe is much more abusive than Percy realized, including a scene in which Gabe raises his hand and Sally flinches. However, Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 1 does not include these hints at Gabe's physically abusive tendencies, showing Sally as having much more agency over her husband with Gabe being more of a deadbeat, comedic character at his expense.
62 Percy Jackson Believes His Father To Be Dead In The Book, But Not In The Show
Percy's perception of his father has been changed from book to screen.
In the book on which the season is based, Percy believes his father to be dead
Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 1 shows Percy resenting his father for being absent, though he assumes he is alive. In the book on which the season is based, Percy believes his father to be dead. This is a subtle change from the books but betters the character of Percy and the overall arc he undergoes concerning Poseidon, as it will give the two a more heated dynamic upon their meeting for the first time in the show.
61 Camp Half-Blood’s Security Director Argus Is Not In The Percy Jackson Show
A difficult character from the book could not be adequately translated on-screen.
One of the characters whom many book readers assumed would be difficult to adapt is Argus, Camp Half-Blood's director of security. The reason for this stems from Argus' design in the books, that being a regular man only with eyes all over his body. It was announced shortly before Percy Jackson and the Olympians' premiere that, despite being in the script for the show, Argus was not part of the adaptation due to budgetary constraints as a result of the high cost that his design would raise.
Percy Jackson Season 1 Won't Feature One Camp Half-Blood Character (Despite Being In Show's Scripts)
Despite being in the scripts, there is one major character that Percy Jackson season 1 won't be featuring, due to budgetary constraints.
60 The Gods' Healing Objects Ambrosia & Nectar Are Not In The Percy Jackson Show
A smaller albeit commonly recurring element of the books is yet to be shown in Disney's Percy Jackson.
An aspect of Greek mythology that is an ingrained part of the Percy Jackson books is the food and drink of the gods: ambrosia and nectar. These two substances are used as healing agents for demigods and hold the taste of whatever the person ingesting the food or drink feels closely connected to. However, ambrosia and nectar are not found in Percy Jackson and the Olympians' episodes 1 and 2. This could be either to add tension to the show as ambrosia and nectar can heal almost any injury or that the godly substances will be found later in season 1.
59 Annabeth & Percy’s Relationship Is Altered Somewhat In The Percy Jackson Show
Percy Jackson's central duo has a different origin than in The Lightning Thief.
In the original book of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Annabeth is the character who gives Percy a tour around Camp Half-Blood, introducing him to various characters and the activities of the camp. In Percy Jackson and the Olympians, this role is given to Luke Castellan. Percy and Annabeth only speak a few times before Percy is claimed by Poseidon, a slight difference from the book where they have already become somewhat familiar with one another.
