#i just want a book accurate casting of pjo

[you-will-meet-your-downfall]

i feel like this needs to be said- i love the PJO tv show cast, not the casting.

like cant we get an accurate depiction of percy?? or annabeth??

[daisy-mooon]

"I want Annabeth to be blonde :(" then pick up a PJO book and read it you dumb fuck

[thatrandomblogsays]

Funniest thing Rick riordan did was write a book series that that made two of the main character’s physical features such a hallmark of their godly lineage that multiple monsters throw hand on site & created a fandom that collectively lost their minds over character art that wasn’t considered accurate and when the movie didn’t have a blond Annabeth… only to decide to completely disregard it for a new adaptation and not even put the characters in wigs for the new series

[agentoffangirling]

The way I know those PJO fans were lying about "we just want book accuracy" in regards to Leah's casting as Annabeth is bc they didn't complain nearly as much for anyone else in the cast

Percy being blonde? A little bit here or there but acceptance in the end

Grover? Literally nothing for miles about how Aryan's Indian

Luke Castellan? Charlie Bushnell is Japanese, Irish, and Costa Rican, but no one ever said that he wasn't book accurate

Chiron is Black. Did you complain about that?

Y'all can take your "we want the looks to be like the books!" and shove it up your ass. You're just being racist toward Leah

[bluecrocss]

Yes. You are racist. (Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one)

So approximately half a year since the premier of the Disney+ Percy Jackson show, and almost two years since the announcement of the Trio's casting, I would like to take this moment to look back at the insane, racist and anti-black backlash that was launched at Leah Sava Jeffries and a few other cast members from the PJO fandom.

I'm not concerned with the trolls who are openly racist, who resorted to racist slurs and outright threats, everyone agrees that they "took it too far". I want to talk about the rest of you, the "I'm not racist, but.." people, the "What's wrong with wanting book accuracy?" people. Just to let you know, for the unasked question... yes, yes you are.

I've noticed the Percy Jackson fandom has been lording some weird superiority complex over a certain *unnamed* fandom that has fallen out of grace due to their recently outed bigot of an author. But honestly, y'all are not much different. The amount of vitriol and anti-blackness I have seen from this fandom (beyond just bullying a 12 year old girl), y'all don't have a leg to stand on.

Below is a breakdown of the most common arguments I have seen used to justify y'alls absolutely insane bigotry. I am going to explain why none of these justify the amount of anger and vitriol y'all have sent towards Leah, Rick or any of the cast.

I am not here to argue, and this is not a democracy. I am giving you a chance for some self-reflection and to understand that this pattern of violence directed towards POC actors (mostly black women) has never been justified in the name of "book accuracy"/"comic book accuracy"/"ending forced diversity" or whatever other excuses y'all try to make up.

If you still try to justify or argue further for any of these points, I will just block you. I am not coddling you through your racism. If anyone has seen any other dumb arguments floating around that I might've missed, feel free to sound off in the comments.

She's not book accurate:

Neither is Percy, Luke, Grover, Dionysus, Poseidon, and just about every other named character.

Rick already made it clear that physical features were not the priority with casting, rather it was actors that embodied the role. So why are the biggest complaints about Annabeth and Zeus? 🤔

What? You're gonna say everyone else got backlash too? I see you trying to obscure the main issue by playing dumb 😉

See my friend, yes, there were one or two comments about how Percy's hair should be black or how Luke is supposed to be blonde, but as soon as Leah was cast, none of those actors got any significant backlash. In fact, Walker and Charlie literally have an army of fan girls at their beck and call, calling them the perfect Percy and Luke, despite neither being "Book accurate". But then again, have we not observed the pattern of White boy of the month vs WOC to hate for the year? (Yes, I know Charlie isn't white. Further adds to the irony, doesn't it).

Why include character descriptions if you won't stay true to them, you cry? Well, my dear sweet moron, see, books and TV are two different mediums. Because in literature, you can't *Literally* SEE the characters, the author has to add descriptions to paint a picture in your mind, in TV... that's not an issue. So unless the character's appearance is necessary to the plot (like Luke's scar, or Nico being Italian) the show runners can actually focus on more important things.. Like ACTING and PERSONALITY.

2. It's just not how I imagined her:

News flash, babe! ANNABETH ISN'T REAL. None of these character are. They are concepts that originated from the brain of Mr. Rick Riordan. It doesn't matter how YOU imagined her. There are millions of people who read these books that imagined her several different ways. When the creator of the character watched Leah's audition and said, 'Yes! She embodies the character I created!", your imagined version of Annabeth ceased to matter. And guess what? The books still exist... they have not been burned. Your version of Annabeth has not disappeared. Go read the books.

3. Zeus can't be black/Gods have to be Greek/*Insert Character* can't be black:

Y'all did not read the books, I swear. You have to be fake fans looking to troll atp.

The gods move based off the center of western civilization. They change their forms/environment to reflect the culture they are occupying (they did it with Rome, now they're doing it with America). The gods change forms all the time. How we see them is not their true form as a mortal would disintegrate if they were to see their true form.

America is a cultural melting pot (specifically NY where Mount Olympus is now based). If the god's choose forms that reflect the current society they inhabit, they could literally be any race (keep in mind NYC is only 33% white).

All of this is literally SPELLED OUT in the Lightning Thief.

Furthermore, if you're going to push the ethnically Greek thing... Poseidon is British with a British accent and Hermes is Latino. The only ethnically Greek actor is Dionysus (who still doesn't look book accurate). Y'all are sounding like some white supremacists because do you forget that race is a social construct?

Before the advent of the transatlantic slave trade, I can promise you that the Greeks and the Anglo-Saxons did NOT view themselves as the same people. Why are y'all not taking issue with Poseidon's actor then?

Also, Percy Jackson has canonically had a slew of explicitly black demigods since the second book (including Harriet Tubman, which I have mixed feelings about 😭), so I genuinely have no idea where some of y'all are going with this point.

4. She was our smart blonde representation:

Don't pmo. I swear to God!

White, blonde women have NEVER been excluded from Hollywood. Representation is not something you lacked. The dumb blonde stereotype was a simple branch off of a larger misogynistic "dumb woman" stereotype. It has not truly been relevant since the mid 2000s outside of childish jokes.

This iteration of Percy Jackson will probably not go beyond the first 5 books, based off pacing and the age of the actors. So here's a fun game: 5 bucks to the first person who can find me a quote in the first 5 Percy Jackson books, where Annabeth laments her insecurities about being blonde (hint: there aren't any).

Also, her blonde hair does not hold her back at Camp because she is head of the Athena Cabin who are highly respected (and guess what?), ARE ALL BLONDE!

Her insecurities about her hair color are two or three lines at most in the later books, not this fundamental, core part of her character y'all all of a sudden wanna pretend it was. And guess what, as a non-blonde black girl, I was able to read those scenes of Annabeth feeling undervalued because of her looks and relate to her even if she didn't look like me at the time.

Why all of a sudden can y'all not do that with a black Annabeth? By every metric black girls are undervalued for their intelligence in academia more than white girls are, regardless of hair color. So your little representation of a woman undervalued by her looks would still hold. Do y'all dehumanize black women so much, that you are incapable of empathizing with show!Annabeth's plight in the way I could with Book!Annabeth simply because she doesn't look exactly like you?

Your issue isn't that she isn't blonde, it's that she is NOT WHITE.

Furthermore, Becky Riordan had tweeted previously (before the show was even cast) that Annabeth never needed to be blonde (probably recalling the BS y'all put Alexandra Daddario through), so even if they cast a white Annabeth, the blonde hair was never a guarantee. the author and producers all agree that it was not a significant part of her character. It's been a non-issue since day one.

Also, stop acting like smart blondes are rare in media... If you don't go watch some Legally blonde, Iron Man (Pepper Potts), Zack and Cody (Maddie), Liv and Maddie, FMAB (Winry), Captain Marvel, She-Ra, Buffy, The boys (starlight) etc. etc., and go sit down somewhere 🙄🙄🙄 (those were literally all things I've watched recently, off the top of my head, btw 💀)

5. It's not about race, but...:

Yes it is. It was always bout race. No other actors got as much hate as Leah. Her grandmother and other family members on IG had to mute their comments because they were getting so many threats.

Alexandra Daddario had to come to her defense on Twitter. Rick had to put out an official statement on his website. This girl has endured years of psychological torment for simply having the best audition. No one else is book accurate, no one else is ethnically Greek (except Jason Mantzoukas). Walker literally has British and German ancestry.

Why was she being called racial slurs on reddit and in youtube comments?

I know what you're gonna say, "I actually had problems with the entire cast", "I actually had a bigger issue with Walker's hair color", blah blah blah. Then why aren't you in Walker's comment sections? Why are you only making your displeasure known on posts defending/advocating for Leah? Why is she always your first example of 'wrong casting"?

Well, she "looks the most different"... Look up the term "scapegoating".

"Oh, I don't agree with the harassment. I just don't like the casting." Guess what? She's already been cast. They are not going to uncast her. What do you get out of still complaining about it.

All the vitriol you're stirring about her when you complain about her on Social media, it is directing people to send her hate, even if you're not writing it directly. It's is not enough to "not agree" with the racism, it is your duty to actively prevent it. And btw, these are young gen z actors, they are active on social media. They see the edits of themselves (even comment on it) and they most likely see these little "harmless" complaints you're posting. Are your upset feelings really worth contributing to the racist dogpile on this poor girl?

6. Why couldn't they atleast give her blonde braids?:

Why should they? Y'all wanted blonde because of the "dumb blonde" trope... that doesn't apply to POC.

A blonde black girl is gonna be viewed the same as a non-blonde black girl (or at worst, someone might decide she's "ratchet" or some shit for wearing colored hair). What difference would it make?

Why shouldn't Walker dye his hair, then?

7. Annabeth has Gray eyes:

Less than 3% of the global population has "gray eyes". Even if they cast a white actor, they would've needed contacts. Her being black is not the reason Annabeth's eyes aren't gray. Simply put, it is a plot element they removed, like the whole "names have power" element, or Ares having flames for eyes, or Dionysus using his powers to grow strawberries at Camp.

That's how adaptations work. Unnecessary plot elements are cut to save time and budget. This has nothing to do with her casting. They probably also didn't want to make child actors wear contacts (not a new practice).

8. Even if Rick chose her, he was wrong/Disney is forcing him to be okay with it:

Where do I start? Rick created the character. He can't be wrong. Do y'all have no self-awareness? Death of the author has no place here, because y'all are hung up on an aspect of the character that is not relevant to her arc or development.

Y'all's justification for wanting a "book accurate" Annabeth is that she was such an inspirational and important character growing up, and yet your behavior is so in conflict with the character you claim means so much to you. You're narrow minded, dismissive of bigotry and injustice, and disrespectful to the wishes of the creator of your favorite character; everything that Annabeth would never be. Y'all were never genuine fans of the books. You're bigots that needed an outlet for your rage.

Keep in mind, Rick has said countless times that PercaBeth directly mirrors his relationship with his wife. Y'all think he would have allowed them to cast someone who doesn't live up to the woman who has been by his side for decades? The mother of his children?

Regarding Disney forcing him, show me one piece of direct evidence that proves Disney in anyway pressured Rick to cast her. Cuz if you can't, that's baseless speculation. And if you have to resort to baseless speculation, maybe try to examine why it's so important to you to hold on to this belief.

9. So, I'm racist because I hate "race swapping"?:

To start, there is a difference between "race swapping" and "color blind casting". Often times, when y'all complain about the former, you're actually mad about the latter.

It would be "race swapping" if Rick and the team decided ahead of time that they wanted a black Annabeth and ONLY allowed black actors to audition. But the actual reality was that they accepted auditions from everyone (there were white actors and non-black poc that also auditioned for the role) and chose the best person who embodied the role. They didn't "make Annabeth black" and they didn't "make Zeus black", they cast black actors for those roles.

Y'all think you're being slick with your wording. Dismissing that is implying that they did not earn their roles fair and square. Which is racist. It's the equivalent of going up to a black college student and telling them they only got in because of affirmative action. You're dismissing the achievements of a person solely because of their racial background.

For all you people complaining about "unfairness" and "forced diversity", I would think hiring based on merit would appeal to you 🤔

71% of theatrical Hollywood leads were white in 2024 in comparison to 29% POC and you still think "black washing" is a thing? You still get this angry over a black person fairly earning a role because you think in a time where Hollywood only knows to do remakes and adaptations, that the majority of lead roles still *have* to be reserved for white actors?

Once again, white people have never been excluded from Hollywood for being white. Representation has never been something you lacked nor is it something you can lose. Your anger comes from seeing a black face where you think they don't belong. Because you feel you are owed a disproportion of representation in Hollywood.

10. Woke agenda/DEI/Forced Diversity:

If you are unironically using any of these terms in a negative light, it's already too late for me to reason with you. Look up the term "dog whistle". If you are sharing the same terminology with Elon Musk and his fanboys, maybe reevaluate some things.

POC are objectively underrepresented and have been historically excluded through actual laws and policies in Hollywood. There is no such thing as "forced diversity", you have bought in to a right wing conspiracy theory.

"Woke" is a term that was intentionally appropriated from the black community. It originally meant being aware of injustice and systematic threats to the community and is now being weaponized by bigots. Good job.

Diversity and inclusion is a good thing.

11. But POC deserve to have their own stories told:

We do. And we have been fighting for it for over a century now, and we've made great strides, no thanks to y'all.

No thanks to y'all gaslighting us about how little representation we get or that representation matters at all. No thanks to y'all pushing the idea that POC can't sell globally and obscuring POC actors in international promos. No thanks to y'all continuing to whitewash even to this day (Bullet train, the beguiled, gods of Egypt, atla, every portrayal of Jesus ever, etc.). No thanks to y'all calling every piece of media that has more than one black lead and more than one queer couple "woke". No thanks to y'all throwing a fit every time a black person in a fantasy setting isn't a slave.

Fact of the matter is, y'all never cared about POC "getting their own stories", you're only parroting our own words back to us now as a politically correct way of saying, "leave white roles alone" lmao

Well fun fact, actors of color getting opportunities to play lead roles and allowing poc to "tell their own stories" are not mutually exclusive. If y'all cared that much, instead of bullying a 12 year old actress, you could actually support up and coming independent POC writers, directors, and studios 😱

12. Studios need to stop "setting up" actors of color:

Do me a favor and google the term DARVO.

Your racism is not the fault of the studios for giving a POC actor a role that they earned. It is not up to the rest of society to tiptoe around racists to avoid their vitriol. It is our responsibility to hold them accountable and protect minorities from unwarranted hate. At most, you can say it's the responsibility of the studios to provide adequate support to POC actors who face this backlash.

At the end of the day, Hollywood only allows very few spots for POC actors (especially WOC), while simultaneously pushing a new white boy every month to put in everything. Putting minorities in these roles that are usually closed to them, usually opens the door to more actors of color than before.

Brandy being cast as Cinderella did a lot to push her into the mainstream (yes, she was already extremely famous in the black community atp), Halle Berry being the first, black, bond girl literally shot her to icon status, and even going as far back to what Anna Mae Wong did for Asian American actresses with her "femme fatale" roles.

At the end of the day, even with the backlash, *some* rep does more good for POC actors than *no* rep. The solution to racist backlash isn't to take away those opportunities, but rather to not be racist??? 🙄

Also, for everyone that claims that "POC race-swapping" is just as bad as "white-washing", despite white washing having a longer history and objectively causing more harm, note how the backlash to white washing never lasts as long as the harassment that POC get.

Like, no one brings up Scarlett Johansson's ghost in the shell role anymore, but you can best believe Candace Patton is still fending off racist trolls. As much as people hated the atla movie, people moved on quick from Nicola Peltz playing Katara since she was just a kid that accepted the role (re: daddy bought her the role), but y'all would not have any of that consideration for Leah Sava Jeffries.

But I digress...

13. What if we made Tiana white? Wakanda white? Hazel white...:

Ah, my favorite inane point. I was so excited to get here :)

See, I could start out by pointing out how "White washing" and casting a POC actor as a traditionally white character are not equivalent.

I could point out the history of hollywood ACTIVELY excluding POC actors and POC stories. I could point out how grossly over represented white people are in hollywood. I could point out that POC characters are so few in comparison that whitewashing them causes actual harm, where white people have never lacked rep.

I could point out how, because poc characters and stories are so often tokenized that their racial/cultural background is often directly tied to their character's identity, in opposition to a lot of white characters, since hollywood treats white as the "Default".

See, I could make all those points, but the thing is, the people who make this argument already know all that. They are trying to waste time by drawing me into a pointless circular argument that will sum up to "fair is fair", while ignoring all the context and nuance I previously provided.

So you know what? Forget it. Let me play your game.

I am actually fine with a white Tiana. Would it make sense, for her and her family to experience Jim Crow era racism, in the south while white? No. But we can look past it. Disney was never known for historical accuracy anyway 🤷🏿‍♀️

However, in exchange, the live action frozen will have a black Elsa and Anna, live action Rapunzel will be black, live action Merida will be black, we're re-filming Cinderella and Beauty and the beast to cast a black belle and Cindy, snow white will need to be recast as black, and we also get aurora whenever the live action sleeping beauty is announced. But then y'all can keep Tiana, deal?

You want a white T'Challa? Fine! (I'm partial to Ryan gosling), in the meantime, we'll be recasting Iron man, Captain America (Steve version), Bruce banner, Thor, Loki, hawk eye, black widow, ant man, captain marvel, Bucky, Peter Parker etc. All the avengers and their side characters, then y'all can have Sam Wilson, war machine and the whole of Wakanda (will it make sense that a sole, hidden, African nation is randomly made up of white people? Who cares? We get the avengers!).

You want white Hazel? You got her! I hope you have no problem with us taking Percy, Nico, Will, Poseidon, Jason, calypso, Rachel, Tyson, Silena, the stoll brothers, Sally Jackson, Hades, Hepheastus, ares, etc. But y'all can have Hazel and Beckendorf.

If we're gonna do this, let's commit all the way. Fair is fair, after all.

14. Leah isn't as "pretty" as Book Annabeth/Movie Annabeth:

I wish I could say this wasn't a genuine point I had read, but when all else fails, they will always go for a woman's appearance.

Now first of all, as a rule, I will never hold black women to white beauty standards. Our hair will never be long and silky enough, our nose will never be narrow enough, our skin will never be fair enough and our eyes will never be light enough (Might I recommend Toni Morrison, when you get the chance?). But Leah is unfairly gorgeous idc what any of you say, and you're not gonna have me use my defense of Leah as an opportunity to bash Alexandra either because she is also beautiful. These two queens slayed to the best of their abilities within this toxic ass fandom.

I find it funny, however, that so many of you harped on the "blonde" issue because you thought it was important that Annabeth be seen beyond just her looks, but quickly devolve to bashing an actress's looks when it comes to why she's not right for this role 🤔

I would also like to sincerely apologize that the 13 year old girl they cast in the show, wasn't as sexually attractive to you as the 24 year old woman they cast in the movie and sexualized through like 25% of her screen time (I'm actually not sorry. You're very weird if this is an actual point for you).

15. I don't agree with sending hate to the actor, but she's just not right for the role:

Once again, what are you doing by complaining about her casting on no other basis than her race?

The creator of the character said she embodied the role. She has already been cast, and Disney would be in a legal/production hell to recast her atp. Just because you're not directly leaving comments on her social media doesn't mean you're not part of the hate mob.

No matter how you look at it, your issues with her casting come from a very entitled and narrow-minded place. When you join in on these dialogues you are bolstering a sentiment that pushes more people to harass this teenage girl. When you leave these "harmless" complaints, on show content, fan posts or posts defending her, she's liable to read them because the cast regularly interact with fans online.

What do you have to say that is so important that it trumps protecting a young girl from the long-staying trauma of racism, of being told she doesn't deserve something she worked for because of how she was born?

16. I can't even criticize the show without being called racist:

Get. Over. Yourself.

Y'all are not the victim. Have fans of the show gotten protective of Leah and the young cast? Yes.

With good reason. This fandom is unbearably toxic.

Racism outweighs your need for a "perfect adaptation", sorry.

If you explain yourself properly and keep your critiques fair (like, even I don't think this was a perfect season, and will be sharing my thoughts shortly), no one is gonna call you racist.

You're preempting with that because in all honesty, you're probably planning to use your "critiques" of the show to pivot to one of the many points that I just outlined, and you want to pre-empt the criticism.

If a black Annabeth is the end all be all for you, just don't watch the show, no one's holding a gun to your head. Geez.

17. I'm Black/POC and I don't agree...:

Hey, Candace Owens... No one gives a shit.

First of all, for all the "I'm POC and I don't agree" people, you don't speak for us. Anti-blackness is rampant in just about every culture globally. You being not-white doesn't somehow make you less prone to hating black people.

But for the "I'm black and I don't agree" leftovers (assuming you're not just a 👩🏼‍💻 behind a keyboard). Black people are not a monolith. You're not obligated to think a certain way because you're black.

But consider why you're putting yourself up as a barrier to protect this hate mob. It's one thing to just state why you don't like Leah's casting, but to start off your spiel with "I'm actually black" as a way to weaponize the very identity politics you're critiquing... very strange. Not to mention, what are you defending?

The black community is coming together to defend one of our own, a kid who has been receiving death threats since she was 12, and this is when you feel the need to back the opposition?

I mean whatever... sometimes the house slaves would snitch to the master. There will always be some of y'all in the woodwork. It is what it is.

But when the exact ideology you defend is turned against you, when a Baltimore elected official is being accused of getting his job through "DEI", when conservatives are claiming that they wouldn't "trust a black pilot", don't decide that's where you'll finally draw your line in the sand.

All that being said, This is my Annabeth:

May every tongue that rose against Leah Sava Jeffries Shrivel and die in 2025 🙏🏿 My girl will keep winning ❤️

(video by @/waleahhasmyheart on TikTok)

[gracexthoughts]

Okay, I have a lot of thoughts about the Percy Jackson show and the discourse I have been seeing about it. This is going to be long and possibly all over the place but I just want to share. If you disagree, that’s fine. Just don’t hate because you have a different opinion. Deal?

I want to start this by saying I am a new fan. I did not read the PJO books when I was a kid. I watched the first two episodes when they came out in Dec purely out of curiosity and was just immediately in love with the world. So in true ADHD hyperfixation fashion, I devoured Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus books and I am currently on Book 1 of Trials of Apollo. And maybe it's because I am a newer fan but a lot of the gripes I see about PJOTV just don’t make sense to me and I feel like they really are just rooted in nostalgia. Watching the show and all the interviews of the cast and crew, it is clear to me they wrote this season with the intention and hope that they would get to make all 5 seasons, and possibly even further. I can see how all the changes make sense when looking at the narrative as a whole. They are really setting up this world and this story in a way that I think lends more to the future of this narrative better than The Lighting Thief book does.

I also want to say I have yet to find a book to screen adaptation that is beat for beat accurate. So much of what works in novels, especially novels told in first person, just does not translate to third person screen adaptations. Ultimately, literature and film/TV are art forms and what works for one may not work for another and the creators are allowed to make changes, especially when it is for the overall good of the product.

To start, the exposition dumping didn’t really bother me that much although I agree it is there and noticeable. Now, I watched the first two episodes before reading the books but after reading the books, I think the exposition is just as noticeable in the books as it is in the show. Percy walks into this world without knowing or believing in any of it. In the book, he learns about this world through the people around him explaining it in dialogue. It is just condensed a little more in the show which makes it feel a little heavier. Nonetheless, fantasy tends to have a lot of exposition because there are a lot of things you as a reader/ viewer need to know at the start of the story. It is part of the nature of the genre, especially when it is intended for a younger audience. Exposition that seems clunky to an older viewer is probably not going to feel the same way to a younger audience member (which is the target audience).

The biggest complaint I see, and disagree with, is that the kids are “too smart which ruins the suspense.” Annabeth has been at camp since she was 7 and it is clear, both in the books and the show, she is determined to prove that she is strong and capable and intelligent. She has been training to go out on a quest since she was 7 years old. Annabeth would have been studying these monsters and these myths so of course she can figure out the traps. They aren’t that hard to figure out, even for someone who isn’t super knowledgeable about Greek mythology.

Grover’s job is a protector of demigods. It makes sense he knows these myths like the back of his hand. I imagine that after Thalia, Grover would have studied and worked so hard to prove he was ready for another chance. Grover in the books also fell a little flat in The Lighting Thief to me because it seemed like most of his personality was just to be scared and funny until later books. I love what they did with Grover in the show because he feels like an actual character with his own goals, intelligence, trauma and authority.

Now onto Percy… I have so many thoughts about Show Percy so bear with me.

While I was reading the books, I was confused as to why Sally didn’t teach Percy about Greek mythology. Book Sally seemed to just hope Percy being attacked by monsters and going to camp isn’t going to happen or just assumes that when it does happen, Percy will figure it out. Sally always knew what would happen to her son, at least to some extent, so why wouldn’t she do everything in her power to prepare her son for this life she knows is inevitable? I loved the addition of her teaching Percy about Greek Mythology and Ancient Greek because it makes so much sense because I never saw her as a just “sit back and wait” kind of character. Percy is her son, her baby, her miracle. She is terrified for him (which we see in EP 7 in the flashbacks) and, to me, it makes sense she would do everything in her mortal power to prepare him in a way that doesn’t scare him or reveal to him who he actually is. (It is also such a beautiful call back to Rick telling his son these stories as a kid, like I just think that is beautiful).

While on the subject of Ancient Greek, I saw someone complain how Percy doesn’t inherently know Ancient Greek in the Olympus scene in EP 8. “Poseidon and Zeus looked at each other. They had a quick, intense discussion in Ancient Greek. I only caught one word. Father.” - The Lightning Thief, page 343. This moment was literally pulled straight from the book! Percy talks about Annabeth tutoring him in Ancient Greek in the book (The Lighting Thief, page 107) and I loved how the show changed it to be his mom that taught him because of the previous reasons I gave above.

In general, Percy is an unreliable narrator. We see that in The Last Olympian when Rachel painted him defeating Antaeus. Percy is shocked at how he looks. We also see this in Heroes of Olympus where he is constantly talked about as this powerful and sometimes scary person whereas Percy never describes himself as anything other than kind of mediocre. Percy is constantly underestimating his intelligence and power in his POV because at his core he is still an insecure kid who was bullied and uses humor as a defense mechanism. But no matter what he thinks, he is smart and powerful and capable and I love that we get to see that in the show because it isn’t in first person.

In the books I was constantly frustrated that they weren’t seeing the traps. Aunty Em’s is so clearly out of place and weird and creepy but the Book Trio just ignores it? Also the Medusa story change was beautiful and needed and added so much depth to what was a very simple scene in the books. The Crusty’s scene was jarring at first, but in hindsight it didn't bother me either because Hermes told them about the entrance. Why wouldn’t he tell them about the trap too? The way Hermes is portrayed, I get the sense that he really wants Percy to succeed, in the books and show, and that he is holding onto hope that somehow, someway, he can still save his son. Why would he send them somewhere just to lead them into a trap that does not benefit Hermes in any way? (And us not seeing that conversation happen is showing and not telling BTW)

Also, the overall claim that Percy, Annabeth and Grover know everything is just… wrong. (@pareiwheeler made a post about this that really made me realize this so go read their post too: https://www.tumblr.com/pareiwheeler/740600563986808832/theres-know-mystery-or-suspense-they-know) They know the small things but the big things? They didn’t think Luke was the thief, they didn't know it was Kronos, they didn’t know they would lose the fourth pearl, they didn’t know the casino would mess with time, they didn’t know the shoes were a trap, etc etc. They walk into these situations thinking they are prepared, thinking they know everything they need to but they DON’T And that is where the suspense lies, in the overarching storyline that is the driving force of the plot. Not in these moment to moment scenes that are not the main conflict.

Now onto the smaller changes that, in my opinion, benefit the overall narrative of this story.

Missing the solstice deadline: Not only is Percy choosing to continue the quest despite missing the deadline such a great character moment for him but this ups the stakes so much!! Zeus and Poseidon are currently at war for the last two episodes of the show and even if they don’t talk about it much, that knowledge is still there in the characters' heads and in the viewers’. Every moment they take in the Underworld, you are watching with the knowledge that war is raging above. And it's a great way to show the kind of hero Percy is and what he will become. Percy doesn’t care he “failed” because he didn’t come all this way just to run back to camp with his tail tucked between his legs because that is not Percy. Percy sneaks out of camp twice to go on quests he was not invited on because he will not let someone’s rules get in his way while he is protecting people he cares about. Percy doesn’t want war to happen so with even the slightest chance he can stop Zeus and Poseidon, he takes it! Also the addition of Poseidon stepping in and saving Percy from Zeus was beautiful.

I also loved that Poseidon gave them 4 pearls instead of 3 because such a small detail shows how Poseidon cares about Percy and Sally. And, plot wise, it didn’t change anything. Percy still left the Underworld without his mom. But starting with 4 pearls gives them hope that they actually can complete the quest AND save Sally. Percy leaving the Underworld without Sally is so much more impactful in the show than the books because of this tiny detail change.

The fact that the pearls take them to the east coast rather than the west coast works well too. I loved that they returned to the cabin because of how important that cabin is not only to Percy and Sally but also to Poseidon.

Hermes being added to the Lotus Casino and bringing in Luke’s background earlier on was beautiful and Lin Manuel Miranda’s performance was one of the standouts for me. It is such a beautiful moment and you can see the anguish in Hermes at his feeling powerless and I think it sets up Percy learning about Luke’s family in The Last Olympian in a great way. This is one of those moments where you can tell the writers and showrunners are playing the long game with this series.

Last but not least, the change in the betrayal scene. I love it. I do. Not only in the changes in the way it happens but how they characterized Luke. Luke clearly does not want to hurt Percy, he wants Percy to help him and to come with Luke because he cares about him. The prophecy states “You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend” and Luke in the book didn’t really seem to care about Percy or view him as a friend at the end of it. But Show Luke? He cares about Percy and he is heartbroken that Percy doesn’t side with him. Also the addition of Annabeth hearing Luke’s betrayal first hand was brilliant, in my opinion. Not only were Walker, Charlie and Leah ACTING but it was so much more impactful that Annabeth sees Luke turn and chooses Percy in that moment. And I don’t think it will change much of Annabeth’s actions in the future because you can see how hurt she is and how desperately she still wants him to come back and be good.

Anyway, I think the show is brilliantly done. That isn’t to say it doesn’t have its faults but nothing is perfect and if you were expecting this show to be 100% perfect then I think you just set your expectations too high because that is not realistic.

If you made it to the end of this, I love you. The Percy Jackson brain rot is real and if we don’t get an S2 announcement soon I’m going to riot

[professorhayforbreath]

my blog probably gives the impression that i think the show is bad as a whole, but the reason this show frustrates me so much is because it's definitely NOT 100% bad

like... the movies are bad adaptations. everyone knows it. they have some great moments (an embarrassing amount of which are better than the show lol) but overall they are widely considered blatantly bad adaptations. it's easier to make peace with that

the show, however, is far less consistent and i find it much more difficult to wrap my head around. there are parts that are bad and i'm happy to say that with my chest, but underneath numerous questionable-at-best writing choices, there are glimpses of really, really good stuff. the first few episodes had so much promise—percy burning blue jellybeans and praying to sally, the consensus song. these are brand new additions but they're good, they capture the spirit of the story and characters successfully

and sprinkled throughout the rest of the show are other strong choices! for example in the last episode i really liked that they set the betrayal scene during the fireworks, it created a fantastic ambience. i liked that grover left camp at the same time as percy and annabeth so the three of them got to part ways as a trio on half-blood hill

there are good changes being made, but they're almost all small in the grand scheme of things. in my opinion, the bigger, more consequential things are where they missed the most marks, and that prevented me from fully enjoying the show as a long time book fan

when it comes to writing nothing frustrates me more than wasted potential. mediocre writing is one thing, but mediocre writing that could have clearly been so much better is INFURIATING. i don't dislike the show because i wanted it to be a 1:1 recreation of the book, i dislike it because it's just okay when it could have been great. it so EASILY could have been great and i don't get why it's not. a lot of the writing choices are just baffling in their mediocrity, and sometimes technical weakness, when compared to the well written and effective source material. i wish i could have been a fly on the wall in that writers room when they were making some of these decisions, seriously

the cast is phenomenal. their budget is more than sufficient. they marketed it as a "redemption from the movies", as the adaptation that would finally give fans book accuracy. and the show we got is... fine. it's all right. it's not all that book accurate even though it was advertised as such. there's plenty to like but it comes hand in hand with plenty to dislike. it's only natural for people to be disappointed

i know my critiques can come off as venomous but please never mistake my harshness as hating for the sake of it. i adore the original pjo books so i really wanted to adore the show as well, but unfortunately i can't get there yet. "yet" being the key word because there's still plenty of time for this show to pick up the slack, and for that reason i'm glad it got renewed. i don't have the most faith the writers will listen to the feedback but i'm rooting for them to prove me wrong

[seaweed-butch]

I’m gonna say something unhinged, but one of the reasons people like the pjo movies better than the TV show is not because they’re better, but because the actors are people you can safely sexualize. I’ve seen disgusting comments about how people are waiting for Walker to be older so they are finally able to be like “he’s so hot🥵”. Crazy thing is, SOME OF YALL ARE ALREADY DOING IT!!!!! That is a BOY!!!! He looks like a BOY. Some of y’all are weird for waiting for him to be a legal age where you can talk about him in a sexualized manner. AND THE BLATANT RACISM towards a Black Annabeth is clear as day. Leah did a phenomenal job as Annaberh. She is an off the page version. I couldn’t have asked for a better casting. This show just started. Of course the first season will not be the best season!!!!! In what world do people love the first season of any show???? They don’t. It always gets better!! Give the show time to grow!!! What is this “I want pjo cancelled.” At this point, if you want a book accurate pjo you can a) watch the musical version or b) animate it yourself That is the only way because the CGI is expensive. I think if a bunch of creators/digital media artists worked together we could have a fantastic animated version of pjo that everyone would love. In this essay I will…..

[valewritessss]

I just asked one of my friends who has read the pjo books if he’s watched the show yet, and he said no. When I asked him why, he said it was because he doesn’t really want to watch it if the characters aren’t accurate. And right after that he said, “I just need an adaptation where Annabeth is white and blonde”😧😧😧. I know many people think the same but why are you admitting that??? Like lower your voice bc are you not a little bit embarrassed at least?? And then he said “not like THAT you know, but just for her to look like she does in the books”. None of them look like they do in the books, so what else would it be if you only care about Annabeth’s casting. The way she looks isn’t even relevant to her story or the plot so why would you not watch a whole show just because she doesn’t look how she was described to look in the books?? Leah is PERFECT for the role and it’s honestly his loss. He’s the only person I know who has read the books so I was really rooting for him—actually, no I wasn’t I didn’t even think I had to root for him.

[ace-of-garlic-breads]

I am very in-directly calling someone out here. No I'm not tagging them. they don't deserve to know this is about them <3

ever since the PJO show released a year ago (even before that when casting was announced) SOME Riordenverse artists began consistly drawing Annabeth as black. (Just a quick disclamer here before I go any farther, I'm white. I just want to bring this to attention) over the past abt a year I've seen an account here and on Instagram (though on insta they privated the account)

Why am I making this post then? Because this person has been stealing people's art of Annabeth as a black girl and make it "book accurate" aka stealing and white-washing other people's fanart.

Now, I don't give a flying fuck whether you prefer "book" or show Annabeth. And idgaf how you DRAW Annabeth. Everyone will see a character differently. AND THAT'S OK.

But seeing a character in a different way does NOT give you the right to steal and edit someone else's art.

The whole reason I'm not tagging this person is I don't wish for any hate for them. I'm not being hateful here either. I'm just spreading the message of "don't steal and edit other people's art without permission dumbass"

Personally I can only see annabeth as Black. So that's how I draw her.

Please respect how other see characters and if you don't agree just don't look.

Thats all🫶

feel free to reblog this with how YOU see/draw Annabeth! (If you don't draw use a picrew[just link the one you used so maybe other ppl can use it!])

I'll start: (I can't wait to see everyone's Annabeth!)

(If somehow the person I'm talking about finds this. Hi! Please stop stealing other ppls art. It's an extremely crappy thing to do.

Please don't steal other people's art. Make your own if you want to see art if how you see a character.)

[literallyjusttoa]

Firstly I’d like to say that your art is SO GOOD!!! I love how you draw Lester (who is a comfort character to me) I’ve been a Percy Jackson fan for YEARS and I’ve always thought that the Trials of Apollo series was SEVERELY underrated. I have the audiobooks and all the novels (some in more shambles than others due to how long I’ve had them) but I love how there is a small fan base for the series still going strong even after the series is over.

I’d like to ask you a question: Do you think we will ever get a Trials of Apollo TV series? And I’d also like to ask if you have any fancasts for Apollo?

I am so late on this BUT the Pjo TV show just came out so this feels rly relevant.

First of all thank you! I'm glad you like my art as a fellow Lester enjoyer! When it comes to a ToA TV series, I'm not really sure? I think if the Pjo show gets popular enough (which like, from the reaction to the first two episodes I'm gonna say it will) Talks about adapting the rest of the books would be inevitable. But TV is a notoriously unpredictable business, and it's especially shaky right now. A series being able to survive long enough to get to what would end up being the 10th-15th seasons is incredibly rare. So like, I'm really not banking on it, but if it does happen I'll be pleasantly surprised!

As for fancasts, I haven't put too much thought into it, but I think I would want the person cast for Apollo to have some sort of experience in musical theatre, bc like, Apollo is a theatre kid lol. Obviously they need to be able to sing, and I'd want them to be very physically dramatic? Like, not goofy, but I want them to be big on screen, if that makes sense. I really don't have any preferences when it comes to looks, bc with these sort of things I'd much rather an actor that can accurately portray the character than one that just "looks" like Apollo (plus Apollo can look like anything lol). All of this rambling is to distract you from the fact that I'm not naming any actors bc I genuinely suck at remembering actors and the things they've been in haha whoops.

[the-great-knight-gay]

My PJO episode ratings

Before I wanted to start I just wanted to say that I reserved all judgement about the show until it was over because I decided to trust the writers and let me tell you i LOVED pretty much every change because thats what adaptations are about

changing whats not good anymore or improving where it can be

and mainly KEEPING THE SPIRIT OF THE BOOKS WHICH WAS DONE MASTERFULLY

SPOILERS OBVIOUSLY

Now on to the rankings

EP1: 7/10

This was a solid start to the series which pretty much perfected most of the characterizations. I had a few issues originally but these were pretty quicky turned around.

Mrs Dodds fight at the MET was too short but was made up for by her increased appearances across the season which was really nice imo

random cuts to black to avoid showing the car crash - (i had this problem two other times in the show which was during ep2 and ep5 but i dont mind it anymore but ill discuss that later)

grover felt kinda sleazy for me at the start but i did make my peace with this change overall because of something later on.

EP2: 8/10

Ep2 had the same feel as Ep1 being so very Percy Jackson esque with the humour and the characterizations

LUKE WAS JUST SO LIKEABLE AND IT BROKE MY HEART THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO SEE HIM BETRAY PERCY LATER

ANNABETH JUST SAYING YES SHE STALKS PERCY WAS JUST ICONIC

The fight choreography was also just top notch and Dior's scream was just amazing and i cannot believe that it was unscripted

just goes to show how the casting is so perfect - does not matter at all that they don't look book accurate

again the cut to black was kinda annoying for me as we just skipped the council of cloven elders scene which had SUCH A GOOD SET and i was so dissapointed when we didn't see it but otherwise i had a really good time

DIONYSUS WAS JUST PERFECT TOO

I don't mind that they cut the bowing for the claiming but they could have done it so only the big three kids are bowed to which shows how revered they are

percy not wanting to go on the quest and only going when grover says his mom is in the underworld just exemplifies percy's momma boi tendencies and fixed grovers character for me which made it all the worthwhile

EP3: 9/10 - MEDUSA WAS SO GOOD

I LOVED ALL THE CHANGES IN MEDUSAS STORYLINE THEY WERE SO GOOD AND ACTUALLY FIT THE CHARACTER

This is one of the most accurate mixed of greek and roman mythology for medusa i have ever seen.

in the original greek medusa was more of a monstrous figure while the romans started to paint her as a victim of the gods spats and this i feel captures both parts to that really well and JPK just kills it.

Grover is really good in this episode just trying to hold it together and then giving percabeth a reality check at the end is so good.

EP4: 8/10

Step down from ep3 for me mainly because i wanted to see more of the chimera fight and because it was a little too expositiony at the beginning but overall really solid episode and the change in the fall from the arch is really well done

not much to say really

the kids are getting better and better throughout the show

'its like you want me to make fun of you'

this is percabeth just how i imagined them

walker and leah killed it and aryan is just amazing as well.

EP5: 10/10

WHAT IS LOVE

BABY DONT HURT ME

DONT HURT ME

NO MORE

EP6: 7/10

lets be honest the only reason people wanted to see the lotus scenes was because the movie popularized it and retrospectively because of nico and bianca

if was a tiny (but significant) part of the book and didn't really need to be the whole episode pretty much but I did like how they handled it as compared to the movie version which, while fun, did not really fit a percy jackson kind of vibe to me personally.

Lin Manuel Miranda was really good at playing Hermes and grovers scenes were some of my favourite (especially because thats where we get the di angelos easter egg but whatever)

overall a bit of a dip but still really fun for me to watch

plus i love dua lipa so the music change was a big win for me

EP7 9/10:

HADES WAS JUST AS I IMAGINED HIM. NO HOLLYWOOD HES NOT A BIG TERRIFYING SUPERVILLAIN HES ACTUALLY KINDA CHILL AND THE FLASHBACKS WERE JUST SO GOOD

THE UNDERWORLD CGI WAS GREAT

Procrustes could have been done a little better because it really feels like the suspense was taken away during that scene but the flashbacks were so good

THAT POSEIDON SCENE

THE SHOW WAS SETTING ME UP TO HATE HIM AND I JUST FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM IN LIKE 2 SECONDS

NO ONE SAID TOBY STEPHENS VOICE SOUNDED LIKE THAT

THE THUNDER FOLLOWED BY 'ONE DAY'

CHEFS KISS

ABSOLUTE KUDOS TO THE WRITERS YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING

EP8: 8471782487261078480/10:

JUST PERFECT. ARES FIGHT WAS REALLY WELL DONE

PERCY AND POSEIDON JUST BROKE MY HEART AND MENDED IT THREE TIMES WITH LIKE 4 FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

'do you ever dream about mom?'

AND I LOVED LANCE REDDICK AS ZEUS (RIP)

I AM SO UPSET WE DO NOT GET TO SEE MORE BECAUSE IT WAS SO AWESOME TO WATCH

LUKE WAS JUST AMAZING

THE KRONOS SCENE WAS SO GOOD

THE BETRAYAL JUST BROKE MY HEART

'i heard everything'

I DID NOT EXPECT ANNABETH TO SHOW UP THERE

THE DISNEYLAND REFERENCE

SEARCH THE SEAS GROVER AND GET US A SEASON 2 BECAUSE WE NEED IT ASAP

OVERALL THE SHOW IS LIKE A FULL 9/10 FOR ME

[vampirealpaca]

My thoughts on the pjo show (now that the season is over) (this is going to run long) Overall Rating: 8/10 :

Ok first of all, I actually LOVED the show and the cast is literally awesome; I do have some thoughts and feelings tho.

The GOOD :D

The visuals were eating ngl

THE CAST!!!! they literally were amazing cannot stress this enough

I think a lot of the changes were handled super well, especially Medusa (although I don't love all of the changes...see below in the next section lol)

I LOVED the set design for pretty much all of the scenes!!! Like the set & costuming was literally so good; sometimes it looked a little Volume-y but I think it's ok since they also clearly did a bunch of on-location stuff

Driving scene was literally so funny like no notes on that + the acting was On Point pretty much All of the Time.

I actually think they slayed with the special effects

Pretty accurate! (overall a waaaaaay better adaptation than the movies)

BLUE FOOD!!!!

More Sally content was awesome!! And I cannot stress this enough the ACTORS WERE SO GOOD in their roles!! Like I think they were the perfect choices ngl and I hope to see more of them in season 2 (if we get one, idk if its greenlit yet)

I also liked how they focused on Grover's character more (lowkey my fav now)

Genuinely had a great time watching the scenes from the books I've loved since Forever come to life onscreen!

The character dynamics were GIVING

Loved getting more info about Percy's backstory

The way they showed the Mist was honestly so cool!! This might be filed under Visuals but still...it was so cool

Fight choreo fluctuated, but I liked the Percy vs Luke fight (altho the scorpion erasure ;-;)

Again the chemistry with the actors like adkjhfdkjdfkjhdfjkhk I think the acting may have been my fav part honestly lol

All of the easter eggs for the fans!!

Rick's subtle rewriting of the story was sometimes very cool! (Like with the water grabbing Percy etc) --- you can definitely tell that he's thinking about how he'd change the story if he were to write it today

...HOWEVER i have gripes :(

THE LIGHTING WAS TOO DARK IN NIGHT SCENES!!!! HATE THAT TROPE WHY CANT I SEEEEEEEE (looking at u medusa scene)

I feel like they should've fallen into like…at least one trap without Knowing Everything about it. Like, I get the Medusa change and am pretty on board with it, but I feel like a few of the other changes weren't really necessary & messed with the stakes. A lot of the time it felt like I was watching them explain "Oh you're THIS person so you will do THIS so I will do THIS" instead of like...showing me.

Not enough blood (this is prob a Disney problem, not the show creators fault but like...cmon Disney...they have swords, let the children get More Injured...they are Fighting for their Lives)

Felt kinda...dryer than the books? idk how to explain it...like it felt like there wasn't the same Vibes in some parts if that makes sense, like they switched out a lot of funny moments (esp with how they changed Charon and the Crusty scenes lowkey im bitter)

the tone was definitely sometimes waaay different from the books (like it was way more serious I think, which is good sometimes and less good other times)

Idk if this is 100% true bc my last reread was a few months ago, but I think they separated the main trio more than in the book (?), it felt like they were duo-ed with diff members for a lot rather than building off of their main dynamic -- they had some trio moments but ig i just wanted more (again, I could be wrong on this one tho)

Lotus Casino not really being as Fun (the pumping lotus flowers in the air was a cool detail tho!)

It generally felt like they took a lot of the funny parts in favor of talking more about how messed up the gods are (which I liked sometimes!! but the kids are 12 let them have more funny moments too yaknow) (Rip the Died in the Bathtub line...gone but not forgotten)

I really didn't love the changes that made the story feel more Cliche and Basic (the ones that annoyed me were changing the entire DOA to just Some Standard Death Eater Looking Fellow & Annabeth's interactions with Cerebus being completely changed)

Mixed feelings on Gabe...I wanted him to be more evil at the beginning but I get why they changed it ig. Plus he was literally so funny when he (spoilers?) got murdered by opening someone else's mail. That's what happens when you commit a federal crime ig.

General Character Thoughts:

PERCY: Walker Scobell was such a good casting call... like you can tell he really cares about the books & getting the character right. Acting was on point, sass was on point (but I do wish he got to be sassy a bit More); Really gives off the energy of Percy Jackson and definitely was AMAZING in this role!

ANNABETH: She was spectacular in this role!! Leah got literally all of Annabeth down to a T --- her kindness, her pride, her wisdom, etc etc without resorting to any kind of "stock smart girl" vibe. She was literally SO GOOD! I loved seeing her talk about her dad, and the detail about her not having seen a movie is such a mood and so in-character lowkey. Leah really nailed Annabeth's dry humor and general vibe like dfajkhfdjhkfdhjk

GROVER: He was my favorite! Like, his acting was AMAZING fr!!! They brought a lot of newer things into his character that I think worked really well & it definitely strengthened his characterization --- he was also really funny & so sincere I just loved his portrayal of Grover!

HOWEVER I think some of the arcs are shakier since the characters didn't struggle as much, since they were figuring out a Lot of things

Overall, I took 2 points from the rating because the Spirit and Humor weren't fully there and I felt some of the changes made it feel less like the OG and more cliche (looking at u Charon). However, the great acting, pretty slay writing (except for the tone stuff), Vibes, and all the other stuff I think they did right pulled through to get it ranked a little higher lol. Plus, I liked it, even if I didn't like all of it.

No hate if u loved the show adaptation tho!! Feel free to disagree, these are just my thoughts lol. I really genuinely hope there's going to be a season 2, although I would like if they fix a few of these problems in that potential season (please...let me see what's happening in the dark scenes...please...)

[my-pjo-stuff]

For the Great PJO Ask Analysis event: (ask no. 4)

You've got a topic in PJO you'd like for me to analyze?

The Americanisation of the Greek myths: Olympus being on top of the Empire State building, etc.

The demigod world and the mortal world being intergrated instead of separate.

Want to share YOUR analysis of stuff with me and my followers?

The Hunters of Artemis are a poor representation of women and don't do the original myths justice.

Want to hear my take or shares yours of different characters and aspects of the PJO universe?

The TV show is more accurate to the books: thoughts?

The Americanisation of the Greek myths: Olympus being on top of the Empire State building, etc.

I think I said it on here already, but tbh to me it's just a classic case of Rick only knowing America, so he sets all his action in America. Which, yeah I can get that. I'd probably do the same- but personally I'd still prefer it if the different pantheons (not just the greek ones) were spread out over the world more. To me it all just feels very small and cramped to have EVERYONE important- god AND myth- in America. I mean, stuff like gods should be world wide, right? Why are we all just hanging out in America? Having it all more spread out over the world could allows us to explore more locations. In the context of a children's book we can use it to introduce children to different cultures. Not to mention all the possibilities we can have for non-american demigods! A culture and system of a country can influence a child very much. What differences would there be between an American Demigod and let's say- a french one? It all just seams very wasted for me for the benefit of comfort in writting for Rick.

The demigod world and the mortal world being intergrated instead of separate.

I don't think you can really say that the demigod and mortal world are very integrated to be honest- yes demigods live in both worlds- but there is very little truly connecting the both. Mortals can't enter CHB. The mist keeps anything mythical hidden from mortals. Demigods can't usually share the truth of their heritage with friends due to fear of getting written off as crazy. It doesn't seem very integrated to me, it's more like....an open border.

Imagine it like two countries, one is the demigod/immortal world and the other one is the mortal one. Between them is a border demigods are free to cross as much or as little as they want. The two countries would still be separate, it'd just be easy to traverse between them for a certain group of people.

The Hunters of Artemis are a poor representation of women and don't do the original myths justice.

I mean I said often enough that I think they are creepy af and I honestly HATE pjo Artemis which is why I won't chew it all through AGAIN on here. So yeah, agree 100%. The TV show is more accurate to the books: thoughts?

Ehhhhh- more accurate than the movies? Certainly, but it still has some way to go. Like casting for example, personally I'd have preffered it if we kept all appearances to the books (black haired Percy, blonde Luke ect.) but I can live with that okay. I can also live with the changes the made to Luke in general- my main problem really stems from them missing the deadline of the quest and the way they did Hermes. That's mostly because both of these things just.......make the gods to nice. Like I genuinly do not think that book!Poseidon would have given up for Percy. And the whole Hermes thing looked to me like excuses. An integral part of these books is that Luke was genuinly right. The gods are just straight up selfish, and even evil at times. They use their children like pawns. They negelect them on purpose. Not because of some "rules" (looking at you, show!Hermes). I think the show lost that, which in my eyes is sort of a big problem. But I still hold up hopes for it to get fixed, and I do enjoy Luke.

[bring-alessandra-the-horizon]

no bc if they ever do another live action (but book accurate this time) MPHFPC movie or tv show they NEED to cast Jake Shane (octopusslover8 on Tiktok, the guy who says tents up, rates octopus dishes, and makes those skits where like the number 1 pencil reacts to there being a number 2 pencil) as Enoch 😂

& here are my reasons why:

- he looks like he’d be about 5’4” which is Enoch’s canon height

- he (to me) looks exactly how they describe Enoch’s physical features in the book, especially his facial features

- idk whenever he comes up on my for you page I just automatically think of enoch

Like tell me that he doesn’t look similar to the picture used for Enoch in the book because I think he looks SCARILY like the picture in the book:

The only con would be that Jake is 23 and Enoch is supposed to be 12-13 🫣 but at least if they’d need to age him up he would look book accurate 😂

If they wanted to make an ACTUAL book accurate piece of media with no aging up, Walker Scobell from the new PJO show would also make a great Enoch (and he’s actually 14):

but if there was another movie or even a tv show made, who would you wanna see play the kids?

[bluecrocss]

Another Yap-sesh: PJO CASTING for Season 2 (Please read)

In light of the recent casting announcements, I just wanted to remind the greater PJO fandom (not that I should have to), THIS ADAPTATION IS NOT CONCERNED WITH "BOOK ACCURACY" WHEN IT COMES TO PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.

They are prioritizing personality and acting ability.

I shouldn't HAVE to spell this out, since none of the literal main characters have been book accurate, but I'm still seeing shit like, "Idc if annabeth is black, but Rachel BETTER have red hair", "Thalia HAS to have her blue eyes! It's so important in the book", yadda yadda yadda

If the main characters aren't book accurate, idk why y'all are acting like they're suddenly going to lock in with side characters based off features that y'all are pretending are more important than they are because in all honesty, you just don't like change (let's at least be honest).

Like... no, it doesn't matter that Rachel Dare's initials spell out R.E.D. The red hair, literally does not fundamentally affect her story arc in the original series (I know y'all are gonna come up with some dumb B.S. like "that's the first thing Percy noticed about her! Red hair is the ONLY thing that will make her stand out!" "We're losing redhead rep. Rachel is the only character that made me feel okay about having red hair!" blah blah blah lmao)

Listen, with the exception of characters like Nico, Bianca, Ethan Nakamura, etc. Where their ethnicity actually plays into the character or story arc, y'all need to let go of hair color, skin tone, eye color, etc.

The announcements that have been leaked for Thalia and Tyson are asking for actors of any ethnicity and have no mention of any particular physical features (just an age range, that Thalia will have a punk aesthetic and Tyson needs to look like a large teenager). So accept the following:

Thalia might not have dark hair or blue eyes

Either character may be non-white (that doesn't mean they'll be black, cuz I know some of y'all will automatically try to use this as an excuse to be anti-black [["Anti-woke" losers try not use black people as a scapegoat challenge, level: impossible]]. And also, they never actually described Tyson's racial identity lmao. Y'all just tend to default to white. I'm sure you won't be losing your minds about "book accuracy" when the actor doesn't have big, disjointed, yellow teeth either).

Anyway, I'm actually deviating from the point. I don't particularly have any aesthetic demands for the characters, believe it or not. I personally don't need either of them to be poc (but I will always stand by, that DEI is a good thing and white people can never lose "rep", since it's not something y'all were ever barred from), nor do I care about eye color or hair color. They could both be completely "book accurate" and I wouldn't have an issue with it (although, I kinda hope Rachel Dare won't be a redhead, so the last of the "book accuracy" as a shield for bigotry cry babies will finally drop this series once and for all, so the rest of us can enjoy it for what it is).

The point of the post is that there is a *chance* they might not be physically book accurate, and there is no reason for y'all to put another young actor through what you demons put 12 year old Leah through (feel free to read the pinned on my page, careful tho, I'm a yapper, to get a clearer idea of that whole mess).

Once y'all leave your little echo-chamber of false reality that is the internet, actors are working people who apply for jobs they are qualified for. If there are no physical or racial specifications for a role, these working actors, who are hoping for their big break have every right to audition (btw, it's not "race-swapping" if the auditions are open to everyone. Check my pinned). When they are given that role, that is the decision of Disney, the casting directors, and Mr. Rick Riordan himself. If you disagree, find the private emails of the people responsible and contact them yourselves. Harassing the actors for fairly earning the role, and complaining about their casting on public pages "(not based off their performance, solely on their looks), which will just incite more hate towards them for being a WORKING ACTOR and accepting a JOB, makes you a bigot. No two ways about it. It is just insane behavior.

What's that completely inaccurate adage about insanity, again? Something about doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.

Y'all have seen the first season. The author, show-runners, writers AND producers have spoken ad nauseam about the direction of this adaptation. The books have not been burned. They still exist in all their glory for you to read. If you need 1:1 book accuracy, this adaptation is not for you. Plenty of people have enjoyed it for what it is. Why are you making yourself miserable? Why are you making the fandom miserable? Why are you desperately trying to make the actors (most of whom are minors) miserable?

Nobody is holding a gun to your head. Simply, don't. Watch. It.

Cuz if they announce the casting for season 2, and y'all starting acting shocked that they're not "book accurate" and sending hate mobs to young actors and inciting racism and bigotry in the Fandom AGAIN... I think it'll finally speak to the true nature of this fandom. It was never about "book accuracy" it was always about hate. Whatever superiority complex the PJO fandom has been carrying over a certain *wizarding* series... y'all can just chuck out the window.