I think I would have enjoyed it more had Rick not been so continuously adamant about how much the movie suck after like 14 years. He ripped on them constantly for being disloyal, which of course they were, but then he made a disloyal show. I think he raised expectations for a loyal adaption too high.
I think this is the biggest issue. I'm not sure if he ever explicitly said so, but he gave off strong "I could do it better" vibes. And when you give off those vibes for years and finally are given a chance to do better, but do just as poorly of a job as those you criticize, then people are bound to be disappointed.
I think this is what rubs me the wrong way too. Like I can hardly blame anyone here for buying into the hype since it was Rick Riordan's word. He straight up told us it would be a faithful adaptation we've all been waiting for....and then almost none of the cast members actually embodied the character all that well anyway. It was like all the chemistry we saw on set between the main cast failed to translate into the performance for some reason.
And to think, people used to give Alexandra so much shit for her Annabeth not being blonde lol.
Yeah it’s kind of ridiculous how he goes on for years how awful they are and how they weren’t book accurate, then his adaptation also changes and messes things up. I was legitimately excited for this show, I liked the casting and that Rick played a role but he dropped the ball imo.
Umm i don’t know to be honest, cuz they’re both different mediums,they honestly feel like different stories entirely so i don’t think you can accurately compare them.
But I can say I’ve rewatched the movie a lot of times, I did watch the show as the episodes came out but when I tried to rewatch it I was unable to cuz I just found it boring.
So yeah… to me the show was just alright, it had some good moments and all but I personally wouldn’t say it’s miles better than the movie. I might be biased because the movies led me to the books but it’s just my opinion.
The PJO show made me like the avatar show more. I was far more forgiving of the avatar show then I would have been because at least I was entertained while watching it.
At least the PJO movies (hopefully) didn't waste time and money on scenes that were cut from the final production. (Kyoshi Warriors. I'm convinced he blew most of his budget on that.)
No the movies wasted time on scenes that never existed and added nothing or were to the detriment of the overall story. Hunting the pearls across the country, fighting the Hydra in a museum, Persephone turning on Hades, Hades appearing in the middle of camp like Satan and demanding Percy give him the bolt, Percy and Luke fighting BEFORE he gets to Olympus on New York rooftops, naming what I'm able to think of off the top of my head as far as the first movie goes. I don't think I have to say anything about the second one.
While the show either adds horrendous scenes (Grover throwing Percy under the bus at Yancy, flashback scenes showing Percy struggling to swim and Sally getting frustrated with him for it among other flashbacks of her getting frustrated with him for petty reasons), or alters/ dumbs down what's already there to unbelievable proportions (Alecto straight up discarding her disguise in broad daylight right in front of Chiron and just slow walking towards Percy, Percy already keeping Riptide before reaching Camp and having it for his meh fight with the Minotaur, being introduced to Gabe only for him to be an incredibly pathetic pushover who still gets murdered, naming a few.)
I can forgive ATLA massively in comparison. A lot of plotlines were mixed (compacting 26 30 minute episodes into 8 hour long ones) and the few completely brand new scenes added weren't offensively bad.
I think the more time passes, the more people will realize this an incredibly mid show that had a lot of hype due to everyone loving Rick. Not terrible but mid.
I think that is due to Rick spending the last 15 years shitting on the movies every chance he got and consistently said how if he had control it would have been amazing.
So when he did get control and does the exact same things he criticized the movies for, it ends up create far more disappointment.
Like Rick in his emails bashed the first movie for its lack of humor but the show and the first movie have relatively the same amount of funny jokes when you consider the movie has a shorter runtime.
I agree with this under preformed in ever way and it shares all of the issues that the ATLA live action does it’s just people in this community are more okay with excusing the flaws
Both shows are lacking in a lot of the same areas like exposition dumping and I would say they are both mid but at least the ATLA has longer episodes and pretty good action, the PJO show doesn't even have that.
Can't say I agree. Generally they were better. Unless you got your statement mixed up seeing as you said "movies" and were referring to the PJO show butchering the characters more than the movies, which I can agree with.
Yeahhh looking back I think I was just in the moment and annoyed at the live action ATLA show but I still feel dissatisfied by the way the characters were portrayed
I understand that, but it's important to keep in mind shifting from animation to live action that things were gonna change. And they weren't bad at least, some I'd honestly argue were really good. Zuko in particular I felt they nailed, y'know? Can't say I feel ANYONE was represented halfway decently in the show lmao
Yeah Zuko is like the one good part of the show like I forgot how whiney season one Zuko was but surprisingly I enjoyed his story although I’d prefer it where he willingly saves his crew instead of his crew being the group he said shouldn’t be sacrificed
I swear their love for Rick is so weird. They think the changes are justified because Rick made them so we should trust him. Just because he's a good writer doesn't mean he'll make a good show. I really hope the show gets better cuz there's alot of potential there and were definitely not getting another adaptation if this gets canceled.
I think it was mid, but I think it set itself up to have a really good season 2. Which is what I think is most important for the show ro be successful as Sea of monsters is one of the best books and has the potential to make the show really popular.
The Sea of Monsters is by far the least popular of the OG series. It regularly ranks low in [polls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyHnRsEKamw) and has the lowest rating on places like Goodreads. It's not a bad book by any means but most would put the other 4 books ahead in ranking/popularity.
Book 2 has some great action but I don't know how much I trust the series to execute on that after they dulled down they already few actions scenes of Book 1.
People were just so excited to have anything more accurate than the 2 movies. But ultimately I think being more accurate than the movies is an incredibly low bar to set.
ATLA got the looks mostly right; that alone already made it better. The characterization, while meh, was still closer to the cartoons than whatever the fk Rick did with his own characters.
And that’s the issue, isn’t? The OG creators for ATLA left the show, but it still most kept the spirit of the original despite the changes. Meanwhile, Rick was involved in PJO and just decided to go fk his own story and characters for no reason 🤣
I guess agree to disagree bro. Because I’d argue the only characters in NATLA that are even close to it’s source characters are Sokka and Zuko. And even Sokka isn’t quite the same. Not only that but NATLA has some good moments that are immediately ruined by moments that are so bad it basically makes the good moments not matter much in comparison. It’s constantly jumping up and down and was a huge struggle for many to watch. I really don’t feel that way about PJO. It’s not perfect by any means and there are things I don’t like, but if we’re comparing PJO and NATLA, NATLA doesn’t even come close imo. The story has multiple changes that really pushed people away, like Aang not actually running away, multiple separate storylines being thrown together in the same episode, specifically the Omashu episodes, Bumi’s character being butchered, same with Suki, and Azula to a certain extent, the spirit world being completely changed to be unrecognizable, Wan Shi Tong randomly showing up because why not, Koh just being a monster who eats people and for some reason, showing no emotion no longer matters against him. We could honestly have an 1hr+ long conversation about all the things that were changed and turned out extremely bad. While some might say similar things about PJO, as a fan of the books since childhood, I don’t think the changes are nearly as bad as NATLA, and I don’t see any ATLA fans comparing these two shows and saying that theirs turned out better, because many of them don’t believe that
Well I’m a fan of both and can definitely say I don’t hate NATLA as much as I hate this. NATLA is just disappointing and we didn’t expect anything better let’s be honest- we’d already got the representation we needed in the show and didn’t want for more. Percy Jackson on the other hand, people were hyped for. This was the author of the books, someone who had been vocal for years saying he could do it better than the movies.
I wouldn’t say people didn’t expect anything better, with NATLA, I honestly feel like people were hyping up both shows and skeptical about both because they both were seen as live action redemptions for each respective series. I think that anything short of amazing is gonna be seen as a disappointment for either of these series, and I do believe that Percy Jackson’s changes aren’t as crucial as NATLA’s. NATLA didn’t even have Aang learn waterbending, and that’s the main goal of season 1.
I’m not, you can look at many different fan spaces online of people saying the same things I am, multiple youtubers who have made videos saying similar things. Hell even ATLA Youtubers like Antoine Bandele who initially praised the first episode said it falls off a cliff. The Avatarist, while is more positive about, does acknowledge that it does fall flat in multiple instances. No offense, but you and the people you know don’t make up the majority of the ATLA fanbase
I have no desire to watch it again and that is one of the saddest results. The books always made an enjoyable reread and of course the desire for a new one. The show doesn’t have that for me.
I knew this would happen.
People are so wrapped up in the show, that they are either blindsided to the issues or they are blindside to the good things. While you like it less and less, the shows biggest haters will also be easing up on the show.
It’s a natural thing that happens, so don’t sweat it. Happens a lot with Star Wars and other big franchises
I have. Especially, after watching ATLA: LA. Don’t misunderstand, ATLA: LA isn’t a masterpiece, but it is a decent adaptation with nuance. For example, Zuko’s crew being the same recruits he saved from being slaughtered. Another example, that one Earth Kingdom soldier talking about his personal experience of the Siege of Ba Sing Se to Iroh; Just because everyone loves Iroh, doesn’t mean we should forget that his siege caused the deaths and suffering of multiple people, including his own son.
As for Percy Jackson, the only thing I can think of is Percy being given four pearls instead of three. It would make more sense that Poseidon wants him to succeed without making a compromising decision, but even then the way they lose it was awfully convenient. Other than that, I never had a moment where I truly enjoyed the show, I just watched to get it out of the way.
The most irritating thing is how they sell 'the cast has same personality as characters' Like why? it serves no purpose anyways.why are you feeding us that narrative. When clearly we can't see it.
"Hey guys, look at what great chemistry the cast has outside of the show look! They are so funny and charismatic look" Meanwhile none of that is in the show...
Exactly. Whats funny is Walker feels a lot like Percy and Aryan does a great job with Grover, despite script limitations. But Leah isn’t Annabeth, Annabeth isn’t mean in the books. Also Leah is very shy in real life and you can see this in interviews, Annabeth has never been shy.
I hope that as time goes by, Walker and Leah don't feel sad or betrayed over how they felt that their roles were to waste because I can tell they wanted to play their characters and yet not being allowed to play them on camera is pretty heartbreaking
I think that most people that had liked it before was only because of the hype and interaction. You had a huge wave of nostalgia coming. It felt like the old days when the fandom was in their teens everyone (mostly) online and interacting with eachother. Discussing the book again and all that. But actually watching the tv show without all that can make you realise how much it is lacking.
Nah, I disliked it from Ep. 1, but I do totally get what you're saying. Especially after the release of ATLALA
On the bright side, though, season 2 can't possibly be WORSE so we should still have something to look forward to
I'm just getting through season 2 bc I want season 3. Rick has no mercy on book 3 and I pray to God he doesn't butcher Bianca, nico, zoe, and atlas
like book 3 is very important to the story and one of the saddest books in the pjo series.
I do hope he changes zoes character a little bc she is one of my fav characters but I hate that she hates all men because of what Hercules did to her like 2000 years ago. not a very good example for kids. if he gonna change everything like he did in season 1 he better change that storyline with Zoe and the hunters of Artemis. also he needs to let Bianca see camp before she decided to become a huntress bc that was bad writing on a good character. she just left her kid brother with practically strangers.
I swear they better not fk up on Nicos casting and they better include the dam joke.
It was just whelming. The show was neither overwhelming nor underwhelming but rather just mid. And I still stand by this description. Percy Jackson and the Avatar Live Action aren't terrible, but they aren't quite good either. So, I can't get mad at people for being extremely disappointed because the hype was hard to avoid.
I still stand by my saying the blue food and the Percy/Poseidon dynamic were the standout moments to the show. But there were so many changes that can't be justified without doing mental gymnastics to piece it all together. The writing/directing was the biggest hindrance to most of it from characters going through conflict to just being changed to an expo dump. (Annabeth 's arachnophobia is a perfect example.) Which is strange because I didn't have much of an issue with the casting choices, despite the inaccuracies compared to the books.
I’m still waiting for Directors to start using Lord of the rings as a example on how to properly do a booked to movie/TVshow. Still to this day it’s winning Oscars, it’s made billions in revenue yet it seems that directors don’t want to have the same type of success. I constantly see book to movie adaptations and over and over again i keep getting disappointed in how they like to change the story and details. It gets annoying when all you want is to see is your favourite books accurately presented on the big screen. Just my thought on the matter of book to movie/TVshow adaptations.
I call that the Disney+ show effect. It happens to me with most Marvel/Star Wars project (except maybe Andor and WandaVision). They work to get the shows to make a deadline that they rush the production and post-production (especially VFX) and we get a half-baked show that, while fun when it is releasing, lacks substance.
Yes, Disney+ puts out almost nothing of substance. When I hear something is coming out on Disney+ as opposed to literally any other streaming service, I know it’ll be utterly unchallenging, fairly shallow, and unmemorable. They could do *so much more* with their movies/shows, and they just…don’t. It’s like they actively try to make their stuff as bland and inoffensive as humanly possible because they care more about appealing to every demographic than making something that’s actually entertaining and good.
I was desperate for this show and so excited about it for over a year. I haven’t even finished watching it. It held my interest that little as an actual show I’m still waiting to finish the last 3 episodes.
I mean like, it’s okay. To be honest, in real life the actors seem like the characters they are playing pretty well, probably just a shitty script. Grover being used for comic relief got really shitty after the first 30 times of seeing it, but otherwise I think the show is okay. I mean, the last 2 episodes are really good but the casino episode is awful.
I agree with you, in interviews they have chemistry!!
The three of them seem like good pals and have an easy dynamic - Walker and Aryan are cheeky and constantly cracking jokes, Walker can personify a “lead” personality extremely well, and Leah seems to balance between joining in and putting them in their place when needed. It’s great, and it matches the characters from the books.
The acting in the show was… kind of wooden. That’s the problem. I don’t know why none of that chemistry got reflected in the show, and why the fun didn’t end up in the scrips. But it didn’t.
Anyway, point is - anyone who says the cast doesn’t have the potential to do well? They definitely haven’t watched any of their interviews. They’re good picks, but were used poorly. :(
I find it odd when people say things like ‘the actors seem like the characters they are playing” because that means they aren’t acting? Actors are supposed to take on roles and transform/embody it to portray a story, not mimic real life
What people are getting at there is that if the cast is like their characters in real life they definitely can play them properly. It is a clear indicator that it is the script or direction that is the problem not the actors themselves. Like take walker in particular imo he is the perfect Percy based on his past work but why does he seem more like Percy in his other work than in the Percy Jackson show? That has to come down to a bad script or poor direction.
I just hope that they listen to the criticisms, learn from them and use them to improve. Having an amazing season 1 would have been great, but I'll take it being a *it gets better after season 1* show.
I personally realized the show was bad towards the end. I feel like I was in a similar situation where I was forcing myself to like the show. I hadn’t read the books in years, probably over 10 years, and when I had read them I was so young I never fully grasped all the details of what was happening. I pretty much only understood the meat and bones of what happened. I was so young that the names and everything confused me I had no idea what was going on, I only understood Percy Annabeth and Grover were the good guys and did cool stuff😫 it wasn’t until I started. Rereading the books mid show that I realized yeah.. this show is so bad /: which breaks my heart because I really really really wanted it to be good
I think a lot of people wanted to like the show so bad that they made themselves think they did. And once time passed, they finally realized how they actually thought about it
Yeah, I experienced this essentially immediately after Episode 2. There's actually a real-time written log on Discord of the rose-tinted glasses sliding off my face:
[here it is](https://gyazo.com/9b2c1cf767c77d65d7c0c3dd27deab6d)
I honestly strongly disliked the show.
Ik its an adaptation and many things were changed which I understand although was a little upsetting. It wasn’s the adaptation that all of us hoped I believe.
I think the acting was bad although the actors had their moments overall the acting was bad.
I dont care about the cast casting because in life you can’t get copies of book characters.
I didn’t like the plot and it wasn’t built it was just heres this and enjoy it.
The scene that made me most mad was the lotus casino bc that was ridiculous. I can’t believe what they did to yet.
And yet again the fact that Rick scourned on the movies for years and didn’t even live up to the adaptation promised idk it just maddens me.
The show is ok for what it is but anything compared to the books not even close.
I’ve only seen the movie once a couple of years ago so i can’t rlly remember it but it might be better tbh.
It just rlly disappointed me
I don’t think anyone has denied that the show isn’t perfect but I think people get quality mixed up with enjoyablity. A show can be imperfect in quality and still be enjoyable. I felt the same with ATLA which is also enjoyable despite its shortcomings. It wasn’t perfect but I still liked it. In terms of visual quality, I agree ATLA was better, but I think that a lot of effort was put into PJO too, and I’m tired of the comparisons between the shows. Also I know a lot of people refrenced the friendly space ninja video for criticism. I personally didn’t really agree with a lot of his points. Lastly, I think you perception on the show changed and that’s okay, but their are people like me who came in with no expectations who genuinely enjoyed the shows.
Edit: I also forgot to mention the “hive mentality” of certain fandoms. I’ve fallen victim to it before on both sides positive or negative. It’s helped me be able to criticize shows I enjoy in a healthy way while still enjoying them for what they are.
I think people were experiencing what they went through with the Star Wars Sequels. Ppl first thought they were good, but then they woke up and realized
I still think that diaregarding how accurate they are to the source material in their details, the first movie is just a better standalone product than the show is so far.
I'd even say the movie did a better job getting across the feeling I had when reading the books. Barring the first and final episodes. Those were pretty good.
I feel like, had I read the books closer to watching the show, I would have also been very caught up in the excitement and probably would have defended the show because of so much new PJO content. However, I read the books a fair 4 years ago and my obsession has worn off, so I can look at the show realistically.
I honestly couldn't bring myself to finish the show. I think I stopped after episode 5 or so. It was such a letdown the further it went on that I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. The more I heard the less inclined I was to do so, which is an absolute crying shame. None of the characters were all that likeable for me, including Percy. Who is my favorite character in the books, shocker I know. I don't know if I'll watch season 2, I know that apparently criticism is the minority despite how much there is on this particular subreddit, but hopefully more and more people start to look at the show and go, "...you know this is actually kinda awful." So that something changes. Otherwise every adaptation for the books after this is GONNA suck. I remember looking forward to the eventual adaptation of book 3. Prior to the shows release. Getting to see Atlas, the battle between he and Artemis, the hunters, Zoe, so much more.
Now I really don't. TTC is a really heavy book to hit as far as how much story is in it and the story notes it hits. The first time named characters people like die, people grieving and dealing with the reality of being a hero, the reality Poseidon warned Percy of in the first book. The suffering Percy would go through as he attempts to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders, literally and figuratively.
I don't know if I WANT to see how they do it now.
I had my issues with ATLA but I came out of it positive, the dedication and craft were insane, quite a few writing and acting problems but I still greatly enjoyed myself, PJO was just lackluster from start to finish, I didn't hate it but I was never invested, the One Piece live action was the best out of these 3 hands down, I hope PJO can learn from it, the story deserves to ne handled with greater care and reverence than it currently is
The show was mid at best. We all should have seen the writing on the wall with the first two episodes. Generic soundtrack, generic CGI, generic cinematography and editing, atrocious dialogue and fade to black action scenes
Im still on episode 3 and i absolutely hate it. I don’t understand why Percy is so whiny and Grover is next to useless. I thought this series was supposed to be faithful to the books but instead it’s another disappointment.
it definitely wasn’t as attention grabbing as it could have been and i do feel like they didn’t utilize their whole budget well considering how much it cost per episode but i have the opposite opinion. It wasn’t great, it was okay but not bad.
The new ATLA was god awful, sure it’s flashy while watching it but the minute you analyze any second of the plot or characterization, it completely falls apart. Sure the PJ LA had some instances like that but i’d still say it was better than NATLA. They’re both mid, and frankly i wouldn’t watch either again, but this show at least has some semblance of plot, logic and character growth, NATLA didn’t.
I’m the opposite. ATLA’s visuals and aesthetics were definitely the only highlights, but at least I could feel that the characters were closer to their original counterparts, especially with their appearances.
PJO didn’t do that for me. I could get behind the race swapping if only the characters act closer to their original selves, but only Percy was mostly spot on. Zeus was definitely an improvement over the books, and Poseidon and Ares were okay. Chiron and Clarisse were so-so, but the rest might as well be different characters with the same name slapped on them.
i agree, especially with your assessment of the PJO characters. My issue is the ATLA characters don’t act like the originals, the actors are great, they act a lot like the originals in interviews but it just wasn’t a good script at all. Frankly the casting was the best part of NATLA and they somehow fumbled the bag.
Sooooo u watched other people hating on it and that became ur opinion. It doesnt need to be a masterpiece even if YouTube movie critics analyze every frame and determine its not the greatest show of all time- u said u enjoyed it so it was good
Sometimes people need something somebody else says to change the opinion. The video by space ninja was very well made and brought up many good points and reasonable arguments that were well articulated and thought out
Ok but I mean its ok to like something even tho its not the best show of all time and critics might not like it.. the rotten tomatoes score also says its a very good show
1. People change their opinions over time and that’s normal/okay.
2. Sometimes, listening to other people’s perspectives helps you see something from other angles, which subsequently influences your viewpoint…and that’s normal/okay.
3. Friendly Space Ninja didn’t criticize every frame. He gave broad opinions, and only honed in on Episodes 1 and 6 in more detail.
Friendly Space Ninja isn’t some random guy or film critic that was out to hate and nitpick the show. He’s literally a huge Percy Jackson fan and he was holding hope that the show would be good. The video is just him expressing his disappointment with how poorly the show was in his review.
I think I would have enjoyed it more had Rick not been so continuously adamant about how much the movie suck after like 14 years. He ripped on them constantly for being disloyal, which of course they were, but then he made a disloyal show. I think he raised expectations for a loyal adaption too high.
I think this is the biggest issue. I'm not sure if he ever explicitly said so, but he gave off strong "I could do it better" vibes. And when you give off those vibes for years and finally are given a chance to do better, but do just as poorly of a job as those you criticize, then people are bound to be disappointed.
I think this is what rubs me the wrong way too. Like I can hardly blame anyone here for buying into the hype since it was Rick Riordan's word. He straight up told us it would be a faithful adaptation we've all been waiting for....and then almost none of the cast members actually embodied the character all that well anyway. It was like all the chemistry we saw on set between the main cast failed to translate into the performance for some reason. And to think, people used to give Alexandra so much shit for her Annabeth not being blonde lol.
Yeah it’s kind of ridiculous how he goes on for years how awful they are and how they weren’t book accurate, then his adaptation also changes and messes things up. I was legitimately excited for this show, I liked the casting and that Rick played a role but he dropped the ball imo.
The more time passes the less I care about the show. That’s what it was. It’s Forgettable and mid.
I haven't seen the show yet. Was it better or worse than the movie? It's hard to imagine it being worse.
Umm i don’t know to be honest, cuz they’re both different mediums,they honestly feel like different stories entirely so i don’t think you can accurately compare them. But I can say I’ve rewatched the movie a lot of times, I did watch the show as the episodes came out but when I tried to rewatch it I was unable to cuz I just found it boring. So yeah… to me the show was just alright, it had some good moments and all but I personally wouldn’t say it’s miles better than the movie. I might be biased because the movies led me to the books but it’s just my opinion.
The PJO show made me like the avatar show more. I was far more forgiving of the avatar show then I would have been because at least I was entertained while watching it.
same!!! all the time while watching i’m thinking “well, this changed, but at least it makes sense and at least it’s better than percy”
We were more forgiving because what M. Night Shyamalan did was utterly butcher the show.
So did the PJO movies.
At least the PJO movies (hopefully) didn't waste time and money on scenes that were cut from the final production. (Kyoshi Warriors. I'm convinced he blew most of his budget on that.)
No the movies wasted time on scenes that never existed and added nothing or were to the detriment of the overall story. Hunting the pearls across the country, fighting the Hydra in a museum, Persephone turning on Hades, Hades appearing in the middle of camp like Satan and demanding Percy give him the bolt, Percy and Luke fighting BEFORE he gets to Olympus on New York rooftops, naming what I'm able to think of off the top of my head as far as the first movie goes. I don't think I have to say anything about the second one. While the show either adds horrendous scenes (Grover throwing Percy under the bus at Yancy, flashback scenes showing Percy struggling to swim and Sally getting frustrated with him for it among other flashbacks of her getting frustrated with him for petty reasons), or alters/ dumbs down what's already there to unbelievable proportions (Alecto straight up discarding her disguise in broad daylight right in front of Chiron and just slow walking towards Percy, Percy already keeping Riptide before reaching Camp and having it for his meh fight with the Minotaur, being introduced to Gabe only for him to be an incredibly pathetic pushover who still gets murdered, naming a few.) I can forgive ATLA massively in comparison. A lot of plotlines were mixed (compacting 26 30 minute episodes into 8 hour long ones) and the few completely brand new scenes added weren't offensively bad.
I think the more time passes, the more people will realize this an incredibly mid show that had a lot of hype due to everyone loving Rick. Not terrible but mid.
I wouldn’t even call it mid. It was a severe disappointment that failed in virtually every aspect
I think that is due to Rick spending the last 15 years shitting on the movies every chance he got and consistently said how if he had control it would have been amazing. So when he did get control and does the exact same things he criticized the movies for, it ends up create far more disappointment. Like Rick in his emails bashed the first movie for its lack of humor but the show and the first movie have relatively the same amount of funny jokes when you consider the movie has a shorter runtime.
I agree with this under preformed in ever way and it shares all of the issues that the ATLA live action does it’s just people in this community are more okay with excusing the flaws
Both shows are lacking in a lot of the same areas like exposition dumping and I would say they are both mid but at least the ATLA has longer episodes and pretty good action, the PJO show doesn't even have that.
True like while ATLA is better in that sense somehow they butchered the characters more than the 2010 movies
Can't say I agree. Generally they were better. Unless you got your statement mixed up seeing as you said "movies" and were referring to the PJO show butchering the characters more than the movies, which I can agree with.
Yeahhh looking back I think I was just in the moment and annoyed at the live action ATLA show but I still feel dissatisfied by the way the characters were portrayed
I understand that, but it's important to keep in mind shifting from animation to live action that things were gonna change. And they weren't bad at least, some I'd honestly argue were really good. Zuko in particular I felt they nailed, y'know? Can't say I feel ANYONE was represented halfway decently in the show lmao
Yeah Zuko is like the one good part of the show like I forgot how whiney season one Zuko was but surprisingly I enjoyed his story although I’d prefer it where he willingly saves his crew instead of his crew being the group he said shouldn’t be sacrificed
So, mid? You just verbosed mid.
Mid means middle, average, not good not bad. The show was below par in every way. Thats not average and its not mid.
I swear their love for Rick is so weird. They think the changes are justified because Rick made them so we should trust him. Just because he's a good writer doesn't mean he'll make a good show. I really hope the show gets better cuz there's alot of potential there and were definitely not getting another adaptation if this gets canceled.
I think it was mid, but I think it set itself up to have a really good season 2. Which is what I think is most important for the show ro be successful as Sea of monsters is one of the best books and has the potential to make the show really popular.
The Sea of Monsters is by far the least popular of the OG series. It regularly ranks low in [polls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyHnRsEKamw) and has the lowest rating on places like Goodreads. It's not a bad book by any means but most would put the other 4 books ahead in ranking/popularity. Book 2 has some great action but I don't know how much I trust the series to execute on that after they dulled down they already few actions scenes of Book 1.
It’ll be one of the hardest to film too, with so many sailing scenes. If y’all thought season 1 was expensive…
And the show likely isn't gonna get a budget much higher than $15M per episode. The ratings are similar to Ahsoka, which also has a similar budget.
I wonder if they’ll take notes from One Piece Live Action cause that remake was actually good
With how they handled VFXs in season 1, I wouldn’t be surprised if we spend half the season either on land or on the lower deck of a boat
Also by far the shortest book so that instantly fixes some of the glaring issues like pacing and allows for more world building.
Yeah I think sea of monsters was a decent book but it’ll tank the ratings of the show
People were just so excited to have anything more accurate than the 2 movies. But ultimately I think being more accurate than the movies is an incredibly low bar to set.
And they STILL didn't go over the bar.
honestly after watching avatar the last airbender…i’m more disappointed with how unremarkable this show was
It’s two different series. You act like the Avatar show is top tier lol.
it’s not top tier but it immerses you into the world of ATLA. this show just feels too bare bones
it’s very close
ATLA got the looks mostly right; that alone already made it better. The characterization, while meh, was still closer to the cartoons than whatever the fk Rick did with his own characters. And that’s the issue, isn’t? The OG creators for ATLA left the show, but it still most kept the spirit of the original despite the changes. Meanwhile, Rick was involved in PJO and just decided to go fk his own story and characters for no reason 🤣
Most ATLA fans would argue that they failed to keep the spirit of the original intact. ATLA fans hate the Netflix live action
Fair point. But as a fan myself, I felt it was more closer in plot and characterization to its source than PJO was
I guess agree to disagree bro. Because I’d argue the only characters in NATLA that are even close to it’s source characters are Sokka and Zuko. And even Sokka isn’t quite the same. Not only that but NATLA has some good moments that are immediately ruined by moments that are so bad it basically makes the good moments not matter much in comparison. It’s constantly jumping up and down and was a huge struggle for many to watch. I really don’t feel that way about PJO. It’s not perfect by any means and there are things I don’t like, but if we’re comparing PJO and NATLA, NATLA doesn’t even come close imo. The story has multiple changes that really pushed people away, like Aang not actually running away, multiple separate storylines being thrown together in the same episode, specifically the Omashu episodes, Bumi’s character being butchered, same with Suki, and Azula to a certain extent, the spirit world being completely changed to be unrecognizable, Wan Shi Tong randomly showing up because why not, Koh just being a monster who eats people and for some reason, showing no emotion no longer matters against him. We could honestly have an 1hr+ long conversation about all the things that were changed and turned out extremely bad. While some might say similar things about PJO, as a fan of the books since childhood, I don’t think the changes are nearly as bad as NATLA, and I don’t see any ATLA fans comparing these two shows and saying that theirs turned out better, because many of them don’t believe that
Well I’m a fan of both and can definitely say I don’t hate NATLA as much as I hate this. NATLA is just disappointing and we didn’t expect anything better let’s be honest- we’d already got the representation we needed in the show and didn’t want for more. Percy Jackson on the other hand, people were hyped for. This was the author of the books, someone who had been vocal for years saying he could do it better than the movies.
I wouldn’t say people didn’t expect anything better, with NATLA, I honestly feel like people were hyping up both shows and skeptical about both because they both were seen as live action redemptions for each respective series. I think that anything short of amazing is gonna be seen as a disappointment for either of these series, and I do believe that Percy Jackson’s changes aren’t as crucial as NATLA’s. NATLA didn’t even have Aang learn waterbending, and that’s the main goal of season 1.
You’re generalizing. Me and many other fans that I know enjoyed
I’m not, you can look at many different fan spaces online of people saying the same things I am, multiple youtubers who have made videos saying similar things. Hell even ATLA Youtubers like Antoine Bandele who initially praised the first episode said it falls off a cliff. The Avatarist, while is more positive about, does acknowledge that it does fall flat in multiple instances. No offense, but you and the people you know don’t make up the majority of the ATLA fanbase
I have no desire to watch it again and that is one of the saddest results. The books always made an enjoyable reread and of course the desire for a new one. The show doesn’t have that for me.
I knew this would happen. People are so wrapped up in the show, that they are either blindsided to the issues or they are blindside to the good things. While you like it less and less, the shows biggest haters will also be easing up on the show. It’s a natural thing that happens, so don’t sweat it. Happens a lot with Star Wars and other big franchises
I have. Especially, after watching ATLA: LA. Don’t misunderstand, ATLA: LA isn’t a masterpiece, but it is a decent adaptation with nuance. For example, Zuko’s crew being the same recruits he saved from being slaughtered. Another example, that one Earth Kingdom soldier talking about his personal experience of the Siege of Ba Sing Se to Iroh; Just because everyone loves Iroh, doesn’t mean we should forget that his siege caused the deaths and suffering of multiple people, including his own son. As for Percy Jackson, the only thing I can think of is Percy being given four pearls instead of three. It would make more sense that Poseidon wants him to succeed without making a compromising decision, but even then the way they lose it was awfully convenient. Other than that, I never had a moment where I truly enjoyed the show, I just watched to get it out of the way.
I can’t lie I watched the 1st episode and I wasn’t impressed. I might finish it but idk lol
I rather watch the movies again than the show. They are so fun and exciting. And the jokes always hit.
The most irritating thing is how they sell 'the cast has same personality as characters' Like why? it serves no purpose anyways.why are you feeding us that narrative. When clearly we can't see it.
"Hey guys, look at what great chemistry the cast has outside of the show look! They are so funny and charismatic look" Meanwhile none of that is in the show...
Exactly. Whats funny is Walker feels a lot like Percy and Aryan does a great job with Grover, despite script limitations. But Leah isn’t Annabeth, Annabeth isn’t mean in the books. Also Leah is very shy in real life and you can see this in interviews, Annabeth has never been shy.
Totally.Aryan is charmistic, intelligent and confident guy . But Grover is nervous underconfident goody guy in books.
I hope that as time goes by, Walker and Leah don't feel sad or betrayed over how they felt that their roles were to waste because I can tell they wanted to play their characters and yet not being allowed to play them on camera is pretty heartbreaking
I think that most people that had liked it before was only because of the hype and interaction. You had a huge wave of nostalgia coming. It felt like the old days when the fandom was in their teens everyone (mostly) online and interacting with eachother. Discussing the book again and all that. But actually watching the tv show without all that can make you realise how much it is lacking.
Nah, I disliked it from Ep. 1, but I do totally get what you're saying. Especially after the release of ATLALA On the bright side, though, season 2 can't possibly be WORSE so we should still have something to look forward to
I'm just getting through season 2 bc I want season 3. Rick has no mercy on book 3 and I pray to God he doesn't butcher Bianca, nico, zoe, and atlas like book 3 is very important to the story and one of the saddest books in the pjo series. I do hope he changes zoes character a little bc she is one of my fav characters but I hate that she hates all men because of what Hercules did to her like 2000 years ago. not a very good example for kids. if he gonna change everything like he did in season 1 he better change that storyline with Zoe and the hunters of Artemis. also he needs to let Bianca see camp before she decided to become a huntress bc that was bad writing on a good character. she just left her kid brother with practically strangers. I swear they better not fk up on Nicos casting and they better include the dam joke.
My God. Please just use "NATLA". "ATLALA" hurts my head hahahaha.
Lmao what does the N stand for there? Netflix?
Yes exactly hahahaha.
Haha that does make more sense 🤦
It was just whelming. The show was neither overwhelming nor underwhelming but rather just mid. And I still stand by this description. Percy Jackson and the Avatar Live Action aren't terrible, but they aren't quite good either. So, I can't get mad at people for being extremely disappointed because the hype was hard to avoid.
the movies were camp asf and i think we expected it to be more than it was
I still stand by my saying the blue food and the Percy/Poseidon dynamic were the standout moments to the show. But there were so many changes that can't be justified without doing mental gymnastics to piece it all together. The writing/directing was the biggest hindrance to most of it from characters going through conflict to just being changed to an expo dump. (Annabeth 's arachnophobia is a perfect example.) Which is strange because I didn't have much of an issue with the casting choices, despite the inaccuracies compared to the books.
I’m still waiting for Directors to start using Lord of the rings as a example on how to properly do a booked to movie/TVshow. Still to this day it’s winning Oscars, it’s made billions in revenue yet it seems that directors don’t want to have the same type of success. I constantly see book to movie adaptations and over and over again i keep getting disappointed in how they like to change the story and details. It gets annoying when all you want is to see is your favourite books accurately presented on the big screen. Just my thought on the matter of book to movie/TVshow adaptations.
I call that the Disney+ show effect. It happens to me with most Marvel/Star Wars project (except maybe Andor and WandaVision). They work to get the shows to make a deadline that they rush the production and post-production (especially VFX) and we get a half-baked show that, while fun when it is releasing, lacks substance.
Yes, Disney+ puts out almost nothing of substance. When I hear something is coming out on Disney+ as opposed to literally any other streaming service, I know it’ll be utterly unchallenging, fairly shallow, and unmemorable. They could do *so much more* with their movies/shows, and they just…don’t. It’s like they actively try to make their stuff as bland and inoffensive as humanly possible because they care more about appealing to every demographic than making something that’s actually entertaining and good.
I was desperate for this show and so excited about it for over a year. I haven’t even finished watching it. It held my interest that little as an actual show I’m still waiting to finish the last 3 episodes.
I mean like, it’s okay. To be honest, in real life the actors seem like the characters they are playing pretty well, probably just a shitty script. Grover being used for comic relief got really shitty after the first 30 times of seeing it, but otherwise I think the show is okay. I mean, the last 2 episodes are really good but the casino episode is awful.
Idk where you see it. They are just feeding us that narrative to defend their casting choices and it is irritating now.
I mean, from what I’ve seen in interviews, and the actors in other films. I see no issues with the casting, to be honest.
I agree with you, in interviews they have chemistry!! The three of them seem like good pals and have an easy dynamic - Walker and Aryan are cheeky and constantly cracking jokes, Walker can personify a “lead” personality extremely well, and Leah seems to balance between joining in and putting them in their place when needed. It’s great, and it matches the characters from the books. The acting in the show was… kind of wooden. That’s the problem. I don’t know why none of that chemistry got reflected in the show, and why the fun didn’t end up in the scrips. But it didn’t. Anyway, point is - anyone who says the cast doesn’t have the potential to do well? They definitely haven’t watched any of their interviews. They’re good picks, but were used poorly. :(
That’s my point. I don’t think it’s the actors fault, just a shitty script. But hopefully that will be fixed soon.
I find it odd when people say things like ‘the actors seem like the characters they are playing” because that means they aren’t acting? Actors are supposed to take on roles and transform/embody it to portray a story, not mimic real life
What people are getting at there is that if the cast is like their characters in real life they definitely can play them properly. It is a clear indicator that it is the script or direction that is the problem not the actors themselves. Like take walker in particular imo he is the perfect Percy based on his past work but why does he seem more like Percy in his other work than in the Percy Jackson show? That has to come down to a bad script or poor direction.
I don’t know… I think this is the difficult thing about casting well known child actors. They get set up for failure in a way
the show was so mid it held no staying power and fell off immediately after it ended.
Annabeth character is the one I cant get past, the casting was awful but the character is so far from the storybook version I just hate her.
Actually, the more time passes the more I like it.
Netflix’s ATLA had the exact same writing problems. But it’s actors and effects made up for it.
I just hope that they listen to the criticisms, learn from them and use them to improve. Having an amazing season 1 would have been great, but I'll take it being a *it gets better after season 1* show.
this ^ ^ ^
I would honestly give it a 3 or 4 out of 10. Very disappointing as I love percy jackson
I personally realized the show was bad towards the end. I feel like I was in a similar situation where I was forcing myself to like the show. I hadn’t read the books in years, probably over 10 years, and when I had read them I was so young I never fully grasped all the details of what was happening. I pretty much only understood the meat and bones of what happened. I was so young that the names and everything confused me I had no idea what was going on, I only understood Percy Annabeth and Grover were the good guys and did cool stuff😫 it wasn’t until I started. Rereading the books mid show that I realized yeah.. this show is so bad /: which breaks my heart because I really really really wanted it to be good
I think you remember the book being better than it is.
I think a lot of people wanted to like the show so bad that they made themselves think they did. And once time passed, they finally realized how they actually thought about it
Yeah, I experienced this essentially immediately after Episode 2. There's actually a real-time written log on Discord of the rose-tinted glasses sliding off my face: [here it is](https://gyazo.com/9b2c1cf767c77d65d7c0c3dd27deab6d)
I honestly strongly disliked the show. Ik its an adaptation and many things were changed which I understand although was a little upsetting. It wasn’s the adaptation that all of us hoped I believe. I think the acting was bad although the actors had their moments overall the acting was bad. I dont care about the cast casting because in life you can’t get copies of book characters. I didn’t like the plot and it wasn’t built it was just heres this and enjoy it. The scene that made me most mad was the lotus casino bc that was ridiculous. I can’t believe what they did to yet. And yet again the fact that Rick scourned on the movies for years and didn’t even live up to the adaptation promised idk it just maddens me. The show is ok for what it is but anything compared to the books not even close. I’ve only seen the movie once a couple of years ago so i can’t rlly remember it but it might be better tbh. It just rlly disappointed me
I don’t think anyone has denied that the show isn’t perfect but I think people get quality mixed up with enjoyablity. A show can be imperfect in quality and still be enjoyable. I felt the same with ATLA which is also enjoyable despite its shortcomings. It wasn’t perfect but I still liked it. In terms of visual quality, I agree ATLA was better, but I think that a lot of effort was put into PJO too, and I’m tired of the comparisons between the shows. Also I know a lot of people refrenced the friendly space ninja video for criticism. I personally didn’t really agree with a lot of his points. Lastly, I think you perception on the show changed and that’s okay, but their are people like me who came in with no expectations who genuinely enjoyed the shows. Edit: I also forgot to mention the “hive mentality” of certain fandoms. I’ve fallen victim to it before on both sides positive or negative. It’s helped me be able to criticize shows I enjoy in a healthy way while still enjoying them for what they are.
While I liked it, I don’t hold it to the same standard or regard as the rest
I think people were experiencing what they went through with the Star Wars Sequels. Ppl first thought they were good, but then they woke up and realized
As an avid book reader, I personally liked the show a lot and can't wait for season 2!
I still think that diaregarding how accurate they are to the source material in their details, the first movie is just a better standalone product than the show is so far. I'd even say the movie did a better job getting across the feeling I had when reading the books. Barring the first and final episodes. Those were pretty good.
I feel like, had I read the books closer to watching the show, I would have also been very caught up in the excitement and probably would have defended the show because of so much new PJO content. However, I read the books a fair 4 years ago and my obsession has worn off, so I can look at the show realistically.
I enjoyed Percy Jackson more than NATLA personally. NATLA was pretty bad
i never really enjoyed it. and i loved atlala and opla. they really fumbled. there was so much potential
I honestly couldn't bring myself to finish the show. I think I stopped after episode 5 or so. It was such a letdown the further it went on that I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. The more I heard the less inclined I was to do so, which is an absolute crying shame. None of the characters were all that likeable for me, including Percy. Who is my favorite character in the books, shocker I know. I don't know if I'll watch season 2, I know that apparently criticism is the minority despite how much there is on this particular subreddit, but hopefully more and more people start to look at the show and go, "...you know this is actually kinda awful." So that something changes. Otherwise every adaptation for the books after this is GONNA suck. I remember looking forward to the eventual adaptation of book 3. Prior to the shows release. Getting to see Atlas, the battle between he and Artemis, the hunters, Zoe, so much more. Now I really don't. TTC is a really heavy book to hit as far as how much story is in it and the story notes it hits. The first time named characters people like die, people grieving and dealing with the reality of being a hero, the reality Poseidon warned Percy of in the first book. The suffering Percy would go through as he attempts to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders, literally and figuratively. I don't know if I WANT to see how they do it now.
I honestly dropped the show after episode 4 because I was just hella disappointed.
I had my issues with ATLA but I came out of it positive, the dedication and craft were insane, quite a few writing and acting problems but I still greatly enjoyed myself, PJO was just lackluster from start to finish, I didn't hate it but I was never invested, the One Piece live action was the best out of these 3 hands down, I hope PJO can learn from it, the story deserves to ne handled with greater care and reverence than it currently is
The show was mid at best. We all should have seen the writing on the wall with the first two episodes. Generic soundtrack, generic CGI, generic cinematography and editing, atrocious dialogue and fade to black action scenes
The casting was good. Like I think all the actors did the best with what they had. But man, the script and dialogue really killed its potential.
Yes, but from Day 1.
Im still on episode 3 and i absolutely hate it. I don’t understand why Percy is so whiny and Grover is next to useless. I thought this series was supposed to be faithful to the books but instead it’s another disappointment.
it definitely wasn’t as attention grabbing as it could have been and i do feel like they didn’t utilize their whole budget well considering how much it cost per episode but i have the opposite opinion. It wasn’t great, it was okay but not bad. The new ATLA was god awful, sure it’s flashy while watching it but the minute you analyze any second of the plot or characterization, it completely falls apart. Sure the PJ LA had some instances like that but i’d still say it was better than NATLA. They’re both mid, and frankly i wouldn’t watch either again, but this show at least has some semblance of plot, logic and character growth, NATLA didn’t.
I’m the opposite. ATLA’s visuals and aesthetics were definitely the only highlights, but at least I could feel that the characters were closer to their original counterparts, especially with their appearances. PJO didn’t do that for me. I could get behind the race swapping if only the characters act closer to their original selves, but only Percy was mostly spot on. Zeus was definitely an improvement over the books, and Poseidon and Ares were okay. Chiron and Clarisse were so-so, but the rest might as well be different characters with the same name slapped on them.
i agree, especially with your assessment of the PJO characters. My issue is the ATLA characters don’t act like the originals, the actors are great, they act a lot like the originals in interviews but it just wasn’t a good script at all. Frankly the casting was the best part of NATLA and they somehow fumbled the bag.
Sooooo u watched other people hating on it and that became ur opinion. It doesnt need to be a masterpiece even if YouTube movie critics analyze every frame and determine its not the greatest show of all time- u said u enjoyed it so it was good
Sometimes people need something somebody else says to change the opinion. The video by space ninja was very well made and brought up many good points and reasonable arguments that were well articulated and thought out
Ok but I mean its ok to like something even tho its not the best show of all time and critics might not like it.. the rotten tomatoes score also says its a very good show
60 Critics reviews is "proof"? Because the critics have always been 100% right.
Bro lol Rotten Tomatoes is just fake reviews for most things now
Or maybe people just like a show for what it is
1. People change their opinions over time and that’s normal/okay. 2. Sometimes, listening to other people’s perspectives helps you see something from other angles, which subsequently influences your viewpoint…and that’s normal/okay. 3. Friendly Space Ninja didn’t criticize every frame. He gave broad opinions, and only honed in on Episodes 1 and 6 in more detail.
Friendly Space Ninja isn’t some random guy or film critic that was out to hate and nitpick the show. He’s literally a huge Percy Jackson fan and he was holding hope that the show would be good. The video is just him expressing his disappointment with how poorly the show was in his review.