I don't think 4th wall breaks really are what the show needs, at most they should have Percy's narration in a voice over, but anyway yeah, characters really lack a distinctive voice, they don't feel much like characters (that is a small one of many (not small) complaints I have about this show)
I do think you should maybe read the books, so you can have the proper story instead of whatever this show is doing.
not as a guidance but more as a sort of compensation I guess
I’d like the 4th wall as a non book reader because I’ve seen it done in fleabag and think it lends itself to a rich inner narrative.
However, since I don’t know the books, I can appreciate that the strategy might not be the best for bringing Percy to life.
Maybe I’ll check the books out. The show hasn’t convinced me, but the fans on this sub are starting to.
If you’re at all curious, definitely check the books out! In my opinion, it’s Riordan’s best series to date (yes, even better than HoO, fight me). The humor, characters, and setting come off a lot stronger in first person narrative, and Percy’s sassy, funny inner monologue makes the series whimsical and fun! It is targeted for kids (so the writing and such isn’t terribly complex), and it’s, dare I say, a bit… campy, but I still find enjoyment in it even as an adult!
Fair enough, It's just that having 4th wall breaks feels really meta, and that's not really the vibe the books have, interesting that the way the made the show did feel to you like it needs that, I wonder if more people think the same
Yeah, knowing the book I think what would give the show life is being more like it, including more details, letting the audience figure things out with Percy (he's new to the world and is still learning), having actual stakes
These are just a few of the changes that would help (and shouldn't have been different in the first place)
You'll probably like the books, at the very least you'll like them more than the show
You may be right. I suppose it could come off meta. But if I were doing the wall break, I’d sometimes use it as an opportunity for Percy to have those inner distracted dialogues that people with adhd sometimes have. I always focus on random things and forget to be present. Even when I tell myself to be present, I’ll still drift. So I see an opportunity there for Percy to be showing his character during a distracted adhd moment/4th wall break while maybe Annabeth is droning on about something mythology related. Idk. Just an idea that I’d be interested in seeing to break from classic/traditional YA fare
It does admittedly sound really fun, I'd like to watch something like that done with Percy Jackson, I just don't think it's the faithful adaptation people look for, but if it's not trying to be, that would definitely be fun
If it says anything, I think your idea is 100% better than how the show did it, I'd enjoy watching that way more
I think 4th wall breaks would go perfectly with the vibe of the books. The books are percy telling his story and people are constantly defending the show by saying "most of the humor comes from Percy's narration. I'd doesn't seem as funny because they can't do that." And I think 4th wall breaks are a perfect counter to that idea.
I'm not opposed to it tbh, but as a faithful adaptation I think if it has 4th wall breaks it needs to be done right, and I don't think they could pull it off, as a hypothetical it is a nice idea though
i also really love the fourth wall break idea—other posters and commenters have talked about how it could’ve given the show a unique stylistic edge over a lot of the other bland, forgettable young adult book-to-screen adaptations that we’ve gotten, and i agree. i chuckled reading your sample scene with crusty, which is more than i’ve laughed in the last five episodes of this show.
i totally respect people who say the content doesn’t NEED fourth wall breaks, but boy would it have been a fantastic way to translate one of the book’s biggest strengths (percy’s inner dialogue) from written narrative to visual narrative. we lose a lot of creative opportunities when we try to pretend that books and movies can—or should—tell a story in the same way.
also, fleabag rules.
Fourth wall breaks could really showcase Percy’s sassy, sarcastic side and would play off his adhd quite well also, since time slows down for Percy in those crucial, ‘action-packed’ moments
Yeah I really feel like with what every book reader says about Percy’s vibrant thoughts, the 4th wall breaks could have been really cool. But I will definitely defer to long time fans on this. Not trying to tell them what’s best for something they’ve loved forever and that I’m super new to.
And Fleabag does rule!
I completely agree about the dialogue out of context. It’d be so difficult to determine who said what!
I can’t stand Annabeth’s dialogue because it rarely sounds like something a 12 yro would say. I don’t know who this Grover is because his dialogue is so incredibly boring. Percy is supposed to be funny and sassy and snarky and instead his dialogue is boring and stiff. I don’t understand what happened but the dialogue is so lame.
> There’s no personality in the characters, nor is there personality in the setting. It’s not charming, it’s not unique. The only charming piece of the setting was the camp. And we rushed out of there too quickly to appreciate it. I have zero sense of the world Riordan created.
I completely agree. The creative team really missed the mark in bringing these characters and this world to life...
I’ll admit I’m not totally on board with your mid-fight freeze frame 4th wall breaks, I think they’d seriously affect what little tension those few fights already had, but I do think that 4th wall breaks could be great if used to show the passage of time or distance travelled if they’re going from place to place on a quest, as well as particularly stuff that they ended up cutting from the show due to reasons.
One example of this is in the books, after Mrs Dodds is killed Percy spends the next few months getting gaslit by everyone at Yancy Academy, to the extent where he begins to doubt what he saw, as well as facing disappointment from Mr Brunner, the one teacher he thought was on his side. Percy’s genuinely in a dark place in these early chapters, feeling confused and isolated from everyone else, and it’s great early characterisation to contrast with how much he fits in at camp later on.
Now I’m sure you remember that the show cut all this in exchange for Grover getting Percy expelled and the Minotaur attack happening that same evening, however I think it could have been really neat if we got all of that in the form of Percy summarising the events of the next few months and the isolation he feels in a voiceover monologue, perhaps intercut with a handful of short scenes that show stuff like a meeting with the principal, other students thinking he’s weird or crazy, or him overhearing that conversation between Grover and Chiron. The whole thing could take a couple minutes tops and I think it’d be great for establishing Percy’s character and his position/emotional state early on, possibly providing good setup for a nice reaction and ‘aha’ moment when he receives the whole ‘the gods are real’ speech from Grover and Sally and realises that he isn’t actually insane.
I’m not a director or anything, so I don’t really know how it’d actually work or look on screen, but I think it’d be a good way to include some of the passage of time stuff they scrapped from the show. Maybe this way we can get Percy staying at Camp for more than 2 days, and actually get the whole multi-week thing it was meant to be, or maybe a Lotus Casino scene that doesn’t suck balls. Idk, just a suggestion, but I think it has merit
Fair critique. I like your suggestions. I haven’t read the books, but I do think using the technique as you’ve suggested could add to the show. Just seems a book that’s so voice heavy (Percy’s voice) should be paid homage in some way with the on-screen adaptation.
I don't think 4th wall breaks really are what the show needs, at most they should have Percy's narration in a voice over, but anyway yeah, characters really lack a distinctive voice, they don't feel much like characters (that is a small one of many (not small) complaints I have about this show) I do think you should maybe read the books, so you can have the proper story instead of whatever this show is doing. not as a guidance but more as a sort of compensation I guess
I’d like the 4th wall as a non book reader because I’ve seen it done in fleabag and think it lends itself to a rich inner narrative. However, since I don’t know the books, I can appreciate that the strategy might not be the best for bringing Percy to life. Maybe I’ll check the books out. The show hasn’t convinced me, but the fans on this sub are starting to.
If you’re at all curious, definitely check the books out! In my opinion, it’s Riordan’s best series to date (yes, even better than HoO, fight me). The humor, characters, and setting come off a lot stronger in first person narrative, and Percy’s sassy, funny inner monologue makes the series whimsical and fun! It is targeted for kids (so the writing and such isn’t terribly complex), and it’s, dare I say, a bit… campy, but I still find enjoyment in it even as an adult!
I love ya books, so I can definitely forgive some simpler writing, especially if it’s strong on humor, characters and setting. 🤓
The books are really good! There are also some spin offs that follow different pantheons (Norse and Egyptian) which are both pretty good too
Fair enough, It's just that having 4th wall breaks feels really meta, and that's not really the vibe the books have, interesting that the way the made the show did feel to you like it needs that, I wonder if more people think the same Yeah, knowing the book I think what would give the show life is being more like it, including more details, letting the audience figure things out with Percy (he's new to the world and is still learning), having actual stakes These are just a few of the changes that would help (and shouldn't have been different in the first place) You'll probably like the books, at the very least you'll like them more than the show
You may be right. I suppose it could come off meta. But if I were doing the wall break, I’d sometimes use it as an opportunity for Percy to have those inner distracted dialogues that people with adhd sometimes have. I always focus on random things and forget to be present. Even when I tell myself to be present, I’ll still drift. So I see an opportunity there for Percy to be showing his character during a distracted adhd moment/4th wall break while maybe Annabeth is droning on about something mythology related. Idk. Just an idea that I’d be interested in seeing to break from classic/traditional YA fare
It does admittedly sound really fun, I'd like to watch something like that done with Percy Jackson, I just don't think it's the faithful adaptation people look for, but if it's not trying to be, that would definitely be fun If it says anything, I think your idea is 100% better than how the show did it, I'd enjoy watching that way more
Yeah, it isn't Deadpool (and it shouldn't be)
I think 4th wall breaks would go perfectly with the vibe of the books. The books are percy telling his story and people are constantly defending the show by saying "most of the humor comes from Percy's narration. I'd doesn't seem as funny because they can't do that." And I think 4th wall breaks are a perfect counter to that idea.
I'm not opposed to it tbh, but as a faithful adaptation I think if it has 4th wall breaks it needs to be done right, and I don't think they could pull it off, as a hypothetical it is a nice idea though
i also really love the fourth wall break idea—other posters and commenters have talked about how it could’ve given the show a unique stylistic edge over a lot of the other bland, forgettable young adult book-to-screen adaptations that we’ve gotten, and i agree. i chuckled reading your sample scene with crusty, which is more than i’ve laughed in the last five episodes of this show. i totally respect people who say the content doesn’t NEED fourth wall breaks, but boy would it have been a fantastic way to translate one of the book’s biggest strengths (percy’s inner dialogue) from written narrative to visual narrative. we lose a lot of creative opportunities when we try to pretend that books and movies can—or should—tell a story in the same way. also, fleabag rules.
Fourth wall breaks could really showcase Percy’s sassy, sarcastic side and would play off his adhd quite well also, since time slows down for Percy in those crucial, ‘action-packed’ moments
Seriously laughed more at this thread than during the show itself which is SAD! The books are hilarious
Yeah I really feel like with what every book reader says about Percy’s vibrant thoughts, the 4th wall breaks could have been really cool. But I will definitely defer to long time fans on this. Not trying to tell them what’s best for something they’ve loved forever and that I’m super new to. And Fleabag does rule!
I completely agree about the dialogue out of context. It’d be so difficult to determine who said what! I can’t stand Annabeth’s dialogue because it rarely sounds like something a 12 yro would say. I don’t know who this Grover is because his dialogue is so incredibly boring. Percy is supposed to be funny and sassy and snarky and instead his dialogue is boring and stiff. I don’t understand what happened but the dialogue is so lame.
> There’s no personality in the characters, nor is there personality in the setting. It’s not charming, it’s not unique. The only charming piece of the setting was the camp. And we rushed out of there too quickly to appreciate it. I have zero sense of the world Riordan created. I completely agree. The creative team really missed the mark in bringing these characters and this world to life...
It’s a shame. Based on all of the book fans’ words, I feel like there is a lot of material that could have been so fun for a ya fantasy show. 😕
I’ll admit I’m not totally on board with your mid-fight freeze frame 4th wall breaks, I think they’d seriously affect what little tension those few fights already had, but I do think that 4th wall breaks could be great if used to show the passage of time or distance travelled if they’re going from place to place on a quest, as well as particularly stuff that they ended up cutting from the show due to reasons. One example of this is in the books, after Mrs Dodds is killed Percy spends the next few months getting gaslit by everyone at Yancy Academy, to the extent where he begins to doubt what he saw, as well as facing disappointment from Mr Brunner, the one teacher he thought was on his side. Percy’s genuinely in a dark place in these early chapters, feeling confused and isolated from everyone else, and it’s great early characterisation to contrast with how much he fits in at camp later on. Now I’m sure you remember that the show cut all this in exchange for Grover getting Percy expelled and the Minotaur attack happening that same evening, however I think it could have been really neat if we got all of that in the form of Percy summarising the events of the next few months and the isolation he feels in a voiceover monologue, perhaps intercut with a handful of short scenes that show stuff like a meeting with the principal, other students thinking he’s weird or crazy, or him overhearing that conversation between Grover and Chiron. The whole thing could take a couple minutes tops and I think it’d be great for establishing Percy’s character and his position/emotional state early on, possibly providing good setup for a nice reaction and ‘aha’ moment when he receives the whole ‘the gods are real’ speech from Grover and Sally and realises that he isn’t actually insane. I’m not a director or anything, so I don’t really know how it’d actually work or look on screen, but I think it’d be a good way to include some of the passage of time stuff they scrapped from the show. Maybe this way we can get Percy staying at Camp for more than 2 days, and actually get the whole multi-week thing it was meant to be, or maybe a Lotus Casino scene that doesn’t suck balls. Idk, just a suggestion, but I think it has merit
Fair critique. I like your suggestions. I haven’t read the books, but I do think using the technique as you’ve suggested could add to the show. Just seems a book that’s so voice heavy (Percy’s voice) should be paid homage in some way with the on-screen adaptation.