back when pjotv s2 was airing I basically ragequit halfway through the season because I was fed up with the show's approach to tyson and its disability messaging (or lack thereof) but then two of my close friends were interested in the show, neither of whom had ever read a percy jackson book in their lives or knew anything about the series going in, so we all watched the entire show together (and I finally finished s2) and something I found funny (or maybe just sad) was that all 3 of agreed that clarisse was the best character while this percy jackson guy was remarkably difficult to care about
percy is probably the most popular character in the fandom and when you investigate why exactly that is you'll probably find a consensus that while percy's zero-to-hero journey from tlt to tlo is fine and good, what people really respond to is his hatred of cruelty, his ability to stand up for others even under challenging circumstances, and his capacity to be kind and caring towards disadvantaged people because he himself knows what it's like to be disadvantaged. this is not only an aspect of percy that endears him to the audience but it's the entire reason why percy is the most important character in this story
so why would I, someone who cares about percy as well as his role in the narrative, enjoy a version of him that guiltlessly supports sacrificing clarisse's undead soldiers to her face? why would I, someone who cares about the tyson-percy relationship, about the fact that one of the only times percy cries in the entire series is when tyson leaves him to go work in the forges, enjoy a version of them that dedicates more screentime to percy's shortness and annoyance with tyson than his protectiveness of and genuine love for him? why would I, someone who appreciates percy's tendency to struggle with communicating and understanding his own feelings, his petty arguments with annabeth, his insecurities and awkwardness and lack of confidence, enjoy a version of percy that is capable of saying "I'd burn down olympus for you" as early as season 2? (never mind the fact that this line means nothing because this show has done very little if anything at all to establish what significance olympus even has to percy, much less given me, the viewer, cause to care about its hypothetical destruction this early in the series... it's almost like you have to establish why something is important in order for lines like this to land emotionally or something)
all of this is why I imagine there's just always going to be a critical disconnect between fans of the show who defend it no matter how lackluster the writing is and me. because they don't care about the same things that I do and they probably don't know why I care in the first place
i've noticed a lot these newer (2020s) productions are so swept up in instant gratification that they forget the basics of writing a compelling character arc. they're so focused on the pay-off that they reckon they can cut out that slow, intentional narrative build-up that makes the pay-off and display of character development so compelling.
they're cutting out the fucking. Writing. and having the nerve to go "why didn't that work?? why is this so shallow, disjointed, unsatisfying, underwhelming, and shit?? why don't people like percy??"
disney. mate. you gotta give us a Reason to like pjotv percy. i can't believe i gotta say this, cause it's pretty innate to writing a character, but you HAVE to put the work in. you can't just stare down the barrel of the camera and go "wow, percy jackson is a great guy! look at him being a great guy! you should like him!" without showing the audience.
"pjotv percy loves annabeth so much" does he?? "pjotv percy is a morally good kid" he is?? "pjotv percy is so nice to tyson" IS HE??? then Show It, disney. put the work in and prove to your audience this is the case. put the five directors and eleven writers you hired for this show to some actual fucking use. my god.
