Miscellaneous riordanverse thoughts

+Caleo slander

[valdezsupremacy]

quick reminder about something: percabeth is a long way off. at the beginning of pjo there is no percabeth, there is no will-they, won't-they, they're twelve years old. iirc nothing really happens between them for at least three and a half books. so just calm down and wait. im kind of getting the vibe that people are already shipping Walker and leah- could we just focus on the current relationship that percy and annabeth have rather than the one they'll have in five years

[valdezsupremacy]

Percy Jackson And The Olympians Season 1 Episode Analysis

Episode 3- We Visit The Garden Gnome Emporium

Episode 3 was where they properly started deviating from the plot- and in this instance, it wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped. We saw more of our protagonists and how they worked as a group, which worked straightaway, but it did feel disjointed here and there.

Of course the first two episodes came out all at once, so the third one just felt slower as we had a lot of anticipation to do.

Disclaimer- there is an element of the series which completely passed me by, which is of course the mystery of who will betray Percy. If there exist plot points that are there to build suspicions or deepen the mystery, I wouldn't have been paying attention and so might produce some unwarranted criticism of some characters, forgetting that I'm meant to not know that Luke is the betrayer.

I like how Percy chose Annabeth rather than her volunteering- a good amendment, I think, even if their relationship across the series is kind of all over the place. And of course we see Luke hatching his plot with the winged shoes.

The line 'she met a pinecone's fate' is a classic. As is the Consensus song.

Not a bad fight scene on the bus- quite possibly better than in the book actually.

I like the arguing and bickering that the three get into- it shows that they don't really know each other that well, making up for the fact that they spent less time together at camp than they did in the books, so they're growing on each other a lot- and we see Grover's character in a lot more detail than in the book I feel.

Then we get to our very first monster. And I don't know what the hell they were doing with this scene. In the book, I admit they act a little naively, trusting this mystery lady too much, but I was expecting at the very least some slight inkling of tension or confusion as they wander into this place before gradually realising the mortal danger they're in.

But no. They get there, and Annabeth instantly goes 'oh this is Medusa's place', and out steps a lady, and she straight up says "Hello, I'm Medusa"...

Well, didn't that have us on the edge of our fucking seats?

I just have no idea why they made no attempt whatsoever to keep up the mystery even for a moment. And I also couldn't help but notice that the snakes as her hair was barely even visible. Like they were just lying down, it wasn't even very creepy.

But I suppose the whole debate over who are the real good guys and gift vs curse scene was nice, but the exposition dumping just seemed ridiculous in that instance.

The fight scene was a little underwhelming as well- they show us this great hall with statues and boxes creating a huge labyrinth, perfect for a fight scene, especially one with an enemy you can't look at- but no, they do it in one place and it's over in five seconds. This would have been a good opportunity to showcase Annabeth's battle strategy in coming up with the plan- but no, Grover has it.

I did enjoy the focus on fatal flaws and betrayal that Alecto and Medusa introduced- that's an important thing to address.

The scene afterwards where Grover gets the group to actually work together and trust each other was really good though.

So for Episode 3, the whole scene with Medusa was all over the place. But what came before and what came after, and the character development and insight we get was really valuable, and made me excited for the remainder of the quest.

7/10

[valdezsupremacy]

Percy Jackson And The Olympians Season 1 Episode Analysis

Episode 2- I Become Supreme Lord Of The Bathroom

Episode 2 was good, but it did move too quickly. Percy settles in rather quickly after losing his mother, and I'd have preferred it if he'd found out about his life as a demigod here at camp rather than Montauk. I also think it's strange that his ADHD and dyslexia aren't addressed in the show.

Glynn Turman continued to do a stellar job as Chiron, showing Percy around the place- though I maintain he should have found out about his father at camp rather than from Sally at Montauk.

I did greatly enjoy the scene where he sacrifices food to his mother, as I like the focus on the Percy-Sally relationship, and the show made an effort to draw similarities between Percy and Luke, which was a smart one.

Why doesn't Grover eat any metal? I get it's not crucial to his character, but a little comic relief wouldn't go amiss.

Now we meet Luke and his role in the series is more of a personal mentor to Percy, which I liked, and I think Bushnell's a great actor. He's the one who first introduces us to Annabeth, which is where things start to go downhill.

We are told 'she's six steps ahead of everyone else', which fits with her character, battle intelligence and all that. But we are not shown this at all- this remains a factoid and not a characteristic all the way until Episode 7 with Cerberus, really. You're meant to 'show and not tell', these are the basics of writing.

We are also told that Luke cares greatly about Annabeth- not that they ever speak to each other throughout the show, you might have thought that would be important. Annabeth presumably cares about Luke, but again we are not shown any evidence of this. I understand cutting out the plotline that she has a crush on him because of the age gap- but still, this is meant to be 'the love she lost to worse than death' later on- in the show, it's as though they've never met.

We meet Annabeth, and we don't get any real content or character from her the whole episode through- we hear more from Chris Rodriguez than Annabeth, which seems off- was he even in the first book?

I don't remember Annabeth being all taciturn and shadowy in the books either- she's meant to be leading and controlling everything with a steady hand- you'd have no idea she's 'six steps ahead of everyone else'.

Annabeth's character was completely massacred across the show in general, due to some dreadful writing and, and believe me I hate to say this, some rather poor acting.

Her first appearance, however, was a good one- I prefer her walking into the aftermath of the bathroom sequence than her just casually meeting Percy when he gets out of the infirmary like in the book.

Episode 2 shows us a bit of Percy's humour, which was a highlight of the first two episodes, and then instantly died out later on. I liked the part with the Council of Cloven Elders, Grover's character is more three-dimensional in the show than in the book I would say- making up for the disaster of Annabeth's character I suppose.

The focus on glory from Luke's character is a good addition- sets everything up really well for later on. I will admit that Percy and Annabeth do have chemistry right from the start, the actors worked very well together- I just wonder if the screenwriters and scriptwriters ever even clocked that Annabeth was actually meant to be an important character in the story.

I'm glad they cut the link between the Big Three forbidden children pact and World War 2- that always seemed to be in slightly poor taste to me.

Capture the flag is how I imagined it'd be, only longer- and with a good fight scene

I would have preferred Percy to be claimed in the creek by healing like in the book. I also would have liked the hellhound to feature, I see no reason to cut it. But I did enjoy the claiming scene nonetheless.

In the book, Percy embarks on the quest and kind of keeps his ulterior motive of saving his mother secret- but in the series they have Grover in on it, and it's really the only reason Percy goes- and I consider that an upgrade. On the other hand, they don't go into as much detail as I'd like on why Hades would want to steal the bolt, which seems like a fairly important thing to discuss.

So Camp Half-Blood is well depicted, and I love the introduction to the world of demigods. A good follow-up to the first episode, but it doesn't lay out the rest of the show quite as well as one might hope, and a little fast-paced.

8/10

[valdezsupremacy]

Percy Jackson And The Olympians Season 1 Episode Analysis.

Episode 1- I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher

A really promising start- we are introduced to main characters such as Percy, Grover and Chiron, who are all played by fantastic actors. The opening monologue from Scobell was a masterclass, and it keeps up the high tempo throughout.

We're also shown the first of young Percy, played by Azriel Dalman, who did a brilliant job throughout the whole series.

The theme of the spooky dreams was exciting and set the show up well- though I would have liked to have seen the horse and eagle fighting on the beach as it was in the book.

The fight scene with Mrs Dodds I admit was rushed, we weren't shown much drama there, nor Riptide being unsheathed, which we don't see for ages. I did like the change of having the fight in public.

I enjoyed the little cameo from Rick in the headmaster's office, and didn't mind the slight plot twist of Grover getting Percy kicked out of school- though I was confused as to why we didn't see the Fates, and still am.

They don't really flesh out Percy's life at Yancy which I thought they might, would have helped with the pacing, which was too fast initially.

I would have liked to have had that scene at Yancy with Grover and Chiron discussing the incident at the museum, but we get it with Sally, which is maybe better.

Then we meet Gabe, and I must agree with people I've heard that he simply doesn't come across as abusive or mean- unhelpful for sure, but it can't be that hard to depict him as thoroughly dislikeable- maybe a raised voice here or there, or if he interrupted Sally, or shouldered Percy out of the way while walking past- but no, he just goes along with everything. That's not someone worth killing at the end of the show just for a laugh.

The scene in Montauk was very good. I liked the heart-to-heart nature of the conversation, and the actors had great chemistry- though I still think I would have preferred Percy to find out about his father and the gods at camp, as he does in the book.

The show as a whole focuses on Percy and Sally's relationship a lot more, and I like that- making use of flashbacks very well, I suppose. And their final scene together running from the Minotaur was also very special.

A good start to the show. Fast-paced, and left me with a question or two, but we must view this as an adaptation, not a replication. We can't expect Rick not to have had any new ideas in the last nineteen years- and we must also bear in mind that they might amend the plot given that they don't know if they'll be able to go through all five books.

8.5/10

[valdezsupremacy]

I am so not ready for Bushnell's masterclass at the end of this episode omg

that scene is gonna be dramatic as shit

[valdezsupremacy]

Every new episode of the show makes me less sure of my memory of the actual book

like was Hermes in the casino in the book? were the pearls a thing? the taxicab? I'm sure the deadline hadn't passed so I haven't the foggiest what they're going to do with that

[valdezsupremacy]

😭😭 I'M CRYING WAS THEIR BEST IDEA TO STRAIGHT UP WALK FROM ST LOUIS TO SANTA MONICA??!?😭😭

FELLAS THAT WOULD TAKE YOU LITERAL MONTHS💀

[valdezsupremacy]

Feel like they might be rushing percabeth a bit

I feel like the main reason people are so eager for percabeth to happen is because it was so wonderful in the books and they want to get there faster but that detracts from it imo

Like would you have cared about percabeth so much if they hadn't already been through 5 years of torment and sacrifice and death-defying quests and slowly growing to not hate each other- and instead percabeth had just been introduced or suggested very quickly in the lightning thief?

I sure as fuck wouldn't

The slow burn and all the backstory and so on are what makes percabeth what it is

And I'd rather have things done in the right order personally otherwise let's be honest with ourselves a 12 year old romance feels a bit artificial does it not

[valdezsupremacy]

Minor criticisms or queries from the Disney+ premiere (there are not many, I'm only posting these because it would take far too long to list all of the things I did like in the show)

1. Gabe isn't very dislikeable at all, nor does he come across as abusive- just indifferent, really

2. Oughtn't we to have seen the Fates by now?

3. Luke's scar just isn't big enough. If I hadn't been looking for it I wouldn't have seen it.

4. Was that the Council of Cloven Elders? Wasn't a bad scene necessarily, but did feel slightly out of place

5. We have not seen much good dialogue or anything from Annabeth yet

6. I am standing by the silent H in Thalia

7. Could have done without the Olivia Rodrigo to be honest

8. The ADHD and dyslexia isn't explained. Luke says everyone has it, but it isn't explained why

9. I was looking forward to that scene where Percy swordfights Luke. Maybe it'll come in episode 3 I guess

10. "Clarisse hunts in those woods for the first few hours"? How long does Capture the Flag go on for??

This is all I've got, by and large I absolutely love this show more than I can possibly say.

[valdezsupremacy]

That show is worth the wait. Absolute masterpiece from all angles.

[valdezsupremacy]

Liking this new angle of Percy where he neglects to actually use his sword in favour of just brutally snapping everything the fuck in half

you would think that with both the Minotaur's horn and Clarisse's spear it might have been easier to slice it with his magical sword but no he just tears them both in two

[valdezsupremacy]

I was not prepared for the intense Kronos nightmares that early on but damn it's good

[valdezsupremacy]

"I am Sally Jackson's son!"

Lord above that kid can act

[valdezsupremacy]

I'm loving that the blue food is present in the TV show, but there's absolutely no explanation of why that came to be.

just keep that detail amongst those who read the books, love it

[valdezsupremacy]

ok so how come Leo was so skinny during heroes of Olympus when he quite literally spent six months constructing an entire damn warship pretty much by hand

you're telling me six months in Bunker 9 of hammering and welding and operating all kinds of heavy machinery didn't do nothing to that boy's arm muscles give me a fuckin break would you please

[valdezsupremacy]

Hello yes in today's news I created a Leo Valdez AI and started arguing with him about where he was born

[valdezsupremacy]

Every Riordanverse Book Ranked, Part 2

#18- Kane Chronicles- The Red Pyramid

Pretty dull. Kane Chronicles is probably the worst series and the Throne of Fire is what carried it. The Red Pyramid was very confusing, started off well but very much trailed off, I don't think much of it.

#17- Trials Of Apollo- Tower Of Nero

This book isn't too bad, but as a finale to a decent series it was really poor. That scene where he was hanging on the edge of Chaos was good, and I do love a bit of Solangelo, but the final battle in general was forgettable, and I was unimpressed with that bit at the end where we go and see all the characters we've had in the series, and Piper's bisexual now for whatever reason. Liked the book, and it was better than books 3 and 4 of Trials of Apollo, so I wasn't surprised, but still not great.

#16- Magnus Chase (Ship of The Dead)

Again, good book but bad finale. Most of the book was pretty good, I'm talking top 10 material, but that final battle with Loki was very unimpressive. For the most part, good book with top-tier characters and decent plotline, with one massive fault in it. But I do still, on balance, like this.book.