Poseidon surrendering to Zeus at the risk of being shamed by him and all the other gods, just to save Percy, was the reason they changed it so the solstice was passed and the war was still going to happen regardless of Percy returning the bolt. It gave more meaning to Poseidon’s love for his son.

The bit about Annabeth fearing spiders was actually a clever use of "tell, donxt show", as Luke used it to explain a metaphor instead of just saying it like a random factoid.

“He slashed the sword and disappeared into a ripple of darkness.” I believe this means that Backbiter did have the ability to open portals, it was just less obvious in the books.

I actually liked the way that Luke told Percy about Annabeth's fear of spiders. It was very natural dialogue that didn't feel like exposition, it just felt like a tiny fun-fact about Annabeth that helped to demonstrate the idea he wanted to convey. If he just said "You know how spiders are scary and small?," it would still be a good metaphor to demonstrate his point, but adding the fact that ANNABETH is afraid of spiders made it more personal to him, Percy, and the audience. In my opinion, that's an example of great writing!

The reason why Percy failing the quest is more meaningful in the show is because now both Luke and Percy failed their quests from the gods. Luke got pity while Percy got glory. Also makes it more interesting for book readers to make that change.

12:54 to be fair there is a mention in the first book that A “ripple in the air” was created when Luke slashed his sword which he does use in the books to escape camp half blood. It’s just the book it’s not clear if it’s Luke’s power or the power of the sword. In the tv show it’s just explicitly a power of Backbiter.

I appreciate them giving Luke more characterization and screen time, since in the books we see almost nothing of him before he starts poisoning and killing people. With this version you can see that his intentions are good and that he's not a bad guy, which will make his eventual descent into a complete villain even more tragic.

I didn’t expect them to have changed Luke’s betrayal scene from the pit scorpion, but I honestly think it was more impactful and safe to say the moment I realised that Annabeth threw her dagger, which is also *the* dagger, I immediately broke into tears. Leah’s delivery of ‘I heard everything’ breaks me

I was too young to see the Harry Potter adaptations in real time, the last one came out when i was five. The fact that i get to see Percy Jackson come to the screen in real time is gonna be one of my favorite memories of my late teen years, im so happy that the series came out at a time when I could experience the excitement of seeing a series I love coming to the screen in real time. I’ve been a fan of the books since 2015, so it’s been a long wait, but so worth it to see the lightning thief get the adaptation it deserves. Shout out to Disney and rick riordan for this memory, and hopefully many more. Even with just one season, this is an experience I will never forget. Hope y’all enjoyed it as much as i did, and peace out till sea of monsters

When Percy called Kronos "Grandpa" I absolutely died laughing, that was brilliant XD also, yes Backbiter did have that power in the book, it was just very throwaway. When Luke left poisoned Percy, he slashed backbiter through the air and vanished. Theyve just expanded on that a bit

In an interview, one of the showrunners explained that "I thought there was something interesting about removing all of Percy's obligation to do the right thing and seeing him confront that. Even absent this sacred responsibility to move forward, there's a different kind of responsibility."

One of the creators of the series mentioned the reason they made the change where Percy doesn't make the deadline for the quest. It was because they wanted Percy to return the bolt even when he wasn't obligated to anymore, which makes him seem more heroic and helps with his character development of not running away from his problems anymore.

RIP to Lance Reddick, it was great to see him as Zeus, given how long I’ve been a fan of his work as Zavala. He’ll be missed for sure

Isn’t Luke using Backbiter to escape from camp in the books? “He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness”-TLT Chapter 22 Page 369.

Percy failing on his first mission is a pretty good reason for not letting him be the one who goes on the next mission to retrieve the golden fleece/Grover in the next season

Out of all the pre-established book characters from the book who appeared in this show, I think Luke was (debatable) the character who was enhanced the most. To non book readers, the twist about him would be a surprise . I only saw the last episode once so far but does anyone else think they saw Luke tearing up during the final confrontation?

there were so many times i found myself just tearing up randomly this episode. walker’s acting is just incredible, the casting could not have been any better. also cannot believe this season is over, truly one for the history books ❤✨ bring on season 2 (and so so many more) 🥳🤞

The fact that Gabe lifted up a literal severed head to get a better look and immediately got turned to stone will never not be funny. 😂😂😂

One of my favorite things that this series changed from the book was Luke. Instead of Annabeth being Percy’s guide to life at Camp it was Luke which I think made his betrayal sting more and made Percy developing a friendship with Annabeth more meaningful. Also, the scene with Zeus disappointed me because we’re not going to be able to see this perfect portrayal again. R.I.P Lance Reddick.

There were a few hiccups but all in all this was a phenomenal first season. Hopefully it gets renewed soon.

12:56 about Backbiter’s “new power”, it’s not strictly a new power. It seems to be the show’s interpretation of Luke slashing the sword midair and teleporting away in the book. Also, I like to think of it as Kronos’ scythe (which is Backbiter’s true form) making ripples in time and space.

"I'm here to see Zeus. I don't have an appointment." So bad ass! :-)

"I didnt think youd give them to grover to wear". Although Ive read the books and knew luke was the traitor, that line still sent chills down my spine. What an awesome way to reveal the twist, along with both actors really showing how they both dont want to be admitting the truth because they really are friends with them tearing up during the conversation and reveal. Was hoping annabeth had a bit more of a reaction though

I know a lot of people already said it but wow, Walker's performance was excellent. He's really going places, I can feel it.

I saw a tweet that the deadline passing makes sense because it leads to Poseidon surrendering here to save Percy. If he made it before the deadline Poseidon wouldn’t have had anything to offer Zeus to save Percy because the war wouldn’t have started.

8:40 I think the reason they changed it to Percy missing the deadline, was so that Poseidon would surrender to Zeus. Pride and Glory mean everything to the gods, so for Poseidon to throw all that away just to save Percy’s life is a pretty crucial moment and I think a terrific addition to the story

I love that they missed the deadline. The war was going to happen. The Lotus Casino has the time bending element. So why waste those key story elements by having our trio magically make the deadline? It raises the stakes having Percius push through even after an emissary of Poseidon tells him he failed. Failure is only final when you surrender.

I LOVED this episode, but I wish we got to see Annabeth have a bigger reaction when she realized Luke was the traitor, because at the time she had such a big crush on him!

Backbiter had that ability in the first book, but Rick completely forgot about that in the other books.

I think the reason why they made Percy "fail the quest" was so that the Poseidon surrender could be more meaningful maybe.. I agree that it wasn't really necessary but I think in the eyes of Camp he still succeeded anyway. Love your reviews, thank you for uploading every week! Can't wait for S2.

I just watched the episode, and it's amazing. Seeing Lance Reddick in what was essentially his final role brought tears to my eyes.

Pretty sure BackBiter can open portals as thats how Luke gets away in the novel

1. The first time percy actually sees his dad is when the king of the gods tries to personally kill him and Poseidon stops it and yields immedeately whatever war was either about to start or was possibly a day or two in. He's surrendering and giving Zeus the petty W for the sole sake of Percy's life. That's some serious show of love right there. 2. Zeus points out that Percy is forbidden and Poseidon points out Thalia but instead of bringing shame to it he praises Thalia and appeals to Zeus' vanity (you can notice Poseidon's change in speech pattern when he's doing this) 3. This one is going to have the potential to be controversial for a few reasons, but it's my comment, I'm in the kitchen, let me cook. Lance Reddick was the perfect casting choice for Zeus and from the frame of this universe's storytelling, let me explain why. The gods are personifications of rulership over certain aspects of the world, but more importantly, because Western Civilization rose under their management (along with all the implications that would have on the world as a whole) and partly because they aren't actively worshipped as they were 2000 years ago, their guises and ways they look change to better reflect the times they live in. To give several examples of this, in order, Ares looks like a mashup of war veterans from Vietnam to the Gulf War, because hey, the greek gods live in new york and non-implicitly give their favor to america in this universe, they're gonna look like the "joe baseball" of their archetypes according at least, to western pop culture. So Ares looks badass, but he also gives the vibe of the worse aspects of american vets as well. War Isn't glamourous. Haphasteus gives the vibe of distinguised scientists from 100 years ago (or at least, the stereotype of them for the longest time), but also the dishevelment takes on the western pop culture influences of Doc Brown and Rick Sanchez. Poseidon, funilly enough, looks like the fittest version of Jimmy Buffet meets Sig Hansen from Deadliest Catch because hey, God of All the seas and Oceans takes his looks from Margaritaville to Dutch Harbor. And Zeus? He's in New York, Championing a nation where most of the big Artists in the last decade or so have been African American, recently had a black president, and as king of the gods, looks the part of Authority, check check check, but also in a universe where they all stay on the 600th floor of the Manhattan building like it's an incredibly grand hotel room, who better to look like than someone who was concierge of the Continental Hotel in New York City, Charon from John Wick?

thank you for saying that in the thumbnail. seeing people get so mad with the show and actors because things wherent 1 to 1 with the books. its exhausting. but i think the cast did amazing and rick is clearly proud of the end result

Was a great book adaptation

Does anyone miss tv shows that had like 16-22 episodes per season. They did a great job, but 8 35ish minute episodes just seemed rushed. I feel like if it gets greenlit for more seasons, each subsequent book's corresponding season is going to need more episodes, solely based on how much more dense and detail oriented the next books are.

12:14 His sword did have this power in the first book. Its how Luke escaped after setting the scorpion on Percy.

Now I need a season two. It was so surreal seeing my favourite book series (that practically raised me) faithfully adapted and damn near incredible.

The explanation for Percy “failing” the quest, is just dramatic tension. One of the show runners talked abt it in an interview on a podcast. It was a “shock” to new audience members and book members.

Honestly. Percy failing the quest, yet persevering anyway shows his strength of character and determination.

One thing I actually liked a lot about the Luke/Percy fight! Percy slashes Luke across his chest very clearly, but doesn't do any damage. But when Luke sliced Percy's arm, you can see it. So they do show how Backbiter is different

I swear I remember Ares cursing Percy’s sword during the Aphrodite scene in book 3, not in the Ares fight...

I think the scene of Luke trying to recruit Percy was actually an interesting and pretty well-executed choice. Throughout the season Luke is dropping hints about how he feels about the Gods. We see that a lot in this series more than in the book. The Gods aren't great parents. I think Luke trying to slowly convince Percy that the gods aren't all that great was a nice way to lead up to him asking Percy to join him and Chronos. It didn't feel too out of the blue to me. Also adding that Sally was trying to keep him away from camp half-blood to avoid becoming "like the gods" was not only a good choice for Sally's character but also adds more inner turmoil for Percy considering how Luke wants him against the Gods and Sally already kind of planted that seed. I'm hoping if there is another season that this scene will help bridge the gap between the "mentor/friend Luke" to the more "obviously evil Luke" that is in the Sea of Monsters. Despite the changes, I think this season was really well-made and thought out. I think they also made changes that we might not like right now, but only because we don't see the effect the changes will have in the grander scheme of things if we get more seasons. But overall I'm so happy with this series adaption. Props to Rick, the directing team, and of course Walker, Leah, and Aryan. 💙🔱

honestly, luke and percy's fight scene was my favorite (plus percabeth tree scene) BY FAR. just as with ares vs percy, i think the show made the whole sequence much more personal, and it aligns a bit more with the show's new lore; in the book, luke went with the scorpion because he wanted to kill percy, but in the show kronos mentions he *needs* percy alive, so obviously luke wouldn't go with an option that could kill percy, instead recruiting him in order to fulfill the prophecy and kronos' plan. it aligns SO well and when chiron confronts percy about him agreeing with some of the things luke said, it shows how important for luke and kronos it was (and is) to persuade him. this ep was soooo good ughh, and the duration was honestly perfect !! i wish the whole series had kind of the same duration (30min) eps instead of short 20min ones, i think the pace is much better when you aren't jumping from scene to scene in a rush > < this ep was peak percy jackson frrrr. now we just PRAY for season 2 renewal ....

Appreciate your reviews, great stuff!! Even if I disagreed with parts of your reviews, love the genuine passion and thought process you put in. Hopefully we get a season 2 and a season 2 of your reviews!

Now that it’s over the things I’d change in season 1 are the following: 1. Make the loudus episode more interesting (like the books) 2. More moments of Percy outsmarting people and them saying his name (giving him power) 3. Explain that names have power 4. Make the Di Angelo’s visible in the casino 5. Explain the blue food (preferably in a flashback, I’d love to see that interaction come to life) Other than that it’s really good

I loved when he was gathering the wave and he said the line 'Who I am' because his wet hair made it dark and his eyes were really green, so he actually looked like Percy!

I love how Luke was carrying the lantern just before his betrayal. Really gives visual cue to Kronos

I loved this episode so much! I think the curse could be fixed easily when it comes up in the Titans curse. The one thing I really disliked was Olympus, I really wanted the warm, white marble sprawling metropolis with the agora’s and vendors and nymphs. So it was a little disappointing. But Zeus was played really well (rip 🕊️) I didn’t mind Percy and Luke’s dialogue but I didn’t like annabeth being there, I preferred her hearing it from Percy because it really built more relationships between her and Percy and her and Luke. I hope there’s a season 2!!!! Edit: I too also wanted the really tall and really decorated thrones, it just looks really depressing.

10/10 Episode, can’t wait for season 2!

LOVED this show, was literally everything I wanted and I know they'll improve on it more for season 2. CAN'T WAIT!!

I would always wait for Wednesday to watch the episode and then watch your review cause of how well you point out detailed information that I didn’t noticed . Keep up that amazing work ! 👏🏼👏🏼

I absolutely LOVED the design of Olympus. It actually looks grand and beautiful. I also loved the fact that they used Ancient Greek.

I hope we get season 2

Love coming to see your videos after every episode. Being the 1% that never read the books i like knowing about the easter eggs and everything that they changed.

8:46. Had to make it more relatable to all of us kids completing assignments past the deadline

I was waiting for this all day.

Hi movie flame I love your vids hope you continue the reviews for trials of Apollo 😃

You are a great youtuber and you really scratch my itch to here another fans opinions on the show. Keep it up :)

I really liked changing it so Annabeth was there for Luke's betrayal, something the musical did that I liked here. But the two things they need to change moving forward are longer episode runtimes and no more abrupt cuts to black.

Backbiter's portal-making-abilities aren't really new, that's in the book (luke portals away after poisoning Percy). It's just expanded in the show, with Luke making multiple portals, and us actually seeing these portals, instead of it being like an instant flash-and-he's-gone type thing

I really enjoyed all your videos about the show especially the comparisons to the book were really interesting!

I enjoyed your coverage this season, thank you!

18:08 The book did mention that after Luke set the scorpion on Percy, he swung Backbiter in an arc and disappeared in a flash of light. So Backbiter does have some sort of transportation power.

Skipping Ares curse is such a weird and confounding decision because that’s literally so important for Titan’s Curse. Luke’s betrayal felt anticlimactic since Percy explained everything before Luke could get a word in, and Kronos felt like a sniveling awkward guy who wants a hug

This was such a fantastic episode and season! Your reviews really helped me to understand more, since I haven't read the books. Hoping I can get a few of them read before season 2 comes out! Did you see the "making of" documentary of the series? I thought it did a great job showing how hard these kids worked and just how much went into the production as a whole.

i’ve been refreshing for this video all day 🥳

Watch Zeus be Samuel L Jackson. 😂

Honestly my only big problem with this show is how short the fights are, sometimes non existent. I know they didn’t have a huge budget so I can forgive it

You did such a great job recapping these episodes and I looked forward to every one. Thank you so much for your research! I was also not a huge fan of the Backbiter upgrade. But it was kinda the only way to explain his escape. If I had to guess, the show-writers will don their GM hats and retcon a handicap on the sword like it can only cut a certain number of portals or something. But that was my only big complaint. I thought it was a fantastic episode and your recaps have definitely made me like the series even more.

Thanks for covering this homie. Miss Lance alot...he was my Sylens.

Overall review: I liked it but episodes could have been longer and it could’ve been more action hopefully we get a season 2 with more budget

This episode was very well done. I loved the scene where Percy figures out that Luke is the Lightning Thief. The only thing that I wanted is that the fight scene between Ares and Percy to be a bit longer. I knew it was going to be a 5 minute fight but I was expecting a little more fighting before the Tidal Wave and the slash at the leg.

gr8 vid,love the spoiler prevention now m8! good job

Stupendous review, Morgan! I guess, this series deserves an Emmy Award soon.

Ok, this episode was way better than I though it would be going in.

I hated when Grover asked “how sure are we you can’t explain everything in an email” when demigods can’t even use technology because it’ll attract monsters

I'M EARLYYY? Damn. Well your my favorite youtuber morgan keep up the great content. :)

I fell asleep during the finale and didn’t think much of it but your video makes me wanna watch it again.

god I hope this show gets a second season, the amount of set up to the Sea of Monsters was unreal. I LOVE this show, even the changes made, makes the show even better. 10/10 5* Cast is amazing, and also RIP Lance Riddick, Only got to play Zeus for one episode.

Ngl I wish the ares fight was a bit longer but other than that it was an amazing episode

Cant believe its the season finale already i really enjoy the serie and your serie Morgan im now even more excited to buy and read the Percy Jackson book serie thank you

These videos have been so great thank you for doing them as someone who just got into the property with this show! I was a Harry Potter kid Lol. I hope that you’ll consider doing a video for those of us like me that breaks down the correct order to read the series because I don’t think I’m gonna be able to wait however long it’s gonna take for season 2 to Premiere to know what happens next. At first I really wanted to not have the story spelled for me, but now I’m just too invested, I think. Lol.

Nothing beats the book and it’s just hard to bring all of what makes the book best to screen

What a great finale and series!

RIP to my my boy Lance Reddick a great actor you will be missed. Gone but not forgotten may God bless and keep you.

I really enjoyed this episode. But I was really disappointed that Zeus and the thrones on Olympus werent gigantic. It would have fit much better with the "scary and small" part. And also make the gods look much more menacing.

The point of Percy failing the quest is to show his perseverance, that he still chose to see it through to the end even though Zeus could’ve killed him.

ZEUS ACTOR PASSED AWAY?!?!?! wow that was unexpected and sad, I did very much enjoy his acting.

In the book, Backbiter actually does have the ability to teleport Luke (at least it's implied). In the book, Luke swings Backbiter and disappears so I'm assuming they just explained that a bit more and made it clear that it can teleport Luke/open portals

The fight between Aries and Percy was Epic! Also, I love the slow reveal of Luke being the traitor. Here's hoping for S2.

Honestly I think they did a pretty good job overall with the show and adapting the books. One thing I wished was that they built up Luke’s reveal a lot more. It was kinda just dropped on us but they should’ve built up suspense and had Luke slowly reveal it while Percy and Luke were sitting talking about the prophecy or something like that, just slightly altering what ended up happening in the show. The scorpion crawling up his leg would’ve also been amazing to see too.

I actually don’t like how Percy is the one to figure out Luke is the real traitor. It made more sense for Luke to reveal himself because he really did want to kill Percy in the book, once with the winged shoes, and a second time with the pit scorpion, and this betrayal was more effective because it shows that Percy had a great deal of trust and admiration for him up until that point.

Was waiting for this for an entire day

When I tell you I've been waiting for you to post!!! I've been waiting for your opinion All day!

Well now thier is a possibility that a season 2 might or might not happen

Adaptation wise, the series are great! They follow the book/overall story pretty well plus/minus certain scenes. However, I do think that the show has tons to improve on in terms of flow, direction, episode length (longer), script and tone of the show. It needs to be less serious, the trio need to let loose, joke around, be kids, not know everything from the get go.... i.e. keep the suspense!! the show needs to show more than tell, and fasten the beat of its scenes, being creative with its exposition scenes to avoid being boring. PJ has so much potential, and I don't want stubborn management to mess it up. Truly hope they listen to fan feedback. They need to start filming ASAP. I enjoyed the finale, I only wished the Ares fight was longer/more grandious. P.s. i haven't watched the video yet, wanted to share my thoughts first. Love your video essays !!

I was waiting all day for this

This was by far my favorite episode! Manifesting a season two!

i wanted to like this series but i thought it was dissapointing hopefully season 2 will be better felt like a low budget show in my opinion especially with the ares fight