“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. Usually There’s More S’mores and Less Ground Assaults.”
I was looking forward to revisiting the Percy Jackson characters for season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+. In the time between seasons one and two, I’d read the recent books, so I was a bit more connected to the characters. And I enjoyed the ride.
Based on the second of the original novels, The Sea of Monsters, it’s been a year for Percy (Walker Scobell) since we last visited him. During that time, he’s made a new friend, Tyson (Daniel Diemer). Well, friend may be too strong a word for how Percy feels about the cyclops, but Tyson definitely appreciates their relationship. Unfortunately, Percy is taking Tyson to Camp Half-Blood with him this year, something that isn’t going to make him very popular.
When Percy arrives at camp, he finds things are in chaos. The tree that has protected the camp is weakening, leading to increased attacks from monsters. Rumor has it that the famed Golden Fleece has been found, and it might help restore the camp’s protection. But Percy’s nemesis Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn), is chosen to lead the quest. Even weirder, Percy’s good friends, Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) doesn’t seem to want Percy to go. Yet somehow, Percy and Tyson wind up on the quest, too. As they travel to the Sea of Monsters, will they find the fleece? And can they rescue Grover (Aryan Simhadri), who is being held in the area as well?
It’s been a long time since I read the book and watched the movie version, so I didn’t remember much of this story at all. That meant, I found the cliffhangers at the end of the episodes suspenseful and couldn’t wait for the next episode.
Like with the first season, this show really highlights just how episodic the books are. Percy and the rest face a fun series of obstacles along the way, and many of them fit perfectly in a TV episode. Then, next week, we are off to a new complication as we get closer to the ultimate climax. It’s not my favorite storytelling method, but it works pretty well here.
Along with the adventure of the week, we do get some nice character development for Percy and Annabeth. Grover doesn’t have quite enough screen time to feel like he’s grown as much as the other two. I also appreciated how Percy’s relationship with Clarisse grew. I don’t remember that happening at this point in the books, but maybe that’s just my faulty memory.
Speaking of which, the show differs from the book in a pretty major way in the final episode. Okay, so I had to read up on it since I didn’t remember, but it will be interesting to see how that plays out going forward.
Once again, the cast was excellent. We have some bigger names popping up in some of the episodes, but the leads hold their own when acting with them.
And the special effects are good as well, although I did find myself creeped out by Tyson’s one eye. Good effect, but unsettling.
Like with the first season, we got eight episodes, each roughly in the 35-to-40-minute range.
And the season ramped up the larger story of the Titans, which fans of the books know is going to be more and more important.
I’m glad to hear that season three is coming later this year. Season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was another fun adventure.
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