wormy1424

[wormy1424]

Okie dokie, I wanted to share my opinion on the PJO show so far. Feel free to disagree, this is my personal opinion.

The Disney+ PJO show does not live up to the hype. I'm trying not to be so critical since it is meant to be a kids' show, and I am no longer in that target age demographic, but it's really bugging me. I'm not saying that it's awful, but it isn't as good as people are making it out to be. My reasoning is below (the order does not matter, it is not an order of importance/most annoying to least annoying, it is literally just the order I typed them out in.:

1. Pacing. The first two episodes had really weird pacing and episodes 3 and 4 were only a little better. Major things are rushed and minor things are stretched out. I understand that adapting a book to screen means some things will be left out or rushed but this was to the extent that it was difficult to stay engaged because either too much or too little was happening.

2. Show not tell. Everything is told, nothing is shown. Instead of the trio figuring things out, they are just told everything. Too much of the show is an exposition dump. I understand that with something based on Greek mythology, there is some explaining that needs to happen, but this is excessive. Luke just said, "Annabeth's my sister," and they have like 1 interaction. Show the bond don't just say it.

3. Character development. I feel like we have seen very little character development from the trio. The most recent episode has it best, but the relationships between the trip are so important, and I feel like they aren't being delved into enough. This is true with all characters, but since the trio is going to be the main focus of the season, I feel like their development should be better. I'm fairly hopeful that this will get better in the coming episodes, but it is a gripe I currently have.

4. Acting. This one probably relates back yo character development and pacing a lot, and it isn't really a priority for me because I know the show focuses on child actors, and I can forgive them for not being the best because they are children. For the most part, the acting is good. That being said, there have been multiple occasions where the acting has been so bad or campy that I was completely taken aback. Percy has many moments where the lines seem really clunky or he just seems out of character. Waking up in the infirmany and his first little bit at camp was poorly acted in my opinion. Percy is supposed to think his mother is dead, and any grief or saddness is barely there. I feel like this may be because of how rushed Percy's introduction to camp was (back to pacing issues). Annabeth's introduction was incredibly bitchy and watching it just shocked me. I can understand her being reserved and a bit hostile, but the tone was just really weird, and to me, it felt out of character. Idk if that was an acting choice by Leah or a directing choice, but it was strange to me. There are some other parts where the acting isn't the greatest also. I know I may be too critical in this aspect, but these characters mean a lot to me, and seeing parts of them poorly acted stand out a lot and ruin my immersion. It's been getting better as the show goes on, and I'm confident it will continue to improve, but it has bothered me, and I wanted to vent a bit.

5. Stakes. They have made it seem like the entire quest is about Percy getting his mom back. I understand focusing on that angle because Percy is motivated to go on the quest because of the chance to get his mother back, but the quest is also about stopping a war between the gods. They don't mention the master bolt enough and haven't mentioned the fact that Zeus and Posideon are on the brink of war nearly enough. The dreams with Kronos taunting Percy help with this issue, but not enough, in my opinion. I know the stakes, but while watching the show, I even start to believe the quest is just about getting his mom back. I'm watching with someone who has never read the books, and they thought the quest was just about his mom. A little more emphasis on the whole saving the world part of the quest would be nice.

Other than these reasons the show is good, I like watching it and will continue to watch it. I just wonder how much of my enjoyment is coming from nostalgia and love for the books. I also think that as a community, PJO fans have not been very open to hearing criticism about the show. This is understandable because there is a not insignificant amount of criticism that is stupid like "its not the same as the books" or the racist bullshit relating to Annabeth's casting. However, there are definitely things that aren't great about the show and could be done better, and we should be able to voice these criticisms. We should be able to discuss differing opinions on the show without it becoming an argument.

#pjo series #pjo tv show #pjo fandom #pjo hoo toa #percy jackson #annabeth chase #percy and annabeth #percy and grover #luke castellan #grover underwood #mr d pjo #heroes of olympus #disney plus