Percy Jackson: Everything You Need to Know About the Disney+ Series Book Explained
On December 20, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series arrived on Disney+, with the first season adapting the first book of the saga written by Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson, and the Lightning Thief. The series debuted on December 20th on the streaming platform with the first two episodes and the subsequent ones arriving every week. Percy Jackson & the Olympians tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who is beginning to accept his new godlike powers when the sky god, Zeus, accuses him of stealing his lightning. With the help of his friends Grover and Annabeth, Percy must embark on the adventure of a lifetime to find him and restore order to Olympus.
The eight-episode series features the presence of very popular guest stars, some of whom are also present in the teaser trailer, including Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hermes), Megan Mullally (Alecto alias Mrs. Dodds), Toby Stephens (Poseidon), Virginia Kull (Sally Jackson), Jason Mantzoukas (Dionysus aka Mr. D), Jay Duplass (Hades), Glynn Turman (Chiron aka Mr. Brunner), the late Lance Reddick (Zeus), Adam Copeland (Ares), Charlie Bushnell ( Luke Castellan), Dior Goodjohn (Clarisse La Rue), Jessica Parker Kennedy (Medusa), Olivea Morton (Nancy Bobofit), Suzanne Cryer (Echidna), Timm Sharp (Gabe Ugliano), Timothy Omundson (Hephaestus).
The Literary History of Percy Jackson
Written by former American professor Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson saga was a true literary sensation, with more than 40 million copies sold worldwide and dozens of awards won. Adolescent fantasy with a contemporary setting, imagines that the Greek gods exist and that they have moved to the United States and has as its protagonist Percy, a demigod son of Poseidon. The main series, composed of five books, had two sequels, The Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo, and takes place in the same narrative universe as two other sagas written by Riordan, the trilogies of The Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.
The setting of the saga is in today’s USA, where a boy named Perseus Jackson lives who at 12 years old discovers that he is a demigod born to a mortal mother and the god Poseidon. Compared to the Greek belief that the deities reside in Olympus, in modern times they all live on the six hundredth floor of the Empire State Building in New York. There is therefore no longer a Sacred Mount but a luxury apartment where the main deities have moved, like the main sites of ancient Greece that are now found in the United States. Ordinary mortals do not know of their existence and cannot even see the strange episodes that occur before their eyes thanks to the Mist, a sort of magic that complies with human minds and allows them to see nothing except in an ordinary way. The entire saga is told in the first person by the protagonist, all the exploits take place over a period ranging from Percy’s 12 to 16 years of age.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians – The Lightning Thief
The plot of the first volume of the saga is a sort of preparation for what the character and his circle of friends will be. Percy is 12 years old and lives in New York with his mother, he attends school with his friend Grover. Professor Brunner is his Latin teacher who encourages him excessively; he later turns out to be a centaur named Chiron. He will learn the truth about his origins during a field trip when his math teacher transforms into Fury and tries to kill him as a demigod. It is there that he will discover that he must live in Camp Half-Blood to train and therefore become a hero.
Even before arriving at the camp, he is forced to kill his first monster, the Minotaur, guilty of having kidnapped his mother. The boy succeeds in the feat, obtaining part of the Minotaur’s Horn. Percy Jackson‘s existence should not have existed because Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon had made a pact in which none of them would father children with a mortal woman. There was a prophecy that decreed the end of Olympus due to a demigod born from one of the three Big Guys. Poseidon, the god of the sea, is recognized as Percy’s father.
In Olympus, Zeus’ thunderbolt has been stolen, this triggers a war and the gods become angry with each other. Percy will be the one to be accused because only half-bloods can steal the symbols of the deities therefore, if it is not returned, the Third World War will occur. Percy’s role, together with Annabeth and Grover, is to enter the Realm of the Dead and convince Hades to return the Thunderbolt, as they think he was the one who stole it. What the boy will discover is that Hades is innocent while the culprits are Ares and Cronus. After a battle with the first, Percy will take the Thunderbolt back to Olympus. The book ends with an attempted poisoning of Percy by Luke, the latter then manages to escape and represent the most important enemy until the end.
The Sea of Monsters
In the second volume of the saga, a year has now passed, Percy attends a new school and calmly leads his life as a demigod between one monster killing and another. He will return to Camp Half-Blood again and find that the area is weakened, and the Magic Barrier is unable to hold back the monsters due to Talia’s tree being poisoned. The centaur Chiron is suspected of having poisoned the tree, chased from the field, and replaced with Tantalus who, however, is not at all interested in the salvation of the demigods. Even the latter revives a tradition abolished due to the great danger incurred by the participants: the chariot race.
After an initial challenge between the boys, Percy tries to understand how to save the tree and restore the barrier and develops a plan by revealing to the others the entrance to the sea of monsters where the Golden Fleece which can save the tree is hidden. The god Hermes will give Percy a thermos with winds and some vitamins, both of which will prove fundamental and will help him achieve his goal, finding the Golden Fleece which will not only save the tree but will do much more.
The Titan’s Curse
The third volume of the saga opens with a clash between Annabeth, Talia, Percy, Grover, Nico, and Bianca di Angelo against a manticore of Crono, the latter ends up kidnapping Annabeth. The group of boys manages to get to Camp Half-Blood where Nico and Bianca will begin their training. The goddess Artemis has also been kidnapped and imprisoned, forced to support a dark mass. Precisely for this reason a group of boys will set off to find them both, too bad that during the expedition Bianca di Angelo will be killed while the others will still succeed in their undertaking and return the dark mass supported to Atlas.
Luke manages to escape again with his monster ship, Princess Andromeda. Talia will join the Hunters of Artemis, remaining forever young and leaving Percy alone to play the role of demigod professed by the Great Prophecy. Nico di Angelo, embittered by the death of his sister Bianca, will become very angry with Percy and will reveal his evil powers, everyone understands that he is the son of Hades and this will lead him to escape from the camp. Now the Great Prophecy could refer not only to Percy but also to his former friend and this will prompt a new war.
The Battle of the Labyrinth
We are once again in Camp Half-Blood where a fencing teacher named Quintus arrives. During an exercise, the boys discover the Daedalus labyrinth inside the camp. The latter could be used by Luke to invade the camp with his monsters and therefore an expedition is organized inside with Annabeth, Percy, Tyson, and Grover. Here the boys will manage to save Nico di Angelo who will return to the good side again and will discover that Quintus is Daedalus. However, Luke manages to sneak into the labyrinth with his followers to kill everyone and both Percy and his friends will be forced to flee.
The book continues with the battle between the camp and Luke (possessed by Cronos) which however is won by the former thanks to the help of a giant named Briareus. Daedalus understands that the labyrinth he built himself is a very powerful weapon and could cause the destruction of the camp, which is why he decides to die so that his vital energy disappears and the labyrinth with it. It all ends with Percy’s birthday with all his friends, including Nico and his father Poseidon.
The Final Battle
The final battle opens to destroy Luke’s ship and Percy and Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus, will have to do it. Unfortunately, however, not all those who participate in Camp Half-Blood are loyal and word of the plan reaches Crono, thus managing to capture them but not kill them. Percy and Charles then manage to free themselves, but the latter dies to save him and destroy the monster ship. Percy returns to camp and learns of the oracle of Delphi’s prophecy. He decides to bathe in the river Styx to become invincible and prepare for the final battle, despite the god Achilles advising him against doing so.
Just like Achilles however, he will not be completely invincible but will have a small area on his back that makes him deadly. On Earth, in the meantime, there is a new battle against Typhon and all the half-bloods and huntresses flock to Manhattan to defend Mount Olympus and fight the enemies. Percy is almost killed but is saved at the last minute by Annabeth who receives a stab instead of him. She is right to the girl she will reveal what the weak part of her is and she will take care of it. The battle moves to Mount Olympus and it turns out that the hero proclaimed by the prophecy is not Percy but Luke, the latter will kill himself and Crono. Camp Half-Blood, despite many casualties, emerges victorious from the battle and Percy and Annabeth are finally free to live their love story despite the new prophecy issued by the oracle of Camp Half-Blood.
