The new Percy Jackson series

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids don’t like the casting for annabeth at all. They love the books. I’ve never read the books and didn’t have a problem with her. They also said that Grover isn’t funny enough.

"Casting for Annabeth" has sadly generated a ton of controversy among some over-invested and immature adult/teen fans (absolutely not all, but a vocal subset on social media) who simply cannot accept that a character described as white and blonde in the novels is being played by a black actress. Not saying that's your kids' issue, but this is an opportunity to talk with them about the fact there's been racist controversy around this casting, and how adaptations can and do make changes. (The author Rick Riordan picked this actress himself, as the best embodiment of the character, he's said.) Maybe talk to them about whether they don't like the casting or whether they really are disliking is the writing. Though to me, the actress is doing what is actually in the first book--Annabeth is pretty chilly and distant toward Percy and all about getting her quest, etc., for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids don’t like the casting for annabeth at all. They love the books. I’ve never read the books and didn’t have a problem with her. They also said that Grover isn’t funny enough.

"Casting for Annabeth" has sadly generated a ton of controversy among some over-invested and immature adult/teen fans (absolutely not all, but a vocal subset on social media) who simply cannot accept that a character described as white and blonde in the novels is being played by a black actress. Not saying that's your kids' issue, but this is an opportunity to talk with them about the fact there's been racist controversy around this casting, and how adaptations can and do make changes. (The author Rick Riordan picked this actress himself, as the best embodiment of the character, he's said.) Maybe talk to them about whether they don't like the casting or whether they really are disliking is the writing. Though to me, the actress is doing what is actually in the first book--Annabeth is pretty chilly and distant toward Percy and all about getting her quest, etc., for a long time.

+1

I'm not a fan of the books or the show, but I thought the Black actress is doing a great job (I decided to watch this show because I'm bored and I was a classics major, so I'm into the subject.) Also, historically speaking the Greek religion was influenced over the centuries by Egyptian religion. The ancient Egyptians were Black people. So the goddess Athena having a Black daughter shouldn't be weird. Like, at all.

[Anonymous]

Greek doesn’t even have to mean white for so many reasons.

Plus the gods were reproducing with all people. So..

[Anonymous]

I think it can be hard to reconcile the Annabeth we know and love by the end of all the books with who she was at the beginning. She IMO went through a lot of character growth and PP is right she was cold and chilly at the beginning of the series.

[Anonymous]

My tween wants to watch this together. Generally I read the books first but haven't touched these. Should I bother to read or just watch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My tween wants to watch this together. Generally I read the books first but haven't touched these. Should I bother to read or just watch?

DH and I are watching this even though it’s for kids. We wanted this to be a me + DH + 12yoDD thing. Something to do together. Surprisingly she wasn’t interested. She’s busy right now.

I’ve read the books, DH hasn’t (but has heard me talk about it).

I think you can enjoy it without reading. However! I think quickly reading the first half of book one will set you up better.

[Anonymous]

My 3 kids rarely are interested in any of the same things but they all loved the books, so they are watching the series together. Since one is back at college right now, they actually had a "watch party" last night when it went live. Which means that even if it wasn't any good, I would still love this show.

As the person who read all of the books out loud, some of them more than once, I know the story pretty well, so it's nice to see a faithful version as opposed to the debacle that was the movie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 3 kids rarely are interested in any of the same things but they all loved the books, so they are watching the series together. Since one is back at college right now, they actually had a "watch party" last night when it went live. Which means that even if it wasn't any good, I would still love this show.

As the person who read all of the books out loud, some of them more than once, I know the story pretty well, so it's nice to see a faithful version as opposed to the debacle that was the movie.

+1 My DD (19) LOVES the books and credits them with turning her into a reader and she was so mad about how badly they did the movie. She thinks the TV adaptation is pretty good.

[Anonymous]

dude, the writing is soooooo bad (especially the dialogue in the latest two episodes...WTF?) but for some reason I need to know what happens next. Maybe because I had a bad childhood too.

It's so dumb, the dumbest show ever with the worst writing ever, but I enjoy it.

[Anonymous]

I liked Percy better in the last series - prefer this annabeth. This percy is a little bit geeky where i felt in the books he was more yolo about things. On the whole I've been a bigger fan of the monster/monarch series which I think is also on disney plus than this one but this isn't really bad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked Percy better in the last series - prefer this annabeth. This percy is a little bit geeky where i felt in the books he was more yolo about things. On the whole I've been a bigger fan of the monster/monarch series which I think is also on disney plus than this one but this isn't really bad

'Monarch: Legacy of Monsters'? I haven't heard of it before but just googled it. I'm intrigued.

[Anonymous]

I'm enjoying it but I use it for escapism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked Percy better in the last series - prefer this annabeth. This percy is a little bit geeky where i felt in the books he was more yolo about things. On the whole I've been a bigger fan of the monster/monarch series which I think is also on disney plus than this one but this isn't really bad

Thats fair. Percy does have a little bit of a YOLO attitude in the books that the actor hasn't shown yet. Hopefully it comes out in the next few episodes.

We may also be remembering that from the later books, as he became more confident as a demigod.

Gosh I hope there is another season