Fantasy is back and better than ever this holiday season with Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2. The writing is more florid, the action is more calculated, and even the actors improved their performances. Based on the 2006 sequel, this season follows Percy (Walker Scobell) and friends as they embark on the treacherous Sea of Monsters to retrieve the one thing that can save camp: the golden fleece. The tides are turning, and the storm has only just begun.
The biggest difference between the first season and this one is the budget. It just about tripled. Even disregarding the upgrade in promotion, the enhanced set designs, elaborated fight scenes, and stunning effects all point towards a significant payday. The groundbreaking first season was by no means cheap, but it was so enthralling that it guaranteed more seasons.
Season 3 was announced earlier this year and is in production now, and a Season 4 rumor is spreading around too. If this show gets as big as it’s promising to be and as influential as the books were, we might be looking at a fully fledged Percy Jackson universe with spin-offs and everything. Call it a Riordanverse or Percyverse, if you will.
Season 2 starts off with Percy returning to Camp Half-Blood with his new friend/cyclops Tyson (Daniel Diemer). He quickly learns that his satyr best friend, Grover (Aryan Simhadri), is missing and the camp’s magical protective barrier is broken. Ever the brave hero, Percy takes it upon himself to venture into the Sea of Monsters to find Grover and the golden fleece that can save them all.
The emotions are as high as the stakes this season, and our ensemble cast is up for the task. Percy is filled with incredible angst and anxiety as he embarks on this quest and gets very few moments of reprieve. Walker Scobell (The Adam Project, Secret Headquarters) wears his heart on his sleeve, and the serenity he portrays as Percy at sea, sailing the ship, is infectious. He easily goes from goofy kid to troubled young adult as the story requires, and doesn’t shy away from softer emotions.
He’s grown into the character, literally and figuratively. He’s taller, sure, but he walks with more confidence. The type of confidence you only get after besting the god of war and saving Olympus. He also brings a new physicality to the role that we didn’t get to see much of in the first season. Percy eventually becomes a superior swordsman, even at one time comparable to the great warrior Achilles. Scobell took sword-fighting lessons in preparation for Season 1, but we’re finally able to see the results now. He played awkwardly with his weapon last season, but now he wields it comfortably and more expertly.
Another phenomenal and young actor is Leah Sava Jeffries (Beast, Empire). She captures Annabeth’s arrogance and vulnerability so perfectly that she practically disappears into the role. Pun (sort of) intended. She delivers her lines with purpose, treating each scene as an audition tape. She’s already proven herself worthy of being our Wise Girl, but now she’s reminding us how she got the part in the first place: she steals every scene she’s in. She and Scobell must’ve taken advanced eye-acting lessons before shooting, because their faces say so much when they have no lines. This is to be expected for two characters who end up being a demigod power couple, but their mannerisms and expressions are so in sync for actors so young. It’s easy to forget that they’ve only known each other for a few years.
Perhaps the most exciting element this season introduces is Thalia Grace (Tamara Smart). The daughter of Zeus is still a tree in modern day, but thanks to the magic of flashbacks, we get to see her in action. She doesn’t disappoint. Her stunt scenes are abrupt and big, a detail that sums up her sheer power. Smart – who played the daughter of the late Lance Reddick (the Season 1 actor for Zeus) in Resident Evil – takes on the demigod’s macho attitude with authority and commands the screen in these flashbacks. Her scenes are only bolstered by Charlie Bushnell’s (Diary of a Future President, In the Know) confident portrayal of Luke’s delusions.
The scenes with young Annabeth, played by Sava Jeffries’ cousin Marissa, are precious and highlight the innocence that Thalia and Luke fought so hard to preserve. We can only appreciate this now through modern Annabeth’s perspective. She was naïve once.
Another element this season brings back to the table is fate. As Percy learns more about Olympian politics, it becomes clearer how fickle they are. They will use anybody and do anything for their benefit and almost always have ulterior motives. Percy also grows more powerful the more he learns, and he becomes more of a threat to the gods, titans, monsters, and humans alike. The fate of Olympus may very well rest on his shoulders.
Fall in love with magic all over again and be sure to catch new episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Wednesdays on Disney+ and Hulu.
Rating: 9/10