Welcome to the first edition of Percy Jackson Series Differences. This post will explore the differences between the Lightning Thief book and the first two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
We’ll also be doing posts for the other episodes, so don’t worry. We didn’t want to have to do a big breakdown when the season ended, as it would take too long. Please check out the Riordan Wiki page to see a full season breakdown. Also, the Percy Jackson Series Differences will only be the major things.
Backstory With Young Percy
The most significant difference we get in the first episode is we’re seeing things from Percy’s younger perspective from when he was in the second grade. So, we see him see a metal Rhino walking down the street. Blackjack the pegasus (who doesn’t appear until a later book) on the roof of a building. We also see him talking with Sally at the MET museum before the Perseus statue.
In the book, Percy mentions making one of his classes “go for an unexpected swim.” In the show, we see him in the principal’s office multiple times, basically being told he’s crazy.
Sally Refers To Her Son By His Full Name
Sally Jackson is a badass in the show. She even goes so far as to use Percy’s full name when she wants him to listen to her. She never did this in the books. Percy’s full name is sometimes used in The Lightning Thief by other characters but not by his mother.
She and Percy also have a saying between them. On several occasions, Sally tells Percy to “Hold Fast.” There is also no reference to her wanting to be a novelist or working in the candy shop. Whether these are bought up later, is a question mark. All we know in the show is that Sally is employed.
Alecto’s Attack On Percy
One of the earliest Percy Jackson Series Differences is Alecto’s (Ms. Dodds) attack on Percy. In the Lightning Thief book, she does attack him but does so inside the MET. In the show, the attack happens outside the museum.
Grover Turns Percy In And Gets Him Expelled
During the show, Grover lies to the principal at Yancy Academy and gets Percy expelled. This never happens in the book as Percy is constantly getting into fights, which gets him kicked out of school.
Grover Doesn’t Use Crutches And Gives Percy Opposite Advice
In The Lightning Thief book, Grover uses crutches to disguise that he has goat legs. Instead, the Mist hides his goat legs and his horns.
Speaking of Grover, the conversation between him and Percy outside the museum about their mutual bully, Nancy Bobofit, has Percy thinking of shoving her in the closest dumpster. Grover says that the thing they cannot do is fight back. This, to Percy, is odd advice.
Mythomagic
Mythomagic was rumoured to play a bigger part in the show than it did in the books. It’s also introduced far earlier than the books. Nico Di Angelo introduced the game in The Titan’s Curse. In the show, the game is used by Grover as a teaching tool to get Percy used to Greek myth lingo. However, Percy isn’t aware of this until later.
Percy Is Given Riptide And He Keeps It
Chiron (disguised as Mr Brunner) gives Percy his infamous pen/sword, Riptide and Percy keeps the sword. In the book, Chiron takes the weapon back and gives it back to Percy at camp. Also, it appears that the sword vibrates when it senses danger, as seen when Mrs Dodds becomes Alecto and attacks Percy.
Gabe
The characterisation of Percy’s stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, is a little different in the show than in the book. He’s portrayed as a bit of an idiot rather than an abuser, which might come later. Also, in the book, Sally must pacify the situation between her husband and son.
However, Sally is able to stand up to Gabe and not get her head bitten off in the show.
Though, Gabe and Percy still hate each other. Even Eddie, the super of the apartment building, finds Gabe difficult. He also plays online poker rather than physical poker.
Sally And Grover’s Relationship And An Illusion To Estelle
The series explores Sally’s relationship with Grover in more detail. It’s revealed in the first episode that Sally is more than aware of who and what Grover is; while this was never explored in the book, it is implied, but never 100% confirmed that she knew Grover was watching over her son. It is also implied in the show that Grover and Sally had spoken before about getting Percy to Camp.
Also, before Sally sacrifices herself to the Minotaur, she makes Grover swear to her that he’ll protect her “only child.” In later books, Sally has a second child, Estelle, with her second husband, Paul Blofis.
The Minotaur
One of the first confirmed differences in the series mentioned by the crew was how the Minotaur runs. It runs on all fours before rising on its hind legs.
Mr D Tricks Percy Into Thinking He’s Percy’s Father
One of the funniest moments from the second episode is Mr D tricks Percy into thinking he’s his dad, only for Chiron to tell him off, explaining that Zeus has Dionysus banned from any form of alcohol.
Chris Rodriguez
One surprise that fans got was the casting of Chris Rodriguez, an unclaimed demigod later revealed to be a son of Hermes. Chris made his first appearance in the book Sea of Monsters.
More Explanation Into Sally’s ‘Death’
Grover goes to the Cloven Council and explains (offscreen) what happened to Sally. They (again, offscreen they have seen situations similar to Sally’s. Chiron and Mr D confirm they also know about this and that Hades pulled Sally to the Underworld.
When questioned whether Percy knows about his mother’s true fate, Mr D says he doesn’t, and he won’t, as he will not be told what happened to his mother.
Luke Shows Percy Around And Explains A Demigod’s Purpose
A big Percy Jackson Series Difference is Luke and Chris show Percy around and take him to different activities to find out what he’s good at. Luke explains what a demigod’s purpose is; to find glory.
When Clarisse starts picking on Percy, Luke tells her to back off, which she does. Percy asks why she doesn’t go after Luke, in he explains that she knows better. Chris mentions Luke is the best swordsman at camp. Percy pieces together that she won’t pick on him if he obtains some glory.
Oizys
One goddess that was never mentioned in the original books was Oizys, the goddess of Grief, Anxiety and Depression. According to the books Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods and Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes, Oizys is the sister of the Primordial Goddess of the Day, Hemera.
Annabeth’s First Conversation With Percy
We first meet Annabeth in the book when she’s watching over Percy as he recovers from his injuries.
While she does tell Percy, “You drool in your sleep,” in the show, and she’s present when Grover manages to get Percy back to camp, she doesn’t have that much of a role until Clarisse and her goons try to dunk Percy’s head in the toilet.
In the book, she is forced to watch Clarisse shove Percy’s head towards the toilet bowl and is caught in the aftermath, where she ends up wet.
Fixing Percy’s Armour
A small moment between Annabeth and Percy during Capture the Flag implies their future romantic relationship.
Mr D Shares Similiarities With Gabe
Dionysus questions who Sally is, like Gabe questioned who Yancy was in the first episode.
