We’re now in the sea of monsters. With that, Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians raises the stakes for Percy and his
friends. It returns with much more confidence than the first. There is no more burden of introduction to this world, explaining who the gods are and their role in all of it, what Camp Half-Blood is, etc. For Percy, the basic rules of this world are already established on what’s to come.
The second season immediately focuses on showing how Rick Riordan’s world grows, how the heroes develop, and what’s at stake this season. There is a tonal shift throughout the episodes; the sense of childlike adventure that dominated season one is still here but tries to cover more mature themes, the characters are older, more aware of the dangers they face, and more conscious of the emotional cost that comes with being tied to the gods. It all works as part of the entire world, but did season two honor its core? What’ll be in store of us in the following seasons, if they’ll ever renew for new seasons?
The most important thing for this season was honoring The Sea of Monsters book adaptation, and in my opinion, as a book reader as well, I think they successfully fulfilled that, I mean of course they can’t add in everything from the books it still was amazing production though.
Season one revealed that the central conflict obviously revolves around Camp Half-Blood and the path to free Kronos from his prison, Tartarus, a deep, abyssal dungeon in the Underworld for torturing and containing the enemies of the Olympians. It revealed to Percy the other world he’s a part of and what it means to be a demi-god.
Now, December 10th the day the first two episodes aired, confirmed that Camp Half-Blood, a place that is meant as a safe haven is now on the brink of collapse and is no longer as safe anymore now that the magical barrier protecting the camp is weakening. Thalia’s tree that protects the camp is poisoned, and it wakes everyone up into reality on who to trust and who is lying.
Percy’s (Walker Scobell) journey this season is defined by his will to prove that the threat is real. His actions are always for the greater good and not for the glory of being a hero except maybe protecting others making sure his friends stay safe first before himself. As the child of The Big Three, Poseidon (Toby Stephens), he has this weight on shoulders that we’ll see in season 3 and so on and is expected to be a powerful, confident, and brave hero, only in season 2 we repeatedly see him beating himself up not being able to be as much help of not knowing being in the loop on what’s going with camp, and in situations where his strength isn’t enough and he has to rely on his mind instead.
The Sea of Monsters itself becomes a symbol of that insecurity.
Percy struggles with the internal conflict about how his life changed and what he has to do to improve it. Despite being kept from The Great Prophecy that’s about one of The Big Three and the fate of the Olympus to either save or destroy it, his role is trying to rescue his best friend Grover (Aryan Simhadri) from Polyphemus’ island and try to stop evil from evolving by Luke Castellan (Charlie Bushnell), the main traitor from Camp Half-Blood, especially since Thalia, the daughter of Zeus (Tamara Smart), being brought back to life by the Golden Fleece from Clarisse’s (Dior Goodjohn) quest.
Although, Percy isn’t as alone as he thinks. He has Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries), even if she’s keeping a Great Prophecy secret that warns one of children of the three eldest gods who reaches the age sixteen will decide the fate of Olympus, she is his person and he is hers even if they’re both oblivious.
One of the most important moments from the books that was adapted was the introduction of Tyson (Daniel Diemer), aka Percy’s half-brother. His identity is revealed as a cyclops, which immediately marks him as an outsider, even among outsiders. But the show doesn’t shy away from showing the cruelty and lack of empathy he faces every day. Tyson’s introduction is a great example of showing that even what at first seems like a purely comic or sympathetic role becomes something deeper and meaningful for himself, Percy, and his friends he considers friends.
Overall, Percy Jackson season 2 feels like a great journey that further explores this world and helps us see the constant evolution of our favorites. The Sea of Monsters itself feels alive, and as a shifting maze of danger, it served its purpose, in my opinion. Encounters with sirens, sea creatures, and other hostile beings were perfectly staged. They provided the necessary emotional stakes to fuel the action and build tension for future seasons.
