#overall i need a season 2 && i can only have that if percy doesn't get hit w a lightning bolt

[jeonstellate]

percy: *about to be struck with the lightning bolt*

me: WAIT NO DON’T I STILL NEED TO SEE HIM TURN INTO A GUINEA PIG—

[tossawary]

I've only seen 3 episodes of the new "Percy Jackson" show so far and my main complaint with the first two episodes was pacing. I thought the pacing in the third episode was much improved and overall very good, but a lot about the first two episodes felt rushed to me.

I think episodes 1 and 2 both could have been two episodes each to slowly introduce us to Percy, Grover, Sally, Mr. Brunner, Mrs. Dodds and the Minotaur, and then to the Camp, to Annabeth, Luke, Clarisse, the satyrs and the different cabins, etc.. I mean, I think what was there was pretty solid! I like the actors! I don't think it's badly written (I think making Luke show Percy around the camp was a good choice to make later things hit harder, since we will have more time with Annabeth on the quest itself later), but I would have liked more breathing room scenes, like when Percy burned the blue jellybeans, for things to settle in, and I blame the studio for not giving this show a longer season to work with.

As it stands now, the first two episodes felt more intended for existing fans, rather than for onboarding new fans. I feel like a frog being thrown into boiling water instead of the water coming up to a boil around me. If you're not familiar with this religion & lore already, if you don't know who the Twelve Olympians are, the introduction to the Camp doesn't give you much of a foothold, which is quite unfortunate when PJO was many people's introduction to this stuff.

The blue food is not really explained. The tension of the mystery with Mrs. Dodds kind of gets thrown out because it all happens so fast. There's no time to slowly build a feeling of normalcy and then wrongness. Percy's relationship with Chiron is undermined by how little time they get together. Percy finding out who his father is happens SO QUICKLY that we don't have a proper understanding of what's wrong about his claiming when it happens. The camp looks cool and I want to see more of it! How it functions is barely explained! We barely get to meet anyone! It feels like Percy is there for less than 48 hours before he's leaving on a quest again, so there's very little time to build up his attachment to it. I have less emotional investment in Percy's conflict with Clarisse because we barely get to understand what daily life at Camp Half-blood might be like (although I understand putting less focus on Clarisse now knowing that you'll be able to play catch-up during future storylines).

I think the show is making pretty good choices with the time that they have, I just wish they had MORE time. I don't think that they have to include every little detail and scene and character from the books. I like a lot of the changes they've made just fine. I just feel like the writing and acting is being undermined by the fact that there's very little time to set things up so that you can knock them down, and that it takes more time to show something visually than it does to read a sentence. Everything in episodes 1 and 2 is moving so quickly that some of the magical aspects feel... less magical to me because there's less time to develop contrast. And the show doesn't have as much time to potentially develop cool NEW things, to slide in more new funny character interactions, because it's all so smushed down. I want more time to see these actors shine together.

(Although, admittedly, it is VERY funny to feel like Percy is stuck in some sort of speedrun version of the story. Every day is a new rollercoaster of Percy not knowing what the fuck is going on and going with it because he's not given the time to ask questions. Sure! This might as well happen next! His life sucks already. That part feels very true to the books, although I think the feeling could still be preserved if the show was given more time.)

I'm tired of 8 episode seasons. I don't know if I think that PJO needs a full 20+ episodes to tell the story of the first book, probably not, but being constrained to only 8 instead of at least 10-16 feels disappointing.

[narfoonthenet]

An (Amphibia) opinion I feel like repeating

So, this a a more fleshed out version of an older post on the same subject. I'm just sharing this 'cause, like the title says, I feel like throwing it out into the void again.

Anyway…

I don't actually like the "don't be afraid of change" moral.

I don't think it's bad - that's a good lesson for people to learn no matter their age.

I just don't think there's enough in the show to really support it being the core message.

I mean, think about the lessons Anne (along with the Plantars) learned in each episode throughout the series. Almost all of them have to do with how to treat others: trusting others, respecting other's boundaries, not forcing them into things they don't want to do, not making assumptions and jumping to conclusions about others, recognizing behavior that hurts others, not being a selfish prick, trusting others and their abilities, giving others a chance at forgiveness and letting others build up to that forgiveness…

The only episode I can think of that supports "don't be afraid of change," other than The Hardest Thing, is Little Frog Town - but only 'cause it's the literal message of the episode.

Honestly, I think a better, more strongly supported moral for the show should have been the importance of having and maintaining healthy relationships, and recognizing toxic behavior in yourself and others.

Focusing on Anne for a bit, a lot of her arc in season one had to with what an actual friendship looks like - starting with Best Fronds - and becoming more attentive to others' needs and boundaries and be less self-centered while also learning that she deserved the same treatment, that last one culminating with her standing up to Sasha in Reunion; and a big part of her arc in season 2, as already mentioned, was learning forgiveness and giving others a second chance - a lesson she explicitly shared with Sasha in season 3.

We can throw in Sasha and Marcy, too, since Anne's relationship with them is so central to her and the overall story. A big part of Sasha's arc was realizing her controlling behavior and disregard for others' boundaries was pushing them away from her rather than keeping them close (the episode with barrel's Warhammer is a rather straightforward example - heck, we see Grime had learned this before her; respecting Braddock and Percy's decision to bail and showing no ill will towards them). While Marcy's (season two) arc had her learning to be less oblivious and more aware of the impact her actions had on those around her - the First Temple, again, being a straightforward example of this (though it focused more on Anne and Hop Pop's conflict).

Heck, I'd even argue that the biggest conflicts stem from some form of toxicity in a relationship: Sasha and Marcy bullying/pressuring Anne into things she clearly doesn't want to do; Anne and Sasha being neglectful of Marcy's emotional needs (hell, it's suggested in season 3 that this is a factor in why Marcy did something so extreme and drastic); Marcy and Anne enabling Sasha's controlling habits - yes, that is toxic behavior; Andrias' manipulative treatment of Marcy; Aldrich's manipulative and abusive treatment of Andrias; all the times Anne and the Plantars butted heads against each other (like Stakeout and Sprig vs Hop Pop)…

I think y'all get what I mean at this point.

So, there you go. I think "have healthy relationships" is a better-fitting message for the show than "don't be afraid of change."

P.S. a few things I want to admit real quick: I haven't re-watched the show beyond some S1 episodes, and I neglected watching S3-A, so there's probably some stuff I'm missing. I just had this on my mind and just needed to get it out. Again.

Real late addition: So, a while ago I got a response for this on Reddit that's kinda stayed with me, so I feel I should make a clarification.

Yes, change is a constant, major theme in the series. That's something I don't deny.

But, the "change" the moral and Anne's ending speech refers to is focused on inevitable change; that change is something that happens and it's better to adapt to it, rather than resist it.

The change we see throughout the series, however, has always been about personal improvement. Changing yourself to be a better person; something that, in the show, leads to Anne and her friends and family treating each other much better than at the start, improving and strengthening their relationships. Which lends itself to the whole "importance of healthy relationship" moral I think the show should've gone with.

I feel the examples I gave in my main argument provide enough evidence to support my point.