Crime
The Night Manager
Does it take a thief to catch a thief? Does it take lots of bad content to make a good TV show?
Percy Jackson is used to the world feeling … off.
In fact, it’s felt weird for as long as he can remember.
When Percy was younger, he’d sometimes see a pegasus sit atop a building in his hometown or Manhattan. Or he’d look out the window to find a rhinoceros casually walking down the street.
Times like those made Percy, his schoolmates and even his principal question his sanity.
But, as those sightings become more frequent, there’s no question about it: Something is going on. Something is not right. And things are taking a turn for the worse.
One day, while 12-year-old Percy is sitting outside, he watches his pre-algebra teacher transform into an evil, bat-like creature who then tries to kill him. Percy stabs her with a pen, and she disintegrates.
He’s confused. Bewildered. And he’s the only one who saw what happened. Or so he’s told.
Until his mom drives him to a beach house in Montague to tell him the truth: Percy is a demigod.
Yup. That’s right.
Turns out, Percy’s mom fell in love with Poseidon when she was younger. And not long after, they had Perseus, or, Percy for short.
Ever since then, evil creatures have been trying to destroy Percy’s life. That’s why his best friend, a satyr named Grover, went undercover to befriend and protect Percy at school. That’s why Percy sees things no one else can see.
That’s why Percy’s life has been destined for difference, for greatness, since birth.
Percy gets rushed to Camp Half-Blood, a magical camp made to train up demigods. There, he bumps into Annabeth, the daughter of Athena who soon becomes a close friend. And it’s not long before Percy, Annabeth and Grover find themselves (as many demigods at camp do) the subject of a prophecy by the Oracle of Delphi Camp Half-Blood. As the campers will tell you, that often involves getting sent on a quest.
For Percy? That quest is to rescue his mother from the Underworld (recently crushed by the Minotaur) and return Zeus’ missing lightning bolt before the powerful object causes war in Olympus.
Along with Annabeth and Grover, Percy manages both things—but he also learns that another camp friend, Luke, was behind all their hardship.
Turns out, Luke hates the gods. After all, very few of them are what you might call parent material, let alone anything anyone would want to have as a god. That’s why Luke has now joined forces with the Titan Kronos, who wants to overthrow Olympus. And part of their plan involves sowing chaos and destroying Camp Half-Blood.
As Season 2 opens, Luke initiates just that, poisoning a magical tree protecting the camp from monsters.
Rick Riordan published The Lightning Thief, the first young adult novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, back in 2005.
Percy Jackson’s character enchanted so many readers that it soon became a five-book series. It then morphed into two films produced by 20th Century Fox in the mid 2000s.
Now, Disney+ has taken the reins and put out their own adaptation, aptly titled Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
This TV-PG series is doing its job, visually. The graphics and visuals are sure to captivate a young audience. And I’m sure the storyline, for true fans, will do so as well.
Percy is a loveable outcast—one who is relatable with ADHD, dyslexia and a desire to be accepted by his peers. He also gains confidence and identity along the way as he befriends other demigods and takes the journey of a lifetime.
This series works hard to show the power of a parent’s love. It makes it clear that both parents play a critical role in a child’s life. It shows the importance of identity in all ages, but especially in adolescence. And it lays out Percy’s own journey, which proves how far we will go for those we love.
The show also emphasizes loyalty, kindness, empathy and honesty. But it weaves in other elements and messages as well.
Greek mythology is the bedrock for this entire series. That means that viewers will learn about this mythology and some of its practices and beliefs, all of which are taken as truth.
They’ll also see scary, evil, mythological creatures and watch as the heroes battle and kill them. There’s sword fighting, various magical powers and the ever-present understanding that the magical world is filled with both good and evil. The occasional sexual quip makes its way into dialogue, too (and, if the series stays true to its book counterpart, viewers should expect to see some LGBT characters.)
So far, there’s little profanity—though God’s name is occasionally used in vain.
And, most importantly, if this is something you choose for your family, you’ll want to have conversations with your kids about the differences in what we believe versus the beliefs that are established in this series’ mythological world.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Percy Jackson learns his true identity at the cost of his most beloved relationship.
Percy talks about the cons of being a demigod, which are many. He says that many times, the identity gets you killed in painful, nasty ways. He also says half-bloods (those who are both divine and human) aren’t safe in the real world and that’s confirmed by his mother.
At school, Percy often sees magical creatures and people that others cannot. An example: His teacher turns into a bat-like creature and tries to kill him, but Percy stabs her to death and she disintegrates.
He sees other creatures, such as a minotaur that causes a car crash involving Percy, his mom and his best friend. That same minotaur crushes Percy’s mother and she disintegrates. Percy rips a horn off of the minotaur’s head and stabs it to death (we see it disintegrate).
Percy shares that he gets bad grades, due to his dyslexia and ADHD, and is bullied. We see this bullying on the screen a few times, and one girl is especially mean to Percy. She makes him feel like an outcast, she often makes fun of his reserved nature and blames him for things he doesn’t do.
Percy and his friend, Grover, talk about how bullies often are victims of childhood trauma themselves and hide their own feelings of inadequacies–hence the reason they harm others. Percy feels betrayed when Grover rats him out, dishonestly, to the principal. (We find out later that Grover was actually protecting Percy.)
Percy and his mother go to a museum where a naked, male statue, with visible male autonomy, stands. Percy’s stepfather is rude, abrasive and spends his time belittling Percy.
Percy is haunted by bad dreams, including that of a terrifying, hooded figure who we only see from afar. Percy’s mother tells him that she fell in love with a god. He comically asks if she “fell in love with Jesus.” Percy learns about Greek mythology from his mother, as well as his teachers. He also learns about something called “the mist,” a magical veil that blinds the people of the natural world from the magic all around them.
When someone poisons the tree that powers the magical barrier protecting Camp Half-Blood, Percy and Annabeth struggle to convince the camp leaders of the danger.
When a god learns that Poseidon has claimed a second son, he laughs, “He never could keep his trident to himself, could he?” We see Percy wake up in his underwear and a shirt.
Grover searches for the nature god Pan and prays to him for guidance. After asking for a sign, a lightning strike (one apparently not controlled by Zeus) points Grover in the right direction. Grover recovers a pan flute which, when played, causes nature to grasp at attackers.
Grover and Percy learn that they’ve acquired an “empathy link” to each other—a telepathic bond built upon their friendship that allows them to talk with each other in dreams. Percy and Annabeth encounter the Gray Sisters, three hags who share a single eyeball (one that gets knocked out of an eye socket and must be returned). Characters have prophetic dreams. Percy and Annabeth discuss offering tribute to the goddess Iris, who offers her power as an ancient video-calling system.
Monsters toss fireballs at Percy and kick a cyclops to the side. One beast gets stabbed through, fading into black smoke. A giant tentacle snatches Grover. The camp’s electric-like magical barrier zaps some monsters.
God’s name is used in vain twice.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
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