35 Biggest Book Changes In Percy Jackson And The Olympians Season 2

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Percy Jackson and the Olympians, season 2.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 is a faithful adaptation of The Sea of Monsters, but that does not mean there are no book changes. The Percy Jackson book series has been beloved for decades now, with the blending of the modern world and Greek mythology appealing to many. Thankfully, as Percy Jackson's TV reviews point out, the show realizes that well.

The ending of Percy Jackson season 1 set up more adventures in the world of Greek gods and monsters, as did the first book. The second book, titled Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, serves as the basis for season 2 of the show.

As with the first season, the adaptation is immensely faithful to the source material, down to Percy Jackson and the Olympians' broader cast of characters. However, that is not to say there are no book changes at all. Naturally, some alterations are made to better fit the TV medium, while keeping the spirit of the original stories.

With that in mind, here is every book change found in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2, and why those changes were made when adapting Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters.

35 The Introduction Of Luke's Rebellion

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 opens with Grover in the Sea of Monsters, encountering an old friend from Camp Half-Blood. Quickly, Grover realizes these demigods are part of Luke's rebellion against Olympus. The rebellion of other demigods alongside Luke was fleshed out later in The Sea of Monsters, with Percy Jackson season 2 deciding to do it earlier.

34 Tyson's Introduction

Tyson is a new character in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2, a cyclops and half-brother of Percy. While the reveal that Tyson is Percy's brother comes as a surprise to the latter in the show, he is aware that Tyson is a cyclops from the outset, which is one difference from the original book.

In Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, Percy notes several times that he always found it difficult to look Tyson in the face, later revealed to be a trick of The Mist, the magical veil that separates the mortal and magical realms. Percy eventually realizes, chapters later, that Tyson is a cyclops, rather than knowing as soon as he meets him, like in the TV show.

33 Percy's Battle With The Laistrygonian Giants

The inciting incident of Percy's return to the world of monsters in the original book comes in a fight with a clan of cannibal giants named Laistrygonians. In the book, these giants hide themselves as bullies at Percy's school, revealing their true nature during a P.E. class. Percy and Tyson fend off the giants, setting the school ablaze in the process, before running into Annabeth outside.

In Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2, episode 1, the Laistrygonian giants are present, only in a slightly different order of events. Percy and Tyson never make it to school, instead meeting Annabeth and riding with her to camp immediately after leaving home. They then fight the Laistrygonians on the way into Camp Half-Blood.

This change, as well as Tyson's cyclops reveal, was likely made to shorten the events of the book. Written narratives have more time to flesh things out, whereas film and TV need to move quickly to keep audiences engaged. Simply shifting the order of when the giants attack allows the plot to move quickly, without sacrificing the important moments from the source material.

32 The Colchis Bulls

After Percy's battle with the giants in the book, he, Annabeth, and Tyson make it to Camp Half-Blood. There, they discover Clarisse leading other demigods in a battle against two mechanical, fire-breathing bulls, named the Colchis Bulls. These bulls introduce the central plot point of The Sea of Monsters: Thalia's tree has been poisoned, weakening the camp's boundary that keeps monsters at bay.

In Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2, the Colchis Bulls are removed. The aforementioned battle against the Laistrygonians taking place nearer to the camp is used instead to show that the boundary is weakening.

Again, this change was likely made for runtime purposes. Having two different monster battles in the first 20 minutes of the show might feel overkill. Instead, the writers opted to shift the Laistrygonian battle to later, serving as a replacement for the Colchis Bulls with the same narrative impact.

31 Luke's Role In Poisoning Thalia's Tree

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 reveals that Luke poisoned Thalia's tree to weaken Camp Half-Blood, with Percy actually seeing this take place. In the book, Luke is only suspected of poisoning the tree on behalf of Kronos, something that is confirmed later in the story. This change gives Luke a more crucial, active role in the story.

30 Chiron's Role At Camp Half-Blood

Another new character in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 is Tantalus, who serves as the new director for Camp Half-Blood in place of Chiron. Chiron later appears in an Iris Message speaking to Annabeth, with this order of events being a slight change from the book.

In the book, Chiron is present when Percy first appears at Camp Half-Blood. However, the centaur is packing up his things and quickly leaves, with Tantalus then being introduced. This change is not a major one, with narrative flow and timing likely the reason for it once again.

29 Percy & Tyson's Time At Camp Half-Blood

As with Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1, slightly less time is spent at Camp Half-Blood in season 2 than was shown in the books. In Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, Percy spends a few days practicing his various skills, from swordfighting to archery. Meanwhile, the Hephaestus cabin takes in Tyson as he shows an aptitude for blacksmithing.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 does not go into as much detail as this, instead limiting Percy and Tyson's time in camp to the chariot race, also shown in the book. As has been the case with the rest of the book changes, this will have been made to save time and keep the narrative arc of the main story in focus.

28 Annabeth's "Betrayal" Of Percy

In Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2, episode 2, Annabeth talks with Chiron. Chiron mentions the Great Prophecy, something that relates to Percy, and tells Annabeth that, in order to keep Percy safe, she must stop her friend from going on the quest to the Sea of Monsters.

This causes some friction between Percy and Annabeth in the show, with the latter even "betraying" the former by telling Clarisse not to take Percy on the quest. Annabeth later finds Percy and goes with him, telling him that she cannot reveal why she "betrayed" him.

In the book, though, Annabeth is simply told to protect Percy by Chiron. She is never picked to go with Clarisse, meaning she doesn't have to betray Percy, allowing her, Percy, and Tyson to go off on their own quest later. This change sets up the Great Prophecy aspect of the original book series, as well as adding some dramatic tension between the two main characters.

27 Poseidon's Gifts & Hermes' Magic

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2, episode 2 ends with Percy asking for Poseidon's permission to break Camp Half-Blood's rules and venture to the Sea of Monsters. Poseidon seemingly grants this wish, gifting Percy a small inflatable boat that will help him reach a larger cruise ship to take him where he needs to go.

Hermes delivers this message, as well as some of his own gifts. One change involving Hermes from the books is the absence of George and Martha, twin snakes that circle Hermes' staff and speak to Percy. These snakes are not present in the show, likely to make the scene with Hermes a little more mature and dramatic, thus appealing to an older audience.

Poseidon's gift in the book is also slightly different. As opposed to providing Percy with a boat, Poseidon sends some Hippocampi to aid his son, creatures that are half horse and half fish. The Hippocampi were likely removed for budgeting reasons, as they would almost certainly have required lengthy visual effects work.

26 Tantalus' Role

The final major change to the book found in Percy Jackson and the Olympians' season 2 premiere is Tantalus' role. In the final moments of episode 2, Tantalus finds Percy and Annabeth trying to leave camp, attempting to shoot them with a crossbow and kill the children for violating his laws, and thus, the will of the gods.

Tyson appears, allowing the trio to escape before the episode ends. In the original book, Tantalus does not appear to stop Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson, with the trio instead looking only to avoid Camp Half-Blood's cleaning harpies, which are said to eat children who violate the camp's rules.

As with the removal of George, Martha, and the Hippocampi from the story, the absence of the harpies was likely down to budgeting reasons. Moreover, having Tantalus feel like more of an outright villain makes him more threatening than he was in the book. This way, Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 has an extra antagonist and a more mature tone.