A ChucksConnection TV Series Feature
Aryan Simhadri wears red high top Converse “Chuck Taylor” All Stars in the series.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Percy is gifted a pair of red high top chucks by Luke.
Percy is gifted a pair of red high top chucks by Luke.
Being a half-blood is dangerous. It’s scary and not something that everyone wants. Especially if your name is Percy Jackson, the half-blood son of a god suddenly thrust into the world of Greek myths. His story has been told in the wildly popular book series by Rick Riordan over the last twenty years, and in a two-movie series that was met with a lukewarm response. Now, a new retelling aims to stay faithful to the books and bring new life to these beloved characters. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a Disney+ series that premiered on December 19th, 2023. The series stars Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally, Dior Goodjohn, Charlie Bushnell, Adam Copeland, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jay Duplass, Toby Stephens, and Lance Reddick.
These are no ordinary chucks though, as these have been bestowed with the winged power of Hermes.
Percy Jackson (Scobell) is a 12-year-old boy living in New York City with his mother Sally (Kull). Percy is a “troubled” kid who has been kicked out of numerous schools due to his erratic behavior and repeated visions of imaginary things like flying horses and monsters. One day on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he is given a sword in the form of a ballpoint pen by his Latin teacher Mr. Brunner (Turman). This proves useful when his algebra teacher Mrs. Dodds (Mullally) attacks him and reveals herself to be the Fury, Alecto. Percy ends up stabbing and vaporizing her, but he is expelled from school in the process. His mom says that it’s time they took a trip to their cabin in Montauk, New York, where she tells him the truth about who he is. The Greek gods and monsters of myth are real, and Percy’s father is one of those gods. Percy is a half-blood, or demigod, and half-bloods are hunted by the monsters of this world because they are threats. Percy's best friend Grover Underwood (Simhadri) arrives and reveals himself to be a satyr. He and Sally then tell Percy that it’s about time for him to go to Camp Half-Blood, a safe haven for young demigods where monsters can not reach them. However, on the way there, they encounter a Minotaur who crashes their car and seemingly kills Sally. Percy, in a fit of rage, charges the beast with his sword, Riptide, and kills it. He collapses, waking up in Camp Half-Blood, and is greeted by his former teacher Mr. Brunner, who is actually the centaur Chiron.
Percy gives the chucks to Grover to keep safe and use if necessary.
At Camp Half-Blood, Percy quickly meets the other demigods that reside there, all separated into different cabins depending on who their parents are. There’s Annabeth Chase (Jeffries), daughter of Athena and widely thought to be the most skilled and smartest kid at camp. She’s friends with Luke Castellan (Bushnell), the son of Hermes and counselor of his cabin. Hermes’ cabin is also where the yet-to-be-claimed kids reside, so Percy ends up there as his father has yet to reveal himself. Percy then has a run-in with Clarisse La Rue (Goodjohn), daughter of Ares and the camp bully. She doesn’t believe he really killed the Minotaur and gives him a swirlie in the bathroom to humble him. Percy unleashes a water vortex on her and her cronies and wonders what that could mean. In Capture the Flag, Annabeth selects Percy for her team, thinking he’ll come in handy when the time is right. On the shores of the lake, Clarisse again tries to fight him, this time with weapons. Percy breaks her spear with Riptide and defeats her as Annabeth and the team win Capture the Flag. Annabeth celebrates by pushing Percy into the lake. Shocked, he stands in the lake and tries to get answers, but soon he has the only one that matters. A trident, the symbol of Poseidon (Stephens), rises above him letting him know who his father is and everyone else know that he is claimed. However, this is not the end of his story, as soon he must venture with his friends on a dangerous quest to save the world.
Percy and Grover hang on as the chucks attempt to drag them to Tartarus.
This show absolutely nails the balance between fun adventure and perilous stakes, as we get great moments of the kids being kids while fighting for the fate of the world. The highlight of this show is the main trio of Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri. Walker is perfect as Percy, he encompasses the bravery, stubbornness, and charm that Percy had in the books, and how he evolves in the role could truly be something special. Leah is a revelation as Annabeth, stealing every scene she is in. Aryan is great as the heart of the group and he has amazing chemistry with both Walker and Leah. The rest of the cast also are standouts, highlighted by Adam Copeland as Ares, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes, and the late Lance Reddick as Zeus. For a Disney+ show the effects are pretty good and nothing ever looks cheap. The only issue is the episode length. With 30-minute episodes, it feels like the story ends just as we get to the good part. Hopefully, for the possible Season 2, the show will be allowed to go to hour-long episodes to really up the epic factor. Until then, fans will be on edge waiting to return to Camp Half-Blood and Olympus.
Goodbye Winged Chucks of Hermes, we hardly knew ye.
Like the first Percy Jackson film, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, this series features a pair of flying high top chucks, gifted by the god Hermes. This time they are a pair of red high tops that end up on the feet of Grover. A very cool way to get around.
Even the man with feathers on his feet wears chucks.
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