Disney’s Percy Jackson TV Show Needs 1 Key Book Detail To Avoid A Fantasy Genre Plot Hole

If Disney’s TV show Percy Jackson & The Olympians hopes to avoid a typical fantasy genre plot hole, it must include one key book detail. After a failed movie adaptation, the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan are getting a TV adaptation available to stream on Disney+ on December 20. Set in the present day, the series follows a 12-year-old demigod named Percy Jackson who gets framed for stealing Zeus’ lightning bolt right as he’s coming to terms with his lineage and powers. He must go on an adventure with his friends Annabeth and Grover to clear his name and fix the balance of Olympus.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians has garnered a lot of hype due to the team’s attention to the books. The first trailer showed multiple references to the source material that didn’t exist in the movies. Plus, Percy Jackson‘s creator Rick Riordan was involved in every step of the creative process, from the casting to the writing, allowing him to shape the overall TV series. Despite this, the series still has the potential to fall into one of the biggest fantasy genre plot holes if it doesn’t include one detail from the Percy Jackson books.

The Percy Jackson Books Explain Why The Characters Don’t Use Modern Technology

The Percy Jackson books continually bring up the fact that demigods cannot use technology unless they have no other choice. When they use technology like laptops or cellphones, demigods send off a beacon that signals to monsters where they are. The only exception to this in the Percy Jackson books is Daedalus’ Laptop, created by the genius demigod son of the inventor of the Labyrinth. Even when Percy Jackson uses a payphone in The Son of Neptune, he soon gets attacked by griffins, implying that older technology isn’t even safe.

The origin of the demigod technology curse is finally explained in The Heroes of Olympus: The Demigod Diaries‘ short story “Son of Magic.” In ancient times, Hera killed the demigod Lamia’s children after she learned about her affair with Zeus. In turn, Lamia gave monsters the ability to track demigods anytime they use technology. She wanted the gods to understand the pain of losing their children. This continues into the Percy Jackson books, which take place in the modern day. Disney’s Percy Jackson TV show can adapt this lore from the books to explain why the characters don’t use any technology.

Disney’s Percy Jackson TV Show Needs This Book Rule In Order To Succeed

Low-fantasy TV shows and movies have a massive challenge when it comes to technology. Excluding tech for no reason breaks the suspension of disbelief and creates plot holes. However, the use of modern technology would render many conflicts in fantasy obsolete. For example, if characters used current technology in Percy Jackson, they could track the location of the lightning bolt or see who stole it from video security, erasing the entire storyline. With this in mind, Disney’s upcoming Percy Jackson TV show needs to incorporate this book rule about technology. It will keep the story moving forward while also preventing plot holes.