Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 premieres with two episodes on December 10, 2025 on Disney+. New episodes will stream weekly thereafter.
Synopsis
With Grover missing and the fate of Camp Half-Blood hanging in the balance, Percy must quest across the Sea of Monsters where colossal creatures and vengeful foes await.
Review
Everyone’s favourite teen demi-god, Percy Jackson, returns to Disney+ this week for his second season. Adapting the second novel in author Rick Riordan’s saga, Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters, the series looks to inject a little more maturity into its YA DNA. But as the series looks to deepen its credibility can it hold on to its dedicated and often ferocious audience?
For the purposes of this review GYCO was provided with the first four episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 only.
It’s been two years since the first season of Percy Jackson first premiered on the streamer. Plenty enough time has passed requiring showrunner Jonathan E. Steinberg to make the wise choice to begin season 2 with a lengthy recap. Even as a fan of the first season I needed the refresher to reset my memory ready for when things get going. Because when they do there’s very little room to catch up. The two-episode premiere which debuts this week wastes absolutely no time in getting down to business. There’s new characters, new situations and an entirely new adventure to setup in the space of two relatively short episodes.
My biggest concern with Percy Jackson season 2 is that there simply isn’t enough of it. Including credits, the first two episodes run to 49 and 45 minutes respectively. Whilst episode three clocks in at 38 minutes and episode four at 39 minutes. That’s a mere 2 hours and 51 minutes for the entire first half of the season, including credits. It means that despite addictive pacing season 2 will feel somewhat truncated to die-hard fans. It ejects some of the book’s excellent character development to make more room for its action and Greek mythology. That being said it’s hard to argue when the results of those changes to the original text result in a season which – so far – offers an enticing and large scale adventure.
Our core cast of Walker Scobell, Leah Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri have all grown up between seasons. But that is hardly to the series detriment. Instead each has grown in confidence, inhabiting their role with even more gravitas than in season one. Percy is still relatively new to all this magic and mysticism and so finds himself often spending whole episodes reacting to the VFX heavy events which encircle him. But given the chance to show how his range has grown Scobell proves exactly why he was the right guy for the job. Jeffries shoulder a lot of the narrative weight in season two, finding herself more clued in then Percy and forced to keep secrets from him for much of the first half of the season. Jeffries presence on screen is undeniable. Simhadri, meanwhile, is forced by Riordan’s story to be sidelined particularly for this first half of the season. Though it finds interesting ways to fold Grover back in to the story, it really only serves to build tension for seeing all three reunited later down the line.
Stepping up to fill the role of second best friend for season two is Daniel Diemer as cyclops newcomer Tyson. Diemer brings some much needed levity at the beginning of the season as both Percy and Annabeth struggle with unfolding events. Tyson, again an introduction from Riordan’s original text, arrives at the perfect time to assist but to ensure new episodes don’t veer too much towards grown-up territory. Timothy Simons is also a heavy feature in the four episodes which I have seen, taking on the role of Tantalus. Cursed with an unquenchable hunger due to some rather nasty – off screen – events, Tantalus is a foil for Percy and his friends before their quest begins. Simons chews at the scenery with glee, skilfully slotting the character into the series’ YA sensibilities.
For those expecting season two to be a rinse and repeat of season one, Academy Award-winning production designer Dan Hennah and the VFX team have other ideas. From the outset season 2 is an impressive step up in terms of world-building and scale. There are huge set piece moments in almost every episode of the season so far. Fans of the books will likely be able to pinpoint what some of those are. But even then seeing those scenes brought to life is quite a sight to behold. There’s absolutely no denying the quality of the VFX proving that Percy Jackson is really a key franchise for the streamer. Giant mythical creatures look fantastic and pose a real threat to our heroes. Whilst fantastical sets themselves feel authentic enough to immerse the viewer in the story.
Once our quest to the titular Sea of Monsters gets underway then Percy Jackson season two is really able to dig in to its narrative. This season the writers are looking to dig in to these character more, exploring their weaknesses and what makes them human in a world of gods and monsters. Much like the Harry Potter’s and The Hunger Games’ it’s the humanity in the characters, surrounded by insurmountable challenges which grab at the audience. Steinberg seemingly works tirelessly to remind the audience of the unbreakable bond between Percy, Annabeth and Grover. It’s found family in the most inclusive sense which teaches profound lessons in recognising and accepting our differences. For that the series has to be applauded.
Verdict
Based on the four episodes I have seen Percy Jackson and the Olympians season two is shaping up to be an ambitious, visually stunning continuation that grows alongside its cast. Despite shorter episodes limiting some character depth, the series balances heart, humour, and Greek mythology beautifully. Percy Jackson remains Disney+’s most promising YA franchise.
We won’t be scoring Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 until we have seen all episodes.
