Given all the action unfolding throughout Percy Jackson's first two episodes, viewers only get a glimpse of Percy's home life after he's expelled from school. What is shown of Percy's living situation paints his mother in a positive light. The show improves upon Sally Jackson's characterization, and it also makes another character slightly better than his book counterpart. In doing so, it fixes the Percy Jackson books' most troubling storyline.

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How To Read The Percy Jackson Books In Order

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians television adaptation is coming to Disney+. To prepare for the show, here’s how to read the books in order.

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The Percy Jackson Show Tones Down Gabe's Toxic Behavior

One of the most problematic storylines in the Percy Jackson books revolves around Percy's mother and her boyfriend, Gabe Ugliano. In the source material, Gabe is introduced as a deadbeat who lives with Sally and Percy. However, his on-page behavior is borderline abusive, and Percy realizes at one point that Sally is afraid of him — and that he's likely physically abused his mother before. This is never explored with adequate depth, and the later revelation that Sally stayed with Gabe to protect Percy puts an uncomfortable spin on her "sacrifice," almost portraying it as honorable.

While there's nothing wrong with exploring the very real topic of domestic abuse, the Percy Jackson books simply don't treat this subplot with the weight it requires. The books gloss over Sally and Gabe's relationship for the most part, making their dynamic an uncomfortable and worrisome detail. Fortunately, the Percy Jackson TV show does a better job with this element of the books, altering the dynamic between Sally and Gabe for the better.

Percy Jackson's Book Change Fixes Its Most Problematic Storyline

Although Gabe is still portrayed as a freeloader and a jerk in Disney's Percy Jackson show, he's not nearly as bad as his book counterpart. Rather than making Gabe genuinely scary or outright abusive, the show opts to portray him as an unlikable, obnoxious, and lazy character. None of these are irable qualities, but he seems like more of an annoyance to Sally and Percy than a legitimate concern. Sally doesn't ask Gabe's permission before making decisions, and she's willing to yell back at him, suggesting she isn't scared of him. Percy also doesn't have the unexplored revelations about his mother's and Gabe's relationship that he has in the books.

Given that Percy Jackson likely wouldn't have time to elaborate on Percy's home life, it's for the best that the Disney+ show changes this element of the source material. Assuming it stays this way beyond the premiere, Percy Jackson & the Olympians doesn't need to worry about giving an abuse storyline the amount of time and depth it undoubtedly requires. And by making Sally and Gabe's relationship still unhealthy, it can keep her reasons for staying with him, making sense of Percy's survival in the years before Camp Half-Blood.