If you were into the Percy Jackson franchise a few years from now, circa 2017 or so, you surely remember the memes of the movies – not just by the fans but also by the author, Rick Riordan, himself. Excluding Logan Lerman and Alexandra Daddario’s pretty faces, it’s safe to say the 2010 and 2013 movie adaptation of the first two books are an accurate definition of the word ‘disappointment’. 

However, a few years later, fans are celebrating the news of a re-adaptation, with Rick announcing that Disney+ will produce the franchise as a television series. Since then, the Percy Jackson fandom has been happily fed with announcements of who will play all of the beloved characters we've grown up with, behind-the-scenes shots, trailers, cast comments, and so much more, until finally, in December 2023, the show began airing.

Right from the pilot episode, we’re able to see Walker Scobell (who might be recognisable from his previous work in The Adam Project) taking on the role of our beloved hero, Percy. Although Walker’s appearance contradicts the iconic teal-eyed dark haired protagonist we all originally knew and loved, I can safely say that, despite that, he accurately executes Percy’s character. He’s nailed down Percy’s sassy demeanour and playful nature, all whilst keeping that cliche hero-like nature throughout. (My own personal favourite moment of his: “Your dad is a God.” “Jesus?”)

Also, can I just say, Walker starting the series off with the infamous “Look, I didn’t want to be a half blood”? Absolutely iconic. (This is a public service announcement [threat] for everyone to listen to the Lightning Thief musical which also does an absolutely marvelous rendition of the famous opening line.)

Then, we have Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth. At first, when the casting was publicly announced, there was bloodshed over her casting. A Black person-of-colour playing someone who was described throughout the books as a white, grey-eyed, blondie? Completely unacceptable to most! In response to all the backlash and threats the poor girl got online, Rick, the man himself, came out and stated that she was chosen by Rick. By Disney. And that she’s the perfect person for Annabeth, without paying attention to pre-set appearances. And is Rick right? Well, in my opinion, just maybe. She’s done a good job, I won’t lie, but there’s something about the new Annabeth that falls short of what book Annabeth was like – Leah’s Annabeth feels just a bit lacklustre.

However, Walker and Leah do somewhat bring the iconic ‘Percabeth’ energy to the screen that fans have been waiting for for the longest time (and no, this is not an exaggeration. There is a 14 year gap between the book where the, spoiler warning, two get together as a couple and this series airing.)

Furthermore, Grover, the fan-favourite satyr best friend, is played out by Aryan Simhadri (Desi representation!). While I personally thought the original Grover in the books was a tad bit sillier, Aryan does, however, do a great job at capturing his loveable energy and not just on screen but off screen too! Just watch any of the cast interviews or videos and you can tell that Aryan, and even Leah and Walker to some extent, naturally carry their characters’ energies – in Rick’s words, “This trio is the best” (and I can kind of see why he says that).

Apart from our golden trio, this series showcases many more of our beloved characters such as Luke (Charlie Bushnell), Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn), Chiron (Glynn Turman), Sally Jackson (Virginia Kull), Zeus (the late Lance Reddick), Mr. D/Dionysus (Jason Mantzoukas who, by the way, did such a good job), and more. The show even stars the infamous Lin-Manuel Miranda as the messenger God, Hermes, who I genuinely expected to burst out into a song half-way through a scene. 

Now, ultimately, did Disney, Rick, and the series in general, meet with all the viewers’ and long-time fans’ expectations? 

Despite the bad pacing, with the costumes and sets paying close attention to details from the book; and the episodes named after the book’s chapters; and more; it’s safe to say that they did do it. Somewhat but surely, more than the movies did.

Just like that, it was that time of the year where Gulmohar had to keep up with its time honored tradition of churning out another event. After countless tedious meetings and mind numbing planning sessions, we were brought HGSC’24. With it came the question in everyone’s mind was would this year’s HGSC be better than the last. It’s safe to say that this year’s event was, despite its uneven preparations, a success though not without its hitches.

Weeks before the event the media team had started to work to produce promotional content. These efforts were present although with the less than consistent schedule of uploads, as is with all Headstart content, could not always be seen. Sleepless nights to produce top quality content with the heart and soul of the crater poured in made content enjoyed by all, though there wasn’t always much there to be enjoyed. As can be seen with the countdown which unlike most countdowns commenced with the sequence 7, 2, 1. Much of this can be attributed to the pressures given to the host team by the admin themselves needing consistent posts with less than stellar communication. As for the days of the events themselves the media team worked day and night to keep the public informed on the happenings of the event, and occasionally indulged in showcasing the serious attitude of some of Headstarts students.

The operations team, blissfully unaware until the day of the event, got hit with a surprise when they found out about the severe workload, for the next three days they remained in a constant state of anxiety. They had to ensure that matches took place on their allotted times and score tallying. However, due to people being confused as to which schedule to follow and half of their workforce quitting on the day of the event, many matches had to be delayed. On the other hand, the security team excelled at their duty by thoroughly searching each individual ensuring that no contraband found its way inside, and no unauthorized individuals infiltrated the venue. The registration team had to sit in one position for 6 hours a day and missed out on the opportunity to watch the matches to register each individual by ticking off their attendance or calling the players’ coaches.

Twelve teams from different schools engaged in a variety of sports. Football, Volleyball, Badminton, Tug of War, Dodge the Ball, and table tennis showcasing the diverse talents of the participating students. Leading up to the event, on Monday, a bomb threat emerged which led to the cancellation of the highly anticipated cricket matches and led to three teams which previously agreed to participate back out. To compensate for this, Gulmohar added in one more team of its own students. Yet surprisingly, although possessing 4 teams, none of Gulmohars teams could push past the semi-finals of either football or volleyball.

As the day of the sports event unfolded, the atmosphere within the school became full of excitement. The venue itself stood out for its well-organized layout and visually appealing setup. The musical selection, on the other hand, left much to be desired. Five Punjabi songs droned on in a repetitive loop, followed by “Hall of fame” on repeat. Yet, a serendipitous moment occurred when random Kanye West tracks unexpectedly played, lifting everyone's spirits. However, that too got censored and was stopped from being played. There was a wide variety of sponsors such as Tim Hortons, Subway, etc. (props to the Sponsors team!) However, one stood out, the Turkish ice cream vendor, who added a touch of psychological torture by tricking customers into eating napkins napkins while they reached out for their cones.

After countless matches and running around the closing ceremony neared. As they began the closure of the event and commenced the award ceremony the trophy distribution raised eyebrows as many of Headstart's claimed victories were in less challenging games such as Tug of War and Dodge the Ball rather than the more intense ones. As the event concluded, Ma’am Lubna in her speech announced there will be a holiday on Monday and cheers could be heard all across the auditorium.

In closing, the relentless efforts of Gulmohar’s host team have truly shone through, culminating in the successful and memorable hosting of HGSC’24.