The last time Percy Jackson went to summer camp, his mother was kidnapped, he was accused of stealing the most powerful weapon ever known, the Olympian gods almost went to war with each other, Percy nearly died — a couple of times — and then he and his friends saved the world. It was a thrilling adventure for the demigod son of Poseidon, enjoyably captured in the first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” which adapted the first novel in Rick Riordan’s long-running “Percy Jackson” series.

Season 2, premiering this week on Disney+ and Hulu, doesn’t have the same compelling start as the first season, opening with disjointed sequences that deliver too much exposition and not enough at the same time. Both the narrative — based on “The Sea of Monsters,” the second novel in the series — and visual effects initially feel rushed and stitched together without enough attention paid to either. However, by the time our heroes break free of the confines of Camp Half-Blood for the open, treacherous waters of adventure, the season finds its sea legs and becomes another excellent journey about family, friendship, loyalty and what it means to truly be a hero. (The first four of the season’s eight episodes were made available for review.)

The crux of Season 2 is two-pronged yet interconnected: Grover (Aryan Simhadri), a satyr and best friend of Percy (Walker Scobell), has gone missing while searching for the god Pan. Meanwhile, Luke (Charlie Bushnell), who was behind the events of the first season, has put the camp at grave risk by poisoning the magic tree that protects it with a no-monsters-allowed barrier. (Important side note: That tree used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus, before she died in a monster attack and her father turned her into said magic tree.)

In quick order, Percy and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries), daughter of Athena and the brains behind Percy’s sometimes reckless courage, discover how the two problems are linked. In order to save Thalia’s tree, they need the Golden Fleece (from Jason and the Argonauts lore), a magical item that can heal anything it touches. And as the Fates would have it, Grover knows where the fleece is: in the Sea of Monsters. How does he know this? Because that’s where he’s been taken to.

Like its source material, Season 2 gives its main characters (and their actors) a bit more room to breathe. Percy and Annabeth, in particular, begin to come into their own, with actors Scobell and Jeffries bringing a healthy dose of wit and mischief to their characters. The standout, though, is a new character: Tyson (Daniel Diemer, utterly fantastic), a cyclops son of Poseidon and half-brother to Percy. Instantly likable, Tyson’s effusive sense of loyalty and enviable charm are a delightful counter to a world filled with egotistical and selfish gods.

Sadly, the special effects used for his one eye are jarringly awful early on, often distracting from just how awesome Tyson is. Thankfully, it’s the only real visual issue that pops up, with the monster and set designs a step up from Season 1. (And the eye effects seem to improve as the season progresses.) A chariot race, in which the campers are asked pretty please not to kill each other, is a visual highlight and a reminder that real props can often deliver a better sense of physicality than special effects. (Equally fun: their Greek-inspired racing costumes.)

While the episodes are titled like chapters from the book — “I Play Dodgeball With Cannibals,” “Clarisse Blows Up Everything” — fans of the novel shouldn’t expect a play-by-play adaptation. In fact, there’s a surprising amount of remixing in Season 2: who knows what about a decades-old prophecy, Percy’s feelings about Tyson being his half-brother, how the camp gets a new leader in Tantalus (Timothy Simons, who leans in a little too hard on being unlikable). All the same general plot elements are there, just not in the way you might remember.

The second season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” may start out a bit choppy, like a ship in rough seas that can’t quite get its bearing. But soon enough it opens its sail wide enough for its charming stars and entertaining action to take their rightful place at the helm. May the smooth sailing — as smooth as it can be in a place dubbed the Sea of Monsters, anyway — continue for the rest of the season.

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'PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS' SEASON 2

Rating: TV-PG

How to watch: Disney+ and Hulu

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