The season 1 finale for Percy Jackson and the Olympians has come just as quickly as the Summer Solstice while in the Lotus Casino, wrapping up the adaptation of “The Lightning Thief.” In episode 7, the trio of heroes finally made their way to the Underworld where Percy and Grover met with Hades and ultimately learned that the God of Death is not behind their misfortunes and the stolen Master Bolt, instead coming to the conclusion the titan Kronos is behind the impending war with the assistance of the God of War, Ares. In the finale:
“Mount Olympus beckons … and Percy must face his greatest battle yet.”
In a flashback, Luke teaches Percy sword fighting skills that are about to prove useful in the present when the young Demigod faces off against Ares, the God of War, though Percy once thought he’d never use the skills being taught to him.
Percy calls for a one-on-one fight where the first to draw blood is the winner. If he loses, he will surrender the Master Bolt and allow Ares to keep Hades’ helm, taking both if he wins. Following Percy revealing he knows Kronos is behind the plan, the two engage one another in a seaside single combat fight. Though young Percy is no match for Ares in terms of sheer physical strength, he has other advantages due to his blood and calls upon the powers from his father to bring a massive tidal wave down on Ares.
“I warned you … if you’re not careful … you’ll find out … who I am.”
When Ares manages to scramble toward his sword, it is too late, and Percy runs toward him, slashing the God’s Achilles tendon and drawing first blood, thus claiming victory. Grover and Annabeth rush forward to check on Percy and commend him for his win while Ares sarcastically claps, taunting Percy with the fact he won an enemy for life before shifting into his true form and disappearing, leaving Hades’ helm behind. Annabeth retrieves the item, and Percy hears his mother whispering toward him, and as he looks toward the cabin they once shared, the lights turn on.
When Percy enters the seaside cabin, he is greeted by Alecto rather than his mother, sent to retrieve her Lord’s property — the helm — which has truly been her quest all along. Percy hands it over, thus fulfilling his end of the bargain with the God of Death. Alecto wishes him luck on Olympus and ominously confirms Hades will fulfill his, given there will be a world to return to much longer. Much to Grover and Annabeth’s dismay, Percy does intend to ascend to Mount Olympus to return Zeus’ Master Bolt to him personally, saying everything remains to be about the bigger stakes at hand and that he has to relay what he knows about Kronos.
Percy insists that his friends have to return to Camp Half-Blood to warn Chiron about Clarisse and Kronos’ plan, but Annabeth remains focused on the fact that if he goes to Olympus, he will be killed by his uncle. Percy is done running from monsters and insists on at least trying, and ultimately Annabeth is forced to relent and gifts him with her lucky necklace. Grover still wants to talk through options:
“Just for clarity, how sure are we you couldn’t just explain everything in an email?”
“Where’s the glory in that?”
Percy makes his way to the Empire State Building where he uses the Master Bolt to gain an audience with Zeus despite not having an appointment. Before continuing, Percy recalls another flashback, displaying more lessons from Luke about Percy’s newfound Demigod status and the fact that Gods have children to bend the rules they must follow. In the flashback, Percy determines that if Demigods can break the rules and Gods can’t then Gods should be afraid of Demigods. Luke reminds him that while that is true, it’s like Annabeth being afraid of spiders and stomping on them out of that fear because no matter how afraid she is, she’s still bigger — “Two things you never want to be are small and scary at the same time.”
Percy makes his way to the Olympian thrones where his uncle, the King of Gods, is already waiting for him. Zeus remains seated as Percy approaches, until his nephew unzips his bag and removes the Master Bolt, presenting it though he is late in doing so. Percy swears he and his friends did not steal the Bolt and that they instead got it back, revealing it was stolen by Kronos. Zeus returns to his throne and dismisses his nephew, saying he knows where Kronos is and that he isn’t surprised by his father’s plan.
“I know who Kronos is, I am his son. Of course he is gathering strength. Of course he’s coming — that is what we do. We snap and plot and strive. It was only a matter of time before he did again. Thank you for the news. It is the only reason I’m letting you leave alive.”
Percy stays and continues to plead with his uncle not to continue the war, but Zeus is insistent that the war will continue until he has victory. Percy tries to reason with Zeus by telling him that the war is what Kronos wants because it will weaken the Gods and that the family is a mess, the other Gods only obeying Zeus because they’re afraid of him, using Ares’ betrayal of his father in favor of the promise of someone stronger in his argument. When Zeus raises the Master Bolt to strike Percy down in anger, he is interrupted by Poseidon grabbing his arm, stating that he surrenders.
Shocked but ultimately satisfied with the outcome, Zeus is quickly calmed by his brother’s words. The two exchange words in Ancient Greek about their father and who else would know — Ares, Hades, and Hermes, which means everyone knows. Zeus says they need to call a full pantheon meeting to discuss family business and tells his brother to ensure he never sees Percy again.
Poseidon finally turns to face his son and jokingly confronts him for his disobedience, saying he takes some of the blame because the sea does not like to be restrained. Percy says he caught the Ancient Greek word for “father” while Poseidon and Zeus were speaking, and while Poseidon compliments Chiron’s teaching, Percy corrects his father by saying he learned it from his mother. Percy asks his father if he dreams because Ares said Gods don’t dream, which Poseidon says isn’t true. Percy then asks if Poseidon ever dreams about Sally, which makes his father obviously emotional. Instead of answering, Poseidon briefly embraces his son before using a pearl to return Percy to camp.
Once back he is greeted with congratulations and applause until Annabeth meets him with a hug. She and Luke explain to him that they haven’t told Chiron about Clarisse yet because they didn’t want to send the Camp into an all-out war without proof to back up the accusations, Luke saying he told Chiron to meet him and Percy outside of camp and away from the celebrations so they can tell him about Clarisse. Annabeth stays behind to keep an eye on the daughter of Ares.
As fireworks continue to boom in the background, Luke and Percy make their way deeper into the woods, Percy still reflecting on what the Oracle said. Luke says that prophecies are vague, but Percy insists everything the Oralce predicted has either come true or makes sense at least. Remembering he was warned a friend would betray him, Percy comes to the conclusion that it was actually Luke that was in cohorts with Ares and Kronos the entire time and that he is the true Lightning Thief.
“I am your friend. Percy, none of this was meant to betray you. The Gods are my enemy. You … I’m here to recruit.”
Luke unsheathes his sword and says it’s what he wanted to show Percy and that it’s their way out, referring to it as Backbiter and using the blade to cut portals into thin air. Luke continues to attempt to persuade Percy to his side by saying the Gods are bad parents and they’ve gotten away with it for long enough, saying that Kronos opened his eyes to the truth, saying he intends to help the Titan bring the Golden Age back. Percy says he knows their parents aren’t perfect but they’re trying their best, but when he mentions he met Hermes, Luke initiates a fight.
The pair continue to fight, and when it looks like Luke is about to bring his sword down onto Percy, he is interrupted by Annabeth’s dagger, the daughter of Athena removing her invisibility cap and drawing her own sword, saying she heard everything. Rather than face against the Demigod he considers his little sister, Luke runs through the open portal alone.
Later, Percy packs his belongings so he can return to check if Hades has returned his mother, insisting he doesn’t need an escort when Chiron asks again. The two discuss Kronos’ plan and how Percy must be careful as he’s a leader to the Demigods now. Mr. D. continues to not know Percy’s name, but says he doesn’t actually care before telling Demigods not staying for full term to get out.
Percy visits Annabeth at Thalia’s tree and she says she imagines Thalia is thrilled Annabeth is going to visit her father, saying he intends to show her New York City (she’ll pretend she’s never seen it before) and Disneyland. Percy reminds her to just be a kid, and Grover joins to proudly display his new Searcher’s License. Grover says while the land has been checked, no one has ever bothered to check the seas, which is where he intends to start, and Percy reminds him to reach out if he ever needs help. Percy asks his friends for one thing before departing:
“Let’s make a pact, right now. No matter what happens, we meet back here next year. All of us, right here. Deal?”
Rather than responding verbally, Grover pulls his friends into a hug.
Percy returns to the seaside cabin in the hopes of reuniting with his mother. Not long after he enters, the two are able to share the moment he’s been working toward, quickly embracing one another through tears. Percy tells his mom what happened is a long but good story, but the heartwarming moment is quickly ruined when Sally says it’s time to wake up and the lights go out, only flames illuminating Percy. The mysterious dream figure we now know is Kronos stalks toward Percy. Though Percy is no longer afraid of him, Kronos insists they will meet in-person soon and that Percy’s survival is the key to his return.
Sally Jackson actually wakes her son so he can start seventh grade, and Percy is open with his nightmare about his grandpa, immediately taking out a journal to document what Kronos said. Before that, Percy feels the need to tell his mom how much he loves her.
In a mid-credits scene, Gabe receives the head of Medusa as a package and a fitting fate when he opens it.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1 is available to stream in its entirety on Disney+. Episodic recaps for the season can be found here.
