Disney+'s Percy Jackson and the Olympians ending explained
Need to know what happened at the end of PJO? Read on!
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It's been an event-filled season for Percy Jackson, Annabeth, and Grover. And, of course, we can imagine that the adventure has just begun. But before we start asking questions about season two renewal, let's take a look at what exactly happened at the end of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1 (streaming on Disney+).
Were all of the loose plot threads tied up neatly? Did anyone die? Who, at the end, was Percy's betrayer? If you're asking all of these questions (or just want a refresher on what you've just watched), read on below.
What was the Percy Jackson and the Olympians ending?
In the season finale, Percy Jackson uses the rules of war that he's learned from his friend Luke to declare single combat with Ares, the god of war. Ares had betrayed Percy by working with Kronos to steal the Master Bolt and plant it on Percy. Percy, with Luke's sword training (we see this in flashback throughout the episode) and his water powers, just eeks out a victory over the god of war, who is forced to return Hades' stolen helm.
Percy returns the helm to Mrs. Dodds, who is there to retreive it for Hades. Percy then sets out for Mount Olympus to deliver the lightning bolt to Zeus. Zeus, a god with a temper, gets immediately furious with Percy, undeterred by Percy's message that Kronos is trying to start this war. Zeus wants to go to war anyway. When Percy argues back, Zeus almost kills him with the Master Bolt, but Poseidon finally appears to save his son's life - surrendering to his brother in the war that has just barely begun.
Zeus and Poseidon speak about setting up a council to deal with the Kronos situation, and Zeus tells Poseidon to make sure Zeus will never see Percy again. Once Zeus leaves, Percy finally has a moment with his father, and asks him if he ever dreams of his mother.
Poseidon sends Percy back to the human realm, and Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood a hero. But something is wrong. Clarisse, daughter of Ares, and the person Percy believes has stolen the bolt is still walking free. Luke says that there is a reason for it, but Percy soon deduces that the reason for it is that Luke knows Clarisse didn't steal the bolt because it was Luke that stole the bolt, as Luke is working for Kronos.
Luke tries to convince Percy to join his mission against the gods. When Percy refuses, Percy and Luke fight, and Percy (with Luke's training) holds his own - for a bit. He even draws first blood, though that makes the much stronger Luke angrier. Luke looks about ready to kill Percy when Annabeth appears to defend Percy against her own brother. Luke flees Camp through a portal he made.
After this struggle, Percy also leaves camp, to find his mother. Chiron warns him that Luke is likely to appear to try to convince him over to Kronos' side once more. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover say their goodbyes in a field, as Annabeth is prepared to reunite with her father and have a bit of childhood fun and Grover sets out to find the god Pan. They promise to meet again in the same place next year.
Percy returns to the beachhouse and finds his mother. They reunite, but it turns to be a dream (or a memory) that Kronos is manipulating. Kronos tells Percy that they will meet soon, and that Percy's survival is key to Kronos' return. When Percy wakes up again (we're fairly sure it's for certain this time?) his mom is urging him to hurry up to get to school. He tells her that he dreamt of Kronos again. When his mom asks what Kronos said, Percy covers it up with a joke.
Who betrayed Percy Jackson?
It was Percy's first friend at Camp who betrayed him - Luke. But Luke did not betray Percy out of jealousy or malice - or at least not malice directed at Percy. Instead, Luke is angry at the gods, who he deems 'bad parents' (which they are, to be fair). Luke asks Percy to join him, and when Percy refuses - they fight.
Percy, who was originally trained by Luke to fight, fights well, and injures Luke (though he feels remorse doing so). When Luke fights back even harder and seems to be ready to finish Percy off, Annabeth takes off her invisibility cap to defend Percy. She's heard everything. Luke disappears through a portal he's made.
Did Percy Jackson save his mom?
Though Poseidon warns Percy that it may take a while for Hades to release his mom, Percy does reunite with Sally Jackson at the end of the season finale. Though the first time we see the scene, it is in a dream manipulated by Kronos. Luckily, Percy wakes up again - twice, and his mom is right there, ushering him to school.
One thing to note though, Percy now seems to be hiding a bit of what he's going through to his mom. Though she clearly knows that Kronos is speaking to him through his dreams, Percy ends up not telling her that Kronos told him that it was through Percy's survival that Kronos would make his big return.
Does Percy Jackson meet Zeus in the season finale?
Yes, Percy Jackson does meet Zeus, though Zeus doesn't seem happy about it at all. Percy had hoped that he could convince Zeus out of starting a war by telling him that Kronos had begun the whole conflict, but Zeus seems to want to start war anyway. When Percy argues back, Zeus almost kills him with his Master Bolt, but is stopped by - you guessed it - Poseidon showing up to save his son.
Did Percy Jackson meet his dad Poseidon in the season finale?
Yes. Finally, we see Poseidon show up at the crucial time to save his son. And he does so in a fairly painful way, quickly surrendering in the war to his brother Zeus in order to save his son's life. The gambit works, and Zeus' direction is turned away from Percy, as Zeus begins to plan a council of all the gods, first to declare his victory over Poseidon and then to take a look at the "family matters" surrounding the possible return of Kronos.
Who was the Lightning Thief in Disney+'s Percy Jackson and the Olympians?
The real Lightning Thief was Luke, who is working on Kronos' orders alongside Ares the god of war. Ares plants the bolt on Percy, and hands Percy the flying shoes, expecting those shoes to drag Percy down to Tartarus and Kronos.
Who plays Zeus in Disney+'s Percy Jackson and the Olympians?
Zeus is played by the late great Lance Reddick, who imbues the character with a whole lot of anger. This was Reddick's final onscreen role.
Who plays Kronos in Disney+'s Percy Jackson and the Olympians?
This final episode of Percy Jackson credits actor Nick Boraine as Kronos, though so far the character has remained a fairly shadowy mostly-unseen figure, so we'll have to see what happens in the future.
Is there a Percy Jackson and the Olympians end credits or mid credits scene?
There is a mid credits scene. We see Percy Jackson's step dad Gabe walking to the Jacksons' apartment. He's chatting with his lawyer on the phone complaining about his divorce from Sally Jackson, who has also changed the locks.
Gabe sees a package addressed Return to Sender. It's the package that Percy had sent to the gods on Mount Olympus. Gabe steals the package and opens it. When he sees Medusa's head, he turns to stone.
What can we expect from season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians?
While Percy Jackson and the Olympians did a great job at finishing the story it set out to tell in that first season, we can definitely see where the second season intends to go. Luke, after asking Percy to follow him, escapes Camp, and our main trio splits up - Percy to find his mom (which he does), Annabeth to reconnect with her dad, and Grover to set out to find the god Pan. Percy returns home, and though all is well, it does not seem well. Kronos is still out there and says somewhat ominously that Percy's survival has a key part to play in Kronos' return.
Likely, in season 2, we'll see Luke trying again to recruit Percy to Kronos' side, and hopefully we'll see Kronos and Percy finally meet.
We asked the Percy Jackson and the Olympians cast how much of the books they've read (if any)
