Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 7 recap, review, and reveals: "We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of"

"We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of," the seventh and penultimate episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians answers so many questions, twists the plot, and reveals who is actually behind Zeus's missing Master Bolt.

We shared a recap of the episode, answered some very important questions, asked more, and shared our review of the episode.

Episode 7 recap

The episode begins with Percy, Annabeth, and Grover tricking Procrustes, also known as Crusty, who owns Crusty’s Waterbed Palace, to show them the door to the Underworld. He doesn’t show them, and instead, he intends to trap them in his waterbeds. Annabeth, using her invisibility, pushes Crusty onto the bed, trapping him in the bed. 

Then, they go through the trapdoor into the Underworld. First, they see Charon, the boatman, leading the souls of the dead into Hades’ realm. Percy bribes Charon with drachmas, but instead, he blows a whistle and calls the guard dog of the Underworld, Cerberus, the giant three-headed dog! 

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover outrun Cerberus, but they get lost. Percy draws Riptide, ready to slay the giant dog, but instead, the big pup just wants a pet and play. Annabeth calms the monster after nearly eating Grover. They try to use the flying shoes that Luke gave Percy to fly them up a cliff. Cerberus wakes up, and Percy squeezes a little squeaky ball and Cerberus jumps at them, sending Annabeth up the side of the cliff to safety. It’s a brilliant plan! 

Unfortunately, before they leave for Hades’ palace, Grover realizes he lost his pearl to get out of the Underworld. They have to keep moving. 

We see a flashback to a school where Percy was supposed to go, but the school won’t accept him because of his history of walking on the school roof after chasing a horse with wings, a pegasus! 

Back in the Underworld, Percy hatches a plan to save his mom and get Annabeth and Grover out after they find the bolt. They walk through Asphodel and see the souls of the dead becoming trees. The souls are haunted by regret, which ties them here. Suddenly, Cerberus is closing in and they flee, but Annabeth gets lost. She calls them over, and she’s stuck in Asphodel. She’s bound by some regret, and she tells them to keep going. She’ll use the pearl when she needs to. She gives Percy a pep talk and tells him that she trusts Poseidon. She uses the pearl and leaves the Underworld before getting eaten by Cerberus!

Finally, they’re at the weird desert that Percy keeps seeing in his dreams, but he doesn’t realize it. Grover’s flying shoes malfunction and try to drag him into a giant pit. Later, we learn this pit is Tartarus. Percy uses his sword to stop them from sliding, and then the shoes fly off into the pit. Percy falls and lands on something in his backpack. When he opens it, he finds the Master Bolt in his backpack. 

Percy realizes that the bag isn’t his, but it’s the one Ares gave him. They can leave now with the bolt, but they need to save Percy’s mom. They continue on to Hades’ palace. 

Back in that flashback, Percy asks his mom why she’s trying to get rid of him so badly, and he says he’d never do it to her. It’s a huge moment for Percy, and it’s devastating for Sally. 

Back in the Underworld, Percy and Grover meet Hades, played by Jay Duplass. 

Hades is quite nice. He offers them a snack, a nice pomegranate juice, perhaps? Percy asks to see his mom, and they go to her. She’s a statue, basically. Hades saved her life, he says, so Percy would come to see him. They’ll make a trade, but Percy doesn’t want to make the trade. He won’t give up the bolt. 

Hades has no idea what he’s talking about. Hades doesn’t want the Master Bolt. He just wants his Helm, the Helm of Darkness. It was used to steal the Master Bolt and was stolen days before the solstice. 

Percy realizes that Kronos, the father of many of the Gods, is behind this, and he explains why Kronos is using all of them to stop Zeus. Kronos is in a million pieces in Tartarus. Hades makes Percy ask him for sanctuary, and in exchange for the Master Bolt, but Percy says no. They use their pearls to leave the Underworld, and they leave Sally, in statue form, behind. 

Back in the diner, Sally summons Poseidon, played by Toby Stephens, and we see him for the first time! Sally realizes she can’t take care of Percy anymore, and she wants to take him to Camp Half-Blood. Sally chooses that Percy should know who he is, and Poseidon listens. Sally decides to send him to school and learn before the Greek Gods try to use him. She allows Percy to become who he is without the influence of the Gods. Poseidon reveals that one day when Percy is ready, they will meet. When that day comes, Poseidon will be there by Percy’s side. 

After leaving the Underworld, Annabeth picks up Percy and Grover on the beach. Ares approaches with his sword drawn. Percy pulls out Riptide, and they’re going to fight! 

Unfortunately, the episode ends, setting up a major battle in the season finale! Poseidon will be there. Ares will be there. Percy will be there. And so will we…. on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, at 6 p.m. PT and 9 p.m. ET. 

Overall, I really loved this episode! It was such an epic journey through the Underworld. It's different than The Lightning Thief, but I think some of those changes work well. It speeds this part of the story along. I liked Jay Duplass as Hades, but I'm bummed we didn't get more from the God of the Dead.

This is one of my favoirte episodes of the season so far. I wish Annabeth was involved a little bit more, but it was great to see the big reveal of the season with Poseidon's involvement in Percy's life, trying to help Sally raise Percy. We meet Poseidon, played by Toby Stephens for the first time, and it works well explaining Percy's relationship with Sally.

I didn't expect it, but that was my favorite moment of a great episode. I also loved where and when they ended this episode. It would have been great to see the epic battle between Percy and Ares, but I'm fine saving it for next week!

Who stole Zeus's Master Bolt?

Throughout the season, it was assumed that Hades stole the Master Bolt to stir things up between his brothers. Look, Hades is not above causing drama, but he's very clearly not behind the Master Bolt theft.

We know Ares stole the Master Bolt and put it in Percy's backpack, but how? We know when it was stolen (the solstice) and we know who we think stole it (Ares), but we still don't know why. Percy concludes that Ares is behind the theft, but did he really he use Hades' Helm of Darkness? Can he do that? We'll have to find out. The Lightning Thief readers know there might still be more to be revealed. We'll just have to see if the series presents the story in the same way as the book.

Percy also alleges Kronos is involved, and Hades, from what it sounds like, is very fearful of what would happen to Percy if Kronos is talking to him and reaching out from the depths of Tartarus. It sounds like Percy thinks that Kronos and Ares are aligned. That's what we gathered, in the Underworld.

There are still so many questions that need to be answered.

• How is Percy going to save his mom?
• How will Percy defeat Ares, the God of War, in a fight?
• Why is Ares involved in this and pitting Poseidon against Zeus?
• What is Percy going to do with the Master Bolt?
• Can they still prevent the war?
• What is Kronos' larger plan?

We'll find out in the season 1 finale of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Tuesday, Jan. 30 only on Disney+!