Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 8 recap, ending, and post-credits scene, explained

It’s all been building to this! “The Prophecy Comes True,” the eighth episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, begins with a recap of everything we’ve learned so far about the central mystery of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1. Who stole the Master Bolt? It was Ares, but we still don’t know how. Percy will return the Master Bolt and find Hades’ Helm of Darkness to get his mom, but he has to beat Ares first. 

Before the fight, we flashback to a scene that happened during Percy’s time at Camp Half-Blood. Luke is kicking Percy’s butt in sword training. Percy learns from Luke that there are rules in war. 

Back on the beach with Ares in Montauk, Percy challenges Ares to single combat. If Percy wins, he gets the Helm of Darkness and gets to keep the Master Bolt so he can get his mom back and stop the war between Zeus and Poseidon. He reveals that he knows Kronos is behind Ares’ plan. Ares denies it and says he’s going to kill Percy. 

Finally, the epic sword fight! Percy holds his own for a short time, but Ares clearly knocks Riptide away. The problem is, Ares plays with his food. Instead of killing Percy immediately, Percy summons a massive tidal wave and slams it into Ares. After Ares falls, Percy slashes Ares’ leg, winning the single combat and the Helm of Darkness.  

Ares promises he’ll be Percy’s enemy for life and leaves the Helm of Darkness before he reverts to his true form and vanishes. Annabeth picks up the Helm, while Percy is called to their little chateau on the beach. Alecto is there, and it’s clear she was looking for Hades’ Helm all along, not Percy, exactly. Percy gives Alecto the Helm of Darkness and asks for his mom in return. 

Percy sends Annabeth and Grover to camp to warn them about Kronos and to share what happened with Ares, Clarisse, and the Helm of Darkness. Percy wants to go to Olympus to give Zeus the Master Bolt back and prevent the war between Zeus and Poseidon. 

He goes to the Empire State Building and goes all the way to Olympus via elevator. 

We flashback again to Percy and Luke talking about the Gods. Luke tells Percy not to be small and scary because, like spiders, those are the things that get squished. 

Back in Olympus, Percy meets Zeus, played by Lance Reddick, for the first time. He’s wearing a suit because he means business. Zeus has been waiting for him, and he doesn’t look pleased. Percy offers Zeus the Master Bolt. 

Percy tells Zeus that he didn’t steal the Master Bolt. Percy also reveals that Kronos is behind the theft of the bolt, but Zeus dismisses him. He knows all about it, but he thanks Percy and tells him to leave. He threatens to kill Percy, but Percy doesn’t back down. He explains how quickly Ares turned on Zeus. Percy is very critical of the Gods, and Zeus is about to kill him when Poseidon shows up, grabs Zeus’s arms, stops the Master Bolt, and surrenders to Zeus. 

Poseidon and Zeus, speaking ancient Greek, come together to figure out how to stop Kronos. He promises to call a Council meeting with all the family there. 

Poseidon and Percy meet! Percy asks him if he dreams about mom, referring to Sally. He doesn’t answer before sending Percy back to Camp Half-Blood, where the campers cheer and celebrate his arrival 

Annabeth hugs Percy, but she reveals that Clarisse is still here. Luke and Annabeth explain they need more proof that Clarisse stole the Master Bolt before they tell Chiron to prevent the camp from going to war. Apparently, while Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were gone, the camp was split on who to get behind in the upcoming war. They need the campers to know that Clarisse assisted her father, and they need proof to make sure that the campers don’t believe Clarisse when/if she denies it. 

A celebration begins for Percy, Annabeth, and Grover completing the quest and stopping the war, but Percy and Luke are still trying to find a way to prove Clarisse’s involvement. They slip away to the forest as Luke leads Percy away from the celebration. Percy is wondering about the prophecy, and everything checks out except the last part about being betrayed by one who calls him “friend.” At that moment, Percy realizes that Luke was the one who stole the Master Bolt and gave Percy the shoes to send him into Tartarus. He was the one who betrayed Percy. 

Luke reveals that he is recruiting Percy to fight against the Gods. His sword, Backbiter, can open a door out of camp, and he asks Percy to leave with him. Luke reveals that Kronos opened his eyes to the truth. He’s going to bring the Golden Age back, but Percy won’t let him. He tries to tell Luke about his dad, but Luke attacks. Annabeth saves Percy! She was following the whole time using her invisibility. Before they can defeat Luke, he escapes through a portal. 

After it all settles down, Percy meets with Chiron, who admits that it’s scary that Luke didn’t want to kill Percy. He wanted a powerful demigod like Percy to join the fight on Kronos’s side against the Gods, but we can save any talk of that until next summer.

Everyone is leaving Camp Half-Blood for the school year. Percy and Annabeth meet at Thalia’s tree. Annabeth calls him “Seaweed Brain” for the first time! Annabeth is going to Disney with her dad and trying to rekindle their relationship. Grover, then, arrives with his searcher’s license to find Pan. He’s off on a journey to search the seas for the God of Nature. 

The trio make a pact to meet back at Thalia’s next year, and they hug! It’s such a sweet moment. 

Shortly after, Percy returns to the chateau on Montauk to find his mom! She’s alive! But, it’s all a dream. Kronos arrives in the chateau. Percy tries to kick him out of the dream, but Kronos reveals that Percy’s survival is the key to Kronos returning. 

And, we’re back in the apartment in New York. Sally is there! She’s alive, and she knows all about Percy’s nightmares with Kronos, also known as Grandpa. Percy withholds a key bit of information from his mom. He clearly doesn’t want her to worry. Percy eats his blue pancakes and leaves for school! 

And, that’s the end of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1. 

There’s also Lance Reddick dedication. Reddick stars as Zeus in this episode. Reddick passed away in March 2023. 

Season 1 ending, explained 

At the end of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1, there are a few crucial moments that set up the rest of the series. Obviously, the big storyline is the coming war with Kronos. Now, the Olympians, led by an alliance of sorts with Zeus and Poseidon, are getting together to talk about the threat Kronos will be with the rest of the Gods. That’s an improvement. 

Additionally, it’s been revealed that Luke, Percy’s friend, was behind the missing items of the Gods the whole time and working on behalf of Kronos. He escapes from Camp Half-Blood. That’s super important, too. 

Most importantly, though, Percy is still having visions with Kronos, who reveals in the last vision we see, that Percy is going to play a big part of the war and Kronos needs Percy alive because Percy will have a part of play in the return of Kronos.

This will likely be the larger story of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but there are other important things to note, too. 

At the end of the season, we see Annabeth, Percy, and Grover at Thalia’s tree. They agree to meet back at the tree at the start of next summer. That’s going to have big implications for the next part of this story, which should be based on The Sea of Monsters, the second book of Rick Riordan’s series. 

Now, we just need Percy Jackson and the Olympians to be renewed for season 2! 

Post-credits scene, explained 

Yes, there is a post-credits scene in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. This is a Disney series after all! And, it’s such a great post-credits scene.

I’m not going to lie; I was hoping the post-credits scene would reveal that Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 in the works or at least hint at what the next part of this story will be about, especially with Grover. 

Instead, we get Gabe Ugliano, Sally’s ex-husband. She’s already served him divorce papers and changed the locks on the apartment. Gabe is on the phone with his lawyers trying to break into the apartment when he finds a package outside the apartment. It’s addressed to “Percy Jackson” and from “The Gods.” Gabe scoffs at it, but he opens it anyway. We hear a shifting in the box and then Gabe turns to stone. As it turns out, the Gods sent back Medusa’s head in the mail, and Gabe unknowingly opened the box. So long, Gabe! 

This does, in fact, happen in The Lightning Thief, but it’s a little more morbid. Poseidon sends the head back with Percy and gives him a choice, which Percy then passes to his mom. Sally finally has had enough of Gabe and uses Medusa’s head to turn Gabe to stone. 

That wouldn’t be great to show to the kids watching the series, so it got tweaked, but it’s still great! 

So, that’s the first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Now, we wait for season 2!