Percy Jackson & The Olympians reaches the penultimate chapter of its first season with the seventh episode, “We Find Out The Truth, Sort Of.” What new challenges await our heroes as they enter the Underworld? Will Percy’s mom finally be rescued? How does Hades play into all this? And will the truth behind the master bolt’s theft finally be revealed?
All these questions and more will be answered momentarily. Please bear in mind that there will be full spoilers for “We Find Out The Truth, Sort Of,” so tread lightly if you haven’t seen it yet. Without further ado, let’s begin.
Also Read: Percy Jackson & The Olympians Episode 6 SPOILER Recap/Review: We Take A Zebra To Vegas
Percy Jackson Episode 7 Plot
After a brief scuffle with Procrustus, Percy’s half brother and known murderer of travelers, our heroes make their way into the Underworld, making a beeline for Hades’ palace. They attempt to hitch a ride with the ferryman Charon, but he refuses to help them since…… well, they’re not dead. Charon sicks Cerberus on our trio, but Annabeth is able to subdue the three-headed dog using the stress ball she gave to Grover earlier.
Unfortunately, during their encounter, Grover lost one of the four pearls they needed to get themselves and Percy’s mother out of the Underworld, meaning one of them will have to stay behind. Grover insists that he do it as penance; an idea that both Percy and Annabeth vehemently reject. The trio soon find themselves in the Fields of Asphodel and Annabeth is nearly trapped there by her regret, but uses her pearl to escape; leaving Percy and Grover to finish the quest themselves.
Grover is forcibly taken into the air by the flying shoes Luke gave to the trio, with the shoes themselves landing in the pits of Tartarus. And after Percy recovers Grover, he finds the Master Bolt has mysteriously appeared in his backpack. But this isn’t HIS backpack, it’s the bag that Ares gave him; confirming that it was Ares who stole the bolt, with Percy and Grover theorizing he must have been working in conjunction with Hades.
The two finally arrive at Hades’ palace and discover that the god of death has indeed kept Percy’s mother alive, though she is currently an immobile statue. Hades promises to return Percy’s mother if he “gives him what he wants,” but Percy refuses to give him the bolt. This confuses Hades as he not only didn’t steal the bolt in the first place nor worked with Ares, but also doesn’t even want the bolt as he doesn’t want to be involved in family drama.
Rather, he wants his Helm of Darkness back, a helmet that turns the wearer invisible which Hades believes the real thief stole in order to take the bolt without being seen. Hades’ family drama comment gets Percy to finally put the pieces together and realize the true mastermind behind all this: Kronos. The Titan of Time, father of Zeus and the gods, the voice in Percy’s dream, and the one with the longest and hardest grudge against the Olympian gods.
Hades offers Grover, Percy, and Sally sanctuary in the Underworld in exchange for the bolt to use in the incoming war; but Percy rejects the offer. Instead, he and Grover use their pearls to return to the mortal world to retrieve Hades’ helm and in exchange, Hades will free Sally. The two quickly reunite with Annabeth and Percy finds himself face-to-face with a broadsword-wielding Ares, ending the episode.
Percy Jackson Episode 7 Critique
All things considered, “We Find Out The Truth, Sort Of” is a very solid adaptation of the Underworld section of the original Lightning Thief book. Some elements have been consolidated, such as the Crusty’s Waterbeds sequence now being a short cold open instead of a full encounter or the trio’s interactions with other souls now being a small “cutting through the line” gag instead of an extended world-building moment.
Others have been removed such as the Hollywood casting studio gimmick that preceded Charon’s appearance or Annabeth’s role past the Cerberus encounter. And some elements are entirely new, such as a series of flashbacks to Sally and Percy’s last days together before Percy went off to Yancy Academy. Nevertheless, the main plot beats and overall spirit of the chapters is still there and it’s obviously great to see.
The camaraderie of the main trio really shines through even as they lose Annabeth partway through the story. They really feel like genuine friends that have gone through so much together and their clear chemistry is consistently compelling. I also enjoy how Jay Duplass’ Hades is a genuinely chill guy in this version, as opposed to the over-the-top villain seen in most adaptations.
The action is great as always, the effects work used to bring Cerberus to life is very impressive, and it’s got a fairly strong cliffhanger ending to lead into the finale; but I can’t help but feel its still missing something. I think this is mainly the result of the flashback inclusions. Don’t get me wrong, the flashbacks are great scenes that showcase Virginia Kull’s acting chops to great effect. And it was really refreshing to see an authentic portrayal of good parenting to a neurodivergent child when so much media gets it wrong.
But so much of the Underworld stuff doesn’t feel nearly as fleshed out or three-dimensional as it does in the book and I can’t help but feel it’s because they ended up dedicating so much time to the flashbacks. Maybe both could’ve worked if the episode was longer, but that also might have killed the otherwise great pacing. This is admittedly not an easy fix, but it’s still an issue I had. Regardless, “We Find Out The Truth, Sort Of” is still a great episode and a great lead-in to the season finale.
9/10
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