‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’: Who Stole the Master Bolt?

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 1 comes to a close next week on January 30. Episode 7, premiering tonight (January 23) at 9/8c on Disney+, will continue to unfold the season-long mystery of the lightning thief’s identity. Book fans well know this answer, but for those who don’t, who stole the master bolt? Let’s dive into the possibilities.

Did Clarisse Steal the Master Bolt in Percy Jackson?

Grover (Aryan Simhadri) spent Episode 5 slyly extracting intel from the war god, Ares (Adam Copeland of WWE and AEW fame). By the end of this interrogation disguised as an interview with a major fan, Grover was convinced he figured out who stole Zeus’s bolt: Clarisse La Rue (Dior Goodjohn), Ares’ favorite daughter whom viewers met back at Camp Half-Blood.

Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue in Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 1 Episode 2 (Disney/David Bukach)

Grover realized that Ares knew the thief’s identity during this pivotal talk. In an iris message to Luke (Charlie Bushnell) at the beginning of Episode 6, “We Take a Zebra to Vegas,” Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) said the satyr could tell Ares was covering for the lightning thief. Ares would only cover for “his favorite daughter,” Annabeth and Luke say. Percy (Walker Scobell) tells Luke that camp activities director Chiron (Glynn Turman) must arrest Clarisse and find out what she knows. This will hopefully calm down the panic at camp caused by the impending Olympian war brewing between brothers Zeus (the late Lance Reddick, who makes his debut in the finale) and Poseidon (Toby Stephens, debuting in Episode 7 in a Sally and Poseidon flashback).

A suspicious dream convinced Percy that the thief’s identity is just the tip of the iceberg. “Something bigger” is going on behind the scenes, he tells his friends. Percy witnessed a private talk between an unidentifiable man and the lightning thief in his dream the night before they called Luke. The thief was obscured from view and didn’t speak, and the man’s voice was the same voice Percy has heard in his dark dreams all season long. But this dream felt different to Percy. It felt like a message to the young demigod. We’ll find out why he’s been receiving them before the season ends.

“Wise girl” Annabeth’s wheels started turning when Percy shared this information. What theory could she be brewing up?

Who Stole the Master Bolt in Percy Jackson?

If Clarisse didn’t steal the master bolt, who did? Ares definitely seems to be a contender, but the god of war would likely be smarter than to take it himself from Olympus (as Grover said in Episode 5, the bolt was stolen at the last solstice celebration on Olympus). Another possibility is Hades.

Jay Duplass as Hades in Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 1 Episode 7 (Disney/David Bukach)

Viewers will meet the god of the dead (played by Jay Duplass) in Episode 7, when Percy, Annabeth, and Grover finally make it down to the underworld. Could he have stolen the bolt himself or sent someone to take it for him?

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The Fury Alecto (Megan Mullally) has been stalking the demigods on their quest all season long, seemingly in search for the bolt. Maybe that was a cover all along for the real master plan at work? Hades would have incentive to mess up this quest by sending Alecto to kill the kids, if his goal is to keep the lightning thief’s identity a secret. Hades being a Big Three Olympian gives him incentive to try and overthrow his brothers and win control of Olympus.

Hermes (Lin-Manuel Miranda) is the messenger god. He’s in charge of getting precious deliveries to and from Olympus, giving him easy access to Zeus’s bolt. His ability to move through time and space in a flash would also make him the perfect thief. But what would his incentive be for starting a war between the Olympians? Just to stir chaos? That sounds like something Ares would do more so than Hermes. There’s also the possibility that Poseidon stole the bolt, as Zeus believes. Is preparing for war with his brother an admission of guilt, or an act of defense against a baseless accusation?

Demigods are trouble-starters who often challenge the status quo, even when they admire their godly parents. Luke asked an interesting question in Episode 6. When Percy and Annabeth said they knew who stole the master bolt, Luke’s first question was, “How do you know?” You would think the first question would be, “Who?” Could this be what raised Annabeth’s eyebrows? It certainly raised ours. We know that Luke has a strained relationship with his father and deeply resents his dad. It’s fair to think that resentment could extend to all the gods and goddesses of Olympus.

See the mystery unfold in the last two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 1.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Tuesdays, 9/8c, Disney+