The main mystery of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is right in the name of the first Percy Jackson novel, The Lightning Thief. But who exactly is this Lightning Thief?
The Disney+ show offered several clues so far pointing to who stole Zues' master bolt, and while book fans already know the final answer, they may not know all the steps leading to it.
As Percy Jackson Episode 5 (as well as the series as a whole) proved, the show is not afraid to deviate from the book's plot. So, even if book fans know where the destination is, the journey may look a bit different than expected in the show.
Percy Jackson: Who Is The Lightning Thief?
Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+, and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.
In the Percy Jackson books, and as revealed at New York Comic Con in the show too, Luke Castellan (Charlie Bushnell) ends up being the titular Lightning Thief having stolen the master bolt.
On the page, working with Ares on behalf of the thought-destroyed Titan Kronos, Luke stole the bolt on a trip to Olympus with Camp Half-Blood, along with Hades' Helm of Darkness.
However, this is not revealed until the very last chapter of The Lightning Thief, "The Prophecy Comes True." Luke sets a deadly scorpion on Percy, revealing the former as the one whom the prophecy foretold would betray him.
Again, this will 100% happen in the show too, but Percy, Grover, and Annabeth seemingly have no reason to suspect the son of Hermes just yet.
However, Grover ends Episode 5 saying he knows who The Lightning Thief is. He had a long conversation with Ares, the war god, while Percy and Annabeth were at Waterland.
Maybe he simply deduced Ares' involvement or even correctly assumed that a camper helped Ares. But, be it Luke or anyone else, Grover's suspected culprit will hopefully be revealed in Episode 6, which drops on Tuesday, January 16 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
