Warning: This article includes SPOILERS for Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2, episode 5!
Disney+’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians season 2 diverts from Rick Riordan’s The Sea of Monsters in episode 5 with a brand new scene, giving us our first hint of a Percabeth romance. Percy Jackson is one of the most beloved YA book series of all time, and Disney+ has taken on the challenge of adapting Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series for the small screen.
This means properly executing key moments and relationships from the books. So far, Percy Jackson & the Olympians season 1 and 2 have done an excellent job with adapting the events of the books. Percy Jackson is really hitting its stride. What’s more, they’ve put a lot of time and attention into building up the friendship between Percy and Annabeth.
This is key because Percy and Annabeth go from rivals at camp to unlikely allies, to true friends, to friends with crushes, and finally to a romantic couple. Their ship name among the fanbase is Percabeth. There are very few Percabeth moments prior to the third book. However, the Percy Jackson TV show deviates from the book, introducing a new scene in season 2 that hints at their future romance.
A New Percy Jackson Scene Lays An Early Foundation For Percabeth
Percy and Annabeth talk in the hallway of the spa in Percy Jackson & the Olympians season 2
Even though Percabeth doesn’t start in The Sea of Monsters, Percy Jackson & the Olympians season 2 deviates from the canon by introducing a new scene in episode 5, “We Check In to C.C.’s Spa & Resort,” that lays an early foundation for the couple.
The first new scene shows Percy and Annabeth after Percy learns his fatal flaw is personal loyalty. By looking in Circe’s mirror, he learns that he will put his loved ones ahead of the fate of the world.
Annabeth is in the room to see this, and she follows him out of the room to comfort him. During this scene, he admits that the mirror was right. Then he confesses to Annabeth, “[I]f I had to choose between saving you or saving Olympus, Annabeth, I’d burn it all down.” Technically, this could be replaced with any of his friends and still be true, but with the foresight of Percabeth, it seems like an intentional statement to lay the groundwork.
Then, an existing book scene is changed to hint at Percabeth. When Annabeth and Percy attempt to pass the sirens, Annabeth is sucked in, like in the book. The sirens are supposed to make you see your greatest desire. Percy goes after her to save her life.
However, the show and book deviate at this point. In the book, Percy is affected by the sirens, seeing the faces of all his loved ones. However, in the episode, Percy saves Annabeth. When she asks him what he saw, he says, “Just you,” and she smiles shyly. He pauses, and they share this unspoken moment. He then continues, “If you weren’t there, who knows what I would’ve seen, but it’s like you shielded me. You saved me.” Then he smiles lovingly at her. Jeffries teased this Percabeth moment, and she wasn’t downplaying how sweet it was.
These two small changes from the Percy Jackson books seem to be hinting at what will come for Percy and Annabeth down the line. To me, both these statements read as if he has some buried feelings for Annabeth that haven’t come to the surface yet.
Percabeth Moments Will Be Scarce For The Rest Of Percy Jackson & The Olympians Season 2
Credit: Disney/David Bukach
Even though Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2, episode 5 lays the foundation for Percabeth, it’s unlikely that any more Percabeth moments will exist in the second season.
Walker Scobell spoke about the status of Percy and Annabeth’s romantic relationship in a season 2 interview, and he said Percabeth wasn’t even close to being realized onscreen. Specifically, he mentioned that Percy hasn’t even come close to acknowledging his feelings for Annabeth. Jeffries agreed with him, saying that “I mean, not saying it’s nothing, but it’s not a very big deal, if that makes sense.”
With this in mind, the shifting dynamic between Percy and Annabeth in Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians will be just as much of a slow burn as it is in the books.
When Fans Can Expect More Percabeth Moments
Percy and Annabeth sitting in a cab in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 episode 1
Warning: This section includes spoilers for Percy Jackson books 3 through 5!
For those who can’t wait to see Percy and Annabeth’s romance bloom onscreen, this will likely start in Percy Jackson & the Olympians season 3, which adapts The Titan’s Curse. It has a few sweet Percabeth moments. Then, by the end of the book, they have their first truly romantic moment.
However, they don’t have their first kiss until the fourth book. They spend most of The Battle of the Labyrinth book jealous of each other’s potential crushes. They don’t become an actual couple until the fifth book, The Last Olympian. Although they seem to be introducing the idea of Percabeth sooner in the TV show, they will probably stay true to the general timeline of Percy and Annabeth’s romantic relationship.
Since Percy Jackson & the Olympians season 3 is officially confirmed, we will at least get to see them admitting their feelings to themselves. Hopefully, they will continue it through all five books, though.
Release Date
December 19, 2023
Network
Disney+
Showrunner
Jonathan E. Steinberg, Dan Shotz
Directors
James Bobin
Writers
Joe Tracz, Andrew Miller
-
Walker Scobell
Percy Jackson
-
Leah Sava Jeffries
Annabeth Chase
