The Lightning Thief: The Surprising Twist of the Thief's Identity

The Mystery of the Master Bolt

Charlie Bushnell as Luke in Percy Jackson

The Master Bolt itself has yet to be seen as one of the magical items in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1, despite being the central object of Percy’s quest. Though there are various theories about who stole it, primarily Hades, as Percy journeys to the Underworld, Percy Jackson’s characters are still putting clues together to see who might have framed Poseidon and his son for the crime. At the end of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1, episode 5, Grover states that he knows who stole the Master Bolt, but the episode’s cliffhanger fails to include the person’s identity. However, whether Grover’s unknown suggestion is accurate or not, Percy Jackson’s book already has the surprising answer.

Luke Castellan at Camp Half-Blood in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 2

The True Thief Revealed

In Rick Riordan’s 2005 book, Luke Castellan is revealed as the titular lightning thief. Introduced as the claimed son of Hermes, Luke’s role in the show so far has been confined to helping Percy feel acclimated at Camp Half-Blood, explaining campers’ goals for glory, relaying backstories about himself, Annabeth, and Thalia, as well as giving Percy his flying shoes. While Luke has had much less of a prominent role in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1 so far than he did in the book, his identity as the person who stole the Master Bolt is no less shocking.

Charles Bushnell as Luke next to Thalia's pine tree in Percy Jackson's Disney+ show

At the end of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief book, Luke reveals to Percy that he stole the Master Bolt. He then traps Percy with a deadly scorpion, confirming that Luke is the “friend” who would betray Percy in his prophecy. Before fleeing Camp Half-Blood, Luke explains how he accomplished the theft: on a winter solstice field trip to Olympus, he snuck into the throne room, stole Zeus’ Master Bolt from his chair as well as Hades’ Helm of Darkness, and left without being caught or found suspicious. The book’s version of the lightning thief’s identity is a huge twist for Percy, and the Disney+ TV show is expected to follow suit in its adaptation.

Walker Scobell and Charlie Bushnell as Percy Jackson and Luke looking at the winged shoes of Hermes in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 3

Motives Behind the Theft

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1’s Greek god criticisms have already explored the underlying motivation for Luke to steal Zeus’ Master Bolt. In the book, Luke explains that stealing the bolt was partially due to his resentment towards the gods and Hermes, in particular, for abandoning him and the rest of the demigod children. This distaste for the Greek gods caught the attention of his ancestor Kronos, who began to influence Luke and play on his resentments through his dreams and nightmares. Kronos also spoke to Percy in his dreams, but Poseidon’s son was able to ignore Kronos’ manipulations, whereas Luke’s anger was already deep-seated.

Luke (Charlie Bushnell) and Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) in Disney's Percy Jackson season 1, episode 2.

Percy Jackson’s first book explained that Kronos had influenced Luke to steal the bolt and frame Percy, and thus the other gods, for the theft in order to incite another war. This largely began after he failed the quest he had been sent on by Hermes, which culminated in Luke receiving a scar on his face from a dragon. Kronos had convinced Luke that his talents were being “wasted” by Percy Jackson’s Greek gods, giving him the villainous quest to steal the Master Bolt instead. Ares then came into play when he intercepted Luke, with Kronos and Luke then convincing Ares to hide the items as a way to begin the war between the gods.

The poster for the Percy Jackson TV show next to Adam Copeland smiling as Ares in episode 5