The Power of Poseidon's Pearls: A Key Element in Percy Jackson and the Olympians Episode 6

The Significance of Poseidon's Pearls

Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 6 ends with the titular demigod receiving a handful of Poseidon's Pearls from a Nereid, but what are they and how will they aid the quest for Zeus' master bolt?

Percy holding Persephone's Pearls in the Percy Jackson 2010 movie

With only two episodes of Percy Jackson season 1 remaining, Percy's plight to stop a war between his father, Poseidon, and Zeus is reaching its tipping point. The summer solstice deadline has passed, and the titular hero has been presented with another of Percy Jackson's magical items to make a final push into the Underworld.

The poster for Percy Jackson and the Olympians showing Percy holding the master bolt next to Annabeth and Grover

The revelation that the summer solstice has passed after the heroic trio leaves the Lotus Hotel and Casino is certainly an interesting Percy Jackson book change for the TV show. Not only does this improve Percy's character by having him continue his quest despite it technically failing, but it adds a heightened sense of weight, tension, and urgency to the final two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1. This means that the cliffhanger ending of Percy Jackson episode 6 holds a great deal of weight, especially concerning what exactly the Nereid gave Percy: Poseidon's Pearls.

Percy Jackson wielding a sword and shield in the Disney+ TV show next to the 2010 Percy Jackson Poster

The Magical Properties of Poseidon's Pearls

The concept of Poseidon's Pearls in Percy Jackson episode 6 is fairly simple and was hinted at by the Nereid who presented Percy with the gifts from his father. Before being handed the Pearls, the Nereid states that anything that comes from the sea can easily return there should they wish. The Pearls enable this and allow users to be transported to a beach if they are crushed beneath their feet.

In the case of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, the Pearls will be used to help them escape the Underworld. Also, the Nereid gave Percy four Pearls so that, if he manages to save Sally from Hades' clutches, all four can escape together. This would mean that Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Sally simply need to crush a Pearl beneath their foot. Upon doing so, the magical properties of Poseidon's Pearls would return the four to the sea, Poseidon's domain.

Poseidon's Pearls in the Percy Jackson Movie

Interestingly, the Pearls were one of the major parts of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief that were changed the most for the 2010 movie. Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 6 aligns much more closely with the book's depiction of Poseidon's Pearls, rectifying one of the most unfaithful aspects of the previous adaptation.

In 2010's Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Poseidon's Pearls were changed to Persephone's Pearls and Percy was told about them by Luke before embarking on his quest for the master bolt. This change made it so that Persephone's Pearls were one of the core plot points of the film. The story centered on Percy, Annabeth, and Grover going to three different locations across the United States to obtain a Pearl in each one so that they could eventually escape the Underworld. In the original book - and Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 6 - the Pearls are given to Percy by his father as a gift rather than something the trio needs to obtain throughout the story.