Warning! This article contains spoilers for Percy Jackson and the Olympians episodes 1 and 2, as well as the Percy Jackson book series.

Summary

• The Pact of the Big Three plays a significant role in the Percy Jackson series and is being explored in the Disney+ adaptation.
• Percy's parentage as the son of Poseidon breaks the pact, which leads to monsters attacking him and his discovery of Camp Half-Blood.
• The pact was formed to prevent the prophecy about a child of the Big Three saving or destroying Olympus. But all three gods ended up having children anyway, complicating the prophecy. The Great Prophecy is yet to be explored in the Disney+ series.

Percy Jackson book series. The world of Percy Jackson's Greek gods and monsters is coming to life in live-action, as are the major plot points of the book stories.

The cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians includes Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood, the three main characters of the show. These characters set out on a quest as of the ending of Percy Jackson episode 2, a quest that is heavily tied to the universe's Big Three gods: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Through the ties to these gods, Percy discovers a plot point known as the pact of the Big Three which has ramifcations throughout the entirety of the book series and will prove to be the same for all seasons of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Percy Jackson's Pact Of The Big Three Makes Percy's Parentage A Big Deal

In the original story of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - the book on which Percy Jackson season 1 is based - it is revealed that the Big Three gods once made a pact at the end of World War II that they would no longer sire demigod children. It became evident that children of the Big Three were becoming too powerful, forcing the brothers to swear off children with mortals. However, seeing as Percy is the son of Poseidon in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the god of the sea was revealed to have broken the oath he made decades earlier.

Sally Jackson - Percy’s mother - gave birth to him on August 18, 1993, in the books, with Poseidon knowing he had to keep his son's existence a secret. Unfortunately for him, the secret would only last 12 years. Percy's presence invited monsters to attack him, which ultimately led him to Camp Half-Blood, a Greek demigod training facility on Long Island. While there, Poseidon had no choice but to claim him as his son, uncovering the secret that Poseidon had sired a forbidden child.

Why Zeus, Poseidon, And Hades Made The Pact Of The Big Three

As the most powerful of the Greek gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades spawned formidable half-bloods, which was dangerous for that reason alone in the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. However, in the 1940s, the Oracle of Delphi also delivered a prophecy that claimed the next child of the Big Three would either save or destroy Olympus by the time they turned 16 years old. In order to avoid the negative consequences of this prophecy, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades formed the Pact of the Big Three. If they did not have any children, then the prophecy would never come true.

All 3 Gods Broke Their Oath In The Percy Jackson And The Olympians Books

In a sense, all three gods broke the Path of the Big Three in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series. Poseidon had Percy, and Zeus had Thalia Grace, who was turned into a pine tree by her father after Hades sent monsters from the Underworld after her when he learned of her existence. The pine tree protected the borders of Camp Half-Blood until the Golden Fleece heeled Thalia and brought her back to life at the end of The Sea of Monsters. Meanwhile, Hades already had two kids — Bianca and Nico di Angelo — under the age of 16 when he formed the pact with his brothers.

When Zeus learned about Bianca and Nico in the 1940s, he tried to kill them and their mother, Maria, but he was only successful in ending Maria's life. Hades saved Bianca and Nico and hid them at the Lotus Hotel and Casino, where time worked a little differently. When Poseidon claimed Percy as his son in The Lightning Thief, he was the only child of the Big Three known to be alive. As such, it was assumed that Percy would be the one to fulfill the Great Prophecy if he didn't die before his 16th birthday, something that was made more complex by Thalia’s revival and the di Angelo’s re-emergence.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians Leaves Out The Pact's Major World War II Implications

Interestingly, the exploration of the Big Three pact in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episodes 1 and 2 leaves out the World War II implications of the story. The book series explains that WWII was a war between the children of Zeus and Poseidon on one side (the Allies) and the offspring of Hades on the other (the Axis). As both a way of avoiding the Great Prophecy and evading another worldwide conflict led by their children, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades created the Big Three pact.

The WWII implications of the Big Three pact will likely be addressed in Percy Jackson season 3 when Nico and Bianca di Angelo - the children of Hades - become known to Percy.

Thus far in Percy Jackson and the Olympians' Disney+ show, the WWII implications of the Big Three pact have been left unspoken. Similarly, the Great Prophecy has not yet been mentioned, leaving room for more exploration of the Big Three and their vow to sire no more children. This will likely be explored in future seasons as the idea of the Great Prophecy becomes more prevalent and other forbidden children of the Big Three reveal themselves.

Why Forbidden Children Like Percy Are Targeted By Mythical Creatures More Than Other Demigods

Another aspect of the Big Three's children that Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 2 explores is that they are targeted by monsters more than other demigods. The reason for this is the power they emanate. Any child of the gods, no matter their parentage, attracts monsters due to their demigod power. However, children of the Big Three are significantly more powerful than other half-bloods, meaning they are targeted more intently by the monsters of Percy Jackson and the Olympians' universe.

New episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians release every Wednesday on Disney+.