Tamara Smart as Thalia in 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' season two. David Bukach/Disney Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text [This story contains spoilers for "The Fleece Works Its Magic Too Well," the season two finale of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.] Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been a fairly faithful adaptation of author Rick Riordan's beloved book series through its first two seasons - and Riordan, who is an executive producer of the Disney+ series and involved in its writing, has signed off on the changes that have been made. The season two finale, released Wednesday, makes several changes from its source material, The Sea of Monsters: The climactic battle takes place at Camp Half-Blood rather than on Luke's (Charlie Bushnell) ship the Princess Andromeda, and Percy (Walker Scobell) and Co. aren't aided by Chiron (Glynn Turman) and his fellow centaurs, aka the Party Ponies. The episode also reveals that some demigods inside the camp have been secretly working with Luke to advance his war against the gods of Olympus. Related Stories Business "Streamflation" Is Real: U.S. Inflation Data Shows Soaring Price of Streaming Video Services TV Streaming Ratings: 'Pluribus' Joins Top 10 Originals as 'Stranger Things' Stays at No. 1 No change is bigger - or promises to have more impact on the series going forward - than a flashback between Zeus (Courtney B. Vance), the king of Olympus, and his demigod daughter Thalia (Tamara Smart). After beating back Luke and his forces and using the Golden Fleece to restore Thalia's tree, and therefore the barrier surrounding camp, Thalia herself is freed from the tree. That's essentially where the book ends. The show, however, takes things several steps further when Chiron reveals to Percy, Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) that he regrets "many things" - including that the story he told of Zeus turning Thalia into a tree after she sacrificed herself to save Luke and Annabeth is a lie. "I think it's a really interesting change," Smart told The Hollywood Reporter. "To me, it's extremely engaging with her personality, because it creates this spin on the narrative of the show. Book fans will know everything that happens in the book, and most of it, they're going to want to see in the show. But some of it, I think, should be a surprise." This definitely counts as one. As Chiron relates, it's not Thalia who faces down the Furies as she escorts Luke and Annabeth to camp. "The Furies ... did not attack," Chiron says. "Instead, they spoke - until they said too much." Zeus strikes down the Furies with a lightning bolt so that he can speak to his daughter about the Great Prophecy, which says that a child of one of the Big Three gods - Zeus, Poseidon and Hades - will either protect or destroy Olympus upon reaching the age of 16. Thalia, though, doesn't care to listen and tells Zeus that she's going to leave camp: "Hear my words - I don't want to be your daughter," she says. "And I will never be your weapon." Zeus, rather than continuing to try talking with Thalia, then turns her into the tree, ensuring that she can't leave Camp Half-Blood. It's a devastating revelation, particularly for Annabeth, who has carried guilt for years about what happened to Thalia. Chiron explains Zeus ordered him to lie about what happened, but the quest for the Golden Fleece made him realize that the Titan Kronos would use the fleece's power "to raise his champion" - whom he suspects is Thalia. Though the stakes are much, much higher than the average father-daughter argument, the scene between Zeus and Thalia also plays out like one that ends with a defiant teenager sent to their room. Courtney B. Vance as Zeus in 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' season two. David Bukach/Disney "He is Zeus, but you know, you don't want to use your power on your daughter, right?" Vance told THR. "She's your daughter, and she knows you. It's very tricky. [Thalia's attitude is] you can be Zeus with your friends, and your enemies, but you can't be Zeus with me. I'm not having that, dad. Stop. And then he, instead of just taking a step back and saying 'OK, honey, let's talk about this later, because I really, I really need you to help me with this' -to get her on [his] side, he just got Zeus-y, and that's not good. So whatever the consequences are for that, I guess that's what we'll see coming up." Vance took over the role of Zeus after Lance Reddick, who played the god in season one, died in March 2023. Vance called Reddick "a dear friend" and said when he went to Vancouver to film, he asked to speak to the cast and crew and acknowledge why he was there. "I just wanted to say that I'm just blessed to be here," Vance recalled. "This is Lance's role, and I hope you would allow me the opportunity