’Percy Jackson’ Season 3 Trailer Hints At The Most Romantic Arc Yet
Since the release of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey (2026), there have been hilarious memes circulating on social media that Percy Jackson accomplishes precisely what Odysseus does in a matter of weeks, compared to Odysseus' two-decade-long journey. With that in mind, Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023) is gearing up for its third season, which will follow Rick Riordan's third book, The Titan's Curse, and the teaser trailer is already giving us a huge hint of the season's heart.
While the series isn't a romance by genre, the canon relationship between Walker Scobell's Percy Jackson and Leah Sava Jeffries' Annabeth Chase is one of the story's most memorable puzzle pieces, and a huge part of the appeal in the Disney+ series. The slow-burn friends-to-lovers consistently gives us something sweet to look forward to, but more importantly, it's how the series paces the dynamic that's so riveting.
Percy and Annabeth’s Relationship, Explained
In the series, Percy and Annabeth technically first meet in the debut season's second episode at Camp Half-Blood in the most awkward circumstances. But ultimately, that's exactly what makes everything about their dynamic so lovely. There's an easy rapport right from the start that leads to an unwavering trust, and later, develops into something bigger than either of them has processed.
In Season 2, Episode 4, "Clarisse Blows Up Everything," Percy and Annabeth share a tender moment of vulnerability where she expresses her torment over Thalia's (Tamara Smart) sacrifice, noting that it'd only been two months that they'd known each other. There, Percy delivers one of the most romantic lines uttered on TV, where he says that it only took him two days to know just how special she is.
There's something really captivating about their dynamic, especially in Season 2, which examines the lengths they're willing to go to for each other, and how desperately they want to protect each other. It's here in this moment where Annabeth also notes that if she could just "think six steps ahead," then she could save him, proving that their admiration for one another is mutual. She also notes how it's the human setbacks that she can't see that'd make it impossible, making it clear in her tone just how the thought of anything happening to Percy hurts her.
The two of them might not be a couple yet, but in a world where it's unthinkable to trust anyone's motives fully and at such a tumultuous, confusing time for teenagers, Percy and Annabeth have established that there's nothing they wouldn't do for each other. They not only share a profound form of trust, but they care about every little thing the other says and does, holding onto pieces of each other for safekeeping in a way that's so deeply wholesome, it's almost gutting.
How ‘Percy Jackson’ Season 3 Could Be The Most Romantic Arc Yet
It's not often that I replay a trailer over and over again, trying to dissect every little scene, but the way it's edited for Percy Jackson Season 3 is inarguably romantic. So much of the heart in The Titan's Curse is Percy trying to find Annabeth after she's been captured, and how the trailer brings this detail to life is no small feat. Not to mention that setting it to Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" heightens every emotion tenfold.
The trailer starts with Percy noting that a war is coming before we hear Kate McKinnon's Aphrodite, the goddess of love, say, "Love has the power to start wars," right as we get a shot of Percy and Annabeth looking at each other. She continues with, "And it has the power to end them." As we zoom in on Percy and Annabeth looking at each other while they slow dance, Aphrodite finishes with, "If we're gonna survive a war with the Titans, it'll be because of love."
It's after this moment that we then see Annabeth walk away, and another scene shows us Percy screaming her name when she falls off the ledge. He claims to deny the details of love to Aphrodite, but his actions tell a different story. Percy then mournfully notes that it was meant to be him who was taken, which kicks off what's an angsty, driven quest to bring Annabeth back.
It's anything but easy to evoke a full range of emotions in a single shot, especially in a trailer. We don't have the full context to understand exactly what we're seeing, yet the scenes are still so profoundly agonizing that it's more than obvious. Because we already know that there's nothing Percy wouldn’t do to ensure Annabeth's safety, and we can be certain of the magnitude of his devotion. Plus, Scobell is so gifted at evoking Percy's feelings that there are a thousand unspoken words in the way he screams her name.
At the end of the trailer, there's a voiceover from Annabeth where she says, "If it came down to a choice between me and Olympus, he'd burn it to the ground." And at the moment she says these words, we get a shot of Percy drawing his sword, confirming that she remembers the words he once said aloud to her. Proving to us that no matter who she's talking to, or how the scene pans out, she knows Percy better than she knows anyone else. She can trust him. She knows what he's capable of.
As someone who loves every little thing about romance, there's something extra enticing about the emotions we get before a couple is officially together. All the quiet ways one character tells another they love them, without saying the words out loud. The moments where it's clear that they aren't quite sure what they feel, but they know, without a shadow of a doubt, that it's bigger than anything else in their lives.
All of these emotions are already present in the Percy Jackson Season 3 trailer, and if this is a mere fraction of what I imagine we'll get in the season, there's no doubt that this arc will be the most romantic yet. Because really, what's more romantic than proving to someone that there's no quest or odyssey you'll take on to bring them back home? That's love, in more ways than one, and we don't need to hear the words aloud to see it in the emotions.
