Warning: This article contains spoilers from Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1, episode 4, and the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series.
Summary
- Grover’s dream is to become a Searcher and find Pan, the Greek god of the Wild. This is set up in the show’s first season and explored further in the books.
- Pan disappeared 2,000 years ago due to humans’ destruction of his wild kingdoms. Satyrs like Grover have been searching for him ever since, believing he is still alive.
- Grover eventually finds Pan in the fourth book, but the god is on the brink of death. Pan entrusts Grover to carry on his message before he fades away.
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians television series is just getting started, and with four more books to cover following the end of season 1, some future stories are being teased in the first set of episodes, like Grover Underwood’s quest to find Pan, the Greek god of the Wild. Grover’s story to locate Pan was also set up in Rick Riordan’s 2005 novel The Lightning Thief, so it makes sense that the Disney+ show (which follows the book in the first season) would also mention the god. As the series continues, viewers will learn more about what happened to Pan, but Pan’s entire story has already been disclosed to those who read the books.
Grover revealed to Percy in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1, episode 4, that his dream was to become a Searcher and, like many satyrs before him, travel the world trying to find Pan. The Greek god of the Wild had been missing for centuries, and countless satyrs (like Grover’s father and Uncle Ferdinand) had made it their life’s mission to locate him. So, Grover is putting in work as a Protector so that he could one day be granted a searcher’s license by the Council of Cloven Elders and set off on a quest of his own.
Pan Disappeared When Mortals Caused His Wild Kingdoms To Die, Thousands Of Years Before Percy Jackson
Two thousand years before the events of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1, Pan, who had a close relationship with satyrs and all things to do with nature, vanished. The Greek god told Lysas, a satyr, to tell everyone, “The great god Pan has died,” and he was never seen again. Although most accepted this tragedy, satyrs (and other nature spirits) refused to believe Pan was gone for good. Many try to find the god and bring him back to fix what humanity has done to nature, but almost everyone is unsuccessful (except for Grover).
Humans significantly damaged the environment over the years, leading to the destruction of Pan’s wild kingdoms. As a result, Pan was disheartened and disappeared. But numerous satyrs never gave up on him, and for the next 2,000 years, they searched for the god of the Wild around the world (even though Pan didn’t want to be found), as Grover talked about in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1, episode 4.
Pan Is Still Alive Due To The Satyrs’ Searches In Percy Jackson
Pan’s status is unknown in most of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series. Of course, Grover and the other satyrs and beings of nature believe he is alive, which is why so many continue the search for him. Grover spends most of his time in the second, third, and fourth novels trying to find the Greek god of the Wild, to no avail. However, the satyr makes a breakthrough in the fourth book, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and readers learn what happened to Pan.
As it turned out, Pan’s mission 2,000 years ago was to convince the world of his demise so that he would die for real. Once everyone forgot about him, the god would fade away. Unfortunately for Pan, satyrs never believed that Pan was dead, and many remained insistent on finding him and keeping his memory alive. As a result, Pan is still alive (albeit barely) by the time Grover finds him in The Battle of the Labyrinth.
10 Easter Eggs & Hidden Details In Percy Jackson Season 1 Episode 4
Percy Jackson & the Olympians episode 4 sees the show’s trio facing the biggest threat yet, and it contains more book and mythology Easter eggs.
What Happens To Pan In Percy Jackson’s Future (Does Grover Complete His Quest?)
At the end of The Lightning Thief, the Council of Cloven Elders grants Grover a searcher’s license because of his heroic efforts during the quest to the Underworld. He immediately sets off on his quest to find Pan and bids farewell to Percy and Annabeth. The second book, The Sea of Monsters, jumps about nine months to the final days of Percy’s school year as a seventh grader. Grover is still on his quest, and the novel begins with Percy dreaming about his satyr friend being hunted by a monster. Consequentially, Percy, Annabeth, and Percy’s cyclops half-brother Tyson leave camp to find Grover.
They eventually find the satyr on the cyclops Polyphemus’s island. Grover had been lured into thinking he had found Pan because the Golden Fleece was on the island, which gives off the same scent as the wild. The demigods bring Grover and the Golden Fleece back to Camp Half-Blood, but the satyr doesn’t waste much time and resumes his quest to find Pan. In the third book, The Titan’s Curse, Grover doesn’t have much luck. But while in New Mexico, he feels the presence of Pan and later believes he heard the Greek god tell him, “I await you.”
Grover finally finds Pan in The Battle of the Labyrinth when he, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover go on a quest to find Daedalus in the Labyrinth and prevent him from giving Ariadne’s string to Luke. During their mission, the group eventually discovers Pan in the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Unfortunately, the god of the Wild is on the brink of death, but before fading away, Pan tells Grover to carry on his message. After he dies, some of Pan’s spirit enters Grover, and he gains some of the god’s abilities, like a Panic scream. But, it will be a while before this happens in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians television series on Disney+.
New episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians premiere on Tuesdays at 9 pm ET on Disney+.
