Who is Mrs. Dodds in ‘Percy Jackson?’

Warning: the following article contains spoilers for episode 1 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Disney Plus’ adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is finally here, and it immediately throws us into a world where reality and myths aren’t as separate as we thought.

From a pegasus to a minotaur, we get to explore fantastical creatures from the very first episode of the series. This was expected from a story that relies so heavily on Greek mythology, and yet, some strange characters still manage to surprise us. One of the most suspicious, and to some degree intriguing, is Mrs. Dodds (Megan Mullally).

At the beginning of the story, she looks like an ordinary teacher. I mean, she doesn’t strike us as a particularly kind teacher to Percy (Walker Scobell), but at least she has a human appearance. Still, something about her demeanor feels odd right off the bat, leaving the audience to question what her true intentions are. Well, they don’t have to question for too long.

What is Mrs. Dodds’ real identity in the Percy Jackson series?

Mrs. Dodds’ real name is Alecto, and no, she’s not a human teacher, but a mythical creature known as a Fury. She serves at the command of Hades, the god of the underworld, and acts as a minor antagonist in The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy Jackson series.

Tasked by Hades with retrieving his Helm of Darkness and Zeus’ master bolt, Alecto departs in search of Percy. Because he’s the one believed to have stolen those items, the Fury poses as a teacher at the boy’s school. As soon as she’s certain that Percy is who she’s looking for, she sheds her human persona and attacks him, revealing her true colors.

In the grand scheme of things, Mrs. Dodds isn’t a major threat to Percy. However, that doesn’t mean one should let their guard down around her, especially when she has a job to do.