Kratos: The Incredible Transformation of a Gaming Icon - Part Two

Kratos knew how to be a father. It was losing his wife and child that incited his whole storyline. Her ashes are literally in his skin. The diff is that he purposely kept a distance from Atreus because he had the PTSD from already losing a child and was consumed by the fear of that happening again. But Atreus’s need for him (being so young and no more Faye to rely on) shed that protective layer he had covering his heart. I might add here that Kratos also feared loving deeply because the loss of it before brought out the worst in him. But as we see, love also brings out the best in him. He is truly an epic character.

This game is boring af

It’s crazy how unconsciously it seems Kratos knew tyr was bs. How he talks to him like he expects he was a manipulator

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A point i think we also have to look at is atreus being hyper focused on the aspect of his giant heritage that fortells the events and Intricacies of ragnarok and seeking out his place in battle. Kratos I think for his credit was reliving his past mistakes through atreus and his determination to seek out the truth of ragnarok as opposed to just the secrets and heritage of his people. But true to form....... bull headed brash teenager determined to find himself clashes with the reserved wisdom of his father and in the effort to help his son see the bigger picture and slow down and think he ended up pushing his son farther into the path of danger and self destruction.

One thing that I appreciate about the Norn’s prophecy is that it takes into account everyone’s actions. The events that unfold are not the result of one person, but of everyone’s choices bringing them into a single point.

In Baldur’s case they explain it perfectly: Freya’s choice to keep Baldur safe at all costs, along with Baldur’s inability to let go of his revenge, all in front of the ultimate God-Killer made his demise inevitable.

Similarly, Heimdall’s demise came not from Kratos’s want to kill him, but solely due to Heimdall’s choices. Ragnarok happens as a result of everyone’s choices, mainly Odin’s and everyone else’s reaction to them. However, that does not mean the prophecy can be subverted. It is the highest statistical outcome based on predicting other’s actions, similar to how the Oracle works in the Matrix.

Faye guided Kratos and Atreus away from their fate subtly, and with that subtle nudge do they make their own subtle but lasting choices in the middle of prophecy. Kratos begins by telling Atreus to open his heart to the suffering of the Midgardians, prompting an evacuation. Kratos again subverts this by talking to Thor instead of killing him, thus making Thor subvert destiny against Odin and showing Thrud once and for all who the monster was pulling the strings. Atreus then subverts his prophecy by breaking the mask instead of using it. But Odin, ironically, takes the place of Kratos in the prophecy because he cannot make the right choice at the right time. In the end a Father did die, but it was the Allfather instead of Kratos.

Ultimately the choices made during Ragnarok are subtle, but have long lasting implications. The smallest choice can mean the difference between joy or tragedy.

I don’t usually comment on videos but these videos helped me and effected me so much that I played the games and ended up getting GoW tattoos, love your videos keep it up mate

I really like how in Ragnarok he stops calling Atreus boy and Mimir head because he has more respect for them and values them even more then he did in the game before

It's interesting to see how Kratos treats his weapons after Atreus runs away. Every other time, he puts them away with care and precision, each weapon into it's proper storage place. However, in this moment of frustration he drops the blades to the ground and - though slightly more care is taken with the axe - he lets it drop to the barrel with a thud.

"You will not"🧗‍♂️ " speak to me this way🥶" 🕺💎 "are we clear🥶"💸🤑💰

Awesome video you can tell you put a lot of effort into it.

I think my favorite part about the game is how they mention ALL side content that you did, Andvaris soul, the collectibles, the valkyries, everything

How people can sit here and say the stories to 2018 and Ragnarok are boring and so is the combat is insane. These games are truly once in a lifetime games that aren’t made very often

First time I saw Atreus waltz into that shot carrying an entire deer on his back all on his own, I thought "this animator has either never met a deer or never met a teenager."

That tiny detail before the Faye dream, after the Odin interaction... he drops the Blades carelessly, just unhooks them, and lets go... but the axe, the last piece of his wife he still has. He sets it down with far more care, almost tenderness by comparison.

He hates his past, he longs for his present... and in turn, his desires for the future are muddied, unclear.

This leads into his dream. 'We are not our failures, we are not who we once were. We must be better.'

Kratos’ story is truly remarkable, a man who gave up his life to win a war, betrayed and tricked he killed a god and ascending to godhood himself, worshipped as an unstoppable force of destruction he destroyed his homeland before fleeing to Midgard, journeying to become closer with his son they both spread Faye’s ashes atop the tallest mountain in all the realms, battling the God of Thunder, surviving Ragnarok and defeating a tyrant Kratos soon finds himself in a position where he feels worthy of calling himself a god but not a god of war but a god of hope and change for the nine realms.

You've spoken on Brok's bluntness and how appreciative Kratos is of it

But hearing Brok hear of how Atrues wants to go to Azgard and his immediate response is "what did ya get kicked in the head?"

It puts into a simple perspective without all the emotions running high and the standoff Kratos and his son have been experiencing what that is

Thats a dumb idea, like so dumb you'd think someone kicked you in the head, if you go to Azgard, Odin will get the better of you, not the other way around, and funnily enough, I believe that if Brok had been the one giving Atrues the lecture it'd get through his head better that in no uncertain terms, that is a dumb idea lol

Let’s get a Loki video for the people

the end where Kratos finally sees his ending, where he's actually brought to tears by the idea of being loved, finally broke me. i was already on the verge of crying for most of the finale, but that just punched me in the gut

Three scenes I wish you included:

"Don't be sorry, father. Be better". Its so crucial because Kratos gets to see his own growth and worth. He has moments of doubts constantly, and not just relating to his destructive past, but also probably on his failings as a father. Atreus effortlessly answering his apology (which in itself is huge for Kratos) with his own mantra tells him both that he hasn't failed, and that not only has he grown, he has given something valuable to his son.

Second is his final confrontation with Thor. I get why you didnt put it in, but since they are so alike and because Ragnarok's story is summarized in "for the sake of pur children, we must be better." The norse duology is about Kratos partly escaping, partly outgrowing his past. Confronting it head on in Thor, and actually giving another his own lesson, is important. He tried with Baldur but failed, and here he tries again and it works. Kratos has gone through massive growth, and here he actually manages to redeem the seemingly irredeemable, and offer his lessons to someone who needs them.

Third, "Loki will go, Atreus remains". Yes, 100% we already saw Kratos learn to let go. But its so beautiful that he does it like this, lets his son know that who he wants to be is who he should be, and thst he wont hold him back, and yes, we already saw that. But Kratos does something new here as well: by telling him that Atreus remains, he is signalling that he always has a home with his father, his father loves him unconditionally , and his son will stay with him even as he lives his own life, his son is so precious he will keep him in his heart forever

Kratos has an easier time dealing with the woman whose son he murdered, than his own son, because...

... Teenagers essentially psychopaths. 😂

Freya is a very wise woman, which means she would be the easiest person to learn to understand and have a healthy dialogue with.

And that's hard enough. Learning to have emotionally intelligent communication with other emotionally intelligent adults is really difficult if you weren't taught such skills by your parents.

Kratos is has finally mastered emotional intelligence chess. Atreyus walks into the room and upends the entire chess board because he's a brat.

One small detail I like about the end is the fact that in the painting his skin color is God and his expression is much more calm. In the previous games his skin was black and his expression was always angry or screaming at the sky. Great detail right there, showing development of his character.

How many times has Kratos defied fate?

Kratos does eventually becomes what he always was. The Dad of Sparta.

GG

I like to imagine the Egyptian saga will be Kratos becoming a god who is on his way to becoming respected. I’d like SSM to take their time getting to the point where Kratos is worshipped

His relationship with Freya is probably the most intimate/openly spoken friendship he has in all of the games. Yes, he admires Brok, and he appreciates Mimir so much he calls him a "Brother", but Freya saved his son's life.

Giving Odin the voice of a weasely new york businessman was GENIUS

I’d love to see you do some videos on Ghost of Tsushima and its characters and themes! Hopefully sometime in the future!

Watched this and the previous part twice and will come back again to remind myself what real character development is

😀 I'm really happy and content to be one of those 20%.

This analysis is better thabn any therapy. So rich in emotional intelligence

What is so deeply interesting about FATE in these games is that like stated, you meet it through trying to avoid it, Baldur ONLY dies a needless pointless death BECAUSE his mother was told a prophecy that he would, in which she tries to prevent it. Had Freya never heard the propechy, Baldur wouldn't have been cursed
Similarly, Ragnarok only happens BECAUSE so many people are trying to prevent it, avoid it, or cause it, based solely and specifically on prophecy of it happening.

Kratos gave Heimdall THREE chances to walk away, before the fight, while pinned to the wall, and after losing an arm, and Heimdall kept refusing and attacking. And I feel that Mimir's reaction is not based on Kratos' actions during the scenes and fight, but fear about the prophecy specifically

"tyr"

I want to see Kratos going into Agartha.

Kratos was in fact worshipped during his reign as the God Of War. We saw it in GOW 2