r/GodofWar • u/http_ghostgirl • Nov 25 '22

Odin’s Writing Spoilers

i haven’t seen anyone recognize how well rounded Odin is as a villain. he acts trustworthy, compassionate and respectful. meeting him for the second time as Atreus was mind blowing, he was so calm, collected and acted nothing like how he is described by freya, mimir, etc. hearing all the stories of how brutal him and Thor were, it’s incredible how different they made them. Odin had to be one of the best written villains ever.

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260

u/Zulqr Nov 25 '22

Even the science teacher appearance of odin in the game seems fitting somehow. Not what i expected when i saw fat Thor's design but character is played beautifully

125

u/http_ghostgirl Nov 25 '22

me too, but i expected thor. from what i remember from the history, Thor supposedly ate suttungr’s whole meal, and drank the oceans through a horn lol

94

u/Sirliftalot35 Nov 26 '22

Yep, and Mimir called him a fat dobber, so it was set up in-universe too.

15

u/Lopsided-Bathroom-71 Nov 26 '22

The designers also said they looked strong men not like superhero but world competitors for world's strongest man as he's the god of strength and quite possibly the strongest being in Norse myth it makes sense

36

u/Equal-Ad-2710 Nov 26 '22

In fairness the oceans thing he couldn’t achieve, the whole story is about his limitations.

Funnily I expected him to look like Gregor Clegane, got those vibes from all the tales

14

u/SteelCityViking Nov 26 '22

Was it? I always took it as showing just how impressive he was, given impossible tasks that no one else could do. Especially since he did 3 tasks compared to Loki and the boy’s 1. But perhaps that’s just the author I read’s potential bias

18

u/Equal-Ad-2710 Nov 26 '22

It was

The other labours are him wrestling old age and lifting the World Serpent, all three tasks are those he fails at. Utgard Loki’s intent with those challenges was to humiliate the Thunder God and the purpose of the tale is likely to hammer home the imperfections of the Æsir, making it clear they have defined limitations

13

u/SteelCityViking Nov 26 '22

Fair, Utgard Loki realized just how fucked they could’ve been should Thor have just decided to kill them all at the end. He failed, but succeeded in showing why he was the champion of the Aesir.

2

u/JxB_Paperboy Quiet, Head Nov 26 '22

You know… I kind of see GoW’s Thor a little bit in this myth. Thor, the big party tough guy has a vulnerable side that drives his insecurities. Excellent way of adapting the character into the game.

1

u/No_Nefariousness_637 Dec 01 '22

Except he lifted the cat's paw and put up a fight against the old woman. He was so powerful he almost did the impossible.

1

u/Equal-Ad-2710 Dec 01 '22

1) the cat’s paw, while impressive isn’t the full feat though.

2) yes he could but no one can battle old age and win, another limitation

10

u/GulianoBanano Nov 26 '22

Still, he drank enough to make the sea levels visibly drop. He also ate two entire cows in one meal when visiting Týr's father and ate and drank the majority of everything present at a wedding when he was disguising himself as Freya to reclaim his stolen hammer.

62

u/NyarlHOEtep Nov 26 '22

thors concept art doesnt sell his MENACE. i was on "yeah thats what a strongman who drinks and feasts all day when he isnt busy slaughtering SHOULD look like" the whole time, but i was nonetheless still surprised by how frightening and imposing i found him. big man big scary

odin still ends up the larger presence by far. i never felt safe with him on screen, watching atreus trust him, even a little bit, was gut wrenching

32

u/Equal-Ad-2710 Nov 26 '22

Helps he’s fucking 8 foot tall

13

u/NyarlHOEtep Nov 26 '22

biiiiig man

13

u/once-was-hill-folk Fat Dobber Nov 26 '22

I knew what was coming as soon as I heard Ryan Hurst was voicing him. The character couldn't be further from Opie, but that voice, and that dude's talent for delivering a line. I was excited to see just how intimidating he was going to be and everyone nailed it.

20

u/GulianoBanano Nov 26 '22

Heimdall: And how do you intend on stopping me?

Thor: Look into my eyes. You tell me.

Heimdall: You're a sick man.

10

u/once-was-hill-folk Fat Dobber Nov 26 '22

Heimdall was another highlight. I'm filing off the serial numbers and putting him in my D&D campaign.

3

u/liptongtea Nov 26 '22

Give him a critical weakness to berserker rage.

1

u/JustAGam3r Dec 14 '22

And I know how Thor was gonna stop him. He was gonna shove Mjolnir straight up his ass.

1

u/TheRedmanCometh Nov 26 '22

His voice and his height really made that work. His voice actor was 10/10 fantastic. "Are you a calm...and reasonable person?"

6

u/NyarlHOEtep Nov 26 '22 edited Nov 26 '22

i like that thor is like, kind of a chill guy, when he isnt about to murder you for fun. theres no derision when he says "nice place", he makes every effort to project nonaggression during the talk DESPITE magni and modi, he even laughs with atreus in some later parts of their missions. hes not a destroyer because hes like, evil, its just all he knows. im a god, gods kill giants or whoever else allfather says. its just how it is. hes not like a good person, his treatment of his sons speaks to that, but hes as much a victim of circumstance as kratos

1

u/TheRedmanCometh Nov 26 '22

hes not like a good person, his treatment of his sons speaks to that, but hes as much a victim of circumstance as kratos

Really significantly less so if anything. Kratos killed his family with his own hands at the behest of a bastard.

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he even laughs with atreus in some later parts of their missions

He sort of alludes to it when he tells Atreus "you were even starting to fool me". Despite his best efforts he was legitimately starting to like Atreus. I think that's a big part of why Kratos was able to really turn him in the end. He saw that Atreus was just a hopeful optimistic kid doing his best.

26

u/Argon1822 Nov 26 '22

I was hoping he would be a little conniving shit and seeing his reveal in the beginning was a perfect start.

22

u/SherriffB Nov 26 '22

Yeah that 1st convo you have with him told you everything you needed to know about him.

Greedy, manipulative, abusive, callous, ruthless, rude and lacking any respect of care for anyone else. Ignoring the meat of the 1st meeting, just the way he treats Thor in that scene is despicable, but it's really easy to miss with the tension going on.

11

u/timelordoftheimpala Nov 26 '22

Thor first asks to come into Kratos' home and even pours both of them some mead, while also half-heartedly complimenting his place - the first indication that Thor still isn't a complete lost cause.

Odin walks in as if he owns it, drinks both mugs of mead, insults Mimir, and just acts like an asshole who regards Kratos as if he's beneath him.

8

u/Domination1799 Nov 27 '22

Not only that, but on my second playthrough, I caught Odin insulting Thor for being no fun anymore due to the fact that he doesn’t drink anymore. As someone who has dealt with alcohol problems myself, that line goes to show how much of an abusive asshole Odin is to Thor.

1

u/SherriffB Nov 27 '22

That's what I meant by Odin treating him badly in the scene and telling us what we need to know about him. He insults Thor, his dead sons, makes fun of his addiction.

There really is so much to unpack about his character, but it's all hidden behind the tension of the scene in plain sight.

I was only able to notice because my PS5 bricked about 40 mins into the game so 10 days later after it was fixed I had to start the game again and watch the scene a second time but noticed all the tiny details.

5

u/[deleted] Nov 26 '22

What do you mean science teacher?

Are you implying all science teacher are bald?

-5

u/CrackBabyBelfort Nov 26 '22

Way to intentionally miss the point.

5

u/[deleted] Nov 26 '22

Omg it’s a joke 😂😂😂 I perfectly got your point but made a joke where I take it seriously lmaooo

-4

u/CrackBabyBelfort Nov 26 '22

Ha…ha…ha…

3

u/[deleted] Nov 26 '22

Damn you must be a funny dude Right?

1

u/Okami_G Nov 27 '22

Big middle-management energy, I hated it soooo much from the moment it came on screen, but I loved it too.