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This dlc was the best free therapy session we all didn’t know we needed

Kratos giving his own monologue about how far he’s come and how further he is willing to go after seeing his younger self is without a doubt one of my favorite moments in modern gaming! ❤️

“Brother, you went to bloody Valhalla to avoid her!” HE… HE JUST LIKE ME FOR REAL!!!

The fact that this was tyrs first fight after centuries of captivity shows how much of a beast he is

I remember yelling "Yo, What!" when the credits rolled but it wasn't until now that i realized its not from the cutscene with Kratos but the fact that it faded to black for the first time since GOW 3

Take it from a guy who has had more than his fair share of PTSD: recreational combat can be quite relaxing. I've been using swordsmanship as a means to relax my body to make it easier for my mind to process trauma for several years now. Tyr's use of fighting to help Kratos work out his personal demons and questions of his own worthiness makes perfect sense to me. It made the Valhalla dlc just that much more cathartic and even a little validating for me, seeing my own personal favorite process of dealing with pain and loss up on screen and being recognized by other people - the developers - as a legitimate form of therapy.

And for all the naysayers out there regarding Kratos becoming a god of hope? What power do you remember him using to slay Zeus with? What power did he take into himself at the end of the original trilogy? It wasn't rage. It was hope. The only thing that was equal to Kratos' rage was his hope for a better outcome. It is what allowed him to become a better man. A good person. That is what makes him suited to be a god of hope because nobody understands how important it is better than Kratos. Hope is all that he had after the he realized what his rage and vengeance did to the world. And opening himself up to the hurt that he could suffer for trying to be a better man is the dark side of hope. It means risking more pain for a better tomorrow and still trudging through and trying anyway. To hope is to do more than simply endure, but to aspire and inspire. That is what makes Kratos the God of Hope.

Valhalla, as another youtuber put it, is the 'end of Kratos' in a metaphorical sense.

Gone is the god of bloody, rageful wars.

And here we have Kratos learning to finally accept who he was, striving to change as much as he can, to finally become not a god of war, but a god of hope, love, and peace.

as you said in your Ragnarok video, Kratos was becoming the "all father" from the very beginning of this journey, from making Mimir his advisor to wielding a magical spear made by dwarfs in order to help him win a war.

Valhalla, to me, is the finalization of Kratos into a better, wiser All-father, where he leads the lands with wisdom and hope, and not lust for knowledge or power.

he has personally brought the end of countless gods, most{if not all} of which were arrogant fools who let their vices get a hold of them.

Zeus was a debaucherous, prideful fool, who tried to kill Kratos simply because he didn't obey him blindly.

Odin was a man who prided himself on wisdom and Knowledge, doing everything he can to stop a prophecy.

as we know, considering the prophecy that caused Zeus's death, avoiding a prophecy only leads to it happening quicker.

Kratos was always a better All-father than Odin could ever be, simply because of one thing.

Kratos lost his mother, his brother, and his wife and daughter to gods.

He knows what it is like to be under a god, he KNOWS how harmful a prideful god can be, more importantly, he knows what NOT to become: a man who lets his fears and doubts control him.

so, in short, Kratos is the final product of suffering, surviving, and changing is.

in his own way, Kratos had achieved Apotheosis, a state over Odin, Over Zeus, Over fear, Over hunger for knowledge.

He is no longer a god of war.

He is a god of hope, of change, of wisdom, a god who the mortals would never fear his wrath, a god who knows what his purpose is, and isn't drunk on power.

i love the fact that when you get down to it this DLC is basecly two friends on a jurney to the therapist lifting each other up

I like hearing the journeys of Eir and Gunnr as they speak about their past, you get the feeling that they get along with Kratos swimmingly, and watching Sigrun leave to find her own way was great too.

I don't see this as the end of Kratos, more so a spiritual or metaphorical end to the Ghost of Sparta. Kratos choosing to be more what he sees himself as, a father, a better God of War.

We need to give a win(s) to CHristopher Judge for also respecting TC Carson.
Since they wanted to have him voice younger Kratos in that one scene, but Judge refused, since younger Kratos IS TC Carson's character

10:48

“Best to reclaim it and make it yours than let memories of other haunt your past..”

I needed to hear this. Going thru a brutal divorce that I didn’t want rn and everything reminds me of her. Thank you for your work to share such genuine commentary on games you love.

I completely forgot the imagery of the throne started in the very beginning of the dlc, rowing your boat to the secret entrance. Thanks for pointing it out. For me, when Kratos confronted his younger self, he was completely vulnerable. Not only did he not have his weapons or armor, he was on his own without mimir by his side. Thus being able to truly express his thoughts, baring all his emotions and his need to wield anything.

Something I think I only noticed on a second rewatch. At 33:49 when he has reclaimed the throne, bathed in the light his skin almost looks normal. Like he’s no longer covered in the ashes of his family. Almost like he has metaphorically “shed his skin” to begin with something new.

I think the beauty of Kratos' redemption is that he *DOESN'T* deserve the second chance he's been given, not even close, but he knows that and therefore treats that second chance with a level of respect most redeemed villains never do.

Yes PLEASE cover hades it’s my #1 roguelike and the gameplay, story, character arcs, and soundtrack are all top tier quality. And the grind to get to the epilogue is so fun it hardly feels like a grind at all

"you have always been more than what others saw" feels like a line for the fans. and as someone who has been a fan since the beginning, and someone who also been pigeonholed as Kratos has, it was everything i needed to hear

Kratos with the axe on his shoulder is absolutly the mural angrboda painted btw, thats definitely deserving of a win

I love Mimir’s answer to Kratos when asked if he was upset about Sigrun reffering to him as a close friend.
“Show me someone for whom friendship means lack of love and I’ll show you someone who wonders why their lovers never end up being worth their time. “