I remember a joke when Ragnarok came out: Odin looks into the crack and sees the inside of Santa Monica Studios

It’s always interesting to see primordial entities in god of war. Things that are powerful but also beyond old, from beyond even the oldest entities. Problems and items from outside the pantheons that slowly drift back in after eons to shake things up.

Whoever puts that completed mask on is going to say "Smoking!" I just known it!

I always liked to believe that when Odin looked into that crack, he went mad because even a god like him couldn't comprehend the eldritch knowledge he witnessed

Imagine we get a flashback fight of Faye's fight with Thor in Vanaheim. Getting to see all that destruction firsthand...

Before Laufey was announced, i remember feeling that the mask was a mystery left unanswered because it didn't really matter. It was there as something for Odin to fixate on, and show how he prizes knowledge and power over everyone in his life. I didn't pick up on it being a sequel hook.

Regarding the Garm situation, there came a point where I thought the mask was drawn to him simply because he is a being capable of affecting reality itself—something Mimir mentions if you go back into the house before setting off to chase him. It’s just like the rift in Asgard or the other mask fragments; it seems to light up only when something connected to reality is involved.

I find it a funny headcannon that when Odin looked into the rift he just saw a random magical being or creature from another pantheon and just didn’t understand its language. So instead of believing a higher being whispered ancient great secrets to him I believe a aztec xoloti was just asking him why a rift is talking

Laufey; (Looks inside the mask)

(🎶I am AstroBot🎶)

Laufey: (Takes off the mask)

The masks gives me a Tower of Babel vibes for some reason. Maybe because of the different languages and the story about the Tower of Babel

The Everwhen being both the source of all magic in the GOW universe as well as the final destination of all gods regardless of pantheon is a very interesting detail and makes wonder if this realm could be tied to the very  nature of godhood in this setting  on a fundamental level.


Maybe the Everywhen is the collective unconscious of humanity, people can draw on it to perform magic because it is literally faith made manifest, and isn’t just the end for gods, but their beginning.  



Gods start existence as shiftless spirits that gradually absorb power and concrete identity from human emotions before they become strong to manifest in the real world as tangible entities, and when slain their hold on the physical world is broken they return to the place where their spirits first took shape as a last stop

15:36 Also, how quickly she found one (barely after arriving) implies they're either made in the visage of the same mask, or that it isn't as special as everyone thought, heavily implied by Sehkmet's response.

Aye first like and comment, that's a double first.

Love your content, I absolutely enjoy watching your deep dives and breakdowns while I work.
Keep up the great work man.

I love getting absolutely lost in the world Santa Monica makes and taking in as much as I can, and then watching your videos helps cement their ideas and world building even more becuase you pick up or research things I don't know or pick up on

I think it would make sense if the shard left in her hand is the storyteller's foreshadowing the fact that it was Fey that broke the masks and made "the way" for Kratos and Atreus.
Also, with a piece of the mask inside of Fey, Odin wouldn't even be able to complete the mask before Atreus and Kratos would dip their hands in her ashes to spread, essentially coating Atreus's hand with a part of the mask.
Anyway very excited about the new game, I will probably buy a ps5 to play on release date.

Ok, one thing we can absolutely confirm is Laufey was busy (and it ties the last 2 games together): she found out about Odin wanting to seek the mask (which the Giants may have been hiding hence why he wiped them out along with the Ragnarok prophecy) and after he put on the mask to peek through the veil (losing an eye as a result) she went to retrieve and destroy the mask…which led to Odin sending Thor after her and having that climactic fight, she is able to break it into 3 pieces (leaving a shard in her hand inhibiting her magic)…she knew Odin would seek out her or even Loki (if he ever found out about him) to find the pieces and reform the mask, so she hid them where they couldn’t be found without a Giant, and then sealed herself off along with Kratos and Loki until she mysteriously died (did it have to do with the shard cutting off her magic, thus infecting her somehow??) and she desperately needed her guys to go on the voyage in GoW4 so it would keep Loki safe from Odin and set into motion Ragnarok!

However, upon her death, Odin was able to send Baldur to track her down…but he came across Kratos as we know, and the rest is history…I may have just spoiled this new game 👀

i like the idea that everything was together at the beginning then broken and separate. Like the Babel tower

Hearing this theory, is it really a stretch to say that assuming it turns out to be true, Atreus could possibly be a very distant descendant of the mask makers, therefore giving him the ability to translate the mask and seem to understand creatures better than most beings we see in the games

I keep coming back to the mask. It's arguably the most powerful object in Ragnarök, yet it appears to be made of wood rather than gold or some mythical metal.

That can't be an accident. Trees are central to God of War's symbolism Yggdrasil connects the realms, Mímir is bound to a tree, and Faye's marked trees begin Kratos' journey.

I wonder whether the mask was intentionally made from a natural material because its power isn't in what it's made of, but in what it connects to.

We also know the dwarves are unmatched craftsmen, so I wouldn't be surprised if they, or perhaps an even older civilisation, had some connection to its creation.

My favourite possibility, though, is that whoever made the mask didn't even see it as extraordinary. To beings operating on a cosmic scale, it may simply have been a tool, while Odin's obsession gave it significance.

I think there's much more to learn about the mask's true origin.

It could very well be likely the mask belonged to Ymir. After he had died his mask couldve been splintered and casted throughout the primordial realms in his sea of blood. It would explain why the Giants knew of the mask. It would also explain why Ymir's death opened a rift. His magic was most directly from the everywhen. My guess is the Mask Makers made Ymir from the primordial realms and left his a mask to draw from the Everywhen for material and magic to create.

My theory is that Tyr is responsible for everything. He's the only god we know who traveled between all the different mythologies, and unlike most Gods of War, he stood for peace instead of conquest. I think he was once responsible for keeping order between the realms—or even between the different pantheons but at some point he lost control of the space between them. When that happened, he also lost control of the masks, allowing the other gods to take over.
I also think fey knew the truth. She and Tyr were close friends, so it's likely she understood what had happened and was trying to prepare Kratos and Atreus for what was coming.