Kratos, the furious and brutal spartan who the Greek pantheon once feared, has now grown old and settled down in the Nordic woods along with a son and his second wife, Faye, who unfortunately died before the events of God of War 2018.
Kratos indeed had an unsettling character development over the period between this soft reboot and God of War 3. Still, if you are a dedicated follower of the series, there must be more complex and confusing questions about the story of God of War 2018 straining your brains, like how did Kratos go to Midgard? How did he travel from Greek Mythology to the Norse? And most importantly, why?
I have the same questions too, and I spent hours theorizing the events that led to God of War 2018, so here is my best explanation of what might have actually happened.
How and why did Kratos go to Midgard in God of War 2018?
Kratos sailed to the north from Greece in a boat after God of War 3 and reached Midgard/Scandinavia before the events of God of War 2018. As for why he went there, a popular theory suggests that his second wife, Faye, brought him to Midgard.
I know it sounds boring, but this is the most popular theory in the community, with more than enough evidence of it being true in the game itself. Kratos, in the game, himself states, “I am a god, boy, from another land, far from here. When I came to these shores, I chose to live as a man.” while telling Atreus the truth about his nature.
The phrase “arrived at these shores” clearly confirms that he sailed to the Midgard after Greece was destroyed and flooded when he killed all the Greek pantheons.
But how exactly did he travel from Greek to Norse mythology because two gods of different myths and the exact nature cannot coexist on the same planet, right? They should individually exist in different realities or dimensions!
In the God of War universe, all the mythologies coexist in the world on the same plane. The pantheons of different mythologies only have dominion over specific land/water territories and their cultures. Kratos by sailing to Midgard, crossed into Norse mythology.
A strong proof of all the mythologies existing together in the world is that Mimir knows Kratos’ past and even calls him the “Ghost of Sparta” after learning that Kratos is the son of Zeus.
Cory Barlog (Game Director, God of War 2018), in the Game Developer Conference held in 2019 in San Francisco, explained how mythologies work in the God of War universe. He said,
At any given time, all the mythologies exist together in a world, and they are simply separated by geography.
Cory Barlog
So, if all the myths exist in the same world, Kratos can simply sail in a boat from one mythology to another
Did Faye bring Kratos to Midgard in God of War?
Faye, the Jötnar guardian, brought Kratos to the Midgard to set the events for Ragnarok in motion and end the tyranny of the Allfather Odin and his son Thor.
The game does not talk about precisely why Kratos came to Midgard, and for now, we can only theorize, so hear me out.
Faye or ‘Laufey, the Just’ was the last giant guardian in Midgard and was looking for a way to protect the giants from Odin and Thor. So, Faye pre-planned the journey of Kratos and Atreus to the highest peak in all nine realms to set the events of Ragnarok in motion, as visible from the murals in Jotunheim.
Considering the foreseeing powers of Faye, it is not wrong to assume that she knew all along that Kratos and their son Atreus would be the only ones who can bring Ragnarok and defeat Odin and Thor. Hence, she brought Kratos to the Midgard from Greece to fulfill this purpose.
The Official God of War Novel Hints that Faye is Behind Kratos’ Arrival to Midgard
God of War: The Official Novelization by J.M. Barlog explains the events of God of War 2018 in great detail. The book contains an interesting incident when Kratos dreams that three black, white, and grey wolves have surrounded him, and a hooded woman is ordering them to attack Kratos. The wolves then grab Kratos by his thighs and drag him to Scandinavia on the woman’s order.
The woman’s face is covered, and her name is not mentioned in the book, but it is safe to assume that she is Faye herself, and the wolves are: Skoll and Hati. The grey wolf’s identity is still under debate, but he is believed to be Fenrir, Loki’s (Atreus) son and Faye’s grandson.
But, doesn’t this theory contradict the fact that Kratos sailed to Midgard? Well, it indeed does! But it is possible that this “dream” of Kratos was a strategy of Faye to pull Kratos, both literally and symbolically, in the general direction of Midgard. Then he covered the rest of his journey on his own.
Once again, the how and why of Kratos’ visit to Midgard is not asserted clearly in the game, and until God of War: Ragnarok arrives, we can only theorize.
About God of War(2018)
Developed by Santa Monica Studios, God of War is a single-player action-adventure game. Unlike the previous installments of the franchise that deals with Greek mythology, this installment is set in Norse lore.
Before dying, Kratos’ second wife’s last wish is for her to be cremated at the highest peak of the nine realms. Therefore, with his son, Atreus, Kratos embarks on a difficult journey teeming with monsters and gods to fulfill his wife’s final request.
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