Freya was not only well written, but she was brought to life by masterful performances from Danielle Bissuti. To be able to stand toe to toe to Chris, Sunny, and Jeremy is a tall order, and she is absolutely brilliant in every scene..
The one thing I wish is that Freya got more hits in lol. I guess she chokes him a bit after phase one and she pulls him down with the fines and kills one of his birds but during that final sequence she gets one kick in. Sure she tags with Atreus I think twice but not the same.
yeah it's something everyone glosses over. they act like Odin was some weak punk compared to Zeus but, he was combating the god killer Kratos, a Loki coming into his powers and the goddess most skilled with magic after himself and former leader of the Valkyries his own elite force. Zeus got a one on one. Odin puit up a fight against 3 gods and Freya even used an item specifically capable of messing with him.
And don't forget that Kratos is WAY more powerful than he was in GOW2-3, and that Freya is confirmed his equal by the digital artbook and his and her own statements in Vanaheim after their fight.
as someone who has grown up with an extremely overbearing parent (still dealing with that) Freya’s reaction is unbelievably realistic. If my mother could perform the actions Freya could, I wouldn’t doubt this story to play itself. I genuinely can’t comprehend how someone can’t see these reactions as extremely realistic
@@JulianLopez-rt6kp guess I’m lucky, I never saw her reaction as unrealistic and my parents had many issues but I wouldn’t say being overbearing was one, didn’t really know too many who were
How do you even try to reconcile with a parent after that sort of relationship damage? Realizing that they put their own fears over the needs of the child? How do you even know if they're even aware of their mistake?
25:47 I think there is one actually. During a boat ride, Freya tells Kratos that Baldur was like Atreus back in the day, wanted to get more attention from his father and seeked comfort in his mother. Also, wanted to travel, if I remember correctly. Almost every time Freya speaks of Baldur, her train of thought ends with her or other characters' words like "but it's Odin". You can see she clearly loved Baldur, especially when he was younger. It was her invulnerability spell, overprotectiveness, Odin's manipulation after all, which drew a wall/hedge between them. In the end, I think Freya loves Baldur, but she doesn't excuse his actions, not forgetting to mention it was Odin who further poisoned him against her. But it would be a mistake if I forgot to mention, that Freya never really cared that Baldur almost killed a 12 y/o kid... So above all else, her son's life > (outweigh) her son's misdeeds and behavior.
I don't really remember a straight-up line, but I think she acknowledged that Baldur had flaws and was doing bad things, but, as you said, she thinks it wouldn't be that if not a spell and Odin. In GoW 2018 she was probably unaware of who her son actually had become (her exile) but in Ragnarok it seemed to me that she starts to recognize her son has been doing bad things and Kratos did what he had to. Overall she is a mother who knows that her son wasn't perfect but it doesn't change that she loves him. Probably she is a little excusing his behavior because of what he had gone through, but, as she said, it's highly possible that he could be a 'good god' if these things didn't happen to him. I am probably repeating what you just said xD
@@siubidubi5897 I think there are comments in this comment section quoting Freya: " I know Baldur wasn't *perfect* , but he was *mine* " which perfectly sums up her entire view of her son. She doesn't justify that he could be an A-hole, admits he could've done bad things, but he was *her son* , she *loved* him, it was *her choice* to sacrifice herself and Kratos took it away from her. So, while Freya isn't obviously a perfect parent, but she definitely treated Baldur like any adequate parent would, in a sense that she *loved* him and *cared* for him (albeit in a extreme way), unlike Odin, who treats his own family as disposable tools, who are better off dead than useless, which by itself is despicable.
12? Atreus looked a lot younger then that 8 or 10 but I guess it’s hard to see that through height cause kratos and most other gods are way taller then the few quote unquote mortals that appear near the beginning of the game
A few things I'd like to add: 8:30 - The invulnerability spell also robbed Baldur of his ability to Smell or Taste anything. With the perpetual sensory deprivation Baldur was stuck living in, it's no wonder that he lost his mind 25:40 - When journeying through Vanaheim to locate the source of Odin's realm-binding curse, Freya says "I know Baldur wasn't perfect, but he was _mine_ ." If you missed it, that was probably because it was immediately before Kratos confided to Freya about the loss of his daughter, Calliope. 31:38 - Funny you should mention that. Earlier in the game, Mimir says that trapping Freya in Midgard was not the only curse Odin inflicted upon her; He also cursed her to be unable to fight, even in self-defense
They added the invulnerability spell to also take away sensation to be a nail in the coffin to his character, but even if it only made him invulnerable no drawbacks. Imagine being one of the strongest gods of a clan of warriors and conquerors, and everyone knows it's "due to mommy's magic spell" nothing more. It also robs Baldur of any real challenge, "dying is what we aesir live for" well you can't die. I think to control Baldur Odin could definitely insinuate that Baldur is a coward for also not killing his mother. It also doubles as symbolising overprotective parents and wanting to experience dangerous life yourself, when he finally broke free from his mother's protection he was unequipped to deal with real life too, having picked the fight with the most dangerous man(to god's). It's like if a rich kid doesn't have his bodyguard with him or something, no it is not going to go well for you, you are getting beaten if you act like you did before, recklessly.
Baldr's sensory deprivation also went against everything Old Norse culture was about: LIving life to the fullest, doing so with joy and finally dying in glorious battle. Freya did worse than rob Baldr of the joy of living and worse than simply killing him: She robbed him of his very reason to even exist beyond his godly duties. And he couldn't even end his own misery to escape it.
@@FiendMatadorSlayerOfNoobs You're right. The Helheim flashback of Baldur did say that the 3 main things Aesir did for fun (feasting, drinking, and sex) were all but meaningless to him
When you mentioned how some players were confused of Freya's reaction and how she should have been grateful for her life being saved, it reminded me of a scene from the Incredibles. Mr. Incredible saved a man who tried to unalive himself just for the man to turn around and sue him for it. While Mr. Incredible argued on live television he saved him, the man yelled back "You didn't save my life, you ruined my death". While some players don't get her reaction, I wasn't neither confusing or surprising. People have different reactions when they are saved and it's just part of what makes everyone unique. She was ready to die, she was afraid of losing her son. And Kratos intervention made her face what she dreaded the most. Of course she would get angry at the one who made her face it. Hopefully those who got confused realizes that.
I always figured that the absolute root cause for her response was, as you said, being forced to accept her actions as unchangeable. From where I see it, for as long as Freya's son was alive, the whole situation was at a complete standstill, and Freya could continue thinking that there *might* be a chance that she could rebuild with Bauldr. That was, of course, never true to begin with. Being exiled and banished to a realm where she could not reach him to come to that conclusion on her own was what I believe made both of their reactions so explosive. Bauldr could never truly live his life, and the longer he lived, the more he suffered until he was long past the point of recovery. Freya never truly got to see the complete gravity of the curse she placed upon him until it was already way too late, but she had spent all that time hiding from that fact. So having it all come crashing down upon her in mere moments was far too much for her to handle, and so she swung the complete opposite direction.
@@Kitty_kisses97 The tragedy is that, if given enough time (centuries perhaps) after regaining his sense of feeling, Baldur might've been able to somewhat recover mentally. If Kratos could came back from a similarly deep abyss after causing so much destruction, why couldn't Baldur?
@@concept5631 he also didn't have the benefit of having his own son to be better for. He literally has nothing besides his dad Odin and Thor. He can't even have sex or have kids since no feeling would prevent that. So she literally also took away his ability to have children himself. And still refused to apologize for it.
@@bluesh0es the reason say "unalive" is because some social medias censor posts that include words like suicide or "killing yourself", I have no idea why this has spread to RUclips, where this does not happen
@@bluesh0es Hate is infectious. It feels powerful, it feels right. Freya hates Kratos for taking her son from her, for not allowing her what little bit of atonement letting Baldr kill her would have been. Given her characterization in GoW4, she is absolutely the kind of person to keep a deathgrip on an emotional decision far past the point of reason. Even after all the years of her exile, she hadn't really wrapped her mind around the damage she had done to Baldr by taking away his ability to touch things. She'd had way more than enough time for that to occur to her, but she likely avoided thinking about it. People can be surprisingly good at denying things they don't want to be true to avoid pain. It takes concerted effort to endure pain and change, and often we need to be given a good reason to do so.
25:47 freya does say she loved him saying something along the lines of he had his flaws but he was mine. this adds to the fact that she lost her home her brother everyone dear to her and she loves him because he is the one person who shares blood with her. there is actually a parallel between the way she acts towards baldur and freyr thats because in many real life relationship mothers will treat their sons like husbands if the husband is absent. likewise she treats baldur like a brother because she had lost him . in every single other parent child relationship in gow and gowr theres an authoritative tone when the parent speaks to the child and a submissive one when the child speaks to the parent but baldur and freya dont have that. theres alot more bargaining and "im just gonna do me" this is reminiscent of a brother sister sibling relationship
I found your channel randomly and I was impressed by the work you put in. The work you put in, and how you dissect/analyze a character. I hope you achieve your goals, FatBrett.
Freya does mention Baldur in Ragnorok: When she’s turned into an eagle to prevent herself being ripped from Vanaheim she says: “Baldur was far from perfect but HE WAS MINE!” Implying that Baldur was the only thing she felt actual joy and love and wholeness during her later years in Asgard. The only thing she ever felt she owned
That tracks. I always had the feeling that Freya saw him as the only good thing in her life after her marriage to Odin, which leads to why she became so controlling of him. She was terrified of losing the only good thing in her life at that time.... and then she did.
She also mentions that when Baldur was younger he did everything to get Odin's approval but Odin being who he was didn't care about Baldur and used Freya cursing him to send him after Faye by making him think a giant could break the curse.
Freya's introduction is kinda funny, how she immediately gives Kratos orders and he goes "...yeah okay". Reminds me of that flashback with Faye, how she tells Kratos to carry a lot and calls him "good boy" afterwards.
@@SunsetEnvyhes a greek they were terrified of the prospect of a goddess of war having any kind of sexual power so much they made her ace. Makes sense.
I do love Freya as a character a lot. One thing that sticks out to me is that at any moment in Baldur's life and during their relationship she could have freed him from his anguish and despair. She knew the weakness of the spell and could have told Baldur as he had every right to know.
That's the issue, the core flaw that led her and Baldur down the path of tragedy. Despite knowing what she did was wrong, it still didn't matter. Ultimately, Freya wanted Baldur to be "safe" at any cost.
Freya does talk about how he was a nice kid in Ragnarok during the side quest to destroy her marriage items and around the time she talks about Odin dropping his mask of lovingness
Something I find a bit sad is that even if Kratos hadn’t stepped in and stopped Baldur from killing his mother, the Norse God was still likely to die there by Kratos anyway. After killing his mother Baldur would have likely turned back to Kratos, just to get killed by the God Killer anyway, making Freya’s death meaningless in the end.
25:40 well, I don't know if this counts, but after the final boss, I found the place where Baldur's dragon fell and Kratos tells her that Baldur tried to kidnap Atreus. Freya says something like "the things he put you through...". I think she says something else before Kratos says "This was Odin's doing" Other than that, I don't know if she says anything else, but I think that line of dialogue shows that deep down, she knows Baldur was a bad person. Maybe now that Odin's dead and she knows Kratos better, she can see how Baldur wasn't just her baby boy and all that
I Can't even put into words how much I agree with you, that whole scene especially when he says "I did this to him. Will you help Me?" Still gives me chills to this day
And imo the second best, or perhaps the second best scene is where he tells the spirit of Athena “but I am your monster no longer”. Or when he shares the wine with Atreus: that “ahhh” and the chuckle afterwards was absolutely hilarious and adorable
I know this video is about Freya but it's interesting that you mention that Baldur doesn't have any empathy. Really ties into the themes that he can't feel anything outside of himself
25:47 I think the biggest thing that you made me realize is that, Freya's love of Baldur is an empty love. She loves the concept of him, the only 'good' thing to come from all of the hatred and pain she's suffered through. She doesn't talk about *him* because it isn't he who she loves, but merely the fact he exists. She developed a sort of stockholm syndrome to Baldur and by extension Odin because Baldur was the only thing distracting her from how miserable she was.
In God of War Ragnarok, after you defeat Gná and take her journal, you can see that Gná has some valid points about Freya, mainly her tendency to play the victim and refuse to own her part on her own misery.
I watched the game through TBSkyens videos and he points out that Fraya is a Goddess of Love and all that that entails. She loves her children, she loves her mortal subjects, she extends her love to those around her like Atreaus and Kratos when they meet. But not just the good sides of love but obsessive love, overprotective love and the fury of having the ones she loves hurt
Seeing Freya get the spotlight in a two part video brings me so much joy, and I'm not just saying that because she's Best Mom. She's a deep layer character with an interesting story arc; I'm really glad that the writers decided not to kill her off
Believe me - she is The Worst "mother". Worse even than alcoholics mothers that beat their children. She is such a monster that you would be Baldur which irl means suicide or mental institution, or prison and dead id you were to be lucky already if she was your mother. Reasons why are below. She makes Odin a fcking father of the year, as being her victim you'd wish for anyone to murder you. I always disliked Freya on some deep level not knowing why. Watching this character study made me realize why. 34;20 - this is why he kills her. She is his mother, abused him and says 2 things together that make him do it: 1. I have paid already for what I've done to you. 2. Kill me if it helps you - He is her victim, yet she positions herself as his savior even in this moment knowing what pain she caused him, she still thinks of herself as morally superior, and harms him again saying: kill me. That is why he does it, in that very moment there is nothing but hate and pain on the deepest level in him born from the fact that she yet again choses to torment him psychologically and indeed is unable to respect him and therefore love him truly, she only knows her selfish pathological all-devouring mother style of "love". Baldur would not do it if she simply said sorry, truly &sincerely apologized, shown shame and pain and any fcking empathy for this abuse and let him go free with at least shadow of respect - that is what he wanted, and she declined him all of that and continued the same behavior and thus abuse she has had already done before. He wanted a moment of his mother choosing his emotions and good over her own. To prove my point - she knows Kratos is not that kind of guy to just watch and he is literally behind Baldur and in front of her. She knew perfectly well what will follow - that was basicly lincesed murder - She, not Odin is the Master Manipulator, she tricked Kratos, and she tricked us. Fck "mothers" like that, they are molesting "fathers" counter-part from hell itself. And btw., no I did not go thru such abuse, I have great mother whom I love and respect greatly, but I saw victims of such manipulative monsters as Freya. She even gave me this vibe, I knew something was really wrong with her, but she is so well written with Odin distraction as "master but really medicore over the top manipulator", that I needed a character study to see true Freya.
These are essays of the likes of which you would need to pay to even get a glimpse of it, and you are making an entire catalog of which I have learned a lot from and am very inspired by. Thank you so much
Its like kratos said in ragnarok when atreus says “why cant she let it go?we saved her life” kratos responds “i took her son there is no letting that go” kratos has learned a lot from freya mainly empathy and understanding for other peoples reasons and reactions to things its beautiful story writing freya is one of my favourite characters due to her depths and flaws its just amazing
About the part where you said we didnt get any lines where Freya says what she thinks about baldur, we do get a small line in Ragnarök where she says, "I know Bladur wasnt perfect but he was mine." This is said when Kratos is helping Freya break the curse, before he goes on to tell Freya about Calliope. Thought this might help. Great vid btw!
There is another snippet where Freya and Kratos see the remains of Baldur's dragon. Kratos describes what happened when Baldur kidnapped Atreus and what Kratos had to do to get him back. Freya then remarks something along the lines of "I can't believe the things he (Baldur) did to you..." (Or something along those lines). It's a small detail but I think it speaks to how Freya was becoming more disillusioned about what kind of person Baldur had become.
38:51 I think it’s fascinating that Freya’s response to Atreus saying “he saved your life,” (after Baldur has died) is to say “and robbed me of everything.” It’s somewhat poetic, I think, that only after Baldur has died can she understand the agony she put him through. Her action to make Baldur immortal, to “safe his life,” required robbing him of everything that made her life worth it. In some sense, the agony she feels now ,Ay have been mirrored by Baldur.
While I've generally understood the narrative around these themes, even understood Freya's motivations, I honestly think I wasn't seeing the forest for the trees -as i possibly butcher that expression- You have an incredible knack for really dissecting these stories, picking them apart and showing off all their nuances and depth. I honestly don't think I've watched any of your god of war videos specifically without coming away with it with an appreciation for something I'd never considered deeply, even if I saw it. I'm very much looking forward to part 2 of this, but this was a very well written dive into 2018's side of Freya's story.
I can already tell this is gonna be GOAT. I have already gobbled up your other GOW videos and your stuff is superb. Thank you for the hard work! Have a great week!
I never got confused by her response to Baldur's death. It made sense even if Kratos was doing the right thing. Losing your son in front of you brings out very potent emotion in you. Its like 10/10 worst feeling ever as a parent. The bond between mother and son(Even if theirs was damaged) is a no brainer to me. That and well despite someone else doing right thing sometimes people react incorrectly but when you're feeling intense emotions you don't think clearly. Its understandable.
I find it interesting that Freya wants Baldur to forgive her, but she doesn’t actually show any remorse for the things she wants him to forgive her for. It’s just another “sacrifice” she’s making for Baldur.
There is a set of travel lines in Ragnarok, where Freya does say that when Baldur was a child, he had adored his father, and that she had been his confidante when he was frustrated about not being able to please Odin. I think she also says that there were a lot of similarities between Baldur and Atreus when he was Atreus's age.
In my eyes, freya went from "oh shit...look, it's the boi's new stepmom" To all of a sudden top 3 characters.... super well written...and the fact she's a party member in GOWR...and travels with you???
The voice acting for Kratos is world class man. Hearing him almost cry for Freya's help with his son. "Woman do you hear me" That line cut my heart apart. "Will you help me" Making these lines sound so painful but so masculine at the same time is incredible. He's literally begging a god for help. One of the best character arcs across a franchise ever.
18:51 God damn Christopher Judge did a great job as Kratos in this scene. This is why I think the voice acting in this game is way better than in Ragnarok.
Something crazy too is the fact that the speech Baldur has to Freya about the time he spent thinking about what he would say is almost equal to the speech Freya had to Odin in GOW Ragnarok, GOW has such insane writing.
That moment when freya cries and replied : He robbed me of everything... while holding Baldur's dead body. Dang the voice actress and the moment pierces my heart every goddamn time...
Freya does mention Baldur in Ragnorok, i remember one boat talk where she mentions that Baldur was much like Atreus when he was younger, mostly talking about how he adored his father. Thus we can probably infer that she sees some of Baldur in him, and that may have made her want to protect him more than she otherwise would have.
something i never really thought about until recently is the fact that right from the beginning when she cast the spell on baldur she knew how it could be broken, not only did she cast it without his consent she lied to his face to convince him it was permanent when she could fix it in an hour, even though he wanted to kill her for it. even after a hundred years of exile knowing her son hates her, no matter how guilty she feels at his suffering and no matter how much she says she was wrong she still refuses to even consider the possibility of breaking the spell. the most disgusting thing about her is when she sees him again she doesn't apologise once, still doesn't reveal the spell can be broken, and just tries to convince him to forgive her coz she still believes she did the right thing and that if she could only persuade him to accept the spell he'll be her son forever. when they have their last confrontation her desperation gets even worse and she tries to salvage the relationship by placating him saying "you have what you want now". right until he dies she so selfishly wants her son that she would rather he spent centuries hating every second of his life than even have the slightest chance of being taken away from her permanently, and after he dies she never acknowledges her mistakes and only lets go of her vengeance because kratos apologised for 'murdering' baldur to stop him from killing her and harming innocent people
I'm felt pity for Baldur. With a father like Odin and the spell... I don't think people understand how connected we are to our body. Not feeling anything meant he was completely isolated and incapable of sharing the human experience. I don't think it'd have been out of place if they further emphasized or exaggerated how insane her spell made him.
I really really wished that you would do a video essay about Baldur and his motivations, even though we know so little about him. Just that he's a vengeful violent prick, but one thing really caught my attention while watching this video. The reason why Baldur was so angry through the whole game is because of the protection spell Freya cast on him, the reason why he couldn't feel any pleasure. But the moment he realizes he's vulnerable again, he rejoices briefly and then turns against Kratos almost immediately. I mean, why? I understand he couldn't forgive Freya after all those years but why still hunt Kratos after getting what he truly whished for, to be free from the spell? Was it really just to follow Odin's orders? He doesn't look like the most reliable and loyal soldier... Anyway I really wanted to understand why he was still so mad towards Kratos and Atreus, who he just met, even after getting his magical release.
I think his reasoning is said during the battle itself. He wanted to feel real pain, and the rush of a battle where he actually had something to lose. One of the frequently repeated ideas surrounding the Aesir in these games is that "dying is what we live for." Living a fulfilling life and dying a glorious death are the ultimate goals of their people, so Baldur, simply put, wanted to enjoy himself. Fighting only made him happy in the end.
To add on to the first reply, baldur is really sick of Kratos at this point anyway. Kratos has been a pain in his ass the whole story and I think that contributes as well as his wish for a real battle
You did miss that Freya acknowledges Baldur's flaws as a person, it was during God of War Ragnarok in Vanaheim: in the conversation where she is annoyed that everyone tries to comfort her and confronts Kratos as to whether HE knows anything about her pain (losing a child), only for him to reveal that he once had a daughter
Hey, will you do a video on Surtur? Because I think he'd be an interesting character to look into because he kinda represents two things that I find kinda cool: 1. A positive representation of what love between two people can be. And 2. An example of a GoW character who actually acts his age.
I have a Question: why couldnt Freya Reanimate Baldur? yes you could say that His Neck got Broken and his spine was Cracked but like Mimir Lost his Entire head. No oxygen, nor Blood. yet that was Revivable? why not Baldur?
I'm addicted to your GoW character analysis essays. It just shows how deep and complex the writing and characters are. Keep up the great content, can wait for part 2!
Idk why but I kinda feel a dynamic like this irl, a overprotective mother doing something unjust just to protect their kid and not realizing until way later, my brother being the victim of the mother and now he resents her
Awesome video! Freya is probably my favorite character in these games, And in Ragnarok the conversations between her an Kratos were my favorite story sections. This video does her absolute justice and I can't wait for more.
Actually during Ragnarok when they are on a side quest to break Freya's connections to Asgard and more specifically Odin. She asked Mimir if he knew why she left the day she did? To which he replied he had only a hunch. She explained that Odin asked for the secret of the invulnerability spell that she had cast on Baldur. She had said that "Seeing How It Drove Our Son Into Madness, I Refused Him" indicated to me that yes she had known just how damaging that spell really was for Baldur emotionally. This indicates that she also knew how the hatred was already beginning to consume him at that point.
Freya's writing and tragedy was the main reason i thought GoW4 was such an absolute masterpiece of a story. I could not describe how worried i was in Rangarok that she would never grow past her hatred for Kratos or worse yet that they would just have her killed off instead of offering her character even more growth. It's crazy to me how (imo) between two games her character gets nearly as much growth and development as Kratos does throughout the entire series.
My mother needs to watch a let's play of God of War. She has exactly the same mentality as Freya, albeit to a lesser extent. And that has caused me some issues in life, just like Baldur. Albeit to a lesser extent.
At its very core GOW even the originals are about generational trauma and Generational torture, and I love how it doesn’t dissolve into some weird hate on either gender as both suck in this game On the matriarchal side we have Freya whose helicopter parentage leads to the death of her child while Faye is such a good mother and wife she still aids them after death And on the patriarchal side we have Odin a bastard who uses his kids as pawns and soldiers, vs kratos who would rather his kid just learn self defense nothing more
Having completed both 2018 and Ragnarok, my opinion is that Freya is a garbage person. She didn't protect her son from dying, she removed his ability to enjoy living at all. A fate worse than death. And as a god he endured this for 100's of years - unable to love or be loved by anyone and anything. He is justified. In fact, one of my only complaints in this otherwise excellent game, is that it glossed over the monstrousness of what she did because it was inserted into Kratos' story as an obstacle. But she's not sorry she did it - just that he is mad about it. She could have removed the curse at any time, but CHOSE not to. Freya is unbelievably selfish and cruel. Curiously, the game shows awareness of its main character's flaws in the utterings of its villains. Freya was an abusive mother and Baldur was NOT crazy. Hel showed how tortured he was at wanting to kill his own mother and being unable to do so because she IS his mother. For me, she was pretty despicable.
freya's line "i HAVE paid" as well as the delivery from the VA also highlights part of her flaw, invalidation of her son. Both in her denying him the right to face life and its dangers in the past when she placed a spell on him and now where she says she has paid which, while to us she has, she only serves to tell baldur that his perspective on her life and her decisions is less than her own. Right or wrong baldur is once again denied the choice of even making that statement on the situation. To baldur's rage filled mind she is once again denying him any freedoms and acting selfishly
She's my favourite, her entire plot line is a continued tragedy, in the next game she doesn't even get to have her brother, how much loss can one person endure?
One mistake I noticed in this video. The scene where Freya uses the giant to pick up Kratos. This isn’t because of her moral high ground. She’s literally a warrior goddess. It’s because part of Odins curse on her removed what is dubbed “her warrior spirit”. It means she is cursed to never be able to harm another living being, physically or through magic. Thus she i ,literally incapable of doing more than just separate them as her curse prevents her from attacking. I don’t doubt that the literal warrior queen of an entire pantheon war would attack to protect her son. (This is revealed in a Mimir boat story) Freya breaks the curse in between games, and gets her warrior spirit back. This is why she shows Odin her wings when she fights him. Her Valkyrie wings were part of her warrior spirit that he took from her. She’s showing him “look, I have taken back what you stole from me, you have no power over me anymore.”
I just realized that at 20:47 Freya said to Kratos "No need to explain. Not to me. Not for that" is the SAME thing Kratos said to Freya in Ragnarok!!! Did anyone else notice??
11:15 That's not accurate. Mimir remembers a bunch about Baulder. Such as the fact that he's blessed with invulnerability to all attacks, physical or magical.
Damn that immigrant generational trauma sure hits deep. But just trauma in general. He was *her's* and just like her country, people, family, her very way of life, and she still could not keep him. What a senseless death. Perhaps, this too is Hell.
When she says "He robbed me of everything" I interpreted it as her seeing baldur as the only good thing that came from her marriage to Odin, from her having to leave her home, from being trapped in Midgard. He was everything to her.
When Kratos stepped in and killed Baldor and robbed Freya from her choice to die not only was is what Freya did to Baldor, but also what the Greek Gods did to Kratos. They stole his release from his pain and suffering when he threw himself off the mountain at the end of the first game and they wouldn't permit him to die (at least like that). Which is just another thing that sent Freya over the edge. Kratos stole her release. I just love the writing of the God of War franchise. The circular narrative. Gods killing their parents. What Kratos did to Freya here was actually what the Greek Gods did to him. All the while trying to break the cycle. You'll always be a monster. The cycle ends here ...the changing of ones nature. To be better. Write your own destiny. I love it. Thanks for the awesome video. Can't wait to continue with part 2
It’s not often I’m impressed how how articulate, and eloquent a youtuber is able to analyze complicated characters, but this man should be an inspiration to the rest of em. From your music choices, tempo of the video, tone of voice, and your interesting perspectives, the video is damn near educational for ppl trying to emulate an entertaining video essay. I’ve seen a few vids now, and you’ve been consistently reliable in terms of quality. Hope you get a million more subs, keep up the great work.
Yes, you did miss one. I was going through clips of it and at one point, if you bring Freya to the backside of Tyr's temple, you find Baldur's dragon's corpse and she will talk about how she is sorry with what her son did to Kratos and Atreus. I also think the Njors' taunts against her really hammer home these points but I'm guessing you already are thinking of those for part two
In Ragnarok, she does acknowledge that Baldur was flawed but she loved him all the same. And there was some dialog saying that when younger Baldur always seemed the approval of his father Odin
Personally I don’t think Baldur was always a mindless apathetic killer, its clear a century of lack of stimulation has made him disassociate from reality and his own actions its clear that the only thing keeping him from being a literal zombie is the fact he can talk to people. Odin promising him a cure is the only thing that’s been driving him to do anything, at this point its literally his sole motivation through life. And of course fighting people getting some form of engagement clearly entertains him a little. Thinking about Baldur he was actually the NICEST of the Aesir gods, he came to Kratos hoping for a fight but negotiating first, if he received the information he thought Kratos had he would’ve left. As for his hatred of Freya from personal experience when you hate someone especially someone whose wronged you in a deep emotional way it becomes hard to empathize and think clearly, Baldur who already sounds half asleep through moat of the game is seeking even the littlest bit of stimulation from anything would’ve killed Freya for personal closure but honestly I think it would’ve left him emptier than before. And to find out Odin may have had no plans to cure him as an asset who knows what would’ve happened. I think the original God of War 4 fails to make Baldur sympathetic outside of one scene but thats about it, he’s so evil in every part of the game its hard to even pay attention to it. Him crying, calling himself a coward is something thats missable. But the sad part is like Thor he’s just like Kratos, both wronged by their parents and despite being almost killed by him multiple times Kratos asks him to consider peace and he declines.
I think it's a compelling tie that every character in this series has something to do with "Control" Atreus wants to be seen as an equal in 2018 and in Ragnarok wants to be in control of his own destiny Kratos has lived almost his whole life trying to take control of it back from Gods who have used him and here he is still trying to control his son Brok lost control in his accident and has no control over Sindri bringing him back Sindri out of pure compassion and need, takes control of Brok's destiny and retakes ¾ths of his soul from the lake of souls Sindri and Freya are the same character. Fully compassionate yet deeply rooted control freaks who want to keep their loved ones safe no matter the cost. Difference being, at the end, Freya's arc is finally complete, whereas Sindri's is just getting started.
Freya is also the 1 person, I'd say, that had kratos try to fix a mess up... We all know how he destroys things, and just leaves..kills ppl, and just goes about his business... This is the first time, I'd say, he actually had to go and fix a problem he made..
Freya was my favorite supporting character of the series. Every move, every word she says and hesitation is purposeful and realistic and says so much about her and her feelings.
19:00 easily one of my top 5 favorite Freya moments. I love her depth, loving nature, sense of respect, the fact that even when she's completely enraged the better parts of her can still reach the surface--but above all: the sass.
40:22 Kratos knew Freya would hate him for it but also knew that even if Baldur killed her he'd keep going after him and Atreus unless he killed him because he couldn't be reasoned with. And Freya knew deep down and acknowledges in Ragnarok that Baldur's death was ultimately her fault but in her grief she took it out on Kratos just like Sindri took Brok being murdered by Odin out on everybody.
See I don’t think she did love Baldur. I was raised by a narcissistic parent, and her actions were the opposite of love. She didn’t respect her son. If she did, she’d never done that spell. 😅it’s realistic…for a narcissist.
I think she loved her son but she ABSOLUTELY had no respect for him. I wouldn't call her a narcissist because those w/NPD almost always have a rage about them, and demand to be adored because they are insecure. Freya has an ego but she doesn't demand worship, and she never displays anger towards Baldur, just sadness. She was a well-meaning but incredibly selfish and controlling parent.
Am I the only one who thinks Kratos definitely should have minded his own business. A century long conflict between family and a guy she met a week ago gets involved, despite both of them asking him not to, and then he breaks Baldur’s neck, even though Freya totally consented to him killing her
Looking forward to part 2. The sheer urgency in Kratos voice when he's begging for Freyas help just sells Judge's performance. Even if you're not a Dad you feel like one in this scene.
I know it had to play out the way it did, but imagine if Freya had some therapy in that 100 years of exile. Freya: "Baldur, my son, before you fight with Kratos, we must remove the... the curse of invulnerability I put on you. I am- I am deeply sorry for what I have done, and I must give you back the freedom I stole from you." Baldur, out of his gourd: "Are you serious? You think that is going to fix everything? You think that is going to make me forgive you?" Freya: "No, it will be a long time before I have earned your forgiveness, if ever. I do not expect it, and I only hold hope in my heart that someday it may be possible. But it will never come with this spell on you, I will never have that chance without making this right, as soon as I can." Baldur fighting Kratos having an awesome time: "You know, I... god this really hurts. I'll come back when I've eaten and I have something in my stomach other than acid." Kratos: "hmm." Baldur, yelling from a distance: "goddamnit, I didn't realize just how far things are without a dragon. Mother, can you conjure me up a boat or something? Take all week to get back to Asgard at this rate."
Atreus asks that to Mimir in 2018. Mimir says that even though Freya revived him, he's still very much dead. Freya wouldn't want Baldur to "live" as a glorified zombie.
I just realized something. Spoilers for GOW Ragnarok. Odin gets Baldur to pursue Faye (and as a result, Kratos and Atreus) by telling him that if he can get into Jotunheim, maybe giant magic can break his curse. Odin really just wants to be able to get there and wipe out the giants, then learn all their prophetic and magical powers. When Odin orders Freya to tell him the secret to Baldur’s invulnerability, he wants to survive Ragnarok. And he punishes Freya for not telling him. But how does Odin end up dying? Not from a physical wound to his body (really). He dies when Atreus takes his soul and puts it in a marble, and Sindei shatters it. A use of giant magic. So the giants did actually have the tools to kill Baldur. Even in GOW 4, Baldur only becomes invulnerable because he tries to kill Loki. As was foretold in the prophecy that Faye received.
Ragnarök made GOW my favourite franchise of all time by far, especially the norse sage and i have to say your character essays elevate this even more. For me the analysis of Odin and Sindri were the most impressive, but this was of freya is also 10/10
No, Freya _thought_ everything she did was for her son, when in fact it was actually all completely selfish. Even letting him kill her was selfish. It wouldonly had made Baldur worse, if he had done it and went on to live, he would have only spiralled into completely depravity. Being a sociopath, Baldur, now with the ability to feel, would have done _unimaginably evil things_ if he went on to live. But maybe he wouldn't. Maybe feeling also would have given him empathy. But not if he killed his own mother. If he managed to kill her, he would only become worse and worse, trying to justify his murder of his mother. But if she fled, and Kratos didn't need to kill Baldur, maybe he would have gotten better. Point being, Freya letting Baldur kill her was not a selfless act at all, it would have went against Baldur's best interest in the long run, for sure.
Im 100% sure if Kratos was Freyas position hed have no qualms killing his son. Also if he let Freya die, he would just kill Baldur still. It was a lose lose but ultimately the right decision.
On the one hard I feel sorry for Freya, all what Odin did to her, all she gave up because of him, the flaw in her that she wants to shield her son from any harm, an example of toxic motherhood (which doesn't mean a toxic person who happens to be a mother). That overprotective nature being her need to defend one of the few things that truly matters to her, to the point of damaging it or them. I'm glad for her later character progression though, that she could finally accept the mistakes she made, hence why she later sided with Kratos
I genuinely think that Balder was turning to thank atreus and Kratos for freeing him from her spell. If she hadn't interfered they may have parted ways and he would've lived. She learned the same lesson that Odin did about trying to change fate
Also, some people don't realize why Baldur was like "no no no no no no no" after being smacked by Kratos. It's because he thought Kratos could cause him pain, but he was wrong. He still wanted the fight, because he at least feels joy in fighting.
I just want to point out that you say she’s trying to end the violence. However it was her tying down Kratos and letting Baldr punch the absolute dogshit out of Atreus that leads to him losing his invulnerability. Edit: auto corrected Kratos to Kristi’s.
after playing GOW 4 times and listening to thos video that same amount. It's just occured to me that when kratos' says "he made his choice", it may well in fact be the ONLY choice baldur ever made for himself in his life. Even after death, Freya is incapable of respecting her son's choices and letting him make mistakes, even if it's his final one
Freya's way of 'handling' Baldur brings back bad memories from my own past. My mother was overprotective yet looked away as my father bullied me. So yeah, I don't have a lot of sympathy.
When I saw the over 40 minute runtime and then the ‘Part One’ I screamed with joy
Me too!
On everything
Same reaction in here.
Yes. Same here. So Very Happy
Truly spoken!
I love how sassy she was.
“I’m still a god, go away.”
Freya was not only well written, but she was brought to life by masterful performances from Danielle Bissuti. To be able to stand toe to toe to Chris, Sunny, and Jeremy is a tall order, and she is absolutely brilliant in every scene..
Sunny🤣
I agree. Danielle did a fantastic job.
About the Odin fight lasting "too little", he got jumped by Three gods and a very disgruntled Dwarf. Of course he lasted less.
The one thing I wish is that Freya got more hits in lol. I guess she chokes him a bit after phase one and she pulls him down with the fines and kills one of his birds but during that final sequence she gets one kick in. Sure she tags with Atreus I think twice but not the same.
yeah it's something everyone glosses over. they act like Odin was some weak punk compared to Zeus but, he was combating the god killer Kratos, a Loki coming into his powers and the goddess most skilled with magic after himself and former leader of the Valkyries his own elite force.
Zeus got a one on one. Odin puit up a fight against 3 gods and Freya even used an item specifically capable of messing with him.
And don't forget that Kratos is WAY more powerful than he was in GOW2-3, and that Freya is confirmed his equal by the digital artbook and his and her own statements in Vanaheim after their fight.
@DrunknHick he is physically more powerful then he was in gow 3 imagine if he still had his magic and was actually bloodlusted against odin
I mean, hell, Three gods is still fine... But the unrivaled power of rock and stone?
as someone who has grown up with an extremely overbearing parent (still dealing with that) Freya’s reaction is unbelievably realistic. If my mother could perform the actions Freya could, I wouldn’t doubt this story to play itself.
I genuinely can’t comprehend how someone can’t see these reactions as extremely realistic
For some people, if you don't see it happen in person, if you don't live through it, it can be hard to believe things like that are realistic.
@@JulianLopez-rt6kp guess I’m lucky, I never saw her reaction as unrealistic and my parents had many issues but I wouldn’t say being overbearing was one, didn’t really know too many who were
Her actions were actually very realistic.
How do you even try to reconcile with a parent after that sort of relationship damage? Realizing that they put their own fears over the needs of the child? How do you even know if they're even aware of their mistake?
Because most of us draw the line at letting our kids kill us.
25:47 I think there is one actually. During a boat ride, Freya tells Kratos that Baldur was like Atreus back in the day, wanted to get more attention from his father and seeked comfort in his mother. Also, wanted to travel, if I remember correctly. Almost every time Freya speaks of Baldur, her train of thought ends with her or other characters' words like "but it's Odin". You can see she clearly loved Baldur, especially when he was younger. It was her invulnerability spell, overprotectiveness, Odin's manipulation after all, which drew a wall/hedge between them. In the end, I think Freya loves Baldur, but she doesn't excuse his actions, not forgetting to mention it was Odin who further poisoned him against her. But it would be a mistake if I forgot to mention, that Freya never really cared that Baldur almost killed a 12 y/o kid... So above all else, her son's life > (outweigh) her son's misdeeds and behavior.
I don't really remember a straight-up line, but I think she acknowledged that Baldur had flaws and was doing bad things, but, as you said, she thinks it wouldn't be that if not a spell and Odin. In GoW 2018 she was probably unaware of who her son actually had become (her exile) but in Ragnarok it seemed to me that she starts to recognize her son has been doing bad things and Kratos did what he had to. Overall she is a mother who knows that her son wasn't perfect but it doesn't change that she loves him. Probably she is a little excusing his behavior because of what he had gone through, but, as she said, it's highly possible that he could be a 'good god' if these things didn't happen to him.
I am probably repeating what you just said xD
@@siubidubi5897 I think there are comments in this comment section quoting Freya: " I know Baldur wasn't *perfect* , but he was *mine* " which perfectly sums up her entire view of her son. She doesn't justify that he could be an A-hole, admits he could've done bad things, but he was *her son* , she *loved* him, it was *her choice* to sacrifice herself and Kratos took it away from her. So, while Freya isn't obviously a perfect parent, but she definitely treated Baldur like any adequate parent would, in a sense that she *loved* him and *cared* for him (albeit in a extreme way), unlike Odin, who treats his own family as disposable tools, who are better off dead than useless, which by itself is despicable.
@@ВладиславБулаев-л3э Perfectly said
12? Atreus looked a lot younger then that 8 or 10 but I guess it’s hard to see that through height cause kratos and most other gods are way taller then the few quote unquote mortals that appear near the beginning of the game
I honestly don't feel bad for Freya.
A few things I'd like to add:
8:30 - The invulnerability spell also robbed Baldur of his ability to Smell or Taste anything. With the perpetual sensory deprivation Baldur was stuck living in, it's no wonder that he lost his mind
25:40 - When journeying through Vanaheim to locate the source of Odin's realm-binding curse, Freya says "I know Baldur wasn't perfect, but he was _mine_ ." If you missed it, that was probably because it was immediately before Kratos confided to Freya about the loss of his daughter, Calliope.
31:38 - Funny you should mention that. Earlier in the game, Mimir says that trapping Freya in Midgard was not the only curse Odin inflicted upon her; He also cursed her to be unable to fight, even in self-defense
They added the invulnerability spell to also take away sensation to be a nail in the coffin to his character, but even if it only made him invulnerable no drawbacks. Imagine being one of the strongest gods of a clan of warriors and conquerors, and everyone knows it's "due to mommy's magic spell" nothing more. It also robs Baldur of any real challenge, "dying is what we aesir live for" well you can't die. I think to control Baldur Odin could definitely insinuate that Baldur is a coward for also not killing his mother. It also doubles as symbolising overprotective parents and wanting to experience dangerous life yourself, when he finally broke free from his mother's protection he was unequipped to deal with real life too, having picked the fight with the most dangerous man(to god's). It's like if a rich kid doesn't have his bodyguard with him or something, no it is not going to go well for you, you are getting beaten if you act like you did before, recklessly.
Baldr's sensory deprivation also went against everything Old Norse culture was about: LIving life to the fullest, doing so with joy and finally dying in glorious battle.
Freya did worse than rob Baldr of the joy of living and worse than simply killing him: She robbed him of his very reason to even exist beyond his godly duties. And he couldn't even end his own misery to escape it.
@@FiendMatadorSlayerOfNoobs You're right. The Helheim flashback of Baldur did say that the 3 main things Aesir did for fun (feasting, drinking, and sex) were all but meaningless to him
If so, how she was able to attack Kratos in the beggining of the "second" game?
@@nyblller9785 I believe she broke the curse between the events of the first and second game of the Norse series
When you mentioned how some players were confused of Freya's reaction and how she should have been grateful for her life being saved, it reminded me of a scene from the Incredibles. Mr. Incredible saved a man who tried to unalive himself just for the man to turn around and sue him for it. While Mr. Incredible argued on live television he saved him, the man yelled back "You didn't save my life, you ruined my death". While some players don't get her reaction, I wasn't neither confusing or surprising. People have different reactions when they are saved and it's just part of what makes everyone unique. She was ready to die, she was afraid of losing her son. And Kratos intervention made her face what she dreaded the most. Of course she would get angry at the one who made her face it. Hopefully those who got confused realizes that.
I always figured that the absolute root cause for her response was, as you said, being forced to accept her actions as unchangeable. From where I see it, for as long as Freya's son was alive, the whole situation was at a complete standstill, and Freya could continue thinking that there *might* be a chance that she could rebuild with Bauldr. That was, of course, never true to begin with. Being exiled and banished to a realm where she could not reach him to come to that conclusion on her own was what I believe made both of their reactions so explosive. Bauldr could never truly live his life, and the longer he lived, the more he suffered until he was long past the point of recovery. Freya never truly got to see the complete gravity of the curse she placed upon him until it was already way too late, but she had spent all that time hiding from that fact. So having it all come crashing down upon her in mere moments was far too much for her to handle, and so she swung the complete opposite direction.
@@Kitty_kisses97 The tragedy is that, if given enough time (centuries perhaps) after regaining his sense of feeling, Baldur might've been able to somewhat recover mentally. If Kratos could came back from a similarly deep abyss after causing so much destruction, why couldn't Baldur?
@@concept5631 he also didn't have the benefit of having his own son to be better for. He literally has nothing besides his dad Odin and Thor. He can't even have sex or have kids since no feeling would prevent that. So she literally also took away his ability to have children himself. And still refused to apologize for it.
@@bluesh0es the reason say "unalive" is because some social medias censor posts that include words like suicide or "killing yourself", I have no idea why this has spread to RUclips, where this does not happen
@@bluesh0es Hate is infectious. It feels powerful, it feels right. Freya hates Kratos for taking her son from her, for not allowing her what little bit of atonement letting Baldr kill her would have been. Given her characterization in GoW4, she is absolutely the kind of person to keep a deathgrip on an emotional decision far past the point of reason. Even after all the years of her exile, she hadn't really wrapped her mind around the damage she had done to Baldr by taking away his ability to touch things. She'd had way more than enough time for that to occur to her, but she likely avoided thinking about it. People can be surprisingly good at denying things they don't want to be true to avoid pain. It takes concerted effort to endure pain and change, and often we need to be given a good reason to do so.
25:47 freya does say she loved him saying something along the lines of he had his flaws but he was mine. this adds to the fact that she lost her home her brother everyone dear to her and she loves him because he is the one person who shares blood with her. there is actually a parallel between the way she acts towards baldur and freyr thats because in many real life relationship mothers will treat their sons like husbands if the husband is absent. likewise she treats baldur like a brother because she had lost him . in every single other parent child relationship in gow and gowr theres an authoritative tone when the parent speaks to the child and a submissive one when the child speaks to the parent but baldur and freya dont have that. theres alot more bargaining and "im just gonna do me"
this is reminiscent of a brother sister sibling relationship
Ah, ya beat me to it. Just commented about it 😅
I found your channel randomly and I was impressed by the work you put in. The work you put in, and how you dissect/analyze a character. I hope you achieve your goals, FatBrett.
They really are some of the best videos on the whole site in this category
Freya does mention Baldur in Ragnorok:
When she’s turned into an eagle to prevent herself being ripped from Vanaheim she says:
“Baldur was far from perfect but HE WAS MINE!”
Implying that Baldur was the only thing she felt actual joy and love and wholeness during her later years in Asgard. The only thing she ever felt she owned
That tracks. I always had the feeling that Freya saw him as the only good thing in her life after her marriage to Odin, which leads to why she became so controlling of him. She was terrified of losing the only good thing in her life at that time.... and then she did.
She also mentions that when Baldur was younger he did everything to get Odin's approval but Odin being who he was didn't care about Baldur and used Freya cursing him to send him after Faye by making him think a giant could break the curse.
Yeah, but she doesn't own her child, which she seems to think. She's a shit person on top of being a shit parent.
@@Xehanort10Odin wasn’t wrong that a giant would break his curse however it was the method and item used that mattered
Freya's introduction is kinda funny, how she immediately gives Kratos orders and he goes "...yeah okay". Reminds me of that flashback with Faye, how she tells Kratos to carry a lot and calls him "good boy" afterwards.
Kratos 100% has a mommy fetish
The fact she calls him Grumbles :')
Kratos is simply a simp
@@SunsetEnvyhes a greek they were terrified of the prospect of a goddess of war having any kind of sexual power so much they made her ace.
Makes sense.
Grow up kid or u will be forever alone@@SunsetEnvy
I do love Freya as a character a lot. One thing that sticks out to me is that at any moment in Baldur's life and during their relationship she could have freed him from his anguish and despair. She knew the weakness of the spell and could have told Baldur as he had every right to know.
That's the issue, the core flaw that led her and Baldur down the path of tragedy. Despite knowing what she did was wrong, it still didn't matter. Ultimately, Freya wanted Baldur to be "safe" at any cost.
THey shouldve sticked with "mistletoe kills Baldur". Yet they changed it to: "reverses the spell".
Freya does talk about how he was a nice kid in Ragnarok during the side quest to destroy her marriage items and around the time she talks about Odin dropping his mask of lovingness
Who are you talking about Atreus or Odin?
Something I find a bit sad is that even if Kratos hadn’t stepped in and stopped Baldur from killing his mother, the Norse God was still likely to die there by Kratos anyway. After killing his mother Baldur would have likely turned back to Kratos, just to get killed by the God Killer anyway, making Freya’s death meaningless in the end.
25:40 well, I don't know if this counts, but after the final boss, I found the place where Baldur's dragon fell and Kratos tells her that Baldur tried to kidnap Atreus. Freya says something like "the things he put you through...". I think she says something else before Kratos says "This was Odin's doing"
Other than that, I don't know if she says anything else, but I think that line of dialogue shows that deep down, she knows Baldur was a bad person. Maybe now that Odin's dead and she knows Kratos better, she can see how Baldur wasn't just her baby boy and all that
18:45 Kratos' saddest and best voice acting bar none. The amount of worry and desperation he sinks into to restore his son
I Can't even put into words how much I agree with you, that whole scene especially when he says "I did this to him. Will you help Me?" Still gives me chills to this day
And imo the second best, or perhaps the second best scene is where he tells the spirit of Athena “but I am your monster no longer”. Or when he shares the wine with Atreus: that “ahhh” and the chuckle afterwards was absolutely hilarious and adorable
Man, this man’s videos are so in depth I enjoy them so much. Never stop, dude
I know this video is about Freya but it's interesting that you mention that Baldur doesn't have any empathy. Really ties into the themes that he can't feel anything outside of himself
Someone: "Ow! Baldur, that hurt!"
Baldur: "NOT EVERYTHING'S ABOUT YOU, KAREN!!!"
I’d probably lose my empathy as well if I lost all feeling other than sight and hearing
25:47 I think the biggest thing that you made me realize is that, Freya's love of Baldur is an empty love. She loves the concept of him, the only 'good' thing to come from all of the hatred and pain she's suffered through. She doesn't talk about *him* because it isn't he who she loves, but merely the fact he exists. She developed a sort of stockholm syndrome to Baldur and by extension Odin because Baldur was the only thing distracting her from how miserable she was.
In God of War Ragnarok, after you defeat Gná and take her journal, you can see that Gná has some valid points about Freya, mainly her tendency to play the victim and refuse to own her part on her own misery.
Writing this down
I watched the game through TBSkyens videos and he points out that Fraya is a Goddess of Love and all that that entails. She loves her children, she loves her mortal subjects, she extends her love to those around her like Atreaus and Kratos when they meet. But not just the good sides of love but obsessive love, overprotective love and the fury of having the ones she loves hurt
Seeing Freya get the spotlight in a two part video brings me so much joy, and I'm not just saying that because she's Best Mom.
She's a deep layer character with an interesting story arc; I'm really glad that the writers decided not to kill her off
Believe me - she is The Worst "mother". Worse even than alcoholics mothers that beat their children. She is such a monster that you would be Baldur which irl means suicide or mental institution, or prison and dead id you were to be lucky already if she was your mother. Reasons why are below. She makes Odin a fcking father of the year, as being her victim you'd wish for anyone to murder you.
I always disliked Freya on some deep level not knowing why. Watching this character study made me realize why.
34;20 - this is why he kills her. She is his mother, abused him and says 2 things together that make him do it: 1. I have paid already for what I've done to you. 2. Kill me if it helps you - He is her victim, yet she positions herself as his savior even in this moment knowing what pain she caused him, she still thinks of herself as morally superior, and harms him again saying: kill me. That is why he does it, in that very moment there is nothing but hate and pain on the deepest level in him born from the fact that she yet again choses to torment him psychologically and indeed is unable to respect him and therefore love him truly, she only knows her selfish pathological all-devouring mother style of "love".
Baldur would not do it if she simply said sorry, truly &sincerely apologized, shown shame and pain and any fcking empathy for this abuse and let him go free with at least shadow of respect - that is what he wanted, and she declined him all of that and continued the same behavior and thus abuse she has had already done before. He wanted a moment of his mother choosing his emotions and good over her own.
To prove my point - she knows Kratos is not that kind of guy to just watch and he is literally behind Baldur and in front of her. She knew perfectly well what will follow - that was basicly lincesed murder - She, not Odin is the Master Manipulator, she tricked Kratos, and she tricked us. Fck "mothers" like that, they are molesting "fathers" counter-part from hell itself.
And btw., no I did not go thru such abuse, I have great mother whom I love and respect greatly, but I saw victims of such manipulative monsters as Freya. She even gave me this vibe, I knew something was really wrong with her, but she is so well written with Odin distraction as "master but really medicore over the top manipulator", that I needed a character study to see true Freya.
Well, she's not exactly the best mother.....
Calling Freya best mom is, uh… yeah, Baulder
And she could get it.
@@ericmiller93the most important part
These are essays of the likes of which you would need to pay to even get a glimpse of it, and you are making an entire catalog of which I have learned a lot from and am very inspired by. Thank you so much
Its like kratos said in ragnarok when atreus says “why cant she let it go?we saved her life” kratos responds “i took her son there is no letting that go” kratos has learned a lot from freya mainly empathy and understanding for other peoples reasons and reactions to things its beautiful story writing freya is one of my favourite characters due to her depths and flaws its just amazing
About the part where you said we didnt get any lines where Freya says what she thinks about baldur, we do get a small line in Ragnarök where she says, "I know Bladur wasnt perfect but he was mine." This is said when Kratos is helping Freya break the curse, before he goes on to tell Freya about Calliope. Thought this might help. Great vid btw!
There is another snippet where Freya and Kratos see the remains of Baldur's dragon. Kratos describes what happened when Baldur kidnapped Atreus and what Kratos had to do to get him back.
Freya then remarks something along the lines of "I can't believe the things he (Baldur) did to you..." (Or something along those lines). It's a small detail but I think it speaks to how Freya was becoming more disillusioned about what kind of person Baldur had become.
38:51 I think it’s fascinating that Freya’s response to Atreus saying “he saved your life,” (after Baldur has died) is to say “and robbed me of everything.” It’s somewhat poetic, I think, that only after Baldur has died can she understand the agony she put him through. Her action to make Baldur immortal, to “safe his life,” required robbing him of everything that made her life worth it. In some sense, the agony she feels now ,Ay have been mirrored by Baldur.
While I've generally understood the narrative around these themes, even understood Freya's motivations, I honestly think I wasn't seeing the forest for the trees -as i possibly butcher that expression-
You have an incredible knack for really dissecting these stories, picking them apart and showing off all their nuances and depth. I honestly don't think I've watched any of your god of war videos specifically without coming away with it with an appreciation for something I'd never considered deeply, even if I saw it. I'm very much looking forward to part 2 of this, but this was a very well written dive into 2018's side of Freya's story.
I can already tell this is gonna be GOAT. I have already gobbled up your other GOW videos and your stuff is superb. Thank you for the hard work! Have a great week!
I never got confused by her response to Baldur's death. It made sense even if Kratos was doing the right thing. Losing your son in front of you brings out very potent emotion in you. Its like 10/10 worst feeling ever as a parent. The bond between mother and son(Even if theirs was damaged) is a no brainer to me. That and well despite someone else doing right thing sometimes people react incorrectly but when you're feeling intense emotions you don't think clearly. Its understandable.
I find it interesting that Freya wants Baldur to forgive her, but she doesn’t actually show any remorse for the things she wants him to forgive her for. It’s just another “sacrifice” she’s making for Baldur.
There is a set of travel lines in Ragnarok, where Freya does say that when Baldur was a child, he had adored his father, and that she had been his confidante when he was frustrated about not being able to please Odin.
I think she also says that there were a lot of similarities between Baldur and Atreus when he was Atreus's age.
In my eyes, freya went from "oh shit...look, it's the boi's new stepmom"
To all of a sudden top 3 characters.... super well written...and the fact she's a party member in GOWR...and travels with you???
The voice acting for Kratos is world class man.
Hearing him almost cry for Freya's help with his son.
"Woman do you hear me"
That line cut my heart apart.
"Will you help me"
Making these lines sound so painful but so masculine at the same time is incredible.
He's literally begging a god for help.
One of the best character arcs across a franchise ever.
This is a pure treat, Freya was my favorite character in the latest duo GOW games :)
18:51 God damn Christopher Judge did a great job as Kratos in this scene. This is why I think the voice acting in this game is way better than in Ragnarok.
Something crazy too is the fact that the speech Baldur has to Freya about the time he spent thinking about what he would say is almost equal to the speech Freya had to Odin in GOW Ragnarok, GOW has such insane writing.
That moment when freya cries and replied : He robbed me of everything... while holding Baldur's dead body. Dang the voice actress and the moment pierces my heart every goddamn time...
The voice actress was fantastic. She definitely gave it her all. You can hear her pain.
Freya does mention Baldur in Ragnorok, i remember one boat talk where she mentions that Baldur was much like Atreus when he was younger, mostly talking about how he adored his father. Thus we can probably infer that she sees some of Baldur in him, and that may have made her want to protect him more than she otherwise would have.
something i never really thought about until recently is the fact that right from the beginning when she cast the spell on baldur she knew how it could be broken, not only did she cast it without his consent she lied to his face to convince him it was permanent when she could fix it in an hour, even though he wanted to kill her for it. even after a hundred years of exile knowing her son hates her, no matter how guilty she feels at his suffering and no matter how much she says she was wrong she still refuses to even consider the possibility of breaking the spell. the most disgusting thing about her is when she sees him again she doesn't apologise once, still doesn't reveal the spell can be broken, and just tries to convince him to forgive her coz she still believes she did the right thing and that if she could only persuade him to accept the spell he'll be her son forever. when they have their last confrontation her desperation gets even worse and she tries to salvage the relationship by placating him saying "you have what you want now". right until he dies she so selfishly wants her son that she would rather he spent centuries hating every second of his life than even have the slightest chance of being taken away from her permanently, and after he dies she never acknowledges her mistakes and only lets go of her vengeance because kratos apologised for 'murdering' baldur to stop him from killing her and harming innocent people
I'm felt pity for Baldur. With a father like Odin and the spell...
I don't think people understand how connected we are to our body. Not feeling anything meant he was completely isolated and incapable of sharing the human experience. I don't think it'd have been out of place if they further emphasized or exaggerated how insane her spell made him.
I really really wished that you would do a video essay about Baldur and his motivations, even though we know so little about him. Just that he's a vengeful violent prick, but one thing really caught my attention while watching this video. The reason why Baldur was so angry through the whole game is because of the protection spell Freya cast on him, the reason why he couldn't feel any pleasure. But the moment he realizes he's vulnerable again, he rejoices briefly and then turns against Kratos almost immediately. I mean, why? I understand he couldn't forgive Freya after all those years but why still hunt Kratos after getting what he truly whished for, to be free from the spell? Was it really just to follow Odin's orders? He doesn't look like the most reliable and loyal soldier... Anyway I really wanted to understand why he was still so mad towards Kratos and Atreus, who he just met, even after getting his magical release.
I think his reasoning is said during the battle itself. He wanted to feel real pain, and the rush of a battle where he actually had something to lose. One of the frequently repeated ideas surrounding the Aesir in these games is that "dying is what we live for." Living a fulfilling life and dying a glorious death are the ultimate goals of their people, so Baldur, simply put, wanted to enjoy himself. Fighting only made him happy in the end.
To add on to the first reply, baldur is really sick of Kratos at this point anyway. Kratos has been a pain in his ass the whole story and I think that contributes as well as his wish for a real battle
You did miss that Freya acknowledges Baldur's flaws as a person, it was during God of War Ragnarok in Vanaheim: in the conversation where she is annoyed that everyone tries to comfort her and confronts Kratos as to whether HE knows anything about her pain (losing a child), only for him to reveal that he once had a daughter
Hey, will you do a video on Surtur? Because I think he'd be an interesting character to look into because he kinda represents two things that I find kinda cool: 1. A positive representation of what love between two people can be. And 2. An example of a GoW character who actually acts his age.
For me her actions are completely logical for a mother, but to extreme. A true mother will do anything for their children.
Please never stop making these vidoes
The way Baldur says "Snow" before dying is so unbelievably tragic it's masterful.
This game has some fucking incredible side characters.
Love your videos and your thoughts on the games, pretty concise and well thought out. Keep up the good work dude!
I have a Question:
why couldnt Freya Reanimate Baldur? yes you could say that His Neck got Broken and his spine was Cracked but like Mimir Lost his Entire head. No oxygen, nor Blood. yet that was Revivable? why not Baldur?
I'm addicted to your GoW character analysis essays. It just shows how deep and complex the writing and characters are. Keep up the great content, can wait for part 2!
Idk why but I kinda feel a dynamic like this irl, a overprotective mother doing something unjust just to protect their kid and not realizing until way later, my brother being the victim of the mother and now he resents her
Awesome video!
Freya is probably my favorite character in these games, And in Ragnarok the conversations between her an Kratos were my favorite story sections.
This video does her absolute justice and I can't wait for more.
Actually during Ragnarok when they are on a side quest to break Freya's connections to Asgard and more specifically Odin. She asked Mimir if he knew why she left the day she did? To which he replied he had only a hunch. She explained that Odin asked for the secret of the invulnerability spell that she had cast on Baldur. She had said that "Seeing How It Drove Our Son Into Madness, I Refused Him" indicated to me that yes she had known just how damaging that spell really was for Baldur emotionally. This indicates that she also knew how the hatred was already beginning to consume him at that point.
Freya's writing and tragedy was the main reason i thought GoW4 was such an absolute masterpiece of a story. I could not describe how worried i was in Rangarok that she would never grow past her hatred for Kratos or worse yet that they would just have her killed off instead of offering her character even more growth. It's crazy to me how (imo) between two games her character gets nearly as much growth and development as Kratos does throughout the entire series.
My mother needs to watch a let's play of God of War. She has exactly the same mentality as Freya, albeit to a lesser extent. And that has caused me some issues in life, just like Baldur. Albeit to a lesser extent.
Good job. You have made the 2 games even much more a masterpiece than they are already
At its very core GOW even the originals are about generational trauma and Generational torture, and I love how it doesn’t dissolve into some weird hate on either gender as both suck in this game
On the matriarchal side we have Freya whose helicopter parentage leads to the death of her child while Faye is such a good mother and wife she still aids them after death
And on the patriarchal side we have Odin a bastard who uses his kids as pawns and soldiers, vs kratos who would rather his kid just learn self defense nothing more
Having completed both 2018 and Ragnarok, my opinion is that Freya is a garbage person. She didn't protect her son from dying, she removed his ability to enjoy living at all. A fate worse than death. And as a god he endured this for 100's of years - unable to love or be loved by anyone and anything. He is justified. In fact, one of my only complaints in this otherwise excellent game, is that it glossed over the monstrousness of what she did because it was inserted into Kratos' story as an obstacle. But she's not sorry she did it - just that he is mad about it. She could have removed the curse at any time, but CHOSE not to. Freya is unbelievably selfish and cruel. Curiously, the game shows awareness of its main character's flaws in the utterings of its villains. Freya was an abusive mother and Baldur was NOT crazy. Hel showed how tortured he was at wanting to kill his own mother and being unable to do so because she IS his mother. For me, she was pretty despicable.
God of War Anime AU: Tyr Started a boarding school for Gods, Demigods, and Champions. They do anime stuff.
She got so mad at the miscletoe Arrow because Kratos + atreus with the Arrow is literally the recipe for her Sons death. The perfect recipe.
freya's line "i HAVE paid" as well as the delivery from the VA also highlights part of her flaw, invalidation of her son. Both in her denying him the right to face life and its dangers in the past when she placed a spell on him and now where she says she has paid which, while to us she has, she only serves to tell baldur that his perspective on her life and her decisions is less than her own. Right or wrong baldur is once again denied the choice of even making that statement on the situation. To baldur's rage filled mind she is once again denying him any freedoms and acting selfishly
Off screen "NOOO" will always crack me up
She's my favourite, her entire plot line is a continued tragedy, in the next game she doesn't even get to have her brother, how much loss can one person endure?
One mistake I noticed in this video. The scene where Freya uses the giant to pick up Kratos. This isn’t because of her moral high ground. She’s literally a warrior goddess. It’s because part of Odins curse on her removed what is dubbed “her warrior spirit”. It means she is cursed to never be able to harm another living being, physically or through magic. Thus she i ,literally incapable of doing more than just separate them as her curse prevents her from attacking. I don’t doubt that the literal warrior queen of an entire pantheon war would attack to protect her son.
(This is revealed in a Mimir boat story) Freya breaks the curse in between games, and gets her warrior spirit back. This is why she shows Odin her wings when she fights him. Her Valkyrie wings were part of her warrior spirit that he took from her. She’s showing him “look, I have taken back what you stole from me, you have no power over me anymore.”
41:20 Essay getting, 'top heavy' you say...I'm here for it buddy
I just realized that at 20:47 Freya said to Kratos "No need to explain. Not to me. Not for that" is the SAME thing Kratos said to Freya in Ragnarok!!! Did anyone else notice??
1st. Also imagine having one view and already six likes. Nice.
11:15 That's not accurate. Mimir remembers a bunch about Baulder. Such as the fact that he's blessed with invulnerability to all attacks, physical or magical.
Damn that immigrant generational trauma sure hits deep. But just trauma in general. He was *her's* and just like her country, people, family, her very way of life, and she still could not keep him. What a senseless death. Perhaps, this too is Hell.
Christopher Judges performance just gets me everytime.
When she says "He robbed me of everything" I interpreted it as her seeing baldur as the only good thing that came from her marriage to Odin, from her having to leave her home, from being trapped in Midgard. He was everything to her.
When Kratos stepped in and killed Baldor and robbed Freya from her choice to die not only was is what Freya did to Baldor, but also what the Greek Gods did to Kratos. They stole his release from his pain and suffering when he threw himself off the mountain at the end of the first game and they wouldn't permit him to die (at least like that). Which is just another thing that sent Freya over the edge. Kratos stole her release. I just love the writing of the God of War franchise. The circular narrative. Gods killing their parents. What Kratos did to Freya here was actually what the Greek Gods did to him. All the while trying to break the cycle. You'll always be a monster. The cycle ends here ...the changing of ones nature. To be better. Write your own destiny. I love it.
Thanks for the awesome video. Can't wait to continue with part 2
It’s not often I’m impressed how how articulate, and eloquent a youtuber is able to analyze complicated characters, but this man should be an inspiration to the rest of em.
From your music choices, tempo of the video, tone of voice, and your interesting perspectives, the video is damn near educational for ppl trying to emulate an entertaining video essay.
I’ve seen a few vids now, and you’ve been consistently reliable in terms of quality.
Hope you get a million more subs, keep up the great work.
Yes, you did miss one. I was going through clips of it and at one point, if you bring Freya to the backside of Tyr's temple, you find Baldur's dragon's corpse and she will talk about how she is sorry with what her son did to Kratos and Atreus. I also think the Njors' taunts against her really hammer home these points but I'm guessing you already are thinking of those for part two
In Ragnarok, she does acknowledge that Baldur was flawed but she loved him all the same. And there was some dialog saying that when younger Baldur always seemed the approval of his father Odin
You just made me understand Freya even more as a character. Keep up the great summery videos man! I'm excited see part 2 of this someday
Personally I don’t think Baldur was always a mindless apathetic killer, its clear a century of lack of stimulation has made him disassociate from reality and his own actions its clear that the only thing keeping him from being a literal zombie is the fact he can talk to people.
Odin promising him a cure is the only thing that’s been driving him to do anything, at this point its literally his sole motivation through life. And of course fighting people getting some form of engagement clearly entertains him a little.
Thinking about Baldur he was actually the NICEST of the Aesir gods, he came to Kratos hoping for a fight but negotiating first, if he received the information he thought Kratos had he would’ve left.
As for his hatred of Freya from personal experience when you hate someone especially someone whose wronged you in a deep emotional way it becomes hard to empathize and think clearly, Baldur who already sounds half asleep through moat of the game is seeking even the littlest bit of stimulation from anything would’ve killed Freya for personal closure but honestly I think it would’ve left him emptier than before. And to find out Odin may have had no plans to cure him as an asset who knows what would’ve happened.
I think the original God of War 4 fails to make Baldur sympathetic outside of one scene but thats about it, he’s so evil in every part of the game its hard to even pay attention to it. Him crying, calling himself a coward is something thats missable. But the sad part is like Thor he’s just like Kratos, both wronged by their parents and despite being almost killed by him multiple times Kratos asks him to consider peace and he declines.
her voice actor did such an amazing job, both in 2018 and in ragnarock
that line 'You are just an animal!' god, that shit hurts
I think it's a compelling tie that every character in this series has something to do with "Control"
Atreus wants to be seen as an equal in 2018 and in Ragnarok wants to be in control of his own destiny
Kratos has lived almost his whole life trying to take control of it back from Gods who have used him and here he is still trying to control his son
Brok lost control in his accident and has no control over Sindri bringing him back
Sindri out of pure compassion and need, takes control of Brok's destiny and retakes ¾ths of his soul from the lake of souls
Sindri and Freya are the same character. Fully compassionate yet deeply rooted control freaks who want to keep their loved ones safe no matter the cost. Difference being, at the end, Freya's arc is finally complete, whereas Sindri's is just getting started.
Freya is also the 1 person, I'd say, that had kratos try to fix a mess up...
We all know how he destroys things, and just leaves..kills ppl, and just goes about his business...
This is the first time, I'd say, he actually had to go and fix a problem he made..
Freya was my favorite supporting character of the series. Every move, every word she says and hesitation is purposeful and realistic and says so much about her and her feelings.
19:00 easily one of my top 5 favorite Freya moments. I love her depth, loving nature, sense of respect, the fact that even when she's completely enraged the better parts of her can still reach the surface--but above all: the sass.
40:22 Kratos knew Freya would hate him for it but also knew that even if Baldur killed her he'd keep going after him and Atreus unless he killed him because he couldn't be reasoned with. And Freya knew deep down and acknowledges in Ragnarok that Baldur's death was ultimately her fault but in her grief she took it out on Kratos just like Sindri took Brok being murdered by Odin out on everybody.
What if baldur was going to hug and thank atreus and freya overreacted.
See I don’t think she did love Baldur. I was raised by a narcissistic parent, and her actions were the opposite of love. She didn’t respect her son. If she did, she’d never done that spell. 😅it’s realistic…for a narcissist.
I think she loved her son but she ABSOLUTELY had no respect for him. I wouldn't call her a narcissist because those w/NPD almost always have a rage about them, and demand to be adored because they are insecure. Freya has an ego but she doesn't demand worship, and she never displays anger towards Baldur, just sadness. She was a well-meaning but incredibly selfish and controlling parent.
Am I the only one who thinks Kratos definitely should have minded his own business. A century long conflict between family and a guy she met a week ago gets involved, despite both of them asking him not to, and then he breaks Baldur’s neck, even though Freya totally consented to him killing her
Kratos prevented Baldur from becoming just like how Kratos was.
Looking forward to part 2. The sheer urgency in Kratos voice when he's begging for Freyas help just sells Judge's performance. Even if you're not a Dad you feel like one in this scene.
I know it had to play out the way it did, but imagine if Freya had some therapy in that 100 years of exile.
Freya: "Baldur, my son, before you fight with Kratos, we must remove the... the curse of invulnerability I put on you. I am- I am deeply sorry for what I have done, and I must give you back the freedom I stole from you."
Baldur, out of his gourd: "Are you serious? You think that is going to fix everything? You think that is going to make me forgive you?"
Freya: "No, it will be a long time before I have earned your forgiveness, if ever. I do not expect it, and I only hold hope in my heart that someday it may be possible. But it will never come with this spell on you, I will never have that chance without making this right, as soon as I can."
Baldur fighting Kratos having an awesome time: "You know, I... god this really hurts. I'll come back when I've eaten and I have something in my stomach other than acid."
Kratos: "hmm."
Baldur, yelling from a distance: "goddamnit, I didn't realize just how far things are without a dragon. Mother, can you conjure me up a boat or something? Take all week to get back to Asgard at this rate."
She can revive many characters
Why can't she revive her son?
Atreus asks that to Mimir in 2018. Mimir says that even though Freya revived him, he's still very much dead. Freya wouldn't want Baldur to "live" as a glorified zombie.
It's the same for me with my Dad. He 100% loves me. But he's like a bull in a china shop shouting "I'M HELPING!! I'M HELPING!!"
I just realized something. Spoilers for GOW Ragnarok.
Odin gets Baldur to pursue Faye (and as a result, Kratos and Atreus) by telling him that if he can get into Jotunheim, maybe giant magic can break his curse. Odin really just wants to be able to get there and wipe out the giants, then learn all their prophetic and magical powers.
When Odin orders Freya to tell him the secret to Baldur’s invulnerability, he wants to survive Ragnarok. And he punishes Freya for not telling him.
But how does Odin end up dying? Not from a physical wound to his body (really). He dies when Atreus takes his soul and puts it in a marble, and Sindei shatters it. A use of giant magic.
So the giants did actually have the tools to kill Baldur.
Even in GOW 4, Baldur only becomes invulnerable because he tries to kill Loki. As was foretold in the prophecy that Faye received.
Ragnarök made GOW my favourite franchise of all time by far, especially the norse sage and i have to say your character essays elevate this even more. For me the analysis of Odin and Sindri were the most impressive, but this was of freya is also 10/10
No, Freya _thought_ everything she did was for her son, when in fact it was actually all completely selfish. Even letting him kill her was selfish. It wouldonly had made Baldur worse, if he had done it and went on to live, he would have only spiralled into completely depravity. Being a sociopath, Baldur, now with the ability to feel, would have done _unimaginably evil things_ if he went on to live.
But maybe he wouldn't. Maybe feeling also would have given him empathy. But not if he killed his own mother. If he managed to kill her, he would only become worse and worse, trying to justify his murder of his mother. But if she fled, and Kratos didn't need to kill Baldur, maybe he would have gotten better.
Point being, Freya letting Baldur kill her was not a selfless act at all, it would have went against Baldur's best interest in the long run, for sure.
Im 100% sure if Kratos was Freyas position hed have no qualms killing his son. Also if he let Freya die, he would just kill Baldur still. It was a lose lose but ultimately the right decision.
On the one hard I feel sorry for Freya, all what Odin did to her, all she gave up because of him, the flaw in her that she wants to shield her son from any harm, an example of toxic motherhood (which doesn't mean a toxic person who happens to be a mother). That overprotective nature being her need to defend one of the few things that truly matters to her, to the point of damaging it or them.
I'm glad for her later character progression though, that she could finally accept the mistakes she made, hence why she later sided with Kratos
I genuinely think that Balder was turning to thank atreus and Kratos for freeing him from her spell. If she hadn't interfered they may have parted ways and he would've lived. She learned the same lesson that Odin did about trying to change fate
Also, some people don't realize why Baldur was like "no no no no no no no" after being smacked by Kratos. It's because he thought Kratos could cause him pain, but he was wrong. He still wanted the fight, because he at least feels joy in fighting.
I just want to point out that you say she’s trying to end the violence. However it was her tying down Kratos and letting Baldr punch the absolute dogshit out of Atreus that leads to him losing his invulnerability.
Edit: auto corrected Kratos to Kristi’s.
after playing GOW 4 times and listening to thos video that same amount. It's just occured to me that when kratos' says "he made his choice", it may well in fact be the ONLY choice baldur ever made for himself in his life. Even after death, Freya is incapable of respecting her son's choices and letting him make mistakes, even if it's his final one
Freya's way of 'handling' Baldur brings back bad memories from my own past. My mother was overprotective yet looked away as my father bullied me. So yeah, I don't have a lot of sympathy.