Netflix’s latest deep dive into Norse mythology with Zack Snyder and Jay Oliva’s Twilight of the Gods chronicles a bloody tale of vengeance as the last of her giant clan, Sigrid the Bloodbride, begins her quest for vengeance against the god of thunder, Thor, and by the end of the first season, her personal quest has drawn half of the nine realms into a vicious conflict with the Asgardians. Sigrid’s motivation changes from personal to encompassing everyone’s plight as she pledges to dismantle the entire corrupt, oppressive hierarchy of the Asgardian gods itself—honoring the sacrifices of the people who have been wronged by the gods through the eons. As the first season ends, a number of shocking twists indicate that a second season will take the series in an altogether new direction, which is what we would like to briefly discuss.
Spoilers Ahead
What Does the Future Hold for Sigrid and Thor?
The end of the first season of Twilight of the Gods was kind of anti-climactic, to say the least. Sigrid’s final attack, which would have killed Thor, ended up killing Baldr instead, as the god of wisdom and forgiveness decided to take the blow upon himself. Baldr appreciated the human mutability, and instead of being revered as unchanging god forever, living as a mortal was something he desired, for beauty and grace are worth much more when they are not everlasting. Baldr’s death wrecked Thor emotionally, and before he could lay Sigrid and her forces to waste in blind rage, Freya decided to stop him and took a broken Thor to Valhalla.
Loki, the forever deceitful, killed Sigrid to let her continue the mad pursuit of vengeance she has embarked upon, and Sigrid gets taken to Valhalla. At the great halls of the heavenly abode, she meets Thor, who points out a strange similarity both of them share. Both of them have been guided by the whims of others; in Thor’s case, Loki and Odin have often directed the course of his life; even his late brother Baldr kept things from him for the greater good, and in Sigrid’s case, she has been toyed with by Loki since the moment she began her quest for revenge. Thor muses about the Song of Sigrid, the saga of the half-giant warrior, which will come to pass in the future, though it remains to be seen what kind of future that will be. Will Sigrid raze Valhalla to end her nemesis, Thor Odinson—or is there a possibility of the duo making peace with each other, realizing the problem lies with the dysfunctional status quo created by Odin? We are guessing both options are possible, as the fire of war Sigrid has ignited by pitting the realms of giants, dwarves, and Vanirs against Aesirs will not be put out that easily.
Where Did Odin Go?
In the finale of Twilight of the Gods, Áile offered Odin a sight to the future, which revealed the worst future a tyrannical despot of a god like Odin could have dreamt of. The Allfather sees in the future that the majority of humanity will replace him for a new faith, of Jesus, as it is directly shown, and the fear of losing the influence upon people is worse than fear of death. Odin was obsessed with averting Ragnarok, which is why he went to such a distance by waging war with the Vanirs to learn about his own future, and now that he has seen a glimpse of it, Odin has seemingly abandoned his dependency on wisdom any longer. After killing Áile, Odin goes off on his own as he leaves Asgard, and his destination hasn’t been specified. But taking a fair guess, we can assume that the Allfather will try everything at his disposal to change the future, to keep his influence intact upon the future generations of humankind—and he is willing to go to whatever lengths necessary in order to do that. The second season will see Odin as the prime antagonist, possibly pitting his own Asgardian family against him in the process—as the fate of nine realms hangs in balance.
What Will Happen to Loki’s Masterplan?
The war was instigated by none other than the trickster god Loki, who fanned the flames of Sigrid’s vengeance for his own selfish reasons—as he wanted to end Thor without the prophecy of Ragnarok ever coming to pass so that he doesn’t have to lose his children—Jormungandr and Fenrir, who are destined to die in the final battle along with Thor and a number of other major Asgardian gods, as the world is made anew. But his effort to accomplish the alternate future is still unreachable; his direct defiance of the Asgardian order has been revealed as he took arms to directly battle Thor alongside Sigrid, and till the end of the war, Sigrid hasn’t been able to kill Thor, which can avert the prophecy of Ragnarok. Loki has sent Sigrid to Valhalla to find Thor there and kill him, but it remains to be seen whether the future eventually shapes up the way Loki wants it to. Often, an effort to avert the inevitable problem ends up aggravating it, and we suspect that is what is going to happen in the second season, when Loki’s attempt to save his children by any means necessary ends up backfiring. Despite detesting Odin, Thor, and the Asgardian status quo, Loki himself is as despicable as the rest of the bunch—as is seen time and again through the course of the first season. It will be an intriguing change that, at the end, the trickster god ends up facing his comeuppance by seeing his fears of losing his children come to pass.
What Happens to Sigrid’s Forces?
After the loss of their leader and a number of her valiant comrades, Sigrid’s forces will continue to gather strength in the second season to topple the throne of Asgard once and for all. Leif, who had pledged to stand by his beloved Sigrid, will probably assume leadership, and perhaps along with Thyra, the surviving group will chart their way into unknown territories of the nine realms. We are expecting the second season will showcase a journey to Muspelheim and Alfheim as Leif tries to seek assistance from Light Elves and Fire giants. And given the commencement of Ragnarok is a possibility, fire giant Surtr, who plays a key role in destroying Asgard, might feature in the second season as well.
