Zack Snyder’s Twilight of the Gods on Netflix includes eight animated episodes of blood, carnage, and sex as it tells the story of Sigrid and Lief, lovers from different worlds. Sigrid, half-human and half-giant, and Lief, a mortal king, are to be married, but their union and its presumed lack of offspring brings about the ire of Thor. After a tragic event leaves Sigrid’s entire family dead, the female warrior vows revenge. Thor’s brother, Loki, is more than happy to help Sigrid for his ends. A battle unfolds, one that two groups of Norse gods, the Vanir and the Aesir, as well as humans.
Twilight of the Gods is what Netflix calls a “daring and spectacular interpretation of ancient Norse mythology to life.” As an adult-oriented animated series, Twilight of the Gods has an adventurous spirit as it explores love, grief, revenge, and mortality. Like most shows about Vikings and the Viking Age, Snyder’s version of Norse mythology sticks to the texts to some extent, but it brings a unique perspective as it reshapes the historical telling to meet new audiences.
Thor’s Wedding Crashing Wasn’t as Violent as Twilight Of The Gods Made It Look
Thor did attend a wedding in one of the Norse sagas, but the events were very different from what Twilight of the Gods showed in Thor’s behavior at Sigrid and Leif’s wedding. In the poem theThrymskvida, the theft of Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir, by Thyrm sends Thor, Loki, and others to the land of giants to pretend to offer Freyja’s hand in marriage in exchange for its return. Freyja was never going to marry Thyrm. Instead, the gods hatched a plan:
“Let us put on Thor | the bridal veil…
And let a dress hang down to his knees;
With broad gems on his chest,
And a pretty cap to top his head.”
Thor was less than excited by the prospect, protesting that “the gods would call me unmanly if I were to wear a burial veil.” Loki spoke up at that point,
“‘Be silent, Thor, and speak not thus;
Otherwise, the giants will dwell in Asgarth
If your hammer is not returned to you.’
So they dressed Thor in a bridal veil…”
Loki, posing as Thor’s maid-servant, helped Thor pull off the ruse. Thrym took out Thor’s hammer and, when Thor saw it, he killed Thrym and took it back.
Loki and Thor Didn’t Always Fight in Norse Mythology
Despite How It Looks in Twilight of the Gods
Throughout Twilight of the Gods, the relationship between Loki and Thor is characterized as one of animosity and violence. In Norse mythology, their complex connection goes back and forth between companions and outright enemies. There are instances throughout the Norse sagas where Loki and Thor are at odds. This is most notably true after the death of Thor’s half-brother, Baldr, which resulted from an act of deception by Loki.
Unlike their depiction as half-brothers in the MCU, Twilight of the Gods rightly positions Loki and Thor as competing gods who were brothers, but this isn’t exactly accurate either. Loki and Odin were blood brothers, a relationship they established during a blood-sharing ritual, which essentially made Loki and Thor more like uncle and nephew.
Because Loki and Thor are bonded, the pair are presented in Norse mythology as traveling and fighting together at times. In the Gylfaginning, for example, they ride together in Thor’s chariot on their way to meet Utgard-Loki, with Loki along as a bit of a helper. Always a trickster, Loki didn’t restrain himself from toying with Thor and those close to him.Loki once cut off the hair of Thor’s wife, Sif, “for mischief’s sake.” Sif’s hair was made of gold and, when Thor found out about what Loki had done, he “would have broken every bone in him” had Loki not gotten a golden headpiece for Sif to wear instead.
The Appearance of Jesus on the Cross Is Unexpected
At the end of Twilight of the Gods, Odin and Seid-Kona, Aile, meet. As the battle rages, Odin tells Aile that he brought about the first war between the Aesir and the Vanir to try to see his fate. Odin’s obsession with his end led him to marry Freya, but this did not pay off because she had no gifts to give him. He implores Aile to show him his fate instead.
When Odin glimpses the future, something that will forever prohibit him from looking back at his memories, he is shown images of Thor’s death, among other events to come. Odin’s fall from Asgard and the overall dismissal of the Norse gods are foretold, but the image of Odin meeting Jesus Christ on the Cross is perhaps the most shocking look ahead.
Presumably, this implies the coming of Christianity which, at the time the Norse sagas were written down, had made Scandinavia and Iceland. Many of the individuals who penned the sagas are not known, but Snorri Sturluson is generally believed to have been a prolific storyteller during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. Snorri would have been aware of Christianity, but there’s no reference to it in any relevant works.
