Scandinavian myths for adults: a review of the animated series “Twilight of the Gods”
An excursion into the Viking world from Zack Snyder: with excessive violence, sex and an angry Thor.
The warlike Sigrid, human and half-giant, meets King Leif. Love is born between them, and soon the couple travels to Jotunheim to celebrate their wedding. A happy union for humans and Jotun giants is formed. But the ceremony is interrupted by the angry god Thor and his brother Baldr - they demand that the villagers surrender the trickster god Loki, convinced that the trickster is hiding in the village. The giants do not fear the gods and incur the wrath of Thor, who kills everyone he manages to reach. Leif and Sigrid survive and soon mount a campaign to seek revenge and destroy Thor. Loki himself shows up and offers Sigrid help with finding a posse and acquiring weapons.
Greek or Scandinavian mythology cannot be called a set of children's fairy tales. There reigns chaos, passions flare up, and the gods look like usurpers or lustful lovers. A couple of years ago, Netflix already went through the Olympic pantheon in “The Blood of Zeus” - the animated series stood out brutality and audacity, myths about the overthrow of the titans gave a new reading. Zack Snyder 's animated project “Twilight of the Gods” turned to the legends of the ancient Scandinavians - even more cold and bleak. Vikings and gods live in anticipation of Ragnarök - apocalypse, which will sweep away not only people, but also monsters along with immortal rulers. What can a harsh Norman hope for? Unless on a battle feat and getting to Valhalla.
Snyder's team didn't illustrate the myths verbatim - they went the way of the brave and created their own story, tightly strung on the blade of Scandinavian legends. It's a tale of rebellion against the gods: Thor, presented as an insatiable butcher, no longer inspires sacred awe, and vulnerable humans set out to exact revenge on the god of Asgard. Sigrid travels through the underworld of Helheim, a dead river with drowned women, and visits lavish halls to reach the thunderer. Loki also plays his own game: the trickster and trickster, who is dangerous to trust, turns out to be the most unexpected character, a father trying to save his children from a hard fate - the day of the death of all the gods.
In places, the series really does not allow you to sympathize with the characters.
Characters, including Leif and Sigrid, are impassive sculptures, not living people. But the coldness of the authors is deliberate: the Vikings live in a pre-Christian world that still lacks empathy and emotional depth. But the one God prophesied by Odin will soon arrive in the land of the icy mists, and the Vikings will find refuge in Christianity. Snyder is literal and doesn't shy away from biblical iconography - no project of his is without the New Testament.
The zest of the series is that it is made virtually uncut: fierce warriors feud with other clans, the mad Thor slaughters entire families of mortals, and women do not hesitate to joke about intimate life - right during the feast, when the river pours honey. A viewer who is far removed from Scandinavian myths will be immersed in a barbaric universe where death is reveled in, Valkyries fly and orgies are indescribable. Snyder-director had a hand in only two episodes, but his handwriting is felt in each: in the frame with a whistle flying heads and spilling streams of blood, somewhere wriggling dragon Fafnir - a character of ancient legends, on which the heroes pounce with all stabbing and cutting. Battles now and then remind of “300 Spartans” and “Forbidden Reception”, and frank and even obscene sex scenes complete the picture of pagan ecstasy. The furious feast was created by Xilam Animation, a French studio whose graphic style will more than once evoke associations with “Samurai Jack”.
Eight episodes of insane chopping and unprecedented debauchery - turned out to be an animation for those who are ready to see the most shameless and dark side of myths. “Twilight of the Gods” tells a banal tale of revenge, at times shifting the focus from the plot to fireworks of graphic violence, but the change of perspective rather takes away the exoticism of the animated series - wild and made almost without brakes. A good opportunity to see something that kids should only know about in a brief retelling.
This artcle was sponsored by Daniel Bierman
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