Please note that this article will have some SPOILERS for God of War Ragnarok, so proceed at your own risk.
One of the most popular characters coming out of God of War Ragnarok has been Thor, portrayed by Ryan Hurst of Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead fame. While it initially seems as though Thor is going to be a typical God of War series super-powered villain, it quickly becomes apparent that there is more to Thor’s character than meets the eye. Later in the game, when Atreus spends time in Asgard, players get to learn more about Thor’s family dynamics and his personal struggles, which adds more layers to his character.
RELATED: God of War Ragnarok Fan Points Out A Strange Detail About Thor
When players first encounter Thor in God of War Ragnarok, it’s when he shows up at Kratos and Atreus’ house. Thor pours two cups of mead, but instead of drinking, he only smells his cup. At the time, most players likely assumed that there was some kind of nefarious reason as to why Thor wasn’t partaking in the mead, but upon a second playthrough, many are realizing that it’s because of Thor’s struggles with alcoholism and his attempts to do better by his family.
Thor chose not to drink at the beginning of the game because of his alcoholism and the pain it was causing his family, but he unfortunately relapses. This was pointed out by Reddit user EllisCristoph. Much later in the game, it’s established that Thor has stopped drinking for the sake of his wife Sif and daughter Thrud. Stress from dealing with Odin and the impending apocalypse push Thor back to drinking, resulting in an over-the-top drunken brawl, but leaving Thrud disappointed in her father’s actions.
God of War Ragnarok is full of subtle details like this that fans may not notice in their initial playthrough. It also has some secrets that would be outright impossible to know in advance without being outright told by the developers. For example, God of War Ragnarok director Eric Williams has revealed that a minor dwarf character early in the game was really Odin in disguise. No one would make that assumption in their initial playthrough, as it’s not revealed until much later on than Odin has shapeshifting abilities like that.
As players go back through God of War Ragnarok’s epic story, they may pick up on more details that went over their heads the first time through thanks to having knowledge of the true nature of the game’s characters and where they end up. It will definitely be interesting to see what else the community unearths moving forward.
God of War Ragnarok is out now for PS4 and PS5.
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