We Must Be Better - The Beautiful Masculinity of Kratos in God of War

What other great video game characters (not named Arthur Morgan, he's already on the list) would you like to see me cover?

I need to watch this with my dad. He broke the cycle. Even with all his failings, with his struggle for right humility and true self-worth, he fought to be better. I’m proud of him. I’m proud of my father.

One of the most impactful parts of this game’s writing to me is how the whole game, Kratos is telling Atreus that he must be better, but at the end that line changes to “We must be better”.

I loved that scene. "You only killed the ones who deserved it, right?" The pause, the silence, hands clasped and the head nod before the delayed "yes" you can tell he doesn't truly believe that but he doesn't want his son to know how messed up he was

When Kratos is speaking with Atreus, it's worth remembering that the Spartans were renown for their direct, blunt humour. At the famous Battle of Thermopylae, there was the classic reply of "Come take them" to the Persians' demand of "Lay down your weapons and surrender," 'In the direction of deer' isn't a "go figure it out" response, but the most direct logical statement in response to the question - "find some trace of deer and we go that way".

I sometimes see people say that the new games "ruined Kratos" and honestly that is the most braindead take I've ever seen, they did something truly remarkable with his character, the development Kratos underwent should be celebrated

This series has repaired my relationship with my father. My mother died right before this game came out. My dad hunts lions with his pack of dogs and very quiet like kratos. And after she died i turned 18 a month later and moved out. We didn’t speak for a long time. I needed comfort and he couldn’t. I didn’t realize he was just as hurt as I was. I hated him because I thought he just moved on. One of my friends who liked my dad told me to play this last year (he was nervous because of almost how accurate it was to us but Im so grateful he did) when the new one came out. I now moved back in at 24 while I’m trying to buy a house. This game has allowed me to understand him and now our relationship is best friends. I will forever love this series for that. I might of lost my mother but because of this game I still have my father in my life.

"Its hard to be gentle on someone for a flaw for which you've been so hard on yourself." That hits hard. And its hard to forgive yourself for that which you cant forgive in others.

Kratos’ “in the direction of deer” line reminds me of my father telling me “you have google” whenever I’d ask questions.

Ah, brethren, we’ve gathered for a tale. A tale of revenge, failure, strength, and honor. A tale of man and boy, and their roles in the world, ever changing. Let’s be better as we age.

Actually, in the companion book for the game and the comic tie-in, it is explained that, while Kratos was there, he spent most of his time training himself to control his anger. The problem at the beginning of the training between them its because his own training was like this in the Spartan army. Kratos knows no other way, so he's trying a way to teach his son he has no knowledge on

" The sign of true nobility is not being better than others, but being better than your past self." ~ Harey Hart; kings men

A subtle moment of Kratos' growth in fatherhood that you skip over was when Atreus and Kratos hunt Freya's boar. This time Kratos actually provide a more helpful instructions that being a boar's hide is thicker that a deer so Atreus need to use a different method which Kratos actually provide. When Atreus failed Kratos doesn't scold or blame him for failing but instead acknowledged that the boar is not a normal boar and actually encouraged him to go after this challenge. I like this scene because it established that Kratos has what it takes to be a good father and id already trying to be one for Atreus even before Alfheim. He doesn't scold Atreus for failing since he did nothing wrong and encouraged him to actually seek out a challenge.

Part of Kratos's difficulty comes from the fact that he didn't have a father growing up, Zeus being the poster child for "Pump em and dump em". The only male role models he would have had to look to were his instructors in the Agoge. In fact, this may have been why he became so fanatically devoted to the Spartan cause and would do and sacrifice virtually anything for it.

In the Norse myths it's not that Frey did not know that mistletoe could still hurt Balder, but that mistletoe was so young and small that she could not bear to force such a vow upon the plant, and seeing how small it was she believed the plant could do no harm anyways. She knew, but she underestimated that fact. On the other hand, Loke did not want to kill Balder. Loke had always been looked down upon by the other gods, and had strove to gain their recognition, to no avail, as thing often got worse. Seeing Balder, the youngest of the gods, being loved so wholly and unconditionally by all the other, what he himself wanted, Loke was overcome with jealousy. One day, all the other gods were having a laugh, smashing Balder's head with rocks and boulders, stabbing and slashing him with spears and swords, etc. as he could not be harmed by it, and they knew it. Loke, however, was a trickster, and so jealous of Balder, that he decided to play a trick on him. Since Loke knew mistletoe could still harm Balder, he fashioned a few arrows (not a spear), their tips made of mistletoe, and gave them to another god (his name escapes me at the moment) who was blind. He only intended for the arrow to hit Balder in the arm or leg, or such, to shock him, and remind him that he was not completely invulnerable, but as a stroke of bad luck, and guided by fate (and the prophecy that was part of the reason Frey had enchanted Balder) the blind god, somehow, struck true with the bow, hitting Balder straight in the heart, killing him instantly. Dumbfounded by what had just happened, Loke stood still for too long after the incident, long enough for some of the other gods to realize his part in what had happened. If he had truly meant for it to happen he could've transformed into one of the other gods (as that was part of his powers) or snuck off while everyone was in shock, but instead, paralyzed by what he had done, he waited too long. When he finally got moving it was too late, and, unable to shake off the other gods' tail, he was caught, and damned to suffer until Ragnarok. I know all this because I am Norwegian and was taught it over and over as a child, and I have, and have read, the complete collection of the Norse sagas and legends.

I was never those people who thought kratos was a blank slate until Gow4. The moments where he was with his daughter and the mini game where he had to push her away why she was hugging him honestly showed me he already had this kind hearted side to him. It’s just the way the gods tricked him and manipulated him got him to the point to where he was in Gow3. And honestly it’s just sad. Kratos and Arthur from rdr2 are two characters I drive to be more like as I’m getting older. I wanna look back in my life and know that I’ve changed. It’s a process though

This came out before the Valhalla DLC but it's incredible how your analysis predicts almost word for word the journey he goes through in the dlc

This game had me literally yelling out loud at the screen, hoping, coaching Kratos to parent. For once the biggest fear I felt was for the two characters' relationship instead of their lives (its Kratos, he's fine) All we have seen Kratos do before is follow the easy path, following his impulses and rage, so when he finally started taking the harder path, of self sacrifice and denial I was absolutely floored. Love your stuff brother, keep it up!

Having power ain't true strength. True strength is having power and not abuse it.

On a lesser note, this game also shows a good example of a "nice guy" vs "good guy". Nice guys think being nice is transactional. Odin is a good example of a nice guy, he's nice only to the point where he can't get something out of it. Kratos is a good guy, he may come off as growling, but he keeps his integrity and doesn't try to take advantage of other people for selfish reasons.