God of War | Fate or Free Will?

How the view of fate versus free will presented within God of War is a philosophically incomplete

Spoilers ahead

God of War — both Ragnarök and God of War 2018 — are my favorite video games of all time. The masterful story-telling coupled with awe-inspiring spectacles bring alive a timeless story that anyone can enjoy, whether they are a back-seat gamer or an avid player (like myself). While I don’t agree with the philosophy of the writers (as indicated by my title), I do appreciate the well-integrated theme that weaves each movement of the plot into one cohesive sum: The necessity to overcome one’s nature. All characters in God of War Ragnarök are presented conflicts — with themselves and one another — sourced from the need to overcome their nature to achieve their goals.

Kratos had to overcome his severe commitment to discipline and duty to make room for Atreus’s newfound independence to maintain trust within his relationship to his son. Atreus had to overcome his thirst for truth, even when these truths conflicted with his love of his father, as shown when he was overwhelmed with rage at the sight of his father’s death in Jötunheim. Freya had to overcome her profound grief of her son’s death and her seething hatred of Kratos, the man who killed him to save her. The only man who failed to overcome his nature is Odin, who — obsessed with knowledge and control of others — gave into his nature and subsequently died as a result of the conflict between him and the enemies of Asgard — a conflict created by his own obsession.

Now, the question is: What gives rise to one’s nature in the first place? What attribute of each character within God of War — and within all of us — shapes their fundamentally characteristic way of coming at the world?

The answer is one’s free will. The irreducible will to focus one’s mind (or evade) and act accordingly is the cause of one’s character. Each character in God of War irreducibly willed their mind to focus on their experiences in a particular way, which caused their choice of values and their course of action to acquire them.

In my view, the story presented within God of War Ragnarök leaves this crucial piece in the cause and effect chain of one’s character unspecified, thus presents a philosophically incomplete view of free will versus fate. To demonstrate this, I would like to use FatBrett’s video titled “How Joel Defied Destiny in The Last of Us” as a backboard to showcase a thoughtful commentary of God of War Ragnarök from the opposite perspective of my view on free will.

The most illustrative concrete within God of War showcasing the writer’s view on free will is the scene between Kratos, Freya and the Norns. I will transcribe the scene below (along to linking the FatBrett’s video in which this scene is dramatized in God of War).

Urð: You come to us, piteous archetypes, seeking freedom from your scripts. As if knowing your lines would grant you the power to rewrite them.

Skuld: “Speak plain.” [mockingly]

Kratos: Speak plain.

Urð: You will die, Kratos of Sparta.

Skuld: “But you called him the destroyer of fate. There must be a way to subvert destiny — ” [mockingly]

Mimir: “But you called him the destroyer of fate. There must be a way to subvert destiny —

Urð: There is no destiny, Puck.

Verðandi: The protagonists are speechless. They do not understand.

Urð: There is no grand design. No script. Only the choices you make. That your choices are so predictable merely make us seem prescient.

Skuld: “When my son was born — SHUT UP!”

Freya: When my son was born — SHUT UP! Your prophecy said he would die a needless death.

Urð: And he did. Because YOU could not let him go. Because HE thirsted for revenge. And because you kill gods. [casually pointing at Kratos]

Freya: But what Kratos did… ..it was not out of hate.

Urð: Should I bring him a crown, then? He still slays gods, but now he’s sad about it? You are the sum of your choices, nothing more. And because your choices never change, you will learn that Heimdall intends to kill your son in Asgard, and you will do what you do best. And then… Ragnarök.

Interestingly, FatBrett’s takeaway from this scene is that the Norns offer “a very different perspective” on fate than usually presented in fiction. He contends the Norn’s view on fate is that one’s fate is determined by one’s choices, and one’s choices are determined by one’s nature, which is “unchangeable, immutable, and permanent.” In other words, “you cannot change who you really are.”

He continues by connecting this particular conception of fate with the story in The Last of Us, as he contends that Joel is as much a “slave to fate” as the characters are in God of War Ragnarök. While I find this to be an impressive connection, it’s still not true, as it endorses a philosophical contradiction: No one is a slave to one’s choices. How could one possibly have the capacity of choice, yet still have no power over the course of their lives? That is a clear-cut contradiction in terms.

In my view, the reason why this conclusion seems plausible is because the view on free will versus fate (or determinism, if you like) is left unfinished by the writers of God of War Ragnarök. The fact no view is presented on the cause of one’s nature, and left simply as an irreducible primary, makes the idea that a person is a slave to one’s choices plausible. Without recognizing the cause and effect relationship between free will and one’s character, each hero’s character, which is caused by their choices, would appear to be “unchangeable, immutable, and permanent.” But it isn’t.

Kratos could have chosen to abandon Atreus and live a life of miserable solitude. Freya could have chosen to recognize the obvious evil of her son and reject trying to win him over, along with bitter-sweetly thanking Kratos for his decision to kill Baldur. Odin could have chosen to love his son Thor, rather than dominate him to compel obedience. And more, Joel could have chosen to return to a pragmatic and lifeless existence instead of helping Ellie.

Each of these alternatives are absolutely possible, and had each of these characters evaluated their experiences according to newly chosen standards, they would have had predictably different outcomes. And these changes are always possible and available — to each and every one of us — due to the irreducible fact of our free will.

For a more in-depth, philosophical justification for the introspective validation of free will, I highly recommend Objectivist and philosopher Charles Tew’s video titled: “How to Understand Free Will (Functional Philosophy #7).”

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