Season Review: Twilight of the Gods Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

There’s a king and his queen in a small Viking village, and they want to get married.  An event happens to them at their wedding that causes Sigrid (Sylvia Hoeks), who is the bride-to-be and the child of giants, to go on a crazy mission of revenge.  She enlists a cast of characters, including a seer and a dwarf, and they come together to form a band that has this one mission: to find a god and fight him.

Our Take:

There’s no one who can provide divisive conversations from audiences than visionary filmmaker Zack Snyder.  Some are good, some are bad, and some make us wish they would just shut up and move on. It’s not without a few gems that defined his style, like “300”, “Watchmen”, and “Army of the Dead”. However, his other movies often make us question his narrative intentions amid the gorgeous cinematography and slow-motion sequences.  His approach to the DC Extended Universe had created a massive divide in both DC fans and casual viewers regarding the dark tone and massive creative overhauls.  Let’s also not forget his attempt to create a new sci-fi franchise akin to “Star Wars” known as “Rebel Moon”.  Spoiler alert: it is not going too well so far.  But, at the very least, their R-rated cuts have received more positively than the PG-13 versions.  Don’t worry.  I’ll get to them eventually.

While we’re unsure of the future of Zack Snyder’s “Star Wars”, we do have an adult animated representation of Norse mythology from him to tide us over until we have the answer.  Twilight of the Gods is the latest Netflix animated series that hopes not to get purged after its first season by the corporation, which apparently doesn’t give a crap about animation.  This isn’t the first time that Snyder has delved into the world of animation.  In 2010, he made his animation debut with an adaptation of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole book series by Kathryn Lasky.  That film, titled “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole”, wasn’t the box office success Snyder hoped for.  However, it was praised for being one of the animated features that didn’t act like a kids’ cartoon regarding its dark tone and stellar animation.  The film was also my first introduction to Zack Snyder’s directorial style, and I’ve followed his work since.  It’s not enough for me to call myself a fan since his movies are flawed, but I can understand his intention on what he’s trying to accomplish regarding the narrative and symbolic presentation.

When I heard that Snyder was returning to the animation world with Twilight of the Gods, my curiosity was immediately piqued.  It’s been a while since I watched “Legend of the Guardians”, but I remember that Snyder’s presentation and animation go hand in hand seamlessly.  That’s not to say that his live-action works lack memorable money shots, but I feel the animation has more benefits of having artistic portraits you’d see in a museum.  The trailers in Twilight of the Gods have proven this theory with its stylized 2D aesthetics and Snyder’s iconic presentation, but what about its story?  Snyder’s “style over substance” approach usually dampens most of his projects, creating plenty of divisive feedback.  However, Twilight of the Gods happens to be one such occurrence where the story helps elevate its visualized presentation.

Regarding its narrative, Twilight of the Gods offers plenty of elements we’ve seen before in other films and shows, most notably its theme of vengeance.  The series consists of Sigrid and her husband Leif (Stuart Martin) forming an army to kill Thor (Pilou Asbæk), who’s responsible for massacring her Giant Folk clan on her wedding day.  Sigrid’s army includes a poet named Egill (Rahul Kohli) and the dwarf Andvari (Kristofer Hivju).  Along with Loki (Paterson Joeseph), Thor’s brother who hides a personal agenda, Sigrid and her clan risk their lives to prevent Thor from spreading more bloodshed.  

This is one of the few occasions where, despite offering little to nothing from its tried-and-true narrative, it benefits from its engaging characters and bold direction.  Some of its moments also resemble Snyder’s other projects, such as “300” for its historical mythology and portrayal of an army facing impossible odds.  However, it was able to stand on its own through its captivating exploration of vengeance.  The only other issue was that its plot slowed down a bit in its sixth episode, “Now Hear Of…” in which Sigrid and the others tell their stories before battling Thor.  On the other hand, it serves the purpose of exploring more of the characters, mainly Sigrid and Egill, despite the unnecessary use of humor.

The voice cast also did pretty well in voicing the series’s characters.  Sylvia Hoeks, known for such roles in “Blade Runner 2049” and “The Girl in the Spider’s Web”, delivered a decent portrayal of the vengeful yet sympathetic Sigrid.  Despite her obsession with killing Thor, Sigrid never stays adrift from her love with Leif, although that doesn’t stop her from her irredeemable fate.  Paterson Joseph also did pretty well in voicing the cunning Loki despite a few moments in his voice acting feeling slightly flat.  Additionally, we have John Noble, aka Denethor from “The Lord of the Rings”, voicing Odin for all of you Denethor fans.  He did a suitable job of providing the character’s imposing personality.

The 2D animation was produced by Xilam Animation, which is known for its work on many French animated shows and movies.  However, many animation fanatics may have known the company for its fantastic fantasy drama, “I Lost My Body”, released in 2019.  Regarding its style and presentation, Twilight of the Gods further indicates Xilam Animation’s stimulating approach to 2D animation.  The artistic designs of its characters and Norse realms resembled something you’d see in an art museum, and the visuals were pure Snyderism, ranging from the slow-mo sequences to the imaginative and symbolic visuals.  Despite the frame rate looking a bit rough sometimes, the animation created a spark as big as Thor’s lightning powers, mainly for its immersive storytelling and stylized action scenes.

Overall, Twilight of the Gods strikes hard in its visual presentation, while its story offers enough spark in its formula to carry its stylization to Valhalla.  While it doesn’t have the best uses of its formula and themes, the series further indicates Snyder’s bold and visual narrative through its voice cast, characters, and impressive animation.  I might even say this is the best thing that Zack Snyder has released since “Army of the Dead”.  It’s a controversial opinion, for sure, but an opinion nonetheless.  Hopefully, this reception will convince Snyder to release his animated “Army of the Dead” prequel series sooner or later.