Twilight of the Gods Season 1 Review: An Underwhelming Story of Revenge

Zac Snyder declares war on the Norse gods on Netflix’s new adult animated series Twilight of the Gods.

Twilight of the Gods Season 1 centers on Sigrid, a mysterious warrior who appears on the battlefield and saves the life of the mortal king, Leif. The two fall in love and begin what should be their happily ever after as rulers of Leif’s kingdom.

Tragedy strikes on their wedding day, however, when they are caught in the crossfire of Thor’s wrath. Barely surviving Thor’s violence themselves, Sigrid and Leif set off to take revenge on the God of Thunder. 

To aid in their mission, the couple recruits a small group of allies to join them on their journey. They also get some help from Loki, who, of course, has his own agenda. 

The story is a pretty familiar one, even if the use of Norse mythology to tell it is less common. It progresses pretty much as you would expect—at least until the last episode, which sets up a potentially more interesting second season.

The plot’s familiarity and progress aren’t the problem with Season 1 of the series, though. We return to certain stories time and again for a reason. There is something inherent in them that resonates with people through multiple iterations. 

But, if you are going to tell a tried-and-true story that people have seen many times, the world and characters you create need to be that much more compelling. That is where Twilight of the Gods fails. 

The series feels flat, and none of the characters are more than the standard arc type we all know.

That’s not to say that the series offers nothing worthy of praise. There are some excellent action sequences, a handful of scenes with genuine narrative tension, and the animation is solid.

But those elements of potential never build the season into anything more than a largely dull, occasionally unpleasant diversion. It’s something easily forgotten five minutes after the credits on the final episode roll.

There are a couple of eye-roll-inducing moments towards the end of the season, which are a bit too spoilery to discuss in detail, but the worst part of the season is its main villain. 

Villians don’t have to be sympathetic or even complex every time. Depending on the story, you can create great villains without a sympathetic backstory or deep pathology. Sometimes, it’s fun to root against the bad guy that viewers love to hate and not think about it more deeply than that.

Occasionally, even a one-note villain can be a satisfying foil for a story’s protagonist. 

However, that is not the case with Twilight of the Gods’ main villain, Thor. Thor’s whole personality is that he is volatile, violent, arrogant, and entitled. 

That’s not far from other depictions of Thor in various media representations. But that’s all he is on Twilight of the Gods. Even that could have worked if the character had an ounce of charisma or menace beyond his indiscriminate infliction of violence. 

But the Thor of Twilight of the Gods isn’t just uninteresting. He is irritating. His belligerence wears thin, and it wears thin quickly. 

He certainly makes you root for the heroes to take him out, but not because you want to see him get his comeuppance. It’s more so for the relief of not having to sit through any more of his scenes.

The last moments of the season set up a storyline for a potential second season that might redeem this character. As far as season 1 goes, though, Thor is the biggest drag on a show that already struggles to create characters for viewers to invest in.

With the exceptions of the things mentioned above, Twilight of the Gods is more “meh” than terrible. 

There are plenty of animated series that do what Twilight of the Gods attempts to do better. If you want a revenge story against impossible odds, Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai is a much better option.

Prime’s The Legend of Vox Machina is an excellent choice for fans of stories about ragtag teams setting out on a mission. And for a family-friendly option, there is The Dragon Prince, another Netflix series.

Even the brutal violence that defines much of the show’s aesthetic and tone is used much more effectively on something like Adult Swim’s Primal. 

With so much fantastic animation to choose from, Twilight of the Gods isn’t worth the time investment from anyone but the most ardent fans of Norse mythology or Zac Snyder’s work. 

What did you think of this season of Twilight of the Gods? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Twilight of the Gods Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.

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