I have not kept it much of a secret that I am not, for the most part, a fan of superhero oriented films or TV shows. This stems from the fact that it is the new "zombie" craze. Back 10 years ago, and today it continues to a certain degree, it seems that every single film was some sort of zombie something or other. Then when that started to lose steam, they transitioned to superheroes and basically everything was in that genre. I can understand why they did it from a financial point of view, because even bad superhero films were making hundreds of millions of dollars and one of them was even nominated for "Best Picture" at the Oscars. I enjoyed Black Panther a normal amount, but "Best Picture?" GTFOH.
So when Ragnarok was released on Netflix a year ago, I was less-than-thrilled about it but while the memories are a bit shady, I think I watched it because there wasn't much else new that seemed even partially worth watching on Netflix.
Even though the film is mostly in Norwegian, I made it through the entire first season and absolutely loved it. Now season 2 is out and so far, it has managed to not be ridiculous and is in my opinion one of the best super-hero series out there.
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Image chosen because I have no idea what language that is
The reason why I like this series is because it is a prequel of sorts but doesn't involve the usual path that superhero films do
Now I am not trying to suggest that Ragnarok doesn't have any of said attributes listed above and in all fairness it kinda actually has all of them. However, the delivery is slower and it is about a normal kid name Magne, who is slowly but surely discovering that he is the reincarnation of Thor...whose powers are already well-known in mythology. He is just discovering that for some reason, he is the chosen one to eventually become Thor and tries to hone his skills only to realize that he doesn't actually know what his powers are, nor how to activate them.
I think one of the main reasons that I enjoy this one so much is because of the fact that since it isn't in English, you actually have to pay very close attention and read the subtitles or you end up lost very quickly. This isn't something that is really necessary in superhero films made by DC and Marvel because honestly, you could join the film halfway in and completely miss the backstory and it wouldn't even matter. With Ragnarok the villains are not so clearly defined at first and neither are the "good guys." The way in which they are introduced is actually quite subtle at times and you need to stay on your toes if you are going to understand the progression of the story.
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Without context this could actually be a shot from a zombie film
The series isn't necessarily action-packed and honestly, in the first full season, very little in the way of battles even take place. While fans of the non-stop combat situations that I actually find quite banal in Marvel films mean that the pace of the film or series is kept at a high rate, Ragnarok is more like a slow burn and focuses on character development rather than simply turning a normal person into someone that can fly in the first 10 minutes.
The show does have some aspects of teenage drama built in, which is something I could do without but also understand that they would put something like that in there in order to appeal to a wider audience. High school politics are a big part of season one, but then by the time we get to season 2 that is almost completely eliminated from the storyline.
Another aspect of the film I find interesting and new is that there is an internal struggle within some of the "goodies" and the "baddies" that keeps you guessing as to what side they are going to actually be on. Obviously Thor is going to end up being the good guy, but the others seem to have a crisis of conscious about which side of this war they are going to be on. This is perhaps one of the biggest part of Marvel and D.C. films that I have a problem with. The sides are clearly defined from the very start and it is quite obvious what is going to happen next as well as what the ending will be.
This is most interesting in Magne's brother Laurits, who is on a path to becoming Loki. If that seems like a spoiler just know that it is in the trailer so I'm not really revealing anything spoilish here. I think we can presume that Loki eventually becomes a baddie, but at least for now it is very interesting to see how Laurits seems to be a mystery as to which side of the battle he wants to be on. He is presented in the show as being a master manipulator even before he discovers that he too has powers.
I say this as someone that tends to stay away from superhero films and series because I am tired of this. I generally do not like them and didn't even finish The Boys (go ahead and hate on me for that) even though it too was a bit different. I tend to dislike films and series where too many people have powers especially if they are wildly over-powered the way that Captain Marvel was. In Ragnarok, at least for now, the powers are a bit more subtle and less crazy and so far, no one is capable of flight and zero of the characters even wear stupid unnecessary outfits. This could all change later of course but as for now, with me being about half-way through season 2, I am thoroughly enjoying the more realistic presentation. However, I will say now that i have finished the entire S2, that it slows down quite a bit in the middle and one and a half of the episodes are kind of boring although parts of it are quite funny.
This could be a superhero series for people who do not enjoy superhero series. That has been the case with me and I believe it will also be for others. I give it the thumbs up and I think that unless you have some sort of aversion to reading subtitles, that almost anyone will enjoy this show.
