Ragnarok Season 2 (2021)

Gods reincarnated in a Norwegian fjord town fight against modern evil. Ragnarok is a Netflix Norwegian original series that grafts Norse mythology onto a contemporary coming-of-age drama. Season 2 was released in May 2021 and consists of six episodes. It is the middle section of a series that concluded in three seasons total, and Season 2 is the point at which the conflict between Magne and Laurits reaches its apex.

What it’s about — The conflict between Thor and Loki deepens

Magne (David Stakston) is the contemporary reincarnation of the thunder god Thor. His half-brother Laurits (Jonas Strand Gravli) is increasingly awakening to the nature of the evil god Loki. Season 2 deals with Magne digging deeper into the Jutul family’s secrets, simultaneously addressing the boundary between god and human, fraternal conflict, and the real-world issue of environmental contamination. The mythological structure established in Season 1 unfolds more clearly in Season 2. New members of the Jutul family arrive, complicating the balance of power on the mythological side.

Direction — A realistic frame that restrains the fantasy

The visual beauty of Norway’s natural environment as a backdrop is one of this drama’s great strengths. Fjords, snow-covered mountains, and dark water surfaces naturally create a mythological atmosphere. Rather than handling the mythological elements with excessive fantasy treatment, the direction places them carefully within the frame of a realistic coming-of-age drama. This restraint creates the distinctive atmosphere that belongs to Ragnarok alone.

Performance & characters — Laurits wavering into Loki

David Stakston convincingly plays the paradoxical character of Magne — a boy who has a god’s power but is fundamentally timid. Jonas Strand Gravli’s Laurits shows the most dramatic change in Season 2 as a character: he expresses the interior of someone wavering between goodness and evil. The performances of Herman Tømmeraas and Theresa Frostad Eggesbø representing the Jutul family also clearly define the opposing dynamic.

What the work says — Carrying the anger of the climate generation

Ragnarok is a drama that wraps modern environmental contamination in the outer garb of Norse mythology. If the Jutul family as avatars of corporate environmental destruction are the embodiment of contemporary evil, Magne is a lonely and imperfect hero standing against them. This dynamic reflects the perspective of the climate crisis generation on environmental issues and corporate power. The method of speaking about present-day problems through the language of mythology is fresh. There is a view that the anger of the Greta Thunberg generation is projected onto the character of Magne, and that interpretation is not a stretch.

Ratings & reception

By TMDB standards the Ragnarok series maintains steady support, and as a Netflix Nordic original the series received considerable international attention. It is praised as a work that inspired interest in Norwegian culture and mythology, and maintains consistent appreciation among fans of Nordic fantasy drama.

What doesn’t quite work

In six short episodes developing both mythological elements and coming-of-age drama simultaneously, neither achieves sufficient depth. The freshness of Season 1’s setup does become somewhat familiar in Season 2. Without background knowledge of Norse mythology, the symbolic relationships between characters may not be fully understood.

Verdict

Ragnarok Season 2 is a work that takes the possibilities of Season 1 further. Modest budget, small cast — yet it uses the resource of Norse mythology well to create an original world. For those who enjoy drama moving between fantasy and reality, watching it back-to-back with Season 1 is recommended. Interesting is the fact that in Season 2 the relationship between Magne and Laurits begins to explicitly converge with the relationship between Thor and Loki in mythology. The force that makes you want to watch Season 3 is wondering where that convergence leads. Rating: ★4.0.

Recommended for

• People looking for a drama that reinterprets Norse mythology in contemporary drama
• Those interested in Norwegian and other Scandinavian drama
• Viewers who enjoy non-English Netflix original series