I know I just posted but WTF
FINALLY there is an acknowledgement that God, Heaven and Hell along with Demons and Angels are WESTERN JUDEO-CHRISTIAN CONSTRUCT. Geez.
Aaaand then they fucked it up.
SERIOUSLY. These gods were WEAK. I know that Lucifer is supposed to be powerful, and since he's a part of one of the most popular and influential religions on earth, then yeah, that would make sense. But I DO NOT APPROVE that the other religion gods couldn't even lift a finger against him. Things that bothered me:
Baldur is BLOND. BLOND BLOND BLOND. He's REPEATEDLY described as FAIR in the texts. I know that understandings of appearance is culturally contextual and changes through time but GEEZ is it too hard to make him at least look PARTIALLY norse??? Dark eyes are rare in the heart of Northern Europe. And he was the KIND god and he already HAS a wife AND he's already dead. And he's definitely not killed by Lucifer - he's killed by Höður who is tricked by Loki into shooting an arrow at him and then he goes to Hel and will rise again during Ragnarrök and just jfkslajfdksla.
And Óðinn!!!! I know they're doing modern representations of the gods, and I can get behind that, but COULDN'T THEY AT LEAST HAVE TAKEN OUT ONE OF HIS EYES. That is, like, the MAIN marker of who he is! He gave his eye after hanging upside down on Yggdrasill the tree of life to gain knowledge. Modern people maybe don't have long beards and wear leather jackets, BUT THEY CAN HAVE ONE EYE. Ooohmygod. (Or oh my Óðinn.) And wtf is with the people eating??? I know that many gods are gruesome and disturbing, and many of them have demanded human sacrifice in the past, but I do NOT approve of the whole pagan-gods-are-scum-and-weak-and-eat-people. DO NOT APPROVE AT ALL. *shudders at Óðinn throwing the guy over the table and supposedly eating him* ÓÐINN DOES NOT EAT PEOPLE. He is the god of WAR and WISDOM and sure he's gruesome and resides over the souls of dead warriors in Valhalla but jfklsdajfkdlsjfklsdjflksaghsdlak.
And I don't know much about other religions but I am pretty sure that the Asian and African ones also have powerful gods that were really ill depicted here.
And, finally, I DO NOT APPROVE OF GOD KILLING. Kill their manifestation, or form, sure. Banish them away, sure. But DO NOT KILL MY GODS. We already know how they're going to die, and this is not how.
Lastly but not least, if the episode is called Hammer of the Gods, then WHERE IS ÞÓR AND HIS HAMMER. Actually, pretty glad they didn't have Þór in there, they would have fucked him up too. If they'd had Lucifer destroying his hammer or being immune to it or something I would have blown a gasket.
Overall, this episode is made of fail. FAIL.
In other news, yes, this means I have three more episodes to go before VanCon starts. The ferry is an excellent place for this. 5.20, here I come!
edit: if anyone can link me to some meta about 5.19 by all means do so.
Aaaand then they fucked it up.
SERIOUSLY. These gods were WEAK. I know that Lucifer is supposed to be powerful, and since he's a part of one of the most popular and influential religions on earth, then yeah, that would make sense. But I DO NOT APPROVE that the other religion gods couldn't even lift a finger against him. Things that bothered me:
Baldur is BLOND. BLOND BLOND BLOND. He's REPEATEDLY described as FAIR in the texts. I know that understandings of appearance is culturally contextual and changes through time but GEEZ is it too hard to make him at least look PARTIALLY norse??? Dark eyes are rare in the heart of Northern Europe. And he was the KIND god and he already HAS a wife AND he's already dead. And he's definitely not killed by Lucifer - he's killed by Höður who is tricked by Loki into shooting an arrow at him and then he goes to Hel and will rise again during Ragnarrök and just jfkslajfdksla.
And Óðinn!!!! I know they're doing modern representations of the gods, and I can get behind that, but COULDN'T THEY AT LEAST HAVE TAKEN OUT ONE OF HIS EYES. That is, like, the MAIN marker of who he is! He gave his eye after hanging upside down on Yggdrasill the tree of life to gain knowledge. Modern people maybe don't have long beards and wear leather jackets, BUT THEY CAN HAVE ONE EYE. Ooohmygod. (Or oh my Óðinn.) And wtf is with the people eating??? I know that many gods are gruesome and disturbing, and many of them have demanded human sacrifice in the past, but I do NOT approve of the whole pagan-gods-are-scum-and-weak-and-eat-people. DO NOT APPROVE AT ALL. *shudders at Óðinn throwing the guy over the table and supposedly eating him* ÓÐINN DOES NOT EAT PEOPLE. He is the god of WAR and WISDOM and sure he's gruesome and resides over the souls of dead warriors in Valhalla but jfklsdajfkdlsjfklsdjflksaghsdlak.
And I don't know much about other religions but I am pretty sure that the Asian and African ones also have powerful gods that were really ill depicted here.
And, finally, I DO NOT APPROVE OF GOD KILLING. Kill their manifestation, or form, sure. Banish them away, sure. But DO NOT KILL MY GODS. We already know how they're going to die, and this is not how.
Lastly but not least, if the episode is called Hammer of the Gods, then WHERE IS ÞÓR AND HIS HAMMER. Actually, pretty glad they didn't have Þór in there, they would have fucked him up too. If they'd had Lucifer destroying his hammer or being immune to it or something I would have blown a gasket.
Overall, this episode is made of fail. FAIL.
In other news, yes, this means I have three more episodes to go before VanCon starts. The ferry is an excellent place for this. 5.20, here I come!
edit: if anyone can link me to some meta about 5.19 by all means do so.