Heartwarming / God of War (PS4)

WARNING: Spoilers Off applies to Heartwarming Moments pages.

"It's not time to make a change, just relax and take it easy. You are young, that's your fault; there's so much you have to know...♫ Take your time and think a lot, think of everything that you've got; for you'll still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not."♫

For all its combat action this God of War has, there are several moments where the softer and more kinder sides are shown.

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• Kratos is shown to be rather gentle and patient with his son in the trailers we've seen. Compare this to how he treated everyone else in the original series barring his first wife and daughter, and it's almost sweet to watch.
• The entire premise of the story is this. What is the main goal of this game? Seek blind revenge on the gods of this land? Taking down some monster? Nope; it's just to lay Kratos's wife and Atreus's mother's ashes to rest.
  • If the opening is any indication, Kratos genuinely loved his wife. In between building a large funeral pyre for her, and the way he speaks as he lifts her body from its resting place, it's clear he tried his best to be a good husband to her. It also gets better after learning about Faye from Kratos' dreams in Ragnarök. For Kratos, cremating Faye's remains isn't the same as entombing, as was done in Greece, but he'll follow Faye's wishes because he loves her.
  • In that same scene, Atreus tries to take the knife off his mother's burning body, only to get his hand burned by the heated metal. Kratos—who up until this point has only spoken to his son in cold, simple orders—hands Atreus a pack of snow to soothe the burn, gently asks him to squeeze, and gives the boy a piece of his hand wraps to cover the wound, before gifting the knife to Atreus. It is quickly established that despite his brusque demeanor, Kratos is capable and willing to protect his young son, and he has discarded much of his old brutal ways.
• Any time Atreus is threatened or injured, Kratos immediately, with no concern for his own safety, moves to protect him. Not only that but the feeling is mutual even with how cold Kratos can be.
  • A distinct example comes early in the game. Kratos opens a door, and an Ogre burst through from behind it and Atreus stabs it in the face. It lunges at Atreus, jaws open. Kratos’ immediate reaction is to throw his arm out between the two, letting the Ogre bite on his upper (bare and unarmored) arm which leads Atreus to pull his knife clear and stab the Ogre again in the eye this time forcing it to let go.
• In general, the fact that there are good people in a God of War game. In the first 7 games, barely a single person was not outright evil, and even those that were acceptable people (such as Pandora and Orkos) were working with Kratos in order to kill a common enemy. However, Brok, Sindri, Mimir, and Freya (before the death of Baldur) are each genuinely friendly and kind-hearted to Kratos and Atreus.
• Curiously, Kratos' fight with the Stranger (later revealed to be Baldur), largely due to the fact that the entire time Kratos is fighting simply to protect his son, and the minute the man threatens to harm Atreus, Kratos stops holding back and lets loose his infamous rage to protect his and Faye's son.
  • To elaborate on the above, the Stranger remarks just before then that Kratos has two beds in his house and immediately assumes he's hiding someone. He then tries to use this information to goad Kratos:
    Stranger: You won't talk? Fine. Maybe whoever it is you've got stashed in that house will.
    Prompt: Spartan Rage Available
  • After the fight, Kratos limps back home, breathing heavily and barely able to stand. When he reaches the door, he takes a moment to steady himself before striding in, not limping and with steadier breathing, with the implication that he's trying to seem as okay as possible so as not to worry Atreus too much. The exchange they have afterwards also has a notable moment of gentleness from Kratos.
    Kratos: Boy.
    Atreus: There was so much... I thought... ...You're all right.
    Kratos: [raising a placating hand] I am all right.
  • Afterwards, when the two are navigating the damage resulting from the fight, they have this exchange.
    Atreus: You could have died... Never leave me alone again. All right?
    Kratos: All right.
• A rather easy-to-miss moment, but there is a bit of this in the opening dialogue between Kratos and The Stranger. When directly confronted by someone who clearly wants to fight him, and explicitly tries to goad and antagonize him into it, to the point of saying he'll have to kill him to get him to leave, what does he do? Tries to talk him out of it, repeatedly, and even allows himself to get punched at least three times before he finally retaliates, and then only with a normal punch that just knocks him down. After that, while the Stranger is lying on the ground apparently dazed and hurt, Kratos' demeanor implies he still has no intention of seriously fighting yet, as he turns away and berates the man's insistence rather than kick him while he's down. The biggest part is what Kratos does next: he goes up to The Stranger, and helps him back up to his feet. This shows that even when he would be in some ways justified for reacting violently, the newer, older Kratos of this game won't do so until he genuinely is given no better option, a far cry from the younger Kratos, who ruthlessly and unflinchingly slaughtered anyone who was even slightly a problem for him... or could be used as a meat-tool to get through a trap.
• While the scene with Atreus having to kill his first human is sad, it's one of the first times we see Kratos genuinely try to comfort his son as he gently holds his face in his hands and tells him to close his heart to the violence. It's a gentle fatherly moment as Kratos helps his son deal with his feelings and pushes his thoughts back to the journey.
  • Before that, when the Reavers first climb out, Kratos orders Atreus to stay back - "This is my fight." Kratos is doing everything he can to keep his son from having to kill living humans for as long as possible.
• The meeting with Brok is fairly hilarious and also touching. This blacksmith crosses paths with this young boy and his intimidating father, sees that the latter has the Leviathan Axe, and decides that these two must be all-right folks. He also offers to enhance the Axe for Kratos, which Kratos eventually accepts once he sees proof that Brok is being truthful. Brok might be a rough, crass fellow, but he's also honest and fairly generous too.
• During their travels in Midgard during the opening, Atreus opens up enough to mention he wasn't sure he would ever leave the woods, let alone his bed, implying he at one point thought he'd die a sickly child. Kratos immediately points out his sickness was not his fault. Given how Kratos holds Atreus for every single action he makes trying to hone his control to perfect (and given what the sickness actually was), it's touching to see the guy jump right into making sure Atreus doesn't feel bad for something that wasn't his fault.
• In a mix of heartwarming and sad after the events at the light of Alfheim, Kratos takes a moment to explain that he really didn't know he left Atreus alone for more then a few minutes and offered the closest thing to an apology he's been able to make up to that point. It's small, but for it's very meaningful for the player because they just saw Kratos admitting fault. Not only that, but Atreus accepted it and appeared to actually take it to heart.
• It's a small moment, but when the duo meets Mimir who explains that no weapon can release him from the tree he's trapped to, Atreus can be seen in the background giving a brave attempt at cutting the tree with his knife. Amusing, but it's nice to see Atreus make the effort to help Mimir from his predicament.
• Atreus reuniting the Witch after their spell-induced forceful separation, even going far as to embrace one another.
• Mimir turns into a Cool Uncle over the course of the story, giving advice to Kratos and especially Atreus, particularly counseling him over the harsh reality of the world but comforting him that he's on a good path. Mimir refers to Kratos "brother" frequently, and then Atreus "little brother" once again after the boy gets over his Jerkass phase in Helheim.
  • Both Kratos and Mimir come to respect each other. Considering their nature as Jerkass Gods in a universe of Jerkass Gods, this says a lot.
  • Subtly, but eventually Kratos' dialogue when he is joined only by Mimir includes the latter implicitly. For example, while traveling through Helheim for the heart, Kratos refers back to his earlier fight against the Reavers in Midgard thusly: "When we killed the Reavers near my home..." Kratos appreciates that Mimir is there to help him in battle, even if the latter can't do much beyond giving the former alerts.
  • It doubles as Funny, but when Mimir realizes Kratos is the "Ghost of Sparta", Kratos tightly tells him not to call him that. Not only does Mimir comply, but he also states that he believes "the Pantheon had it coming". It is a small moment, but it is heartwarming to see someone believe Kratos had some justification in his revenge against the Greek gods, rather than dismissing him as a monster.
  • By the end of the game, after Kratos and Atreus completed their goal of scattering Faye's ashes, they actually take Mimir back with them home. Come Ragnarök, they've taken some measures for Mimir to be comfortable at the cabin.
• After seeking out Freya's help after Atreus falls ill, just before Kratos leaves to retrieve the Blades of Chaos, he pauses and tries to apologize for his earlier words against her after finding out that she's a Goddess, only for her to gently stop him and tells him that she understands why he would distrust a god, before affirming that she would keep Atreus safe—promising so not as a goddess, but as a mother. It's a small moment that really shows how much Kratos has changed over the centuries, going from someone that only cared about himself to a person who's willing to admit and try to make amends for their mistakes.
  • What makes it better is that despite Kratos's natural distrust of gods, when push comes to shove and Atreus's life is in danger, he unhesitatingly seeks out Freya for help. Goddess or not, she has become someone he's willing to trust the wellbeing of his son with. Which only makes it all the sadder when Freya swears revenge against Kratos near the end for killing Baldur, her own son.
    • If you're on the boat in this sequence and try to steer away, Kratos stops it, saying, "I must help my son." It's probably the earliest that Kratos calls Atreus that, so it's a shame the latter is in no condition to hear it.
  • Also within this segment, after Kratos has retrieved the Blades and is headed to Helheim, Brok curiously asks Kratos where Atreus is, calling the kid a "little turd" in a clearly affectionate way. As soon as Kratos tells him the situation, Brok gives off a Little "No", asks for the names of those who might be responsible, and offers to help however he can, and including accompanying Kratos to Hel itself. In a rare moment of gratitude and sincerity, Kratos tells him that his work as a blacksmith is enough. After Kratos takes the heart, Brok teleports himself to Hel anyway and empowers Kratos' blades so he can escape. A strong demonstration of both Kratos' hidden heart (especially since he frequently proclaims that the dwarves are "annoying") and Brok's natural Big Brother Instinct.
    • Brok is also excited to see the Blades of Chaos, impressed with their craftsmanship. While Kratos understandably doesn't share Brok's sentiment, it's still nice for the player to see the blacksmith share their excitement.
  • As soon as Atreus was fit to leave Freya's care, Kratos thanks Freya with a handshake and gratefully tells her "I will not forget this". He keeps this sentiment throughout the series, saving her life from her son, Baldur, despite her refusal and his downright refusal to kill her when she sought revenge.
• Over the course of the game, Kratos goes from a stern and cold father who barely talks to his son only to issue orders, to a still stern but considerably more open father. At the beginning, Kratos never indulges his son in the surrounding world which captivates Atreus so much, but he opens up little by little, first by (badly) telling stories, and revealing glimpses of his past. When Atreus becomes very ill because of his contradiction as a god believing himself to be mortal, Kratos realizes how close he was to losing his son because of his closed heart and secretiveness and reveals his past, and opens himself up to several comforting moments, like sharing Lemnian wine (from an island close to Kratos' Sparta) with Atreus. He also begins to praise his son's combat prowess more openly and actively gives him counsel during fights.
  • As things progress Kratos also finds little ways to indulge Atreus while still being focused entirely on the task. For example, Atreus wants to help Brok and Sindri with their side quests but Kratos is entirely focused on the journey. If you go there anyway, Kratos specifies that he is gathering supplies for journey, but if Atreus wants to look around for what Brok and Sindri asked for, Kratos won't stop him.
• Kratos deciding to pick a fight with a neutral Soul Devourer, even though they have already gotten the basic information they need on their quest involving it. Why go out of his way to fight something not actively attacking him? Because Atreus is terrified of it and Kratos wants him to help kill it. In his own admittedly slightly messed up way, Kratos is helping his son overcome what fears he has.
• There's a truly heartfelt scene with Kratos and Atreus in Tyr's Vault before Modi ruins it and leads to Atreus falling ill where Atreus, despite Kratos lack of interest in the subject, tries to teach his father to be able to read the Nordic runes around them. His reason? Kratos has taught him so much that Atreus felt he should teach him something in return.
  • What makes it even more Heartwarming is that even with his disinterest in the subject, does Kratos come up with an excuse or say no? No, he kneels to his son's level and listen to what he tries to teach him.
    • The sequel adds on to the Heartwarming by revealing that this wasn't a one-off occasion: Atreus continued to teach his father how to read runes over the three year Time Skip, enough so that Kratos is now able to read them himself without aid.
• For most of the game, the dwarven brothers Brok and Sindri work in separate workshops and only have mean words for each other. However, some words slip out here and there that show they care for each other still, and they finally make up near the end of the story, working together to forge a seal able to activate a secret passage to Jötunheim. Not long afterwards, Atreus apologizes to Sindri for speaking cruelly to him a few chapters earlier. Sindri tells him he's already forgiven.
• The origin of Atreus' name. Kratos tells his son about Atreus, a Spartan soldier who once fought beside Kratos long ago, a truly different sort of Spartan from the rest because he still believed in the Spartans' capacity for genuine kindness, even as they were raised to be machines of war. The Spartan Atreus sacrificed himself for Kratos and the other Spartans in battle, so Kratos decided to honor this fallen brother-in-arms with a proper burial by carrying him on his shield held on his back all the way to bury him in his grave befitting Spartan tradition. And now, centuries later, Kratos names his own son after this dear Spartan soldier. It really shows that, despite his brutality, cruelty and ruthlessness, Kratos does value altruism and kindness and wants that to be what he passes onto his son instead of all the hatred, rage and sorrow he carried with him all those years. And despite how far he would fall during the Greek era, Kratos always had humanity deep down.
  • When he regales his son of the tale of Atreus of Sparta, his tone is one of fondness and pride, not sorrow. Kratos views his Heroic Sacrifice for his fellow Spartans as a truly noble end. As a result, his son is impressed not just with the story but also the telling of the tale, noting Mimir would regret not being there to hear it. Kratos also says that the memories of Atreus brought him comfort in the worst of times.
    • Think about it. Kratos named his son after someone who lived during his younger days in Greece and who the Spartan-turned-god fondly remembers even centuries after the man's death as not scum in any way. The gods screwed him, fate screwed him, yet out of all that, there was someone who didn't, someone who was worthy of honor in his mind and moreso, being remembered by having his name carried on.
• Later in the game, Kratos asks Atreus to help him push a Giant's giant hammer lodged in ice, with all his strength. Nothing up to this point indicates that Kratos needs any sort of assistance, so it's clear he's trying to reward his son's diligence and growth by treating him as his equal.
  Kratos: Now dig in and push with everything!
  Atreus: Yes, sir!
  • On the way to said hammer, Kratos actually makes a game of it, challenging Atreus to guess what he's planning to do.
• After Atreus has to sacrifice his mother's knife to save Kratos from a trap, jamming it into a mechanism and getting it smashed, Kratos stops his son Atreus to hand him a knife. He explains that when Atreus was born he had two knives forged, knives that were forged from metals in Greece and in Midgard. Atreus takes it to be a coming of age token, signifying that he is now a man in Kratos' eyes, but Kratos corrects him that they are more than that (being gods) and therefore his responsibility is far greater. Kratos then adds in such a soft, pleading tone that he wants his son to be better than him, commanding him gently to vow that he will fulfill that promise. Kratos then comes back to the blade, saying that the power of that or any weapon comes from a warrior's heart; but it must be tempered by that warrior's mind, through discipline and self-control. Kratos has come a long way from when his life was dominated by his rage, and he's clearly desperate to make his son a good man who will not repeat the mistakes he made.
  • This applies to the other examples as well, but can we just say what a lovely depiction this is of fathers? It is nice to see a depiction of the healthy model for fatherhood: the father is role model for the son, providing an example for the son to lead a responsible lifestyle, but also protecting and nurturing the son until he is ready to assume the complete role of manhood. Kratos is far from a perfect person, but he clearly wants Atreus to live a good life, and especially one better than he led. It's a very simple and captivating depiction of a father's love for his son, and for someone like Kratos it shows that love can redeem even the darkest of souls.
• In the ending, Kratos gently unwraps his bindings, and lets them fly off into the wind, and his expression changes to calm serenity. It seems, at long last, Kratos has finally forgiven himself.
• Atreus convincing his father to have what might be his first purely heroic moment: rescuing Sindri from a dragon.
• Atreus and Kratos share a bottle of Lemnian wine. This scene is one of the few times that Kratos remembers his time in Greece with fondness and after Atreus recoils from a sip of the wine, Kratos gently takes the bottle and downs the whole thing. Afterward he stares Atreus in the eyes and exhales confidently, which Atreus repeats.
• When Atreus questions about the true cost of being a God, Kratos responds that although they can't change the past and their actions, they can at least try to be better and strive for the better of humanity instead of indulging in violence just like Kratos in his past self, showing that Kratos has matured as a person and that he is willing to do whatever he takes to redeem himself.
• Kratos has finally learned how to be a good person. He's not perfect, but all the fuck-ups, all the murders, all the sheer uncontrollable rage, it's finally gotten through to him - the cycle of murdering parents and children for their mistakes must stop because it never ends well; he and his son have to be "better" than the ancestors that spawned them.
  • On that note, the favors (side quests) show Kratos emotional development over the course of the game. The first set you get from the lingering spirits of dead men in the Lake of Nine have Kratos reluctantly agreeing to help, and only for a reward. After a while, he starts agreeing right away, and even if he does claim it's because it's "good practice", it's clear that's not the case.
  • One quest, for the captain of a failed expedition who wishes he could put to rest his reanimated crew, even has Kratos comfort the man by praising his good qualities in life and when Atreus naively regards him as a bad leader for causing the deaths of his men, Kratos responds with his views on responsibility and leadership, and that the captain fulfills the requirements for a good leader. In a rare moment of admiration from Kratos (which is something he scarcely ever does genuinely for someone else), he tells the captain that he was a great man for rallying so many men under his banner.
    Kratos: Even good leaders make poor choices. The best take responsibility for them.
  • And to make it even better, you can find a note from one of the members of the ghost's crew, who causes them to get trapped on an island after they impulsively attempt to break into some sort of archive. The crewman, however, realizes that it's their fault that they're stuck there, rather than blaming the captain, and apologizes to the Captain for disobeying his orders.
• Kratos calling Atreus 'son' for the first time at the peak of Jotunheim, after spending the entire game calling him 'boy' and occasionally 'Atreus.'
• After they've finished scattering Faye's ashes, Atreus says he is "part giant and part god". Kratos immediately adds "and part mortal" - the mortal part coming from the only death at Kratos's hand that he's ever regretted when committing it, rather than several hundred years later: His beloved mother, Callisto. It's been several hundred years, but Kratos still remembers her. She's the only mortal tie he has and he chooses to remember her.
• If you go into inventory and look at a golden skin for Kratos' shield, the description says it's a shield Faye crafted for Kratos on the anniversary of the day they met. Their relationship clearly meant a lot to Faye as well.
• Jörmungandr looks relieved to meet Mimir. Presumably because Mimir is the only one who is capable of understanding him and speaking to him. According to Mimir, Jörmungandr is a "sparkling conversationalist". During the final fight with Baldur, Jörmungandr immediately answers Atreus' call for help despite his own injuries and attacks the giant. After the battle, Mimir gratefully recommends that they not bother Jörmungandr again and let him rest. Atreus understands and yells his thanks to him.
  • Also there is the fact that the Serpent decides to help Kratos and Atreus reach Jötunheim after an initial misunderstanding from Mimir. Why is he willing to help? It's because he understands Kratos and Atreus's loss, after all he witnessed Thor slaughtering everyone of his kind so he empathizes their suffering that he willingly offers his aid to them.
    • It's also because Atreus, as Loki, is his father. Atreus is a son helping his father; now Jörmungandr is too - it's why he answers; his father and grandfather are calling for assistance and he helps.
    • Not quite, as the sequel shows that Atreus instead took an existing Giant's soul and put it into a soulless snake's body. This adds a whole new level of heartwarming however, because when Atreus did this, Jörmungandr simply slithered off, with Atreus disappointed and unsure that it even worked. Now, Jörmungandr finally is able to thank Atreus for his act of kindness all those years ago (from his perspective) by coming to his aid in his hour of need.
• Any time you managed to liberate a Valkyrie's spirit from their feral physical form. However hard those fights are, it genuinely feels good to see the freed Valkyries spread their wings in joy and thank you for freeing them before returning to their duty, becoming the guardians of the slain they are famous for once more.
• During a side mission to find a Dwarven vault filled with loot Kratos and Atreus get ambushed and Kratos tells Atreus that he wasn't ready. The next time Atreus proudly declares that he was ready and Kratos compliments. And finally, after one of the last battles Atreus asks how he did and Kratos proudly declares "You did well".
• Sindri is the more cowardly of the dwarf brothers and hates blood. Kratos towers over him and it is clear he could never defeat him. But out of his respect for Faye he is willing to fight Kratos if he hurt her. When he's informed of how she's dead and that this is the family that was left behind, he visibly takes the time to mourn Faye. One additionally gets the impression that, though Kratos still finds him annoying, he earned his respect a little quicker than his brother simply because he prioritized Faye when he recognized the Leviathan axe.
  • In fact, look closely at Kratos' body language during the scene. When Sindri accuses him by saying that the axe wasn't meant for him, Kratos leans towards him in an intimidatory manner. But when Sindri explains the reason why he's accusing him (he suspects that Kratos may have harmed Faye), Kratos subtly straightens himself. Kratos actually reigned in his own anger after realizing that Sindri's aggressivity towards him was justified, although misplaced.
• The love Kratos has for Faye. While he tells Atreus at times not to bother helping people when he speaks of Faye wanting to help others he says so with utter PRIDE and never insults or belittles her choices.
• A mix of funny and adorable, when Atreus is told by Brok to speak to Andvari's ring. Atreus is amazed by this but Brok only cares about Andvari's possessions, this causes Atreus to hide the ring in his hands and say "you're upsetting him". Brok responds by saying that he doesn't care.
• When Baldur attacks Kratos a second time, Mimir offers himself as a hostage so he can leave them alone, Baldur however isn't interested. Over the course of the game Mimir understands that neither Kratos or Atreus wants a fight with the Norse pantheon and he'd rather return to his torture than let Atreus or Kratos suffer the same fate.
  • After he's healed, Atreus thinks his father didn't want a "weak" son like him, having misunderstood what Kratos meant when he called him cursed. How does Kratos reply when Atreus says he knows the truth? He opens up a bit and tells Atreus the truth.
    Kratos: I am a god, boy. From another land, far from here. When I came to these shores I chose to live as a man. But the truth is: I was born a god, and so were you.
    • Even better is Atreus' response to it. This is Kratos at his most emotionally vulnerable because he no doubt fully expects his son to reject him over this, after all, Kratos told Atreus his entire life that are no good gods.
    Atreus: . . . Can I . . . turn into an animal?
• A small moment but during the sidequest for the spirit of a father betrayed and killed by his son, Atreus is incredulous that a son would kill his own father, expressing that though he gets angry at Kratos sometimes, he would never try to kill his father. It's adorable to see how earnest Atreus was and how Kratos sounded genuinely amused, much like any father would.
  Atreus: "His own father? I mean ... I get angry at you some times, but ..."
  Kratos: (amused) "Do you?"
• When tracking down the ingredients to make the Dwarf King's armor, Kratos is advising Atreus that he shouldn't trust the legends such as the one behind the armor. When Atreus asks what does Kratos trust, he says point blank that he trusts Atreus who responds with a surprised "Oh".
• Basically Kratos and Atreus's relationship after Atreus comes to his senses in Helheim. The little boy, gaining more confidence in himself, is now fully respectful of his father and aids him more when the two of them are in danger.
  • During the return to Helheim, Atreus is eager to make up for his jerkass behavior after learning he's a god. He gets his time to shine when Kratos relives the memory of beating Zeus to death, and Atreus comes up with a plan to jump to the realm travel room to escape the boat.
  • When Kratos asks Atreus about what he saw, Atreus doesn't respond. This could be interpreted as being out of respect, since we know how Kratos responded when Atreus asked him how he knows about the consequences of killing a god after the latter killed Modi.
  • When Atreus comments how he, Kratos, Mimir, Brok, Sindri, and Freya make a good team after flipping Tyr's temple, Kratos and Mimir compliment his behavior.
    Atreus: See that Mimir? Nobody could do this all alone. All these obstacles... they're just chances to prove we're the one who can beat them. We may argue... me and father, you and Freya, Brok and Sindri... but when we all work together, we do make a good team... and that's Tyr's test. That's why we're going to make it to Jotunheim.
    Mimir: Do you hear that, brother? Lad's found his equilibrium.
    Atreus: What's that mean?
    Kratos: It means you speak wisely, Atreus. And that is good to hear.
  • In the final boss fight against Baldur:
    • When Kratos gets stuck in Freya's vines, Atreus stands up to Baldur before Baldur hits him.
      Baldur: You might want to turn away, boy. This won't be pretty.
      Atreus: I won't let you hurt him.
    • When Atreus calls for Jörmungandr's help to free him and Kratos from Freya's ice attack resulting in the serpent charging in and attacking Freya, Kratos says "Well done, boy!" It's really sweet seeing Kratos compliment his son, especially after saving his ass.
    • When Kratos is ready to kill Baldur, Atreus persuades Kratos not to kill him, in a Call-Back to the scene where Kratos tries to persuade Atreus not to kill Modi. Sure, it backfires like last time, but it goes to show how much he takes his father's words to heart.
      Atreus: He's beaten, father. Not a threat.
    • As sad Baldur's death is and to see Freya curse Kratos for killing him, it's really nice to see Atreus quickly try to defend Kratos's actions.
      Atreus: He saved your life!
• A true sign of how far Kratos has come is that he has no selfish reason for protecting Freya from Baldur in the endgame. The only reason Kratos pulls a Go Through Me and ultimately invites Freya's wrath is that he refuses to let somebody who has helped him and Atreus die pointlessly and painfully.
  • Even then, he first tries to talk Baldur down. Kratos warns Baldur that killing his mother will not bring him the peace he is seeking. It is only when Baldur persists that Kratos prepares to fight.
• This game shows that the Gods of Asgard that rule over Midgard and the other Realms are basically appalling with very little redeeming qualities. Whatever the failures of the Olympians, at least they had redeeming qualities - it was Pandora's box that made them all go loopy; before that, things seemed to be fine, if not perfect, on Earth but the Gods of Asgard, however, are willing to let everything go to shit. This shows in Kratos's development - yes, he has a flaw like the rest of the Olympians from which he descends, namely his usually uncontrollable temper, but he's trying to be better. The same can't be said for the Aesir...
• The Blades of Chaos are dull and scratched... then their master puts them back on and, immediately, they light up in flames again. They're working with their master this time, to save Atreus, rather than being a punishment to him.
  • That, despite his obvious unease - perhaps even fear - about using them again Kratos resigns himself to taking up the Blades again with barely a moment's hesitation knowing Atreus' life depends on it.
  • Kratos and the blades have been through a lot together. Regardless of what they represent, they’ve saved his life and cut down his enemies on countless occasions. Even when Kratos tried to get rid of them after leaving Greece, the blades refused to let their master abandon them. In a strange way, watching Kratos put the blades back on is almost like seeing him reunite with an old friend.
• The original God of War saw Kratos cast himself from the highest mountain in all of Greece out of despair, utterly alone and abandoned with no more will to fight. Here? He casts himself from the highest mountain in all of Midgard out of love, to save his son.