You Mean Zack Snyder Was Part of Something… Good?

I throw shade at Zack SnyderOften reviled for the bombastic and idiotic content of his films, there is no question that what Snyder's movies lack in substance they (at least try to) balance out with flash and style, making him one of Hollywood's top directors... sadly. pretty regularly. It’s not that I think he’s a bad director, per se, but he does have a tendency to put out films where the story and characters are treated like he’s a 12 year old playing with action figures. Things aren’t done to further character arcs or to build satisfying plotlines but, instead, are pushed through because they look cool or have big aura. Snyder is a director that, very often, prizes style over substance, and while it gets him some fans (see the podcast on the Snyderbros), there are plenty in the audience that can’t really stand what Snyder puts out.

This isn’t a comment on Snyder as a person, mind you. I’ve seen online that he seems like a genuine guy, very nice to many people. My thoughts on him are based solely on his films, and it’s on that front that I have issue. The good outweighs the bad when it comes to his oeuvre, because for every decent film, like a Dawn of the Dead or 300, there’s plenty of crap, like Watchmen, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Rebel Moon. He’s the kind of director where you have to take the good with the bad, and very frequently the bad is all you get.

This is why, when something that is genuinely good comes out with his name attached I feel like I have to give the man some props. NetflixOriginally started as a disc-by-mail service, Netflix has grown to be one of the largest media companies in the world (and one of the most valued internet companies as well). With a constant slate of new internet streaming-based programming that updates all the time, Netflix has redefined what it means to watch TV and films (as well as how to do it). recently canceled Twilight of the Gods, an animated adaptation of Norse mythology that Snyder helped produce, along with directing two of the episodes. Curiously, right after canceling it, Netflix also finally started advertising it to me. Seeing Snyder’s name on it gave me pause, but eventually I bit the bullet and decided to take a chance and see just what kind of crap he’d made. Would it be terrible? Would it at least be watchable? What I didn’t expect was that the show would actually be good. Like, legitimately pretty awesome. How was this possible?

Well, okay, part of that is probably because Snyder isn’t the chief creative on the show. That would be Jay Oliva, who acted as showrunner for the season (and, now, series). You can feel how Oliva took Snyder’s notes (as co-creator) for the series and then worked them into the show, because the series is stylish (including more than a few moments of Snyder’s signature slow motion action) but it puts plenty of emphasis on the substance as well, the story and the characters. It’s a neat balance between the cool action and the necessary storytelling, and it makes you wish that more creators could work with Snyder and filter his vision into something that was, well, actually good.

Twilight of the Gods focuses on Sigrid (Sylvia Hoeks), a shield maiden soon to be the bride of King Leif (Stuart Martin). Their meeting, and romance, is the stuff of legends (frequently told by Leif), but whether real or not there’s obviously a mythic element to their love. Sigrid, though, longs for her homeland, wishing to see it once more before her marriage. Leif, ever the doting fiance, agrees to go with her back to her land, only to discover that it’s not a place on Earth but one of the other realms of Yggdrasil, the world tree. Sigrid is actually a half-giant, small for her kind but big of spirit, and her clan, the Open Hand, are creatures of myth and legend.

Despite his small (by comparison) stature, Leif proves himself to be a worthy suitor for Sigrid. The giants agree to the betrothal and hold a big wedding feast for the couple. Unfortunately, before they can say their vows, Thor (Pilou Asbæk) shows up, demanding the giants hand over Loki, the trickster god. The giants do not have Loki, and state as much, but Thor won’t listen and, soon, starts killing people in his search for his fallen brother. The god annihilates Sigrid’s whole clan, leaving only her and Leif alive. Looking at the corpses of her fallen kin, Sigrid swears a blood oath against Thor, promising to kill him, a promise Loki (Paterson Joseph) is all too willing to help her fulfill.

Twilight of the Gods is a loose adaptation of the myth of Ragnarok, the fated end times for the gods when Loki causes a war between the deities that leads to Hel (the frozen wastes at the root of the tree) spreading across the many planes of existence, wiping out all of reality. This first (and now only) season sets the stage for that great conflict with Sigrid collecting a band of warriors to aid her in her quest to kill Thor. Because this was a series that was intended to have a multiple season arc we don’t actually see the whole of Ragnarok play out. We do get the first steps of it (which I won’t spoil here, just in case you want to watch this first season with as few spoilers as you can), and I do like where this season was going.

The series was made for adults, with all the blood, guts, sex, nudity, and swearing you’d expect from a series freed up from any kind of imposed rating. Snyder’s name carries some clout (or at least it did while he was still a favored director in the Netflix umbrella) and that meant he could produce a series that had everything he liked in his productions without anyone telling him what to do. Oliva took those instincts and put them into a show that pushed boundaries and didn’t hold back. It’s brutal and bloody, but that only makes you feel the impact of this war and the actions all the characters take.

Sigrid is a compelling protagonist. Her motivations are clear, her desire for vengeance true. You understand what she feels and why she goes on this quest. Even as her need for revenge blinds her, leading her to take steps that she wouldn’t have thought possible before, you understand why she does everything she does. She’s suffered a great loss and this is her only path forward. She’s the heroine, but at each step her purity gets cut down a little more. And there are times where it’s clear she’s a pawn in a larger game, but it’s hard to see how she can escape and still carry out her mission. I like the depth and nuance the show gives her.

The other major player, then, is Loki, and he’s an interesting character. He starts off seemingly as the villain (even though Thor is the murderer). You can’t trust Loki, the show tells us, and at times that seems perfectly clear. Many steps along the path lead to blood, violence, and moments of twisted morality, and obviously that’s all due to the machinations of Loki. And yet, the show slowly adds story and substance to the character, taking him from an obvious foe to something far more interesting. He’s not quite the adversary, but he is playing his own game, and watching how that game plays out makes for compelling storytelling.

I also really loved the art style. It’s simple, evoking ancient art of the era. Yet that simplicity still allows for detailed, lush, and vibrant art. Much of the artwork and animation is done by hand, with only small details enhanced by CGI, all of it creating a very distinctive style different from the usual animation seen on TV and in movies. It’s far from the anime-inspired art we so frequently get now, and it suits the story being told here better than just about any other art form I could think up. I liked how classic it felt, how much that choice for the style really enhanced the feeling like we were watching a Norse myth play out.

It really is a pity that the series was canceled because I think this is probably the best thing Snyder has helped produce in quite some time. He found a team that could work with his vision and they went out and created a stylish and compelling piece of serialized storytelling. Whether it was a story people didn’t care about, or if they didn’t like the art or the violence, who’s to say. But Twilight of the Gods is one of the best things I think Snyder has ever done and I would have liked to see a second season of it. Sadly now that seems like the series will never escape the pits of Hel that Netflix cast it into.