The Unluckiest Guy In The 'God Of War' Series
Image Source: Push Square
Kratos, the titular God of War is known for going on murderous rampages against the Greek and the Norse pantheon. While Kratos’ multiple victories may lead some gamers to consider the gods themselves to be unlucky, most of the plot is set in motion by their meddling. Who then is the unluckiest person to encounter the Ghost of Sparta?
In the original God of War, Kratos encounters a boat captain on the Aegean Sea. Their group is attacked by the Hydra King. Kratos defeats the Hydra King and enters the beast to retrieve the captain’s key. At this moment, Kratos has the chance to save the captain but instead lets the captain fall down the beast’s throat, ensuring his death. What makes this worse is Kratos wasn’t directed by any god to kill the captain, nor was it necessary for Kratos to kill him to obtain the key.
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That alone would be bad enough, a captain with a stroke of bad luck encountering a monster and being felled by a man with no reason to kill him. However, that wasn’t the captain’s last encounter with Kratos. In a later part of the game, Kratos comes across the captain in the Underworld. While the captain was trying to save himself from falling into the River Styx, Kratos used the captain as leverage to prevent his own fall into the river. Kratos, then, kicked the captain down into the Styx, sealing his fate.
That wasn’t the end for the captain, who was unable to escape Kratos in both life and death. In the second game, Kratos fights the Barbarian King, who summoned souls to aid in battle. One of these souls was the ship’s captain. Understandably wanting nothing to do with the Ghost of Sparta, the captain attempts to flee, but Kratos stabs him in the chest multiple times, killing him yet again.
Image Source: Omega Fantasy
Memories of that captain would haunt Kratos as he continued his journey. In God of War III, the player can find a note from the captain that reads, “He could have saved me. He held my life in his hand, and still he let go. I may have been just a mere boat captain, but he treated me as if I was nothing! He is to blame for my torment here! I hope he suffers in Hades as I have. Damn that Ghost of Sparta!”
When the franchise rebooted in 2018, the captain wasn’t forgotten. The captain is mentioned in a treasure map that reveals a crew member obtained both his key and his ship, which somehow made its way to the Norse realm. In Ragnarok, Kratos writes in his journal that the captain suffered because of who Kratos was.
In the latest game, God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla, Kratos tells Mimir of his encounters with the captain. Kratos confessed that murdering the captain was the start of his dark journey. This means that if Kratos had put the captain’s humanity above his murderous rage, not only the captain but countless gods would still be alive.
The captain was minding his own business when a monster, whose purpose was to test Kratos, captured his ship. Not only does the captain experience multiple deaths from the new God of War, but his needless suffering ignites the darkness within Kratos. The Spartan’s chance encounter with the captain spanned a complex timeline where Kratos takes on both the Greek and Norse gods, meaning one man’s misfortune directly leads to two apocalyptic events: the destruction of Greece in one realm and the arrival of Ragnarok in the other. The captain just can’t catch a break.
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Source(s): Polygon, SVG, God of War Wiki
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