''Ragnarok'' is a Norwegian

fantasy drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

series reimagining of

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

from

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. It takes place in the present-day fictional Norwegian town of Edda in

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...

, which is plagued by

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

and

industrial pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

caused by factories owned by the local Jutul family. The Jutuls are actually four ''

Jötunn A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods (Æsir and Vanir) ...

'' (supernatural beings) posing as a family. They are challenged by Magne, a teenage boy who is surprised to learn that he is the

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

, the Norse god of thunder. He begins to fight against those who are destroying the town after his friend dies under mysterious circumstances. In the second season, he is joined by more people who embody other Norse gods. The series premiered in January 2020, with a second season released in May 2021. It is Netflix's third Norwegian-language TV series, following '' Home for Christmas'' and ''

Lilyhammer ''Lilyhammer'' is a crime comedy-drama television series starring Steven Van Zandt about a former New York-based gangster named Frank "The Fixer" Tagliano trying to start a new life in isolated Lillehammer, Norway. The first season premiered on ...

''. The series is produced by the Danish production company SAM Productions. In November 2021, Herman Tømmeraas, who plays Fjor, confirmed that the series will return for a third season, which will wrap up the story.

Cast and characters

Main

* David Stakston as Magne Seier, returns to Edda as a high school student. The reincarnation of

, god of thunder. * as Laurits Seier, Magne's younger half-brother, and Vidar's son. He is the reincarnation and reimaging of

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

, god of mischief. * Herman Tømmeraas as Fjor, high-school-age "son" in the Jutul family of

giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

from Norse mythology. * as

Saxa Saxa may refer to: *Saxa (food product), a brand of salt and pepper *Saxa (musician) Saxa may refer to: *Saxa (food product) Saxa is a brand of herbs, spices, salt and pepper in the United Kingdom and Australia. Formerly a brand of Rank Hovis McD ...

, the high-school-aged "daughter" in the Jutul family. * as Gry, Magne's and Fjor's love interest. * as Turid Seier, Magne's and Laurits' mother, wife of Asbjorn. * Synnøve Macody Lund as Ran, principal of the high school and "mother" in the Jutul family. *

Gísli Örn Garðarsson Gísli Örn Garðarsson (born 15 December 1973) is an Icelandic actor and director. He is one of the founders of Vesturport, a theatre and film company based in Reykjavík, and is also sometimes a scriptwriter and producer. Before focusing on act ...

as Vidar, CEO of Jutul Industries, "father" in the Jutul family, and Laurits' biological father.

Supporting

* Ylva Bjørkås Thedin as Isolde Eidsvoll, Magne's green activist friend. *

Odd-Magnus Williamson Odd-Magnus Williamson (born 14 September 1980) is a Norwegian comedian and actor. He is known to Norwegian television audiences for his recurring appearance in commercials for the grocery chain ICA and his performance on the Norwegian version o ...

as Erik Eidsvoll, Isolde's father, teacher at the high school. *

Bjørn Sundquist Bjørn Richard Sundquist (born 16 June 1948) is a Norwegian actor, famous for TV, theatre, and movie roles. For many years he worked at Det Norske Teatret and Nationaltheateret in Oslo, and he is especially famous for the roles as Merlin and H ...

as Wotan Wagner, elderly disabled aged care resident. The reincarnation of

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

, god of wisdom and king of the gods. * as Wenche, supermarket checkout operator. Her real identity is

Völva In Germanic paganism, a seeress is a woman said to have the ability to foretell future events and perform sorcery. They are also referred to with many other names meaning "prophetess", "staff bearer", "wise woman" and "sorceress", and they are f ...

. She awakens Magne's, Iman's and Wotan's powers. * Tani Dibasey as Oscar Bjørnholt, high school student, hangs out with Fjor. * as Yngvild Bjørnholt, local police chief, Oscar's mother. * Danu Sunth as Iman Reza, new high school student. The reincarnation of

Freyja In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...

, goddess of love, who can manipulate minds. * Billie Barker as Signy, Magne's new love interest. *

Benjamin Helstad Benjamin Helstad is a Norwegian actor and musician mostly known for '' King of Devil's Island'', '' Body Troopers'' and ''Permafrost''. He has also done the Norwegian dubbing for several American films, including Disney's ''Fillmore'', ''Jungle ...

as Harry, mechanic, boxer. The reincarnation of

Týr (; Old Norse: , ) is a god in Germanic mythology, a valorous and powerful member of the and patron of warriors and mythological heroes. In Norse mythology, which provides most of the surviving narratives about gods among the Germanic peoples, ...

, god of war. * Espen Sigurdsen as Halvor Lange, doctor at nursing home, "dark elf" or dwarven blacksmith. * Fridtjov Såheim as Sindre, high

school counselor A school counselor is a professional who works in primary (elementary and middle) schools or secondary schools to provide academic, career, college access/affordability/admission, and social-emotional competencies to all students through a school ...

Episodes

Season 1 (2020)

Season 2 (2021)

Season 3 (2023)

Reception

The series holds a rating of 7.5 on IMDb. ''Wired'' said ''Ragnarok'' was "angsty, eccentric" "climate change fiction" and compared it to ''Twilight''. ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' also compared it to ''Twilight''. The series was not well received by some Norwegian media. VG called it nonsensical, said that the characters, plots, and dialogue were a failure, and noted that even though it was in Norwegian that it felt more like a Danish series. Despite being set in Western Norway, the characters do not speak in western dialect.

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...

called it a stilted mixture of '' Skam'' and Norse mythology, "just as bad as it sounds". Filmdagbok made a point of it being superficial and politically boring. Glowing reviews were also posted, including a

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

viewer score of 81%, and

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

's K. Campbell praising ''Ragnarok'' as "compelling" and citing "the strength of its central concept, which depicts the end of the world as a slow creep..."

References

External links

* * * * {{Netflix original current series Norwegian-language Netflix original programming 2020 Norwegian television series debuts Fantasy television series Teen superhero television series Superhero web series Television series about teenagers Television series based on Norse mythology 2020s Norwegian television series Television shows set in Norway Television series by StudioCanal