If the ending of Ragnarok represented a true conclusion, it would be integrated and the storyline would make sense. Instead it made no attempt to explain all the deaths in the town or the Jotun business scandals.
My theory is that it should be understood as a reflection of Magne’s mental state. Magne was traumatized by the deaths and by the sheer cruelty of the world that he found himself in. Rather than process the trauma of all of the loss, he retreated into a numb self-delusion. Carrying the weight of his identity proved too costly, so to protect himself from the harsh reality, and the responsibility it would entail, he decided it was all in his head.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
— Marianne Williamson
* the Jutuls interact, speak to each other in Old Norse, Vidar eats a raw heart. In those scenes, Magne isn't anywhere nearby.
* Subplots like Laurits's relationship w/ the serpent or Saxa's corporate stuff, don't involve Magne at all.
* the show implies that the scandals were just standard corporate pollution
* if isolde’s death was real but the mythology was fake, how could a regular person like Vidar Jutul cause the accident so precisely
* Magne isn't shrinking to fit in, but it's letting go of fantasy/childhood, Magne's "god" identity was actually a crutch—a way to feel powerful in a shitty powerless world
The show maybe wants to have it both ways, but if so they needed to make that make sense.
2
batnessApr 15, 2026
+1
That checks out, and you cite a good set of scenes that wouldn’t have been solely in Magne’s head.
Agree with all those except the last point because Magne has powers. Unless you are saying that only the Magne supernatural scenes were in Magne’s head?
1
sleepyotter92Apr 15, 2026
+1
i think the issue is they tried to leave it a guessing game at the end on whether it was all in magne's head or not. yes, it can be seen as the ptsd made him create this fantasy in his head so he didn't have to deal with the real world. but way too much shit happens without magne's presence for the "it was all in his head" ending to make any sense. the jutuls do shit without magne being there, so it couldn't be in his head. the only way that ending works is if scenes where magne is present show all the fantasy stuff, but when he's not there, is just normal stuff. but fantasy stuff still happens when he's not present, so it can't be all in his head. the only way it could work as it all being in his head, including the stuff where he's not present, was if the whole show had him telling the story, narrating tons of shit, and so he'd be an unreliable narrator, and all the fantasy shit that happens when he's not present was just him making shit up for his story, because he had no clue what was actually happening, so he just made it all up for his stories
1
batnessApr 16, 2026
+1
Correct. That’s why I feel the only explanation that works is that Magne is not right in the head at the end.
1
DROOPY1824Apr 15, 2026
+1
The ending doesn’t even deserve a shitty Listnook discussion. I can’t emphasize enough how bad it is. Makes the last couple episodes of Game of Thrones look like season 3 Game of Thrones.
1
BigEstablishment1275Apr 15, 2026
+1
that comparison is actually savage lol. i mean ragnarok had potential but yeah, when you compare it with how badly got crashed and burned... that's saying something. the whole magne mental breakdown theory makes more sense than whatever the writers were trying to pull in those final episodes.
1
DROOPY1824Apr 15, 2026
+2
I fully enjoyed the first 2 seasons, it was a cool depiction of Norse mythology in the modern world done in a way that was pretty unique. But the decision to end it that way after showing plenty of examples of the characters being gods/giants while Magnus was not around and then trying to shoehorn it all into Magnus’ mental state was one of the worst storytelling decisions I’ve ever seen.
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