Summary

• Understanding Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 requires knowledge of Norse mythology for a deeper narrative experience.
• The game blurs reality and imagination, leaving players to question whether events are symbolic or real.
• Despite its dark themes, Hellblade 2 ends on a positive note, emphasizing the importance of community and .

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is an emotional rollercoaster filled with ups and downs. Because Senua is such an unreliable narrator in some ways, the story can sometimes be difficult to keep up with, especially without the prerequisite knowledge of Nordic folklore or Icelandic history. These issues become even more compounded without knowledge or playtime in the first game, as Senua's story in the original Hellblade ties into the events of the second.

[Warning: The following contains major spoilers for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2's story.]Although Hellblade 2 can stand on its own for its rich narrative and stunning visuals, having some additional context around the complex story can help elucidate the eventual ending of the narrative once the credits roll. Much like the first game, a lot of the narrative in Senua's Saga can be viewed as an allegory, though the second game does blur the lines between what is reality and what is in Senua's head as a result of psychosis.

In Hellblade 2, Senua Becomes The Hero At The End

His Name Is Áleifr

In the end, Thórgestr's father, Goði, kills Thórgestr by thrusting a sword through his back, symbolic of the ultimate betrayal. Thórgestr and Senua then enter the spirit world together, with Thórgestr muttering, "You have to redeem them." Senua looks back at him and asks, "How? How do I stop this?" Finally, Thórgestr whispers the true name of his father, Áleifr — though up until this point, characters have known him as Goði.

Goði was sacrificing the villagers to the "giant" in order to appease him.

Senua then teleports back to reality, facing Áleifr with smoke around him. Unlike the giants she's faced thus far, Áleifr seems like a regular man, albeit somewhat enhanced at first. After landing a few blows with her sword and muttering his name, Áleifr transforms back to Goði, and it's revealed that the fight is actually happening back at camp, with onlookers pushing the now pathetic-looking Goði around in a circle as Senua lands the last few blows on him.

Ultimately, this culminates with Senua holding a rock over Goði's head as he lies on the ground, with an extended dream sequence that delves into aspects of her past, including her relationship with her father and mother. The final moments of the game end on a hopeful note, as Thórgestr tells Senua, "We are not our fathers."

What Does Hellblade 2's Ending Mean?

A Complex & Nuanced Ending Left For Interpretation

Put literally, Senua must know the names of the giants she's facing and their circumstances when they were human in order to defeat them. Thórgestr's father, Goði, is revealed to be the "giant," so the revelation of his true name gives Senua the ability to defeat him. That said, he differs vastly from the previous giants in the game, which were literal giants in the form of huge humanoid creatures, pointing more towards the entire story being more of an allegory, with each giant representing not a mythical creature but a natural disaster or just a bad human being who causes suffering upon others.

The ending, when taken metaphorically, poses a crossroads and a decision that Senua must ultimately make. Repeat the sins of her father and continue to perpetuate violence and death, or show mercy and set herself upon her own path, free of the shackles of her past. Though left ambiguous, it is a hopeful note — with arms reaching out, symbolizing the real-life friends she's made along the way as well as the lives she's saved throughout the game as a result of her actions.

While maybe not completely satisfying to some, it's left ambiguous as to whether the entire game was an invention inside of Senua's head or whether these mythological creatures were actual threats or just symbolic threats to those living in 10th-century Iceland. Because of the interactions Senua has with other characters in the game and the relationships she forms, as well as the people she saves, it's implied that at least some of the game's events happened in reality. In this light, Senua is viewed as a hero who has risked her own life countless times to aid others in the region.

Ties To Norse Mythology

Through A Different Lens

In Norse mythology, Valhalla represents the afterlife for the greatest warriors and is located in Asgard, the celestial realm for the gods. While Asgard and Valhalla have been popularized by popular media like Thor, other lesser-talked-about realms also exist in Norse belief. These realms included places like Helheim, Folkvang, and Ganingagap.

Helheim, or simply Hel, is the place that Senua traveled to in the first game, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, for the final battle in the first game.

Although it's more than likely Thórgestr did end up in Valhalla, the gray space in which Senua communicates with the dead is derived from another belief, as it's said that Senua is a seer or seeress. Based on a poem from Elder Edda and later the Poetic Edda titled “Völuspá,” This tale describes a woman who goes into a trance and is able to communicate in a space between the afterlife with both spirits and gods alike. This is likely the inspiration for the space that Senua is transported to in certain portions of the game.

When viewed from a primarily mythological lens, then the game itself becomes less an allegory and more literal in the events that have taken place. Rather than psychosis, Senua has special abilities that enable her to communicate in realms reserved for those with such gifts. This also enables her to defeat the giants. Ultimately, regardless of how one takes it, neither scenario needs to be mutually exclusive, as both elements can be true and still make sense within the context of the overall narrative.

Hellblade 2 Does End On A Positive Note

Though It Is Still Dark

Hellblade 2, while dark and gritty till the very end, still ends on a rather positive note. Rather than the isolation and fear Senua has felt through most of the first and second games, she ends with the hope that she can continue to save and help people and that her efforts so far were worth it because of the community she's been able to build. Symbolically, this is a reassuring message for those playing, as community, , and love are often the foundations needed to live a happy life.