Sindri - Broken by Love 

Bro, something about seeing a character who's so funny, bright (as the game would allow it) go absolutely downhill because their heart was way bigger than their chest is just so... Heartbreaking. I felt so horrible for Sindri bruh

The "I gave you everything" speech always destroys me

Sindri threatening to go fisticuffs with Kratos 2018 for Faye's sake in spite of being scared sh*tless is a perfect reflection of his personality.

During the funeral, when Kratos tries to comfort Sindri, Sindri goes to lash out. He turns, looks him in the eye, and goes to say something, but he can not. His expression softens slightly before he looks away. To me, this is him accepting that what happened wasnt anyone's fault. That isn't a look of anger, but one of shame. Shame for lashing out at people who do care even if they failed to show that in time. Though it could just as well be shame in himself, for giving as much as he did for only tragety in return. Hopefully we'll see him again in the future.

By only salvaging three-fourths of Brok's soul, Sindri condemned him to eventual non-existence. So, my headcannon is his destroying Odin's marble - cursing him to the same non-existence as Brok - isn't just revenge for killing his brother, but a small way to assuage his guilt over his own role in Brok's fate.

During the battle of ragnarok, it was also revealed that Sindri refused to bring the dwarves to war. Even in his broken state, his never-ending love and obsession for control would not allow him to see his people be further harmed. He was the only dwarf to take the burden and in that, he faced ragnarok alone, broken and bitter.

Bro that “get the fuck outta my sight” was totally unexpected and hit me like a freight train. I was like noooo please don’t say that!! 🥺

I tend to think of Sindri’s obsessive cleanliness was a symptom of what happened with Brock. He lost his brother and thought obsessively keeping everything clean and safe would keep that from happening again. Then when Brock dies he feels “I did all that for nothing” which is part of what breaks him.

Sindri is the literal personification of a truly good man pushed over the edge, ain't he?

Something I noticed during Brok's death was that when he said "Stop it" Freya backed off and stopped applying the herbs to his wound. She did the same thing later with Freyr when he was holding back Ragnarok's sword, he told her to go and she didn't argue she just ran. Freya learned the hard way with her trying to control the fate of Baldur what happens when she won't let go. Now she does let go no matter how much it will hurt her. Sindri is still in the blame everyone else stage of his grief, Freya was there as well with the "I'm gonna kill Kratos for my mistake!" arc. So there's hope that Sindri gets past that as well. I just hope they don't give him a long villain arc if it all or take forever to resolve things if the writer's do that at all. If they drop Sindri from the story I'll be pretty pissed off.

Sindri is that one character I wanna give a well deserved hug. The guy really needs one after what he went through.

What gets me is the despair, Sindri is basically immortal and he is now alone, before he always had his brother and despite their differences they were extremely close. But now he's gone, and not just gone, he's gone FOREVER, Brok doesn't get to go to the afterlife because he's not a whole soul... even in death they will never reunite. I can't imagine the crushing horrible emptiness Sindri must feel knowing he doomed his brother and himself with no recourse, there's no going back, there's no undoing his mistakes. He is alone, both in life and beyond forever...

Before Brok's death, Sindri (and Brok) would always go behind a corner or out of sight in order to do his vanishing/teleporting trick. But afterwards Sindri was doing it in front of everyone. It was like he had been putting on a show, like in a scene in 2018 when he gives Atreus the details while playfully teleporting all around. But when Brok dies, his attempts at control have failed, the facade falls and the show's over.

One thing I'd like to add is that there's some truth in Sindri's outburst to Atreus, and it's not just him trying to be hurtful. Atreus did really just keep taking and taking. Not just because he's a brat, but it's a very real depiction of how sometimes we take some people or relationships as granted. Even in the first companion quest where Atreus and Sindri go off to find/not find Freya, it clearly shows that they have an easy-going and familiar dynamic... but you can still see that Atreus takes Sindri for granted. This escalates to the point of his outburst against Atreus after Brok's death, and I think it hurts all the more because there's a kernel of truth in it.

Mimir: A hole. Kratos: What? Mimir: Gets bigger, the more you take away.

Sindri was broken the moment Brok first died, he only covers it up with the humor and protectionism. It's always the brightest and kindest hearts that are the most broken. Sindri acts out for not wanting others to suffer as he did.

There is something that you overlooked on the whole subject of sindri caring. Sindri gives atreus what's basically a quick escape key. He hits atreus key orb (or whatever it's called) a tap with his hammer and explains that if he ever needs to make a quick getaway. He says that it's for one use only and he even tells him the word he needs to say in order to activate it. And before he gives him the exit key/spell, he tells him "i can't let you go back without...this". Meaning that he cna't let atreus go back into their enemy's realm where him beng killed is very likely without something that he can use to ensure his safety. And this happens even after being swatted like a fly by atreus "bear claws" as he put it. And he even says that he would forgive him eventually. And whether he did forgive him or not when atreus decided to go back to asgard, he still went to give him the escape key. This shows that even after being angry at atreus for hurting him, even if he didn't forgive him he still gave him something to help him. It shows that he dosen't let his personal feelings get in the way of caring for the people around him. It shows that even if he didn't forgive atreus he was still not going to let him get killed if he could prevent it. At least back when he didn't fully break. He gives him an escape key that might come in handy. And it did. Atreus was about to become a jötunn pancake by thor. And what does atreus do? He reaches for his key and uses it to escape after saying that sindri better right considerong the siruation he was in. And after he escapes he praises sindri for knowing how to plan an exit. If sindri didn't give him the one time escape key, atreus would have had his brains stuck to mjolnir. Which shows how helpful sindri is to the people he cares about and how caring he is. Even when those loved ones hurt him by accident.

One thing that may also be important in Sindri's downfall is that, he wanted to control the way people cared about him. His relationship with others, even with Atreus, was always transactional. He was giving them everything, because he wanted them to care about him as much as he cared about them. He was trying to buy their affection, which they never fully gave him. On the contrary, Kratos especially returned only contempt and indifference, until Brok died. Sindri was mostly treated like a means to an end, even if his friends were occasionally nice to him. He needs to love as much as he needs to be loved, which is very understandable ; but the fact that he failed to control even that, is really tragic. As long as he sees love as something to be bought and controlled, Sindri is doomed to always fail and be unhappy. What's more, much like Kratos, he feels undeserving of love because of what he did to Brok, and thus doesn't even seek redemption. For him to feel loved, he would need to change his entire mindset. Ever since he lost Brok the first time, he was a broken man. In a way, because he was unable to grow out of his sorrow, he really stopped maturing as an individual until all the years of personal development he tried to escape from got back to him in an instant when Brok died again. That's why he seemed like a completely different character at the forge ; that was actually the real Sindri, filled both with love and the anger, the resentment, the guilt, he was hiding from everybody. But it was there from the start, if you look closely, only presented as comic relief.

The final scene in the funeral was very sad as he shifted away in view of everyone showing he didn't care anymore of what people thought of him.

I remember in GOW 2018 it's revealed that it's kind of Freya's fault Sindri's so cleanliness-obsessed. As a nature goddess, she told him about micro-organisms, so now he's constantly aware that these little things he can't see are EVERYWHERE. Only when he broke did he stop caring about it.

I always saw him cleaning everything because he still feels the well of souls crawling on his skin. He even said so. That would make anybody want to CLEAN everything so they could tell what they were actually FEELING.

At the funeral. Think about how he drops the torch (a source of light) before he leaves, signifying that he's gonna be in the darkness for a while.

Sindri is truly testament to Odin’s dapravity. The All-father might just be the most *evil* character in the entirety of God of War. At least with Zeus there’s the probable excuse that he was infected with fear. Odin is in complete control of his own actions. He abuses & misuses his powers on his own accord. I like to believe that in this continuity Bör & Búri both lived harmoniously with their primordial creator, Ymir. Odin took arms against the first giant because he just *had* to be in control. He’d claim that it was a necessary evil, to bring order to the realms. The Jötnar put it best “there are some who believe that anything wild or uncontrolled is evil”. Odin acted not out of altruism for his fellow Aesir or benevolence for mortals, but out of an animal-like need for autonomy. Controlling his own destiny meant everything. Throw the omniscient rift into the mix, & it only fed the Allfather’s madness. Even gods weren’t meant to behold the secrets that lied beyond the green veil, but that wasn’t gonna stop him. So much destruction, oppression, & deceit for the sake of this endless mad quest. The Jötnar? Slaughtered at his command not just because he was jealous & paranoid of their prophetic powers, but they probably refused to help him with the mask. The Vanir Gods? Wiped out because they apparently posed a threat to Asgard, & by extension Odin’s precious rift. But I think the most heinous would be the dwarves. Centuries of systematic oppression by the All-father, whether it be polluting their lands, chaining their majestic beasts, but especially vandalising the art of weapon making. For the sake of fuelling the war machine, Odin wanted as many blades as possibly, quantity over quality. The Dwarves lost everything to this madman: their home, their freedoms, their passions & culture. Even sending a sadistic shit stain like Heimdall to stomp out a justified rebellion. Odin was so absorbed in his higher purpose, that he probably spat on the beings he deemed lesser. What is one dwarf compared to the infinite knowledge that lies within Ymir’s rift. I like to think it’s why Odin snapped so suddenly when he was disguised as Týr. He had the mask, he was right under everyone’s nose. The millennia of massacre & treachery was all going to be worth it. All the answers he craved was gonna be his at long last. Only for this legendary loudmouth of a blacksmith to call him out of his bullshit act. This probably infuriated the Allfather like nothing else. How dare a creature he deemed so inferior question him? HIM? And just like that he gives up the gig & kills the Huldra brother. Not for any tactical advantage. Not for the sake of defending Asgard & the rift. Not because Brok was someone strong enough to stop him like Kratos. But because of Odin’s complete disregard for lesser beings, those he judges to be beneath him. That whole speech he gave Kratos after the Draupnir spear was forged was projection at its finest. He couldn’t give a shit about the mortals who worship him, much less a Dwarf whose people he’s dominated for centuries. What’s beautifully tragic is that Sindri embodies each one of Odin’s heinous crimes: the oppression of his people, the killing of his brother, the disregard from this “higher” being. Sindri killing this mad megalomaniac worked so well because it’s a culmination of all the Allfather has done. His crimes created the vengeful shell that ended up smashing his soul. It all comes full circle.

The visual storytelling around Sindri is just breathtaking

The director of the game compared Sindri to The Giving Tree, in that it's always giving, giving, and giving, and giving until it's nothing but a stump who is only good for being sat upon. When you see Sindri without the gloves, you're seeing the stump. He's just like Freya and how she controlled Baldur to keep him from dying. And like Freya, that control cost him everything. I wonder how long it will take for Sindri to recover, if he ever will?

I think the two things that makes the tragedy of Sindri hit so hard for me is that someone who is so driven to do good that he can't realize that maybe it isn't the best thing for both parties. The other thing is that he KNOWS THIS about himself, he knows HOW and WHY he is so mentally distraught but can't make peace with himself because Sindri is Sindri. Sindri is his biggest enemy, and Sindri probably resents how he can't give up, because he knows first hand why he shouldn't be the way he is... It hurts to watch more and more because he knows he is at fault for a lot of the problems because he's a doormat at heart and yet he wants to make sure everyone is happy by controlling them to keep them out of danger... that's why this is story is so deep. It's just powerful.

Control feels like such a central theme to this game, that Sindri could resonate with just about all the main cast. Everyone tries to control something only to have it catastrophically blow up in their face.

When there was the option to throw a snowball at him I was like why in all of the 9 realms would I ever do that!

2:58 he even tells them that he wants his home to be clean before they arrive at his home. He tells them that its the cleanest cabin in all the nine realms and then says "and i'd prefer it to stay that way. Not looking at anyone in particular. Kratos" which earns him an either annoyed or normal grunt from the said person

19:39 Sindri's similar to Freya in that way. She cursed Baldur so he wouldn't die but his inability to feel driving him mad and Odin using the possibility of a way to break it to send him after Faye led to Kratos killing him. Sindri not letting Brok stay dead led to Brok having no afterlife when he died a second time.

There is a thing based around this behavior of him being so generous. That kinda' explained something for me. I've a weird behavior where I feel I must thank and show gratitude for things done for me, by people who are around for years. I refuse to remain silent about it, which at times has confused my friends why I speak this way. But the point in saying this, is because like Sindri. He was generous, and gave much, they probably didn't even think about it. But it was too late, for gratitude, for repair with Sindri. We never know when that last moment we get with someone, will be. So as a point that I've drawn from this game, watching Sindri's nature play out, is be grateful to your friends and what theyve done to help you. Make sure they know the fact you think of these things if you do, perhaps even consider it more often if you don't now. It might be the last time you get too. Even with them as the same person perhaps, because sometimes when things change, the person you know dies within and still walks around for many years on.

5:21 I think that's the real reason Sindri's a clean freak. Dirt and mess remind him of nearly being dragged under Alfheim's lake trying to get Brok's soul back.

I absolutely love how they wrote Sindri, they wrote him in a way I think not a whole lot of fictional stories could ever do. Because they actually show the realistic tragic consequences of being unable to let go instead of trying to make it bittersweet/romanticized. As a person who’s been one side, (victim) I can say that a relationship like this is sadly doomed from the start. It leaves both sides with genuine trauma and scars from the experience. Usually it stems from selfish desire, or at first genuine love then changing into selfish desire. It’s something that you can never really recover from, and it changes you, dramatically. I hope people take notes from Sindri to avoid people like him, or avoid becoming him in that manner.

This is such an excellent video. Sindri really reminds me of a loved one of mine. I never had the heart to call him "controlling" because he's only ever tried to do good. And I thought his "boundaries" were there to keep me safe. I now realize his boundaries are there to make himself feel safe, so that no one will ever put themselves in danger and go away from him. And I've only ever felt guilt that I haven't picked up that same anxiety, so that I can restrict myself when he's not looking. His anger is reminiscent of Sindri too. That "I'm one bad day away from giving up" attitude. And yet, they soldier on, but that anger and resentment accumulates, even when they're the picture of mercy.

I think there's something very powerful about the way he teleports away after Brok's death. As far as I remember, he always goes out of sight before warping places. I can only assume this is something he does out of preference. But after Brok's death he doesn't care in the slightest, he just wants to leave

the foil between brok and sindri is one of my favorite parts of the story

Your God of War commentaries quite literally got me through my final week of freshman year. You're a real one Brett 👊

There's a dark twist to sindri's cleanliness that is made clear when he says he still feels the souls of the other people when he went into the well to get his brother back. Just like how he washes away the dirt and grime so to does he wash away the souls of the other people who tried to cling to him and that event haunts him so much so that it's become a further extension to his compulsive disorders.

One thing I immediately recognized the moment Brok died is it breaks the established rule of travel between realm dwarves used. It usually happened obscured behind characters or just offscreen. The moment Brok died, Sindri ignores all pretends basically showing what's behind the curtain. He doesn't care anymore.

Regarding the idea of Sindri having Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: a lot of fiction simplifies or trivializes OCD as "germaphobe who washes their hands too much," but all of Sindri's behavior put together does come across as a fairly accurate representation of a person with OCD. His desire for control comes from a place of fear and anxiety, and OCD, at its core, is an anxiety disorder. People with OCD experience OBSESSIVE and intrusive thoughts that cause them anxiety, and then develop COMPULSIVE behaviors as a way to assuage that anxiety; compulsions can be seemingly rational (I don't want to get sick and die = wash my hands to get rid of germs) or irrational (stepping on a crack will break my mother's back = only walking on certain parts of flooring or ground). But even "good" compulsions can become bad when they interfere with a person's ability to function (regular handwashing is good, repeatedly washing with scalding hot water until the skin breaks is not). Sindri is willing to go through so much to keep his loved ones safe, but it wasn't enough, and it never would've been enough.

3:05 to be fair, it's only Kratos who refuses to wipe his feet. We can see Atreus in the corner look down and start wiping his feet like a good boi

Maybe I'm reading my own feelings vs what the story is saying, I like to think Sindri was about to let Kratos have it at the funeral, but seeing how deeply affected the usually stoic god was from losing Brok, he realized he'd just be lashing out at someone who didn't deserve it.

I believe it was the event of going into the lake of souls that caused Sindri’s obsession with cleaning, as seen how he remarks how he “still” feels the other souls crawling on his skin. While it’s possible he was already worried about keeping things clean, it’s likely this event worsened it to borderline obsession. This is even more noticeable considering he’s a blacksmith which is fairly dirty work

I would like to note that when Singri asked Kratos and Atreus to wipe their feet before entering his house that Atreus did steped off the the side and do so. We don't see the full animation due to the fact that we are with Kratos not Atreus but we do see the start of it.

It is no exaggeration for me to say, that Sindri is my most anticipated character arc for future God of War games. In a lot of ways, the other characters in the story have had their story arcs concluded by the end of Ragnarok, and even more by the end of the Vallhaha DLC -- but Sindri was left so broken by the end and has not yet had a chance to move on. I hope one day to see him redeemed, if not in our eyes, then at least in his own.

Sindri was not Mauled. He was slapped away rather forcefully but he was hardly mauled.

Voice actor completely smashed it at the end of Ragnarok. It feels so genuine when he’s hurt and lashing out. I can’t overstate it.

The more I watch these videos the more I respect the voice actors

"He care too much." OMG, Sindri is Anakin Skywalker.

I do like that they always hid themselves going between realms, from either coming from behind a wall or offscreen, etc. However once Brokk dies, Sindri no longer hides this, just blinks out of existence.

Sindri is going to be like Freya in Atreus' game for a bit. Hopefully he survives and overcomes his "villainy"

He also took control by lying about assembling the dwarf army.

I don’t think Sindri will be love driven anymore whenever we meet him again. What have Love gotten him, lost his home, secrets, sanity, happiness & family.

Sindri being a clean freak Levi ackerman: i like this one.

What is this blessing of my eyes and ears that im witnessing?

I wonder.. If sindri was given the choice, I think he would give up one of his own soul pieces to grant brok an afterlife. It's almost sad how sindri is the perfect example of how the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Another amazing god of war essay. Sindri was the most underrated and heartbreaking character in the Norse series.

I don't think Sindri was trying to control anyone, he was just trying to be self-assertive. But Atreus's selfishness and cold dominance led to Brok's death and separation with negative aggression of Atreus and Sindri's relationship. I think Brok was also trying to tell him to let LOVED ONES and THE PAST go, but as you said the whole thing was too late.

You have no idea how much I love your videos, they’re so amazing to help with my work days, and you never present information without either your own narration or in game dialogue. For someone who gets annoyed when video essays use un narrated text since I can’t watch them your videos are always a godsend. Thanks man!

Something I'd like to note about this is that the end of Brok's death scene and the end of the funeral scene are the only times we ever actually _see_ what it looks like when dwarves walk between realms. Every time before then, across both games in the Norse saga, it's been hidden behind something like a stone. While this does have a practical application for the sake of the people making the game, seeing that it's really this utterly silent, one-moment-he's-there-the-next-he's-not kind of thing just adds a little more of that emotional emptiness, the sense that something is suddenly just _gone_ to those scenes.

Wow perfect timing. 5 minutes ago I finished Ragnaröks story and now your video was uploaded. A cineastic masterpiece I‘ve never seen before that follows its prequel perfectly

I love your examination videos of the new god of war games. One of my favorite parts of the writing in this game was just how many gray areas the characters operate in. Just like real life, even the best characters in this game have flaws in some way. Really wish we got a trilogy to this story with the characters all explored more in depth.

I love your video essays FatBrett!

I love your analytical videos. You are so underrated.

Thanks as always for such a great video and analysis!

I was rewatching your videos a few weeks ago, I'm so happy I got to watch you upload another about Sindri like you had said, this was so mind opening

Been waiting for this video. Fantastic, man.

Man, every video gets more refined and better over time. I rewatched many of them, and came out of it with different views than I had originally on the game and even the real world as a whole. Keep making videos, you are great at bringing up points that most people don't even consider.

Your video essays are absolutely amazing.

I have been waiting so patiently for this video

I could listen to your GOW analysis videos forever, you’re always finding amazing stuff between the lines of this game and it fascinates me every time. Just getting to this one, but thank you for your hard work

The perspective on control is a surprisingly smart one, especially coming from a RU-vidr. Congrats! 😊

Yes! Return of the Brett

I love these videos. Going so deep into the characters we all grew to love shows how complex they all are and how much they resonate with their audience. Just incredible.

Triumphant work again Brett! Your analysis stands as an opportunity to reflect on ourselves whilst get closer to the beats of the story/game/characters. Excellent service mate truly👏🏾

Absolutely love the insight you bring to these characters. Fantastic work

The new Sindri video!!! Yes, so excited for this one!!

This was a really good video on the last of us, thanks man

w vid as always doesnt matter if the game is old ur break downs are lit

Almost two years on and STILL getting great analysis from this awesome story and these awesome characters. Well done fatbrett!

The change of personality of Sindri in God of War Ragnarok, reminds me to Tommy of The Last of Us 2, as both used to be notably kind and reasonables men, even more in comparison with their older brothers; Brok and Joel, particulary during the events of God of War (2018) and The Last of Us 1. But sadly, when their brothers were killed in cold blood by Odin and Abby, Sindri and Tommy got a change of personality of 180 degree, turning them in vengeful, bitter and ruthless men, that harbor a notable thrist of revenge for the murderers of their brothers, to the point that Sindri and Tommy were enraged that the protagonists didn't were willing to finishes Odin and Abby, leading to that Sindri destroyed the Odin's soul for himself and disappeared after that, while Tommy simply chastized Ellie and leaves the scene angry.

Everything is right in the world! A new video!

These videos are just divine

Sindri's story breaks my heart, and I'm pretty positive I would've done the same were I in his shoes. I understand where he's coming from and I had a gut feeling one of the brothers would die when I started the game, and I secretly hoped it was Sindri, and it made Brok's death hurt even worse and made me completely change how I felt about him. 10/10 character writing in Ragnarok, something we don't see very often.

I really liked your video. I wasn't expecting to be this deep. It almost made me cry at the end. Very beautiful words.

Glad to see you safe I was starting to worry cause you wasn’t posting 😭

Beautiful video as per usual

I saw your other Sindri video just two days ago, and now you upload this. Hell yeah luck

I love this franchise and I love how you analyse the story and the characters please continue the good amazing work👍

Another brilliant video essay.

The way his voice wobbles when he sobbingly says "...Brok?..." just frickin' kills me. 😭👏 This game is an absolute masterpiece and eveyone who worked on it should be immensely proud.

Please never stop making these videos

ive watched all your videos about god of war, and i gatta say, ur voice and narration of the game's story and meaning is very calming to sit through, you genuenly make me want to play all those other games just to click on another hour of you breaking it down. keep it up my guy.

i love these videos

Havent seen it all but i can already tell this is going to be a good vid.

Been waiting for this since the twitter post. Watched it 3 times now.

Best mini video essay I've seen in a long time. Keep it up. 🔥🔥🔥

I've been waiting for thiss

Beautiful video man - I love your GoW content and excited to watch your FF16 content after I finish the game!!

Hi! This video is really informative about Sindri and Atreus's motivations throughout the game. I also liked how you went into the way Sindri's character changes throughout the story. Kratos and Atreus have a really close father and son relationship with each other too. They grow so much and learn a lot from their previous mistakes throughout God Of War Ragnarok as the story goes on too. The most touching scene is when Atreus and Kratos hug each other before going their separate ways. This signifies that Atreus is going to be going on his own journey to search for his remaining kinsman which are the other giants that are most likely located in other realms. I hope Atreus gets his own game soon and that Kratos makes a great general in the next one and fights for peace and honor by Freya's side as well. I think the God Of War Ragnarok Valhalla DLC hints that Kratos may be taking a back seat though while also accepting Freya's offer to be a general for peace too.