God of War Laufey is giving Kratos’ wife Faye the starring role, and as you can expect, a subsection of the internet is using this as an excuse to let their misogynistic flag fly, all ostensibly in defense of the god-killing series’ leading man who they believe has been “sidelined” by the woke mind virus, or whatever. We won’t be giving that specific train of thought a ton of oxygen here, but I do find the reaction to Faye being a powerhouse worthy of starring in her own game to be pretty funny considering Kratos did nothing but gas this woman up in the 2018 reboot and 2022’s Ragnarok. That man is a wife guy, even after they’ve been separated by death itself.
It’s funny that the Kratos stans are so passionately advocating for him by tearing down his wife, when that man wouldn’t let any slight of her go by unchallenged. In God of War, the pair’s son Atreus learns of his own godhood, and he lets it go to his head real quick. He becomes careless, dismissive and rude to people he believes beneath him, and then even shoots a stray in the direction of his mother because she “wasn’t a god.” Kratos goes silent after this, but doesn’t forget, as he later refuses to let Atreus carry her ashes. Atreus says that he’s merely stating facts by saying she wasn’t a god, but Kratos says she was “better than a god” and that treating her as if she was less than they are is a “dishonor” on her good name.
Kratos isn’t the only one who talks up how powerful and inspiring Faye was in life. Sindri and Brok gave her the ice-powered Leviathan Axe Kratos now wields, and both speak of her with respect and mourn her when they learn of her passing.
Mimir also regales Kratos and Atreus with stories of her heroism, and says that she spent her life “making a nuisance of herself in the most noble of ways,” much to the annoyance of gods like Thor.
Overall, everyone in God of War seems to have been in awe of Faye’s strength and kind nature, so the way some folks have been whining about Kratos not being the star for one game feels ironic and tone deaf. Almost as if…there’s something else driving their sentiments, instead?