Spoilers ahead for God of War and God of War Ragnarok

"Baldur is blessed with invulnerability to all threats, physical or magical," Mimir explains to Kratos and his son Atreus in 2018's God of War. Yet as soon as Sindri, the dwarven blacksmith, gave a bundle of mistletoe arrows to the young god, I knew Baldur's fate was sealed.

I'm not an expert on Norse mythology, but the fables of Odin, Thor, the giants, and Vanir are something I've had an interest in for a number of years now. I know the broad strokes surrounding Ragnarok and some of the smaller myths, ranging from the story of Thor creating the tides after being tricked into drinking the ocean, to the tale of the construction of Asgard's walls--which ends with Loki being impregnated by a horse, incidentally. While some players were wondering how Kratos was ever going to stop an unkillable god, I knew the answer was already sitting right in front of us, neatly docked on Atreus' quiver. The exact details of Baldur's eventual demise may differ in God of War compared to the Norse mythology it pulls from, but mistletoe--and by extension, Atreus--still play a crucial role in the death of its fearsome antagonist.