Kratos Finally Admits He Was A Dick To God Of War’s Long-Suffering NPC

This captain first appears in the original God of War. After defeating the large Hydra that attacks the boat you begin the game on, Kratos goes into the creature’s throat and finds the boat captain dangling inside the beast. Kratos is easily able to yank the captain to safety but as the hapless man thanks Kratos for saving him, the warrior screams back that he didn’t come to save him, rips the key off his neck, and drops him down the giant’s throat to die. Y’know, just because.

The captain would show up again later in the first game, dangling above the River Styx in the Underworld. Kratos, who had just been “killed” himself, is falling into the realm of the dead and grabs the captain’s legs to stop himself. He then climbs up the captain, plunging his sword into the man’s back for leverage. And once he’s safe, Kratos kicks the captain into the river below.

Later, in God of War II, Kratos fights the captain during a boss fight when his spirit is summoned into the arena. The captain freaks out upon seeing Kratos again and runs away, only to be killed (I guess you can kill a ghost) yet again by the Ghost of Sparta. And while he doesn’t directly show up in God of War III, you can find a note scribbled by the captain that points out Kratos could have saved him and that the god killer had treated him like “nothing.” He then expressed his hope that Kratos would suffer in Hell.

Now, in God of War Ragnarök, Kratos finally admits that…yeah, he was a huge dick to the boat captain. In his journal, after admitting he wronged him, he also says it was because of “the choices” he made that the captain was “robbed of his freedom” just like the giant creature he just saved. Kratos ponders for a moment if all of us have a monster inside of ourselves and then likely runs off to punch open some more chests and kill more monsters in cool ways.

Look, it’s baby steps for the God of War, okay? Perhaps in 12 more games, he will finally say sorry and even try to help the guy out. Maybe go down to hell and give him some wine or something. Time will tell.