Quests and Tea in Thor: Metal Gods Episode 3

Thor: Metal Gods Episode 3 is the continuation of Thor’s epic and musically inclined quest, as told by Serial Box (now Realm). If you haven’t heard that bit of news, here it is: Serial Box managed to land the rights to tell several Marvel stories. And it all starts with the dynamic god of thunder.

Thor: Metal Gods has been quite a journey so far (and yes, I know I’m a bit behind on it – working on it!). You can either read or listen to each chapter (or both), providing a completely unique experience matching Serial Box’s format.

All things considered, Thor’s series is well suited to this transition in format. Though perhaps the musical themes are a bit surprising at times – but more on that later. Only time will tell how well the series does, and thus how many other Marvel series will end up getting a new form of storytelling.

Quests and Unexpected Allies

Thor: Metal Gods Episode 3 is an odd blend of writing. On the bright side, that means that it really is a wholly unique experience. Thor is still himself, though perhaps out of his elements at times, especially when it comes to tea drinking.

Yoon Ha Lee’s take on Thor and his quests has been a fun one. Here we see Thor (and Loki, of course) come up against different circumstances and villains. I, for one, never thought to consider Thor coming across a band of K-Pop dancers, but there’s something very charming about the thought.

While this episode is full of the new and different, it does contain within it a lot of themes central to Thor. That helps to ground the series, a fact that is proving more and more vital as time goes by. Loki is but one element being pulled into the mix here. There are also Frost Giants (because, of course) and Thor’s mannerisms to consider as well.

The Audio

Daniel Gillies has stayed on board with this project, providing the narration for Thor: Metal Gods Episode 3. At this point, I’m not sure what I’d do or how I’d react if they were to change things up.

Three episodes in, it’s safe to say that Gillies has established his voice for each of the main characters for this journey. You can clearly hear Thor in his voice, or Loki, or even Horangi. That speeds things up considerably while also providing us with a sense of consistency.

Maybe it’s just me, but it felt like the sound effects included in this episode were more pronounced. However, I don’t mean that in a bad way. The musical background or the sound of thunder all helped to enhance the scene quite a bit. But it’s also that right balance – it’s loud enough to be heard but nowhere near close enough to be obtrusive. As somebody who has listened to audiobooks with loud and distracting sound effects, that fact is very much appreciated.

Conclusion

Thor: Metal Gods Episode 3 was a surprising bit of fiction. It was fun and casual while still including many of the elements one would expect from Thor. And that includes a fight scene or two. Because this is Thor we’re talking about.

The amount of charm infused into this series thus far has been shocking. Thor’s mannerisms come off in a different light, but that isn’t a bad thing. This is a hero who is confident and strong, even when well out of his element. That makes for quite the reading experience, all things considered.

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.