A Clashing of Gods in Thor: Metal Gods Episode 14

Thor’s quest is nearing an end in Thor: Metal Gods Episode 14. Thor has been through many an adventure in his long life, but perhaps none such as this. After all, how often does he get to indulge in a quest so full of musical references?

Last we saw, Thor and his allies were on Miskandar, but things had gone horribly awry. Given the history of this planet, that in itself isn’t terribly shocking. What is more concerning is who is behind it all – and who will be their only chance at survival.

Thor: Metal Gods is part of a series from Serial Box (now called Realm). The whole first season is now available to read (or listen to) on the site. When season two picks up, you’ll find a new episode dropping each week to follow along with.

A Challenge of the Gods

Aaron Stewart-Ahn stepped up to write the second to last episode of the season, Thor: Metal Gods Episode 14. It’s arguably the most dramatic episode in the series (so far), though perhaps for different reasons than the previous set.

You see, this is the final act. That much is clear, and it has gotten intense. Not only has the final revelation been made (and it’s a big one), but there’s a lot of emotional pull in this episode as well. It feels like every character was forced to go through their own trial here…and in a way, they were.

That alone was enough to make this whole episode emotionally tense. It added weight to the series, reminding us of the unique backgrounds of each character (especially the ones created for this series).

It really felt like each character was given a moment here. Aaron Stewart-Ahn gave each character a moment here, and I love that. Some of the moments were poignant, an acknowledgment of past wrongdoing. Other moments were heartfelt and so full of pain. It was a beautiful balance and not something you get to see every day.

Narration

Daniel Gillies is, thankfully, still at the helm for narrating this series. As mentioned above, Thor: Metal Gods Episode 14 was full of shocking revelations and emotional impacts. That’s a lot of demand to put on the narrator, yet he lived up to the challenge.

What was so impressive here is that he was able to portray various emotions, all while forming the individual voices we’ve come to expect from our characters. That could not have been easy, but the payoff was certainly worth it. Their pain, their realizations, and their determination rang clear through Gillies’ voice.

It did feel like more sound effects were used in this episode. That being said, they were put to good use. They were never disruptive but rather seemed to compliment the scenes – especially the scene towards the end.

Conclusion

Thor: Metal Gods Episode 14 was a dramatic and heartfelt issue. It’s impossible to read (or listen) to this episode and not feel for the characters. That all of this intensity has been wrapped up into the final series of events is all the more impressive.

It’s hard to believe that there’s only one episode left of this season. I personally do not know if there will be a second…but I can’t help but hope there will be. This whole experience has been new and brilliant, right from the start. This is a Marvel character in a whole new format, and it took all of the risks appropriate for that alteration. And it was worth it.

Thor: Metal Gods is just the first Marvel series to hit Serial Box. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited about the next few two series that are going to be releasing this spring. Both Jessica Jones and Black Widow are due to drop in the next couple of months. Later down the line, we should be getting a Black Panther series as well, and hopefully, that is merely the beginning.

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.