Record Of Ragnarok Season 3 Recap: Who Is Siegfried?

After a two-year-long wait, the epic god vs. human showdowns have returned as “Record of Ragnarok” has arrived with its third season, featuring a new set of matchups that will determine humanity’s chances of survival. Previously, the second season ended with Buddha’s sensational battle against demon king Papiyas; as the enlightened god Shaka won the battle while representing humankind, he ended up liberating the true kind-hearted form of god Zerofuku. As the season begins, the scoreboard indicates three wins each for the gods and the humans; the unexpected perseverance of humanity has caused major concerns in the global pantheon of gods, whereas Brunhilde wants to capitalize on the win streak to put the deities further under pressure. Three major fights take place in the course of fifteen episodes of the third season, showing off exciting combat spectacle while the narrative finds strength in redefining the myths of gods and the life stories of legendary figures of humanity. Notably, significant revelations about possible motives behind the commencement of the tournament take place, which highlights the scope of the events of the upcoming seasons.

Spoilers Ahead

Major Upset in Battle of Kings: Shi Huang’s Tragic Past

The seventh battle of the Ragnarok tournament takes place between the king of Helheim, Hades, and the first Chinese emperor, the great unifier, Qin Shi Huang, a blindfold-wearing confident emperor whose empathy for his subjects finds a very literal identification through his heightened condition of mirror touch synesthesia. Hades, the eldest of the original four Greek brothers, enters the tournament unexpectedly, motivated to avenge the death of his brother, Poseidon, who met his end in the first season at the hands of Kojiro Sasaki and Valkyrie Hrist. However, instead of being carried away by the negative, vengeful feelings, Hades seems to be driven by responsible, brotherly instincts to draw his bident during Ragnarok. To showcase Hades’ sense of responsibility and immense strength, a flashback shows that during Gigantomachy, when Olympian gods were engaged in battle with giants, Hades remained busy fighting Titans on his own who were trying to escape Helheim. Adamas, the forgotten fourth brother of the prime Greek gods, who was slain by Poseidon, got a new life thanks to Hades, who sought help from Beelzebub to recreate Adamas as the new age god Adamantine. 

Assisted by Valkyrie Alvitr, whose Volundr bond creates protective defense armor for him, Shi Huang adopts a unique fighting style that manipulates opponents’ Chi and pressure points. After ascending to the throne nearly two millennia ago, Shi Huang had defeated the Chinese demon god of war, Chiyou, in a six-day-long battle and became the first heavenly king of the nation. Despite acting cocky on several occasions, Shi Huang is a courageous, noble ruler whose moral foundation was shaped from an early age. Shi Huang had a rough childhood; being a Qin prince who was held as a political prisoner in Zhao province, Huang experienced immense hatred by people all around him. Despite being treated in the worst possible way, Huang never lost his composure and continued to act too meekly for his own good. Things changed when Chunyan, a caretaker turned adoptive mother, took pity on the poor kid and helped Huang to freely express his emotions for the first time. Chunyan was a Zhao woman who lost her little son in the barbaric assaults of ruthless Qin warlords. At one point in time, Chunyan was nearly overwhelmed by vengeful feelings and wanted to meet the Qin prince, Huang, to kill him. But eventually, Chunyan had a change of heart after learning what kind of person Huang truly is. Upon learning about Huang’s condition, Chunyan helped him by blocking his vision using a blindfold to keep him protected. Unfortunately, Chunyan passed away while trying to protect Huang from Zhao assassins, and with her last breath, she shared her realization that if Huang gets to sit on the throne, he is going to become the noblest ruler humanity has ever known. Huang did keep his word and indeed became the greatest king, and at present, in his fight with the ruler of Helheim, he looks forward to honoring his mantle. Hades shows respect towards Huang after realizing his ideals as a king match with that of his late brother, Poseidon. Using his Chi sensing ability and redirecting Hades’ powerful blows towards him, Huang manages to keep the overlord of the Underworld on his toes. Using his own blood, Hades strengthens his bident further, and adapting to Huang’s fighting style, deals some heavy damage. In the end, as Huang seems to be a single hit away from meeting a grisly end, he manages to redirect Hades’ attack by killing him and handing an unexpected loss to the gods. Huang’s win takes humanity one up, making the residents of Valhalla realize how mistaken they were to underestimate the mortals. 

Duel of Scholars: Beelzebub’s Self-Discovery

The eighth battle of Ragnarok pits two great men of knowledge against each other—the feared, abhorred Helheim god Beelzebub faces the man whom Brunhilde considers as the only true magician of humanity, legendary inventor Nikola Tesla. In the flashbacks, Tesla’s curious mind, humanist approach, and optimistic perspective as a champion of science and truth are shown, which have been inspirational for generations of scientists throughout human history. Assisted by Valkyrie Gondul, whose Volundr bond allows Tesla to give form to imagination, the genius creator wields an advanced tech armor powered by a Tesla coil and delivers mighty plasma attacks. During the battle, Tesla also manages to imprison Beelzebub in Gematria prison created using Tesla particles and even uses teleportation by manipulating the electromagnetic field. An ordinary human with a brilliant mind manages to give Beelzebub a run for his money. 

Beelzebub, who is considered an anathema—carrying Satan’s curse since birth—was detested by godkind until he met Lucifer, Samael, and Azazel, three angels who befriended him without adhering to any sort of prejudice. Lucifer, the shining angel, infected a despondent, sombre Beelzebub with his positivity to make him appreciate life. However, on one occasion, Beelzebub found all his three friends to have been mysteriously murdered, and considering Satan to be responsible for their demise, Beelzebub spent eternity to find the whereabouts of Satan. Later on, Beelzebub was approached by Lillith, Lucifer’s childhood friend, as she decided to join him in his quest to find the truth about Satan. Eventually, the duo fell for each other, and much to Beelzebub’s horror, Lillith was found murdered as well. However, this time, Beelzebub realizes that he himself was responsible for the death of his loved ones, as Destrudo—a murderous impulse to kill everyone he loves—manifested within him as an extension of Satan. With her dying breath, Lillith assured Beelzebub of his inherent goodness and shared that she believes Lucifer thought the same as well. To ensure that Beelzebub doesn’t end up taking his own life in guilt, Lillith put a spell on him—which Beelzebub later tried to expel by goading Hades into a battle. However, Hades made him realize that Lillith wanted Beelzebub to not let his friends’ death go in vain and enjoy life to the fullest, and he considered the spell as a boon instead of a curse. Beelzebub’s self-loathing attitude never changed, and the motivation for him to participate in Ragnarok is rooted in his self-destructive approach. 

Beelzebub is an assimilation of two contrasting aspects, Baal and Zebel, and uses extreme vibrational powers to deal damage to his opponents. Using the Staff of Apomyius, Beelzebub concentrates and amplifies his vibrational powers to use in offensive and defensive means. Despite being outsmarted, cornered, and beaten up by Tesla on a number of occasions throughout the battle, Beelzebub manages to hold on his own and emerges as the victor at the end by rightly predicting Tesla’s moves. The pantheon of gods finds much-needed oxygen, as once again, thanks to Beelzebub’s win, the tally is once again evenly divided between two parties. 

Beauty and Beast: Spartan King Meets a Valiant End

If you are familiar with Alan Moore’s graphic novel, “300,” and Zack Snyder’s iconic live-action adaptation of it, then the ninth battle is going to feel like a lost chapter of the same narrative. Legendary Spartan king Leonidas faces Sun God Apollo, and the rugged, defiant Spartan has a score to settle with the deity who is considered beauty personified. As it turns out, Leonidas wanted to rally his troops to defend Greece from invading Persian forces led by god-king Xerxes, but oracles tried to stop him in his tracks by using Apollo’s worship carnival as an excuse. At present, Leonidas is assisted by Valkyrie Geirolul, who Volundr provides him with a specialized transforming shield. On the other hand, Apollo, revered as the pinnacle of beauty, is shown to be a merciful, kind god who sees beauty even in the most hateful, wretched beings. While everyone considers Apollo a delicate, fragile deity, in reality he fought his way up to the top echelon of Olympian gods and earned his reputation as one of the strongest gods across all pantheons. Using immense strength and fueled by his iron determination, Leonidas pushes Apollo to reveal his strongest form as a sun god. Apollo uses Artemis’ sunstrings to deliver extremely fast lightning arrows, which deal severe damage to the Spartan king, but the tide of battle suddenly changes when Leonidas grievously wounds Apollo by deflecting one of the lightning arrows towards him. Both the fighters are exhausted, and as the audience watches with great anticipation, they prepare to deliver their strongest strike. Leonidas and Geirolul form a Spartan phalanx-inspired blood-red shield, Aletheia Sparta, whereas Apollo posits himself as a living lightspeed arrow, Argyrotoxus. In the clash between ultimate offense and ultimate defense, Apollo emerges as victor, while Leonidas dies an honorable death. The tally is now four to five, with humanity trailing behind once again. 

Who is Siegfried?

The season comes to an end with the conclusion of the ninth round, and a post-credits scene shows the upcoming clash will pit two of the greatest swordsmen of Japanese legends against each other: Susanoo no Mikoto, the god of storms and sea, will face off against the greatest Shinsengumi captain to ever wield a katana, Soji Okita. Amidst all these, two major teases about the true reason behind the conception of the Ragnarok tournament are dropped. Buddha, who had launched his own investigation while recuperating, has learned that Brunhilde started the tournament to free her former lover, Siegfried, a demigod whom Odin has imprisoned in the deepest quarters of Tartarus for sins yet unknown. On the other hand, Beelzebub has looked into Allfather Odin’s secret motives and has learned that Ragnarok will allow him to revive primordial gods, whose arrival is going to spell doom for all existence. Also, an interesting addition to humanity’s roster is Nostradamus, the prophet who nearly destroyed Bifrost – the gateway between Helheim and Valhalla. The upcoming season will shed light on these plotlines, and the bigger picture involving the tournament will be revealed. 

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