In 2018, Santa Monica Studio introduced us to Freya in the God of War series, the mysterious reclusive goddess flitting about in the woods that trapped her, portrayed by the phenomenal (I should have gone with Frey-nomenal!) Danielle Bisutti, who embodied her as if they were one and the same. 

And they are! Danielle was marked from birth to play Freya. There's no denying it the moment we saw her. The magic was evident and so real.

In 2022, in the second installment, God of War Ragnarok, the studio allowed us a closer look into the complex and conflicting psyche of this magnificent character, once again, brought to life by the one and only, Danielle Bisutti. 

From the first line to the last, Danielle wielded the Vanir magic like it was her own, crafting with care, commitment, and love a portrait of Freya that was unapologetically nuanced, impactful, and rich with all the colors on the emotional spectrum. We felt her grief as if it were our own. We felt her rage as if it were our own. We felt her strength, resilience, and grace as if they were our own. She hit notes that I didn't think were possible in the spaces deep in our soul and marrows. She gave voice to the things we felt so strongly but could not find the words and ways to speak them, to name them. Every movement, every gesture, every sound resonated like frisson within the body, both chilling and thrilling. 

And I, too, had things in me that I couldn't name, things that I didn't have words for, things that I was too afraid to feel, after losing both my parents within 6 months of each other in 2022 and my grandmother the year before that. Then, like a torch, Danielle/Freya lit up the dark corners around me with their sincere and authentic flames, burning away the shadows of my fears, so I could muster up the courage to face my grief and learn to live around it. 

"There is a part of me that is so angry. And it will always be angry." The anger you feel in your grief isn't shame. It is the highest form of acceptance to be able to dialectically live in both conflicting realities: one where you punish yourself for feeling what you feel, the other you let yourself be. 

That is real magic. That, you can't put a price on.

I implore you, Amazon Prime Studio, to please let Danielle Bisutti invoke Freya once more, to bring her ancient, mystic Vanir magic to capture and take us away on an escapade to the Nine Realms. She is the only one to wield the torch so deftly, beautifully, and innately.

Sincerely and respectfully, with absolute loyalty and support, from all of Vanaheim and the Nine Realms,

- Boop, the Crimson Baron (@boopboopbarry on X and Instagram)

Image credit: @ArtStationHQ via @GracieMinor07 on X.