New Boy

> Ragnarok
> In Norse mythology, the definition of the end of the world. Ragnarok begins with natural disasters and culminates in the great battle between the gods and the giants.
>
>

**New Boy** is the first episode of the first season of the Netflix Original Series *Ragnarok*, and the first episode in the series overall.

## Synopsis

Returning to his family’s hometown, awkward teenager Magne discovers his strange new powers. Still, the hamlet's natural beauty cloaks dark secrets.

## Plot

   The episode begins with Turid and her sons Magne and Laurits' return to their hometown, Edda, by her car. Edda is a town beside glacier in Western Norway whose beautiful scenery had since marred by the presence of pollution in the region. As they enter the town outskirts with Magne struggling with their car's window crank, the mother and her sons are interrupted by an old man whose scooter suddenly stalled. This prompts Magne to assist the elder, much to Turid's approval and Laurits' chagrin. The old man, Wotan, remarks how strange the town they currently at as the young man inspects his scooter.

Just then, Wotan's caretaker, Wence, shows up and smiles upon Magne's display of kindness as he assisted the elder fixing his scooter. As the grateful Wotan reassures the young man that he can handle himself once his scooter works again, Wence steps in and praises Magne as well before unexpectedly caressing his forehead a bit. Little did he knows the caretaker of the old man he just helped sensed something inside him and somehow brings it out by doing so, resulting his eyes to flicker in electric blue a bit accompanied by indistinct whispers. Although, Magne feels weird by how his interaction with two elderly went and returns to the car without a word, which doesn't help by him somehow breaks their car's window crank like a twig and even predicts the incoming rain which befell the town at once.

Despite such unusual occurrences, the mother and her sons' journey back to their new home, which admittedly used to be Magne and Laurits' grandmother's, goes smoothly. Laurits is less than thrilled to see their would-be neighbors being "bums and drug dealers" simply because they live in trailers. Turid argues that one of them might helpful to get Laurits a job. While helping his family bringing in their belongings to their new residence, Magne stumbles upon a pamphlet among the trash on the ground containing the promise to make Edda a cleaner place.

On the next day, Magne and Laurits are introduced as the new students of Edda Secondary School by its history teacher Erik. During their introduction, Laurits states that he skipped a few years ahead while his brother Magne being better at other stuff as the former put it. After a moment of awkward silence, Magne eventually speaks by revealing his status as dyslexic. Whereas Laurits sits beside Gry, Magne chooses to sit beside Isolde as per Erik's suggestion. As the class begins, Magne notices Isolde's laptop which features a paraglider with mountainous region in the background as a wallpaper along with stickers which usually collected by eco activist just as its owner notices him pulling out his tangle which he plays in order to concentrate better on their would-be lessons. The topic of their class is the significance of Norse Mythology in the eyes of inhabitants of their town; Edda is in fact, the last town in Norway to convert to Christianity and even suggested to be where Ragnarök — the final clash between the Gods (embodiment of law and order) and Giants aka. Jötnar (embodiment of chaos) — took place long ago. In the same conflict, the Gods were betrayed and perished while the fate of their enemies were unknown.

During the lunch time, Magne decides to sit beside Isolde and befriends her despite the latter's warning of him becoming an outcast like her by doing so. Magne argues that he doesn't mind since he's not popular to begin with before revealing a pile of sandwiches he brought for lunch, surprising Isolde who wonders whether he would kill himself through consuming excessive amount of sugar and fat. Just then, Fjor shows up to ridicule the duo's altruistic goal to keep environment clean, leading to the brief argument between him and Isolde who justifies that someone must do something about plastic and metal wastes people carelessly discarded. Fjor counters by claiming those she criticizes actually provides jobs and earn money for it before imploring Magne who watches the whole thing to stay away from Isolde. Once Fjor left to tend to his own business, Isolde sardonically informs Magne about the snob she just argued with; Fjor is their senior who famed for his fair look and status as a Jutul, a reputation he shares with his sister Saxa. Isolde further reveals their mother, Ran, happens to be both the school's principal and English teacher. Magne then asks Isolde what she does outside fighting against pollution, in which she replies being talking about environment-related topics in YouTube, eating snus in daily basis despite potential health risk, and paragliding.

It doesn't take long for Magne to learn that Isolde's idealistic goal saw her made enemies with people who disagreed with her. As they about to part ways for their respective home, Isolde is frustrated to find someone twisted the tire of her bike, citing the culprit being among such people. To her relief, Magne finds the damage can be undone simply by him bending the tires back to its proper shape with his bare hands alone, a feat which pleasantly surprised both of them. In his uncertainty over what just happened, Magne documented the experience into his digital diary in his smartphone that night along with gradual improvement of his eyesight which followed it.

On the second day of the school, Nygaard announces the class' end-of term group assignment being about Individuality and Authority when he notices Magne struggling to read what he wrote on the chalkboard, prompting Isolde to point out her friend being dyslexic. As their professor begins to assign the students into groups for their assignment with Magne's group-mates being Gry and Isolde, Isolde notices him not wearing his glasses despite bringing it with him.

Shortly after the class, the three friends brainstorm the idea for the chosen topic of their assignment as Magne fixes his laptop's frame with Isolde's help. Gry proposes that they can start with the definition of democracy in ancient Greece before tying it with present-day Norway, whereas Isolde proposes multinational corporations and chains being in charge of everything as opposed of the government and Magne the relationship between the community and local industry while showing the group the pamphlet he salvaged on the other day. Whereas Gry can't help but mixed by Magne's proposal since they would likely criticize Jutul Industries A/S in their would-be assignment, Isolde is more open to such idea, citing things she believes in are not like what they seemed to be. Just then, the bell rings, prompting Gry to begrudgingly ask Isolde to write an essay about their chosen topic so they can discuss it further later.

Meanwhile, Magne notices his mother showing up while greeting Laurits who about to return home on his own. Contrary to the teasing of one of Magne's classmates nearby, the reason of Turid's visit is because she and Magne are about to hold a parent-teacher conference with the principal as per the latter's suggestion through her e-mail that day. During such quick meeting, it's confirmed by Turid that Magne indeed struggles to concentrate like his peers and not best in academics, issues which likely had something to do with his father's untimely passing when he was 6 years old right prior to his family's departure from Edda. Turid further adds that her son also has a rash temper and can be a little violent to the boot, particularly while being mistreated, but nonetheless has a strong sense of justice at the same time. Attentive to the conversation between his mother and the principal at first, Magne senses a powerful gust of wind closing in to the office, prompting him to suggest the latter to shut the window without thinking twice. But his warning fell to deaf ears as the two resume their conversation, leaving Magne dumbfounded with what he just felt. However, his prediction comes to pass in the next instance; as soon as Ran places her hand on Magne reassuringly after Turid elaborating her son's track record from his kindergarten and junior school days which involved property damage, the wind shuts the nearby window with enough force to crack it and startle everyone in the room, Magne included. In his shock, the young man broke his tangle by mistake and didn't realize it until he sees the damage just as Turid gives him an identical replacement.

Stopping at the gas station while on their way back home, Turid reassures Magne that Ran would be of great help for him when she finally notices her son stopped wearing his glasses. Snapped from his stupor, Magne, who spent much of the trip back home mulling over his newfound quirks so far, only able to claim he no longer needs it. Just then, a fancy-looking car stops to refill nearby with its owner, a man with a jacket over his business suit, comes out and greets Turid warmly. It is Vidar, Turid's dear friend and the CEO of Jutul Industries A/S (the local company Isolde resented with passion) himself. During such reunion, Turid introduces her son to Vidar, leading Magne and the man to shake hands. But as soon as they do, Magne and Vidar have a strange feeling about each other's presence, which worsened by the latter's gaunt-looking pet dog who remained in his car barked furiously at the former. Vidar reassures the mother and son his pet, Trym, always get to work up around strangers before advising Turid to contact him whenever she needs some help. Turid reassures Vidar back that she already applied as an accountant before they part ways. Not feeling any better from what just aspired, the unease Magne inquires his mother whether they indeed know each other very well, though Turid has no interest to elaborate it further since they had to move on for the moment.

We then brought to Vidar's residence, a three-story manor with Viking aesthetics including a tower at the center. Meeting his wife, Ran, at the manor's living room, Vidar opens his laptop to look back on the old news pertaining the tragedy that befell Seier family in the past: Magne's father, Asbjørn Seier, died in an accident leaving his wife Turid and two children Magne and Laurits. Asbjørn was 32 years old during his tragic passing. Entering the bathroom to use one of the sinks, he meets his children Fjor and Saxa as they finished their business there and strictly instructs the former to find out as much as he can about Magne. It is also shown the relationship between Vidar and his son being strained one as Fjor cares little about Magne, let alone his father's request.

In Seier residence, Magne brings out his late grandfather's toolbox, much to Laurits' curiosity considering their mother usually keeps him from messing with tools within. Magne explains that he wanted to extend his bed a bit since it now too short for him. For such endeavor, he requires their grandfather's old saw within (which adorned with its late owner's monogram partly consisted of Sowilo (ᛋ) Rune) and wooden parts of Asbjorn's old sled. The sentimental conversation regarding the latter (Asbjorn once used the sled in question to pull Laurits up the mountains back when he was little) made Magne reconsider about best materials he would use for his bed. Just then, Laurits lids his cigarette with its scent caught by the nearby Turid's nose, prompting Magne to cover his brother up by stating it caused by one of their neighbors who recently stopped by instead.

While cleaning the dishes that night, Magne wonders whether Laurits' decision to buy Turid three boxes of ice cream being too much. Laurits justifies their mother hasn't enjoyed herself for quite a while. Recalling on the essay he currently worked on for his group assignment Gry and Isolde, Magne inquires his brother's assistance in it later. Laurits states he will under the condition where Magne ought to do his part of dishes as well.

On the next day in the school, Hilde, one of Magne and Isolde's classmates, shows her friends the dress she planned to buy for the upcoming party on the next week as the two look on while minding with their lunches. Fjor joins the group's conversation by asking Gry whether she will show up at Oscar's Saturday and suggests the party to be hold at the cabin in the mountains. Oscar then teases Hilda that it's essential for her to 'bring her boobies' too, causing the latter to toss her empty plastic bottle at him in response and unwittingly gives Fjor an idea to make fun of Isolde nearby. Rather than being provoked, Magne and Isolde choose to ignore him, smiling even as they find his insult too laughable to be taken seriously. It is when Laurits showing up at the cafeteria, reminding Magne of his request to his brother on the other night.

Later in the class, Magne shows his essay to his group and adds that Laurits helped him a bit. To his dismay, the content deviated too much from the topic he is supposedly working on to the point of Isolde and Gry can't help but underwhelmed by Magne's contribution. As a result, he had to rewrite his essay once again that night, this time on his own via. voice-to-text feature in his laptop. Taking his time watching Isolde's latest video in YouTube which showcases the severity of pollution at the local fjord through a dead trout she found and her criticisms on the country office's alleged part in such matter, the unsettled yet inspired Magne writes in his essay the prospect of the false image the authorities presented to people along with implication of disturbance on the underlying balance they either hide or ignorant about. He then wastes no time giving the revised essay to Gry on the next day. Though her schedule is tight at the moment, Gry nonetheless reassures him that she will take a look at it soon.

Accompanying Isolde back home, Magne tells his friend that his mother discouraged him from performing sports except chess when she decides to stop by at the grocery store for shopping en route. Entering the store, Isolde offers Magne to join her family's upcoming dinner unless he only allowed to eat cookies. The interested Magne accepts the offer, much to the delight of his friend who then takes off his glasses, finding him more presentable without it. Unknown to Isolde who already inside, Magne once again cross-paths with the pleased Wotan who ominously expresses his delight over the young man's arrival.

Shopping together, Isolde's eco-activist spirit sees her buying mineral water and sharing Magne one of her cloth bags, citing mineral water being healthier than tap water and plastic bags being less eco-friendly. As they pay for their goods, the store's cashier, who is none other than Wotan's female acquaintance Wence, warns the two that the mountains won't be safe during the spring equinox and Magne will be needed in the coming days. Oblivious to Magne's unease, Isolde reassures her friend not to worry about the cashier before making their leave.

Entering Eidsvoll's residence, Magne looks around the inside and stumbles upon a study with a nearby turnable playing a classic music played by the French composer Richard Wagner. Things take an awkward turn for Magne when Erik, his History teacher, shows up and reveals himself to be Isolde's father. Magne finds himself still processing such revelation throughout the dinner until Isolde suggests that they should go to the mountains on Saturday and Erik advising him to be careful so he won't involve himself into her ongoing YouTube campaign at his daughter's expense. Magne reassures there won't be issues if he goes with Isolde given that his late father took him to the mountains for a good view on the glaciers when he was very young. Whereas Isolde states the view would be underwhelming considering much of the glaciers has since melted (she even cites the progress via. markers she placed in the area in the last three years), Erik reassures the trip is going to be worthwhile nonetheless. It is during their conversation Magne learns Isolde's drive as an aspiring eco-activist being her late mother Mrs. Eidsvoll who died from consuming tap water which had since polluted by activities of Jutul Industries A/S which in turn, fueled her resentment towards unfeeling people who ravaged the environment at the others' expense.

After the dinner, Magne and Isolde briefly bond through the loss of one of their biological parents. Isolde reveals that her mother was 38 when she died, approximately 5 year prior to the tragedy which befell Asbjørn's own. Not wanting to make his visit sourer than it already was, Magne decides to head back home only to accidentally knock Isolde's personal notebook which then opened to the floor, revealing the entry about her crush on Saxa. Horrified by this, the panicked Isolde urges Magne not to reveal what he just saw to anyone.

In the next afternoon at the school, Magne tells Laurits about his visit to Eidsvoll's residence leading to the discovery of Erik and Isolde's familial ties which latter sarcastically remarked as scary (Laurits cites Hitler loves Richard Wagner's works as much as Erik). With a bummed expression on his brother's opinions, Magne puts it aside to inquire Gry nearby about his revised essay. To his delight, Gry finds it much better than the previous version. Recalling on the appointment she discussed with Fjor which he overheard by chance on the other day, Magne asks Gry whether they are indeed going to the mountains on the next day. Gry states their trip reserves only for those who Fjor invited. Before they could elaborate each other's appointment however, Fjor shows up to announce his invited peers about the sudden change of plans in which they would visit his mansion instead, citing his and Saxa's parents went on a business trip at the moment and barely hid his intention to spite Isolde through it. The relieved Saxa sarcastically asked Magne why he wanted to go to mountains and Isolde replies on his behalf that they wanted to see the town's local glacier. Isolde further states they can manage since she already there previously, leading to a tense exchange between her and the Jutuls in which Fjord claimed the mountains around Edda being part of his family's property thus they may step a foot on the area at their own risk. Throughout said exchange, Gry remains oblivious to the change of atmosphere between them.

Despite the tense interaction with the Jutuls, Magne remains in good mood while returning home and seeing his mother repairing their home's fence. Despite Turid's insistence where she can manage on her own, Magne remains adamant in his desire to help her while reaching for his grandfather's hammer on her hands. That is when something inside him acting up once again; grasping the hammer, a sense of familiarity coursed through him to the point of the young man freezes on the spot, allowing Turid to take the hammer back. Regaining his senses, Magne relents and leaves his mother on her business, but not before uncertainly glancing back to make sure whether she indeed can handle the endeavor on her own.

During the dinner, Laurits reveals Magne's newfound friendship with Isolde through their common altruistic passion in keeping the planet clean along with his own deduction regarding the latter's sexual orientation (he cites his "gaydar" never misses) to their mother. Turid chides Laurits for the latter, stating that it's no big deal if his brother bonds with a lesbian before once again asks Magne why he stopped wearing his glasses just as he reveals his plan to go to the mountains with Isolde. In response of Laurits' teasing of him attempting to impress their classmate Gry, Magne eventually confesses about the mysterious improvement of his eyesight as of late. Not taking such confession seriously, Turid insisted Magne still requiring his glasses to improve his reading practice regardless. Deciding to change the topic of their conversation albeit not before reassuring Magne that she would check whether they still have their hiking boots, Turid wonders whether Isolde happens to undergo a phase not unlike her own back when she was 16, specifically when she developed a crush to someone she knew only for Laurits stops her before ended up droning into her own story.

On their way for Edda's local glacier in the next morning, Magne reassures Isolde the boots Turid gave to him won't hamper their trip despite visibly less suitable for their current activity unlike the latter's own and adds that he chose to keep his glasses on under his mother's insistence. Taking their time gazing upon the panoramic view of Edda, Isolde argues to Magne there's something off in the town hidden in plain sight which motivates her to leave as soon as she got the chance, but nonetheless promises to visit him from time to time since they're friends. The reassurance of their friendship leaves Magne deeply moved, though he prefers her visiting him over the suggestion of them leaving Edda together as Turid won't likely approve it.

Meanwhile, Vidar rides to the same mountainous region Magne and Isolde hiking at.

Back to Isolde and Magne, the two find the bridge has been sealed with a warning evidently (and recently) placed by Jutul Industries A/S. Sensing how conflicted his dear friend truly is because of her resentment towards Jutul family coincided with her feelings for Saxa, Magne comforts Isolde to forget about her crush, stating the latter is too good for her. Shortly after they jumped over the bridge's warning sign, Magne received a message from Laurits in his phone which said their mother is in big trouble. Uncertain whether the message was genuine and worse, his phone ran out of battery before he could clarify things with his brother, Magne informed Isolde about it thus he had to briefly return home. After reassuring the worried Isolde that Turid's situation might not as serious as Laurits' message attested, Magne and Isolde part ways.

Arriving at his own destination, Vidar steps out of his car, his nose caught the scent of a reindeer herd roaming at the plains nearby as he takes off his clothes. Cautiously and stealthily circling the unsuspecting herd, the naked Vidar stops above the cliff right beside them and closes his eyes as he mentally prepares himself, an Old Norse mantra (which too distorted for the audience to hear closely) plays in his head as he did. Opening his eyes at last, they glow in fiery yellow with their pupils turned into slits — revealing his true nature as a Jötunn. Lunging at one of the reindeers, he pins the poor creature to the ground scaring the rest of its herd in the process, breaking its neck by twisting its skull 180 degrees, and then rips its heart out of its lifeless torso all in that short order with his bare hands alone. The satisfied Vidar then departs from the scene with his bloody prize on his hand. Standing on the edge of another cliff — one that overlooks the area — Vidar takes a huge bite of his reindeer heart before letting out an inhuman roar.

Echoing thunderclaps accompany Isolde as she reaches Edda's local glacier and begins examining the area; seeing how much the glacier melted with aid of her stone markers, taking pictures of the area's specific points, and taking one or more water samples. That is when she comes across a suspicious looking tunnel beneath the still-melting glacier which she didn't remember since her last visit. Exploring the tunnel, Isolde discovered it apparently man-made and led to a hidden locked storage conspicuously belonged to Jutul Industries A/S. The echo of Vidar's inhuman roar soon reaches the tunnel, prompting her to make her leave.

Returning home, Magne finds Turid no worse to wear, just finished cleaning up and adding new curtains. Laurits shows up and tells Magne that their mother got better as soon as he texted him, easing his guilt by citing how much Turid loves their residence's new decoration. Irritated by the false alarm, Magne storms off back to Isolde.

On his way back to his dear friend, Magne sees Isolde already descending from the mountains via. paragliding. To his horror, Isolde seemingly loses control over her flight as she did, crashes onto the power line in front of her, and falls several meters to the ground. Magne wastes no time to rush for her charred and crippled unconscious body and try to resuscitate her to no avail. Just then, Vidar shows up to the scene with his car, fully clothed and tries to assist the young man before eventually resorts to call in paramedics. By the time ambulance sirens wail from the distance, the devastated Magne embraces the lifeless Isolde in tears.

Rain falls over Edda as the sun sets, apparently the result of Magne's grief from his helplessness in watching Isolde's untimely demise rather than natural phenomenon. Tossing aside his glasses, he hurls his grandfather's sledgehammer nearby in a fit of rage. His grief abruptly turns into shock and confusion upon finally realizing the sledgehammer flew far away accompanied by a sudden, intense lightning surge in the sky which triggered the blackout all over the town...

## Cast

* Jonas Strand Gravli as Laurits Seier
* Herman Tømmeraas as Fjor Jutul
* Theresa Frostad Eggesbø as Saxa Jutul
* Emma Bones as Gry Isungset
* Henriette Steenstrup as Turid Seier
* Gísli Örn Garðarsson as Vidar Jutul
* Synnøve Macody Lund as Ran Jutul
* Odd-Magnus Williamson as Erik Eidsvoll
* Bjørn Sundquist as Wotan Wagner
* Eli Anne Linnestad as Wenche
* Tani Dibasey as Oscar Bjørnholt
* Kornelia Eline Skogseth as Hilde
* Karoline Petronella Ulfsdatter Schau as Jenny
* Geir-Atle Johnsen as Nygaard
* Jonas Jacobsen as Nisse
* Thor Ivar Forsland as Mayor
* Jeppe Beck Laursen as Radio host

## Trivia

* At the end of the episode, Magne hurls his father's sledgehammer (deliberately modeled to be reminiscent of most popular depictions of Mjölnir) over 1,500 meters. The second episode reveals it was embedded in the windshield of Vidar's car. But why didn't the hammer return to him, as it is famous for doing? Because that was a property of Mjölnir, made by the finest dwarven smiths and so powerful Thor himself needed a special gauntlet called Járngreipr to hold it and harness its power at its fullest. It wasn't one of Thor's own powers, so Thor throwing any old non-Mjölnir hammer wouldn't get the benefit of it always returning to his hand, "no matter how far or fast he hurled it."

## Tropes

* The Alleged Car: Turid's car has shades of this, with the engine having problems to start and the window crank breaking off.
* And Show It to You: Vidar kills a reindeer and rips its heart out. Then he takes the heart to a cliff over the fjord and bites into it.
* Big Brother Bully: Inverted with Magne's younger brother Laurits. When Magne asks him to proof-read something he wrote, Laurits changes the entire text, making Magne look stupid. Later, when Magne is hiking with Isolde, Laurits texts him saying that something happened to their mother even though she is perfectly fine. Magne hurries back home and Isolde has a deadly accident with her paraglider.
* Bury your gays: See Plot-Triggering Death.
* Character Death: See Plot-Triggering Death.
* Dictionary Opening: The episode begins with an entry defining Ragnarok.
* Disappeared Dad: It is mentioned that Magne and Laurit's father died in an accident at age 32.
* Death Wail: Magne screams when he walks home after Isolde dies.
* First Day of School Episode: Magne and Laurits have their first day at Edda Secondary School.
* Gaydar: How Laurits knows that Isolde is a lesbian. **Laurits:** My gaydar never fails!
* The Glasses Gotta Go: Played with. Magne's mother thinks that he doesn't want to wear his glasses anymore because he is ashamed, but Magne really doesn't need them anymore after getting his powers.
* Grade Skipper: Laurits skipped a few years ahead in school and goes in the same class as Magne.
* Gray Rain of Depression: It starts to rain heavily when Magne walks home after Isolde dies, fueled by his new powers.
* "L" Is for "Dyslexia": When one of the teachers writes "Individ og Myndighet" on the blackboard and asks Magne to read it out loud, there is a shot simulating his experience, and the words say "Dndivdni og Dyndighgh" instead.
* Love Doodles: Isolde has drawn Saxa's name with hearts in her diary.
* Missing Mom: Isolde tells Magne that her mother died of cancer at age 38.
* Mythology Gag: The hammer that Magne encounters earlier in the episode and throws far away at the end of the episode invokes Mjølnir, Thor's hammer.
* Neck Snap: Vidar kills the reindeer by twisting its neck 180°.
* New Transfer Student: Magne and Laurits are the new students at the school.
* Plot-triggering Death: Isolde was killed by Vidar for discovering the Jutuls' dark secrets hidden beneath Edda's local glacier. Her death became one of triggers of Magne and co.'s war against Jutul clan as much as the drive for Magne to finish what she start. She even keeps appearing in Magne's dreams throughout Season 2.
* Sickening "Crunch!": There is a crunching noise when Vidar breaks the reindeer's neck.
* Super Strength: Vidar, being able to kill the reindeer like that.
* Title Drop:
	+ One of the teachers calls Magne "new boy". Isolde calls Magne this a few times as an affectionate nickname.
	+ For the entire series: The episode begins with a dictionary entry defining Ragnarok.
* Weather Manipulation: While he doesn't control it purposefully and it is instead fueled by strong emotions, Magne can make it rain and summon a thunderstorm with his newly obtained powers. He also can predict the weather.