WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Record of Ragnarok, now streaming on Netflix.
In Netflix's Record of Ragnarok, Zeus and the pantheon of gods from all cultures are hellbent on wiping out mankind. They think humanity's reached its expiration date and at a council meeting, a vote to destroy is unanimously passed. But the leader of the Valkyries, Brunhilde, arrives and plays on Zeus' ego regarding the death sentence, asking the arrogant council to fight 13 of Earth's elite warriors, plucked from all eras of history.
The gods laugh at the notion of lesser beings defeating them, so Zeus agrees. Little does he know that Brunhilde has a game-changing cheat code to murder the gods.
Zeus is excited because once his team reaches seven wins, it's game over for humanity. He has Thor, the Asgardian thunder god, take the first match to exert influence and impose their will. One of China's most dangerous warlords, Lü Bu, gets to fight for the humans, but it doesn't seem optimistic since all he has is a halberd.
But as Brunhilde confirms with her youngest sister, Göll, she's got a devilish trick up her sleeve. It's revealed when Lü Bu gets close enough in battle and cuts Thor, leaving Record of Ragnarok fans wondering how a mortal blade could do that. Well, it turns out Brunhilde made a deal with her sisters and for each warrior, they undergo a process called the "Divine Forge." This is Völundr, named after Wayland the forgesmith in Norse history, who made weapons for Valkyries -- beings he and his brothers lived with.
Record of Ragnarok plays on this bond and the sharing of souls out of love as each Valkyrie turns into a weapon for its wielder, transforming the humans into "god-slayers." Randgriz's soul allows Lü Bu to pierce Thor's armor, while Reginleif's soul sees Adam employ a knuckleduster that can crush gods' skulls. The elite swordsman, Kojiro Sasaki, gets two swords from Hrist's two souls that help him move lightning-fast so he can cut up the god Poseidon.
If the humans lose, though, their essence vanishes, as well as the Valkyrie they partnered with. Zeus and his son, Hermes, realize what's going on, and are honestly impressed at how the Valkyries level the playing field. They didn't expect mankind to have celestial weapons, which confirms Brunhilde is waging a secret war.
Zeus admits to Hermes that he did hear past rumors where the Valkyries might have been planning something nefarious, but he couldn't figure out what it was. From this evidence at the Valhalla arena, it's clear that when the Valkyries usher souls into heaven, they are determining which warriors to use as weapons to fulfill their destiny -- rebelling against the condescending deities. It dawns on Zeus that Brunhilde's legion is trying to bring about Ragnarok not for man, but for the gods.
