I’ve got to say, I really like how this scene is handled. I mean, in the game Kratos just sort of confirmed Lloyd wasn’t hurt and then passed out, which kept him from needing to do anything further. Here, however, he checks on Lloyd, is relieved that he’s okay, and then… stands up stiffly, turns away, and leaves his son crying on the ground. And when Lloyd actually calls him ‘father’, he dons his angel wings as a reminder that he’s the enemy.Ouch, for both of them.
I’m happy with how they did this because it shows Kratos’s shortcomings really well. Maybe I’ve just seen one too many fluffy fanfic portraying him as a loving father, but I’m thrilled that this is what they chose to emphasize here. The fact that Kratos cares about Lloyd is a no-brainer, but he’s bad at acting in accordance with that love, and even worse at expressing it. He makes decisions that put Lloyd in danger and hurt him badly, and when it comes down to it he just doesn’t know how to deal with being a father of any kind. It takes a situation where he’s worried for Lloyd’s physical well-being to make him show any love at all towards him — and the moment that’s passed, all his walls are back up. In a situation he has no clue how to handle, he’d rather protect himself than try to comfort Lloyd during one of the hardest moments of his life.
