At Valhalla, Odin (Peter McCauley), the king of the Norse gods, prepares for Ragnarok, the end of all things. He tells Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) that the third and final event that will bring on Ragnarok is a riddle that no one knows the answer to -- `When light dies, then will Ragnarok begin.' Meanwhile, Loki (Ian Hughes) has a metallic mask made for Odin as a gift.
Odin's wife, Frigga (Donogh Rees), asks Hercules to bring Thor, who has been exiled for disobedience by his father, back home. Hercules agrees and finds Thor chained to a glacier ridge. After being freed, Thor refuses to accompany Hercules back to Valhalla because he is convinced that Ragnarok cannot be stopped. Disgusted with Thor's unwillingness to help his fellow gods and the humans he claims to protect, Hercules leaves him on the ridge and returns to find Norn (Yvonne Lawley). Convinced that Norn knows the answer to the riddle, Hercules takes the Book of Fate from her and threatens to destroy it unless she discloses the answer. As Hercules looks at the next page in the book with horror, Norn reiterates that she only paints what she sees. Meanwhile at Valhalla, Odin is approached by Norn who hands him a metal mask and tells him that looking inside it will solve the riddle. As Odin raises the mask to his eyes, Norn morphs into Loki. Odin suddenly screams in agony as he is blinded by the mask. Loki has fulfilled the third tragedy, since blinding Odin is `the dying of the light.'
In an ice cave, Loki extracts the Gilma's Horn, a special instrument that when blown, will bring on Ragnarok. The unseen Darkness that has been plotting with Loki emerges and promises him that he will survive the eternal nightfall. Meanwhile, Hercules finds Thor back on the glacier ledge and knocks him unconscious. He drags Thor to a Viking hall, where Thor wakes up to find the people he is supposed to protect in a state of despair. Loki blows Gilma's Horn and a storm blows in. Realizing that Ragnarok is near, Hercules and Thor return to the sight of their last fight and retrieve Thor's magical hammer, mjolnir. Thor swings the hammer in preparation to send them back to Asgard, but Loki arrives and shows them a page from the Book of Fate that depicts a burning Viking communal hall. Thor sends Hercules to Asgard and leaves to save the Vikings from the burning hall.
When Hercules arrives at Valhalla, a sparkling frost covers everything. In his dying breath, Odin, proud of Thor for choosing to help people, touches a sword to Hercules' arm, sending Hercules to the burning hall. When Hercules arrives, Loki suddenly appears and enters the hall. Moments later, Thor exits the burning building with a poisoned dart protruding from his neck. He collapses and dies. Hercules finds Norn and discovers that the paint she uses affects fate. He pulls out the drawing of Balder's funeral and realizes that it depicted the future. Norn's paintings only show the present and the past. Hercules figures out that Loki painted the future he wanted and the paint made it happen. Hercules returns to Valhalla and tricks Loki into revealing the location of the remaining paint. Hercules knocks Loki unconscious and takes him to the barn where Balder died. He tells Norn to change back fate, but realizes that people make their own fate. He pours the paint onto a page in the Book of Fate and time returns to the moment before Hercules pricked Balder with the poisoned dart. Hercules, now aware of Loki's devious plan, exposes him to Balder and Thor. Loki then morphs into a wolf and runs away. Hercules bids his farewell to Balder and Thor and returns to Nebula's ship to sail back to Eire.
Starring: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules)
Guest Starring: Ben Reed (Thor), Ian Hughes (Loki), Rupert Cocks (Balder), Peter McCauley (Odin), Donogh Rees (Frigga), Denise Snoad (Hilda), Wade Jackson (Eric), Yvonne Lawley (Norn), Emily Hartley-Skudder (Little Girl), Thomas McIvor (Recovered Warrior), Ann Baxter (Old Woman), Vadim Ledogorov (Blacksmith), Stephen Papps (The Darkness), Jonathan Muirhead (Little Boy)
Written by Gerry Conway
Directed by Michael Hurst
Trivia: The Darkness is actually Dahak.