The Three-Act Structure and the Three Circles of Hellblade

[Originally posted to r/Hellblade in December 2020]

Playing through Hellblade for the third time, I was intrigued by the use of circles in the archecture of the game- every major boss fight takes place in a circle, most of the minor fights take place in circles, and they're just everywhere throughout the game. Naturally, I began to look for patterns. My findings- there are three main circles in the game, and they correspond to the three-act structure of Hellblade's narrative.

There are lots of circles in hellblade, and they're all loaded with meaning, but there's three main ones I want to talk about. These are the best pictures I could find: Circle 1, Circle 2, and Circle 3. Together, these three circles are recurring motifs throughout the architecture of the game, and each circle represents an act in Senua's grand journey of self-acceptance.

Let's start with Circle 1 (I'll call it the Rune Circle). This circle is pretty much just a big vegvísir, encircled by some runes (the vegvísir was never a real Viking symbol, but that's beside the point). I tried translating the runes, but they seem to be just gibberish. This circle represents the Northmen- they're where Senua's journey started (you can see Senua standing on this circle as she first sees Dillion's body), and the catalyst of the events of the game. This circle is littered throughout the beginning of the game, being the location of the very first fight and both the Valravn and Surtr fights. This represents Act One of Senua's journey- it establishes the scene (both the North and Senua's homeland of Orkney), the characters, and the central question (will Senua save Dillion's soul?). A super great motif all around.

The second circle, I'll call the Tree Circle. I'm unsure if this is supposed to represent Yggdrasil, but either way it's definitly the tree that holds Gramr after the shipwreck shore. In the center of the tree is Garmr itself, and four dead bodies swing from the limbs. u/kelina19 put forth some good theories at the symbolism of this circle in their analysis of the Gate to Helheim, so I won't rehash those here. It's a super great read, highly reccomend. Anyways, this circle represents Act Two of Senua's journey- Senua finds herself unable to solve the central question, both psychologically (she hasn't fully figured out her past yet), and physically (she needs Gramr because Gramr is the only sword that can kill a god). Senua completes the Trials of Odin, arrives at a higher awareness of who she is, and is ready to take on Hela once and for all.

Last, there's the Hela Circle. I couldn't find a great picture of the circle, but essentially it's the top third of the Helheim Gate. It has the mask of Hela, two wolves (Garmr and Fenrir?), and a valknut and a gibu auja (both also pseudo-Norse symbols). It's also often surrounded by runes, which actually do have a meaning (I talk about that here). This is the culmation of Senua's journey, the third act. This circle is found all throughout Helheim, and on every circular platform in the final boss fight, and is one of the most iconic images in the game. Hela's mask has two sides, just as Hela and Senua are two aspects of the same person (grossly simplified but that's outside the scope of this essay). This circle represents the conflict between Hela and Senua- the growing awareness of her own past, and the final realization that Hela isn't the enemy, the Darkness is. It's the best ending of any game I've ever played, and the imagery certainly doesn't dissapoint.