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OlafJohnson
Olaf Johnson
First Appearance: It's Kind Of A Birthday Present 1x01
Last Appearance: The End of the World As We Know It 3x13
Played By: Ben Barrington
Gender: Male
Age: 92 (real age)
21 (former rebirthing age)
Occupation: As Olaf:
*Soldier (formerly)
*Grandfather
As Baldr: (formerly)
*God of Beauty, Innocence, Peace, & Rebirth
God/Goddess: Baldr (formerly)
Power: Formerly:
*Oracle
*Longevity/Rebirth
*Enhanced charisma
*Enhanced intelligence
*Fear masking
*Invulnerability (except against mistletoe)
*Light manipulation
*Precognition
*Purification
*Supernatural beauty
Ex-Spouse: Elna Johnson (deceased)
Relatives: Johan Johnson (son)
Mike Johnson (grandson)
Anders Johnson (grandson)
Ty Johnson (grandson)
Axl Johnson (grandson)
Valerie Johnson (ex-granddaughter-in-law)
Hanna Larson (granddaughter-in-law)
Eva (granddaughter-in-law, deceased)
Residence: Auckland, New Zealand
Religion: Norse
Nationality: New Zealand

Olaf Johnson is the grandfather of the Johnson brothers and the family's Oracle. He was the reincarnation of Baldr; God of Beauty, Innocence, Peace, & Rebirth. He was "reborn" everyday and as a result, aged very slowly.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

During the War, Olaf knew a fellow soldier named Charlie Truman, who believed he was going to die, and did in fact when he stepped on a mine. (Charlie Truman)

After getting a woman pregnant, he decided to stay with her and look after the child, but as they continued to grow older while he remained the same, Olaf decided to shoot through to avoid this being noticed, and so that he would not have to continue watching them get older. On at least twenty occassions since then, Olaf has gotten a woman pregnant, but would always leave for the same reasons. (You Gotta Love Life, Babe)

Olaf has encountered other Gods and Goddesses, including a previous incarnation of Iðunn.

When Olaf met a Goddess and had intercourse with her, they had a son named Joe. Olaf stuck around since this Goddess understood why he wouldn't age, but they did not always get on according to Olaf. As Joe grew up into a God, Olaf told him his number one rule: never hit a woman.

During the 70's, Olaf knew the current reincarnation of Kvasir. At the time he was with a school teacher, Kvasir had an affair with her, and accidentally set his caravan on fire. Olaf swore revenge. (And Then She Will Come To You)

After Joe had his own family with Elizabet, resulting in Olaf having four grandsons, he continued to stay around, reputedly to serve his duty as family oracle, though he did not do this job very well. After Joe, being the God Njörðr, took off after a terrible relationship with Elizabet, Olaf was furious because Joe had broken rule number one, and was not around for Mike's own transformation into a God.

Season 1[]

Olaf was at a beach making out with Rhiannon in his car when he suddenly realized he had to meet with his grandsons for the ceremony that would change Axl into a God, forcing him to abandon her on the beach. After meeting with Mike, they headed to the forest to meet with the others and prepare and explain, though Axl was understandably dubious. After Axl was struck by a bolt of lightning, Olaf was knocked back by the blast and fell into semi-unconsciousness, and mumbled in Norse and proclaimed Axl was now the reincarnation of Odin.

He was taken back to Mike’s, and later awoke during Axl’s 21st party and danced about with a lamp until Mike called him out for a meeting to discuss Axl’s change into Odin. As Olaf explained, the signs of Odin were coming about, but until the prophecy was fulfilled it would just be nothing but freaky shit, but all this frustrated Axl. Though Axl was shot with an arrow, he was alright in the end, and the final sign came to be, and as Axl was now Odin, so he would need to find Frigg or else if he died, they all would. (It's Kind Of A Birthday Present)

(This Is Where Duty Starts)


(God's Gift to Zebras)


(You Gotta Love Life, Babe)


After the Goddesses attempted to set up Axl on drug charges, Olaf was present as Anders revealed he had solved the problem, and hugged him in appreciation for Axl. (This Is Not The Washing Powder, My Friend)


(Goddesses, Axl, Come In All Forms)


(Bad Things Happen)


(I Can Give You Frigg)


(Hunting Reindeer on Slippery Rocks)


(Every Good Quest Has a Sacrifice)

Season 2[]

After Mike led them back to the bar he and Ingrid had being in earlier during their search for Frigg, Olaf noticed Kvasir as he left the bathroom. Angrily chasing and cornering him in an alley, Olaf shouted at Kvasir for the destruction of his van and his weed supply, and demanded compensation. Mike took Olaf away to let him cool down, but when they returned, Axl had unintentionally allowed Kvasir to piss himself away down a drain. Olaf shouted down the drain after him, warning him he would find him, and scolded Axl for letting Kvasir escape. (And Then She Will Come To You)


(Frigg Magnet)


(Charlie Truman)


(Death's Cleansing Embrace)


(A Damn Fine Woman)


Olaf advised Axl in the Folkmoot, in which Colin was accused of attempting to murder Ty and Agnetha was convicted for Eva's death. (Folkmoot)


(Effortless Manly Coolness)


(Man-Flu)


(Everything Starts With Gaia)


(Magical Fluffy Bunny World)


When Mike and Michele returned to the bar from a rescue mission for Gaia, Mike found Olaf drinking. He revealed the existence of Maori Gods, and demanded to know if Olaf had known about them, to which Olaf said he didn't. Mike yelled at Olaf for being a useless Oracle and of him never being any use. After wallowing at the bar overnight, Olaf noticed Kvasir sneaking in and followed him to a hidden cellar. He was quick to attack Kvasir and knock him out. (The House of Jerome)


After four days of 'vigourous interogation', Olaf managed to learn that Colin had cameras and listening bugs hidden in the bar, which he had also set up Mike to take, and thus knew everything that had ever conspired. After disabling the bugs and cameras, he informed Mike of what he had discovered, taking pride against Mike's earlier shouting.

When the Maori Gods - Jerome (Maui), Leon (Rongo) and George (Punga) - and their mortal followers settled into the bar to wait for Gaia to return, Olaf joined them. After Ingrid and Michele arrived to tell Ty that they had found Kvasir (though Olaf pointed out he had in fact being the one to) Ollaf led them to Kvasir so that Ty could ask how to become a mortal. Olaf proceeded to help as the group helped Ty to achieve this, but Michele knocked Olaf out with the Yggdrasil stick so that he wouldn't see her reviving Ty herself. (You Call This the Real World?)


(Does This Look Like Asgard?)

Season 3[]

Upon the restoration of the gods and goddesses to Asgard, Olaf claims he immediately feels aches and pains he hadn't felt while being Baldr's vessel. His first action after the ceremony is to go surfing as a mortal, claiming he doesn't know how many summers he has left. 

Personality[]

Olaf is the human incarnation of Baldr, the Norse God of rebirth, light and beauty. As such, Olaf has not aged a day since he turned 21. He is actually the paternal Grandfather of the Johnson brothers, but they tell everyone he is their cousin. Why he looks slightly older than his perpetual 21 years is that he has lived the life of a 21 year old for 70-odd years now. This wasn’t so bad until the 1960s when Olaf discovered surfing, free love and drugs. Everything has been something of a blur since then and has added up to a mindset where Olaf doesn’t really take life too seriously.

By adopting the nomadic lifestyle of a surfer Olaf has found a way of dealing with the major downside of never getting older: you can’t form lasting relationships with anyone, because eventually they’re going to get older and you won’t. The free love part of the equation means that Olaf has fathered many children through the years and has not been able to stay around for any of them. This hurts more than he’ll ever let on – which explains why he doesn’t take life seriously, because if he did it would be too hard to cope with.

As for the drugs part of the equation, well, even constant rebirthing cannot keep at bay the cumulative effects of that many drugs over that many years. Olaf, quite simply, no longer sees the world the way the rest of us do. Olaf’s drug-taking propensity is not entirely helpful to the Johnson clan of Gods in that Olaf, through divine irony, is also the Johnson God family Oracle. Every clan of Gods, banded together, has an Oracle who is meant to be able to read signs and divine stuff and generally tell them what to do. Unfortunately the Johnson boys ended up with an Oracle who is: (a) unreliable; (b) very difficult to understand even by mystical Oracle standards; and (c) wildly inaccurate.

Olaf tries to perform his Oracle duties to the best of his abilities; it’s just that his abilities aren’t very able. And once he realizes the seriousness of the situation the Johnson boys are in he will try very hard (by his lax standards) to get his Oracular mojo back – for the good of the team, because he does actually love his grandchildren. But when you’ve been set in your ways since the 60s, that amount of re-wiring of the psyche is no easy task.

Former Powers[]

Oracle -

Longevity/Rebirth -

Enhanced charisma -

Enhanced intelligence -

Fear masking -

Invulnerability -

Light manipulation -

Precognition -

Purification -

Supernatural beauty -

Relationships[]

The Johnson Brothers[]

Olaf gets on fairly well with his grandsons, though he does at times irritate them with his weird (and lack of) explainations of things they need to know. In particular, Mike is far less impressed with Olaf, due to their conflicting personalities and Olaf's carefree lifestyle, and Anders also doesn't care much for his grandfather at all. Olaf does, however, get on much better with Ty and Axl.

The Johnsons' Grandmother, Rhiannon and Others[]

Long ago, Olaf met a Goddess and the two formed a relationship, eventually having a son who would go on to have his grandchildren. Olaf states that they were never properly married, and that their relationship was rocky at times, tempered only by the amazing God-sex.Since then, Olaf has had several one-time flings with several mortals, occassionally spawning children. In the first instance, Olaf tried to stay with that woman to be a family, but as they all grew older and he remained young, he decided to leave so as to avoid the pain of doing so later. Whenever this happens again, including more recently with Rhiannon, he takes off so that he doesn't have to go through it again, but is willing to leave whatever money he has (not very much usually) to them so that they can have brief support for a while.

Ingrid[]

Upon meeting Ingrid, they felt a connection with each other, possibly because they are both oracles. With his carefree lifestyle, Olaf entered an open relationship with Ingrid, who was eager to try anything he does, including heavy drinking and drugs. They are fairly laid back with one another, and as they are not officially together, they sleep with other people as well. Upon her leaving of him for Danny, it become clear that they were never truly exclusive, though she does have some jealousy of his relationship with Stacey.

Stacey[]

During Axl's sickness and Olaf's subsequent rapid aging, Stacey looked after him as Anders didn't want to. As Olaf accepted that he might die, he told Stacey that he respected her for toughing out the comments of others against her being a hand-maiden, and asked that she remain close in case it was the last time he felt a woman's warmth. After Olaf got his powers back and became young again, he thanked Stacey for being there for him, and the two had sex, which they disclosed at the next God meeting. From there they have continued seeing each other.

About the god Baldr[]

Baldr, Old Norse Balder, in Norse mythology, the son of the chief god Odin and his wife Frigg. Beautiful and just, he was the favorite of the gods. Most legends about him concern his death. Icelandic stories tell how the gods amused themselves by throwing objects at him, knowing that he was immune from harm. The blind god Höðr, deceived by the evil Loki, killed Balder by hurling mistletoe, the only thing that could hurt him. After Baldr’s funeral, the giantess Thökk, probably Loki in disguise, refused to weep the tears that would release Baldr from death.

Some scholars believe that the passive, suffering figure of Balder was influenced by that of Christ. The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1200), however, depicts him as a warrior engaged in a feud over the hand of a woman.

References[]

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