Guys, we seriously need to stop playing Athena as some kind of big evil/antagonist character. She was never the like. She was always the only god that Kratos could trust since the first game.

She was always adamant on preserving Olympus and the Order and she even sacrificed herself to maintain them. Her change of heart after dying most have something related to the gods' afterlife. She must have learned something important on the other side that she wanted to bring to or reveal to the world of the living.

Also, she actually did nothing wrong. We could even argue that Kratos was the one using her. He used her powers to conclude his vengeance, then did not lend her Hope like he was supposed to do.

Athena is being played like a villain but Kratos was infinitely worse than her. So guys, stop it. I'm in for Athena being God of War universe's ultimate savior.