“Then, as Siegfried bent over the brook and drank, Hagen hurled the spear at the cross, so that the hero's heart's blood leapt from the wound and splashed against Hagen's clothes. No warrior will ever do a darker deed. Leaving the spear fixed in Siegfried's heart, he fled in wild desperation, as he had never fled before from any man.”
Siegfried has a reputation that precedes him, one which Hagen strongly dislikes. Hagen advises the king not to allow Siegfried entry, but his request his denied. Eventually Hagen takes matters into his own hands, demonstrating his own cowardice in the process by attacking Siegfried in the back.
"'You vile cowards,' he said as he lay dying. 'What good has my service done me now that you have slain me? I was always loyal to you, but now I have paid for it. Alas, you have wronged your kinsmen so that all who are born in days to come will be dishonoured by your deed. You have cooled your anger on me beyond all measure. You will be held in contempt and stand apart from all good warriors.'”
Siegfried, despite his reputation, has done the kingdom no harm. He has behaved as a loyal subject, yet suspicion has won over honor. He understands this even as he is dying and correctly denounces his foes for having killed him in such a lowly and undeserved manner.
“The proud ferryman seized an oar himself, for he was newly married: yet lust for pelf comes to a bad end. —He was hoping to earn Hagen's gold that shone so red, but what he in fact received from him was cruel death at the sword's edge.”
In the ferryman's death, Hagen's cruelty and violent propensity is shown to the audience. This murder serves as a foreshadowing of Siegfried's death, as well, because the ferryman is caught unawares. Although the ferryman is seeking his own benefit by potentially robbing Hagen, he is also in the midst of defending himself, his occupation, and his family's honor.
“He would have lavished caresses and endearments, had the Queen suffered him to do so, but she flew into a rage that deeply shocked him — he had hoped to meet with 'friend', yet what he met was 'foe'!"
Brunhild believes the worst about Siegfried, holding onto the grudge from when he robbed her of her special strength. She is a temperamental woman, rarely trusting anyone but herself. She turns both husband and ex-lover into her enemies, denying both affection and trust.
