The film begins two years after the events in Sokovia during Avengers: Age of Ultron. The fire demon Surtur has Thor trapped in a cage. Surtur claims that his sole purpose is to bring about Ragnarok, the destruction of Asgard. He can only achieve this once his crown is united with the eternal flame sitting in the vault in Asgard. Thor thanks him for the information, breaks free, and takes the crown ‒ thus believing he has prevented Ragnarok entirely.
When he returns to Asgard, he discovers that Loki is alive and has been impersonating King Odin. Loki also sent Odin to live on Earth alone. When Thor and Loki find Odin, they discover that he is at the end of his life and will momentarily die. Before he passes on, Odin reveals that he has a daughter, his firstborn Hela, who will return immediately after Odin’s death to claim Asgard as her own. His warning comes true, and Hela appears before the brothers. When Thor tries to stand against her, she easily destroys his hammer Mjolnir and makes her way to Asgard via the Bifrost Bridge; on the journey up, she throws Thor and Loki into space.
Not only does Thor have to process the death of his father, but he also has to quickly ready himself to fight a sister he never knew existed. Up to this point, we think that Thor’s hammer is unstoppable, but she crushes it with ease. Although our lives are not quite as extreme, we will also sometimes find ourselves in a similar situation. Life can throw multiple difficult situations at us at the same time, and we may find ourselves overwhelmed. When we feel this way, it is important to remember to take it one day at a time.
Thor is vulnerable, his confidence shaken after being unable to save his father or defend himself from Hela.
Thor finds himself on a planet filled with debris and is soon captured by a woman later revealed as an Asgardian Valkyrie. She takes him to the Grandmaster, who soon forces him into battle with his “champion,” none other than Hulk. Thor is initially thrilled, declaring “he’s a friend from work!”. However, he quickly angers Hulk by mentioning “puny Banner” and the fight begins. Hulk ultimately overpowers him and begins punching him into the ground, seemingly on his way to winning the fight. While unconscious, Thor is inspired by a vision of his father that enables him to channel lightning through his entire body. Before he can finish the fight, the Grandmaster uses a device to knock him out and cause Hulk’s victory.
When Thor and Hulk escape to the quinjet together, Hulk sees Romanoff’s message from after the battle in Sokovia. His emotions enable him to transform back into Banner for the first time in 2 years. He has no memory of the time as the Hulk, and Banner fears that if he transforms again, he may never be able to transform back. They manage to escape with Valkyrie’s help using the Grandmaster’s ship and make their way to Asgard.
Upon arriving at Asgard, Thor makes his way to the throne room and calls Hela to battle so that Banner and Valkyrie can help the people of Asgard escape through the Bifrost. Hela easily overpowers Thor, who loses an eye during their fight. Her army also begins to overwhelm Banner and Valkyrie. However, Thor has another vision of his father who tells him, “Asgard is not a place; never was. This could be Asgard. Asgard is where our people stand. Even now, right now, those people need your help.” This enourages him to continue the fight. Banner also sacrifices the possibility of ever being himself again and becomes the Hulk to save the people of Asgard.
By accepting his limitations and inability to defeat Hela on his own, Thor is able to put aside his ego and finds a different solution to save his people.
Loki soon arrives with a group of gladiators freed from the Grandmaster; together with Hulk, Valkyrie, and Thor, they are able to overpower Hela’s army. Despite their combined power, none of them are strong enough to defeat Hela. Thor realizes that he must cause Ragnarok in order to save his people, and he sends Loki to reunite Surtur’s crown with the eternal flame in Odin’s vault. Surtur is reborn and begins to destroy the planet.
Thor is solely focused on getting back to Asgard and defeating Hela throughout the film. However, he is able to accept that he is not strong enough to defeat her. With this acceptance, he is able to see a path to save his people, although it requires the sacrifice of their home. While the film sees him lose both his hammer and his planet, he finds out that there are more important things ‒ his people and faith in himself.
Everyone escapes aboard the Grandmaster’s ship while Hela and Surtur fight to the death. Thor, Loki, Hulk, Valkyrie, and the Asgardian people watch their planet’s destruction, which kills Hela and Surtur. Thor is now ready to take his place as leader of the Asgardian people, and at the end of the film he states his intention to take them back to Earth.
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Photo Credit: Marvel Studios
