I’ve never seen this scene from this angle before and dear lord, look how in-character Loki is! The way he meets the Grandmaster’s stare directly, his own face revealing nothing but possibly wariness; he doesn’t look afraid, but he does look a little unnerved, and yet he’s defiant at the same time.
He holds his chin high and his shoulders straight; everything about his posture and facial expression screams total control – he’s maintaining the illusion of still being in control, still having the Grandmaster’s favor, still confident that whatever he’s done to displease the Grandmaster can be repaired.
And yet in the bottom gif, you can see his right hand starting to curl just a little, as if he’s about to fidget. That little tell of his, revealing just how nervous and apprehensive he really is. Deep down, he knows he’s lost his place in the Grandmaster’s favor, that he probably lost it as soon as Thor showed up, and everything he’s spent the last several weeks trying to cultivate has just gone up in smoke.
He’s nervous and he’s a little scared and he’s also furious at Thor and probably irritated with being lumped in with Valkyrie and his body language shows all of this at the same time it shows none of this. Fucking kudos, Tom Hiddleston. Every time I think I can’t be any more impressed with your performance as Loki, I’m wrong. Also, bless these gifs, and bless Loki in general.
Two things about this post
Thor: Ragnarok was a superficial, hot fucking mess, and still Tom Hiddleston was able to put this much depth into his portrayal of Loki. Fucking kudos to how indescribably talented this man is and how incredibly lucky we are that he landed the role of Loki. I literally can’t even imagine anyone else as our beloved trickster.
I fucking love how much this fandom studies and analyzes every minute detail of every scene Loki appears in. Like, y’all are just fantastic and I love this community so much I could cry. 💚
I don’t understand why people assume Loki stripped Odin of his powers. Odin says he broke Loki’s spell. What did he break it with if not his own magic? The power of a senior bingo night win? Pudding? His new friend Martha’s dentures? The weight of the enormous expense senior care in the United States is?
And then he just dicks about on Midgard, waiting to die, instead of utilizing Strange’s magic or his own to go back to Asgard. Strange literally says that he chose to stay put. CHOSE. That’s… not on Loki. Why do people continue to say Loki’s in any way at fault for Ragnarok? *buries head in hands*
It is from Thor’s line where he accuses Loki of stripping Odin’s power. Now that doesn’t just mean magical power. But his power as King of the 9 realms. The power that comes from him being king. Because Loki did take that power for himself.
Now of course Odin was able to eventually fight Loki’s spell with his own magicalliness. I’m not disputing that. I’m just saying that yes Loki took Odin’s kingly ruling power. ETC.
Yes, that’s true, Loki took Odin’s political authority over the realms, and he possessed Gungnir, all Odin’s stolen relics, and Odin’s armies. In that sense he did usurp some of Odin’s power. However, I was more disputing the idea that Loki’s responsible for Odin’s death, Hela’s return, the subsequent atrocities Hela committed, and Asgard’s destruction (beyond in the literal sense that he placed Surtur’s skull in the Eternal Flame), rather than claiming Loki did nothing to Odin. In other words, that Loki took Odin’s magic, and therefore caused the events of the film. I take issue with people selectively deciding that whatever Loki did must have made Odin deteriorate rapidly (by turning him human), and the further implication that if Odin had a bit more time he’d have been proactive about preparing for Hela, when that’s obviously not the case because he decides to wait for Thor and Loki to find him and tells Strange he’s just going to hang out. It’s evident that many of Odin’s powers remain firmly in his possession (for instance, he’s still holding Hela at bay during his time on Midgard), so he cannot be human, and that he has every opportunity to do something besides wait. But he does nothing.
There’s plenty people can condemn Loki for. I don’t understand why he’s got to be responsible for Odin and Hela’s bad choices/crimes, too. Thor does blame him for it all in a moment where he’s very upset, and that’s completely understandable. I just wish people didn’t take it as gospel when it’s not accurate given the information we have (and I wish that the film let Loki challenge Thor’s statements or, at least, express obvious exasperation).
thor and loki admitting they love each other (◕‿◕✿)
Thor’s not even being sincere here; he’s manipulating Loki. So there’s that.
Loki has, on the other hand, looked his brother right in the eyes and said, word-for-word, “You’re my brother and my friend. Sometimes I’m envious, but never doubt that I love you.”
Tom, what were you and Natalie planning with these two characters?
Yeah, I concur with you @sir-quack-alot Which is even more beautiful in my opinion cause he doesn’t necessarily have strong feeling towards her but he’ll still do what he can for her and Thor.
I agree with @sir-quack-alot and @asgardiankingofmischief as well. I never saw this as any romantic/sexual chemistry between Loki and Jane. I viewed it much more as he knows his brother cares for her deeply, and so he’s willing to literally put his life on the line to protect her.
And the fact that he did this just after having warned Thor not to get too attached… you know, his whole, “Today, a thousand years… it’s nothing, it’s a heartbeat” speech. (In fact, I find that bit of dialogue interesting for so many different reasons, but that’s for another post). Anyway, my point is, he puts aside whatever personal feelings he might have about the impracticality of their relationship and doesn’t even hesitate to defend her–multiple times–with his life. I think that’s entirely because he loves Thor, and has little if anything to do with Jane.
And then of course, like so many other things, Thor: Ragnarok came along and fucked that over good. 🙄
Yes! Good point, @nikkoliferous Wow, that line makes this 1000x better. It’s funny cause I feel like Avengers Loki (you know the one where he’s clearly out of his mind) would leave her to fend for herself. And not show any care but like literally any Loki after or before wouldn’t do that.
Some vague examples:
Thor (2011) : On Jotunheim, he puts the Warriors Three and Sif’s safety before everything else, even Thor’s ambitions.
Thor: The Dark World : As mentioned, he protects Jane first even when he doesn’t necessarily need to. (They already got the Aether out and he wanted Malekith dead more than anything)
Thor: Ragnarok (I know I hate it too) : Even here, we see Loki come back for the Asgardians and lead them to safety, before that in the beginning of the movie, Loki tries to take Hela out in the Bifrost/Rainbow bridge so both he and Thor can escape but also keep her from Asgard.
Infinity War: Literally sacrifices the space stone so his brother could live.
And the worst part about this is? Everyone keeps treating him like he’s Avengers Loki regardless of the circumstances at the time.
Ehhhhh, I’m iffy on the Hela-Ragnarok one because calling for the Bifrost at that moment, to begin with, was about as out of character as you could possibly get. 😒 So I kind of prefer to just forget that ever even happened. Lol
But yeah, aside from Avengers (where he clearly wasn’t even fully in control of his own mind), his actionsacross the franchise as a whole don’t really support the whole “Loki is a narcissist” narrative that exists? We don’t count the play and the statue of himself in Ragnarok because 1) that was bad writing, not bad characterization and 2) he likes to pretend like he’s unaffected and self-centred (which is a defense mechanism) but if you solely analyze his behaviour–or hell, even just his body language–the idea that he only cares about himself is nearly laughable.
I suppose you could maybe make an argument for post-identity crisis Thor (2011) Loki. Maybe. But even then, he may not be being controlled by an external force, but he is essentially having a psychotic break, so… honestly it’s not a significantly different circumstance.
And hell. Even Avengers!Loki has rare moments of clarity where you can plainly see that he doesn’t want any of what’s happening. Right before he stabs Thor, for instance, he looks around and his face has legit panic and horror written on it. Which is sort of foreshadowed by Coulson’s “you lack conviction” line.
So hey, you know, I just want to put it out there that Ragnarok!Thor is actually not even equally bad but is a worse person than any not-minded-controlled Loki is. Because under any normal circumstance, I can’t fathom Loki electrocuting Thor and then stand over him gloating while Thor writhes in agony (literal description straight from the script).
Ehhhhh, I’m iffy on the Hela-Ragnarok one because calling for the Bifrost at that moment, to begin with, was about as out of character as you could possibly get. 😒 So I kind of prefer to just forget that ever even happened. Lol
Yeah, I feel you, though I was thinking more in the sense that even completely ooc and in the movie that calls him out for being all self interested and unchanging, he’s still better than what Thor thinks of him.
I suppose you could maybe make an argument for post-identity crisis Thor (2011) Loki. Maybe. But even then, he may not be being controlled by an external force, but he is essentially having a psychotic break, so… honestly it’s not a significantly different circumstance.
Also, yeah, nah, I don’t think there is an argument for that Loki either. Everything he does in that film is to gain his father’s acceptance and love. He’s clearly lacking in the self-importance department even then (unless people are willing to argue that Loki somehow doesn’t deserve his father’s love? :/) He becomes king not by his choosing either, and even if it was, his father straight up told him he was born to be a king, that makes it sound like Loki has a chance at the throne. Killing the Frost Giants? Thor makes it sound like Loki feeling like he has the right to kill all of them is wrong, but he literally shared that same viewpoint just three days before. So if anything, they would have had about the same amount of self importance.
And hell. Even Avengers!Loki has rare moments of clarity where you can plainly see that he doesn’t want any of what’s happening. Right before he stabs Thor, for instance, he looks around and his face has legit panic and horror written on it. Which is sort of foreshadowed by Coulson’s “you lack conviction” line.
And ha! Right, even then he wasn’t so full of himself. All the actions he’d taken in Germany were a distraction for Barton, which worked, mind you. I think even getting caught was a part of the distraction right? So basically even while completely out of his mind, he was just putting on a show for the Avengers, making them see what he wanted them to see. Plus, all his choices of words were meant to give of the same reaction I believe, because again, he never ever says anything like the dialogue we see in that first Avengers.
So hey, you know, I just want to put it out there that Ragnarok!Thor is actually not even equally bad but is a worse person than any not-minded-controlled Loki is. Because under any normal circumstance, I can’t fathom Loki electrocuting Thor and then stand over him gloating while Thor writhes in agony (literal description straight from the script).
Yeah, I think I agree with you, tbh. I was contemplating it for a while but everything Thor does in that movie is manipulative, cruel, and self-centered. And I’m legit starting to hate Thor in general cause I feel like his actions have always been condoned and that gets tiring when he’s constantly making the wrong decisions. The weirdest thing is, I feel like he’s the only hero that this happens to? I just don’t get it.
Yeah, I’ve said it before elsewhere, but Loki has always gotten the short end of the stick from Marvel, since day one. Ragnarok took it to a whole new level of outright character assassination, but Marvel has always been shitty in how they frame his actions in the final versions of their movies.
They cut numerous scenes from Thor (2011) AND Avengers that gave any context to his actions. Frigga being the one who named him king (hence showing that his rule is legit), the pre-coronation scene where he calls Thor his brother and friend, the conversation with Barton in Avengers that explains why he intentionally gets himself caught… hell, they cut out something as TINY as his surprise at being invited to go with Thor and the Warriors to Jötunheim. It was obvious in the deleted version of that scene that he hadn’t expected Thor to want him there too and was ecstatic at being included. And that was maybe a freaking SIXTY SECOND extension of the scene. There’s no way that was cut for time. I just can’t believe that’s the real reason; it’s illogical. It seems way more likely that it was cut to muddy the waters about Loki’s character motivations and make him look like more of a schemer than he was actually being, at least that early on in the story.
I can’t recall if there were any equally significant scenes cut from The Dark World. I know they did have a deleted scene where Thor goes down to the dungeons and basically attacks Loki, assuming he had something to do with the mass breakout… even though, you know, he’s the only prisoner who didn’t escape. Which I feel like would have demonstrated that Loki’s not the only toxic one in their relationship. But we can’t have golden boy Thor looking bad, could we? 😒 So I guess in a roundabout sort of way, you could kind of count that scene amongst them as well.
Tom, what were you and Natalie planning with these two characters?
Yeah, I concur with you @sir-quack-alot Which is even more beautiful in my opinion cause he doesn’t necessarily have strong feeling towards her but he’ll still do what he can for her and Thor.
I agree with @sir-quack-alot and @asgardiankingofmischief as well. I never saw this as any romantic/sexual chemistry between Loki and Jane. I viewed it much more as he knows his brother cares for her deeply, and so he’s willing to literally put his life on the line to protect her.
And the fact that he did this just after having warned Thor not to get too attached… you know, his whole, “Today, a thousand years… it’s nothing, it’s a heartbeat” speech. (In fact, I find that bit of dialogue interesting for so many different reasons, but that’s for another post). Anyway, my point is, he puts aside whatever personal feelings he might have about the impracticality of their relationship and doesn’t even hesitate to defend her–multiple times–with his life. I think that’s entirely because he loves Thor, and has little if anything to do with Jane.
And then of course, like so many other things, Thor: Ragnarok came along and fucked that over good. 🙄
Yes! Good point, @nikkoliferous Wow, that line makes this 1000x better. It’s funny cause I feel like Avengers Loki (you know the one where he’s clearly out of his mind) would leave her to fend for herself. And not show any care but like literally any Loki after or before wouldn’t do that.
Some vague examples:
Thor (2011) : On Jotunheim, he puts the Warriors Three and Sif’s safety before everything else, even Thor’s ambitions.
Thor: The Dark World : As mentioned, he protects Jane first even when he doesn’t necessarily need to. (They already got the Aether out and he wanted Malekith dead more than anything)
Thor: Ragnarok (I know I hate it too) : Even here, we see Loki come back for the Asgardians and lead them to safety, before that in the beginning of the movie, Loki tries to take Hela out in the Bifrost/Rainbow bridge so both he and Thor can escape but also keep her from Asgard.
Infinity War: Literally sacrifices the space stone so his brother could live.
And the worst part about this is? Everyone keeps treating him like he’s Avengers Loki regardless of the circumstances at the time.
Ehhhhh, I’m iffy on the Hela-Ragnarok one because calling for the Bifrost at that moment, to begin with, was about as out of character as you could possibly get. 😒 So I kind of prefer to just forget that ever even happened. Lol
But yeah, aside from Avengers (where he clearly wasn’t even fully in control of his own mind), his actionsacross the franchise as a whole don’t really support the whole “Loki is a narcissist” narrative that exists? We don’t count the play and the statue of himself in Ragnarok because 1) that was bad writing, not bad characterization and 2) he likes to pretend like he’s unaffected and self-centred (which is a defense mechanism) but if you solely analyze his behaviour–or hell, even just his body language–the idea that he only cares about himself is nearly laughable.
I suppose you could maybe make an argument for post-identity crisis Thor (2011) Loki. Maybe. But even then, he may not be being controlled by an external force, but he is essentially having a psychotic break, so… honestly it’s not a significantly different circumstance.
And hell. Even Avengers!Loki has rare moments of clarity where you can plainly see that he doesn’t want any of what’s happening. Right before he stabs Thor, for instance, he looks around and his face has legit panic and horror written on it. Which is sort of foreshadowed by Coulson’s “you lack conviction” line.
So hey, you know, I just want to put it out there that Ragnarok!Thor is actually not even equally bad but is a worse person than any not-minded-controlled Loki is. Because under any normal circumstance, I can’t fathom Loki electrocuting Thor and then stand over him gloating while Thor writhes in agony (literal description straight from the script).
We talk a lot about Ragnarok sabotaging Loki’s character and making him look awful (and rightfully so), but I’ll also never get over the fact that they literally cut almost every scene in Thor (2011) and Avengers Assemble that gave context to any of his actions or his relationship with Thor.
Marvel has always watered Loki down and treated him like shit.
The weirdest thing is, I feel like he’s the only hero that this happens to? I just don’t get it. 
are you loki, god of knives? 🗡🙄 
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