Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and ThunderThe film has been carefully and sympathetically navigated through the difficult subjects love, terminal illness, and death. While Jane Foster’s demise has ended the film on an upsetting note, to her bring her back in future instalments will ruin Waititi’s message. Many have already criticised this edition of Thor for its tone.
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In Thor: Love and Thunder Jane suffers from stage 4 cancer, and when she has exhausted all her resources, she discovers Mjölnir, Thor’s shattered hammer, to heal herself. But the hammer gives Jane some power and makes her a stronger woman. But when she doesn’t hold it, her cancer returns. As she fights against the on-again-off-again effects the hammer has on her, it turns to be that it is blocking the effect of the medications she takes. Thor asks Jane to stay behind and recuperate in the hospital just before the big battle against Gorr the God Butcher. Jane, perhaps without any hope, decides to debate and say that she would rather spend her time on her terms. This means that she will fight alongside him, the Mighty Thor. Thor is unsure of where Jane will end up, but he accepts her choice.
In the following scene, Jane passes away in Thor’s arms, and this is the most fulfilling scene, where the movie shines the brightest. This is the moment where our characters see each other love despite their differences, and accept each other with all their flaws. It’s also this moment where Gorr chooses love instead of revenge. To bring his daughter back, he uses his Eternity wish rather than wipe out all the gods of the MCU. Although the question of her return lingers, it would be a discrediting act to have her back in the next installment. Thor: Love and Thunder placed out in the first instance, while reducing their importance.
Why Mighty Thor’s Demise is the Movie’s Best Feature?
The film shows how love can develop and evolve between individuals when one is terminally ill. For instance, Jane’s bond with Thor was much more fulfilling and convincing in this instalment over the previous ones. In the first movie of this franchise, Jane’s love story with Thor is secondary to the theme of the movie, with much focus given to his origin and his equation with his family. In Thor: The Dark WorldJane is a central role in the movie. However, Jane’s serious tone and her lack of autonomy have a negative impact on their relationship.
The relationship between them is now complicated by her incurable illness, and her eventual death. We can see why Thor loves her. Jane was her person. Nobody, not Thor, could change Jane’s mind when she decided to fight Gorr regardless of what was at stake. Moreover, Jane realised that claiming Mjölnir for herself would also have implications, but chooses it anyway because it is better than being completely helpless. So if she returns, the audience will lose a satisfying conclusion to Thor and Jane’s love story, which was already dragged in the past few instalments. This will also slow down their significant, gradual growth.
Marvel Studios should focus on their future heroes and not on Jane. They shouldn’t waste time or effort trying to rewrite the ending. If you spend too much time thinking about those who are gone, there is no way to create good. Because it allows the franchise’s future to develop with new writers, it is better for everyone to allow such characters to pass on their legacy. These stories and characters will be more exciting and original thanks to the latter.
Resurrections are a common concept in MCU. For instance, Avengers: Endgame’s reversal of Thanos’ snap. Comics used such patterns because they allowed beloved characters to be developed by storytellers and artists who see them with a fresh perspective. MCU should allow those who have died to remain in their original state. Restoring such characters to life ruins not only the upcoming movie’s plot but also confuses casually viewing audiences, and undermines the power of its most moving death scenes.
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