Thor’s arc in Avengers: Endgame is not the most universally adored, with some taking issue with the way his depression is sometimes played for laughs. However, it seems like, on a rewatch, the demigod’s struggles in the film run a little deeper than meets the eye.
A particular background moment caught the attention of a Reddit user, prompting a discussion about the topic. This Redditor was especially struck by a moment, during the time travel section of the film, that shows Thor completely disengaged, spaced out, and looking, in a word, depressed.
While the post was tagged with a “Humor” label, which is quite exemplary of why the storyline is so contentious, the comments quickly delved into the seriousness of Thor’s inner battle in Endgame.
Frigga’s return and her heart-to-hear with her son is indeed one of the best moments in the film. However, the very best is arguably when Steve picks up Mjölnir and that couldn’t have happened if Thor’s cathartic trip to the past hadn’t happened.
One fan went further, arguing that Mjölnir’s own arc is a symbolic reflection of Thor’s. When the hammer was first destroyed by Hela, that symbolized the beginning of Thor’s “downward spiral,” and its final shattered version, pieced back together, in Thor: Love and Thunder is a representation of the Avenger’s path towards healing. But again, the fan still accurately points out that while the potential is there, much like in Endgame, the character’s mental health journey in Love and Thunder was used “as a five-second gag.”
Chris Hemsworth has said he won’t return for a fifth Thor movie unless it goes in a completely different direction from its predecessors. Perhaps, the actor is also not the biggest fan of the forced comedy of his last few outings.