In Thor's Defense
Ever since the end of Avengers: Infinity War, there has been nonstop talk about who was at fault for Thanos gathering all the Infinity Stones and snapping half of life in the universe out of existence. First, I'll talk about a few of the theories before the topic at hand. If you really break it down, there are probably several characters you could blame for the snap. You don't even have to necessarily get to the last few segments of the movie.
You could put the blame on Gamora, as she hid from Thanos the Soul Stone's location. Thanos found out through torturing Nebula and Gamora's care for her sister made her tell Thanos where the stone was. I don't need to go into the rest of that, as we all know Gamora's fate. I suppose you could get really nit picky and blame it on Nebula, who got herself captured in the first place. That seems to be the theme for these theories anyway! Following that, many people put the blame on Starlord, who freaked out and started attacking Thanos when Gamora's death was revealed, breaking the Avengers' physical hold and Mantis's mental hold. Then again, though you could technically "blame" him, it was in his character to react the way he did if you've seen the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
Some may blame Dr. Strange, as he didn't prevent this. Although, guessing from the 14 million outcomes he saw, that's probably why he didn't lend a hand. Many blame Captain America because of his "we don't trade lives" narrative regarding destroying the Mind Stone and Vision along with it. In the same vein, you could blame Wanda, the Scarlet Witch, who initially refused to kill her true love Vision by destroying the stone. In fact, both Cap and Wanda asked if it was possible to separate and destroy the stone without killing Vision. Banner stated he couldn't do it, and certainly not there. Captain America then thought the best place to do this was Wakanda, where they hoped Shuri would be able to accomplish that goal. Unfortunately, when Thanos' Outriders arrived in Wakanda, it wasn't enough time. Even so, it really didn't matter in the long run at this point, since Thanos had the Time Stone and he used it anyway to reverse Vision's death and then kill Vision himself to gather the Mind Stone. In a previous blog, I talk about the order in which Thanos gathered the stones, specifically his strategy for doing the way he did.
I've read several theories about who was to blame but the one I hear the most is that Thor "should have gone for the head." I can't stand this one and I am here to defend Thor from the blame on this. After Thanos gathered the final stone in Wakanda, Thor suddenly attacked Thanos, flying through the air at record speed, hurling his new ax Stormbreaker into the chest of Thanos. First of all, for those of you saying that he should have gone for the head, you're only saying that because that's what Thanos said. If Thanos just stayed silent, snapped, and teleported away, no one would be saying it!
What gets me even more annoyed is when people use this particular thing and blame it on Thor, claiming he was gloating or just wanted to see Thanos die. I don't see it that way! You would think that hurling a giant magical ax into someone's chest and then digging it in deep would kill someone. For all Thor and the audience thought, that would have been the case. Yes, he did say to Thanos "I told you you'd die for that" as he dug it in further but I don't look at that as bragging, or even waiting for Thanos to die. Thor was referencing his sadness over Thanos stabbing and killing Heimdall at the beginning of the movie, as well as the death of his brother Loki and half the Asgardian refugees.
Again, I'm tired of hearing that Thor should have gone for the head. If you really think about it, if anything, he should have gone for the arm or hand. Chopping off the arm or hand that held the Infinity Gauntlet with all six stones would have probably been a good move. Someone else could have grabbed the gauntlet while Thanos was subdued and finished off quickly thereafter. Not 15 minutes into Avengers: End Game, Thor did what everyone claims he "should have done" in the first place. He flat out decapitated Thanos! Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, as Thanos had destroyed the Infinity Stones and the Avengers hadn't figured out time travel yet.
My question is why should Thor have thought to go for the head in the first place? Why was that his obligation to think that way? Again, you'd think a giant magical ax to the chest would kill someone! It's also prevalent to say that Thanos did have all six Infinity Stones at the time. He likely used the Power Stone to recover somewhat from his injuries acquired by using the gauntlet. He then used the Space Stone to leave Earth and end up on what he referred to as "The Farm." After all Thor had lost, then killed Thanos with nothing positive to be done afterwards, he became incredibly depressed and detached. He felt guilty and thought it was his specific failure that caused half of life to cease to exist. The last thing Thor needed was to be told that had he done things another way, things would have worked out. We, the audience, were not told whether people blamed him or not but we did know he blamed himself. So folks, go easy on Thor! Besides, if not for what happened in Infinity War, we wouldn't have gotten End Game! Not only that, Infinity War had a rare and creative end, in that the villain won. Some would argue that Infinity War was told through the narrative of Thanos, who considered what he was doing as saving humanity and was the hero of his own story.
Of course, doing what he set out to do came at an immense cost to Thanos. All of his Dark Order were killed, and he was forced to kill his own daughter Gamora to obtain the Soul Stone, in which sacrificing that which you love was the sentient stone's requirement. When Thanos awoke in the Soul World with the stone in hand, he was met with a younger version of Gamora, who asked what achieving his goal cost him. He sadly replied; "everything." But that's besides the point! If we argue over things like fault in why characters chose to do certain things, or logic in fictional movies, we'll never enjoy anything! These movies may be over the top fantasy, but there is a human element to them. There is genuine emotion conveyed. We all owe the writers, producers, directors, and actors collectively a debt of gratitude for the gift they have given us in these films. Together, we laughed, cried, and felt every emotion there was. We, as people, related to the human problems these super human individuals had. The bottom line for this particular blog is that I disagree with Thor becoming the scapegoat for the loss of half of life in the universe. As Dr. Strange said, everything that happened then and since was meant to be, the one in 14 million scenario in which the Avengers come out on top.
My question is why should Thor have thought to go for the head in the first place? Why was that his obligation to think that way? Again, you'd think a giant magical ax to the chest would kill someone! It's also prevalent to say that Thanos did have all six Infinity Stones at the time. He likely used the Power Stone to recover somewhat from his injuries acquired by using the gauntlet. He then used the Space Stone to leave Earth and end up on what he referred to as "The Farm." After all Thor had lost, then killed Thanos with nothing positive to be done afterwards, he became incredibly depressed and detached. He felt guilty and thought it was his specific failure that caused half of life to cease to exist. The last thing Thor needed was to be told that had he done things another way, things would have worked out. We, the audience, were not told whether people blamed him or not but we did know he blamed himself. So folks, go easy on Thor! Besides, if not for what happened in Infinity War, we wouldn't have gotten End Game! Not only that, Infinity War had a rare and creative end, in that the villain won. Some would argue that Infinity War was told through the narrative of Thanos, who considered what he was doing as saving humanity and was the hero of his own story.
Of course, doing what he set out to do came at an immense cost to Thanos. All of his Dark Order were killed, and he was forced to kill his own daughter Gamora to obtain the Soul Stone, in which sacrificing that which you love was the sentient stone's requirement. When Thanos awoke in the Soul World with the stone in hand, he was met with a younger version of Gamora, who asked what achieving his goal cost him. He sadly replied; "everything." But that's besides the point! If we argue over things like fault in why characters chose to do certain things, or logic in fictional movies, we'll never enjoy anything! These movies may be over the top fantasy, but there is a human element to them. There is genuine emotion conveyed. We all owe the writers, producers, directors, and actors collectively a debt of gratitude for the gift they have given us in these films. Together, we laughed, cried, and felt every emotion there was. We, as people, related to the human problems these super human individuals had. The bottom line for this particular blog is that I disagree with Thor becoming the scapegoat for the loss of half of life in the universe. As Dr. Strange said, everything that happened then and since was meant to be, the one in 14 million scenario in which the Avengers come out on top.
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