Thor: Love and Thunder - Everybody Needs Love

 “Thor is done loving…but not done fighting.  He has given up his search for love” - Korg

To say that my breath was taken away by the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe offering, Thor:  Love and Thunder is an understatement!  Oh sure, I expected the usual amount of off-beat Taika Waititi humor mixed with a heavy does of CGI (and the movie doesn’t disappoint on either count).  But this movie offers a deep, profound, and heart-warming dive into the topic of loss and love.

From the moment the movie begins the viewer is confronted with love - love between a father and daughter…dying in the desert.  As his daughter closes his eyes in death this father, Gorr, is consumed with his loss.  Survival is no longer his driving force in life.  Gorr wants to vanquish those responsible for not hearing his pleas on his daughter’s behalf.  His drive isn’t vengeance.  His driving force is love - misguided, misdirected love to be sure.  But love nonetheless.

And what about Thor?  He has lost his mother…his father…his brother a few times…and of course, Jane Foster.  They have drifted apart.  A letter awaiting Thor when he arrived back from some Avenger mission and now he is adrift in the cosmos tagging along with the Guardians of the Galaxy trying to find purpose.  With his volcanic rock friend Korg at his side, Thor is empty.  And when he realizes that he is the interloper in this brotherly love group called the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor needs to go his separate way.  And here again the movie doesn’t let up on this theme of love.  Peter Quill tells Thor:  “That shitty feeling is better than empty…Thor, if you ever feel lost look into the eyes of the people you love.  They will tell you who you are.”  The problem:  Thor doesn’t have “people” or for that matter, a person.  He needs Jane Foster.  That “shitty feeling” is more powerful than Thor can admit to himself.

And then the moment comes.  When Thor returns to “New Asgard” he encounters the Mighty Thor, Jane Foster, using his old hammer and vanquishing enemies.  When the battle concludes the awkward moment arrives - a former love shared has to be recognized.  Jane says, “How long has it been, a couple of years?”  And Thor’s answer?  “8 years, 7 months, 6 days.”  The voice of Peter Quill echoes in his head:  “That shitty feeling is better than empty.”  Thor has been empty and now he has recaptured that feeling.  Thor even tries to explain this to Jane when he says, “Better to feel shitty about loosing love than never having it.”  Thor wants to love for Jane…and Jane tells him she has cancer.

Who, watching this movie, hasn’t experienced what this movie brings forth onto the screen?  Who hasn’t lost a family member close to them like Gorr?  Who hasn’t loved and been rejected or have had the relationship fall apart?  Who hasn’t had that “shitty feeling” as a consequence of love crumbling in front of their lives?  Oh sure, the movie is wrapped in battles, CGI, humor, and well-developed characters; but at the heart and soul of this movie is a deep and emotional glimpse of the power of love.

The movie comes to a climax when Gorr is about to face the Eternal and ask for his wish - his wish will end his life.  Thor is beaten, Jane is dying, and Thor assumes Gorr is going to wish for “all the gods” to die.  Thor exclaims to Gorr:  “I know your pain.”  Gorr responds:  “I put my faith in the higher power and she died.”  And there it is - Gorr’s heart aches for his daughter…his love…his life.  All Gorr wants is his love, his daughter, to experience life.  It is no longer about the “gods.”  Thor crawls back towards Jane and Gorr asks:  “Where are you going?”  And Thor’s response:  “Why would I spend my last moments with you (Gorr) when I can spend them with her?”  Love.  Simple, powerful love.  Thor is assuming his death and all he wants is to love Jane one more time.  To be in her presence.  To feel her breath.  To touch her skin.  To hear her voice.  Love…

And then it happens - Gorr makes his wish.  Thor is alive and yet Gorr’s wish was granted.  And standing before them is Gorr’s daughter, born of Eternity and the embodiment of love.  Gorr looks to Thor and Jane and says:  “I am dying.  She will be alone.”  And Jane, fading into death because of her cancer says:  “She won’t be alone.”  And then Jane says to Thor:  “Keep your heart open.  I love you.”  And Gorr speaks his dying words to Thor:  “Protect my daughter.”  In a moment love is painted all across the movie screen!  Jane’s love for Thor; Thor’s love for Jane; Gorr’s fatherly love for his daughter; and his daughter, born from Eternity stands in the midst as love in the flesh!

Sometimes we spend so much time getting caught up in the spectacular and visually amazing that we miss the simple and profound message a movie is trying to speak into our hearts and minds.  LOVE.  Love gives us something to live for and something to even die for.  Love is in our midst - families, friends, husbands and wives.  Love is what Jesus tries to teach to His disciples (and you and me) over and over again.  It is the bedrock of relationships and it is what we miss so desperately when the person we love dies.  As Thor (and Peter Quill) remind us in this movie:  “It is better to feel shitty about loosing love than never having it.” 

And the good news?  That love is free and available to us through the One who took on flesh and dwelled among us.  Over and over again we hear in the Bible that Jesus is love incarnate.  Push aside the crazy narrowness of the human layers placed upon the One who comes to love, forgive, restore, and call us as His own children.  Jesus loves those with cancer and those in prison; Jesus loves the lonely and depressed as well as those filled with anxiety and stress.  Jesus loves those marginalized by society as well as those who are well placed.  Jesus loves the loveless…and He loves you and me.  At least that’s the Jesus I know from the Bible.

Maybe the most touching moment of Thor:  Love and Thunder is in the closing scene.  Thor, who is taking care of “Love” like a father takes care of his daughter, is trying to feed her breakfast and make sure she has on her boots for their very soon to be adventure.  There is banter and some great special affects to be sure.  But then “Love” complies and the two walk out of their ship for battle.  Thor, wielding the hammer (a clear connection to Jane Foster) and Love carrying Thor’s axe (a clear connection to her father who used it to open the gate to Eternity).  And out the door they go - Love and Thunder…and isn’t that how it’s supposed to be ❤️