There have been so many MCU shows and movies this year, so it’s understandable if some people are getting tired. My wallet sure is. It didn’t stop people from buying tickets to see Thor: Love and Thunder.

Now, the Thor movies have never been my favorite, though Thor Ragnarok was amazing. This one was closer to Thor Ragnarok than the others, but I feel like the darker elements were done better in this movie. And there were some great humorous parts as well.

The opening of the movie greatly confused me at first and had me wondering if I was in the wrong theater. A man, who turned out to be Gorr, struggled through a dessert, carrying his daughter. Gorr prayed to his god to save her, but his prayers weren’t answered and she died. Gorr then found an oasis, where he encountered his god celebrating the death of some creature that had a necrosword, a weapon that could kill gods. After his god degraded him and his daughter’s death, Gorr called the sword to him and slayed his god. Thus, Gorr the God Butcher was born.

The movie then provided a reoccurring gag where Korg gave backstory about Thor and all his woes to a group of aliens. I like Korg. He’s always good for a chuckle. Thor is back to his strong, in shape self, but his mental self is struggling. He’s lost so much and needs something to live for. I wonder what that could be.

Thor’s time with the Guardians of the Galaxy gang was rather short compared to what I expected from the trailer. But I don’t mind. The Guardians gang is missing its heart without Gamora. Thor mainly interacted with StarLord, and I think the rest of the group each had a line, except Mantis. I don’t think she spoke at all. Thor receives a distress call from Sif. Remember Sif? We last saw her in Thor: The Dark World. She was strangely absent in Ragnarok, when the rest of Thor’s friends were killed by Hela. If you watched Loki, she was in an episode, but she was a memory tormenting Loki, so I don’t think that counts. Anyway, they explain Sif’s absence by saying she was following Gorr the God Butcher. I would have liked some more background on why Sif was on this mission alone or why she hadn’t contacted Thor before, but instead, we get a quick reunion, and then Sif was rushed to the hospital in New Asgard, since she had lost an arm during battle.

New Asgard became a tourist destination under King Valkryie’s rule, which doesn’t seem like a bad thing. The people seemed happy and safe, and there weren’t any really big issues until Gorr and his shadow monsters arrived. Battle ensures, as it usually does, and I loved seeing Valkryie back in action. She’s a fighter for sure. During the battle, Thor noticed something that he hasn’t seen since Ragnarok. Mjolnir, his hammer. This leads to our first view of the Mighty Thor, aka Jane Foster.

Jane hasn’t been seen since Dark World, besides some unused footage from Dark World that was used for Endgame, and a mention in Ragnarok that she and Thor broke up. While Thor has been off having his adventures, Jane has become a world famous physicist, and developed stage 4 cancer. Rather than accept it, she was in her lab constantly, trying to find a way to cure herself, to no avail. We got to see both Erik Selvig and Darcy (both amazing characters and I wish we had gotten to see them all interact more). During one of her stints in her lab, Jane felt drawn to a book on Viking mythology, that included a description of Mjolnir, and its ability to heal people. In Ragnarok, Hela had broken Thor’s hammer, and just to remind the people of this, New Asgard put on another show about it (and Melissa Mcarthy played Hela which was hilarious). No one had been able to move the pieces of the hammer, but when Jane approached them, they began glowing. And hence, the hammer chose her.

Jane had all the muscles and abilities of Thor along with the hammer being able to break into pieces for attacks and put itself back together. However, when she lets go of the hammer and its power, she is still sick, and growing sicker. The only one aware of this fact is Valkryie. I like their relationship and that Valkryie has no issue with Jane jumping in to help. And they need all the help they can get. After Thor, Jane, Korg and Valkryie fight the shadow monsters, Gorr uses them to kidnap the children of New Asgard, thus forcing Thor to confront Gorr again.

Before doing so, Thor, Jane, Korg and Valkryie take a ship over the rainbow bridge to the Omnipotence City of the gods. I nearly forgot to mention what was the strangest and funniest aspect of this movie. During Thor’s fight alongside the Guardians, the aliens of the planet gifted Thor two giant goats that enjoyed screaming. It was clearly just the aliens wanting to get rid of them. I thought it would be an offhand joke, but the goats actually came in handy. The ship was pulled over the bridge by the screaming goats.

Zeus was hosting a gathering of the gods to discuss important business, such as the location of the next orgy. Yep, Zeus is a dick in this and obsessed with his power. When Thor begged him for help, Zeus said no and mocked him instead (also stripping him of his clothes so we all enjoyed a full view of Chris Hemsworth’s naked butt). Valkryie, Korg, and Jane joined Thor in a battle against a bunch of soldiers and Zeus. Zeus struck down Korg, whose body collapsed into small rocks. Thankfully, all that matters for his species is the mouth, so Thor was able to save Korg’s face. Thor managed to get Zeus’ thunderbolt and sent it clear through Zeus’ chest, thus “killing him.” Valkryie stole the thunderbolt, and the group left on the ship, the goats screaming away.

They then traveled to the Shadow Realm where Gorr was keeping the children. The children included Astrid, aka Axl, Heimdall’s son. We last saw Heimdall in Infinity War where Thanos killed him. Now, I don’t recall there being mention of Heimdall having a wife and son, but Axl is a cool, strong kid, so I’ll allow it. Axl learned how to project his self to find Thor and to bring Thor to see where he was. Definitely a kid who will live up to his father’s reputation.

On the ship, Thor and Jane rekindled their relationship, and Jane informed Thor that she had cancer. Honestly, the background bit about why the relationship didn’t work before made a lot of sense and technically, those issues still exist. But since Jane has powers and cancer, Thor barreled ahead and came back to his love. They do make a cute couple, but I was more entertained by Valkryie and Korg chatting in the background since Korg was just a face.

The ship reached Gorr’s place and found no children, just an ambush. During the fight, both Valkryie and Jane are injured, and Gorr was able to steal Stormbreaker (Thor’s axe), which was needed to reach Eternity, a divine being that would grant the wish of the first creature that reached it. Which also begs the question, why didn’t Thor go to Eternity after Thanos snapped half of the universe away? It would have saved them a lot of trouble. It definitely opened up some plot holes and questions. But anyway, Thor returned to New Asgard with Valkryie and Jane. Jane learned that every time she used Mjolnir, it was sucking her health and ability to fight the cancer, so it was in effect, killing her. Thor requested that she stay away from the fight, and Valkryie was still injured, so Thor made his way to fight Gorr by himself.

Gorr set up Stormbreaker to open the gate to Eternity and had his shadow monsters fighting Thor. Thor gave all the children the power of Thor, and we got to witness such an awesome fight scene. The kids were kicking butt, and I loved the little girl who used her stuffed animal as her weapon of choice and shot lightning out of its eyes. The kids managed to get away while Thor, and Jane, who appeared, fought off Gorr. Did anyone really expect Jane not to join the fight? It was pretty clear she was going to join. Gorr managed to open the gate and made his way to Eternity, a being made out of space, it looked like. Jane used her powers once last time during the fight to destroy the Necrosword, and as a result, Gorr and Jane were both dying.

Thor wouldn’t leave Jane’s side, and Gorr reached Eternity. Thor, however, plead with Gorr to think about his daughter and what he really wanted. Thor feared Gorr would ask Eternity to kill all the gods, but Thor got through to him, or perhaps it was Gorr’s plan all along. Gorr asked Eternity to bring his daughter back to life. She came back as he lay dying, and Gorr asked Thor to look after her. Meanwhile, Jane lay dying in Thor’s arms. He never stopped loving her and she never stopped loving him. Jane died in his arms, and turned into gold dust, just like Odin in Ragnarok. I took this to mean she ascended to Valhalla.

The movie then cut to afterwards, with the children returning home, safe and sound. Korg managed to grow his body back and found a husband. Valkryie and Sif were teaching self-defense to the children. And Thor was now Uncle Thor, and taking care of Love, the daughter of Gorr. Love had powers of her own, and Thor was teaching her to look after others. He finally had something to live for.

The end credits showed that Zeus was still alive and planning to attack with the force of the gods. The second scene showed Jane ending up in Valhalla, and was greeted by Heimdall. Now, I didn’t think the second scene was necessary since it was easy to see that Jane was going to Valhalla, but I suppose it was a way to give proof that she had died and to give Heimdall a cameo as well.

The movie was really good, and the music was amazing. Some hilarious moments and deeply touching ones as well. I definitely recommend the movie for anyone who likes Thor, and particularly Ragnarok. It seems very clear that the MCU is setting up the Young Avengers. We have Love and Axl from this movie. Wanda’s boys, Billy and Tommy, America Chavez, Cassie Lang, Eli Bradley, kid Loki (who I adore), Kate Bishop, and Kamala Khan from other MCU properties. I would love to see the Young Avengers destroy some villains, and maybe bring an army of the children of New Asgard too.

Other thoughts:

Love is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth’s real life daughter and she is so good.

We finally got confirmation of Valkryie losing her girlfriend in the battle against Hela.

Korg’s species mate by holding hands over a lava pit for a month, and a baby boy is born. Korg and his husband have a baby at the end of the movie.

I really expected Valkyrie and Sif to have a moment, or to at least meet. I feel jipped.

Korg’s god is Ninny of the Nonny and I love this name so much.

One of the gods at the meeting was sitting on a throne of scissors, resembling the Iron throne from Game of Thrones.

There was a god of dumplings and I cackled so hard when I saw it.

I love the joke that Stormbreaker is jealous of Mjolnir and keeps messing with Thor.

Jane’s attempts to make a catchphrase were so awkward and precious.

Valkryie is a badass king and I’m glad she continues to be able to keep things peaceful and still fight like a badass.

It kind of was annoying to bring back Jane just to kill her. Another Game of Thrones trope in my mind.

I hope there’s more Uncle Thor. And we need more Love and Axl for sure.

I highly recommend this movie and enjoyed it, even with the issues and questions it raised. Keep it up Marvel.