Tear Jerker / Thor: The Dark World

WARNING: Spoilers are unmarked.

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• In the beginning of the film, when Loki is brought before Odin, he's calm in front of the All-Father. Defiant, even, about his actions. It isn't until Odin says that Frigga is the only reason he's still alive and he will never see her again that his cocky demeanor crumbles. He even stumbles as he's led away. Which makes Frigga's decision to defy her husband and continue to see their son all the more heartwarming.
  • Loki had been so desperate for his father's love in the first Thor film that he was ready to commit genocide against Jötunheim (his own people who abandoned him) for him. It's truly heartbreaking to see that, between then and now, any affection that Loki once had for Odin is now entirely gone. When Loki is first brought before Odin, he falls back on his old banter pretty quickly... but the expression on his face when he delivers one of his lines clearly speaks to a deep well of bitterness and regret. He has completely given up on ever gaining his father's approval.
    Loki: It's not that I don't love our little talks, it's just... I don't love them.
  • Odin's words here might be incredibly harsh and uncalled for, but it's easy to see that they come from a place of deep disappointment and hurt. The whole unpleasant situation probably reminds him of Hela. Anthony Hopkins' delivery of this line - "If I had not taken you in, you would not be here now to hate me" - is more sad than angry or accusing.
• Frigga visits Loki in his dungeon. As she brings up Odin, Loki shouts, "HE'S NOT MY FATHER!" Frigga then asks him, "Then am I not your mother?" Loki tries to be calm... and then gives the emotionless reply of "You're not." She doesn't believe him.
  • Then there were the hands, the tears in both their eyes, and the reveal that she was using her illusory self to visit him. At least Loki looks sorry and tries to apologize before Frigga dismisses the illusion, as if to say "I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry". This is even sadder when Frigga dies only hours later. Those were Loki's last words to her.
• Frigga's death. Even if a lot of people already knew it was going to happen, it was still heart-wrenching.
  • The scene is perfectly done. She's killed, and only a second later, Thor comes running in, managing to, at minimum, scar the right side of Malekith's face. Then Jane arrives and can only just stand there in shock. Then Odin arrives... and just collapses beside her.
  • Before this scene, Odin realizes that it's the Dark Elves invading. Knowing they've come for Jane (whom Frigga is guarding), he whispers "Frigga..."
• Frigga's funeral. Once the boat is lit by a fire arrow, all the other boats are lit. Many Asgardians fell that day.
• When Loki is told of Frigga's death. A guard approaches his dungeon. We don't hear what he says, but we can guess. Loki waits for the guard to leave before standing... and knocking over all his belongings. He was not allowed to go or even see Frigga's funeral, despite Odin knowing how much Frigga had meant to him (which is hardly unreasonable, since Loki is a dangerous and unrepentant criminal - and that somehow makes it worse). Even more tellingly, this is the first time we see Loki overtly using his power for anything other than illusions. Frigga's death is the trigger for him to launch his belongings across the room by just closing his fist...
• When Thor visits Loki in his dungeon for the first time to ask for his help to stop Malekith and Loki is all tough and defensive towards him, he tells Loki to drop his illusion. There's that split-second where Loki's eyes widen from the realization—that here is his brother who never fails to see through him and his true feelings, and that there really is no point in pretending when it's him—before he drops the act and we see him broken in the corner with his cell in shambles, having violently grieved over Frigga's death offscreen.
  Loki: Now you see me, brother.
  • If you look closely, you can see that sections of the wall have been beaten to the point that they're blackened and scuffed. If you look at Loki's feet, they're dirty and bloody. It gets worse when you realize that Loki played a small but vital role in the events that led to Frigga's death; he told Kurse to "take the stairs to the left", which allowed Kurse to drop Asgard's defenses, thus allowing Malekith and the other Elves inside.
  • Word of Saint Paul (Tom Hiddleston on the DVD Commentary) is that Loki is made aware of that his actions in a moment of petty spite played a part in his mother's death, and that "that knowledge is a source of immense grief".
  • The way Loki asks Thor whether Frigga did suffer and Thor refusing the answer, telling him dismissively that he is not here to share his grief.
    Loki: What makes you think you can trust me?
    Thor: I don't. Mother did. You should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me, and I will kill you.
• Odin's behavior after Frigga's death. He becomes completely bloodthirsty, not caring how many Asgardians might fall defeating the Dark Elves. When he is informed of Thor and Loki's escape, he tells the guards to stop Thor "by all means necessary". It almost crosses into Nightmare Fuel that the Allfather is implied to be willing to let his favorite and firstborn son be killed to stop him from defying him.
  • In light of Thor: Ragnarok, it's not much of a stretch that this bloodthirsty behavior could have been how he was in the days he and Hela were out conquering the Nine Realms. Frigga was probably his Morality Chain, and without her he's experiencing Sanity Slippage.
• In the realm of the Dark Elves, Thor and Loki begin to argue and then fight over Frigga's death. They are close to beating each other, but then the two fall into playful in-jokes and affectionate reminiscing. For just a moment, the two seem like brothers again as opposed to bitter archenemies. At the end, Thor, still half-laughing, sadly tells Loki "I wish that I could trust you." Yet, his tone isn't harsh or a warning, but instead wistful and melancholy, showing that he deeply, deeply wishes that he didn't have to treat his brother like an enemy. Even Loki is somber about it, and it may have even influenced his later actions.
• Loki's death. Even if it doesn't take. Thor's reaction when Loki is seemingly stabbed is heartbreaking. He just lost his mother right in front of his eyes and can only scream helplessly while the same seems to happen to his little brother. Even worse, Thor believes that Loki died saving him.
  • After Kurse is killed, Thor runs over to Loki and cradles him in his arms, calls him a fool for not "listening" and begs him to stay with him.
  • It is unsure how much of what Loki says is sincere, but he really sounds as if he means it when he repeatedly apologizes. Thor, with tears in his eyes, gently shushes him and tries to calm him down, tells him that it's alright, and promises to tell their father about his Heroic Sacrifice. Loki just slightly shakes his head and says "I didn't do it for him" while looking directly into Thor's eyes.
  • Then Loki seems to die and Thor screams in anguish. Thor mostly managed to hold his composure when Frigga died, but he fails so with Loki, sobbing silently at his side. Jane slowly approaches and Thor can just look up at her helplessly.
• Sif's unrequited love for Thor was hinted at in the first Thor film, and it's really put on display in the second.
• While Malekith's characterization in the film is seen as rather flat, interviews with Christopher Eccleston reveal that Malekith's existence, and the existence of the Dark Elves in general, is rather tragic, as he had a wife and son that he lost in unknown circumstances. There were also reasons that would have been given for the Dark Elves all being behind him, that were cut.

Tie-Ins

Thor: The Dark World Prelude #2

• After the events of the first film and The Avengers, where a significant part of Loki's motivation for his deeds was to obtain his adoptive father's approval, Odin disowns Loki and calls him "Laufeyson" to his face.

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