We’ll break down the ending of Love and Thunder, including the post-credits stingers, here and now. This obviously means we’re in for some major spoilers, so proceed with caution and don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Love and Thunder
Gor (Christian Bale), empowered by the god-killing Necrosword, has made it his mission to cut a bloody streak across the universe, killing any and all gods indiscriminately. But methodical dietary genocide was not his primary mission. Instead, he was trying to find a way to Eternity, a hidden mystical place at the center of the universe where a person could go to have a wish granted. Apparently Gorr’s desire would be to obliterate the gods this way, like his own personal Infinity Gauntlet snapshot. In fact, the MCU’s take on Eternity not only sounds a lot like a much simpler (and less quest-oriented) version of the Infinity Gauntlet, but it also sounds like Vashanti’s book from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Apparently the MCU is just going easy on all the powerful MacGuffins these days. Who could have guessed? To orchestrate this plan, Gorr kidnapped Asgardian children to lure Thor, who possessed Stormbreaker, into the shadow realm that would allow Stormbreaker to unlock the portal to Eternity and give Gorr access. Most of these details haven’t been clarified–like why the newly created (as in Infinity War) Stormbreaker would be a key component in an ancient interdimensional puzzle box–but given the semi-sentient nature of Thor’s weapons, it’s entirely possible that these threads will be investigated in due course. After a huge showdown, where both the Asgardian children (who filled in as young Thors) and Jane as Thor played huge roles, Gor was able to open the portal to Eternity, but Thor was able to follow him, interrupting the his plans, possibly, to wish for the death of all the gods. Instead, Thor convinces him to wish for his daughter’s resurrection–with the understanding that the Deathblade was actively killing Gorr and would not live to see her. It’s unclear why the wish couldn’t also stipulate that Gor could have survived – but it’s equally unclear if killing all the gods with his wish was ever actually Gor’s plan all along. Gor’s wish does work, killing him but reviving his daughter, whom Thor takes into his care – yet she’s far from a normal child, being empowered by Eternity and able to wield the Stormbreaker. The two go on to become adventurers – “Love and Thunder” travels the universe to protect those in need with Thor acting as her “uncle”.
Eternity?
While this technically isn’t the first time Eternity has been mentioned in the MCU (it was mentioned, surprisingly, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 during Peter’s vision from Ego), it’s the first time it’s been actively explored – though much remains unclear. In the comics, he is an “abstract concept”, the sentient personification of time and the origin of consciousness in the universe. Like most abstract ideas in Marvel comics, this one can mean a lot — and it changes often. Additionally, what we see in the movie bears very little resemblance to what we see in the comics, and the idea of him becoming (or empowering) a child is brand new to the MCU. That said, it’s hard to hazard much guesswork about what this new kid will actually mean – Love in the future. We can assume that she’ll continue to be Thor’s niece/ward for a while, that her powers will continue to grow, and that she’ll eventually be a major player in some way, at some point down the road. But neither she, nor Thor, have confirmed appearances in Phase 4, so it’s hard to know when that will be. We do know that Thor will be back at some point, though, thanks to a helpful end-credits title card, we just don’t know when.
Jane, Valkyrie and everyone else
Of course, Thor and the newly minted Love aren’t the only people in the mix for this movie. There’s also the newly crowned Mighty Thor, Jane Foster, who, after being diagnosed with cancer, is empowered by Mjolnir to become a superhero herself. Similar to the comics, Mjolnir gives Jane superpowers and health, but unlike the comics, it doesn’t act as a temporary cure for her cancer – she’s still actively dying, even when empowered, and running with the clock ticking. Of course, this comes to a head in the final battle with Gorr, when Jane uses Mjolnir to destroy Gorr’s death sword, effectively killing him and herself. Her sacrifice is honored with acceptance into Valhalla, which we see in the second scene after the credits, with Heimdall there to greet and welcome her. Meanwhile, Valkyrie returns to New Asgard where she continues to work as king. Sif also arrives in the city, after a brief injury that cost her an arm, and works to begin training the next generation of Asgardian warriors alongside Valkyrie. Of these Asgardian children, the most important is probably Axel, Heimdall’s fledgling son, who played a major role in helping Thor and the team find the children kidnapped according to Gorr’s plan. We don’t know when he’ll show up again, though, or what the future may hold for him.
The scenes after the credits
As previously mentioned, the second post-credits scene was a sting to assure fans that, despite her death, Jane Foster would be staying in Valhalla. It included a cameo from Heimdall, who died in Infinity War — but, of course, that wasn’t the only scene to look out for. Before this, the mid-credits scene opens back to the Greek pantheon, with Zeus (previously thought to have been killed) speaking to someone, recovering from his wounds. He has an obvious grudge against Thor now, after Thor humiliated and injured him, and plans to do something about it. He will send his son — Hercules (played by Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein) to hunt down Thor. We only get a glimpse of Hercules agreeing to Zeus’ command, but he seems to mean business. When, where and how this conflict will play out for either character is unclear – but certainly something to watch out for in the future. Thor: Love and Thunder is in theaters now. The products discussed here were independently selected by our editors. GameSpot may receive a share of the revenue if you purchase anything featured on our site.
