Essay: Why Loki Should Have Killed His Foster Family

Why Loki Should Have Killed His Foster Family

(A Study On Loki’s Psyche, or Who To Blame)

(Before I present my arguments as to why I think Loki should have killed his family, let me explain that murder is only acceptable, necessary even, within the realms of literature and cinema, for artistic reasons, and should not be considered as a solution in real life situations.)

In Norse mythology, Loki is the trickster, the prankster, very similar to the god-like figure of the Coyote in Native American Lore. He is a force which is needed to maintain balance in the universe, not an evil deity as he might be perceived by some. He is not malevolent. In fact, he assists the other gods quite frequently, although he does cause problems for them as well. Under that light, we could assume that Loki is an expression of the duality prominent in most humans. You cannot have good without evil. These facts, however, will not be taken into consideration, or at least, they will not be the basis of this essay, which will focus mostly on the characters of Loki, Odin, Thor and Frigga (more accurately, Frigg), as they are portrayed in the popular film “Thor”.

In order to make it perfectly clear that I will not be favouring any character, I will proceed to a brief analysis of each one of them, keeping in mind each one’s role in their -slightly dysfunctional- family. Loki’s character is, of course, the one this essay will be focusing on. 

Odin is the wise king of Asgard, which seems to be a great responsibility on its own. If you add to that the title of “Allfather”, you realize that this particular deity must be carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. But what this title also means, is that Odin resembles the One God of Christianity, who knows and sees everything -characteristics which Odin displays once or twice in the film- and more importantly, loves all his children. In this manner, Odin is supposed to love every creature of every race of every realm that is under his rule. For some reason, despite his patient and gentle nature, he is exceptionally strict when it comes to the Jotuns. He singles them out and forces them to become a shadow of the glorious race they used to be. Surely, they provoked him but their punishment seems rather harsh, especially when you see them sitting around idly and doing absolutely nothing. Odin has thusly reduced their life into a mere existence, and it is no wonder that they plot against him in their -unlimited- free time. As a father to Thor and Loki, his behaviour is not exemplary. In the scene where he narrates the defeat of the Jotuns, although he doesn’t refer to his foes as “monsters”, he doesn’t correct Thor when he uses that term, all the while knowing that his adopted son, Loki, is one of the Jotuns. Despite realizing that Thor is a spoiled child, he allows him to turn into a spoiled adult, and almost makes him king of Asgard, seemingly oblivious to the fact that, Thor is simply not ready to take on that particular role.

Thor is strong and handsome but not at all wise. (That is easy enough to see but his father, somehow, manages to miss it.) He enjoys fighting a bit too much, and breaking or throwing things around seems to be his favourite hobby. His lack of maturity makes him look like an overgrown teenager. Not a king. Thor claims to love his brother but treats him poorly at every chance he gets; laughing at him or telling him to “know his place”, which makes it obvious that while he is fond of Loki, he perceives him as a beloved companion and not a brother, certainly not an equal. After he is exiled to Earth -which of all the places one could be forced to inhabit, seems like a better choice than Mars or Venus- he goes on acting like he owns everything and everyone on the planet. In just two (or three) days, he manages to fall in love and be tormented enough as to change the annoying aspects of his character. A change so quick and drastic should not be trusted however, because despite being less annoying, he consequently proclaims himself defender of the Earth, thusly demonstrating that he still suffers from megalomania. One cannot dislike Thor forever though. He possesses enough boyish charm to warm anyone’s heart but that quality can only take him so far. One must hope that eventually, Thor will grow up, although it does seem rather unlikely.

Frigga is a poor excuse for a queen, and not to mention, a mother, but she is quite brilliant at being a -fairly submissive- wife. She is more of an ornament than anything else. She stands by and lets Odin raise her sons with stories of war, and there is no proof that she did not actually assist in spoiling Thor. While she does not leave Odin’s side while he is in Odinsleep mode, it is not made clear whether she is worried about her husband or her own place in the kingdom of Asgard, in case he never wakes up. All in all, her role is not prominent in the film. She might as well have been another nameless Asgardian. There is not much that can be said about Frigga; she is just a part of the scenery. Her role is mostly implied rather than demonstrated.

Loki seems to be rather thoughtful and distressed from the beginning of the film. Even as a child, he listens carefully to his father’s stories, unlike Thor. He inquires what would happen if the Jotuns decided to attack Asgard. He needs his father’s guidance because he knows that at such a young age, he doesn’t have all the answers, in contrast to Thor who will call Odin a fool, later in his life. We are not shown any proof that he does not love his brother, or that he is envious of him in any way. His irritation on the day of Thor’s crowning can be attributed to the fact that he knows his brother is not ready to be a king. Thor winking at their mother during the ceremony does not help change Loki’s mind. While assisting the Jotuns with the invasion of Asgard could be considered criminal, Loki admits, later on, that he did it only to have fun. He was certain that the attack would fail and, in all fairness, the failed attack did spare Asgard from having a foolish, bloodthirsty king sitting on the throne.

After Thor’s rather explosive outburst due to Odin’s refusal to attack Jotunheim, we have no reason to believe that Loki’s words are meant to push his brother into making a hasty decision regarding the Jotuns. It seems much more likely that it is an attempt to make his brother like him more. It is obvious that he has no interest in picking a fight which cannot be won by talking, but is more than eager to follow Thor into Jotunheim. On their way to the Bifrost, Loki tells Thor that he will handle the guard and even though his attempt to trick Heimdall is unsuccessful, being laughed at by his brother and the other members of the group, has a strange resemblance to bullying. In an attempt to impress his brother, he becomes ridiculed by people who rank lower than him. Thor’s attitude makes Loki the laughing stock of their subjects.

While in Jotunheim, Loki’s pride receives yet another blow. His very reasonable suggestion to Thor to “stop and think” is met by an extremely rude “know your place”. Is Loki not a prince? Are they not equals? Why would his own brother speak to him in this manner? Minutes later, as a Jotun’s touch fails to injure him, Loki realizes something must be wrong with him. (Let us just point out here, that his admonition to Heimdall to summon Odin after they have gone to Jotunheim, is crucial because the small group would have definitely perished, had Odin not ran to their rescue.)

Having put the pieces of the puzzle together, Loki asks the man who is supposed to be his father, to tell him the truth. Why did Odin wait this long to tell him the truth though? When he is told that he is, in fact, a Jotun, Loki’s mind snaps. (His adoptive parents have obviously not done a very good job at preventing him from feeling different than Thor.) He suddenly inherits a very confusing identity with which he cannot cope. He believes that there are only two reasons for Odin to have kept the truth from him all those years: he must either be afraid of Loki -or rather, the Jotun inside Loki- or he must loathe him. (Odin delivers the news and then, conveniently, falls into Odinsleep.) Discovering that he is one of the monsters his brother was so keen on slaying, feeling out of place and all the while yearning for his family’s acceptance, is too much for Loki to handle. And yet, in this state of turmoil, he does not call Odin a fool, the way Thor did. When he calls for the guards to help his “father”, he is heartbroken and distressed. He has no vanity, no thirst for blood (yet). He is simply lost and alone.

And what would you expect his mother to do now? Comfort him in any way possible, make him understand that she does not see him as a monster or an adopted son, an outsider and make him feel like a part of the family. Instead, she holds her husband’s hand -while he sleeps peacefully in his enormous, comfortable bed- and only offers Loki a few kind words. It is not certain whether Loki could have done with a hug at this point, but it would not have hurt Frigga to get up from her seat and touch him. By keeping her distance physically, she manages to drive Loki further away, and also shake the role of the mother off her, assuming only one role: that of the wife. She cannot do Loki any good from now on.

Later on, Loki says that “the burden of the throne” has fallen on him and there is no reason to question him. For all we know, he may actually consider it a burden. (There is also no proof that Loki is considering murdering his brother yet.) He has not expressed any wishes of becoming a king. But seeing as he has been mocked on a regular basis, the throne now allows him to take some sort of pleasure in making Thor’s friends kneel before him and acknowledge him as their superior. It is very interesting to watch how he behaves in that scene. He talks and walks very slowly, giving Lady Sif and the Warriors Three condescending looks as he stands proudly before them. They have earned this behaviour by laughing at him earlier and thinking themselves better than him. When they ask him to bring Thor back, it can only be considered reasonable that Loki does not disobey Odin’s orders; he believes that his father has a good reason for having done that. Distrusting him because of his refusal is a little presumptuous of the four Asgardians. Other than a “hunch”, they have no reasonable grounds to suspect him.

But in order to really deserve being treated like a king or prince, Loki feels he must have his Jotun part removed. And it is a part he truly hates. At the same time, he needs to gain Odin’s approval and in order to achieve that, his brother must remain in exile. It is when Thor’s friends decide to go and bring him back, that Loki decides to kill him because it is the only way to keep him away. (And ultimately, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three are Thor’s undoing. They support his every decision, no matter how stupid or reckless it may be and they prove to be just as immature as he is, disrespecting their king’s orders, simply because they do not get along with him.) Note how Odin, still sleeping, sheds a tear for Thor and saves his life from so far away...

It is crucial for Loki’s plan to let Laufey reach Odin’s chambers before he defeats him. In this manner, he hopes that by killing his real father, he will kill the Jotun inside him and consequently, impress his adoptive father, even as he sleeps. But a sleeping man can give no praise to anyone, and as Loki does not feel any different than before, he begins to realize he will always be “the monster parents tell their children about at night”. It is hard to believe that Thor, despite all of his troubles, has suffered more than Loki. Thor still has a sense of belonging, whereas Loki has been deprived of it.

Loki did not look thrilled or pleased in any way when he gave the order to have his brother killed. He does, however, look somewhat relieved to see him, despite the fact that Thor appears before him in combat mode. Keeping in mind that Loki is powerful enough to trick Heimdall himself, it does seem rather odd that he does not kill Thor right on the spot. Is it because he needs the confrontation and the fight which will come later? That much is not clear. What is clear though, is that Loki is too far gone at this point. In a way, he admits that he is not able to tell whether wanting to destroy Jotunheim is madness or not. And if sanity has become to Loki indistinguishable from madness, it is only logical that Thor’s ungraceful handling of the situation will only make matters worse.

As the two princes of Asgard are about to fall to their deaths, Odin -conveniently!- wakes up and rushes to grab hold of Thor, thusly saving both of them. This moment is extremely important, because Loki almost begs Odin to acknowledge him as Thor’s equal. He tells his father that he went to great lengths, in order to rid both Asgard and himself of the monsters. He is crying when he says “I could have done it! For you! For all of us!”; he still cannot come to terms with who he truly is. And Odin simply says “no”. “No, you could not. No, you will always be the monster parents tell their children about at night. No, you will never be as good as Thor, never good enough". It is no wonder that Loki chooses to let go.  

And what does Odin Allfather do then? Absolutely nothing. The same man who has already saved Thor twice -once in his sleep!- stands there and stares as Loki falls. Of course, Loki has a wonderful view of his father’s lack of reaction, even if for just a few moments. But the image must have registered in his mind. This should come as no surprise though. It seems that all Loki’s “family” ever does is neglect and belittle him, push him a little bit closer to insanity, nudge him into becoming a broken man who cannot discern what is wrong and what is right.

In “The Avengers”, Loki asks Thor if they mourned for his death and Thor replies that they all did. Let us reflect on this for a moment. In the ending scenes of “Thor” we see a great feast, people laughing and generally having a good time. All the people of Asgard are actually glad that Loki is gone! The only one who seems slightly affected by Loki’s death is Odin. And even he fails to mourn for the lost prince appropriately. His grief has no substance. Frigga, who is as ornamental as ever, is more concerned about Thor being apart from his love interest. Not a single tear for Loki. Is that how a mother mourns for her child? And what about Thor? We are told that he mourns for his brother but we are shown no proof of that. He is much more interested in asking about said love interest’s well-being. All in all, Loki’s death has little to no effect on any of them.

(Of course, it is quite obvious that Odin did save Loki’s life when he decided to adopt him. And it is also true that Loki was brought up as a prince, even if nobody ever treated him with the respect a prince deserves. Can wealth and prestigious titles define the quality of one’s life though? Perhaps, leaving Loki to die, would have been better than condemning him to a life of self hatred and doubt.) 

In conclusion, it would be very fitting for Loki to kill them all, when and if he ever gets the chance. Catharsis is -almost- never achieved by calm conversations and holding of hands. Granted, he would not be able to achieve complete catharsis in this manner, unless he could come to accept his dual nature. But there is no doubt about it: Odin and Thor, and even the shadow of a mother that Frigga is, have greatly mistreated him and they are responsible for what he has turned into, in more ways than one. Killing them might drive Loki further away from redemption but it would be a sort of poetic justice, long overdue.

A/N: I have tried  to keep this essay as formal and serious as possible. I sincerely hope that the lack of girlish squees and verbal attacks to Thor’s hair can attest to that. (In case it wasn’t evident, let me inform you that I really, really don’t like Thor!)