I don’t have fully formed thoughts on this yet, but I was really struck how in Ragnarok, Loki was trying really hard to reshape his narrative as perceived by the Asgardians, whereas in the first two movies he performed villainy based on what he thought their expectations were. There’s a shift there, in that previously he took control by acting in the way he was perceived, and now he is trying to take control by acting how he wants to be perceived.
I had a whole conversation with @portraitoftheoddity (and I think also @ameliarating?) about this today! basically about how...it seems like Loki in this movie really did stop trying to play the villain as he has basically since the end of Thor. it confirms, for me, what was always true: that’s not what Loki wanted to be. it’s what he thought he had to be, but what he wants is to be a hero. a savior. he wants validation.
and finally when he’s in a position to get it, that’s what he does: he tells his own story in a way that ensures he can be seen as what he wants to be.
it’s a turn and I think it’s a very good one for him. it’s a move away from “I have to be this one way” that comes full circle with Thor’s pointed comment that while he might always be God of Mischief, he can be more than that. Loki gets so locked in to fatalistic and deterministic modes of thinking, stuck in cycles of doing the same thing because it’s inevitable and/or expected.
also: Loki’s means of constructing a new identity for himself is, once again, completely externalized. he’s not making it for himself, he’s making it through the perceptions of others. it’s not a decision he’s making for himself or by himself, it’s a thing he’s doing by performing it.
and I feel like maybe by the end of the movie, Loki’s taken a few steps toward actually internalizing that identity shift. which is...a huge deal.
(I’m not sure I’m making any sense. I haven’t eaten nearly enough food today (WORKING ON IT) so my brain is...kind of firing all over the place.)
