Minute Eighteen: From Asgard to Jotunheim

It’s a special week indeed with not one but two guests joining us on a trip through the Bifrost – Krissy Lenz and Nathan Blackwell from the Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast.

In the eighteenth minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• Heimdall finally finishes his warning in his stilted English. Volstagg delivers a silly line that does nothing for us except provide an opportunity to deliver Chekov’s ‘full power of the Bifrost.’
• Everyone looks worried except for Thor, who delivers one of his best lines in the film: “I have no plans to die today.”
• Heimdall, of course, has an equally brilliant retort: “None do.”

Tripping the Bifrost Fantastic

• Heimdall activates the Bifrost wormhole and each member of the group gets yanked by what looks like their stomach into it.
• This looks like an incredibly cool way to travel, but also looks like everyone would be throwing up.
• Since they left Valaskjalf, the group has been traveling in what we must assume is their ready positions: Thor in front, Sif and Loki just behind him, and Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun behind them. Once they’re pulled into the rainbow of the Bifrost, they seem to change positions. Does it reverse them? While we’re in it, it seems that Thor’s still in front but once they burst out over Jotunheim, Thor is third. And since it’s Thor, he’s working past the others to get back in front. He passes someone holding a weapon and the only person that was holding one in the Observatory was Volstagg. So it must’ve reversed it, right?
• And really, no surprise that Thor’s pushing to be in front.
• How do you land when traveling through the Bifrost? Do you have to somehow turn yourself so you land feet first? Does the Bifrost turn you? Is it a gentle landing or do you really come in traveling at light speed? None of this makes us want to try it any time soon.

The Bifrost Dumps Them on Jotunheim.

• The six Asgardians land on Jotunheim. Thor looks around. We saw the planet was encircled by chunks in space so presumably the planet has been falling apart since Odin took the Casket of Ancient Winters, but is this Thor’s first time here? Did he realize it would look so desolate and broken?
• And as it turns out, Heimdall dumped them on the edge of a cliff. Was that intentional as a way to poke Thor a bit for his attitude pre-Bifrost trip? Or does he have any control over where he drops people on any given Realm?

It’s a wild trip through the Bifrost and we have a great conversation along the way with our guests. Tune in!

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Film Sundries

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • Netflix • YouTube • Disney+
• Join the conversation on Discord
• Script Transcript
• Trailer #1
• Trailer #2
• Poster artwork
• Source Material
• Krissy’s Theatre: The Neighborhood Comedy Theatre, on Facebook and on Instagram
• Nathan’s Company: Squishy Studios, on Facebook, on Twitter, and Instagram