Minute Eleven: From a Warlock’s Eye to a Frost Giant’s Fists

Ashley Coffin from the MCU Podcast is joining us this week to talk about Loki and Thor (if we can just get past his eyebrows). Check her and her shows out at the links below!

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

• The Einherjar guards should be suspicious in Odin’s vault. After all, the Warlock’s Eye is watching them, Branagh is throwing them into another dutch angle shot, and there’s a frost giant freezing the wall behind them.
• What’s the sword opposite the Eye? Is it the Space Traveling Sword?
• Odin’s ravens! We haven’t talked about them yet but they’ve been in the film since minute eight. They’re sitting ever so pleasantly on each arm of Odin’s throne. We touch on their histories.
• It’s time for Odin’s oath, and clearly he’s in a hurry because he’s only just started but is almost done with the coronation ceremony. Maybe he just wants to get to the banquet?
• Odin runs through three questions for Thor, who gets more and more convinced of his own awesomeness as he says “I swear!” in reply. It’s almost a surprise he doesn’t throw moljnir in the air on that third one.
• Thor’s wig. It’s tough. So are his eyebrows. Which are worse? But Chris Hemsworth, amiright? Why did they do that to him? At least they learn how to make him look in later films.

Does Loki enjoy what seems like Odin taunting Thor? Or is he thinking about what's going on downstairs?

• Loki’s watching. In hindsight, we know why but it’s interesting to look at what Hiddleston is bringing to his performance that’s so subtle.
• Meanwhile, Odin once again seems to hint at his terrible parenting by stopping just as he’s about to announce Thor as king. Is he taunting Thor by dragging the moment on even longer? Or is he seeing frost appear on the banners as was originally scripted?
• The frost giants don’t care. They kill the Einherjar guards by freezing water, slicing them with ice swords they make on their arms, and just good ol’ throttling them to death.

What's with Odin's ability to sense danger? And is Loki worried?

• Okay, so Odin wasn’t just taunting Thor. Turns out he’s got Odin-sense with things happening in the royal palace (lest we forget, it’s called Valaskjalf) and realizes frost giants are here. We never see a shot of frost in the throne room, so assume it’s just his awesome connection to Valaskjalf.
• But why didn’t his radar turn on when the frost giants first entered Asgard? Or Valaskjalf? They had to make it all the way into the dark cave where the vault is hanging from the ceiling and kill the guards before his radar went off? That doesn’t seem like great radar.
• Doesn’t matter than much anyway because the frost giants have honed in on what they want, and it’s the casket of ancient winters. The three of them dash to it and pick it up.

It’s an oath- and action-filled minute today! We have a great time covering all of these elements and more. 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
• Ashley Coffin on the Stranded Panda Network and on Instagram