harbek:
Loki breaks my heart. He’s a bit batshit, sure, but I don’t think he would’ve invaded in quite this way if he had a choice, or endangered the rest of the universe. But lost in the middle of space, with no power, alone… What other options did he have than to accept help from someone with those conditions?
And he can’t just change his mind, either. You can tell several times that he’s tempted to accept Thor’s help. To come home. But he knows that even the Asgardians probably can’t protect him - and why would they want to? He has no place there anymore, or at least that’s how he feels.
But if he gets Earth, if he succeeds, maybe then he can prove himself. No takeover is without bloodshed, but afterwards he can show that he’ll be a good king, like he would’ve been for Asgard. And maybe being respected will also gain him some self-respect. Maybe he’ll finally be valued.
This scene really, really stuck with me. In fact, I think it may be my favourite scene in the entire film.
Because we don’t know what happened to Loki between falling through space and ending up on Earth, but all we know is that it can’t have been pleasant. At all. And lost in the dark abyss, alone and hurt and forgotten, what choice did he have but to side with people who offered him the chance to escape?
And it’s obvious he’s in pain and they don’t care one bit about him or his survival, but he’s forced, partly by the Chitauri, partly by his own sense of inferiority and his need to prove himself, to find somewhere where he can be what he believes he was born to be: a king.
What else can he do but attack Earth?
And yes it’s true, he does want power, and yes, he does want to rule, and yes, human lives don’t mean a great deal to him. But when the Chitauri promise him unimaginable pain if he fails, you can see just how much he truly fears them; he’s crying. He’s crying because he probably really doesn’t want to do this, but he has no choice. He can’t go back to his brother, because the threats of the Chitauri ring clear in his mind.
In the end he’s just a boy. A boy who made all the wrong choices.
But it’s too late for him to turn back.