Today, we’re talking about minutes 26 through 30 of Thor: The Dark World, which begins with Jane seeing the world through Aether-colored glasses and ends with her becoming a delightful medical mystery for some Asgardian nurses. And in between? A rom-com slapfest, a cosmic rain umbrella, a bifrosted parking lot, and a Dark Elf with big vengeance energy and absolutely no charisma.
Matthew manages to find something nice to say about the film—and no, that’s not a typo—while Pete champions the small moments of visual subtlety that somehow snuck past the MCU’s usual “tell-don’t-show” directive. Together, they untangle whether the Aether is sentient, symbiotic, or just seriously bad at boundaries. They also take the time to appreciate Darcy being the best wingwoman in the Nine Realms and lament the fact that Malekith continues to cosplay as a sad space vampire instead of the trickster god he was in the comics.
Also covered: the soul forge (sci-fi MRI? Jack Kirby fever dream?), bifrosted vehicular manslaughter, and why this film seems deeply allergic to explaining anything with logic, physics, or emotional resonance. But hey, at least no one asked for Jane’s insurance card.
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