Film

A-Z Blog Challenge Day 26

/ Jen Bradlee / 6 Comments

Slide25

“Zealous men are ever displaying to you the strength of their belief, while judicious men are shewing you the grounds of it.” ~ William Shenstone

A zealous man is passionate about his beliefs.  Loki, passionate….*shakes head* Oh, sorry, lost myself for a moment there.  It’s so difficult to keep my mind straight after writing about Loki for a month.  All the glorious feels I’ve been burdened with when it comes to him.

Wait, that makes me zealous too, doesn’t it?  I’m passionate in my defense of Loki as a character.  I’m a Loki Zealot!  *gasp* Is that a bad thing?  Hell no.

I maintain my defense of Loki as a Villain and an Anti-Hero.  He is both.  Sometimes more one than the other.  It depends on the movie, the circumstances, the moment in time.  He is both.

His fervent belief in his mission, his destiny makes him a zealot, and the fact he goes through so much trouble to obtain it only solidifies this in my mind. Loki’s zealous nature has made him the villain, but it also endears us to him. A man with convictions, however misguided, is still more of a leader than a coward who wallows in defeat.

Loki is our leader, and we are his army.

A-Z Blog Challenge Day 25

/ Jen Bradlee / Leave a comment

Slide18

“To be old and wise, you must first have to be young and stupid.” ~ Unknown

There’s been a lot of talk about the age comparison of Midgardians to Asgardians on Tumblr.  I’ve attached a photo of the post that started it all for discussion.

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Now, I’m not saying that Loki is in his rebellious teenage years.  He’s still been around for over a thousand years, and that’s not exactly pocket change.  It’s still enough for him to learn and grow from his experiences. But by Asgardian standards, he is young.

We all make mistakes and stupid decisions, and they’re not always a product of immaturity based on our age.  Sometimes we just make the wrong choices.

What are your thoughts?

A-Z Blog Challenge Day 24

/ Jen Bradlee / 7 Comments

Slide5

(I know I took liberties with the letter X…geeze.)

“Extreme good, extreme evil: the abilities required are similar.” ~ Margaret Atwood

We’ve all seen the Avengers (if you haven’t, then why are you even reading these posts), so we know the extremes Loki is willing to go to in order to return to Asgard. He’s been tortured, abused, neglected, and manipulated…so it’s no wonder he is willing to use these same tactics to bring his plans to fruition.

Using the tesseract to control Barton and Selvig (and many others) ~ Extreme.

Opening a portal to allow the Chitauri to invade Earth ~ Extreme.

Manipulating the Avengers and his brother ~ Okay, that one was just plain stupid on his part, but it’s still extreme.

But as we all know…desperate times call for desperate measures.

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Loki just wanted to go home to Asgard.  He wanted what he believed was his by right.  His path  merely took extreme measures to obtain these goals. Did it help that he came off as insane?  Yes.  Because there’s nothing more insane than a man in desperation, a man who has nothing to lose.

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Yes, my wicked king, it is madness.  You’ve gone round the bend. But don’t worry, you still have an army of fangirls who take your extreme beliefs as their creed and will defend you until death.

Dare I ask…do you think Loki’s actions were extreme?

A-Z Blog Challenge Day 23

/ Jen Bradlee / 7 Comments

Slide9

“Wit is the epitaph of an emotion.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

“Wit is educated insolence.” ~ Aristotle

We can all agree Loki has some of the best lines in the films, and there’s no doubt that his razor sharp wit is as prominent an attribute as his ability to manipulate using magic. That being said, let’s examine how Loki uses his wit.

It’s a defense mechanism.  Loki isn’t as strong as Thor, or as powerful as Odin.  He relies on his intellect and quick thinking to save him. This is where his wit comes in as both a help and a hindrance.

He uses his silver tongue to charm those around him, or tear them down as the case may be.  It all goes back to his uncanny ability to manipulate using his words. A charmer of the worst degree with nothing but cruel intentions.

Can we talk about his amazing freaking one liners?

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While the writers truly knew Loki’s character well enough to give him such creative lines, I think they’re a wonderful reflection of him as a whole: snarky, sarcastic, a bit comical, and definitely off-the-cuff.  Loki’s greatest weapon is his wit, and he wields it so well.

So…what was your favorite line showcasing Loki’s amazing wit?

*Images were found on Google images. No copyright infringement intended. Merely used as illustration points.

A-Z Blog Challenge Day 22

/ Jen Bradlee / 4 Comments

Slide20

“Man is by nature competitive, combative, ambitious, jealous, envious, and vengeful.” ~ Arthur Keith

**Spoilers Ahead…Thor 2: The Dark World**

I think today’s character trait goes hand in hand with yesterday’s. Vengeance is often a by product of one’s inability or refusal to forgive.  Forgiveness isn’t in Loki’s nature…and the result is his constant hunger for revenge.  He wants those who caused him pain to suffer, and even those who haven’t caused him any injury.  His rage is channeled into his ultimate goal, taking his birthright.

We see this vengeful nature in Thor and the Avengers in it’s full glory.  The hatred, anger, rage, and bitterness taint his actions, but he does control them for the most part. In Thor 2, however, he is much more in control of his emotions.  It’s almost as if he’s harnessed and buried it deep inside himself, using it to power his agenda.

When Frigga dies, Loki’s rage and pain is palpable. (I still wonder why they chose to cut the scene of him screaming in the cell. *growls at whoever made that decision*) Thor comes to him for help to get Jane away from Asgard, but I think part of Loki believes this is the only opportunity he will get to enact his vengeance.  It’s never mentioned whether he knows who killed Frigga or not, but I think he knows deep inside who is at fault.  Part of it is his own, as we know.

Loki has no care who he hurts in his quest. He will feed his vengeance until it consumes him, finally turning his heart to stone. Then no one will be able to save him and nothing will slake his vengeful lust.

A-Z Blog Challenge Day 21

/ Jen Bradlee / 2 Comments

Slide8

“Anger may be kindled in the noblest breast: but in these slow droppings of an unforgiving temper never takes the shape of consistency of enduring hatred.” ~ M. Kathleen Casey

This is the one trait which I personally believe makes Loki a true villain.  His inability and flat out refusal to forgive anyone for anything.  No matter the slight, perceived or true, Loki is unforgiving.

We’ve all been taught to forgive our enemies, to believe the best in people and give them the benefit of the doubt.  Not Loki.  No, he believes in only one cause, himself.  He uses those around him as a means to obtain his goals, even his adoptive family.

The shift begins inside Loki in the first film, when Odin tells him the truth of his parentage and his birthright. It’s in that moment we see him close himself off to everyone, including Frigga and Thor. He harbors resentment toward them…all of them, and refuses to let it go.

“Forgiveness doesn’t excuse their behavior.  Forgiveness prevents their behavior from destroying your heart.” ~ Unknown (Found  on Google Images)

Loki’s inability to forgive eats away at his heart like a cancer, staining it black and hardening it toward any form of empathy.  The heart of a true villain, irredeemable and unlikable. The longer he hangs onto it the more it consumes him and feeds his need for vengeance.  Do I think Loki has passed the point of no return? No.  Do I think he’ll forgive those who have wronged him?  No. But it will be interesting to see his journey forward in the films.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” ~Louis B. Smedes

Every Villain has the opportunity to be his own Hero.

A-Z Blog Challenge Day 20

/ Jen Bradlee / 8 Comments

Slide26

“The moment you say, ‘Give me a reason for this,’ then you are being impossible and temperamental.” ~ Monserrat Caballe

There are several moments spanning all three films where Loki allowed his temper to take control of him.  In each of these moments, it’s obvious that he allowed his emotions to break through his carefully crafted facade.

Thor: When Loki discovers he is adopted and demands answers from Odin…then his subsequent rage against Odin and Thor to maintain control of Asgard.

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Avengers: Loki finally loses control of his temper when facing the Hulk…and we all know how that ended.

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Thor 2: This is the most heartbreaking for me. When Loki learns of his mother’s death, he loses his temper and destroys his cell, letting his emotions bubble to the surface in a fit of temper.

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Loki is good at controlling his emotions, masking his true image and intent to the world and even those closest to him. That’s why it’s so poignant when Thor sees through Loki’s illusion in Thor 2. Finally, Thor is able to see his brother for what he truly is…broken, lost, misdirected, untrustworthy, and extremely dangerous.  I do believe Thor still maintains a thread of hope Loki can be saved, pulled back from the brink of his madness.

One thing is certain…when Loki releases his temper, it truly is a dangerous thing. Like a force of nature, it will consume and destroy with no remorse.

*Images were found on Google images. No copyright infringement intended. Merely used as illustration points. I have linked the images to their original sources.

A-Z Blog Challenge Day 19

/ Jen Bradlee / 14 Comments

Slide15

“Sadism is all right in it’s place, but it should be directed to proper ends.” ~ Sigmund Freud

A sadist is a person who gets pleasure from inflicting pain on others. Yes, Loki is a sadist. The quote does fit perfectly, because Loki does use sadism to what he believes is the proper end…his goal.  Chess player, remember?  🙂

The screenshot I chose from the Avengers shows Loki’s sadistic nature perfectly.  When he goes to “gather” the information from the eyeball, you see Loki give a little smirk, almost a joyful up-welling of excitement.  He’s taking pleasure in his mission.  He has no qualms about harming another person to further his agenda.  He enjoys chaos and fear; he thrives on it. When the guests start running and he herds them like cattle to the slaughter, he feeds off their subjugation while taking pleasure in their suffering.

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Another scene where Loki displays this delight in inflicting pain and suffering is when Black Widow goes to him pleading for Clint’s release.  He plays on her emotions, twists them to find her weakness and then digs his talons in, pressing on her most vulnerable point, making her bleed.  Although we all know she was really interrogating him, probing him for information, the words he spoke to her must have hit her somewhere deep inside. She’s a warrior, trained to keep her emotions contained and controlled, allowing her to focus on her mission.  But Loki had to have touched a sore spot…cause we’ve all seen how Clint and Natasha look at each other.  (I totally ship BlackHawk/Clintasha, for the record.)  As we’ve established before, Loki is a master manipulator, his interaction with Black Widow in this scene is exactly that, a manipulation…and he delights in her pain. Especially when he tells her how he’s going to have Clint kill her, slowly, intimately. *shivers* That’s sadistic.

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He does this with all the Avengers,  reveling in his ability to make them uncomfortable. Whether is physically or emotionally inflicting pain, Loki just can’t help but indulge in his sadistic impulse. He enjoys the suffering too much, because it must match his own.  If he must suffer, then everyone else must join him in his pain.

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*Images were found on Google images. No copyright infringement intended. Merely used as illustration points.

A-Z Blog Challenge Day 18

/ Jen Bradlee / 4 Comments

Slide27

“Regal (adj.): of, resembling, or fit for a monarch, esp. in being magnificent or dignified.” ~ Dictionary

In everything Loki does, he carries himself with confidence and an air of command. Whether you agree with him assuming the role of king, you have to admit…he pulls it off well when it comes to appearances. He is regal.

Tom Hiddleston did an interview in which they played a little game of word association. At one point the interviewer from Marvel, Agent M, throws out the words:  “Green and Gold”.  Tom’s response is instantaneous and hits the nail on the head…”Loki, beautiful, regal, magisterial, magical, me.”

Like he has to sell it to us. *scoffs*

This is Loki…and yes, Tom, we do think he really is the dark side you keep hidden somewhere inside and wear only for special occasions. We all have that dark side though, don’t we? The alter ego we keep chained up and sated with morsels of indulgence.

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Sorry, the lure of the darkness can sometimes overwhelm me…back to the post.  Regal…Loki…*purrs* Oh, crap, yeah sorry. *straightens and clears throat* Looks like I lost control of this post to my inner submissive.

So…what do you think?  Is Loki regal?

Would you kneel?

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*Images were found on Google images. No copyright infringement intended. Merely used as illustration points.

A-Z Blog Challenge Day 17

/ Jen Bradlee / 2 Comments

Slide10

“Arguing with a fool only proves that there are two.” ~ Unknown (found on Pinterest)

One of my favorite details from the films is the relationship between Thor and Loki is their relationship as brothers. (Yes, I know Loki was adopted, but they were raised together as brothers so hush, it still holds true.) We all know how siblings bicker and fight. These two are no different.  The banter between them shows their opposite natures and differing opinions, and often the results are comedic.

Loki is always given the best one liners to match his wit and intelligence. He’s snarky and sarcastic, charming when he wants or needs to be. Thor is much more a mover and a shaker, motivating those around him to action, being a pillar of strength for his people. Alas, his lines aren’t nearly as memorable, but put these two together and you have a believable brother-like relationship.

They’re always quarreling over everything because their motivation and their goals are different. Their bond is the only thing saving Loki from giving in completely to the darkness in his soul. While they quarrel as brothers are apt to do, they balance each other. Loki’s pragmatic side pulls Thor back from his impulsive behavior, and Thor’s belief in Loki keeps him from complete chaos and ruin.

While Thor is quick to debate openly, Loki is much more deliberate when he chooses his arguments. He chooses his battles well, because they’re part of a grander scheme. Watch the Avengers again and note the times when Loki picked a fight…they were strategic moments to further his ultimate goal.

The only time I found this not to be the case was when Thor confronted him. Their interactions trigger the bond between the brothers, and I believe they cause Loki to have glimpses of hope causing brief moments of hesitation. Ultimately, Loki shoves the sentimental notions away opting for his grand scheme, but the flash of humanity is there…fostered by his brother’s love.

Thoughts? This could have been a HUGE post…but I kept it simple, just to put the thoughts out there. Perhaps I’ll expand on it one day.