Thor: Ragnarok (2017): Cast, Plot, Release Date and Ending

The full plot of Thor: Ragnarok runs from Odin's death in Norway to the destruction of Asgard, with a gladiator arena on the junk planet Sakaar in the middle. Odin explains that his death will release Hela, his imprisoned firstborn, and then he dies. Hela appears almost at once, destroys Mjolnir and throws Thor and Loki out into space.

Thor lands on Sakaar, where he is enslaved and forced to fight as a gladiator for the Grandmaster. There he meets Valkyrie, and he learns that his opponent in the arena is the Hulk. While Thor is stranded, Hela takes over Asgard and kills the Warriors Three, and Skurge ends up serving as her executioner.

Thor, Bruce Banner, Valkyrie and Loki escape Sakaar in a ship and free the other gladiators on the way out. They return to Asgard to face Hela, and the battle goes badly. The Hulk defeats the giant wolf Fenris, and Skurge dies saving civilians. Thor loses an eye, and he then decides that the only way to stop Hela is to let Ragnarok happen. Loki places Surtur's crown in the Eternal Flame, and Surtur is reborn, destroying Asgard and Hela together. Thor, now king, leads the surviving Asgardians toward Earth in a ship.

The ending of Thor: Ragnarok destroys Asgard on purpose, and Thor accepts the loss because Asgard was always its people rather than its buildings. Thor decides that the only way to stop Hela is to let Ragnarok happen, and Loki places Surtur's crown in the Eternal Flame. Surtur is reborn and ends both Hela and the realm. The survivors escape on the ship, Thor takes the throne, and he and Loki make peace.

What was the point of Thor: Ragnarok? In my opinion, the point is to finish Thor's arc from heir to king by taking away the kingdom. In Thor (2011) he is a proud prince about to be crowned, and here he wins the crown only when there is nothing left to rule except a ship of refugees. It could be argued that this was the most radical thing a Marvel film had done to one of its heroes at that point, since it also costs him his hammer, his eye and his home.

The ending also sets up what follows. The mid credits scene shows the ship stopped by a huge spacecraft, and later films link that to Thanos. In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos's forces attack a ship carrying Thor and the survivors of Asgard, and Heimdall sends the Hulk to Earth to warn the others.

Is Ragnarok the best Thor movie? That is a matter of taste but, my pick is yes. It has the strongest ensemble of the four Thor films, a villain in Hela who wants the whole kingdom, and the best use of the Hulk outside the team films. It is also the highest earning Thor film, which at least shows that audiences agreed in large numbers.

Thor: Ragnarok has a mid credits scene and a post credits scene, and they point in very different directions. The first interrupts the Asgardian refugees on their ship, which is stopped by a huge spacecraft, and later films connect that vessel to Thanos. The second is a small joke at the expense of the Grandmaster, who finds himself confronted by the very people he used to rule on Sakaar.

If you only have patience for one, the mid credits scene is the one that matters for the wider saga, since it leads toward Avengers: Infinity War.