Thor: Love And Thunder Finally Explains Why Thor And Jane Broke Up
Contains major spoilers for "Thor: Love and Thunder."
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is out in theaters now. The fourth installment in the Chris Hemsworth-led franchise sees the highly anticipated return of Natalie Portman as Dr. Jane Foster. Despite having such a prominent presence in Phase 1 and 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she's been mysteriously M.I.A. as of late.
Compared to other couples in the Marvel universe, Thor and Jane haven't been given that much attention — at least when compared to the likes of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). However, Jane's transformation into the Mighty Thor forces a reunion that's eight years in the making. It's a good thing that Thor's been doing some self-reflection, because he has to face off against Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), along with unresolved emotions about his now superpowered ex-girlfriend. The pair are certainly on rocky ground after such a long time apart, but even Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) can tell they still have feelings for one another.
The narrative dives deeper into the duo's romance, expanding on what viewers know about the couple's time together. Most importantly, the film finally answers the question of what led to Jane and Thor's breakup, which the latter alludes to in "Thor: Ragnarok." A series of flashbacks, narrated by Korg (Taika Waititi) and set to ABBA's "Our Last Summer," show us exactly what happened.
Thor and Jane weren't together for all too long
Thor and Jane's love story begins like so many that have come before — with Jane hitting the God of Thunder with her van in the desert. It's a tale as old as time, really. It didn't take long for Jane and her friends to become advantageous allies to Thor in his fight against his brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Along the way, he also learns how to be truly worthy to wield Mjolnir, and through all this, he and Jane fall in love.
Their next potentially world-ending adventure came in "Thor: The Dark World" when Jane absorbs the Aether. Once again, it's up to Thor to ensure his girlfriend remains safe, and that's the last time we really see them together. "Thor: Love and Thunder" fills in some blanks, but between the two films, the audience doesn't see the two interact at all.
This is strange in the context of something like "Avengers: Age of Ultron" when Thor attends a party at Avengers Tower, and Jane is nowhere to be found. He does brag to his compatriots about Jane's accomplishments in the scientific field, but why wouldn't he invite her to a big party? Surely, she would've liked to have met Tony Stark and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). But perhaps they were still together but on shaky standing at that point. By the time "Thor: Ragnarok" comes around, Thor definitively states that he and Jane have broken up, and thanks to "Love and Thunder," we now know precisely what transpired between the two.
Distance doesn't make the heart grow fonder
"Thor: Love and Thunder" shows viewers that Thor and Jane's relationship consisted of much more than the time they're seen together on screen. The pair even lived together for a while, enjoying each other's company while making breakfast and snuggling up on the couch to watch movies. Everything was going great for a while, but Thor soon became overwhelmed by his fear of losing Jane. Even though he could envision a future with her, Thor was scared of the hardship his world-saving activities could bring. After all, his enemies targeted Jane before in "Thor: The Dark World." Thor let his negative thinking get the better of him, and it drove a wedge between the couple.
To distract himself from his relationship woes, the God of Thunder frequently went off-world on missions, and Jane began spending more and more time at work. The tension eventually reached a boiling point, indifference and resentment building until Thor and Jane found themselves constantly bickering. It was Jane who pulled the plug on their romance, although Thor has said that he considers their parting a "mutual dumping." Still, it's hard to consider it "mutual" when Jane left that devastating note for him to find.
Despite their history, the pair are still drawn to one another, even though their dramatic parting clearly still has an affect on both of them. Thor hasn't been truly vulnerable with anyone in years, and Jane is falling victim to workaholic tendencies despite her cancer diagnosis. In the end, their reconciliation allows both characters to finally move on.