Untitled

I … I had to defend ODIN as a father to someone because I MENTIONED him giving Loki a chance as an infant in a FrostMaster fanfiction … I’m gonna have a tangent.

Okay, we get it, yes, thank you, Odin was a TERRIBLE dad. Back up for a second and let’s talk about it, alright? There’s a lot more here then just ‘Odin’s a bad dad because our favorite character was mistreated’, WAY more. And being that I’m an outspoken little prick, I want to talk about it.

1. Odin Lied to Loki: Well … yes and no, considering the political climate when Odin found Loki (i.e. the massive Jotunhiem/Asgard conflict that raged for years AND that Odin’s own father died during), he probably thought it best on both sides that he keep Loki’s origin and identity a secret. Asgardians HATED Jotuns/Frost Giants and they weren’t quiet about that hate so while it was risky to allow Loki to retain an Asgardian disguise, it would have been incredibly more so if he brought a tiny Jotun prince back with him (and think about how Asgardians would have handled the heir-apparent to their enemies being within their reach? We already know that not all Asgardians are perfect angels sprinkled in honor and righteousness). Also, I don’t remember Odin ever saying he hated Jotuns or instructing Loki and Thor to do so, he told them of the history of the conflict and that he won the war and they were at peace. Thor was the one stirring up trouble, not Odin so … 

2. Odin mistreated Loki: How? Odin could have kept Loki as his prisoner or as a trophy of war, he could have used him as a bargaining chip, he could have kept him in a dungeon for his entire life, he could have done a million atrocities but what did he do instead? He adopted Loki, made him a prince of Asgard, and kept his true identity a secret to keep him safe. Is lying to your kid harmful? Yeah, even the myths of SANTA CLAUS and the EASTER BUNNY is considered a bad thing to some people. And I’m not sure how detrimental being told ‘you’re adopted’ is to someone who was adopted as an infant/a child considering I am not a child who was adopted nor am I a psychologist nor do I have ANY knowledge of that, but I do think Odin thought he was doing what was best at the time without knowing how everything would play out, which is kind of the gamble parents make with some things.

3. Odin said Loki should have died as an infant: Uh, yeah? Loki was abandoned to die by his own father, if Odin (or anyone else who would have taken pity on him) hadn’t been there, Loki would have died. As an infant. Perhaps the connotation feels different when said different ways but he isn’t wrong, harsh wording aside. I’m not sure what else i should say on that point given that Odin is telling a hard truth and nothing more. I do, however, think what he meant when he said that was something like ‘I did all of this for you and this is how you repay me?’, which is more of an incredulous response than a ‘I wish I’d left you to die’ type of thing. Odin is shocked by what Loki has done, of his children (all three) Loki was not the one he thought he’d have trouble with, Loki was quieter and better mannered than Thor (I cannot speak for Hela since we don’t get much of how she was in her off-time in Ragnarok), he was a studious person while Thor (and Hela) was combative and boisterous, so shock of shocks for Odin to find his youngest son causing all the problems while his headstrong elder son is the one joining a superhero group and saving Midgard, more than once.

4. Odin put Loki in prison: Yeah, instead of banishing him or executing him, remember all the shit Loki did? Think he got off pretty easy just being put in a cell, and if you look at the cell he was in it was a lot better furnished than the others and he didn’t have to share it with other criminals and he could just sit and read (which he used to do anyway), so it wasn’t so much a punishment as I think Odin wanted it to be and even his one point of separating Loki and Frigga didn’t work since she went behind his back to visit her baby boy. Anyone remember how Odin banished Thor to a realm Thor had never been to with no friends or anyone he knew, no money, nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat and without his one weapon? All he did was pick fights with another realm (understatement of course), Loki broke a whole lot more and he got a timeout. Maybe I’m splitting hairs or I’m missing something or the symbolism of the punishments are lost on me but … I dunno, if Thor was everyone’s favorite you’d think he’d get away with being a petulant child more. Also, Odin didn’t want Loki on Earth where he had no control over how Loki was treated, they could have and probably would have done really not good things to him whereas in Asgard, Odin has all the cards.

5. A point I would like to make because no one else seems to say it: No one gonna mention Frigga so I have to be the bad guy, huh? Okay, fine, Frigga lied to Loki and ‘mistreated’ Loki as much as Odin. Oh, sure she did it in a softer fashion, but a lie is still a lie, you can’t just sit back and pretend she didn’t have a hand in all this! She taught him magic, she knew how to change his appearance (don’t tell me she didn’t because no) and she could have told him but she didn’t. I love Frigga, I really do, between the two losing Frigga was way more heartbreaking than losing Odin a million times would have been, but stop demonizing Odin because he’s the more obvious target. 

6. Last point I want to make because I can: Odin loved Loki. Had a hard time showing it maybe, said or did things that might not have conveyed that, fucked up a few times with his decisions, but he loved him. He said as much and Loki eventually began to accept that love too (or did y’all just gloss over that Loki put Odin in a Home on Midgard in Ragnarok instead of just killing him as everyone suspected he did at the end of Dark World?). Clearly their relationship is distant and strained, there’s loads of baggage and things left unsaid and scar tissue, but there is something there, a quiet, tentative something but we can’t pretend it isn’t there.

It’s completely reasonable for Loki to go by the name Laufey in the comic books, based on the events that take place there. However, based on what is canon for the Marvel films, it makes very little sense at all. It actually makes zero sense.