Script Doctor - Gorr the God Butcher

 Ephraim Belnap 

--- Spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder below! ---

Thor: Love and Thunder was an excellent, highly enjoyable film. And there was a very effective dramatic thread with the character of Gorr, of a sympathetic character gradually becoming more despicable and evil before - spoilers! - rediscovering humanity in his last few moments. But I feel like his arc could have been just a little more effective if there had been just a few more scenes at the start establishing his origin. We saw him go from desperate to grieving to angry to vengeful to repentant, but it would be nice if we could've seen the opening of him being virtuous and normal before we got to desperate. A way to show how his faith and goodness were corrupted into what he becomes. In the interest of that, I wrote the little ditty you see below.

EXT. ALIEN DESERT VILLAGE - DAY

A red-sanded desert with a harsh white sun beating down on a small series of HUTS. WIND howls through the air. From inside one dimly-lit hut, we hear KNOCKING and see an alien man - GORR - come to the front door. We hear an ACCENTED VOICE on its other side. 

MAN

You in? 

Gorr opens the door.

GORR

Yes. What did they say?

MAN

Just the same. The blight’s getting worse. The sun’s getting hotter. The crops aren’t growing. 

From behind Gorr, we hear a girl’s voice.

GORR’S DAUGHTER

Is someone there, daddy?

GORR

It’s nothing to worry about, my love. Go back to bed. 

We hear her toddle away. They wait a moment, then the Man leans in.

MAN

Man, it’s not getting better. 

Gorr touches a PENDANT around his neck, a carving of a face wearing a round headdress. 

GORR

Rapu will provide. 

We see hanging from his porch ceiling behind the Man are another pendant like Gorr's and several OTHER RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS similar to it. Gorr is a devout follower. 

GORR (CONT’D)

He has in days past. 

He reaches forward and claps his friend on the shoulder. 

GORR (CONT’D)

Be faithful. Be strong. Endure. 

The Man takes his words to heart. 

MAN

I will. 

He clasps arms with Gorr. 

MAN (CONT’D)

Good days. 

GORR

Good days. 

He watches the man leave, but we see the shadow of doubt in his face despite his words. 

Desert winds whip sand across the screen, transitioning to:

EXT. ALIEN DESERT VILLAGE - A LONG TIME LATER 

We see the same village, now with older and more run-down huts. The sand has piled up by some homes. There is no one in sight. 

Gorr - wrapped in a robe - slowly emerges from his hut, carrying a FIGURE in his arms. 

We hear his BREATHING is hoarse, his throat dry. 

He leaves his yard, and walks down the road. We see the huts’ doors are open, the homes empty. 

He leaves the huts and passes a LINE OF GRAVES - we see roughly carved HEADSTONES with alien lettering, crudely erected. Too many of them for more neat work. 

We see the face of the figure he’s holding over his shoulder - a DAUGHTER, not more than ten, her eyes open, watching. 

In Gorr's face we see fatigue and grief, but he endures. 

And from there, the film continues as seen in the final product. 

I know it’s just a little bit, but I was enchanted by the performance as is, and I think it would be even more widely appreciated if we got that little scene showing him as devout and a good man to his community, so when we see the rest of the film we’re legit shocked at how far he’s fallen. Like the classic corruption arcs of old, we see in its totality what a good man he was, and so when he goes evil but ultimately returns to his roots, it’s all the more satisfying. The biggest legitimate complaint being brought against this film is that it's too funny, like that's somehow a problem, and I think a few seconds more of Gorr's serious arc could really boost its dramatic power in people's minds.