The most recent addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: Love & Thunder, turned its comedic moments up several notches. With director Taika Waititi at the helm, the same director of the hit Thor: Ragnorak, we all knew to expect plenty of somewhat childish but often subtly brilliant humor. The New Zealand native did just that when he introduced two new characters early on: Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder.
Towards the beginning of the movie, Thor, having whipped himself back into shape, single-handedly took out an aggressive army occupying an alien temple. Sure, he took out the temple too, but water under the bridge. As payment, the citizens brought round the gift in a moment of humorous confusion. The screaming sounded human until the goats were revealed. Thor was delighted, but the goats did not chill out even once on the ship. While the duo kicked and screamed and caused general chaos, Thor loudly joked that if they didn’t calm down, the crew could always use them for meat. The immediate silence and intense stare from the goats led to Thor amending his statement to “meeting people,” but the joke was then over.
The joke is funny even if you don’t know about the original role Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder played for Thor in Norse mythology, but it adds an extra layer of “oh shit” if you do. The goats were used to pull Thor’s chariot, much like they do in Thor: Love & Thunder, but there were some dark times as well. Thor was known to kill and eat the goats pretty regularly. He would then bring them back to life using their bones, leading to a kind of messed-up cycle of service and slaughter. They were his loyal companions who tasted delicious.
Maybe that’s why the goats didn’t think that joke was funny at all.