Warning: Contains spoilers for Marvel’s What If…? episode 7.

The portrayal of Party Thor in What If…? episode 7, “What If… Thor Was An Only Child?,” has provided some hints for what to expect from Thor’s transformation in Thor: Love & Thunder. What If…? episode 7 has been the most lighthearted so far (minus its ominous ending). However, the destructive portrayal of Party Thor might spell doom for the future of the MCU’s main timeline.

Avengers: Endgame showed audiences Fat Thor, the result of his depression at failing to kill Thanos before he could snap his fingers -- a choice that earned Marvel a lot of criticism for using Fat Thor as a gag. Behind-the-scenes photos have shown that Thor will be undergoing a physical transformation as he appears alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy in Thor: Love & Thunder with a return to his previous figure. In What If…? episode 7, Marvel showed what Thor (Chris Hemsworth) would be like if he had not had Loki (Tom Hiddleston) for a brother and the result is Party Thor leading a path of celebration and destruction across the globe.

Related: Thor 4 Theory: The Guardians Of The Galaxy "Fix" Fat Thor

While the original Thor showed a character who was already pretty wild and inclined to excessive eating, drinking, and fighting before he became worthy, the character is still a far cry from Party Thor. What If…? suggests that his (relatively) more measured demeanor in Thor is owing to having Loki as a brother. Without Loki, Thor has no need to compete for his father’s affections, no need to strive to prove himself worthy over Loki for the throne, and no one to challenge him in the way only a sibling can. In short, he is unburdened and unchecked (Frigga's time-out system is apparently ineffective on the god). At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Thor is left with no family to keep him in check and has worked through a lot of the trauma that led to him becoming Fat Thor. With Loki (probably) not around for the film, Thor: Love & Thunder could see a Thor working with the Guardians of the Galaxy who embodies a lot of the Party Thor ethos.

What If episode 7 Jane and Party Thor

Ultimately, the Party Thor of What If…? episode 7 is the result of a lack of required responsibility. Frigga notes that Odin entering the Odin Sleep is Thor’s “first taste of kinghood,” suggesting that he has never been put in such a position of responsibility before. With Avengers: Endgame concluding with Thor passing the title of King of Asgard to Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, Brunhilde, he is now free of responsibility in a similar way and might be expected to behave similarly.

In the main MCU timeline, Thor is set up to be compared to Loki, making him often appear as “the good one,” a role that he internalized and made him strive to be better. It is possible that the Thor of Thor: Love & Thunder might not be quite so free and easy as the Party Thor of What If…? because Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) might fill for Thor a similar role to Loki and make him want to prove that he is better. However, it is equally possible that the two will simply be bad influences on each other and the result could be widespread chaos and mayhem.

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Marvel’s What If…? releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.

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