8. Frigga's Death
Rene Russo reprises her role as Thor's loving mother Frigga for the first half of Thor: The Dark World, until her sudden death at the hands of villain Malekith is used to kick the second half of the movie in motion and give our characters something to get mad about. Russo's role was cut down significantly in the first Thor outing (so much so that director Kenneth Branagh even sent her a note to apologise), but she gets way more to do in this sequel, and is even treated to her very own incredibly badass fight scene. When Thor brings Jane to Asgard, it's Frigga who sets out to protect her when Malekith's forces attack. Unfortunately, she's caught by Malekith and is executed when she refuses to give out any information. I can't say this death was entirely unexpected, but it wasn't exactly expected either - as a way to drive the plot forward, though, it's something of a doozy, given that it serves as the catalyst for Thor and Loki to team-up against Malekith. Loki's relationship with his mother is highlighted in The Dark World as a special one, and he's put into a stupor of grief when he finds out that she's dead. Frigga's death doesn't reach quite the emotional heights that the filmmakers probably intended it to (we only really got to know her properly in this movie, after all), though her extensive funeral sequence is rendered rather beautifully and it's a shame to see Rene Russo gone.