Thor: Ragnarok - What The Ending Really Means
How Ragnarok sets up Infinity War...
It's fair to say that Thor: Ragnarok had a lot riding on it. After Thor: The Dark World disappointed hugely, Marvel hired the most unexpected of directors, handed him the opportunity to adapt three huge comic book stories (Ragnarok, Surtur Saga and Planet Hulk) and set him loose with massive talent.
It was a huge gamble, and so too was Taika Waititi's decision to make such a heavy storyline a comedy (albeit with lots of dramatic beats), but by the look of the critical consensus and that of the fans in territories lucky enough to have seen it already, it has paid out.
Despite the fact that Kevin Feige spoke about Thor: Ragnarok being a huge step on the bridge to Infinity War, it's far more of a stand-alone than you might expect. Sure, there are some links to Infinity War and to the two Thor movies before it (and some to the Avengers movies), but there's so much new story here that there's only limited room for ties to the MCU. And honestly, that's not a bad thing at all.
And though it's a stand-alone, there are ramifications for the films that are yet to come in this franchise, whether that's in more Thor movies or in the two forthcoming Avengers movies.
Naturally, SPOILERS for Thor: Ragnarok will follow. Expect open discussion of those SPOILERS also.
So, what happens and what does it all mean?