Everyone is upset that we didn’t get a Thorki hug, but what about The Neck Thing™? That’s way more intimate to me than a hug because it’s a personal thing between them that Thor does to express his love for Loki without speaking. Why didn’t we get that? I would have taken that over a hug any day. :( Or if not that, why not have Thor mention that Loki finally came home, or Loki saying it? That was all Thor asked him to do in The Avengers.

To be honest, I kind of suspect that The Neck Thing™ was one of the things Chris Hemsworth was tired of. It does seem oddly antiquated, characteristic of an ancient warrior culture (though lord knows why it strikes me that way, since I’ve never been in an ancient warrior culture), and they were going for a more modern Thor this time (which sometimes annoyed me). It also reflects a particular kind of dynamic between Thor and Loki: a protective, almost possessive or controlling big-brotherly affection, whereas in Ragnarok Thor was taking a more hands-off approach, both literally and metaphorically. Many of us here in Thorki-land like the possessive dynamic and the ancient-warrior-culture vibe, so we’re into The Neck Thing, but other viewers might find it weird.