Warning! This portion may contain spoilers for What If..?. Read at your own risk!
The title of Marvel's What If..? Episode 7 already gave the premise of Thor growing up without Loki, What If... Thor was an Only Child?, and such an upbringing made him a different one than that we used to know and love. Their brotherhood, though, still has something in it, but how did that happen?
How Did Thor Grow Up Without Loki on Marvel's What If..? Episode 7?
We all know that Thor and Loki share a cat and dog relationship, a love-hate one where they spoil the plan of another or beat the other but in the end, they will always have each other's back no matter what happens. Their brotherhood is one of the most interesting and most touching parts of the whole MCU that it brought them together and apart so many times.
In the first film, when all Loki wanted was to rule Asgard, Thor only wanted to have a brother who will always be there for him no matter what. Thor did not take Loki's fall lightly as he even blamed himself that such happened. In Avengers, when Loki popped out to be a villain, Thor took him as his responsibility and brought him to Asgard himself.
In Thor 2, when Loki died, or at least everyone thought so, Thor even took a lock of his hair and intertwined it with his as a sign of his love for his brother. And in Thor 3, even when they were bickering for Odin being put to Earth in a home, and with the arrival of their evil sister Hela, they fought side by side and pulled it off, summoning Surtur to save everyone.
Related: Who is Thor Most Afraid Of in Marvel's What If..? Episode 7
The most painful yet most meaningful one is when Loki died in the hands of Thanos and he said to Thor that the sun will shine on them again. The brothers love each other so much that even when they do not express it in words, it shows in their actions.
Taking Loki out of the equation, Thor became one without any direction. He parties excessively and disobeys orders from Frigga and Odin. This happened because instead of Odin taking Loki as his own child and raising him, he returned Loki to Laufey in Jotunheim allowing him to become the rightful heir to the throne of the realm, a frost giant.
Thor learned so much from Loki that without him, his decisions would not be as wise as when he grew up with him. Thor did not get the chance to do "get help" because he was an only child. Loki unknowingly taught him how to be responsible and still, despite not growing up together, Loki and Thor became friends, and even call each other "brother from another mother."
Marvel's What If..? Episode 7 is now streaming on Disney Plus.
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