It’s a moment of dark irony in Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos proves his love for Gamora once and for all by throwing his adopted daughter to her death, securing possession of the Soul Stone in the process. What’s more, this sad end for the Guardians of the Galaxy star seems like an appropriately perverse conclusion for a relationship that was messed up from beginning to end.
Though Gamora turned on the Mad Titan after years under his guardianship, it’s heavily suggested in the recent blockbuster that some love for the genocidal despot still lingers. The complex feelings between the pair are made evident by the scene in which the orphaned former assassin seemingly kills Thanos, only for this moment to be revealed as an illusion created by the tyrant’s newly acquired Reality Stone.
In the commentary track for the Infinity War home video release, co-director Anthony Russo and writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus discuss this sequence and its troubling implications, and they reveal a few interesting insights in the process.
“And here he uses this as a test to see if she still cares for him and that reaction tells him that she does,” McFeely said.
“I mean, this is one of the most interesting things that Thanos does and you realize that he has an inner life, an emotional life that’s important to him,” added Russo.
“Twisted, but yes 100 percent, this is so manipulative,” said McFeely.
“Well it’s a taste of the relationship he’s had with Gamora,” added Markus. “It hasn’t just been physical manipulation.”
“But from his point of view he’s trying to salvage his relationship with her. They have had a falling out,” Anthony said. “He loves her. He’s trying to find a way to help her realize that they have a bond between them, that they share love.”
Even after Gamora’s death, it’s clear that the character remains in the Mad Titan’s heart, appearing to him once more at the moment of his final victory. As such, don’t be too surprised if she pops up again in some form when Avengers 4 comes out on May 3rd, 2019.
Even if she doesn’t though, you can always revisit the tragic relationship between Gamora and Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, which is out now on Digital HD and will be coming to 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray and DVD on August 14th.
