Personal theory;
At the time Odin said this line, both Thor and Loki were still young and children. Odin still planned to see them grow up to bring a peace between the jötunn and Aesir. Odin said they were both born to be kings. Only one could take the throne of Asgard. Loki would learn of his true destiny when he was older and in the mean time, Odin prepares both of them for a position of power, not just his heir.
What was Odin’s master plan? My guess; Odin was waiting for Laufey to die of natural causes and with no proper heir a power vacuum would be created. Then Odin would break the news to Loki, telling him to claim the Frost Giant throne. Loki would ascend to the throne and any frost giant officials that disagreed would be dealt with by means of Aesir aide. Thor would lead Asgard and Loki would rule Jötunnheim. The two brothers would remain close and provide an example of coexistence for both races which would then live in peace, hopefully, for the rest of time.
Trouble is, Odin had never planned that Loki be so utterly horrified when he learned of his origins. For Loki, it was like a rug being pulled out from under his feet and set the stage for the beginnings of a psychotic break. Learning he was a key part of bringing peace didn’t help much. In his head, Loki never got past the word ‘part’. To him this meant that his adoptive parents never loved him because he was only a political tool. Under this realization Loki tries to prove that he is of worth beyond this plan. That he can do something worthy that has nothing to do with this plan. And what’s more outside of this plan than killing the Frost Giants? And this also serves as a metaphoric method for Loki purge himself of the heritage he so despised. Of course he’d need to the frost giants set up as villains for his adoptive father, who wanted peace with them, to see this as a good choice of action. The rest is history.
Odin’s real failing came later when both boys were hanging off the edge of the bridge. Although his course of action here is still not completely unsympathetic. Any other time, telling Thor or Loki ‘no’ would lead to a temper tantrum and worst. The real area where Odin messed up was in underestimating Loki’s mental state at this stage. Loki’s mind started breaking when he found out he was Jötunn, and from then until now, the cracks in his mind have only been spider webbing further. Now he’s reached a point where this crack must be mended or it will break completely. At any other time, some of daddy’s tough love would be just the thing, but not now. Odin has no idea that Loki’s mental state is so far gone that suicide is an option. A suicide that probably won’t work and Loki more than likely knows this. But after this rejection, it’s worth a try.
Over all, while Odin’s actions weren’t exactly for the best in Loki’s case, I don’t think he deserve as much retaliation as he’s getting from the fans as a whole. Odin did what he thought was best, just like any parent would. And sometimes, just as for real parents, what is stellar parenting for one child just doesn’t work on another. I know it’d be nice to have someone to blame for tumblr’s current favorite child but let’s not get out of control. And I’ll be the first to admit that I’m overcome with an unhealthy love for the guy to whom ‘little shit’ has become fan accepted term of endearment. What I’m trying to say, on a more social conscious scale, is that it is more than a little unnerving to witness someone under-go a psychotic break (a disturbingly realistic one at that, good work Tom) and stand by to see the devastating scale of the aftermath (the entirety of ‘Avengers’). But Odin doesn’t deserve to be so berated for it. Yes, from the outside and in retrospect, it’s easy to point the finger. Isn’t it always? But given his situation and what he knew at the time, Odin made the most informed decision he could.
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[Con-Photo Bomb]
Oh Deadpool, you rapscallion!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrmlbzB3iL1r1jih5o1_500.jpg)
