What was Doctor Strange’s role in Thor: Ragnarok?

Doctor Strange plays an interesting but necessary role in Thor: Ragnarok, guiding Loki and Thor to find Odin during his last moments. But why was he there?

Note: this article contains mystical spoilers for Thor: Ragnarok. You may need to rewind time with the Eye of Agamotto if you keep reading.

In a film filled with cameos from Stan Lee, the Hulk and even Matt Damon, one of the most important cameos was from Doctor Strange, who appeared early on in Thor: Ragnarok as a bit of a plot device.

Overall, there was little need for Strange to appear in Thor: Ragnarok apart from a fun cameo for Marvel fans. He played no major role, made a few jokes and gave us some mystical humor by messing with both Thor and Loki.

I do like how, when Loki was released from Strange’s spell where he had been falling for 30 minutes, Loki was visibly angry and called him “second rate.” As the God of Mischief and a powerful sorcerer himself, Loki would see Strange as a threat to himself and almost an insult to his power. It is natural that he would be angry when trapped by Strange, and it was smart of Strange to send Thor and Loki on their way before they could cause any more damage.

It also really helped the plot to have Strange show up and whisk them away to see Odin, rather than Loki and Thor having to, what, catch a taxi and then a plane to Norway? Actually, now that I brought that up, I wish that Strange had not helped them and we had instead had Loki and Thor awkwardly navigating their way through the “Midgardian” travel system.

If anything, I think that this is a sort of a setup for Avengers: Infinity War, as we get to see a brief preview of characters from different movies interacting.

Next: 50 Star Wars: The Last Jedi fan theories (and their possible validity)

Either way, this makes me extremely excited for Infinity War, and you should be too.