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In the movie Thor: Ragnarok when Odin, Thor, and Loki met up in Norway, Odin starts off dialogue by emphasizing the beauty of the area. He then begins to elaborate about how Hela was banished and what not. He ends the conversation by telling them to "remember this place-home". What mind boggles me is how he transitions from talking about Ragnarok and then reminds them about home. Could it be that Odin actually knew that one way or another Thor and Loki were going to make it out but Asgard the physical place would be destroyed?

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    I suppose It's of little comfort to know that in the original Norse mythology that Odin learned of the outcome of Ragnarok when he consulted with the voelva in the Völuspá.
    – n_b
    Apr 1, 2018 at 2:22
  • Ragnarok was a famous prophecy. Remember, how Surtur knew about it. You could delay Ragnarok, but couldn't prevent it. Odin could easily guess, possibly, it was the time. Apr 8, 2019 at 12:26

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It's very possible that Odin knew, or at least strongly suspected, how the events of Ragnarok were going to turn out.

In the comics, Ragnarok is a cyclical process. The same basic events happen over and over again, with Asgard being destroyed, the Asgardian "gods" dying, then eventually being reborn, rebuilding Asgard, and starting the cycle again. In an early Thor comic book we are told of the Ragnarok prophecy itself -- which always involves Loki leading an army against Asgard, a final showdown between Thor an Loki, and the death of both. In the previous Ragnarok, Odin's surviving family would go on to become the new Odin (in the comics, the "big name" gods are more like archetypes than individuals) and rebuild Asgard.

We don't actually know if something similar is happening in the MCU or not, but it's entirely possible that it is. Thor certainly knew about the prophecy of Ragnarok as far back as Age of Ultron, where he sees it in his Scarlet Witch-induced fear vision. If Thor knew of it, then Odin definitely knew of it as well. It's very possible that, much like in the comics, Odin was himself a survivor of a previous Ragnarok, and knew how it was likely to play out in the end.

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  • I think Odin saying "You're stronger then me" to Thor meant that Odin lacked the strength to destroy Hela and Asgard, he was too soft to do what needed to be done, but thought that Thor will do it.
    – Mithoron
    Apr 1, 2018 at 14:32
  • I would say Ragnarok in the MCU hasn't yet finished while Thor is still alive, so the cycle can't move on until all the Asgardian gods are "dead"
    – LemonFire
    Apr 9, 2019 at 7:28

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