The following contains spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War.
A lot of people are very upset with one particular character for the events of Avengers: Infinity War, but one of the film's directors thinks there's plenty of blame to spread around. When it seemed like the Avengers might actually overcome Thanos and get the Infinity Gauntlet away from him, Peter Quill lost his cool when he learned Gamora was dead, leading to Thanos regaining his mind. While Joe Russo isn't saying that Peter Quill isn't to blame, the director thinks fans might save some of their ire for the god of thunder, who neglected to aim for a more vital part of Thanos when he threw Stormbreaker. According to Russo...
I would argue that the fan base could be equally upset with Thor, who chose to throw that ax into Thanos chest and not his head. Because he wanted to tell Thanos that he got his revenge.
It's a fair point. The reason people are upset with Star-Lord is that he let his personal feelings cloud his judgment when much larger things were at stake. He couldn't stop himself when he learned that Gamora was dead and be began to pummel the titan until he inadvertently broke Mantis' hold on Thanos. Thor's final interaction with the villain isn't all that different. He flings Stormbreaker at Thanos' chest and then gets in his face in order to make sure Thanos knows Thor has won before he dies. However, by doing that, instead of just having the ax split Thanos' head in two, he gives the villain enough time to use the Infinity Gauntlet, ending half the life in the universe.
In truth, it's clear that Joe Russo's comments to Comicbook.com show that he doesn't blame anybody for the events at the end of the film, he points out that these decisions are made by people in pain, and the point is to try an understand things from their perspective and empathize with the characters.
This hasn't stopped a lot of people from being mad at Peter Quill and by association, Chris Pratt. The actor who plays the part has been getting both barrels from some who seem legitimately upset with the actor for the actions of the character he plays. Although, Pratt at least is having some fun with the backlash, which is all you can hope for.
It will be interesting to see how things go in Avengers 4, because Thor, at the very least, is still alive to potentially deal with his guilt over failing to kill Thanos. Star-Lord, at least from all outward appearances, is not. If Thor gets another chance in A\_vengers 4_, don't expect him to make the same mistake twice.
