Why Each Eternal Betrayed Or Stayed Loyal To Arishem’s Mission

The Eternals believed they were sent to Earth with one purpose but it turned out that their creator, Arishem the Judge, had different intentions, and so they ended up either betraying the Celestial or staying loyal to him – and here’s why each one took sides. With the Infinity Saga now over also came the end of the original Avengers, but that doesn’t mean that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now without a team of superheroes. The MCU’s Phase 4 has already introduced a new team in the Eternals, and they had been part of this universe for much longer than the Avengers and any other team.

Directed by Chloé Zhao, Eternals introduced the title team, who are an alien race created by the Celestial Arishem. The Eternals were sent to Earth with the purpose of getting rid of the Deviants, their evil counterparts, and they stayed to help humanity progress, though they weren’t allowed to interfere in any of their conflicts. This eventually created friction among the Eternals and they all parted ways, reuniting many, many years later when the Deviants returned, their leader Ajak (Salma Hayek) was killed, and an apocalyptic event known as “The Emergence” fast approached. During that journey, the Eternals learned the truth about their origin and true purpose, which once again divided the team, and only some of them made an effort to save Earth.

Through their new leader, Sersi (Gemma Chan), the Eternals learned that Earth had the seed of the Celestial Tiamut, and it needed a certain amount of energy from humans in order to emerge, but his birth meant the total destruction of Earth. The Eternals were sent to Earth to defeat the Deviants as these ones were killing people, thus delaying Tiamut’s emergence, and helping humanity evolve was part of this bigger plan. This was a shocking reveal for the team, but surprisingly, not everyone had empathy for humanity, and some of them stayed loyal to Arishem’s mission while others betrayed it and saved Earth – and here’s what each Eternal decided and why.

Ajak

As the leader of the Eternals in many, many missions like this, Ajak knew from the beginning why they were sent to Earth. At one point, Ajak tried to talk Arishem out of it by telling him she saw something special in humans but the Celestial didn’t listen. Ajak confided their truth in Ikaris (Richard Madden) and shared with him that they should reunite to stop the Emergence, this as she maintained her posture in defense of humans, even more so after how they came together after Thanos’ snap to bring back those who vanished and pretty much rebuilt the world after that. Ajak was killed by Ikaris in an effort to stop the team from betraying Arishem, so she never knew other team members would have agreed with her.

Sersi

Sersi was the most empathetic of the Eternals, and her bond with humans started immediately after their first battle on Earth against the Deviants. Sersi coexisted with different civilisations throughout her years on Earth and understood humans like no other Eternal did. It was that connection to humans that led her to fight to stop the Emergence and save Earth, thus betraying Arishem in the process. Her betrayal didn’t go unpunished, and just as it seemed like she was going to live a happy life on Earth with Dane Whitman (Kit Harrington), Arishem abducted her, Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), and Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and took them to an undisclosed location.

Ikaris

One of the biggest twists in Eternals was Ikaris’ betrayal of the Eternals, as he seemed to be on Sersi’s side only to reveal that he killed Ajak and he was actually on Arishem’s side. Ikaris was fiercely loyal to his creator and saw the Emergence as part of the natural order, as without the Celestials, life in the universe would change completely. Ikaris went to extremes to make sure Arishem’s plan was fulfilled, killing Ajak in the process as she planned on telling the truth to the rest and stop the Emergence, and he also tried to kill the rest of the Eternals (except Kingo and Sprite), but ultimately, he didn’t betray Arishem but he wasn’t on his side either, instead choosing to die by flying to the Sun.

Kingo

Kingo successfully blended in with humans by becoming a big Bollywood star, but not even that connection with humankind changed his posture on the Emergence. Kingo didn’t see allowing Tiamut’s birth as something “bad guys” would do but as a “good guys” thing, as they would be helping a Celestial grow, and thus life across the universe would be expanded. Kingo made it clear that he loved humans, but he also thought that they as Eternals had no right to stop the birth of a Celestial, and simply accepted the fate of Earth (though unlike Ikaris, he didn’t fight his fellow Eternals and simply left). In addition to that, Kingo always saw Ikaris as the team’s boss, so it wasn’t surprising that he sided with him.

Phastos

Phastos’ faith in humanity was broken when his technology was used in wars and to kill other humans, but his faith was restored when he met his husband and formed a family with him. The reason why Phastos joined Sersi and the rest in stopping the Emergence, then, is the same reason why he wanted to stay away from it: his family. Phastos initially didn’t want to take part in stopping Tiamut’s birth as he didn’t want to leave his family, but his husband convinced him of the contrary: if there was a chance to save Earth and thus their son, he should take it and fight for it. Phastos ended up coming up with the plan that allowed Sersi to channel the energy of all the Eternals (and Tiamut as well) to stop the Emergence, becoming a key element in the battle to save Earth.

Thena

Thena (Angelina Jolie) was the member of the Eternals affected by a psychological condition called Mahd Wy’ry, which comes as a result of the vast amount of memories acquired by Eternals due to their immortality and the countless memory wipes they go through once their missions are over. This made Thena remember past Emergences and catastrophes, so she’s highly aware of how traumatizing and terrible these can be, and she wasn’t going to let that happen to Earth too. She fought alongside Phastos, Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), and Druig (Barry Keoghan) to stop Ikaris, and she was the one who killed the Deviants’ leader, Kro (voiced by Bill Skarsgård)

Makkari

Makkari is the last of the Eternals to be introduced, as she stayed in the Domo for centuries collecting books, relics, and waiting to go back “home”. Upon learning the truth about their origin and mission, Makkari was upset and intrigued, but she sided with Sersi, Druig, Phastos, and Thena without hesitation. Unfortunately, Makkari had little screen time, so Eternals didn’t elaborate on her connection to humans and reasons to want to stop the Emergence, but she was of big help when fighting Ikaris as Sersi tried to stop Tiamut.

Druig

Druig’s defining powers are mental manipulation, possession, and telepathy, which is why he constantly questioned why they couldn’t interfere in human conflicts, as he could easily stop wars and lead humans to live peacefully. Druig never wanted humans to destroy each other and was painfully aware that humankind is going to destroy itself, so he wanted to use his powers to help them, leading to a lot of misunderstandings with Ajak and his departure from the team, but he eventually understood that, without these (sometimes destructive) flaws, humans wouldn’t be humans. Druig, then, wasn’t going to let Earth be destroyed by the birth of a Celestial, and he was originally going to put Tiamut to sleep, but Ikaris interfered and he ended up defending his fellow team members from Ikaris and Sprite instead.

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh (Don Lee) unfortunately didn’t stick around for long once the Eternals learned the truth about their origin and purpose, but he wasn’t on board with destroying a whole planet so a Celestial could be born, even suggesting Druig could put the Celestial to sleep and stop its emergence. Given Gilgamesh’s connection to Thena and how her Mahd Wy’ry condition was explained as a result of all the memory wipes she had gone through, he found even more motivation to betray Arishem and help his teammates stop the Emergence, but he was killed by Kro while defending Thena.

Sprite

Sprite (Lia McHugh) had a complicated relationship with Earth and humans. As the only Eternal who looks like a child, Sprite grew resentful of her fellow Eternals (particularly Sersi) as she couldn’t blend in with humans as well as they did, and she couldn’t get to live through the most basic human experiences. Sprite was also in love with Ikaris, which only made her more jealous of Sersi, so she sided with Ikaris. All these feelings and her overall experience on Earth made her hate living among humans, and she was looking forward to starting over somewhere new, so she was on Arishem’s side.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3271 Articles Published)

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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