Where Did Thanos Go And Why?

At a crucial moment in Avengers Infinity War when it appeared that Ironman and Spiderman were close to removing the infinity gauntlet from Thanos's hand, Starlord approached the mad titan, got in his face and started yelling about Gamora's death. They fail to get the glove off and eventually half of all life in the universe is wiped out. It appeared that the Doctor Strange plan failed, and it was all Starlord's fault. The ground swell of anger against Starlord online began almost immediately following the movie's release.

Here's the problem with blaming Starlord for ruining the plan; when Doctor Strange later vanished in the finger snap, he told Tony "there was no other way," implying everything that transpired was all part of the plan. It's likely Strange had previously told everybody exactly what they were supposed to do in this one unlikely victory scenario. If that is the case, what possible purpose could there have been to Starlord doing what he did? My sense after seeing the movie was that he appeared to be trying to make Thanos feel guilty about killing Gamora. All that was going on while Mantis was on Thanos's shoulders performing some form of psychic warfare.

What were they trying to accomplish? My theory is that they are trying to influence what location he will escape to following the finger snap. They don't really confirm where Thanos went after taking an axe to the chest, but earlier in the movie he did tell Gamora that her planet had become a paradise. What if that's where he goes after the finger snap, and he did so because of the trick played by Starlord and Mantis? It's possible that they did all of that so they would know where to find him later.

At the end of Infinity War, Thanos appears to have been wounded by Thor's axe. It also appears as though the gauntlet may have sustained some damage in the finger snap. This might level the playing field a little more if there is a new confrontation in Avengers 4. But first they need to know where to find him. Tony will now need to find a ride back to Earth, team up with the rest of the survivors, get the Antman quantum realm teleporter, and get Thor to bifrost them to wherever Thanos went.

If that was the plan all along, it makes sense. The whole Starlord routine yelling at Thanos about Gamora with Mantis in his head had a specific purpose. Starlord did not screw everything up, he was doing what he was supposed to, following orders. I also have a theory about how they might beat Thanos once they find him.