Marvel's Loki, Season 1, Episodes 1-2
And I love the idea of bringing Tom Hiddleston's Loki back! I've expressed multiple times how Hiddleston's Loki is one of the best characters in the MCU, and even when he's slightly portrayed as being more heroic than the character traditionally is in the comics, I still truly enjoyed him in the four movies he had a huge role in.
But when I heard of the concept of this show? That Loki is tossed into a Dr. Who-style time travel all-powerful bureaucracy? Like Legends of Tomorrow but actually serious? I don't know. I just felt like it was exhaustingly something I've seen before, and also something that I personally didn't quite fit the tone of Loki -- Nordic god of mischief, who uses magic, who is normally associated with the Nine Realms and the Thor characters? It still kind of galls me that the best Thor movie is the one that has the least connection to the realms of Asgard and Jotunheim and Muspelheim and such, but at least Ragnarok had huge overarching themes relating to those. This is just Loki tossed into, well, comedic bureaucracy of the time lords and their Doctor Who pastiche, hunting down another Loki.
Basically it's just me saying that the only reason I bothered watching this show weekly at all is because of Tom Hiddleston, because that man is a charismatic actor, because neither the show's concept nor its style really felt quite right to me. Or maybe I'm just getting old and am grumpy at every single attempt at reinvention. It could be one or the other.
Anyway, just like my other Disney+ show reviews, I'll be briefly talking about a couple of episodes here, and a couple more in the next post. This was originally three episodes, but I decided to split it up.
Season One, Episode One: Glorious Purpose
This episode is basically setting up the premise, introducing the Time Variance Authority and what they do as they capture the rogue Loki in the alternate-timeline 2012 as they go around 'pruning' the branches. And... and that's basically this entire episode in a nutshell. A massive introduction to a more esoteric part of the superhero comic-book genre, complete with visuals and a tongue-in-cheek catchy animated infomercial to explain branching timelines and how they prune it. Plus variants and stuff. Oh, and also nailing down this specific version of Loki. Again, it's a good thing that the writers remember that this version of Loki did not go through the character development that 'sacred timeline' Loki went throughout Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. This is a Loki fresh off of a setback in Avengers, still ready to jump back and fight and make another bid at domination over Midgard and the Nine Realms.
Of course, that's not the case for poor Loki. In quick succession, not only is he shown just how powerful the TVA is, with the ability to nullify magic, superpowers and even Infinity Stones in their bizarre realm-out-of-time, but also the shock that Loki receives after his primary foil in this show, Mobius M. Mobius, basically shows Loki the entire story of his life in the MCU. It's a combination of a recap, exposition and psychoanalysis, and... and I really don't think any of this would be anywhere as entertaining if not for Tom Hiddleston's absolutely superb acting.
And really, that's what really carries this show. A lot of the secondary-cast of Loki, I think by design, is very dry and uninteresting once you get the concept of 'supremely powerful, god-like overseers of the timeline that work in a place that looks like a fancy 80's bureaucratic office' out of the way. Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) is the one with any sort of a personality, and his personality is basically being overly excited and friendly, while also not being at all a fool that Loki would easily outsmart -- an interesting character in his own right, but also very much treated more of a foil to Loki. Is Mobius going to be his mentor or friend? Or just another mark for Loki? Wilson's acting and his lines are pretty great, and he makes a good foil for Loki. But the rest of the cast... the two that really stand out in these episodes are Judge Ravonna and Hunter B-15. Putting aside comic-book names for now, those two are... they're there. They're serious and they just essentially fill the role of the serious members of this organization.
All of this rambling would perhaps indicate that I didn't enjoy watching this episode, but that's not true at all! Sure, I'm not a big fan of the concept (I'd rather Loki be brought in front of a more magical organization, but I guess this is easier to budget as a TV show) and the side-cast isn't the most interesting, but seeing Loki act throughout the episode is an absolute gem. I'm not the biggest fan of the opening five to ten minutes of just hijinks, which felt like a slower-paced version of Thor's antics in Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok (robot scene aside, that was funny), but afterwards? Loki discovering his 'sacred timeline' fate is easily the acting highlight of this episode, and his interactions with Mobius is a lot of fun. I understand the writers for not doing too much, though -- between the concept of cosmic gods more powerful than what we've seen before in the MCU, alternate-timeline variants, branching timelines, time travel that's allowed, the TVA and stuff, this episode has a lot of exposition and introductions to get through. They made this episode as enjoyable as it could be, and I had a lot of fun just looking at Loki's antics and the bit of psychoanalysis that happens between Loki and Mobius. And, if nothing else, I'm happy that we're getting a Loki that, in theory, is nominally still a villain.
The episode ultimately ends with a cliffhanger, that the references to the enigmatic Variant going around causing trouble for Mobius and his agents off-screen is another Loki variant. It's honestly what I expected going in.
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Season One, Episode Two: The Variant
And this episode basically goes full-in with the concept. Loki and Mobius are still very fun to watch interact, particularly that salad metaphor scene. ("That's not Asgard, that's my lunch.") But ultimately I'm kind of just waiting for something huge to happen... and the show, somehow, manages to make that wait absolutely pleasant. Anything can become pleasant when you throw Tom Hiddleston's Loki in it. I was kind of worried that this show is just going to be a timeline-buddy-cop show, which would be entertaining enough... but I am so, so glad that they went in another direction, and the right direction with this specific Loki incarnation in particular. Sure, he's got a bit of a friendship going on with Mobius, but I honestly never saw it as anything more than fascination that Mobius is giving him a chance.
A lot of great scenes in this one, too, and the exposition done for the timeline nonsense is a lot more fun in this one. The salad metaphor was great, and the explanation of a time-traveler hiding in a massive apocalyptic event (since they can do whatever they want and it won't fuck up the timeline afterwards) is a pretty fun one. Loki hamming shit up in a pre-destruction Pompeii was a lark, too. And, earlier in the episode as Mobius, Loki and B-15 go off to investigate the Variant Loki, we get a pretty amazingly-acted scene of Loki really going ham into giving a very believable speech about how the Variant Loki is waiting for them outside and everything is a trap... only for the TVA agents to realize that he's bullshitting them. That was a great scene.
Again, just like how the first episode was mainly concerned at showing the audience all the concepts behind what they're planning to do like an extended prologue, this one felt more like the pilot episode, showing the friction-and-friendship thing going on between Loki and Mobius. Mobius needs Loki's unique perspective and he just plain likes the god of mischief, while Loki just wants to weasel his way to meet the Time Keepers and do some dastardly takeover of the timeline.
The third act gives us a pretty tense scene as the TVA figures out that the Variant Loki has been hiding in Alabama, circa 2050, before a future-Walmart is about to be destroyed by a mega-hurricane. The TVA agents, particularly B-15, are understandably jumpy at our Loki. And to their credit? Our Loki doesn't really seem to be in a hurry to help B-15 when she gets taken over by the rogue Variant. Or, well, as I'm going to refer to her from this point onwards, Lady Loki. It's not a twist that I'm particularly surprised about, but most certainly a welcome twist and one that has pretty excellent casting. Lady Loki spends a good chunk of her screentime jumping from one possessed body to the next with her magic in a fun action scene, but the little we had of her true form at the end of this episode really does exude the same sort of charm that makes me believe that this is an alternate version of Loki and not just a new character.
Lady Loki ends up doing her plan of dropping timeline-reset bombs into multiple points in the sacred timeline, causing the TVA to panic and scramble, before jumping off into a time portal of her own. Our Loki is faced between Mobius running towards him and the enigma of what his alternate counterpart is planning, and chooses the latter. And honestly, with what we see of Loki in this episode, it's absolutely the most natural cause of action and I'm all for it. Again, as fun as the Loki/Mobius dynamic is (and this episode really sells that dynamic as a genuine one, even if it's partially motivated by Loki's desire to always prove his superiority) I also see Loki as someone who will jump at a chance to look for the real answers somewhere else at the earliest opportunity.
A lot of this episode also does a great job at subtly building up the TVA as not being as benevolent as what Mobius and the other TVA agents believe. There is obviously Loki's great moment of turning the tables on Mobius and questioning him what the Time Keepers are (all that from a jet ski magazine!) actually all about and how this basically just means that there's no real free will or meaning to the TVA's jobs, but between Lady Loki's cryptic lines and various characters questioning why the TVA just lets apocalypses happen... I can definitely see this eventually going off into the Lokis facing off against the Time Keepers at the end.
This episode in general feels a lot more solid than the first, with a lot of scenes that are just awesome. The 'Holding Out For A Hero' scene of Lady Loki absolutely massacring the TVA Minutemen in a Renaissance Fair was great. The utterly casual way that Loki rattles off the disasters that will fuck up Earth in the next couple of decades is also a fun one (the pigeons' extinction fucked up our ecosystem, apparently). The action scene of Loki fighting off against Lady Loki's thralls are fun, especially since this show makes it a point to remember that Loki has magical powers beyond just illusion -- drying himself from the rain, summoning a roomba shield telekinetically, charming and mind-controlling people... it's great fun. Plus, the aforementioned salad metaphor, the Pompeii scene and Loki's attempt at duping Mobius in the Renaissance Fair.
Overall, I did find this episode a lot more satisfactory than the first one. It's a lot more concise and a lot more solidly delivered, and I am definitely a fan to know that the entire series isn't just Loki being roped into working with the time police. Which, admittedly, would be a fun show to watch, but Loki being Loki, I really don't think he's someone that would take to what's essentially a desk job particularly well. Again, a lot of great character moments and great dialogue in this one, and I feel that this is what the show itself aims to deliver by having Loki as the star of the show.
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Marvel Easter Eggs Corner:
- (I'm not going to put in 'in the comics...' versions for these characters until the end of the show because they might be potential spoilers. I know one of them certainly is.)
- Continuity-wise, the series very heavily talks about events that happens throughout Loki's life, so Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok and prime Loki's death in Avengers: Infinity War. We get a full recap in episode one, and events and characters from all of them get mentioned in lines of dialogue or shown via in-universe recordings.
- Episode One:
- Cameo-ing in Miss Minutes' animated video are the Jotunheim Frost Beast, Kree soldiers and a Titan spaceship.
- A Skrull shows up in Ravonna's court, and based on the fact that he's wearing an Adidas suit, he's one of the Skrulls that made earthfall in Captain Marvel.
- A.I.M. from Iron Man 3 manufactured the odd device the Minutemen find in Oklahoma.
- One of the structures in the TVA has 'T-282' written on it. Thor #282 features the first appearance of the time-traveling villain Immortus.
- The end of the tape on Loki's file has E-616, which, of course, is a reference to Earth-616, the designation for the original Marvel comics universe.
- Episode Two:
- The monitors on the TVA base show multiple planets that we've seen all throughout the MCU, particularly during the 'timeline bombing' sequence. We get to see Vormir, Sakaar, Ego, Hala and Xandar among the locations listed; and Nidaveliir cameos on the very scene after the Renaissance Fair timeline.
- The file about Ragnarok mentions the 'Revengers', the tongue-in-cheek name that Thor gave to his little group in Thor: Ragnarok.
- The number 372 appears behind Loki when he's reading the files; The Mighty Thor #372 marks the first appearance of the Time Keepers.
- The Asgardian saying that Loki says ('where there are wolf's ears, wolf's teeth are near') is an actual ancient Nordic saying, from The Saga of the Volsungs.
- One of the alternate Lokis that has been pruned by the TVA apparently became a Hulk.
- The idea of a Loki that's female was done with Lady Loki after the Ragnarok storyline in the comics; and a different Loki that wears a headpiece with one of the horns snapped off was seen in Loki: Agent of Asgard, one of the comic-book inspirations for this run.
- 'Holding Out For A Hero' as a music theme appears in the comic run Vote Loki, one of the comic book this show takes inspiration for.
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