Loki, the new Disney+ series that started off with a bang and continued to get you engaged in a rollercoaster ride with one surprise after another, ended in a limbo just like the characters in the story.
I have never been a huge fan of the Loki character, although I must say Tom Hiddleston made it extremely lovable with his huge redemption arc throughout the Infinity Saga. So, it is justifiable both from the storytelling and money-making perspectives to give this character more life. Hence the birth of the Loki series on Disney+.
Ever since Loki escaped from the New York battle arrest, we always wondered where he went. The answer was provided in the Loki series. And with the introduction of the Time Variant Authority (TVA) we are in for a ride. For me the redemption arc came a lot faster and harder in the 6-episode series; probably because it is short, it has to be sharp. The first two episodes basically hammered Loki with facts of the future to wake him up to some serious Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The wakeup call was needed for him to justify his later actions.
The introduction of the female Loki, played by Sophia Di Martino has hits and misses. At times she was extremely relevant but there were occasions that I felt her vengeance was a bit over played. Yet, one must admit that the episode for their untimely partnering made one of the best TV episodes in recent TV history. You can certainly see that when the material was right, these two characters can have lots of sparks and chemistry, making that 40 minute an enjoyable ride. However, because, again, the series is short, so things must move on.
Owen Wilson’s Mobius was interesting to watch. It was very Wilsonish but at the same time it was a more matured and reserved Wilson. That makes the character more alive than its own comic book counterpart in my opinion. We were interested in his history, we were interested in knowing what he would do when his belief system collapsed, we were gutted when things happened to him. His friend-rival relationship with Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ravonna Renslayer was endearing to watch. Although, at times the power structure of the TVA in the story prohibited further investigation of this dynamic. Also, Ravonna’s motivation became blurrier and blurrier as the episodes move on, to a point that you don’t know what is happening to that character, or what is the purpose of this character. I personally became disinterest in that character, which is a pity, because it had so much potential. Maybe they will fix it in Season 2 or maybe throughout Phase 4 and 5.
There were cameos that were surprises, and there were some, simply anticipation, such as Richard E Grant’s version of Loki. Surprises, I don’t want to detail them here as they contain spoilers. But nowadays for anything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), people showed up when you least expected. And, when the press, fans, and analysts said these people are not going to show up, you could definitely expect them to show up in a certain capacity. But whether leaks or rumours are true, you will still pay attention to them, such is the power of anything MCU right now.
For me Loki is a really enjoyable ride, right up till the end, which left me wanting. Wanting because I hope they would do a better job than just setting this up as a backdrop for the next few MCU projects. Wanting because, while it can be a precursor for other things, they could be a self-satisfying and self-contained series without a continuation baggage. WandaVision managed to do that. Falcon and Winter Soldier managed to do that to a certain capacity, but Loki, though very Doctor Who like, which is a great thing in my opinion, eventually became something to just connect all other MCU projects together in its final moment. This, for me, was not very satisfying.
That doesn’t mean that it has a bad ending, in fact I cannot say whether it is a good or bad ending, but it just feels like you have a great meal, with a great starter, a great main course, a great dessert, and then the after-meal drink was warm and flat, leaving you with a bit of disappointment leaving the restaurant.
For me all series, no matter how they are tied in to a greater universe, should be self-contained to a certain point. Even when you have a cliff-hanger for the next season, it should not feel like it was there for the sake of a cliff-hanger. That’s how I felt for the end of Loki, both as a project of MCU and as a renewed series. I hope in season 2, they would fix this.
All episodes of Loki are now streaming on Disney+.
