The first season of Loki is done, but the good news is that a second season is coming...at some point! It's been a heck of a year for MCU fans, with all the new shows and movies that have already come out and are still on the docket.
So, here are my thoughts on the latest Disney+ addition to the Marvel Universe:
Things I Liked
Sylvie - she was the absolute stand-out of the whole show. I had never heard of Sophia Di Martino before, but she absolutely killed it. I love that about the MCU - taking virtual unknowns (like Tom Hiddleston pre-Thor) and casting them in big roles. The chemistry between Sylvie and Loki was palpable, and I'm not ashamed to say that I totally ship them. I'm eager to see what Sylvie does next, and eager to see Di Martino in more projects!
Mobius - when I first heard about Owen Wilson being cast in a role in the MCU, I was like,
Just kidding. But I was curious to see how the actor, a character in and of himself, would work out. He was such a breath of fresh air! It was fun to have a sort of gumshoe detective/cop character, not unlike Agent Woo. I loved watching his relationship with Loki progress and look forward to seeing how it continues to grow (or re-grow, since Mobius no longer knows Loki!)
The setting - holy smokes, give the designers of these sets a raise! I love, love, loved that they used a lot of real sets instead of relying heavily on CGI to bring the world of the TVA to life. The mid-century look was *chef's kiss* and such a welcome change from the other locations we've seen in the movies and other shows. This is not your Tony Stark-sleek sci-fi office. Even the cartoon presented by Miss Minutes called to mind old drive-in movie theater ads and 50s-era PSAs. Oh, and the Kintsugi-inspired Citadel? Love!
The score - like the production design, the music really brought this new world to life. At times dark and unsettling, at others light and playful, much like the God of Mischief himself. Plus, anytime a theremin is used, I'm pretty much sold.
All the women - I was so psyched to see so many female names in the credits! The film and TV industry has been dominated by men since, well, forever, and to see so many women working behind the scenes to bring this show to life...that was just really cool. From the director to the composer, the costume designer and some of the producers, Loki was definitely built partly on the shoulders of women!
Classic Loki - could this casting have been any more perfect?! Richard E. Grant was fantastic. I was glad to see he wasn't just a silly joke, but that they gave him gravitas and allowed him to fulfill a truly glorious purpose for the sake of the show.
Bringing in more details and storylines from the comics - while the MCU long ago established itself as its own thing with its own history, rules, etc., I have loved seeing all the little nods to the comics, from easter eggs to introducing characters from lesser-known (to the general public) storylines.
Hunter B-15 - at first I thought she was just going to be a one-off foil to Loki, the law-abiding copper. I was pleasantly surprised by her arc. The scene when Sylvie gives her a glimpse of her pre-TVA self and she says, "I looked happy" broke my heart in all the best ways.
Things I Didn't Like
The first episode - it was too inconsistent. It's like they couldn't settle on a tone. There was slapstick humor (slo-mo Loki punch), the random D.B. Cooper thing, and all the soul-interrogation between Loki and Mobius. I get that they had to set up a whole new world, the TVA, and explain some stuff, but there was a lottt of recapping and the performances seemed inconsistent and incongruous, like the actors were playing in three different shows tonally.
The Other Loki variants - with the exception of Classic Loki and Kid Loki (and, ok, Alligator Loki) the other Lokis were just kinda meh. I'm glad that their arc ended early. I wasn't interested in watching a whole show of Lokis.
He Who Remains - I just wasn't keen on Majors' performance. It felt too boring, too awkward. Like if Elon Musk was a Marvel villain. I'm hoping this was an acting choice, a way to differentiate him entirely from the as-yet-unseen variants.
The powers - this is kind of a general criticism since it can be applied to pretty much every character in the MCU. The abilities of the characters is totally inconsistent. Is Sylvie more powerful than Loki? Is Classic Loki as powerful as Wanda? I can't keep up!
No Steve - I was really hoping to see a Steve & Wendy Loki variant. Ah, well.
Things I Was Ambivalent About
The Time Keepers - this felt like a bit of a letdown akin to the non-monsters in The Village (if you know, you know). But I must say, the reveal that they were nothing more than animatronics was a pleasant twist. The all-powerful, all-knowing god-like characters have been done over and over; this paves the way for something a bit different.
Miss Minutes - at first she felt like a Mr. DNA-type trope intended for necessary exposition...until she scared the bejesus out of us when she appeared at the Citadel at the End of Time.
Tom Hiddleston's performance - I get that Loki is a complex character and that he's been through a lot as a character, AND I get that Hiddleston has been through multiple directors and projects as this character. There's gonna be some inconsistency. The Loki of Thor versus the Loki of Loki is totally different. The thing that has always irked me is that he's supposed to be the God of Mischief but has never been portrayed as particularly mischievous. The show tried to remedy that with the D.B. Cooper thing and Loki cutting Sif's hair, but I agree with Mobius' analysis: he's never been mischievous, he's just been kind of an asshole at best and, at worst, a murderous egomaniac hellbent on world domination. Thankfully by the end of the season Hiddleston seemed to settle into what this Loki, our Loki, is really supposed to be.
I'm eager to see how everything unravels in the next season, and how the effects Sylvie's actions ripple across the Universe as a whole. Poor Dr. Strange certainly has his work cut out for him.
BONUS: My Favorite Scene
really enjoy your writing. so talented 😍
ReplyDeleteAw, gee. 😊 Thank you for taking the time to read it!
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