We’re reaching what could be described as the end of the MCU’s first wave of Disney+ live-actions series, and what a wild ride it’s been so far. The successes of WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier put a heavy burden on Loki, but like its predecessors, it does not disappoint.
Disney provided the first two episodes for us to review, and in those two episodes alone (both clocking in around 50 minutes each), there’s a lot being packed into each and every story. Writer Michael Waldron and director Kate Herron reintroduce us to Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who we last saw in Avengers: Endgame escaping with the Tesseract to who-knows-where. The series picks up right then and there, and the God of Mischief is promptly caught by the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA), who arrest him for creating a rogue timeline… But he’s quickly recruited by the TVA (Hannibal Lecter-style) to help out with a case they desperately need to crack.
As the Doctor from Doctor Who puts it, there’s a lot of “timey wimey” stuff that gets explained with his arrest — e.g., the reasons why this Loki can’t just go off while the old version of himself is long dead thanks to Thanos. And why the Avengers, for example, are perfectly fine pulling off their time heist without repercussions. Admittedly, the whole first episode takes up a lot of time setting up the TVA backstory, but the episode doesn’t really falter because of that.
Loki gets introspective, and it’s fantastic
Obviously, the big draw of the series is Loki himself. It’s weirdly exciting to see a character who got a decent amount of time onscreen suddenly have the whole floor to himself. Much like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel uses this series as an opportunity to really crack the lead character open and deep dive into who they are as a person. It’s the stuff of fan fiction, hearing a character talk about themselves and their feelings. And yet, we get several scenes in the premiere episode where Loki really has to come face-to-face with who he is. Yes, imagine a Marvel character talking about their feelings. That’s what this series is working with, and it’s great!
Now, these moments do make for some long, drawn-out scenes — especially ones shared by Loki and TVA case worker Mobius (Owen Wilson). But depending on how you look at it, it’s just another plus to the series. In a press conference, Wilson himself described some of these longer scenes like plays — because at some point, you do become aware that these are just two characters chatting about; it lacks the typical Marvel flair and thrills that you see in the movies. Though if slower-paced scenes aren’t your thing, don’t let that bother you, because things quickly pick up by the second episode.
The magic of Mobius
But back to Mobius. Owen Wilson might be my favorite new addition to the MCU in quite a while. And part of that is simply because of the buddy-cop bromance his character develops with Loki as they work together to solve their case. Mobius is always one step ahead of Loki, but in a sassy, low-key way (no pun intended).
The chemistry between Wilson and Hiddleston is absolutely off the charts, and they create some absolutely hilarious moments that are sure to be a hallmark of the series. It’s especially apparent that Hiddleston is having fun in this role, getting to hang loose as this version of Loki; I haven’t seen someone enjoy themselves onscreen so much since Chris Hemsworth reprised his role as Thor in Thor: Ragnarok. And this series is filled with so many laugh-out-loud moments (for Loki especially) that I can’t wait to see what memes and gifs will follow each episode.
It’s also worth mentioning the talented Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Beyond the Lights) and Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country), who bring a lot of flavor as two TVA employees. Together with Wilson, their by-the-books, bureaucratic professional attitude completely contrasts Loki’s chaotic style. And it’s fun to see them all play in this environment where two completely different worlds are colliding.
For those of you missing the “WTF” nature of WandaVision that Falcon seemed to lack, Loki is full of those moments. It’s quite fun to see Marvel take these kinds of risks and go outside of the box. I’m sure at some point the series will become quite formulaic and perhaps pull a few of the riskier punches they could have taken. But Marvel is giving us the best they can possibly give right now, and based on the first two episodes, Loki is surely a welcomed addition to the MCU.
Loki streams every Wednesday on Disney+ beginning June 9.
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