'Loki' is the show I didn't know I wanted
Loki has been alive, then dead, then alive again. Bringing the character back for a television show seemed like beating a dead horse with a stick. I couldn't have been any more incorrect. Falling along the creative lines of Guardians of The Galaxy and Thor Ragnarok, Loki is a high-concept show that doesn't get lost in its scale.
Picking up exactly where we left him off in Avengers Endgame, Loki catches the tesseract as it slips in front of his feet when The Avengers go back in time to capture one of the infinity stones. If you haven't seen Endgame, the explanation is this: the good guys (The Avengers) go back in time but make a mistake by dropping a magical device. The bad guy (Loki) quietly grabs the magical thingy and is transported to another dimension. In that dimension, we have time cops. The official assignation for them being Time Variance Authorities (TVA). Their job is to make sure the flow of time The Avengers created stays the way it is. People like Loki can slip in between the cracks causing a disturbance in the flow of time. The consequences would be part of the entire world's population vanishing through the fingers of Thanos once more.
Still lost? Here’s a video from Tom Hiddleston briefly explaining the plot of Loki
The design of the future world Loki is stuck in is a mixture of digital and analog. Holographic projections of reels run along with the moving parts of physical projectors. The chairs in the interrogation room that Loki is questioned in have a Jetsons 80s hybrid to them. All of this compliments the notion of time not working in relative terms. The metropolis that Loki is held up in is visually breathtaking. What used to look like Sci-Fi channel corny special effects in television shows are gone. The work Disney has done with The Mandalorian, Wandavision, and now Loki has removed the lines between formats. Each story can visually intermingle between mediums, with the audience hardly noticing. The money is on the screen, but the characters are thankfully still the central point of focus.
What could have easily been a petulant disposable role, Tom Hiddleston has played to near perfection. The indelible natural charm that Mr. Hiddleston incorporates makes Loki the perfect likable monster for the MCU. I was curious how they'd make Loki work as a protagonist since there's no reason to root for the man. He's a terrorist that has personally stabbed fifty people in the back and turned possibly thousands to dust. By all accounts, we should fear him like Thanos. Similar to Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lector, Loki has proven that charm can fool anyone into liking him. Even the audience.
Presenting us with a portrait of what kind of man he truly is, is Agent Mobius M. Mobius of the TVA. Owen Wilson is the perfect casting choice for another kind-hearted agent. There's a form of politeness to Mobius similar to Agent Woo (Randall Park) of Wandavsion. Both characters possibly draw inspiration from David Lynch's Dale Cooper of Twin Peaks. Rather than the grizzled intimidating agent, we're presented with wholesome, educated people that want to do the right thing, sort of like the actual FBI. With that said, Mobius is no pushover. He's always able to outsmart Loki, putting him in his place when need be. I'm excited to see how the show goes more into Agent Mobius' character since elements of his past (if there is one where he is) are shrouded in mystery. I'm curious to see if Loki could ever become a good person or is destined to die in misery until the end of time.
With the high concept paying off in a visual feast for the eyes along with a solid structure that hasn't hit any dull plot points as of yet, Loki is looking to be a hit. The chemistry between Loki and Agent Mobius is sure to progress in some fascinating ways. Like watching the cogs turning together in a clock, the long-awaited plot elements are clicking ever so slowly together in place. I was waiting for the delivery to happen in a plot point with the last two MCU shows. Here, I'm enjoying the ride all along.
After you see the show, let me know if you agree with my rating.
Loki premieres on Disney Plus on June 9th, followed by every Wednesday for the next five episodes.
