WARNING: Be Prepared for anything and pay close attention when watching the new series Loki. Otherwise, you might miss something. This very amusing and entertaining new Marvel/Disney + series demands it because this fast-paced show throws a lot at you from almost the moment it begins. Or, like me, you will have to watch it again, not as much because you want to, but because you have to make sure you do not miss something important.
Not familiar with this title? Loki is an American television series created by Michael Waldron for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the eponymous character. Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it shares continuity with the franchise’s films. However, after the events of the movie Avengers: Endgame (2019), it takes place in which an alternate version of Loki created a new timeline.
In this viewer’s, humble opinion this series is a delightful addition to the MCU with a very amusing story that ends with a touch of darkness the character deserves. I was very entertained by the pilot episode of Loki, not only because of its relentless, zany sense of humor, which got inspired by classic Warner Brothers cartoons and Monty Python. The series is silly at times and also constantly surprising. The show is not gentle with its main protagonist. In this series, Loki’s experiences are closer to Wile E Coyote’s classic character because, as he slowly realizes, he finds himself involved in something far more significant than himself. The series reintroduces the TVA, an ultra-secret and powerful organization within the MCU.
After stealing the Tesseract during the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), an alternate version of Loki is brought to the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA), a nearly omnipotent, massively large para-military/bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space and monitors the timeline. They give Loki a choice: face getting erased from existence due to being a “time-variant,” or help fix the timeline and stop a more significant threat. This premise is an excellent setup for all the storytelling that follows and promises lots of adventure.
Creating the TVA was brilliant. It works as a vehicle that allows any story they are telling to take place literally anywhere at any time. Something the show is not shy about demonstrating. They force Loki to review his life and accomplishments. There are lots of flashbacks along the way in case we need reminders.
Hiddleston thoroughly enjoys the role he made famously and shows he still has the chops to elevate the material beyond the mundane. The supporting cast is limited but also excellent. The show introduces Major Moebius (a toned-down Owen Wilson), who seems to be one of the TVA’s senior agents along with one of the agency’s enforcers referred to as hunters (a very impressive Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15) who seems to take this case personally.
If you haven’t guessed, I am looking forward to watching the rest of this season’s episodes. Like most things Marvel/Disney+, I have a singular sense I will not be disappointed and that there will be lots of delightful surprises in store. The way these guys and girls are going, they deserve to dominate entertaining our world and whoever may be watching from elsewhere. So I may watch this episode again.