Loki has been one of Marvel’s most popular characters, with his story beginning in Thor (2011). Since 2011 Loki has gone through his own story, which came to an end with his death in Avengers Infinity War (2018) however the following year introduced a new story despite his death. F
In Avengers Endgame, Loki Time travels. His fate is left vague until 2021, when DIsney+ came out with “Loki” a TV show that focused on Loki from the first Avengers who unintentionally altered the timeline of events from the original film.
The first season of Loki is a very fast-paced show that mostly takes place in the headquarters of the Time Variance Authority (TVA), at the heart of the show are its characters. Once again Tom Hiddleston plays Loki as he learns more about his universe, and the Sacred Timeline, the timeline that every film and show in the MCU has taken place.
Season 1 focuses on capturing a variant of Loki, Sylvie, played by Sophia DI Martino, who spent her entire life running from the TVA. As the story continues, Loki learns to love himself and others creating a strong bond between himself and other characters like Mobius M. Mobius, played by Owen Wilson. The first season concluded with the reveal of He Who Remains, played by Johnathan Major, He Who Remains has spent thousands of years holding back infinite timelines and branches of the universe from going to war. He’s also the man who created the TVA to keep the Sacred Timeline safe from others. The season ends with He WHo Remains explaining someone needs to replace him and prevent multiversal war from emerging, however, Sylvie doesn’t care and kills He WHo Remains and sends Loki to another timeline.
Season 1 of Loki introduces a lot of cool concepts however they’re not fully explored, there’s also many issues with the character development, as it is rushed and badly displayed, such as the aspects of accepting and loving yourself.
Loki Season 2 continues moments after the first season concluded, Loki has developed a strange power that sends him between time and its branches. After a long and complicated process between timelines, Loki returns to the proper timeline where Mobius devises a plan to cure this strange ability. Mobius and Loki meet Ouroboros or O.B., a new character played by Ke Huy Quan. As the heroes work on learning more about Loki’s new ability, it’s discovered that many hunters and higher-ups at the TVA are continuing to reset timelines, an act that kills billions in the process. Along with the rogue TVA agents is Ravonna, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, along with her cartoon clock Miss Minutes, played by Tara Strong who abandoned the TVA to find a replacement for He Who remains with a variant of himself to continue controlling everything and Ravonna in a higher position of power and importance.
These groups unite to create a giant domino effect of challenges for the heroes to overcome. The pacing throughout the show feels natural and it perfectly segways from one part to the next. As the story continues t Episode 1 concludes with many TVA hunters preparing to reset multiple timelines, just before this Loki had traveled to the future where he saw Sylvie in the TVA, which led him and Mobius to search for her by psychologically torturing a Hunter who goes by Brad, played by Rafael Casal, who abandoned his position to live a normal life on the timeline. After finding Sylvie Brad explains what the TVA is doing which leads the heroes to find an alternative solution to fix the issue however this solution requires a variant of He Who Remains which directly creates a race against Ravonna to get a variant alongside their goals. While it may seem like too much for a 6 episode season, the pacing works incredibly well as it doesn’t stretch out the story or cram it all together.
While more does happen in season 2 compared to the first, the show still prioritizes relationships between characters and not only improves upon them but makes them more believable. Mobius and Loki are much more conversational and casual in scenes together, they constantly talk about their lives, eat pie, and enjoy each other’s company, much more than in the first season, this matters a lot as Loki’s new friends are what drives him to continue moving forward and trying to do the right thing. The relationships not only revolve around Loki, but Mobius also has a lot going on, once he reunites with Ravonna one of the first things he does is try to reason with her and get her perspective on things, these two characters are portrayed so perfectly that a backstory isn’t needed, their history and thoughts are displayed to absolute perfection.
The acting in both seasons is phenomenal, every character has their struggles and desires and the acting is the main reason they are so likable. What helps is the continuity, small things that seem irrelevant come back amazingly. In season 1 Mobius mentions how his main desire is to own and ride a Jetski, in season 2 this comment comes back to show to display the reason why Jetski’s are important to Mobius. The cast is also relatively small which allows for a lot of character building, while season 1 begins the journey with the characters, season 2 amplifies it further by giving characters more time together and exploring their views with one another. With Characters being the focal point it’s no surprise that their relationships can become heartbreaking, especially nearing the finale.
The character writing is phenomenal, every character is different in their unique way, the best examples being He Who Remains and his VaAriants, Played by Johnathan Majors. In Loki we see 2 versions of the same man, He Who Remains and Victor Timely, He Who Remains is energetic and full of life, constantly taking jabs at the heroes and their stories in life while Victor is a normal Man from 1893 who speaks and acts calmly. These two characters are opposites despite being played by the same actor. Victor and He Who Remain are also given backstories, making them complete characters despite only being in the show temporarily. Victor is also a great and likable character despite his variants being a genocidal maniac.
As previously said the writing amplifies aspects from earlier moments in the series and creates great characters, however the greatest aspect of the writing comes with an explanation of multiple timelines, time travel, and time-shifting. These Parts of the show are the most interesting as they display something completely new for the MCU, and the way they are implemented is the story works perfectly. The way it works is these time-related things are simplified to make the most sense, while it may be confusing at first the show uses smart yet simple dialogue to explain, making an entertaining view where the audience never feels lost.
The most breathtaking parts of the show come with the visuals and extravagant music composed by Natalie Holt. Natalie Holt created a lot of beautiful tracks for the show, each theme is powerful in its way whether it’s to strike fear, excitement, or sadness, especially in season 2. In both seasons a lot of sets and real-life locations are used to create an amazing look, even location like the TVA offices which has rooms that look identical to one another are shot beautifully. The cinematographer for season 1 was Autumn Durald Arkapaw who shot many scenes with steadicam making every scene appear ¨roffesional¨ and ¨calm¨ which fits the TVA setting perfectly. In Season 2 a new cinematographer brought in, Isaac Bauman, who used much more handheld forms of filming while continuing to blend Steadicam in these scenes. In the story, Loki is panicking and everything is going wrong, handheld filming accompanies these moments making it fit the scenes much more as the camera is constantly moving with the characters. These filming styles, sets, and locations combine to create a beautiful show to look at which alone is enough to rewatch the show.
Overall Loki is an incredible show, since its premiere in 2021 itś viewership and interest have continued to grow, and although it may be over it is one of the strongest Marvel shows ever made. Loki is a spectacle with amazing characters and writing alongside being one of the most beautiful shows, visually and musically. Every aspect of the show is amazing and even its flaws are resolved and further improved as the show continues. This is a show that is made for everyone, it tells a very simple yet astonishingly deep story about love and friendship that features one of Marvel’s best characters ever created.
