Loki

Loki/Hiddleston for Tarkin... or whomever just bring him in the franchise.

 

Just watched the first episode!

Time travel is FAR from my favorite gimmick. I can count on one hand how many stories I like use it in a way that doesn't annoy me to the ends of the earth:
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (I'd count Salvation, but Salvation doesn't even have time travel.)
Avengers: Endgame
Back to the Future
X-Men: Days of Future Past

But Loki was good. Slow-burns seem to be the trend for Marvel in terms of their shows, and I'm totally fine with that. I'm curious what the themes of Loki will be...outside of the obvious one of Free Will vs Predestination, of course.

The acting was phenomenal, and there were some story-breaking aspects, as well as some fun tie-ins to future stories. I'm interested in seeing how this all plays out.

The scene of Loki watching his history play out reminded me of bad Naruto fanfiction from back in the day, which was a humorous treat; and Loki's own arc isn't one unique to him. Fans of this may like Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal's sci fi audio novella The Original. And Looper. And Psycho-Pass.

The point is, the story or idea isn't original, but it's original to the franchise, and that's always nice.

 

I was definitely entertained. "We actually got a lot of those," "Some of the guys use them as paperweights."

 

As a big fan of the MCU, I think this is really where Marvel thrives. It can tell so many different stories now, so this really plays to the strengths of the franchise.

Glad it was good, I'm looking forward to watching it.

 

I’m visiting New York right now and it was really awesome seeing Loki billboards and whatnot all across Manhattan on Wednesday. I saw the first episode the following day and was blown away!

I wasn’t too hyped for this show to begin with, especially compared to the other shows coming out this year but based off the first episode alone, it has the strongest start and could be the best overall. Getting into Loki’s psyche in a profound way wasn’t something I was expecting to see in this series and I’m really interested by all this TVA stuff.

What’s really cool is that I can already see where some of the dimensional dots connecting with Spider-Man No Way Home and especially Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I just hope the finale doesn’t underwhelm me like Wandavision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I can’t wait to see where this show goes next!

 

Hands down my favorite Marvel show so far. I thought it was an amazing mix of action, fun twists, sharp explanations, and deep character values.

Spoiler

I particularly enjoyed Jonathan Majors portrayal of this variant of Kang and his super crazy talky-talk. And of course Alligator Loki for the win.

 

Just finished watching a second time, this time with my family! (And yes, I'm breaking my hiatus twice in one evening.)

My dad enjoyed it by the end, despite being lukewarm towards the first two episodes. He was the same for WandaVision though; he's not particularly a fan of slow-burns it seems. Mom enjoyed jumping in for the final two episodes and not feeling too lost, so she was happy.

My thoughts on the show haven't really changed. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I'm not a fan of the titular character, and I'm generally annoyed at how "Free Will vs Predestination" debates go in most media, so this show had a major uphill climb. And it did well. I'm still not completely happy with everything, but I'm happy enough. But I will say that the fight in Episode 4 really felt like a cheap imitation of the Throne Room fight in TLJ. A very cheap imitation.

All of the above doesn't mean this show is free from my revision ideas:
After talking with a coworker who proposed this idea, I realized how much better Loki would have been if this season had been split in two 6-8 episode seasons. The first season would have been a sort of X-Files/Buddy-Cop dynamic featuring Mobius and Loki solving various timeline issues while also hunting down the Variant. The first season would have ended where Episode 2 does. Episodes 3 & 4 would be stretched out over the first four episodes of Season 2. Episode 5 would be split into two episodes, and then Episode 6 would be the finale of Season 2.

This change would not only allow Mobius and Loki to truly become friends, but for the TVA to be explored in more depth. One of the major themes was wasn't truly explored to me was the idea of ends justifying means. The TVA personifies this idea, but so does Sylvie...and yet that's looked over. I'd love to see both sides realized. Show us a timeline where everything is so awful that it being erased was a blessing, and then have Loki feel guilt over it because he understands how much a second chance can change a person. Heck, all of Season 1 could be Loki doing things with little-to-no consequence, and then having him realize that maybe the timelines don't pay the consequences, but Loki's own soul does. Show us how Sylvie's one-woman war against the TVA is the exact same thing she condemns the TVA and others for in more detail.

(I DO understand why this isn't the case. Loki needs to help set up What If...? and Doctor Strange 2, so time (heh) was of the essence. But one can wonder.)

The next thing I'd modify are the Variants. Yes, I really enjoyed them, but I also don't like how every Black character has been associated with antagonists. Not all of them truly are, and not all of the ones who are stay that way, but it's something I'm particularly sensitive to and as such want to change. (That doesn't mean every POC needs to be a sterling hero or perfect, simply that we need variety and whatnot.) So I'd add a Variant that takes the story arc of the Boastful Variant. I'll put that in spoiler tags.

Spoiler: Loki Episode 5 and 6 Major Spoilers

Let's call him Traitor Loki.
So ultimately we'd have 6 Loki's:
Our Loki
Kid Loki
Classic Loki
Boastful Loki aka "Thor Loki"
Alligator Loki
Traitor Loki

Kid Loki would be the child ruler, wanting to actually make something good out of the Void, but struggling at every turn. Classic Loki and Alligator Loki remain unchanged. Boastful Loki would actually have the power to summon Mjolnir, with his Nexus Event being that he summoned the hammer because in a rare moment of bravery, he was worthy. Traitor Loki would be the same, leading President Loki and the others to the hideout for the crown.

During the fight with Aligoth, Classic Loki would build illusory castle, and Boastful Loki would defend it with Mjolnir to the best of his ability, doing something he secretly always wanted to. At the end, Classic Loki and Boastful Loki would still die, but each at peace, as they not only have achieved their Glorious Purpose, but they've also achieved some personal goals - Boastful Loki was worthy enough to be a hero and defend Asgard, while Classic Loki was able to see his "brother" again in Boastful Loki.

Kid Loki lives to restart his kingdom and help survivors once again.

This could be talked about with He Who Remains. He knows about the Loki Variants in the Void - he had them pruned so they could be given a chance to change, so that his inheritor(s) could see that Lokis cans change, and change for the better.

 

Season 2 trailer is up.

 

Looks pretty good!

I was curious how they'd handle Majors in the marketing. He'll surely be a big part of the show, but I thought they might try to minimize his presence in the marketing. Seems I might've been right.