He’s back, but he’s not where we left him (or where he thought he’d be).
Just when you thought the original Avengers had dealt with all their foes. In trying to defeat Thanos the avenging ones accidentally assisted Thor’s half-brother to escape, and in doing so Loki (Tom Hiddleston) created a branch in the sacred timeline that could not be tolerated.
Welcome to Marvel’s first series focused on a bad guy. Or is he?
Not sure how this series fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s timeline? Didn’t Loki die in Avengers: Infinity War (and a bunch of times before that)?! This video might help…
Mobius (Owen Wilson) and the Time Variance Authority, or TVA, are tasked with keeping everything in check by the Time Keepers. In using the Tesseract to escape Loki has inadvertently popped up on the TVU’s radar as a Variant who must be restored…at least until Mobius puts the case that Loki and his special bag of tricks can help them find the Variant that has been killing the TVU’s Minutemen and bring them to justice.
But…can Loki be trusted? Really?!
Disney set a new standard at the start of 2021 with the release of WandaVision, their first foray in episodic story-telling for the MCU, and it received rave reviews for bending and blending the stories across the available episodes to develop the characters for Phase Four. Loki also establishes some key building blocks as it tapers neatly into 2022 release of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, the fifth film in this next generation of MCU movies.
This series continues that new standard – episodic story-telling that isn’t a movie broken into six pieces; rather a developmental tale that virginal viewers will appreciate and Marvel fans (both cinematic and comic) will enjoy deeply as tales intertwine in which nobody is spoon-fed. Keep your eyes peeled for some brilliant easter eggs.
The two available episodes for preview are sharply-directed by show-runner Kate Herron (though everywhere is so dark – can’t they afford brighter lighting in the TVU?). The series draws you deep into a new and rich world that (we’re told) holds all the other worlds and multiverses together. It even has the time to be momentarily self-referential while drawing out the beating heart of the series as the god of deception discovers his own. Or does he? Is it really possible?
Hiddleston and Wilson spend a significant amount of time together on-screen and their chemistry and comic timing shine through their dialogue. It’s the buddy-cop fantasy series we didn’t know we needed! The wider cast brings some additional big hitters to the table in Sophia Di Martino (Hitmen; Yesterday), Richard E Grant (Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker; Logan), Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (The Morning Show; The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance)
Part-whodunnit, part-heist, LOKI is all mind-bending, moody, multiverse brilliance, delivering must-watch television in its own right.
