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Wednesday, July 21, 2021

TV Show Review: Loki - Season 1

Stars: 2 out of 5
Pros: Acting, look
Cons: Story that ends with no real resolution until we get more movies
The Bottom Line:
Loki on the run
Help tracking a variant?
Leaves too much open


“I’m Going to Burn This Place Down!”  “I’ll Show You Where My Desk Is.  You Can Start There.”

When Loki premiered, Marvel series on Disney+ were 1 out of 2 as far as I was concerned.  I had enjoyed WandaVision and been disappointed by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.  I was hoping to enjoy Loki, but sadly, it disappointed me as well.

This show branches off from Avengers: Endgame.  In fact, it truly begins seconds after we last see Loki (Tom Hiddleston).  And seconds is all it takes for Loki to be captured by the Time Variance Authority for the crime of not following the sacred timeline.  You see, he has escape from where and when he is supposed to be.  As a variant, he has to face the wrath of the TVA.

That is until Mobius (Owen Wilson) steps in.  You see, he wants Loki’s help is bringing down an especially nasty variant (Sophia Di Martino) who is ambushing and killing the soldiers the TVA is sending out.  Will Loki help Mobius?  Or will he use Mobius?

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect when the show first started, so I was willing to go along for the ride as each episode premiered.  Sadly, I had to wait for that ride.  The first episode was interesting set up, and I expect that from any pilot.  But then the next couple of episodes dragged.  Yes, they had to explain stuff to us, but they just felt like too much exposition, not enough story or action.  Episodes four and five were certainly better, and I was looking forward to seeing what would happen in episode six.

And this is where the show let me down the most.  It resolved nothing.  Instead, we have to wait for movies to find out what happens next.  Now, I’m used to Marvel movies setting us up for the next movie, but they at least have some kind of climax or resolution to part of the story.  Here, we got none.  It was all set up for what is to come next.  Episode six would have been brilliant if it were leading into a season finale.  That’s what it feels like.  Unfortunately, it is leading into nothing – or at least nothing immediate.  Yes, eventually, we will find out what happens next, and we’ve been promised a second season of Loki, again eventually.  But I spent six episodes leading to nothing.

It’s that let down that hurts the most, but I do think that Marvel studios needs to work on the pacing of their TV shows.  Suddenly, they have more time and freedom, but they aren’t using it to advance story or characters efficiently.

Visually, the show is magnificent.  The sets and special effects work well.  Considering some of the places we go over the course of these six episodes, that’s saying something.  Likewise, the acting is great from the entire cast, and some of their performances are very fun.

I’ve enjoyed the Marvel movies for the most part, so I am hoping they can figure out how to make their shows work.  In the meantime, I suggest holding off on Loki until closer to when we will get answers to the questions raised here.

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