Loki Season 1 Review

Please note before you begin this article, if it isn’t obvious enough – the articles DOES contain spoilers. A lot of them. It’s a season review. So, if you haven’t watched the show and you plan to then I suggest you exit right off this. Don’t forget to come back though!

Overview

I’m incredibly thankful that this show finally came out, and it came at a perfect time as well. With Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe well underway, we needed this from Marvel to show us that they’re not slowing down after the Infinity Saga. WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier did this also, but I think Loki did it even more.

How? By introducing the Time Variance Authority. The TVA in short is this almighty force that renders even the Infinity Stones useless. By doing this, it brought about the branches of timelines, whilst maintaining a fantastic story.

If you haven’t watched the show yet, then Loki’s show begins during the events of Endgame. We know Loki managed to pick up the Tesseract whilst Tony was knocked out by Hulk, and he disappeared. This caused Loki to become a variant in the TVA, and be placed under arrest for “crimes against the timeline”.

It’s an interesting aspect overall, the way in which it progresses. The show not only captured the story beautifully but the overall atmosphere of the show. The VFX by the studio was extremely impressive, and throughout this entire series, I struggled to believe I was just sitting at home, in my dressing gown and not in the cinema. It was that well done.

The show not only introduced branches of timelines, but it also introduced variants. If you have ever watched any of The CW shows, you’ll know that in the multiverse we all have a doppelganger, the formula works similarly. Each character would have multiple variants, although we only really see Loki’s side of that, this is just another tease of what’s to come in the future.

I had a feeling season 2 would come, this isn’t a story that can be done in 6 episodes. It needs a full-length series, and my expectance came after the end credits where the studio officially announced Loki would be returning in season 2. This is fantastic news for the show, especially considering how weak I thought of the finale. This will sure patch that up.

Characters

Well, where the hell do I even begin with the character’s side?! There’s so much to discuss here, but let’s begin with Loki. Tom Hiddleston has brought this character to life, in a big way, and more than he has ever done previously within the MCU. We learn so much about what Loki actually wants, his reactions, why he’s the way he is, and more. We actually see Loki fall in love, with himself, technically. It’s weird but makes sense.

When the show aired we’re introduced to what we think is going to be the villain in Sylvie.

Side note, she may as well be considering she’s getting the Starlord Infinity War treatment.

Sylvie is in fact, Lady Loki. A female variant of Loki was arrested by the TVA for what looks like making a mistake whilst she was playing with her toys as a child. She then went on to try and take down the TVA, and survived by staying within apocalypse events, something which the TVA couldn’t track. She was an amazing introduction to the MCU, and I am really happy with the way her character was written.

This next part brings me onto Mobius. Owen Wilson was built up during the trailers to be a great character and this was no different. The variants of Loki were all brilliant, and we finally got our very first introduction to what could be the MCU’s biggest, baddest villain – Kang.

There wasn’t a single wasted character during the run, and that’s what I like about it. Each character had a part to play in the story, and they all did it well. I never came away thinking a character was boring or wasted. Even Casey was a pleasure in the show, and it showed us how powerful the TVA really is.

Standout Character

I think it’s pretty obvious in this category, but it’s Loki. The actual Loki we know that is, I know this can be quite confusing. We’ve seen Loki at the height of his power, we’ve seen him be beaten, we’ve seen him die, but we’ve never seen him vulnerable. Especially in the opening episodes of the show. Not to mention, because of this show I developed a love for the character whereas prior to this I never cared much. Tom Hiddleston is, and will always forever be our Loki. He really has made the character his own, and even more so in this show.

Favourite Episode

The Pilot was my favorite episode. The reason why is because of the intriguing aspect to it. We got to learn about this whole entire new entity with the TVA. We also got to see Loki see how his life played out with his mother and his demise by the hand of Thanos. When Loki was being “booked” into the timeline, for me this was super interesting – just the way the process worked. Marvel Studios and the showrunners did a fantastic job in introducing us to the Time Variance Authority.

Worst Episode

Perhaps not an unpopular opinion among fans and critics, but the finale was poor. I’ve mentioned a couple of times now that it felt like more of a mid-season finale and just one giant conversation. Granted, a lot of questions were answered but I finished that episode wanting so much more, and I kind of expected it when you look at how WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s finales were. It was a letdown, but I suspect season 2 will fix this entirely.

The Walking Dead did this quite a lot and the first episode of the season used to be explosive.

Episodes & Their Ratings

Episode 1: Glorious Purpose – 10/10
Episode 2: The Variant – 9/10
Episode 3: Lamentis – 10/10
Episode 4: The Nexus Event – 10/10
Episode 5: Journey Into Mystery – 10/10
Episode 6: For Time. Always. – 6.5/10

Average rating – 9.3/10

Our Overall Rating 9.4/10

It reflects the average on our end. I believe the finale did let down some of the ratings briefly but ultimately over the course of the season, 9.4 is a high rating and definitely deserving of it.

Does It Deserve Another Season?

One million perfect. Obviously, we knew in advance Loki had been renewed for a second season, but this was officially announced on the end credits of Loki. The finale we got felt like more of a mid-season finale, so the fact we’re getting a season 2 is fantastic, and we cannot be more excited for it. I just hope we don’t have to wait too long for it.