Loki is finally here with it's first episode and i've seen it and I got a lot of things to say about it. Let's just two things out of the way. One, this show has potential to be the best story told in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and secondly, this is going to be spoiler heavy. you have been warned.
The episode starts out with a 45 second montage from The Avengers and Avengers Endgame in the aftermath from The Battle of New York. After 2023 Tony, Steve and Scott all travel to 2012, they attempt to get the Tesseract only for 2012 Hulk to foil their plans. Loki picks up the Tesseract and steals it. Moments later, he is arrested by the TVA which stands for Time Variance Authority.
The next 10-15 minutes are some of the best parts of the episode. We see Loki get stripped of his clothing, forced to sign a document with thousands of pieces of paper underneath that have EVERYTHING he's ever said. He keeps talking so the clerk has to keep printing paper. Then, we see what I think is going to be the new Grogu, Miss Minutes, played fantastically by Batgirl voice actress and voice acting legend Tara Strong. As Miss Minutes, she informs the arrestees of the TVA's purpose and their story in an animation style that harkens back to The Flintstones or The Jetsons and even made me pull out my DVD's to rewatch both of them afterwards. Check out the clip:
After this, we met Agent Mobius, played brilliantly by comedy legend Owen Wilson, and the rest of the episode is them having lots of banter, which I might add was fantastic and gave some of the funniest moments of the episode. essentially BUT, we get some great Loki character development in this episode.
Loki sees his whole life pan out in a matter of seconds which includes seeing his beloved mother Frigga die and even his own death in Avengers: Infinity War. We also see that the TVA has many Infinity Stones lying around and even use them as paperweights. Don't tell Thanos about it!
The shocking twist I might add is who the main antagonist of the series will be and no, it's not Mephisto. It's... Loki. Well, to be more specific, it's a variant of Loki that Mobius is tasked to kill and asks for Loki's assistance in. We see Mobius and the TVA going to Variant Loki's crime scenes. This is certainly a very interesting plot point that has many potential outcomes and will no doubt fuel up speculation for the next 6 weeks.
At the end, the TVA is in the 1800's in Oklahoma and we see a hooded figure immolate them and stop the TVA from resetting time. This is heavily implied to be the main baddie in the
show and while we don't know who it is, we will hopefully know why they do what they do and we will find out soon.
One of the highlights of the show so far is definitely the acting. Hiddleston shines as Loki (was there really any question??). When you see Loki watch Frigga, one of the few people who treated him kindly, die, it's devastating and will make people well up for years to come. Owen Wilson, as he does, comes out guns a-blazing as Mobius with the most unexpectedly likeable character. Their dynamic is what Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan have off-screen but sadly couldn't replicate in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
This episode not only told a good story, but had numerous easter eggs and fan service inside of it. For instance, it appears that one of the Timekeepers could be Nathaniel Richards AKA Kang the Conquerer and could even cameo as Jonathan Majors is set to play the villain in the upcoming Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantamania. The Infinity Stones are a funny gag as well and the fact that Loki was so desperate that he stole the Time Stone, was a very funny joke considering "Time works differently in the TVA". Also, in this brief clip, it seems that Haley Attwell reprised her role as Peggy Carter in some shape or form as she gets arrested. Check it out:
Overall, this episode was an extremely strong start for Loki. It had a little bit of everything in it. Buddy cop dynamics, emotions running high, MCU references and a great story, Loki's debut episode does what The Falcon and the Winter Soldier couldn't. It gives you something to hook on too right away. This is a solid 9/10 in my books, I just wish that they gave Loki and Mobius more screen time that didn't include sitting down and watching MCU highlight reels. I cannot wait for what will ensue in the future. What are your thoughts? Tell me in the comments below!
Loki's first episode is now streaming on Disney+ with subsequent episodes releasing every Wednesday.