TV Review: Loki Series Is Disney Plus Best One Yet
I had the JOY of seeing the first few episodes of Loki, and it was phenomenal, but for a surprising reason. Marvel has always thought its superpower was in its superheroes, and while I love seeing the magic of Wanda and watching Loki, in this series, finally get some new powers and tricks, it was his emotional growth that really got me. In perspective, it helped me realize that the reason people are flocking to Disney Plus for its Marvel shows is not just because they are awesome and most of us grew up with its universe, but these shows have the breathing room to build characters’ inner world unlike any film before. In Loki, our fave “anti-hero/ villain” faces a real moral dilemma: free will or fate?
The TVA (Time Variance Authority) is awesome, and even Loki feels their power. In essence, they are the keepers of destiny, and no power can twist that, except for ….. another Loki. The plot twist is an amazing turn for the “God of Mischief,” whom as the chillest detective Mobius (Owen Wilson) states: was born to cause pain so that others could be heroes. It is a gutting analysis of his reason for being that twists in Loki’s brain as he searches for the “superior Loki” whom is actually gaining power rather than him: always losing but managing to escape from his loss. Yet, this moral dilemma brings up one of the richest life philosophies Marvel has ever approached: if you can’t change your destiny or rather who you are…. then what is the point of being?
As the episodes progress, we see Loki hit a crux: he’s not a good guy although he would like to do good, but he could be a bad even though he doesn’t enjoy giving pain. In essence, he is a “power-player” who can tip the moral scale any way to rise in what, at the time, he deems fit, which feels very human. Through Mobius, the “humanization” of Loki becomes a hilarious, detective sitcom where two men, from opposite backgrounds, challenge each other’s beliefs in themselves and their purposes. After all, the TVA assures the “sacred timeline” stays in tact, of which that timeline includes apocalypses, natural disasters, and man-made catastrophes that they visit but never change. Thus, are you really a good guy if you can save someone but you don’t out of a notion of…. well…. time?
Overall, the series is mesmerizing and exciting. Each episode is filled with twists and a wild amplification that the Marvel Universe does go beyond Earth and even the 9 realms. It is hard not to see potential connections between the series and The Eternals and other dimensions that Marvel has alluded to but never fully entered. In brazenly launching a Multiverse, Loki gives Marvel so many cool possibilities, but, the most intriguing is seeing our fave, mischievous scamp have some feels. LOKI COMES OUT EVERY WEDNESDAY ON DISNEY PLUS!
