Loki: First Thoughts

After much anticipation, and some delay, Loki finally arrived on Disney Plus. Of course, SciFiPulse has already reviewed the first two episodes, ‘Glorious Purpose’ , and most recently ‘The Variant’, too. But we thought we’d have a closer look at the new time travel drama, starring Tom Hiddleston. We’ll go over what we’ve seen so far, then briefly discuss wider implications, in the MCU, generally.

The TVA

A fantastic plot device. For example, we get to see parts of history, which is cool. Furthermore, the inclusion of the near future, it was particularly interesting. But the real brilliance of this is how it ties in with the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019). We’re really starting to see an expanded universe and many more possibilities. But more on that later . . . having a way to “duplicate” Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is an engaging way to explore facets of Loki’s character. And that’s exactly what we’re going to be focusing on next.

Character Study

There can be few people who would disagree that Loki is one of the most interesting characters within the MCU. For example, he’s not an all out “baddie”, but not exactly a goody either. This tension of opposites has led to some great moments. This includes his redemption arc, and all those emotional moments with his brother, Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Now, it looks like we’ll get to see much more, including a Loki of a variant gender too, in Sophia De Martino. That promises to provide even further depth to the character.

Slow Burn

It’s fair to say the show hasn’t been an all-out action-packed affair. At least, it hasn’t yet . . . Now we’ve had the setup and know about the TVA, there’s likely to be some pretty big stuff going down. Understandably, the first couple of episodes might have put some fans off. But if the MCU has been outstanding at one thing, it’s been planning big moments slowly, and delivering in blistering style. With time travel as a plot device, there’s bound to be some pretty big consequences for the MCU. That leads us to our final section . . .

MCU Implications

Previously, we’ve written about how events in WandaVision may have had a significant impact on the  MCU. For example, in WandaVision: Season One Assessed. However, we also wrote a feature before the show, titled WandaVision: Five Things We Might See. The title’s pretty self-explanatory. We had varying success in our predictions, including in WandaVision: Five Theories, too.

As for Loki, there’s bound to be some serious time travelling implications. Perhaps Mobius (Owen Wilson) isn’t quite what he seems . . . But that’s for another feature, another time (although we assure you if we write it it will be in this branch of reality – or will it? . . .) .

May The Verse Be With You is a fun weekly feature, brought to you by SciFiPulse. There are quite a few marvel-based/inspired poems, and specifically some MCU offerings. They include ‘A Scarlet Spell’, ‘Vision’s Vision’ and also the topical ‘Loki’s Blues’, too.

New Loki episodes drop weekly, on Wednesdays on Disney Plus. Two are available now, with four more to come in Season One.