Loki

Disney Plus

Season 1 Episode 1

Glorious Purpose

After picking up the Tesseract in “Avengers: Endgame”, Loki finds himself called before the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a Kafkaesque bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space.

It’s 2012, Loki has been defeated and is in the custody of the Avengers. Through a series of mishaps, he manages to get his hands on the Tesseract and disappears. A nod to Avengers: Endgame is how we start the first episode of Loki and it is a brilliant transition to connect events.

Unable to control the Tesseract’s power, Loki is deposited into the desert where he is found by agents of the Time Variance Authority. His interaction goes the way so many of them have and it is brilliantly comedic and entertaining. Things continue with that tone when he is brought to the Authority and we see the lay of the land. It is a brilliant and eclectic mix of styles that is fun. The processing scene is hilarious and definitely gives you a sense of the show’s tone.

Moebius (Owen Wilson) finds himself investigating a crime that is creating a dangerous variant in the time line. After speaking to a potential witness, he is given Loki’s file and decides to return to see his trial. In the aftermath, Mobius takes custody of Loki and we get to see some of the brilliant production design before the two have a back forth resulting in Loki’s greatest hits of mischief including a scene from the trailers that confirms an interesting bit of historical fiction that I will not ruin in a review.

Loki is shown what his life will become and this causes the god of mischief to live up to his name and attempt to escape. When he returns, he decides to follow his story to its end and we get a greatest hits of his moments throughout the rest of the MCU. The moment drives him to examine his existence as Mobius continues to challenge him on his choices. It all culminates in a reveal that will make this season infinitely interesting to explore.

The first episode of Loki is another brilliant addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and does so with a storyline and premise that are beautifully absurd and engaging. Hiddleston does a brilliant job of evolving the character in a short matter of time, but leaving the essential core of Loki intact. You want to like Loki in these circumstances, but there is still the chance that he will stab you in the back at any time and that makes for an exciting series.

Loki S01XE01

9.5

9.5/10

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