Series The Story So Far: Intriguing, entertaining, but rushed
Loki is an odd bird, both as a series and as a character.
Like Wandavision, the series opts to yank the mat out from the audience and characters alike, depositing them in a strange and surreal realm where the usual tropes of their stories don't apply. Right off the bat, I have to say that I really enjoyed the TVA office environment as a study in contrasts: eldritch yet mundane, wilder than anything ever seen in the MCU yet suffocating under a Brazil-style Vast Bureaucracy.
The same goes for the cast of characters who can be found here, my favourite being Mobius. I'm not a fan of Owen Wilson, but I really enjoy his performance as a good-natured mentor figure to Loki; it's hard to play a character that's deadly serious and comically jovial at the same time, but Wilson nails it. Miss Minutes is a close second, managing to be both hilarious and somewhat unnerving.
Likewise, the Void was a horrifically fascinating setting made all the more entertaining by the residents – most of which I can’t get into without spoiling literally everything.
Unfortunately, the series is not without problems:
I'm not going to claim that Loki was ruined by getting defeated in the first episode; he's been the MCU's Butt-Monkey since 2012, and getting his ass kicked by TVA tech does not magically equal a betrayal of his character.
No, the problem lies in Loki's progression from villain to hero; while I like the epiphany in episode one, the transition as a whole is frustratingly rushed and featured character elements more appropriate to the mythological Loki.
Perhaps it's just my own biased interpretation speaking, but film!Loki always struck me as an introverted Shakespearean schemer rather than a classic fun-loving trickster god (when he wasn't being portrayed as a comical narcissist or a brooding anti-hero, of course) so the sight of him clowning around in Pompeii or leading a drunken sing-song seems outside the box. It's fun, but it feels like jumping characterization tracks rather than actually developing the character.
The same goes for Sylvie: as much as I like the wit and tragedy of the character, she goes from a threat to an underdog so quickly that we barely have time to adjust to the twist. Ditto her romance with Loki, which isn't given enough breathing room to make it believable. And her suspicion of Loki at the end of the series might have worked if there'd been evidence that Loki was still operating on his usual Chronic Backstabbing Disorder - alas, not the case.
And that's the ultimate weakness undermining the show: not enough ingredients, not enough simmering time.
With that said, Loki is still a good series - or at least a good start to one; it's nowhere near as great as Wandavision, but still pretty decent. That said, I sincerely hope that season 2 develops on the material.
Also, Tom Hiddleston desperately needs to star in an adaptation of The Gospel of Loki.
Series It's Yourself Loki! Something's Gotta Be Done About Yourself!
Without going into spoilers, the general plot is that Loki, moments after he is defeated by the Avengers in New York, is abducted by the TVA, a mysterious, Kafkaesque organization of time cops who are accusing him of messing with time. He is forced to cooperate with them and help them track down another troublesome Loki from a different era, who also has messed with time. The story alternates between Loki having to play the cop stooge, and Loki trying to figure out who really is pulling the strings at the TVA.
So the first thing I liked about Loki is that its only six episodes long. Finally Disney read my letters, and took to heart that the other Marvel series are way too drawn out. Unfortunately, there is a corresponding problem; despite the short length, episodes still feel drawn out and full of time wasting, and its not until the end of episode six do you find out why; this isn't really a six episode season. Disney have clearly cut a twelve episode season in half to trick you into thinking they've learnt their lesson. There is nothing self-contained or final about the last episode, which abruptly ends without a proper resolution.
As to the looks of the show, I love the TVA, a Cassette Futurist bureaucracy with a fondness for antiquated beige office space. You instinctively understand the TVA as a timeless, super advanced agency that is also backwards thinking and quietly dysfunctional. I find it a bigger selling point than Loki, who - by nature of the plot - does not get to use his powers or do very much else except get knocked around. Loki is the only one who sees there is something very wrong with the place, and no one will believe him because he is a meglomaniac with a pathological urge to be dishonest. It's a great set up, and at least this pays off, even if the story ultimately doesn't.
Like a lot of Marvel products these days, I enjoy them the more they can avoid going back to the old cliched, costume heroes shooting at evil versions of themselves with laser beams. Loki manages to avoid this for the most part, though I would have liked to have seen Loki do something more creative with his wits or powers than teleport things sort distances. Then again the MCU is always wasting his character. I imagine he will finally get his moment in the next six episodes.
Despite this being another Marvel show that outstays its own welcome, with a needlessly plodding plot, I find myself drawn back to watch the next season.
Series Season 2: Timey Syndrome
Season 1 of Loki was something I enjoyed, despite its lack of real resolution frustrating me. After a long wait, the second season, or more accurately, the second half of a truncated first season, is finally out to offer an emotionally meaningful conclusion the show was sorely lacking. I had a lot of trouble reminding myself of what the hell happened in the first season, and the recaps aren't much help with all the names and faces I'd completely forgotten. That's what happens when you wait nearly two years to finish what you started.
Picking up from where we left off, Loki has started slipping through time for reasons that won't be adequately explained in the show at any point. Whenever he is not hiccupping backwards and forwards through time and place, he and his chums in the "Time Variance Authority" are attempting to avert a universe destroying disaster in which time radiation is fated to turn all reality into spaghetti. If this explanation sounds vague and insane, it is because the show is vague and insane. But also it is very pretty, and a significant step up from the previous season in terms of quality.
Perhaps the most surprising element that I enjoyed was the arch villain. In the previous season, He Who Sits in His Chair did nothing but agonisingly monologue for 20 minutes. Here, he is absent for most of the season, but his influence (and the anxiety it causes) is being felt everywhere. Loki is constantly worried that he is playing into his hands, every action he takes having been anticipated by a chess master who already knows what is going to happen through all time. That tension kicks up a notch when some version of Him finally shows up, and Loki discovers he needs his help.
I can't say enough about how much I enjoy the art design and visual flair this show has to offer. The TVA and its mid-Century bureaucratic labyrinth lends itself perfectly to a gentler, MCU version of 2019's Chernobyl. Enjoyers of Control and Legion have yet another entry to enjoy in the weirdly specific subgenre of entertainment about offbeat, dystopian, analogue secret-agencies.
Loki's powers have always been vaguely defined across the movies. That is just as apparent in this season, especially when it comes to a finale which, whilst satisfying, left me wondering, "wait, was he able to do that the entire time?". It's a niggling issue though, and easy to overlook now that Loki gets to be a bigger presence. Where as the first time around he was just being knocked about and dragged through the plot, now he is more involved emotionally and intellectually. That all adds to a send off that has been long deserved, 12 years since Loki was first introduced in Thor.