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tori_reviewsLoki 1x05
This episode was just weird. I don’t know that I liked it, and it was definitely both too ambitious and not ambitious enough, but I want to like it…kind of.
I am actively telling myself not to get caught up in the wider implications of this being part of the MCU. I don’t like it at all if I look t that, and if I focus on it, I’m never going to like anything about this show. It’s dumb, bad, and terribly thought out; I have to just accept that as a given, and know that it can never balance the scale if the larger concerns are taken into account.
This episode made that a little harder, both in larger terms, but also because it does affect this story. Having all the other Lokis had a couple of knock-on effects. That given this, we get that the TVA is actively pruning any Loki from doing anything off the set path. Our main Loki was a consequence of time travel, and one could argue that Sylvie is something a bit more than a branch of difference in life-line. But if the TVA is just pruning Lokis who step a little out of line, then we’re back to nothing anyone does matters because something outside ourselves will decide what’s acceptable for us to do.
But this episode also gave me a different thought I’m still trying to properly word. When we got the big goodbye between Loki and Mobius, all I could think we that I don’t like Thor not being part of Loki’s redemption story. On the other hand, I kind of do like that Loki can only really be redeemed by confronting himself, understanding himself, accepting himself, even learning to love himself you might say. In fact, as a concept I like that a lot; I don’t think it’s fully explored in this series, and in that I kind of think any non-Loki-variant characters kind of get in the way of that, but the kernel of an idea if there.
But I still feel like they’ve devalued Loki’s main canon journey by having the TVA force it into existence. He both didn’t redeem himself sooner and only did in the end (kind of), because that was how it was written by the Time Keepers. And showing that it could have taken him a lot less time (even if this Loki isn’t quite sure how long it’s been) to get to a better place, while showing that personal choice counts for so little, it really can’t sit right with me.
I also think, as a concept, there would be something to this gang of Lokis taking down the TVA (and having done so ‘long ago’ – look time gets wonky), but that they would be the ones who were never known or honored, that’s a solid character arc to give him and the Loki-vengers. Of course, I don’t understand why the extra Lokis stayed at the end of time instead of going to the TVA; they weren’t planning on being any more help and I don’t see why they would want to stay. Worst case scenario, they would just get pruned and sent back where they were.
Like I said, this episode was pretty weird and my thoughts on keep bouncing around. Except that the series as a whole is a bad idea; and I can’t really get past that to see whether the show is good on its own.
Also, the Void Cloud strikes me as something that is being set up for something else later. I’m not sure what exactly, although it reminds me a bit of Galactus from the Fantastic Four movies, and I’m pretty sure the comics backstory has to do with him consuming whole universes. But I may have it all backwards, I’ve been known to do that.
This episode was just weird. I don’t know that I liked it, and it was definitely both too ambitious and not ambitious enough, but I want to like it…kind of.
I am actively telling myself not to get caught up in the wider implications of this being part of the MCU. I don’t like it at all if I look t that, and if I focus on it, I’m never going to like anything about this show. It’s dumb, bad, and terribly thought out; I have to just accept that as a given, and know that it can never balance the scale if the larger concerns are taken into account.
This episode made that a little harder, both in larger terms, but also because it does affect this story. Having all the other Lokis had a couple of knock-on effects. That given this, we get that the TVA is actively pruning any Loki from doing anything off the set path. Our main Loki was a consequence of time travel, and one could argue that Sylvie is something a bit more than a branch of difference in life-line. But if the TVA is just pruning Lokis who step a little out of line, then we’re back to nothing anyone does matters because something outside ourselves will decide what’s acceptable for us to do.
But this episode also gave me a different thought I’m still trying to properly word. When we got the big goodbye between Loki and Mobius, all I could think we that I don’t like Thor not being part of Loki’s redemption story. On the other hand, I kind of do like that Loki can only really be redeemed by confronting himself, understanding himself, accepting himself, even learning to love himself you might say. In fact, as a concept I like that a lot; I don’t think it’s fully explored in this series, and in that I kind of think any non-Loki-variant characters kind of get in the way of that, but the kernel of an idea if there.
But I still feel like they’ve devalued Loki’s main canon journey by having the TVA force it into existence. He both didn’t redeem himself sooner and only did in the end (kind of), because that was how it was written by the Time Keepers. And showing that it could have taken him a lot less time (even if this Loki isn’t quite sure how long it’s been) to get to a better place, while showing that personal choice counts for so little, it really can’t sit right with me.
I also think, as a concept, there would be something to this gang of Lokis taking down the TVA (and having done so ‘long ago’ – look time gets wonky), but that they would be the ones who were never known or honored, that’s a solid character arc to give him and the Loki-vengers. Of course, I don’t understand why the extra Lokis stayed at the end of time instead of going to the TVA; they weren’t planning on being any more help and I don’t see why they would want to stay. Worst case scenario, they would just get pruned and sent back where they were.
Like I said, this episode was pretty weird and my thoughts on keep bouncing around. Except that the series as a whole is a bad idea; and I can’t really get past that to see whether the show is good on its own.
Also, the Void Cloud strikes me as something that is being set up for something else later. I’m not sure what exactly, although it reminds me a bit of Galactus from the Fantastic Four movies, and I’m pretty sure the comics backstory has to do with him consuming whole universes. But I may have it all backwards, I’ve been known to do that.
