Directed by: Kate Herron
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku, Richard E. Grant
Release date: 9th June 2021
No of Episodes: 6
Available on: Disney+
Marvel Studios’ Loki follows the God of Mischief, portrayed by the well-loved Marvel actor Tom Hiddleston, as he’s finally given the spotlight he deserves in a brand-new Disney+ series. Taking place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the series will follow the results of the Time Heist from the fourth Avengers film when Loki stole the Tesseract and was taken into the custody of the Time Variance Authority and will see Loki tasked with helping the TVA with the help of some brand-new characters!
“I am Loki of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose.”
This post contains some major spoilers for Marvel Studios' Loki so if you haven't caught up on the first episode, this is your warning to stop reading!
Marvel Studios’ third and latest miniseries finally graced our screen yesterday as episode one of Loki became available to stream on Disney+. Our favourite villain is back after the catastrophic end he met back in Avengers: Infinity War and we pick up where Avengers: Endgame left off. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) had just stolen the Tesseract during the time heist to gather the infinity stones to bring back the blipped half of the population and had teleported himself to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. It's not long before the Minutemen of the Time Variance Authority arrive and arrest Loki for crimes against The Sacred Timeline.
The TVA take him back to their base and in a hilarious sequence of events, Loki is stripped of his Asgardian leather, asked whether he’s a robot to his knowledge, forced to take a ticket and almost received a pretty serious sentence from the TVA. Meanwhile, Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) has been called to the scene of another timeline crime in France where a team of Minutemen - who are essentially the policing force of the TVA - have been taken down by the MCU’s latest villain.
Mobius steps into Loki’s trial and saves him from a guilty verdict, recruiting him to assist in the case he’s working on. Loki isn’t entirely happy about the fact that most of his choices have been made in unknowing accordance with the TVA and is understandably angry that nothing has really been explained to him up to this point. Mobius leads Lokithrough some of his most memorable moments in the MCU, which included the famous “if it’s all the same to you, I’ll have that drink now” line and many other clips from the first Avengers film.
We’re lulled into a false sense of security by the comedic rapport between Mobius and Loki however, and when Frigga’s death is shown to Loki to make him aware of what he unknowingly does in the future, we see the mood change instantly. Loki closes off again and attempts to escape the TVA facility which he soon realises is impossible and that he can’t go back to his place in the timeline. When he returns to where he and Mobius were talking, he rewatches his mother’s death and skips forward in the timeline. We see his father’s death and we see Thor telling him that he “thought the world” of him. As the third miniseries we’ve seen on Disney+ this year, the breakdown of the main character shouldn't have been a surprise. That made it no less painful to watch, however, and Loki fans will have really felt the pain their favourite character was going through at that moment.
Once he’s processed that in a place where the infinity stones mean nothing and have no power, he’s no longer the most powerful one in the room, it becomes apparent that Loki and Mobius will team up in an attempt to track down this new villain who’s taking out the Minutemen. The casting of the show is incredible, while Marvel fans all know and love Tom Hiddleston from the MCU’s history as well as films such as Kong: Skull Island and shows like The Night Manager, Owen Wilson was a new and incredible addition to the MCU. His chemistry with Hiddleston was clear right from the start and promises some highly entertaining content in future episodes. Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15 gave off strong Topaz vibes, giving off some seriously similar energy to the Grandmaster’s assistant in Thor: Ragnarok. This only added to the comedy of the episode.
Overall, Loki is off to an incredible start with arguably the strongest opening episode of any of the miniseries’ to date. There are plenty of subtle nods to the events happening at other times in the MCU and plenty of comedic parts of the series to bring back the Loki everyone’s been missing. It’s definitely an episode that leaves you wanting to see more of the cast and more of the hero it looks like Loki is becoming. If you haven't already, make sure you catch up on the first episode of the show before the second airs next Wednesday!
What was your favourite moment of the episode and what do you want to see happen next? Let us know in the comments!
"It's funny, for someone born to rule, you sure do lose a lot. You might even say it's in your nature."
Words by Chloe Pollard.