Loki, the latest American Television Series, is another spectacular addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe which has beautifully paved the way for MCU’s Phase 4 movies, namely Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and so on.
It also answered the most curious question of the Marvel fans- where did Loki go after the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame?’
In the beginning, Loki escaped with the stolen tesseract after the Endgame events. He finds himself in another place at another time which triggers the sudden appearance of some strange black-armoured guards to subdue him. Still bitter after the defeat at the hands of the Avengers, Loki finds himself, prisoner, again at the hands of them a.k.a the TVA (Time Variance Authority), which has a specific purpose- protect the sacred timeline at any cost.
Loki, the God of mischief, always had his so-called glorious purpose which is ruling a kingdom of his own. Initially, he tried to manipulate his way into the Time-Keepers in the hopes of taking over the organisation- mischievous and trickster as always.
But TVA has other plans for him-- to use him to deal with a variant of his own. For that, Loki has to create an uneasy alliance with TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius. The variant of Loki also plays a crucial role in the plot of this show. Moreover, the introduction of a new villain in the climactic season finale gave us a new supervillain after Thanos in Endgame.
After all these, the question remains, can Loki go back to his own timeline? Who are the people behind TVA? Why TVA is after the variant of Loki and what is its motive? All of these questions are answered in six spectacular episodes of the first season.
Loki introduces the audience to the multiverse timeline and the existence of free will in a multiverse, which gave new ambitious approaches to the franchise. The show is full of love, betrayal and self-determination with story-telling of the really complex stories most entertainingly and easily.
This show has a stellar cast that includes Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, Richard E. Grant, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Tara Strong, Jonathan Majors, among others.
Tom Hiddleston is always perfect for his role as Loki. In six hours of screen time, he managed to pull off the character development of Loki that was never seen before in his other appearances. Owen Wilson’s Mobius is a perfect ally for Loki that was full of banters and a reminder of the buddy cop genre which was quite enjoyable for the audience.
Creative direction by Kate Herron and ‘50s sci-fi movies inspired dramatic scores by Natalie Holt gave a distinctive meaning to this series. The landscape of various locations were all inspired by 1980s retro sci-fi movies like Blade Runner, Brazil, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and so on. Director Kate Herron says the show is a ‘big love letter to sci-fi.’
Marvel made a masterpiece out of a complex story. The performances of the cast are outstanding and the screenplay was captivating. With the announcement of season 2, Loki is a must-watch for every Marvel fan.
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