“I AM LOKI, OF ASGARD. AND I AM BURDENED WITH GLORIOUS PURPOSE”
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS!!!
The God of Mischief is back! Having been without Loki since the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, we finally have the villain we love to love back on our screens.
Opening on a scene from Endgame when the Avengers go back to 2012 to retrieve the Tesseract, we relive the moment that Loki disappears…only now we know where he went. Landing in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, Loki is apprehended by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) and taken into their custody. We see them using a device to ‘reset the timeline’ to its natural order…meaning this Loki no longer has a place to go back to.
Loki is brought to the TVA headquarters, its outdated décor really adding to the theme of time that runs through this series; it gives the impression that the TVA stands outside of normal time. Yet while their interior aesthetic may be antiquated, the TVA appears to be technologically advanced in the devices they use and the area in which they are situated, which looks like a sci-fi metropolis. Plus, the TVA appears to be a formidable power given that they possess multiple infinity stones, and their environment renders them useless, making them look like leftover Quality Street rather than gems that possess the power to wipe out half of the world’s population. The TVA is an interesting organisation, one that seems to be doing good, yet Owen Wilson’s character, Mobius, seems to take a certain amount to pleasure in hurting Loki. He makes Loki watch the death of his mother, shames him by displaying his loss to the Avengers, tells him that he was never born to be a ruler, but is in fact only useful for bringing pain, suffering, and death upon others, so that people like the Avengers can achieve the best versions of themselves.
But what about Loki?
What about the best version of him? When he died trying to kill Thanos, was that not his best version? Or is the best yet to come?
Linking with the introduction of the multiverse from Avengers: Endgame, Loki gives us an explanation into the multiverse structure. The Time-Keepers emerged to prevent a multiversal war by creating a single timeline, known as the sacred timeline, for all multiverse to follow. If anyone steps off their path, causing a nexus event, the TVA steps in, removes the variant, and resets the timeline to how it should be. By disappearing with the Tesseract, Loki stepped off his predestined path. Yet this 2012 Loki is not the only Loki that veered off the sacred timeline. Mobius is tracking a variant through time, who keeps avoiding being reset by killing the minutemen (TVA agents) who come after him. The child in France claims he is the devil (did anyone else think of Mephisto? 😛 ah that old theory…)
This variant is also Loki.
What?! I mean, what?!
Confused? Yeah, me too.
Tom Hiddleston proves himself a good comedy actor in this opening episode (though we already got a taste of that in Thor: Ragnarok). The scene where he has his clothes burned off him, then has to sign for every word he’s ever said, and then questions if he’s actually a robot is hilarious. The humour which Loki exudes is unconscious, most of the time he doesn’t actually mean to be funny, but that’s what makes it funny; that, and the fact that his humour really is lost on the employees of the TVA.
But mixed in with that charming, cheeky humour is a sadness and a vulnerability that is heart-breaking to watch. As we watch Loki see what his future holds, it gives another dimension to what we already know happens. The distance with which Loki holds himself from everyone is shattered as he cries watching Frigga and Odin die, laughs when he sees him and Thor share a brotherly moment, and stares horrified as he dies at the hands of Thanos. It is such a sad moment, as Loki realises the futility of his life, his goal of being a ruler ends with the words ‘End of File’ (as does any hope of the Loki we know having survived death). Suddenly Loki’s life, his goals, the power he sought, means nothing now. Yet with this revelation we get a real insight into Loki’s character, how much he truly does care, but constantly makes the wrong choices: “choice breeds shame and uncertainty, and regret. There’s a fork in every road, yet the wrong path always taken.”
Loki claims that he doesn’t enjoy hurting people, that it is part of an illusion. He calls himself weak, and so to make himself feel powerful, he incites fear in others. This series gives Loki more depth, beyond the villain role, and develops his character even further. Loki has always been an interesting and lovable character, but this series appears to be taking that to another level. This was a brilliant, and innovative opening episode; it has to be the best opening to any of the Marvel TV series so far.
Can this Loki follow in the footsteps of his future self, and be the hero by saving the TVA minutemen, and the sacredness of the timeline, from himself?
Only time will tell.
Check out my two minute review on the episode:
Science of film 