#(partially because he's Owen Wilson I'm not going to lie to you)

[martianbugsbunny]

Let's talk about Loki! Under the cut for the sake of those who have not yet seen Episode 2.

OKay so to start with, overall this episode of Loki was a pleasant surprise. Loki himself got to be serious and powerful and I enjoyed that. He's finally had a chance to shine in his own series. The way he played with magic, especially with the shadows at the beginning, was absolutely stunning, and I'm glad we're finally diving into his magical abilities more. He had just the right amount of menace in his interactions with Brad, and the way he was softer and rather understanding when Mobius flipped out was a wonderful counterbalance. So far I'm liking this version of Loki where he's threatening to his opponents but genuinely caring towards his people, and I think whoever was in charge of writing him in this episode did an excellent job reinjecting some nuance and some authority into his character.

Mobius was a little weird at certain points; he's been an analyst for like a bajillion years or something so I think in-character he should've been able to handle reading the guidebook, but honestly he had a decent showing too. Using him as the levity...it's not a horrible decision if it's not going to become a recurring theme, because I don't want him to get dumbed-down, which he's not so far; his deducing that there was set-up was quite clever and I didn't see it coming. It worked in this episode partially because he was also doing some smart stuff, but also because it was offset by the bits of temper and vulnerability he displayed, which were both very well done in my opinion. It actually added another dimension to his character that I really like, and I think addressing that he's more afraid of "what if the life I was supposed to have is good?" than if it was bad is an interesting take, especially considering he seems to be in the camp of "it may be the life I was supposed to have, but it's not my life," because it's good for the show to be exploring those different avenues for the TVA workers, and because it makes Mobius a more unique person himself. I'm also kind of enjoying his little ruthless streak, ngl.

I like the dynamic Mobius and Loki have together right now. Them eating pie together and talking about Mobius's feelings was a lovely scene, and probably one of the most authentic we're going to see out of the entire season if I had to guess. They're working together very nicely; Mobius sort of letting Loki go off his leash with the magic at the beginning was neat, and I just adore the way their less-heroic tendencies are playing off of each other (such as in the Brad-in-the-box scene). I think that makes sense for them, and I'm not looking for these guys to be heroes of pristine reputation, or even heroes at all, just guys who are trying to hold what little they have left together, so it's really hitting the spot for what I expect of their personalities melding together.

(Also, I'm now pronouncing Casey and Ouroboros a ship, although I doubt I'm the first one. The idea of OB being a celebrity to this one guy, and only this one guy, is pure gold.)

I will say, there's still a little much of the MCU-brand hokeyness in the show for my taste. There doesn't need to be something to laugh at every couple of minutes (not that I'm really laughing, because I'm tired of that style of writing by this point). The story can stand on its own without the forced comedy, and if it can't, then the comedy is only going to annoy people further. This is kind of serious stuff, and although I'm not against having some lighter moments or some comedic relief, I could live with Loki actually taking itself more seriously. But, like I said, this episode did feel more genuine to me, so it's not all jokes and quipping.

I'm still not a fan of Sylvie. Her existence annoys me because the female-Loki premise is obnoxious, and she feels so much like every other female character out there she doesn't really have the personal qualities to redeem the premise. Also, I find Loki's obsession with her strange, as she's mostly only been a total bitch to him and clearly wants nothing to do with him. (Which in itself is weird; her acting all butthurt at him in this episode like he was the one who pushed her through a time-door or something was like...what the heck? If somebody can explain that to me, please do, because I feel like I've either missed or forgotten something that would make it make sense.) I find her "normal life" as an 80s McDonald's employee strange, also, because that's...that's not the kind of normal she would envision. Her "normal" should be something regular on Asgard, because she's not a human dreaming of a normal life, she's an Asgardian dreaming of a normal life, although I do understand that according to the rules of the game there's probably not an Asgard where a Loki is welcome...yet Lokis are shapeshifters, so she could sneak in one anyway. That's probably a little nitpicky, I can recognize that.

So, yeah. There we go. This episode of Loki actually raised my expectations for the rest of the season, which is a nice surprise for me. I didn't think I would enjoy any part of this show so much, because the first season really didn't have a moment like this where I went huh. this is pretty good. I hope this episode being so good isn't an anomaly, because I was a huge fan of Loki in Thor, Avengers, Dark World, Infinity War, and I want to be a fan of him again in this show. If the writing stays this good (or gets even better, perchance?) I may end up considering myself a convert.

#loki #loki series #loki show #Loki season 2 #loki spoilers #loki laufeyson #mobius #mobius m mobius #(my beloved) #(he's currently my favorite character) #(partially because he's Owen Wilson I'm not going to lie to you) #sylvie #casey #ouroboros #it was a pleasant surprise #not a horrible showing at all #I'm almost looking forward to the next episode #which I have never thought about this show before #how exciting! #also I did not proofread this so if there are typos yes there are my bad #marvel #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #martianbugsbunny reviews