Loki episode 1 review: A ‘glorious’ escape from the usual superhero fare

3.5/5

Loki is touted as the beginning of another ‘glorious’ web series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after WandaVision and Falcon and The Winter Soldier earlier this year. But does the first episode of the show that premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on June 9 live up to the hype?

What’s it about?

Straight off, the viewers are introduced to the events from Avengers: Endgame that led to Loki (Tom Hiddleston) of 2012 escaping with the tesseract and finding himself in another timeline. But he’s soon caught by members of the Time Variance Authority (TVA), who are the timekeepers of the universe, and the God of Mischief finds himself on trial for violating the sacred timeline.

Mobius (Owen Wilson), another member of TVA, tries to reason with Loki to find out what makes him tick as there is another ‘variant’ wreaking havoc with the timelines.

What’s hot?

The first episodes of both WandaVision and Falcon and The Winter Soldier had the additional task of establishing their characters and settings. But for Loki, the fans are treated to a deep dive straight from the first Avengers film and interspersed moments from a few Thor movies. Hence, Loki’s first episode serves as a compelling companion piece.

While in the films, Loki eventually becomes a likeable character through the arcs in the subsequent Thor movies, here the makers are tasked with redeeming the evil God of Mischief, who brought the Chitauri army to Earth in 2012. They could have easily eclipsed this phase but instead they go through each stage of Loki’s transformation – confusion, anger, frustration, bewilderment, helplessness and understanding – till he is redeemed. With an actor of Hiddleston’s calibre, all these scenes hit the mark perfectly. To do this in the very first episode is commendable and it sets the tone for this particular version of Loki for the rest of the series too.

Wilson brings in the right amount of nonchalance to the charming Mobius. The repartee between Mobius and Loki about burning the place down was delightful, more so because of Mobius’ nippy and witty remarks. The show’s setting too magnifies its scale, making it more event-like than the previous two Marvel web series.

What’s not?

Given it’s just the first episode and it banked on moments from the MCU movies to carry the story forward, it would be interesting to see how the show progresses in the forthcoming episodes. While there were a few sequences that showed how time works in the TVA, it also remains to be seen how the makers would balance both the concept and characters.

Verdict:

Due to the stellar cast, brilliant writing and a great concept, the first episode itself unburdens Loki of expectations while giving viewers a purpose to watch. Whether it is glorious or not, the next five Wednesdays will decide.