PREMISE
Loki learns the true nature of ‘glorious purpose’ as he rectifies the past
EPISODE MVP
TOM F****** HIDDLESTON
Hiddleston is an actor that has had many many great performances by this point, and I think even he knows that Loki will be his signature role for as long as he’s in the game. To think of the role Loki played in the MCU events up until this point, and to think of the role he now plays after this (final?) season of this show had to have excited him enough to do the show in the first place.
Maybe it’s a little bit of recency bias. Still, I’ll go ahead and say it…..there is not one single character in all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that will have a more complete and satisfying character arc than the god of mischief. In a perfect world, Hiddleston would get some awards recognition for what he does in this episode. His work throughout the season has been magnificent, to say the least.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
JONATHAN MAJORS
Sometimes you just gotta call it like you see it. The work that Majors has done in the MCU up until this point has been nothing short of fantastic every single time he shows up. His performances as Victor Timely and He Who Remains perfectly counterbalance Hiddleston’s performance in every way. In my humble opinion, the biggest highlight of this excellent episode is in fact the last confrontation that Loki and He Who Remains truly have. Extremely riveting stuff.
Time will only tell as far as what the fate of Majors will be when it comes to continuing in the MCU, but I will say that replacing him at this point is going to be an awfully difficult thing to do. There are actors who you could replace him with that match his intensity and natural charisma. But there aren’t many of them.
And a lot of them who I’m thinking of have already had roles within the MCU.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE
SYLVIE’S PARTICIPATION
It’s not like she doesn’t have anything to do, and it’s not like Sophie Di Martino is any worse than she was in the first season of this show. And maybe it’s just me, but still be seemed to have much more of a (Pardon the pun) purpose in the first season. Something feels very incomplete about this character and that might be on purpose.
If this really is a series finale instead of a season finale I really hope that we get to see more of Sylvie in the near future. The problem with that is that given what’s been announced to come out as far as the MCU is concerned…seeing Sylvie again might not happen for a very long time, and she’s the one character in this show that kind of doesn’t have a definitive end to her story. (again, if this season is the final season)
**************
Ultimately, when it comes to my assessment of this episode, this season, and this overall show for the last two of its seasons, I’ve come to the conclusion on a couple of things that I’m ready to debate anybody about if anybody has the testicular fortitude to do so:
1. This was a F****** FANTASTIC ending to this season. If it is in fact the ending of the show as a whole then it’s twice as fantastic.
2. I don’t know if there’s an MCU show that can top this. I’m pretty sure some shows can equal the quality of this show, but when you think about the achievement of taking Loki from where he was when we met him in 2011, to the place where he is in his final moments on this season finale…. It’s a staggering achievement of storytelling.
3. This show deserves to be mentioned alongside the most heralded entries of the MCU regardless of the medium it’s in.
Between this, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Guardian of the Galaxy Vol 3, it needs to be said that when the MCU actually cares, it can be some of the best stuff out there. It really can.
They just have to REEEEALLY give a damn.
LOKI is streaming on Disney+ now.
