Episode Grade: (8.1/10)
Following the Avengers’ timeline jumping in Endgame, Loki finds himself questioning reality after being abducted by the Time Variance Authority
Plot (41/50)
When the Avengers went back in time during Endgame, their actions gave a Variant Loki from the 2012 timeline a chance to escape his fate using the Tesseract. Unfortunately for him, that landed him in some serious trouble with the previously unknown Time Variance Authority. Once there, he has to contend with a flurry of revelations that completely shatter his reality.
Time Variance Authority
The series opens with the scene from Avengers: Endgame where we last see 2012 Loki before he disappears with the Tesseract. For the sake of simplicity, 2012 Loki will be known simply as Loki from hereon out. He teleports to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, but before he can collect himself, mysterious agents show up and detain him. He is taken to what is revealed to be the Time Variance Authority, an all-encompassing organization that watches over all timelines. Its primary purpose is to prevent another war of the timelines by ensuring that no entity deviates from its timeline. And because of the Avengers’ interference, Loki was able to deviate from his timeline.
He is given an opportunity to make a case for his innocence, but he does not take it. As he’s about to get “reset” back into his timeline, Agent Mobius steps in to save him. Mobius has been investigating a series of attacks on squads of minutemen over the past week. These minutemen are sent to locations where Variants are detected outside of their timelines so that they might prune the Variant and reset time to the way it was before the Variant affected it.
Mobius needs Loki’s help capturing this Variant before its too late. When a Variant causes a Nexus event by stepping out of their timeline, the TVA must return everything to normal before a certain amount of time. Otherwise, the lasting deviation will have a ripple effect on other timelines. After trying to escape, Loki reluctantly agrees to help Mobius, who then reveals that they’re after another Loki Variant.
Initial Thoughts
Despite the writers’ best efforts, the multiverse remains a complex storyline. With that said, this was as good a foundation as you can hope for given the trickiness of the subject at hand. The Time Variance Authority was effectively introduced. Almost immediately, we were given an explanation as to why they do not interfere to help the good guys. Their job is to make sure things go as planned, not to play good or evil. If something’s meant to happen, that’s good. If something isn’t meant to happen, it’s bad. That’s the only dichotomy they operate under. Loki wasn’t supposed to escape, so now he has to contend with the TVA.
The reveal that Loki will be hunting a Variant of himself was a great decision. Not only does it allow the viewer to delve deeper into his character, but it should also help with the complexity of the timelines. Aside from the hunt, there are a number of intriguing questions ahead. Can Loki continue to exist in the TVA or elsewhere, or will he be reset after his services are no longer required? What does a timeline war look like? How does time operate in the TVA? Where do the people that work at the TVA come from? How come powers don’t work in the TVA? I’m looking forward to seeing these questions answered in the season ahead.
Character Development (12/15)
There’s really only one primary character to develop, and that’s Loki. Mobius will experience some character development, and other characters will be introduced, but they will all be in service to Loki’s development. He’s never been the main man, so his character was never explored in depth. Nonetheless, he had one of the most eventful journeys went it was all said and done, so there’s plenty to explore.
Loki
Loki was in denial for a while, and understandably so. Remember, this is the Loki from before his “redemption” arc. This is the Loki that was sent by Thanos to conquer Earth that had just been captured by the Avengers. He still believed himself he was entitled to whatever he wanted because he’s the god of mischief. His arrogance and denial puts him a sticky situation, but his quick thinking gets him out of it just as fast. That there is classic Loki, regardless of the timeline.
Mobius probes Loki with personal questions about himself. When Loki doesn’t bite, he Mobius starts showing him what is essentially a tape of his life. The film hooks him in, but not enough for him to stick around. He takes the first opening he sees to escape, but when he sees several sets of Infinity Stones just dumped in a box of confiscated items, he realizes that Mobius is telling the truth. He returns to watch the tape of his life and experiences all sorts of emotions in the process.
He’s horrified to learn that he leads to his mother’s death. The reconciliation with Thor brings a smile to his face, as does his father’s approval before he passes. Then, he witnesses his death. That gives him a sense of mortality that he never considered, he is a god after all, and gods don’t die. How wrong he was. With that new perspective, Loki opens up. He explains that he doesn’t want to hurt people, but he feels he needs to in order to keep up the illusion of power. Mobius’ offer is that of redemption, even if he denies it is. And after literally watching his life unfold before his very eyes, Loki is ready to get to work.
Mobius
Mobius seems like a good guy. He’s not the sharpest agent around, but he means well and he knows how to deal with people. His interest in Loki is suspicious, for a lack of a better word. He seemed to be genuinely interested in his character. Now, is that because he’s been tracking another Loki Variant, or is there more to it? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. For now, him and Loki will make for an entertaining duo.
Theme/Messages (4/5)
- You don’t know what you don’t know.
- “The first and most oppressive lie ever uttered was the song of freedom. For nearly every living thing, choice breeds shame and uncertainty and regret. There’s a fork in every wrong, yet the wrong path always taken.”
Acting (12/15)
Tom Hiddleston (Loki) is as fantastic as ever. He and Owen Wilson (Mobius) have great chemistry if this episode is any indication.
Cinematography (12/15)
- Good montage to explain the logic of the TVA at the beginning
- Cool shot of the futuristic looking world that is the TVA (19:14)
- The montage of Loki’s top moments and his death was great
- Cool shot of the projector reaching the end of Loki’s life as he watches on (39:49)