Loki Episode 1 : Glorious Purpose : Review

Loki has arrived with glorious purpose! Continue to read or visit lintr.ee/eltonvk to listen on Spotify or YouTube.

We got our first look at Loki, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier and the second trailer for WandaVision in December 2020, at that time I was most excited for WandaVision being that it was the closest to becoming a reality after a year of delays. The trailers for Loki were interesting and I felt it was going to take us on a wierd ride like WandaVision did. If the story continues to progress and we get revelations as we did in Episode 1, there are going be major ramifications for the MCU.

Glorious Purpose

The series starts with Loki's escape with the Tessaract in 2012, this scene immediately clears any doubts of anyone not paying close attention that this is a version of Loki who hasn't got any of the character developments that we see Loki undergo during the Infinity Saga. I thought the creators would give this version of Loki all that development throughout the course of this series, but the decision they made to let Loki see his future made for a very emotional scene with Tom Hiddleston's strong acting and the background score adding to the overall effect; ultimately this opens up unlimited potential for where this character can go, what he can do and become which is really exciting.

Owen Wilson's Mobius is a great addition to the MCU. His dialogues seem to have layers and may be sublte hints to future revelations.

You weren't born to be king, Loki. You were born to cause pain, suffering and destruction. And also to bring out the best in others. - Agent Mobius

Agent Mobius shows Loki what his life could've been had he not escaped with the Tessaract and ovbviously included was his mother Frigga's death that was unintentionally caused by Loki in Thor : The Dark World. Loki thinking it's an illusion tries to attack Mobius but is rewinded and the aforementioned dialogue is said by Mobius while the scene of the Avengers assembling plays in the background making for a wonderful scene, a depressing realisation for Loki and revelation for us.

Foreshadowing

At the beginning of the episode, Miss Minutes explains that the time keepers created a sacred timeline after multiple unique timelines fought in a war, I feel this foreshadows what is to come in the future in the form of adaptations of comic arcs like Secret Wars and Battle World. I don't believe that clip because I think the multiverse exists and different departments of the TVA maybe in-charge of a specific timeline which they call thier sacred timeline or all this is a diversion from the plot.

The Next Thanos!?

Set to make his debut in the upcoming Ant-Man threequel, Ant-Man And The Wasp : Quantumania is the time travelling villain Kang, The Conqueror. Given the fact that the quantum realm introduced in the Ant-Man films went on to be a very important part of the Avengers' Time Hiest, I can see why Marvel would choose to debut Kang in Ant-Man And The Wasp : Quantumania. But can he make his presence felt earlier? The central figure among the three time keepers where judge Ranslayer sits looks alot like Kang. Kang could be using his advanced tech from the future, which the god of thunder said was equal to magic to nullify the magical powers of Loki as seen in Episode 1. Whether time keeper or not, for a series centred around time travel and the TVA it would be unlikely for the series not to have atleast an hint, easter egg or name drop if not an actual cameo for the Avengers' time travelling foe.

Flaw or Not?

One of the biggest contradiction the TVA set up is against Avengers : Endgame's time travel rules. Miss Minutes explains that Nexus events occur when a person goes off path and does something he is not supposed to, while the TVA approve the Avengers' time travel saying it was supposed to happen, but what about the timeline where Thanos travelled to the future with Gamora and Nebula? Will we ever get to see what happened and get some clarity on how some events are not Nexus and some are? I hope Marvel has a better explanation further in the series.

Is this the greatest power in the universe? - Loki

The biggest and most surprising revelation of episode 1 was the Infinity Stones being powerless in the TVA, but aren't Infinity Stones powerless outside their own timelines? We need answers. Anyway, I shared Loki's reaction during that scene. I loved WandaVision and The Falcon And The Winter Soldier but I feel Loki is going to be more important and change the MCU, infact it has already started with its first 'glorious' episode. I'm excited for the following weeks!