Loki – Glorious Purpose Review

In the realm of television (well, at least Disney+ television), the MCU is currently batting .500. While WandaVision was a definite success, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was much more uneven and left a lot to be desired.* So, now we come to Loki, a series that takes an incredibly popular (and in the main timeline of the MCU, dead) character and gives him his own showcase – a chance to stand on his own two feet without Thor or the Avengers to spar with. Can Tom Hiddleston and Loki hold their own on a series? If the series premiere is anything to go by, yes, he absolutely can.

*Just a quick reminder that due to the pandemic, the order of release for the MCU TV series was altered. Originally, TFATWS was supposed to be the first series released, but the series halted filming due to the stunt-heavy nature of its storyline, allowing the more CGI-heavy WandaVision to slot into the first release. I, and other critics, believe that if TFATWS had dropped first, it may have landed differently. However, dropping after the creatively complex and fresh WandaVision definitely made its flaws standout. Loki, on the other hand, has to hold up to WandaVision while avoiding the pitfalls of TFATWS – not an easy ask and we’ll see if it can manage to do so over the course of its run.

When a sidekick gets elevated to the starring role, the audience learns very quickly if the character and the actor are able to withstand the pressures of having the story revolve entirely around them. After all, sometimes a secondary character really only works because they have chemistry with the lead, and sometimes a supporting actor can’t handle the glare of the spotlight. With Loki, the MCU has a beloved character who has appeared in multiple films and and actor who has all the elements needed for a leading man (even if he’s rarely been given the chance to lead a high profile project until now). And, with the addition of Owen Wilson’s Agent Mobius (Wilson being another “sidekick” actor who has been in a number of big films, but who never really had a true star vehicle built around him), the writers have found the perfect actor to balance out Hiddleston. The chill straight man vibe Wilson brings to pretty much every project he’s in allows Hiddleston to lean into Loki’s more manic tendencies, creating the foundation of a strong buddy story (while it’s entirely possible Loki and Mobius won’t emerge into a true buddy team, the energy and chemistry between the two already feels more natural than the often forced dialogue between Sam and Bucky in their series, which is a promising development for Loki this early in its run).

The series has also stacked the cast with some heavy hitting supporting players. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (who starred in the best Black Mirror episode, “San Junipero”) appears briefly in the premiere as Ravonna Renslayer, the judge in Loki’s trial (I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more of her in future episodes, both because of the casting of Mbatha-Raw and because of who the character is within the Marvel universe), Wunmi Mosaku (the best part of last summer’s Lovecraft Country) is Hunter B-15, who certainly has a score to settle with Loki, and we even get Eugene Cordero (a scene stealer on The Good Place) as the office drone Loki attempts to manipulate – I really hope we get more from him. But across the board, the performances felt shockingly lived-in for a series premiere, which was really nice to see. No one seemed over-matched and each character fit nicely within the world of the TVA – not an easy thing to do this early.

Now, as for the episode itself, it definitely has the requisite series premiere exposition growing pains, but that’s something we’ve come to expect from shows within the MCU. While I believe no MCU show will ever be wholly accessible to someone who has never seen particular MCU films (the necessary homework required will vary based on the subject of the series – in this case, having never seen a Thor film or any of the Avengers films would put you behind the eight ball – although, I’ve never watched Thor or Thor: The Dark World, and I was alright after the exposition dump), there have been many MCU film over the course of many years, so a quick refresher like the one presented here is likely needed by all but the more ardent MCU fan. And, in the grand scheme of things, the presentation of the exposition dump within Loki was one of the more seamless instances I’ve seen in television, so kudos to showrunner Michael Waldron for that. As for what we can expect in the series, well, we don’t really know too much at this point. There’s a Loki of some form wreaking havoc on the Pristine Timeline, and this Loki has been recruited to help stop him (or her – as there is a female Loki at points with the comics, and Loki can change gender at will). While this 2012 Loki doesn’t have the knowledge and self-sacrificing nature of his Infinity War counterpart, I suspect we’ll get some growth out of 2012 Loki before all is said and done. Along with some crazy hi-jinks throughout the timeline.

So, with a single episode sample size, Loki appears to be a well-balanced series. It’s leaning into the weird and fun, which is something far too few MCU projects do (or manage to do successfully), and it makes for a nice change after the heaviness of TFATWS. Will there be drama down the line? Almost certainly. Will there be key bits of information that will prove crucial for future MCU projects? Of course – we know the multiverse is coming, so we might as well just accept that this is a key piece of exposition for future films. But do we have a well-balanced cast, interesting characters, and a fun premise? Yeah, we do. And that will go a long way toward working through any growing pains that might appear for the series in these initial outings. I don’t want to jinx it, but Loki might move that MCU TV average up a number of points by the time it ends.