Loki: Always looks deceptive

loki It continues to establish itself as one of the smartest and most engaging works that Marvel Studios has produced in quite some time.

Much of that feat depends, of course, on the highly skilful way in which the series’ aesthetic and narrative underpinnings were put together, as well as the opposing and complementary performances of Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson.

But the Michael Waldron-created series also stands out for the way it continually chimes in with old ideas, but tweaks a detail to produce entirely different effects.

The second episode continued to build the relationship dynamics between Loki and Mobius in this sense. All in a typical plot consisting of two “investigators” who didn’t have to work together, but nonetheless needed each other to get what they wanted.

In the majority of genre novels, the roles could have been reversed. Mobius was less inclined to work with Loki, who, for his part, has everything to gain by proving he is not the self-centered, liar, manipulative, power-hungry being we’ve come to know over the years.

However, it is Möbius who defends body and soul from the huge potential of this working relationship (even if it’s far from being fooled), while Loki knows how to be cooperative, but by hiding most of his game.

The upshot: every story and every transformation always seems possible, making the title character more difficult than it already was, for better and for better… No, really, only for the better.

The series, especially well designed, requires that we take both of these perspectives, asking us to believe that one person can change, while keeping us waiting for that famous moment when they surprise everyone.

All this, ironically, in a story in which the past, present and future are already written.

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Obviously, what caught the attention at the end of this week’s episode, the second episode in the series, was the reveal of the character of Lady Loki, which further disturbed the main character’s intentions, but also regarding her (temporary) origins, intentions and motives).

And we’re already beginning to see how sabotaging his timeline could, in fact, have a huge impact on the direction the Marvel Universe will take over the next several years, on both the small and big screen.

As with all good studio productions, the viewer must remain attentive to the smallest visual and audio details. An image (or replica) often contains much more information than it appears.

In this case, the very short appearance of the planet Vormir’s name during the timeline explosion, which is where the Black Widow sacrificed herself. Avengers: EndgameCertainly not trivial…

The first two episodes of Loki are now available on Disney+.