Victor Timely was there as an example that even Kang variants have free will and can choose to help. That, in turn, convinced Sylvie to rethink her own position and change.
I agree, If timely never happened silvie wouldnt have come back to the TVA which means Loki never would have realized what he has to do in the end to save everyone and he likely would have ultimately killed silvie instead of sacrificing himself. He was ready to do it after centuries of ramming his head into the same problem over and over again. But because she realized that timely wasnt a bad person and had the free will to change and not become his over versions she was able to give Loki the advice she did. And because of all of that Loki was able to become the god he was meant to be
There is not a MCU Fatigue. It's more like an inconsistency in quality during the recent Phases. Gotg Vol. 3 and Loki were great shows but there are a lot pretty mediocre or even bad projects like Secret Invasion or Quantumania
The scene where Loki realizes what he has to do and ascends to the throne was so visually stunning, but also so powerful! This character is so loved (largely thanks to Tom Hiddleston), and after so many years, watching him find his true purpose while making the ultimate sacrifice was heartbreaking yet beautiful. Masterful acting and writing!
lol nothing happened the entire season and it was all just filler until the last few scenes of the season, at which point they hastily essentially killed off loki so they could gender swap him with a 'strong woman' who is just an awful character permanently.
@ronald8664 they botched the whole show. Every single decent bit of intrigue it seemed like they were setting up turned out to be just an excuse for them to give us the finger and say "ha, you thought quicksilver was in this, you dumb mf" and whatnot. And the way they refused to portray a strong woman as anything less than a misunderstood hero no matter what she did was low key a bit sickening.
what I love about loki is that season 1 and 2 both feel like different chapters in the same story, sometimes in some shows or movies, the sequel doesn't feel like it continues the story and is just another one, here however, it all feels very in lyne
Not sure i agree with your take on timely. While the plot point that he's required to open the blast doors might seem contrived, its actually pretty inconsequential. His presence in the story rather, had a great deal of thematic weight, as he's there essentially to show loki that no-ones path is predetermined. By all accounts he should be predestined to become he-who-remains, yet he proves that he isnt, that he has the capacity to choose. This is exactly the impetus Loki needs to make his own decision regarding the multiverse's fate. One of the core problems loki has had to overcome throughout the course of the show was his capacity to choose his own path, and self-determination therefor becomes one of the core themes of season 2. In this lense timely fits right in among sylvie, mobius, miss minutes and even brad, who all in one way or another, demonstrated their ability (or lack therof) to choose their own destiny.
Exactly!!! And *it is Victor Timely showing that he has free will and **_can change_** that gets Sylvie to stop being a bratty monster.* Without Timely, Sylvie wouldn't learn that lesson as effectively.
@@dr.braxygilkeycruises1460 "it is Victor Timely showing that he has free will and can change that gets Sylvie to stop being a bratty monster" Is it? I just finished watching the show and I never saw that happen. Sylvie just seemed to arbitrary give up on her defining personal belief and start cooperating with Loki because the plot demanded it.
@@peacemaster8117 I wouldnt say its arbitrary. I mean i thought the same thing at first, but the more i think about it, the more i realize the reason she didnt kill Timely is because she saw herself when he was on the ground practically pissing himself. She even mentioned it later that she just couldnt see him as He who Remains because when she was about to kill him, he looked so scared while he who remains wasnt at all. She realized that if she went through with her plan of killing every variant of him she found that she'd be doing the same thing the TVA did to her. The TVA wanted to kill Sylvie just for existing. She didnt do anything wrong other than live and neither did Timely. Her character was built off revenge, but when she realized her revenge meant taking innocent lives, she couldnt follow through
The _details_ in the show blew me away. Like the two conversations in the pie room being about free will and choosing your path, but they're surrounded by just key lime pie; there's no choice. You only get the one option the TVA offers. But they also chose key lime because of the green color. Even the set has layers
Yea it feels like half the time in Loki, the writers forget that Loki isn't just some random human, and rather, is a very powerful entity that can literally fly around in space and has the toughness to tank a neutron star for a short period of time. Ugh.
@j.aghoul3147 regardless of "powers", Loki's body is still composed of exotic matter and nanotech. His body/muscles/skin are tens of tims tougher/stronger than any human, not to mention his reaction time and speed. However, we basically never see this. They should have remembered Loki, even without his magic, is an incredibly complex, high-tech and powerful being.
@@mavor101Ik my comment is late but Loki can’t “fly around in space” unless he’s inside a spaceship. Your description of Loki is more suited for the Comics Loki rather than the mcu version tbh. Comics Loki is very powerful, However MCU Loki is portrayed as pretty weak in most of the movies except Avengers 1. The only magic he uses consistently in the movies is creating illusions which he barely uses during Battle/fights except in Thor(2011). Loki also gets beaten up and humiliated quite a few times in the movies e.g. Valkryie easily defeats him in a fight and chains him up in Thor Ragnarok. Not to mention Loki was Hulk smashed and gets thrown around by Thor in almost every film he's in. I can hardly think of a few scenes in the movies where he is a "very powerful entity". The TV show writers atleast showed Loki using his magic way more in the action scenes even tho he can’t use his magic half the time due to the TVA’s magic dampners, we still get to see a few New powers/abilities from Loki like his energy blasts, teleportation and the cool shadow trick he did on Brad. Besides he gains the ability to time slip and literally control time by the end of the series, making TV show Loki much more powerful than movies Loki ever was. I do understand the criticism against the ending fight in ep2 of Loki s1 where Loki is easily thrown around by Humans enchanted by Sylvie but I’d argue that’s one of the only scenes where Loki is portrayed as physically weak.
@@peacemaster8117He doesn’t have nanotech. Loki also can’t “literally fly around in space” either. I think @mavor101 is basing his description of Loki on how he is potrayed in the comics but MCU Loki doesn’t necessarily have all the abilities and powers that he has in the comics. In fact, most MCU superheros and viliians are much weaker than their comic counterparts.
Victory Timely does contribute to the moment where Sylvie realizes she's basically gonna do exactly what the TVA did to here: "you do not know the heart that beats in this chest"
I believe the flying car sequence was an Homage to The Fifth Element, which is a very deep cut because it only makes sense after the finale. Loki, literally the savior of life falls into a flying yellow Taxi the same way Leelo Dallas Multipass falls in the flying yellow cab in Fifth Element, and she is destine dto be the savior of lielfe in the Universe.
lets not forget that all that time he "wasted" was actually what enabled him. He can materialize anything with magic. And to understand the mechanics and logic behind the loom after centuries. That gave him the knowledge, the power to create a new path, a new door. He invented a new solution with the "worthless" problem.
I want to give honor and respect to the *Script Supervisor* of LOKI! The continuity of the time displacements were perfect! Also, *Victor Timely was absolutely essential for season 2.*
Can you elaborate please? I'm not saying he's not, I think he's great (the "hot cocoa machine" scene was funny), but an explanation may help further your point. Just a suggestion.
@@isaiaholaru5013He proved to Sylvie that even the variants of Kang aren’t destined to be evil and have free will also. He is proof of her wants, and shows that for her to truly believe what she says she does, she has to believe in his ability to determine his own life too.
The script definitely felt unsupervised. Random things kept happening with no rhyme or reason. A character literally says "you can do impossible things" as a way for the screenwriter to justify how much sense the story's events fail to make.
It was a strange feeling to finish a Disney Plus show about a character I already know, and get more and more impressed as the seconds pass away. So refreshing. The whole show drew me in more and more as it progressed, and the finale felt creative and logical.
I actually don’t think Renslayer died in the finally. If the theory of her being the one who tamed Aloith alongside Kang is true, it’s possible the smoke monster recognizes her and has some sort of fondness towards her. This is just me spitballing
Neither loki nor renslayer definitively dies at the end. It's smart because this way they can bring them back if they want to while still giving them a satisfying sent off (loki more so than renslayer)
Renslayer did not die. That's why her expression changed from fear to pissed off determination. Notice the pyramid behind her in the Void. What she sees is Alioth, but then something else. I think it was a Kang variant (possibly the one from Quantumania). Either way, she didn't die.
As a big fan of Loki as aa character, since 2012, this show is a blessing. I enjoyed season 1, and was blown away by season 2 - the writing, the editing, the acting... Chef's kiss. It actually gives me hope for the future of the MCU.
I think its safe to say that this was definitely a breathe of fresh air for a lot of OG MCU fans. Let’s hope this level of story telling becomes the norm again.
The ending of this show made Loki not only my favorite character of the whole MCU, but also made this show my favorite thing to come out of the whole Multiverse Saga so far.
7:19, As a contrast to the newly reformed Loki, Ravonna works quite well, as just like Brad and He Who Remains, she reflects the kind of person Loki used to be and could have stayed as if he hadn’t branched out of his reality and encountered Mobius and the TVA. Ravonna’s goal to restore the TVA and preserve reality aren’t based in belief or loyalty to the TVA, but in greed, vanity and entitlement that she excuses due to her eon’s long dedication to the organization (it’s this ego that had her convincing herself that her absence specifically was what put the TVA in crisis when her actions only obstructed the organization further from solving it), just as Loki hid behind the idea he was born for greatness and deserved compensation for the wrongs his family committed against him (perceived or real) to excuse his crimes. Loki gained the perspective to leave his greed and entitlement behind as he grew to care more about others, but Ravonna’s selfish ambitions led to her defeat, isolation and apparent death. Brad similarly reflects Loki’s vanity in his hunger for attention (or as Tony would put it, a full tilt diva, who wants parades, flowers and a monument built to the sky with his name plastered onto it) and his will to abandon or sacrifice anyone to achieve this, even his apparent mother figure in General Dox (their relationship appears to be a parallel to Loki and Frigga, the latter being indirectly killed by him when he gave directions to Kurse that led him to her). He Who Remains, in another time, would’ve been all Loki would have aspired to be, a trickster with full control over every situation, reality bending to his whim, hoarding the ultimate power in existence all to himself. But as Loki has matured, he now understands how burdensom that kind of power and the path to achieving it can be, as He Who Remains was driven so mad with loneliness and boredom (which he brought upon himself by betraying Ravonna, harkening back to Loki isolating and sabotaging himself with every person he wrongs and betrays), unwilling to share power) that he orchestrated this charade to coerce this Loki variant into complying with his demands to replace him while still preserving only the Sacred Timeline. All the series’s villains are what Loki was and all that Loki as overcome within himself to finally be worthy of genuine godhood, putting those he protects over his desire for happiness and connection. 13:51, Similarly, Victor reflects Loki as he is now, freed from his cycle of ego and his destiny of villainy. He sees what He Who Remains, the man others compare him to or think he will or should become, and is horrified at the results of attaining such a position in the people He Who Remains has harmed and the broken system he so ruthlessly maintained. Ravonna, Miss Minutes and Sylvie are all monsters He Who Remains’ actions created and that he ended up inheriting, with them extending their grudge against the man over to variant despite him having nothing to do with it. His arc is similar to Loki in deciding to be different from He Who Remains with the new perspective he’s been given and try to do something without personal success, reward or ambition in mind (even though he isn’t able to directly solve the issue at hand and it falls on Loki to sacrifice his freedom so that this new multiverse can exist). Both are able to prove with their actions that they aren’t bound by what other versions of them had become or done and can choose to be anyone they wanted, even someone good. Even his fascination with the Hot Cocoa machine that builds off his chair refrigerator design is meant to demonstrate that leaning away from the more malevolent nature of He Who Remains and hammers in the idea that not all Kang variants have to be villainous. 14:30, They already did this with Mobius in Season 1, where he was pruned before the audience knew that pruning only teleported objects to the Void.
one thing i will say is that in the comics, rennslayer is an important character in kang’s story, so there’s a good chance they held back on fully fleshing her out because marvel want to save that for the big kang events
I think the quality of the first few episodes could've been improved by focusing on the loyalists plot more. * First, it'd fit very well into the aftermath of season 1; since the TVA is suddenly pivoting from pruning to nurturing the branches, it's natural that there would be internal opposition. * Second, it'd fit well into the dilemma of the season: do you try to find a way to keep the branches alive and risk everything, or play it safe and change nothing. * Third, it would've provided a difficult obstacle for the first half of season 2. What do you all think?
great observation I also thought the fight to stop em pruning the branches was too short. but I feel there's only so much you can sqeeze into 6 episodes.
Definitely. Especially episode 2 and 3 were lacklustre in my opinion and that could have improved the conflict significantly without taking away something from the ending.
I didn't understand the whole divide at all. Not knowing the leadership breakdown or how the tva was being run at that point made the whole dillema unclear to me until they were being arrested. I agree the rift between the tva divisions should have been more fleshed out to underscore the theme of the season between predetermination and free will
Victor Timely is important because Sylvie needs to be able to see her in him, what she is doing is exactly what TVA did to her, she was trying to eliminate a problem before it became a problem toward someone that isn't a problem yet. She is taking that choice away from him, and she needs to be able to see that which she did. So in a way, Timely is needed for Sylvie to grow as a person. But this is a Loki series so his growth is more important, but the seed is planted for future growth of Sylvie as a character if they decided to go deeper into it. Timely is also a important character to show that not all Kang Variants are evil, some are just like Timely, a scientist and engineer just trying to learn and explore instead of conquering. Its why its even more fun when HWR made fun of Timely's speech pattern, it shows that there are Evil Kang, and Good scientist Kang out there.
They really paid attention to the details with the min characters. There are flaws with some of the supporting character motivations, but it's so far in the background, you would really need to pay a hell of a lot of attention for it to influence the viewing experience. The one detail I loved the most is the lack of make up in the final few scenes. They made an effort to show Loki ageing and essentially becoming old Loki from the void.
i think victor as a character was used as a way to contrast loki and expose loki's growth about dealing with the live's of other people. It showed that loki stopped seeing people as a means to an end.
This season had a great beginning and a fantastic ending. I think the episode in Chicago was too drawn out though, just a bit too long. Both seasons of Loki are some of the best things Marvel has ever put out. They need to fire everyone involved with secret invasion and the Marvels and get more writers like the ones on Loki and Andor.
"get more writers like the ones on Loki and Andor" I think this idea demonstrates the problem with the "just hire better writers" argument, because the writers for Andor and Loki are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum: Andor is very logical and systematic and every emotional character beat is motivated by events in the story, whereas Loki's writing makes no logical sense at all and is much more concerned with technobabble and emotional changes without justification.
Loki was always a god of chaos... him presiding over the multiverse now seems intensely fitting, and the journey over the course of this show got him ready for that.
I agree. The biggest mistake Marvel could make is replacing Kang with Dr. Doom. We want DD as a fully fleshed out master villain that he is. Not a last-minute replacement. Plus, *Jonathan Majors has played 6 versions of Kang so far (speaking versions), and each is completely different. It takes an intensely high level of skill to pull that off.* You don't throw away talent like that because some chick lied (which has already been proven in multiple videos).
Tom Hiddleston is the 🐐🗿🔥💚💯. Loki is officially the Best Character in the MCU. Need more of him and that Thor reunion. I want this broken soul to to be happy man.
Probably cause He Who Remains chose him as his successor/co-ruler and gave the ability to him. Loki timeslipping gave him the opportunity to master how to control time, and to learn all there is about time, timelines, physics, etc. Of course, Loki didnt know at the time that he was getting prepared for his role, since he was focused on fixing the loom. Sylvie was there too but she killed/wanted to kill He Who Remains, so she didnt receive the ability
Loki season 2 is an example that Marvel writers can write good characters if they try. Loki's character development is definitely the best in the whole MCU.
It wasn't just them, though. Tom himself really helped with the writing too if I recall. He KNOWS Loki so well. (If only Star Wars did the same thing with Luke. When an actor knows the character by heart. Let them have a role in writing that character.)
Now I'm even more excited for Moon Knight season 2 if we get one. Loki s2 showed that Marvel is still capable of letting writers do what they're best at instead of trying to set up the next 50 movies and being full of cameos.
I really love the Loki finale. Fantastic! I wish we had more like this and less like... well, every other marvel thing coming out lately. I've already watched that final Loki scene several times.
The ending was brilliant perfect and it doesnt only cover Loki but encompass the MCU. Think about it Loki turned the loom into Ygdrassil in the TVA for all time. So it has become reality For All Time Meaning when young Odin studied the Multiverse and teaches it to child Thor and Loki. Odin is teaching them about what Adult Loki created. The entire MCU exists in Ygdrassil branches meaning the MCU happens as Loki wills it. All of his failures his tragedies and sacrifices, everything that happened in the MCU was allowed by Loki.
I agree with most of your points in this video, I just do want to mention that you say that Mobius should have taken the place of Victor as the one who gets spaghettified, but it’s important to remember that they already “killed off” Mobius in the 4th episode of season 1, so if they did it again in the 4th episode of season 2 it’d kinda get repetitive. That’s probably why they didn’t have Mobius do it, and I think the reason they chose Victor is to show the audience that Victor is able to be different than He Who Remains, by choosing to do a selfless act. It also works for a good subversion when he gets immediately killed, right as he’s proving himself. Anyway, I do still agree with the majority of your criticisms and your praises, but I have to say that despite the first three episodes not being as amazing as the last three, the show is still a personal 10/10.
I really enjoyed the dynamic between HWR and Loki. One is a man and the other is a god, and Loki at first is frustrated that a man is pulling the strings and that he is... just a man. HWR needed a loom for his timeline because he can't figure out how to scale for the infinite and he deliberately only wanted his timeline to exist. Loki doesn't need to figure it out, he is a god. He could literally do it himself using his power. The scene of Loki sitting on HWR's chair after HWR said he makes the tough decisions "that's why I get the big chair", was so powerful. Loki made the toughest decision that HWR couldn't figure out, being able to control the infinite branches without starting an all out war. Without a loom, using only his power. So Loki gets the big chair now. This is a classic example of how man tries to one up a god, by pretending to be one. Something Loki criticized Thanos of in infinity war, because while Thanos is powerful. He still needs some external factor to achieve his goals. It doesn't come from inside himself. Thus the title of a god would be insufficient. Loki is truly a god. Always was. Always will be.
Victor was absolutely needed to drive the main theme and message of the show. That nazi judge is the extreme version of order and her sub plot shows getting things into a pretty determined manner is very dangerous. The whole show deals with the dillema of order and chaos, authoritarianism vs free will. Victor is really a good man and he can be a brave hero, it doesn't matter what your variants have done or what's destiny.....you're free to make the right choice. There's point of these characters and subplots. Loki S02 should have 8 episodes but still, it's awesome. You didn't get it's main theme.
Imagine this: ‘Avenger Prime’ Loki with his own horns, Iron Man’s suit, Doctor Strange’s cape, Thor’s hammer and Cap’s SHIELD with *ALL* of the infinity stones! 😍🙌💚🖤❤️💛🧡💙🤍 🔴🟠🟡🟢🔵🟣 Saying to Kang “I am Loki of Asgard and I am burdened with glorious purpose.” “You can’t beat me!’ “I have an army.” *Branches from the Tree extend to the battleground and TVA time doors/portals open up with heroes from across the multiverse entering the fight.* “Avengers…*ASSEMBLE!!!”* 😎🤘🤟
I highly d-d-d-isagree ab-about Viv-iv-vi ... Victor Timely. On the Internet people were DEPRESSED after episode 4. Being Mobius or him did the same: the most gruesome death in the MCU. The sounds, the visuals, ... Timely was my 2nd fave character. The flaws are rather about side characters' ultimate destiny. The crusher prisonner scene should have been undone. It served NO PURPOSE at all, since Dox would have definitely joined Hunter B15. Some channels say Renslayer is gonna overcome Alioth, it's weird Timely is credited in the new guidebook when they show the alternate branch from where he came from doesn't exist anymore. Also... Council of Kang?? It should have been exposed to where they were... Instead, there is just no link at allbetween Pharaoh Rama Tut, Immortus, the third dude, The Conqueror and HWR or Timely. These unexplained scenes are really bothering, and stains a so memorable show.
You can tell the show was changed towards the end. I think it originally meant to have more to do with Miss Minutes and Ren Slayer. Also, Ren Slayer isn't shown actually dying,.
i feel like Loki is classic British writing, like "this is Dr.Who suppossed to be like" or "this conversation feels a lot like something Sherlock would do" in a good way
It felt like Moffat-era Who, where the entire focus is on having big emotional beats and the idea of logic and story is just completely thrown out of the window.
Love this analysis. Great points regarding the light weight storylines in episodes 3 & 4 and Renslayer's character arc. Tom Hiddleston really is a stellar actor and so is almost everyone else in this cast, with brownie points for Owen Wilson and Richard E. Grant. But above all what I love is the visual identity of this particular corner of the MCU. It feels like they had a lot of Wes Anderson on their mood board for this one.
Loki's arc in this (and the MCU) is a mirror of itself The meeting with HWR is the middle point Being someplace he shouldnt (escaping the avengers), seeking power(to get away from the tva), Submitting to the answer(you can't go back and you die), finding power(getting away meeing female loki, Lemantus ), shocked by the outcome (looking for he who remains), !he who remains! shocked by the outcome (time slipping) ,finding power (controlling Time Slipping), Submitting to the answer ("I can't fix the loom"),seeking power( I will find someone who can), Being someplace he shouldnt (the end of time) This is a rough copy of what i'm thinking.. but it's close.
It's incredible how Disney overlords have incredible shows like Loki and Andor, and simultaneously allow lackluster shows like Secret Invasion to air. Really weird juxtaposition
The one thing I REALLY hated about Season 2 is that it focused solely on one technical problem instead of we were promised in the last season (the Kangs are coming). I wished we just had one Kang appearing (Timely doesn't count, I mean one of the Kang the Conquerors) because this season apparantely forgot that Kang is supposed to be the next big bad.
I have issues with this season, not gonna lie. Firstly, though, Tom Hiddleston is spectacular and he is what made this season worth watching. I agree with everything you said about him and his ending wonderful. But I absolutely hate how little Sylvie had do this season. They built up her and Loki’s relationship through a whole season and gave us such a cliffhanger that they never followed up on. They go straight to being this estranged couple and you don’t at all see that Sylvie had any feelings for Loki, which bothers me. It’s a shame because their relationship was built on an aspect of narcissism and that theme is such a perfect fit considering where Loki ends up. Imagine they had made up, admitted they want to be a part of each other’s lives, only for Loki to then realise how selfish that is and that he basically has to kill her to save the universe. Plus their banter was one of my favourite parts of season 1, but that’s somewhat besides the point. And I don’t agree that Sylvie’s small part made sense for the story, either. I think her contribution this season was saying the same thing over and over, while we could have had her way more fleshed out. I think we’re missing important information on what made Sylvie different from other Lokis and I wish they had explored that. They could have skipped most of Victor Timely and had a subplot in which Renslayer and Sylvie are forced to work together to stop Miss Minutes or whatever, and they end up learning about trust and Renslayer could reveal some things about Sylvie’s nexus event. Then they’d both have satisfying archs. Anyway, sorry about the rant, and I get the feeling I’m outnumbered here, but this has really been bugging me.
agree with your takes usually. But for loki season 2, it feels like we didn't watch the same show. I disagreed with everything. It felt stale, boring, plot driven (lume, lume, lume) with almost no character development and events just happening for the sake of having more episodes.
The best part about this imo is that it shows that there is still hope for the MCU. If they just put in the effort and stop pumping out way to much content they could bring the MCu back to life.
@@mariebourgot4949 They're pretty embarrassing. The last episode is just a massive lecture by a brand new character that nobody has any emotional attachment to, and everything leading up to that is just a bunch of CGI, fan service and lol-so-random humor.
I have a strange gut feeling that R.L Stine were he still alive to bare witness to the masterfully completed Loki seasons, would no doubt become as emotional and hooked as we all were into watching it and having a full fleshed experience of what Marvel has in the past successfully pulled off in various other ways.
Great video essay! I really agree and I think we definitely need to shout out Natalie Holt for the incredible score, especially in the finale. To your point regarding Mobius being the one to die on the catwalk, I think thematically Loki wouldn't have wanted Mobius to keep dying on the catwalk during the Groundhog Day segment, whereas it was easier to dissociate from the repeated gruesome death of Victor.
I think this season could have been infinitely better if the first episode was just 10 minutes of chaos at the TVA and then the next 3 episodes were spent with Loki dealing with his time slipping, spending time in different time lines.
I was hoping that Renslayer was actually another Kang variant. Then being robbed of power could REALLY get to her and drive her to extreme actions a la “If I can’t have it, no one can!”
Thankyou ! it's not just me who thought the actor guy arc in that whole episode felt so forced and filler like... but I am not complaining. It was fun :)
Such a good game. One of the most blissful and relaxing experiences I've had in gaming. The combination of the beautiful music with the intuitive and smooth rock climbing gameplay made for such a soothing experience.
Yessssss, i couldn't stop myself from spamming the screenshot button constantly hahahh and it's perfect for relaxing after a day of work ^^ @@SupercutsDelight
I actually enjoyed the part you called 'a side quest' a fair bit more than the back half of the season. The ending was very clever and I enjoyed the last episode, but to me the second half felt like it dragged on for ages and could've done with losing an episode.
I gotta say... this show single-handedly made me interested in the MCU again.... After so many failures in writing. If the movies and shows can be anywhere near this level. I'd legit be able to fully forgive them for the past blunders. (Now this is a ME thing, but, I'm worried Loki will die again in a Avengers movie because of like... Dr. Doom's plan to become a God.... They went through the trouble of bringing the poor dude back. Let him keep his glorious purpose....)
I absolutely loved this season, the comedy always hit right and I never got second hand embarrassment from any of it, the plot was really good especially for having a completely different creative team from the first season though it does show a little bit every once in a while. The only thing that I kinda didn't like is that the world felt very small and the world building just wasn't quite there. I felt like we saw an extraordinarily small part of the TVA spending most of the time in the same three or four rooms and hallways though I'd bet that's due to funding and I'm glad they put the funds into the story instead of the backgrounds even if it feels like missed potential.
I actually much preferred Loki season 1 to season 2, thought it flowed a lot better. Apart from the last two episodes, season 2 was actually really boring imo, spending way too much time with uninteresting characters, going through endless exposition which turned out to be pointless anyway. I also still don't get what the point of Victor Timely was, he didn't add anything to the plot imo.
I like this video. Strangely what most came to my mind was the total disparity of Californication. The very last minutes of the final episode of season 7 was nearly a mirror of the 1st episode of the show. I love Californication... I do. But the 100% complete lack of character growth in Hank... it kind of chafes.... whatever. Thumbs up! Cheers. I'm pretty sure the creepy needles evolution of miss minutes was intentional.
I’m really glad they put the effort into making this show as good as it was. I was starting to feel like an mcu hater because I didn’t like their shows. Glad to know it was just bad writing lol
I didn't feel the emotional weight at the end because I was always thinking, that he will return in some form again. So was that it? Will he be in S2 of What if...? or are they never touching the character again. Hard to tell at this point, but the show was good overall, it almost felt like one long season to me.
Money. Simple as that. Marvel and Disney would rather pay for shallow movies and shows that are filled with cameos so that some viewers still end up watching. However, with Moon Knight, Loki and No Way Home I truly have faith that they will eventually realize how actually letting the writers do their thing is way better long term. Like Loki s2 was probably a MASSIVE investment considering it's a show but with the great feedback they've been getting it's literally needles to say that it was a good choice.
Can anyone explain to me why Loki is suddenly time slipping at the beginning of season 2? They didn't explain why this is happening to him and I think that's pretty crazy considering it is the crux of the season
I don't think they need to. Not everything has to be explained if you play with things like time travel where we don't have a fully fleshed out conzep for in real life.
@@Sondrebol He said he "paved that path", which could mean anything at all. The real answer to the question is "no, they never explained it and they never will, because they probably never thought about it to begin with."
Have to agree. The dialogue scenes, where the characters just talk to each other were the best parts of the show. The action... who cares, it was all about the drama.
one thing that really annoyed me about he who remains is that they hint that He who remains real name was Nathaniel Richards... father of reed. but they seem to have dropped that.
the huge implication of loki 2 ending is bigger than people realize. in nordic mythology it was odin who was hanged on the yggdrasil and in the ending it being loki and making him the "god" who oversees the whole multiverse, implied that before odin died it was he whose in lokis role. and having the god of mischief as the "god" of the multiverse plays to the theory of the christian god being evil. the reason why the world is full of evil people IS because of loki's nature as the mischievous "god". his essence permeate the multiverses. and all the "good" people are the essence of odin that's dissipating after loki took over. kang exist in between of the 2 yggdrasil trees hes in the state of both existence and non-existence trapped in the moment loki put him when he decided to let sylvie killed him. it goes like, odin's yggdrasil, then odin died, giving kang a window to control the multiverse, then loki took over with his yggdrasil. but it all takes place at the same time in real world's perspective. if that make sense. cuz thats what i got the first time i watched that ending.
ohh and loki yggdrasil being green maybe has relation with the infinity stones. maybe each infinity stone pulls power from each yggdrasil tree. loki's yggdrasil being the source for time stone. i bet red is sourced from wanda. i bet maybe her "yggdrasil tree" is her timeline branches she create looking for her sons. kang is purple so his timeline is the power stone source, because its one big timeline is why its "power" stone. but im reaching for this part. spiderman created his multiverses branches too but maybe his branches created spiderverse and has no relation with infinity stones cuz spiderman is sony and not marvel XD
Victor Timely was there as an example that even Kang variants have free will and can choose to help. That, in turn, convinced Sylvie to rethink her own position and change.
Exactly!!! I admit I rolled my eyes when he said that in the video. Victor Timely was indeed essential to the narrative of Free Will vs. Determinism.
I agree, If timely never happened silvie wouldnt have come back to the TVA which means Loki never would have realized what he has to do in the end to save everyone and he likely would have ultimately killed silvie instead of sacrificing himself. He was ready to do it after centuries of ramming his head into the same problem over and over again. But because she realized that timely wasnt a bad person and had the free will to change and not become his over versions she was able to give Loki the advice she did. And because of all of that Loki was able to become the god he was meant to be
There is not a MCU Fatigue. It's more like an inconsistency in quality during the recent Phases. Gotg Vol. 3 and Loki were great shows but there are a lot pretty mediocre or even bad projects like Secret Invasion or Quantumania
People go for the great and not the mediocre, it's more quantity fatigue than MCU in general.
You are wrong buddy! There's no way in the next 10 years for an MCU movie to make more than 500 million dollars
@@Sonofsun. Deadpool 3 will make Bank. I am pretty sure about that
@@keinplan3056 -- I think so as well.
@@keinplan3056MCU is dead, if Deadpool 3 is at least half decent then that would be Ryan Reynold not Kevin
The scene where Loki realizes what he has to do and ascends to the throne was so visually stunning, but also so powerful! This character is so loved (largely thanks to Tom Hiddleston), and after so many years, watching him find his true purpose while making the ultimate sacrifice was heartbreaking yet beautiful. Masterful acting and writing!
Must be so nice as a writer writing that scene knowing you have an actor who can 100% pull it off
I was pleasantly surprised by how good the ending was. First Marvel finale (imo) that actually stuck the landing.
Best ending I think of any tv show let alone movie. It’s perfection
lol nothing happened the entire season and it was all just filler until the last few scenes of the season, at which point they hastily essentially killed off loki so they could gender swap him with a 'strong woman' who is just an awful character permanently.
i think it's on par with infinity war ending
The only show that comes close in quality is wanda vision and they botched the finale
@ronald8664 they botched the whole show. Every single decent bit of intrigue it seemed like they were setting up turned out to be just an excuse for them to give us the finger and say "ha, you thought quicksilver was in this, you dumb mf" and whatnot. And the way they refused to portray a strong woman as anything less than a misunderstood hero no matter what she did was low key a bit sickening.
what I love about loki is that season 1 and 2 both feel like different chapters in the same story, sometimes in some shows or movies, the sequel doesn't feel like it continues the story and is just another one, here however, it all feels very in lyne
Yeh it honestly feels like one long movie
Not sure i agree with your take on timely. While the plot point that he's required to open the blast doors might seem contrived, its actually pretty inconsequential. His presence in the story rather, had a great deal of thematic weight, as he's there essentially to show loki that no-ones path is predetermined. By all accounts he should be predestined to become he-who-remains, yet he proves that he isnt, that he has the capacity to choose. This is exactly the impetus Loki needs to make his own decision regarding the multiverse's fate. One of the core problems loki has had to overcome throughout the course of the show was his capacity to choose his own path, and self-determination therefor becomes one of the core themes of season 2. In this lense timely fits right in among sylvie, mobius, miss minutes and even brad, who all in one way or another, demonstrated their ability (or lack therof) to choose their own destiny.
Exactly!!! And *it is Victor Timely showing that he has free will and **_can change_** that gets Sylvie to stop being a bratty monster.* Without Timely, Sylvie wouldn't learn that lesson as effectively.
I agree !! Great point
@@dr.braxygilkeycruises1460 "it is Victor Timely showing that he has free will and can change that gets Sylvie to stop being a bratty monster"
Is it? I just finished watching the show and I never saw that happen. Sylvie just seemed to arbitrary give up on her defining personal belief and start cooperating with Loki because the plot demanded it.
@@peacemaster8117 I wouldnt say its arbitrary. I mean i thought the same thing at first, but the more i think about it, the more i realize the reason she didnt kill Timely is because she saw herself when he was on the ground practically pissing himself. She even mentioned it later that she just couldnt see him as He who Remains because when she was about to kill him, he looked so scared while he who remains wasnt at all. She realized that if she went through with her plan of killing every variant of him she found that she'd be doing the same thing the TVA did to her. The TVA wanted to kill Sylvie just for existing. She didnt do anything wrong other than live and neither did Timely. Her character was built off revenge, but when she realized her revenge meant taking innocent lives, she couldnt follow through
The _details_ in the show blew me away. Like the two conversations in the pie room being about free will and choosing your path, but they're surrounded by just key lime pie; there's no choice. You only get the one option the TVA offers. But they also chose key lime because of the green color. Even the set has layers
I love how this season actually remembers he is a God and builds upon that notion to make the ending work.
13:30 And showing Loki using HIS power, something we haven't seen since ages
Yea it feels like half the time in Loki, the writers forget that Loki isn't just some random human, and rather, is a very powerful entity that can literally fly around in space and has the toughness to tank a neutron star for a short period of time. Ugh.
@j.aghoul3147 regardless of "powers", Loki's body is still composed of exotic matter and nanotech. His body/muscles/skin are tens of tims tougher/stronger than any human, not to mention his reaction time and speed. However, we basically never see this.
They should have remembered Loki, even without his magic, is an incredibly complex, high-tech and powerful being.
@@mavor101 hold up, what makes you think that Loki has nanotech?
@@mavor101Ik my comment is late but Loki can’t “fly around in space” unless he’s inside a spaceship. Your description of Loki is more suited for the Comics Loki rather than the mcu version tbh.
Comics Loki is very powerful, However MCU Loki is portrayed as pretty weak in most of the movies except Avengers 1. The only magic he uses consistently in the movies is creating illusions which he barely uses during Battle/fights except in Thor(2011). Loki also gets beaten up and humiliated quite a few times in the movies e.g. Valkryie easily defeats him in a fight and chains him up in Thor Ragnarok.
Not to mention Loki was Hulk smashed and gets thrown around by Thor in almost every film he's in. I can hardly think of a few scenes in the movies where he is a "very powerful entity".
The TV show writers atleast showed Loki using his magic way more in the action scenes even tho he can’t use his magic half the time due to the TVA’s magic dampners, we still get to see a few New powers/abilities from Loki like his energy blasts, teleportation and the cool shadow trick he did on Brad. Besides he gains the ability to time slip and literally control time by the end of the series, making TV show Loki much more powerful than movies Loki ever was.
I do understand the criticism against the ending fight in ep2 of Loki s1 where Loki is easily thrown around by Humans enchanted by Sylvie but I’d argue that’s one of the only scenes where Loki is portrayed as physically weak.
@@peacemaster8117He doesn’t have nanotech. Loki also can’t “literally fly around in space” either.
I think @mavor101 is basing his description of Loki on how he is potrayed in the comics but MCU Loki doesn’t necessarily have all the abilities and powers that he has in the comics. In fact, most MCU superheros and viliians are much weaker than their comic counterparts.
Victory Timely does contribute to the moment where Sylvie realizes she's basically gonna do exactly what the TVA did to here: "you do not know the heart that beats in this chest"
I believe the flying car sequence was an Homage to The Fifth Element, which is a very deep cut because it only makes sense after the finale. Loki, literally the savior of life falls into a flying yellow Taxi the same way Leelo Dallas Multipass falls in the flying yellow cab in Fifth Element, and she is destine dto be the savior of lielfe in the Universe.
lets not forget that all that time he "wasted" was actually what enabled him. He can materialize anything with magic. And to understand the mechanics and logic behind the loom after centuries. That gave him the knowledge, the power to create a new path, a new door. He invented a new solution with the "worthless" problem.
I want to give honor and respect to the *Script Supervisor* of LOKI! The continuity of the time displacements were perfect! Also, *Victor Timely was absolutely essential for season 2.*
Can you elaborate please?
I'm not saying he's not, I think he's great (the "hot cocoa machine" scene was funny), but an explanation may help further your point. Just a suggestion.
@@isaiaholaru5013He proved to Sylvie that even the variants of Kang aren’t destined to be evil and have free will also. He is proof of her wants, and shows that for her to truly believe what she says she does, she has to believe in his ability to determine his own life too.
The script definitely felt unsupervised. Random things kept happening with no rhyme or reason. A character literally says "you can do impossible things" as a way for the screenwriter to justify how much sense the story's events fail to make.
@@peacemaster8117 You didn't pay attention
It was a strange feeling to finish a Disney Plus show about a character I already know, and get more and more impressed as the seconds pass away. So refreshing. The whole show drew me in more and more as it progressed, and the finale felt creative and logical.
Loki is a writing master class as they challenged themselves to recycle characters and use that to push the Oroborus concept into the forefront .
Loki Season 2: When creative people actually care.
Rather when the creative ppl are allowed to write the story instead of the company trying to do it.
@@ot7biasedmashups So true
I actually don’t think Renslayer died in the finally. If the theory of her being the one who tamed Aloith alongside Kang is true, it’s possible the smoke monster recognizes her and has some sort of fondness towards her. This is just me spitballing
i will add my voice to your own, i did not feel like that was a death either.
Makes sense. If she was the general who won the war, alioth will know her and she can use him as a weapon
Neither loki nor renslayer definitively dies at the end. It's smart because this way they can bring them back if they want to while still giving them a satisfying sent off (loki more so than renslayer)
Renslayer did not die. That's why her expression changed from fear to pissed off determination. Notice the pyramid behind her in the Void. What she sees is Alioth, but then something else. I think it was a Kang variant (possibly the one from Quantumania). Either way, she didn't die.
She didn't die, I'm sure of that. She may be a kind of villain, but foremost she is a fighter and clever and she will survive in the void.
As a big fan of Loki as aa character, since 2012, this show is a blessing. I enjoyed season 1, and was blown away by season 2 - the writing, the editing, the acting... Chef's kiss. It actually gives me hope for the future of the MCU.
I think its safe to say that this was definitely a breathe of fresh air for a lot of OG MCU fans. Let’s hope this level of story telling becomes the norm again.
The ending of this show made Loki not only my favorite character of the whole MCU, but also made this show my favorite thing to come out of the whole Multiverse Saga so far.
7:19, As a contrast to the newly reformed Loki, Ravonna works quite well, as just like Brad and He Who Remains, she reflects the kind of person Loki used to be and could have stayed as if he hadn’t branched out of his reality and encountered Mobius and the TVA.
Ravonna’s goal to restore the TVA and preserve reality aren’t based in belief or loyalty to the TVA, but in greed, vanity and entitlement that she excuses due to her eon’s long dedication to the organization (it’s this ego that had her convincing herself that her absence specifically was what put the TVA in crisis when her actions only obstructed the organization further from solving it), just as Loki hid behind the idea he was born for greatness and deserved compensation for the wrongs his family committed against him (perceived or real) to excuse his crimes. Loki gained the perspective to leave his greed and entitlement behind as he grew to care more about others, but Ravonna’s selfish ambitions led to her defeat, isolation and apparent death.
Brad similarly reflects Loki’s vanity in his hunger for attention (or as Tony would put it, a full tilt diva, who wants parades, flowers and a monument built to the sky with his name plastered onto it) and his will to abandon or sacrifice anyone to achieve this, even his apparent mother figure in General Dox (their relationship appears to be a parallel to Loki and Frigga, the latter being indirectly killed by him when he gave directions to Kurse that led him to her).
He Who Remains, in another time, would’ve been all Loki would have aspired to be, a trickster with full control over every situation, reality bending to his whim, hoarding the ultimate power in existence all to himself. But as Loki has matured, he now understands how burdensom that kind of power and the path to achieving it can be, as He Who Remains was driven so mad with loneliness and boredom (which he brought upon himself by betraying Ravonna, harkening back to Loki isolating and sabotaging himself with every person he wrongs and betrays), unwilling to share power) that he orchestrated this charade to coerce this Loki variant into complying with his demands to replace him while still preserving only the Sacred Timeline.
All the series’s villains are what Loki was and all that Loki as overcome within himself to finally be worthy of genuine godhood, putting those he protects over his desire for happiness and connection.
13:51, Similarly, Victor reflects Loki as he is now, freed from his cycle of ego and his destiny of villainy. He sees what He Who Remains, the man others compare him to or think he will or should become, and is horrified at the results of attaining such a position in the people He Who Remains has harmed and the broken system he so ruthlessly maintained. Ravonna, Miss Minutes and Sylvie are all monsters He Who Remains’ actions created and that he ended up inheriting, with them extending their grudge against the man over to variant despite him having nothing to do with it. His arc is similar to Loki in deciding to be different from He Who Remains with the new perspective he’s been given and try to do something without personal success, reward or ambition in mind (even though he isn’t able to directly solve the issue at hand and it falls on Loki to sacrifice his freedom so that this new multiverse can exist). Both are able to prove with their actions that they aren’t bound by what other versions of them had become or done and can choose to be anyone they wanted, even someone good. Even his fascination with the Hot Cocoa machine that builds off his chair refrigerator design is meant to demonstrate that leaning away from the more malevolent nature of He Who Remains and hammers in the idea that not all Kang variants have to be villainous.
14:30, They already did this with Mobius in Season 1, where he was pruned before the audience knew that pruning only teleported objects to the Void.
The montage of Loki doing the same day over and over again caught me way off guard, bro was literally speed running.
It was cringe-worthy to watch!
@@ZyliceLiddell nah I thought it was pretty funny
one thing i will say is that in the comics, rennslayer is an important character in kang’s story, so there’s a good chance they held back on fully fleshing her out because marvel want to save that for the big kang events
I think the quality of the first few episodes could've been improved by focusing on the loyalists plot more.
* First, it'd fit very well into the aftermath of season 1; since the TVA is suddenly pivoting from pruning to nurturing the branches, it's natural that there would be internal opposition.
* Second, it'd fit well into the dilemma of the season: do you try to find a way to keep the branches alive and risk everything, or play it safe and change nothing.
* Third, it would've provided a difficult obstacle for the first half of season 2.
What do you all think?
Good idea in my opinion.
great observation I also thought the fight to stop em pruning the branches was too short. but I feel there's only so much you can sqeeze into 6 episodes.
Definitely. Especially episode 2 and 3 were lacklustre in my opinion and that could have improved the conflict significantly without taking away something from the ending.
I didn't understand the whole divide at all. Not knowing the leadership breakdown or how the tva was being run at that point made the whole dillema unclear to me until they were being arrested. I agree the rift between the tva divisions should have been more fleshed out to underscore the theme of the season between predetermination and free will
Victor Timely is important because Sylvie needs to be able to see her in him, what she is doing is exactly what TVA did to her, she was trying to eliminate a problem before it became a problem toward someone that isn't a problem yet. She is taking that choice away from him, and she needs to be able to see that which she did.
So in a way, Timely is needed for Sylvie to grow as a person.
But this is a Loki series so his growth is more important, but the seed is planted for future growth of Sylvie as a character if they decided to go deeper into it.
Timely is also a important character to show that not all Kang Variants are evil, some are just like Timely, a scientist and engineer just trying to learn and explore instead of conquering.
Its why its even more fun when HWR made fun of Timely's speech pattern, it shows that there are Evil Kang, and Good scientist Kang out there.
They really paid attention to the details with the min characters. There are flaws with some of the supporting character motivations, but it's so far in the background, you would really need to pay a hell of a lot of attention for it to influence the viewing experience. The one detail I loved the most is the lack of make up in the final few scenes. They made an effort to show Loki ageing and essentially becoming old Loki from the void.
i think victor as a character was used as a way to contrast loki and expose loki's growth about dealing with the live's of other people. It showed that loki stopped seeing people as a means to an end.
He was also the one to convince Sylvie of the error her previous way.
@@christiankarlkarganilla2763 Well said!
This season had a great beginning and a fantastic ending. I think the episode in Chicago was too drawn out though, just a bit too long. Both seasons of Loki are some of the best things Marvel has ever put out. They need to fire everyone involved with secret invasion and the Marvels and get more writers like the ones on Loki and Andor.
"get more writers like the ones on Loki and Andor"
I think this idea demonstrates the problem with the "just hire better writers" argument, because the writers for Andor and Loki are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum: Andor is very logical and systematic and every emotional character beat is motivated by events in the story, whereas Loki's writing makes no logical sense at all and is much more concerned with technobabble and emotional changes without justification.
Loki was always a god of chaos... him presiding over the multiverse now seems intensely fitting, and the journey over the course of this show got him ready for that.
I think Johnathan Majors did a amazing job! I know he's under the light right now, but I would really love to see what he could do in kand dynasty
I agree. The biggest mistake Marvel could make is replacing Kang with Dr. Doom. We want DD as a fully fleshed out master villain that he is. Not a last-minute replacement. Plus, *Jonathan Majors has played 6 versions of Kang so far (speaking versions), and each is completely different. It takes an intensely high level of skill to pull that off.* You don't throw away talent like that because some chick lied (which has already been proven in multiple videos).
@@dr.braxygilkeycruises1460well they booted him 😂. Wait a year when the allegations are proven false and watch marvel shit itself for the 50th time
Tom Hiddleston is the 🐐🗿🔥💚💯. Loki is officially the Best Character in the MCU. Need more of him and that Thor reunion. I want this broken soul to to be happy man.
can you translate i dont speak emoji
One thing I’m confused and couldn’t understand from the show’s explanation was how Loki gain the ability to glitch through time.
Probably cause He Who Remains chose him as his successor/co-ruler and gave the ability to him. Loki timeslipping gave him the opportunity to master how to control time, and to learn all there is about time, timelines, physics, etc. Of course, Loki didnt know at the time that he was getting prepared for his role, since he was focused on fixing the loom. Sylvie was there too but she killed/wanted to kill He Who Remains, so she didnt receive the ability
I guess SD was hacked?
Groundhog’s Day is one of my favourite films too. Right behind Pulp Friction.
Loki season 2 is what I've been missing from the MCU .
Just finished watching it. It's a masterpiece!
Loki season 2 is an example that Marvel writers can write good characters if they try. Loki's character development is definitely the best in the whole MCU.
It wasn't just them, though. Tom himself really helped with the writing too if I recall. He KNOWS Loki so well.
(If only Star Wars did the same thing with Luke. When an actor knows the character by heart. Let them have a role in writing that character.)
What a surprise the first and best (I think?) MCU show reprising for a second season is still the best
Now I'm even more excited for Moon Knight season 2 if we get one. Loki s2 showed that Marvel is still capable of letting writers do what they're best at instead of trying to set up the next 50 movies and being full of cameos.
I really love the Loki finale. Fantastic!
I wish we had more like this and less like... well, every other marvel thing coming out lately.
I've already watched that final Loki scene several times.
The ending was brilliant perfect and it doesnt only cover Loki but encompass the MCU.
Think about it Loki turned the loom into Ygdrassil in the TVA for all time. So it has become reality For All Time
Meaning when young Odin studied the Multiverse and teaches it to child Thor and Loki. Odin is teaching them about what Adult Loki created.
The entire MCU exists in Ygdrassil branches meaning the MCU happens as Loki wills it. All of his failures his tragedies and sacrifices, everything that happened in the MCU was allowed by Loki.
I agree with most of your points in this video, I just do want to mention that you say that Mobius should have taken the place of Victor as the one who gets spaghettified, but it’s important to remember that they already “killed off” Mobius in the 4th episode of season 1, so if they did it again in the 4th episode of season 2 it’d kinda get repetitive. That’s probably why they didn’t have Mobius do it, and I think the reason they chose Victor is to show the audience that Victor is able to be different than He Who Remains, by choosing to do a selfless act. It also works for a good subversion when he gets immediately killed, right as he’s proving himself. Anyway, I do still agree with the majority of your criticisms and your praises, but I have to say that despite the first three episodes not being as amazing as the last three, the show is still a personal 10/10.
I agree the worst three episodes had me a little worried. But the final 3 episodes totally saved the show as a whole.
I can't be the only one who forgot this show existed.
I really enjoyed the dynamic between HWR and Loki. One is a man and the other is a god, and Loki at first is frustrated that a man is pulling the strings and that he is... just a man. HWR needed a loom for his timeline because he can't figure out how to scale for the infinite and he deliberately only wanted his timeline to exist. Loki doesn't need to figure it out, he is a god. He could literally do it himself using his power. The scene of Loki sitting on HWR's chair after HWR said he makes the tough decisions "that's why I get the big chair", was so powerful.
Loki made the toughest decision that HWR couldn't figure out, being able to control the infinite branches without starting an all out war. Without a loom, using only his power. So Loki gets the big chair now. This is a classic example of how man tries to one up a god, by pretending to be one. Something Loki criticized Thanos of in infinity war, because while Thanos is powerful. He still needs some external factor to achieve his goals. It doesn't come from inside himself. Thus the title of a god would be insufficient.
Loki is truly a god. Always was. Always will be.
For all time- always
Maaannn, It's been a while since I saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE PARALLELS of both finales.
Victor was absolutely needed to drive the main theme and message of the show. That nazi judge is the extreme version of order and her sub plot shows getting things into a pretty determined manner is very dangerous. The whole show deals with the dillema of order and chaos, authoritarianism vs free will. Victor is really a good man and he can be a brave hero, it doesn't matter what your variants have done or what's destiny.....you're free to make the right choice. There's point of these characters and subplots. Loki S02 should have 8 episodes but still, it's awesome. You didn't get it's main theme.
"You didn't get it's main theme"
It didn't have a main theme, it was written at random by AI.
Imagine in secret wars Loki theme starts playing in the climax everyone would loose their mind
Imagine this: ‘Avenger Prime’ Loki with his own horns, Iron Man’s suit, Doctor Strange’s cape, Thor’s hammer and Cap’s SHIELD with *ALL* of the infinity stones! 😍🙌💚🖤❤️💛🧡💙🤍 🔴🟠🟡🟢🔵🟣
Saying to Kang “I am Loki of Asgard and I am burdened with glorious purpose.”
“You can’t beat me!’
“I have an army.”
*Branches from the Tree extend to the battleground and TVA time doors/portals open up with heroes from across the multiverse entering the fight.*
“Avengers…*ASSEMBLE!!!”* 😎🤘🤟
Viktor Timely insists on getting a cup of hot chocolate, something he's never heard of before and it helps endear us to his character even more.
I highly d-d-d-isagree ab-about Viv-iv-vi ... Victor Timely. On the Internet people were DEPRESSED after episode 4. Being Mobius or him did the same: the most gruesome death in the MCU. The sounds, the visuals, ... Timely was my 2nd fave character.
The flaws are rather about side characters' ultimate destiny.
The crusher prisonner scene should have been undone. It served NO PURPOSE at all, since Dox would have definitely joined Hunter B15.
Some channels say Renslayer is gonna overcome Alioth, it's weird Timely is credited in the new guidebook when they show the alternate branch from where he came from doesn't exist anymore.
Also... Council of Kang?? It should have been exposed to where they were... Instead, there is just no link at allbetween Pharaoh Rama Tut, Immortus, the third dude, The Conqueror and HWR or Timely.
These unexplained scenes are really bothering, and stains a so memorable show.
The absence of the Kangs are my biggest issue with this season.
You can tell the show was changed towards the end. I think it originally meant to have more to do with Miss Minutes and Ren Slayer. Also, Ren Slayer isn't shown actually dying,.
They did say episode 5 was really different but didn't flow cohesively with 6 so they scrapped it.
i feel like Loki is classic British writing, like "this is Dr.Who suppossed to be like" or "this conversation feels a lot like something Sherlock would do" in a good way
It felt like Moffat-era Who, where the entire focus is on having big emotional beats and the idea of logic and story is just completely thrown out of the window.
Love this analysis. Great points regarding the light weight storylines in episodes 3 & 4 and Renslayer's character arc. Tom Hiddleston really is a stellar actor and so is almost everyone else in this cast, with brownie points for Owen Wilson and Richard E. Grant. But above all what I love is the visual identity of this particular corner of the MCU. It feels like they had a lot of Wes Anderson on their mood board for this one.
Loki's arc in this (and the MCU) is a mirror of itself The meeting with HWR is the middle point
Being someplace he shouldnt (escaping the avengers), seeking power(to get away from the tva), Submitting to the answer(you can't go back and you die), finding power(getting away meeing female loki, Lemantus ), shocked by the outcome (looking for he who remains), !he who remains! shocked by the outcome (time slipping) ,finding power (controlling Time Slipping), Submitting to the answer ("I can't fix the loom"),seeking power( I will find someone who can), Being someplace he shouldnt (the end of time)
This is a rough copy of what i'm thinking.. but it's close.
It's incredible how Disney overlords have incredible shows like Loki and Andor, and simultaneously allow lackluster shows like Secret Invasion to air. Really weird juxtaposition
I think the fact that Tom Hiddleston was one of the executive producers was important. I think he made sure it was top class.
The one thing I REALLY hated about Season 2 is that it focused solely on one technical problem instead of we were promised in the last season (the Kangs are coming).
I wished we just had one Kang appearing (Timely doesn't count, I mean one of the Kang the Conquerors) because this season apparantely forgot that Kang is supposed to be the next big bad.
Kang wasn't supposed to come in Loki s2
@vishnugopalawasthi5888 I know we wouldn't get the full dynasty, but just a cameo of a Kang would've been enough.
@@MrSukram777 hwr was in ep 6 tho, he's also a kang.
@@vishnugopalawasthi5888 I know, but I meant one of the Kangs he warned would come.
@@MrSukram777 he didn't warned about any specific kang, he warned about all of them.
I seriously cannot believe this came out the same week as the Marvels.
Fantastic, best ending in the MCU ever....So many emotions.
This is why I liked the Vision vs Vision fight in WandaVision. It ends with a ship of Theseus debate.
Loki's story is Marvel's Best🥹❤️
I genuinely forgot I was watching Loki...at one point I thought.. there hasn't been an action scene...let's hope it stays that way...😅😅
I wholeheartedly agree with 90% of your points but understand all of them, a really good video!
I'm glad Season 2 really focus on Loki again because Season 1 is more likely focus on Sylvie despite the name of the show is Loki.
I have issues with this season, not gonna lie. Firstly, though, Tom Hiddleston is spectacular and he is what made this season worth watching. I agree with everything you said about him and his ending wonderful.
But I absolutely hate how little Sylvie had do this season. They built up her and Loki’s relationship through a whole season and gave us such a cliffhanger that they never followed up on. They go straight to being this estranged couple and you don’t at all see that Sylvie had any feelings for Loki, which bothers me. It’s a shame because their relationship was built on an aspect of narcissism and that theme is such a perfect fit considering where Loki ends up. Imagine they had made up, admitted they want to be a part of each other’s lives, only for Loki to then realise how selfish that is and that he basically has to kill her to save the universe. Plus their banter was one of my favourite parts of season 1, but that’s somewhat besides the point.
And I don’t agree that Sylvie’s small part made sense for the story, either. I think her contribution this season was saying the same thing over and over, while we could have had her way more fleshed out. I think we’re missing important information on what made Sylvie different from other Lokis and I wish they had explored that. They could have skipped most of Victor Timely and had a subplot in which Renslayer and Sylvie are forced to work together to stop Miss Minutes or whatever, and they end up learning about trust and Renslayer could reveal some things about Sylvie’s nexus event. Then they’d both have satisfying archs.
Anyway, sorry about the rant, and I get the feeling I’m outnumbered here, but this has really been bugging me.
that teal and orange though
agree with your takes usually. But for loki season 2, it feels like we didn't watch the same show. I disagreed with everything. It felt stale, boring, plot driven (lume, lume, lume) with almost no character development and events just happening for the sake of having more episodes.
The best part about this imo is that it shows that there is still hope for the MCU. If they just put in the effort and stop pumping out way to much content they could bring the MCu back to life.
Loki season 1 was pretty good until the last couple eps, but the second season is exceptional. Buddy time cops is what I want.
What was bad about the lact couple of eps of season 1?
Absolutely can't agree on the last eps of s1. They were absolutely magnificent, ESPECIALLY in retrospective.
@@mariebourgot4949 They're pretty embarrassing. The last episode is just a massive lecture by a brand new character that nobody has any emotional attachment to, and everything leading up to that is just a bunch of CGI, fan service and lol-so-random humor.
I have a strange gut feeling that R.L Stine were he still alive to bare witness to the masterfully completed Loki seasons, would no doubt become as emotional and hooked as we all were into watching it and having a full fleshed experience of what Marvel has in the past successfully pulled off in various other ways.
Are you kidding? R.L. Stine is still alive, and I'm sure he's got better things to do than watch superhero TV shows.
Loki is Hiddleston’s Doctor Who part we never knew we were lacking
Great video essay! I really agree and I think we definitely need to shout out Natalie Holt for the incredible score, especially in the finale. To your point regarding Mobius being the one to die on the catwalk, I think thematically Loki wouldn't have wanted Mobius to keep dying on the catwalk during the Groundhog Day segment, whereas it was easier to dissociate from the repeated gruesome death of Victor.
Nobody does the smiling with eyes full of tears thing like Tom Hiddleston.
I hated every scene with Sylvie, that just spoiled the entire season for me.
I think this season could have been infinitely better if the first episode was just 10 minutes of chaos at the TVA and then the next 3 episodes were spent with Loki dealing with his time slipping, spending time in different time lines.
Renslayer was definitely just a roadblock. But she was not a villian. She was a pawn thinking she is a queen.
I was hoping that Renslayer was actually another Kang variant. Then being robbed of power could REALLY get to her and drive her to extreme actions a la “If I can’t have it, no one can!”
Thankyou ! it's not just me who thought the actor guy arc in that whole episode felt so forced and filler like... but I am not complaining. It was fun :)
Victor Timely created the TVA. Them needing his Aura makes sense, not simply a plot device.
Tom Hiddleston achieved Joaquin Phoenix level of conveying emotions through face
I think that they didn't want mobius to go fix the loom in I believe episode 4 to make us think he died, because they did that already in last season
it seems like rin slayer was written to be a part of the Kang Dynasy story arc that they deviated from. so her story arc got written out
Is that the Jusant soundtrack?? Great choiceee ;)
Such a good game. One of the most blissful and relaxing experiences I've had in gaming. The combination of the beautiful music with the intuitive and smooth rock climbing gameplay made for such a soothing experience.
Yessssss, i couldn't stop myself from spamming the screenshot button constantly hahahh and it's perfect for relaxing after a day of work ^^ @@SupercutsDelight
I actually enjoyed the part you called 'a side quest' a fair bit more than the back half of the season. The ending was very clever and I enjoyed the last episode, but to me the second half felt like it dragged on for ages and could've done with losing an episode.
I gotta say... this show single-handedly made me interested in the MCU again.... After so many failures in writing.
If the movies and shows can be anywhere near this level. I'd legit be able to fully forgive them for the past blunders.
(Now this is a ME thing, but, I'm worried Loki will die again in a Avengers movie because of like... Dr. Doom's plan to become a God.... They went through the trouble of bringing the poor dude back. Let him keep his glorious purpose....)
I was really surprised when he really does look like soap xD
I absolutely loved this season, the comedy always hit right and I never got second hand embarrassment from any of it, the plot was really good especially for having a completely different creative team from the first season though it does show a little bit every once in a while. The only thing that I kinda didn't like is that the world felt very small and the world building just wasn't quite there. I felt like we saw an extraordinarily small part of the TVA spending most of the time in the same three or four rooms and hallways though I'd bet that's due to funding and I'm glad they put the funds into the story instead of the backgrounds even if it feels like missed potential.
I actually much preferred Loki season 1 to season 2, thought it flowed a lot better. Apart from the last two episodes, season 2 was actually really boring imo, spending way too much time with uninteresting characters, going through endless exposition which turned out to be pointless anyway. I also still don't get what the point of Victor Timely was, he didn't add anything to the plot imo.
Ooo, yah having Mobius take the expander in ep 4 would have been DEVASTATING.
Loki S1 was good, Moon knight was better but Loki S2 is the best.
I like this video. Strangely what most came to my mind was the total disparity of Californication. The very last minutes of the final episode of season 7 was nearly a mirror of the 1st episode of the show. I love Californication... I do. But the 100% complete lack of character growth in Hank... it kind of chafes.... whatever. Thumbs up! Cheers.
I'm pretty sure the creepy needles evolution of miss minutes was intentional.
I’m really glad they put the effort into making this show as good as it was. I was starting to feel like an mcu hater because I didn’t like their shows. Glad to know it was just bad writing lol
I didn't feel the emotional weight at the end because I was always thinking, that he will return in some form again. So was that it? Will he be in S2 of What if...? or are they never touching the character again. Hard to tell at this point, but the show was good overall, it almost felt like one long season to me.
Fun fact : mantis shrimp hit so hard they create a bubble as hot as hot as the surface of the fucking sun!! (7000°)
say it again, say it loud: EVERY 👏WORD👏 IN 👏THIS👏 VIDEO👏 IS 👏A GODDAMN 👏TRUE👏
As much as I liked the show, Phase 4 and 5 being mostly garbage makes Loki's sacrifice feel a little pointless.
16:37 It was hot cocoa not coffee
Can someone just explain why the rest of the MCU can't be like this?
Money. Simple as that. Marvel and Disney would rather pay for shallow movies and shows that are filled with cameos so that some viewers still end up watching. However, with Moon Knight, Loki and No Way Home I truly have faith that they will eventually realize how actually letting the writers do their thing is way better long term. Like Loki s2 was probably a MASSIVE investment considering it's a show but with the great feedback they've been getting it's literally needles to say that it was a good choice.
@@ot7biasedmashups how do these shows even make money?
Can anyone explain to me why Loki is suddenly time slipping at the beginning of season 2? They didn't explain why this is happening to him and I think that's pretty crazy considering it is the crux of the season
I don't think they need to. Not everything has to be explained if you play with things like time travel where we don't have a fully fleshed out conzep for in real life.
They did. He Who Remains said he gave that ability to Loki, or made it happen to him, something along those lines.
@@Sondrebol He said he "paved that path", which could mean anything at all. The real answer to the question is "no, they never explained it and they never will, because they probably never thought about it to begin with."
Have to agree. The dialogue scenes, where the characters just talk to each other were the best parts of the show. The action... who cares, it was all about the drama.
one thing that really annoyed me about he who remains is that they hint that He who remains real name was Nathaniel Richards... father of reed. but they seem to have dropped that.
the huge implication of loki 2 ending is bigger than people realize. in nordic mythology it was odin who was hanged on the yggdrasil and in the ending it being loki and making him the "god" who oversees the whole multiverse, implied that before odin died it was he whose in lokis role. and having the god of mischief as the "god" of the multiverse plays to the theory of the christian god being evil. the reason why the world is full of evil people IS because of loki's nature as the mischievous "god". his essence permeate the multiverses. and all the "good" people are the essence of odin that's dissipating after loki took over. kang exist in between of the 2 yggdrasil trees hes in the state of both existence and non-existence trapped in the moment loki put him when he decided to let sylvie killed him. it goes like, odin's yggdrasil, then odin died, giving kang a window to control the multiverse, then loki took over with his yggdrasil. but it all takes place at the same time in real world's perspective. if that make sense. cuz thats what i got the first time i watched that ending.
ohh and loki yggdrasil being green maybe has relation with the infinity stones. maybe each infinity stone pulls power from each yggdrasil tree. loki's yggdrasil being the source for time stone. i bet red is sourced from wanda. i bet maybe her "yggdrasil tree" is her timeline branches she create looking for her sons. kang is purple so his timeline is the power stone source, because its one big timeline is why its "power" stone. but im reaching for this part. spiderman created his multiverses branches too but maybe his branches created spiderverse and has no relation with infinity stones cuz spiderman is sony and not marvel XD