REVIEW: Loki, Season 1 Episode One 'Glorious Purpose'

 REVIEW: Loki, Season 1 Episode One 'Glorious Purpose'

There's a reason why Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is one of the most popular antagonists within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's a figure with a considerable amount of complexity, being neither an out-and-out villain or a heroic figure. Loki is a character who can seem a useful ally one minute, and then stab you in the back the next. He's a more developed and rounded figure than many of the MCU's other antagonists, and so there's oozes of potential here for his solo series.

This episode takes Loki to a very interesting place from the start. A figure used to having a level of power and dominance over those he considers mere mortals, 'Glorious Purpose' wastes no time in stripping him of that control. This is the most vulnerable we've seen Loki, outside of being killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Here, Loki is falling through trapdoors and being thrown into a situation where he can't use his magic, and it's a good way to place the character on more of a level footing with his captors at the Time Variance Authority. It solves the issue of how you could contain the literal God of Mischief, in a way that feels both feasible and convincing.

One of my favourite aspects of this episode is the cartoon sequence introduced by Miss Minute (Tara Strong). I'm a fan of cartoon segments like this being used in this manner, as it's an effective way of delivering exposition in a way that is engaging without slowing the episode down. The animated sequence here nicely gives us our first glimpse at how the multiverse works within the MCU in a way that's easy to understand, and manages to avoid feeling in any way convoluted. 

One of the most heavily advertised aspects of this series has been the partnership of Tom Hiddleston's Loki with Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson). Their dynamic in this first episode does not disappoint; it is every bit as promising as the trailers have shown, and provides for easily one of the highlights of the episode. These two are a lot of fun together; Mobius is a great foil for Loki, with his no nonsense approach towards the Asgardian God and how he's so unafraid to poke fun at this man whose stepfather is literally Odin himself (Loki's main father being the Frost Giant  King Laufey. His jibe about how Loki is a talker is particularly great, and it's hard to imagine anyone other than Owen Wilson embodying this role.

Mobius is pretty harsh towards Loki, showing him the path he was supposed to take in the 'sacred timeline', even to the point of flashing up the death of Loki's own mother from Thor: The Dark World on the screen. I like Loki's reaction to this; his despair at seeing what happens to his mother feels very raw, showing that deep amount of familial respect that the character displays towards his own adopted relations. He cares about his family, despite of the truly awful acts he has committed within the role that he freely admits to feeling forced to play as the villain. He doesn't enjoy inflicting pain on others; he merely sees it as a means to assert control through fear, and it just so happens that his attempts to dominate inspires others to rise up against him, effectively turning Loki into this force that has to be stopped. Nick Fury and SHIELD may have been the people responsible for recruiting Iron Man and company into their superhero team, but it's Coulson's death in Avengers Assemble that truly brought the Avengers together to fight Loki and the Chitauri. 

This interesting character study of the God of Mischief's role within the universe hits harder still when Loki takes a glimpse at the rest of the sacred timeline, and discovers how much he means to his brother Thor. This is the kind of stuff that a person generally does not get to see, and it reminds me a little of the classic Christmas movie It's A Wonderful Life, which has its main character shown how his family members would be affected were he to suddenly die and no longer be there. Especially as Loki seeing the footage from Thor: Ragnarok leads into him witnessing his own death at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. The episode really plays into this, and shows just how much it affects Loki on an emotional level. The way the footage cuts immediately to the words end of life' is brutal, treating it almost like a videogame rather than the death of an actual living being.

A more controversial part of this episode is the use of the Infinity Stones, which we discover are used by the TVA as paperweights. Personally I was okay with this. I thought it was a fun gag, which showed just how powerful the TVA are. The fact that the Infinity Stones are nothing to them and hold no power within their bubble outside of the universe means that the TVA are pretty much untouchable. Not even magic can be used in their realm, so there's not much that can actually stop these people.

Overall, 'Glorious Purpose' is a great opener for Loki's first season. It largely deals with set-up for future episodes, but it delivers some truly engaging groundwork for the future of the MCU, whilst also giving one of the most entertaining partnerships in Loki and Agent Mobius. Glorious Purpose establishes the premise of this new Marvel Studios television show well, and creates a believable new environment in the crazily powerful Time Variance Authority. Loki's first episode carries plenty of potential for future episodes, and I for one can't wait to see where the show goes next.

What are your thoughts on Loki's first episode? Let me know in the comments.