REVIEW: Loki, Season 1 Episode Five 'Journey Into Mystery'

 REVIEW: Loki, Season 1 Episode Five 'Journey Into Mystery'

Back when the first Thor film came out in 2011, who would have thought Loki (Tom Hiddleston) would prove such a popular character that he'd be granted his own spin-off? With multiple versions of the character, no less. And yet here we are, five episodes into Loki, and we have a tale of multiple Lokis. It's our first proper MCU glimpse of a multiverse, and something which we know will develop into something grander further down the line.

My favourite of the new Lokis glimpsed in the previous episode is without a doubt Classic Loki (Richard E Grant). Classic Loki is a lot of fun, with this comedic over-dramatisation that immediately brings to mind characters from a comic-book. You can really tell that out of any of the Lokis, he is the one most based around the comics iteration (hence his name), and his classic costume references that clear intent. I hope he's not truly gone after his sacrifice for Loki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), because I would like to see a lot more of him. 

I also really enjoyed Deobia Oparei's performance as Boastful Loki. This Loki reminded me a great deal of Gilderoy Lockhart from Harry Potter, in the way that he makes these grand claims such as defeating Captain America and claiming all six Infinity Stones, which the Crocodile Loki disputes. He's a very fun character, and it's sad that we don't see more of him here. I would have liked him to have got greater screentime. 

Speaking of Crocodile Loki, could this be the Loki answer to Groot from Guardians Of The Galaxy? Because he already seems to have gained quite the following. It's not really a  surprise here, because he makes quite the impression despite not being able to talk. We simply need to see the moment he caused a branching timeline by eating the wrong neighbour's cat, for instance. It's a character that communicates very little, but also conveys a lot in that lack of communication.

It's brave of Marvel Studios to cast a Kid Loki (Jack Veal), because child actors can be very hit and miss.  Jack Veal is firmly in the 'hit' side. It takes a special sort of kid actor to be able to stand toe-to-toe with Tom Hiddleston, but he does it with relative ease. Marvel have cast very well here. He's a character with an intriguing backstory also, having caused a branching timeline by killing his brother Thor as a child. I have to wonder what that would do to someone, to kill a close family member at such a young age. 

Thankfully Mobius (Owen Wilson) is not dead, which I was very happy to see. He turns up driving a pizza car, with Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), and I like the comparisons they make between these two. Both characters have engaged in shady dealings because they did what they thought was right, and both are now trying to fight for what they 'know' is right. Mobius and Sylvie have more in common than they perhaps initially considered. But of course, it has always been about Mobius and Loki, and Loki's hug and acknowledgement of Mobius as a friend feels so earned after the previous episodes in this season. I'm glad they haven't gone the predictable route of making Avengers Loki the default bad guy, because it has been much more interesting seeing them take the Loki from before he became more of an anti-hero, and have him develop closer into being a hero. I'd rather watch this Loki forming friendships and being nice than a repeat of what we have already seen before. 

Speaking of nice, Ravonna (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is certainly not that. I hate what she had done with trapping poor Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) in that manner. It just seems so cruel and unjust, and I hope Ravonna gets her comeuppance in some form. It doesn't seem like she knows who is actually in charge of the TVA, which is surprising though.

Overall, 'Journey Into Mystery' is perhaps the greatest episode of Loki yet. Featuring multiple versions of the God Of Mischief and incorporating them so effortlessly in a way where they all have their own distinct characters, it proves just how well the multiverse can work in the MCU. If we can gather anything from the weirdness on display here, it's that we're in for one hell of a ride once the rest of the multiverse content releases.

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