Disney Plus Delivers a Hit With ‘Loki’

Garrett Hartman

 

On June 9, Disney Plus launched an impressive new addition to its Marvel show roster. Loki,  created by Michael Waldron, and starring Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson, follows the God of Mischief as he is thrust outside of time itself and forced to work with the “Time Variants Authority” (time police) in tracking down and stopping a mysterious criminal wreaking havoc on time. 

 

Loki continues in the tradition of WandaVision with its air of mystery and unique aesthetic style. While Disney’s previous two shows have explored deep emotional themes of grief and regret --  in WandaVision and also Falcon and the Winter Soldier -- Loki takes this even further, getting distinctly philosophical as it puts the question of fate versus free will on trial. 

 

The show flips the power structure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on its head, weakening Norse Gods to mere mortals and making Infinity Stones glorified paperweights. 

 

For those who can’t stand the complex mind acrobatics of time travel and multiverses in media, Loki does a phenomenal job of creating compelling time travel that is easy to understand, with consistent and airtight rules for those who enjoy exposing flaws in media logic. The show even manages to play with time travel in new ways, keeping the somewhat tired narrative quirk interesting and fresh. 

 

 

While some of the humor falls a bit flat, overall the show has the same quality and charm audiences have come to expect from Marvel's movies and shows. Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson’s performances are terrific, continuing the work of earlier films in bringing Loki from a pure villain to a sympathetic one, if not an anti-hero. 

 

Wilson’s performance is particularly great as a foil and supporting character to Hiddleston’s Loki, serving as a good comic comparison between his bureaucratic detective Mobius and the egotistical God-turned-prisoner Loki. However, his performance also shows Mobius as his own complex character. Mobius isn’t simply a narrative prop to highlight Loki, but a sharp-witted detective with his own complex motivations and ideology.

 

Loki shows the promise of being a stand-out hit among Marvel’s current show roster offering a mix of mystery, philosophy, and the fun begrudging alliance of buddy-cop films.

 

Author Bio:

Garrett Hartman is a contributing writer at Highbrow Magazine. He is a California State University Chico student double-majoring in media arts design technology and Journalism/PR. A lover of pop culture, he enjoys film, television, video games, and literature. However, as a drummer of a rock band and alt-rock enthusiast, music holds a special place in his heart.

 

For Highbrow Magazine

 

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