sunstar2021

[sunstar2021]

Focusing on Sylvie working at McDonald's to promote the Loki show has to be the most ineffective marketing indeed. Good luck with this one. It’s not like average people even know who she is. I scratch my head a lot when I see this kind of promotions Marvel has been doing for its Phase 4/5 products. They must have hired a lot of out of touch marketing people after Infinity saga. 

Yeah, having Sylvie work at McDonald's is a way of getting us to see her as "one of us", like they want us to see her as "the peoples' Loki", the sentimental favorite, and using McDonald's to play on our nostalgia.

Because she is Loki, but she's the good Loki, the Cool Loki, the one whose pain is actually real and legitimate. The one who would rather kick back at Mickey Dee's with a Big Mac rather than chase power or sit on a throne - I guarantee you that this is what they want us to think.

I've noticed for some time that the MCU have treated their god characters as if they are unaware of their godness, as if they'd rather just hang out in Midwestern America than do anything else, and as if they are complete idiots who are unworthy of their titles. And it's so disappointing.

And having Sylvie work at McDonald's because she sees it as the warm, safe place she never knew as a kid, and sees kids with their families and friends, all the while knowing that if she had finished growing up in Asgard her life would never involve a McDonald's at any point, just makes me roll my eyes. Yeah, I'm playing the world's smallest violin right now!

You know, I always thought that Loki was the most human, relatable character in the Thor franchise. Without any gimmicks or product placement. His pain was real, it was legitimate. Growing up in someone's shadow (a pretty significant, massive shadow too), never feeling seen, always feeling different, on the outside, only to have his worst fears confirmed in the worst possible way. I think the some of the worst pain you can ever experience comes from being betrayed by someone you love and trust and look up too, but what do I know, I'm just a fangirl, right?

But yeah, they're going to milk that "Poor Sylvie" thing for all it's worth.





I fully agree. People related to Loki because no matter how rich or poor someone is anyone can understand what it feels like an outcast. Anyone can relate to the feeling of wanting to be seen and loved. That's what the creators completely don't understand when they try to portray Loki as a spoiled prince, Loki was relatable. There can be a humanity in characters that even though they're god royalty, space captains or talking animals viewers can still see themselves in. They don't need to be "normal people" with "normal jobs".

Like, I get Sylvie finding the appeal of finding a place to settle down, but you can't ask me to take it seriously when its McDonald's. She could find that comfort in settling down in a village on Asgard or Jotunheim.

She's not human, why does it have to be on earth.you? It's like the point Loki brought up in TDW these people are a heartbeat to her. It's a comfort that wouldn't last that long.

[sunstar2021]

I have to laugh at the current mess Marvel is in. 

90% of Marvel’s mess could be traced back to Loki and Thor 3 creators. Marvel got a legitimate hit with Spider-Man No Way Home. What did they do? They followed it with a piece of garbage: Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness. Who wrote that piece of crap? Loki’s writer, Michael Waldron. 

When audiences, including both Wanda fans and Doctor Strange fans alike, felt cheated by DSMOM, they became more cautious with the ensuing Marvel films. Then Thor 4 disaster happened. 

All good will, if any, brought by Spider-Man No Way Home was practically gone after that. After the hack director of that pathetic Thor film mocked VFX artists, things started to go downhill rapidly, and Black Panther 2, another mediocre film,  couldn’t re-ignite passion from general populace. 

A few months later, Ant-man 3 dropped. Marvel actually thought KANG would be the one coaxing fans back.  All the commercials, all the promotions, were all about Kang!

Marvel had rushed into Kang as the big bad in the first place. Ant-man 3′s writer, Jeff Loveness, and Michael Waldron, both Rick and Morty alumni,  are two peas in a pod,  utterly inexperienced, untalented, incredibly arrogant.  Jeff Loveness wanted Kang as the big bad in his film and thought he wrote the best thing ever.  Michael Waldron boasted that he alone was responsible for pushing Marvel to include Kang in the Loki series.  

Michael Waldron always wanted his glorious moment, and what could be more glorious than claiming the credit for introducing the next BIG BAD, the centerpiece of Marvel’s next 5-year-plan? So he pushed, and pushed, and pushed, to have Kang in the show based on his previously hastily written script that had no relevance to Loki whatsoever. Marvel eventually relented, and Michale Waldron hastily wrote Kang into the show’s final episode. 

Because Kang was rushed into the Loki show in the last minute, Marvel had to rush about casting Kang. So here came the Loki director, who had the penchant of skipping normal casting process in favor of her own friends and pals. She had previously cast the Sylvie actress without any proper audition because, “she is my friend Sophia”. She pushed for more Sylvie in the Loki show because “she is my friend Sophia”. How could such a person be fair and reasonable in anything? 

God knows what she did or did not do. Anyhow, she cast the one actor that would eventually give Marvel more headaches, and heart attacks. 

Fast forward to 2023. Ant-Man 3 bombed. It’s not going to break even. It’s not even going to match the first Ant-Man at boxoffice. 

Then the Kang actor thing happened. 

Marvel now finds itself in a terrible mess. Each of its last few films either missed boxoffice targets or outright bombed. Its Disney+ shows are faltering and viewerships have flatlined. It’s been caught in a controversy about its treatment of VFX artists. General populace are clearly losing interest in its products. Marvel had pinned its hope on Kang, but its ambitious Kang train started on shaky ground that is the Loki show that’s not about Loki, crashed with Ant-Man3, and burned with the Kang actor mishap. 

Marvel certainly has the creators of the Loki series, who started the chain reaction, to thank for all this mess. The only saving grace for Marvel is that nobody actually cares about Kang. 

What about Loki creators? 

Nobody knows what the Loki director is doing. She remains obscure as ever and hasn’t had much chance to cast any of her dear friends in anything. 

The glory of being singularly responsible for Marvel’s future that Michael Waldron dreamed of and thought he had achieved, seemingly went up in a smoke. Loki S2 is now in jeopardy.  There is an account on twitter, MissminuteTVA,  that is obviously run by one of the Loki writers/creators. It had operated more like a Kang account, rather than a Loki account. Everything it posted was all about Kang. Since the Kang actor thing, it has not mentioned Kang once. 

Michael Waldron’s successor, Eric Martin, a big promoter of Kang as well, prefers to have a show about Sylvie rather than Loki. But if Kang is not going to be that “relevant” for S2 anymore, could he still be able to sell a show centered on his dear Sylvie? According to all leaks the show is still very much a Sylvie show. But the public sentiment this time may not be kind. It may very well turn out to be another Thor Love and Thunder fiasco.

Loki (2021) Creators + Fandom Wank

The Absurdity of Claiming An Entire Fandom “Headcanoned” Loki’s Prior Characterization

Fandom Policing and the Prohibiting of Critical Analysis

Fandom Hypocrisy and Actions vs. Framing

The Incoherency of Claiming Loki Is A Narcissist Who Needed To Learn Self-Love

“Can Loki Change?” Is the Wrong Question To Be Asking

Disney’s Fear of Moral Ambiguity Rendered Loki’s Character “Arc” Meaningless

Was Loki (2021) Really A Success?

Distinguishing Between Quality and Preference in Loki (2021)

Loki (2021) Didn’t Deliver on Anything It Promised

Evidence of False IMDB Reviews for Loki (2021)

Loki (2021)’s Costume Designer Thinks Attractive Clothing “Distracts” From the Character’s Personality. No, Really.

Marvel’s Paranoia About Spoilers Is Slowly Destroying Them

The “Loki Lectures” Were (Probably) A Lie

The Only Consistent Thing About Loki (2021) Is Everyone Shitting on Him, In-Universe and Out

Addressing the Tom Hiddleston-Shaped Elephant in the Room

Mike Waldron Interview Bullshit: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |

Kate Herron Interview Bullshit: 1 | 2 | 3 |

Sophia di Martino Interview Bullshit: 1 |

↩️ back to the compendium

[sunstar2021]

This is just going to be another Thor 4 scenario isn’t it? 

Marvel fans praised Thor 3 to high heaven. In reality many of these people probably didn’t love clown Thor and bad jokes wholeheartedly, but they loved how powerful Thor became in a couple brief moments. They attacked anyone who didn’t like the movie mercilessly. Anyone who didn’t like the movie was instantly called a racist.  

Marvel creatives got the message: The movie was loved because of Taika Waititi... 

Thor 4 happened. 

Lots of Marvel fans praised the Loki show to high heaven even though they didn’t really love the show and didn’t like Sylvie, because, there it was, KANG!  They attacked anyone who didn’t like the show relentlessly. Anyone who didn’t like the show was instantly called a misogynist. 

Marvel creatives got the message: The show was successful because of the female! 

Marvel fans never learn, do they?   

Yeah if all this is true (highly likely) then this show can kick rocks.

So not only has blondie robbed the lead role from loki, she’s now robbed the villain role from kang… They may as well have just called the series ‘sylvie’ since yet again they have not listened to criticism and continued sidelining loki

[sunstar2021]

The makeup artist who always works for Tom said his favorite look of Tom was in episode 2 when he was doing research in the archives. That’s the only set  with decent lighting (due to the fact it was shot on location at a hotel where the Loki crew couldn’t change the lighting that much) where you could actually see Tom’s complexions. The rest of the show, nah...No makeup could have overcome terrible lighting and awful photography. One couldn’t even tell Tom’s eyes were blue 80% of the show.  I am pretty sure the makeup artist was a bit depressed that his work was not “seen” at all. 

The Loki show cinematographer went on to shoot Black Panther 2. One of the common complaints is how BP2 regressed from the rich textured cinematography of the 1st film, and part of BP2 was so dark it was unwatchable.  So this cinematographer, after ruining Loki, did her best to try to ruin another movie, but at least that movie was directed by a decent director, unlike Loki S1 which was directed by an inexperienced director who happened to be full of herself.  Loki Season 2 does have a new cinematographer, but if the show continues to subscribe to dark gloomy dull monochromatic color schemes that Marvel has insisted upon using there is no hope for it. 

Loki:

“Out of time and on the run – #Loki must #QuestionEverything. @Hyundai.”

Loki Official on Twitter, June 10, 2021.

[sunstar2021]

Friends with benefits... don’t last forever it seems. 

When two people with huge egos build an “alliance”, it’s inevitable that alliance doesn’t last long. The actor who said he was so bored playing the title character of a Marvel franchise and only wanted to play himself and indeed was responsible for bringing a hack director to direct his film has a huge ego.  The hack director who only wants to promote himself has a huge ego. 

They both got what they wanted for a while though. The actor somehow rebranded himself from a failed leading man.  The director built a cult following with formidable power that could abuse any critics into submission and parlayed that power into an Oscar and many more directing roles. 

They were so emboldened by their “successful” partnership and did whatever they wanted with their second collaboration. They partied.  They brought their kids on set to play various roles. They partied more. They squandered  250 million dollars on a movie that barely had a script. 

Well it appeared that movie audiences are fickle and those who praised their first parody film to high heaven suddenly decided they didn’t like the second parody film that much.  

When the second parody film failed, the alliance started to break. The director now has his Oscar, still has his staunch cult following and many projects lined up, he now could afford to fail. What did the actor get out of this? 

The boxoffice returns were disappointing and his bonuses were either gone or significantly reduced (clause usually says boxoffice needs to meet a certain figure to receive certain bonuses), his reputation as a leading man took another hit, his future in MCU is in doubt and his ego now bruised. 

So... it’s time to throw the director friend under the bus---rest assured it’s not that his character being ruined that prompted all this. And REBRAND again. 

*gasp* Oh no! Did your unhinged director buddy let you down?

Such shock.

Much sad.

[sunstar2021]

What is this?

This is how Marvel movies and shows look like nowadays. 

Do these people know anything about photography? 

[sunstar2021]

I have explained in my previous post that movie and TV filming are different animals.  Movie shoot tends to be a lot less demanding physically compared to TV shoot. TV productions always have smaller budgets (no matter what Marvel says about their TV budget).  They have the same 3-4 months production time as a feature film production does, but have to produce 3 times or more content than a feature film.  Speed is essential for TV production. 

For movies, you can do the same scene with 20 or 100 takes if actors are not in the mood, for TV, it’s usually just one or two takes and done because there is never enough time.  Rehearsing is also very difficult when you film a TV series. A lot of times you get script for the day before you film and you just go. It’s very different from making feature films. 

As a leading character in TLAT, CH probably only spent 1 month actually doing something on that film set (with all sorts of perks attached as well, gourmet food, messages, plenty of rest, probably all written in contract). In contrast, Tom was in almost every scene in Loki Season 1, which would mean he had to work 12-18 hours a day almost every day for 4 months straight.  That’s totally different. 

I applaud when actors give it all, and I want them to give the best performance possible, but I do have concerns when they damage their health doing that. So to me, Tom not having to get up at 3am every day for 4 months (he probably still got up at 3am every day for the Loki shoot anyway) is a good thing.  

In terms of how Tom looks in the show, I will present several reasons why he looks that way. If one looks closely one can see he looks drastically different in pre-pandemic and post-shut down scenes.  He lost a lot of weight during the shutdown, and remember everything else was shut down. It’s not easy for one to get facials, or smoothies, or messages or anything. Anyway he looks a lot worse in post-shut down scenes.  

Second, the show’s lighting is utterly terrible, it doesn’t help that the cinematographer has this habit of shooting everything up from below the waist.  We are literally staring at every actor’s nostrils in many scenes. In addition, that female director has no talent nor taste when it comes to scene blocking. 

From the very beginning I have complained about this show’s camera work and lighting being decidedly not flattering to the actors. That third episode on the purple planet, 4th episode in the TimeKeeper’s chamber, 5th episode in the void, and last episode in that purple castle, the lighting is so bad that everyone looks like pickled vegetables. We could not even tell Tom’s eyes were blue in most of the show.  The only scenes that have relative good lighting in the whole show are when Loki is doing research in the Archives. That’s because they filmed on location at an actual hotel so they couldn’t change the lighting much. To see how lighting could make a huge difference, in Assembled documentary, Tom looks much nicer under normal lighting. 

So in a sense, Tom not looking great in the show is the result of long working hours, the director being inexperienced, the cinematographer being short (she is), and some of the crew being incompetent.   The director also mistook boring, monochromatic, flat colors for menacing and depressive noir atmosphere. She didn’t understand that a frame needs depth and shadows and contrasts. Just plastering purple, green and more purple all over the screen with dim lighting is laughably amateurish. 

Third, we have to accept Tom is older. He does not look as young and fresh as he was 10 years ago.  But with better lighting his looks should improve. As you see in today’s photos, or even on Jimmy Kimmel show, he looks great.  I have some reservation about how he would look in S2 though, since I have heard plenty of complaints about Moon Knight’s lighting problems. Oh well, it seems Marvel just hires people who don’t know how to do cinematography and lighting right these days. Their blockbuster films all look flat and gray and lifeless as well. We need Kenneth Branagh back. 

I have plenty of the same criticisms about the show as you. I have no doubt that Michael Waldron and his writing klan did not care about Loki the character one bit and only wanted to use the show to catapult themselves into something bigger. I have no doubt the director did certain things not only because she was friends with the actress but also because she wanted the show to be about herself.  I have no doubt some of the people the director hired directly were incompetent or inexperienced at their job just like she was.  However, I also have no doubt that the post-production team did the best as they could with materials they got (some of the editing work is the best I have seen coming out of Marvel), and I have no doubt that Tom did the best he could under the worst circumstances possible. 

i do think it’s interesting that in less than a decade after reviving both the jurassic park movies and star wars franchises, universal and disney, respectively, have fucked up what could have been never-ending theatrical cash cows to the point where the jurassic franchise is ending in critical disgrace and star wars has been relegated almost exclusively to disney’s streaming platform. how badly do you have to fumble bags that are mostly just “people and aliens in a far off galaxy and space” and “dinosaurs! what would happen if dinosaurs?” that the franchises became so devoid of any redeemable value that people are eh about seeing a cultural icon like darth vader wield his lightsaber or a website like rotten tomatoes, which grades on a heavy curve, especially for nostalgic projects, has your film at a 37% critical favorability and is being accused of making dinosaurs “uncool”. it’s fascinating. i hope the bubble bursts for marvel next.

[sunstar2021]

I think at this point, MCU fans should understand that criticisms are not a bad thing. When people point out problems in Marvel movies or shows, do not sneer and dismiss them and accuse them of being “antis”, or worse, “racists”, “misogynists”, or whatever. 

It’s precisely because almost all Thor 3 (which I already referred as a parody film back in 2017) criticisms were shut down by fervent Marvel fans (sadly many of them Loki fans) on Tumblr, twitter, and Reddit, Thor 4, another messy parody film, happened.  

I see the same parallel with Loki show discourse. I do hope those who downright dismiss and attack Loki critics should understand, often criticism can be constructive, and shutting down criticisms does not help anyone. 

That being said,  I do think criticisms should be more rational. I for one, do not think accusing Tom of not wearing a wig or not wearing “proper” costume is valid criticism.  As Loki, Tom was a support player in all his previous movie work. He didn’t have to be on set every day for 12 hours. TV filming tends to be more intense and on tighter schedule than movies (same amount of filming time for 6 hours final cut for TV vs 2 hours final cut for film). For Loki series, he is also the leading man, and if he is in majority of scenes,  spending hours putting on a wig would take rest and time away from him being able to perform at best level. This is not about him being lazy. His own hair looks fine. Please do not use this as some attack point against the show. 

I would also like to point out that pandemic played a significant role in damping Loki S1′s quality. I believe the crew working on the show changed after the shutdown for the worse, which diminished the overall quality of the show, such as lighting, camera work, choreography, film sets (episode 3, 5 and 6 sets are disasters).   The shutdown allowed the director and writers to push more materials that eventually led to more damage.  

I am not someone who likes to project, but I do think the shutdown made them go more comedic route. I can point to Tom’s performance in episode 1 and 2 as an example. In the scenes obviously shot before the shutdown, he is as composed and emotional and very much the same Loki everyone loves. The scenes shot after pandemic, he is more exaggerating and comical.  We do know the director asked for more comedy specifically.  But after 5 months of shutdown and isolation, perhaps everyone wanted some relief and light-heartedness.  The “comedic acting” does come across as too over the top and jarring at times.   I do hope we would not see this dichotomy in Loki S2. 

So I would ask Loki show critics, it’s OK to criticize the show. But do consider some of the problems were results of the pandemic, not because Tom did not try or love Loki.  Keep in mind if not for him, we would not have got Loki theater scene in episode 1. Tom himself said he was very “protective” of that scene. He fought for that scene. Accusing Tom of being lazy or not loving Loki is not going to help. No matter how Loki S2 turns out, one thing we know is that Tom is the one that loves Loki the most and tries his best, unlike the actor who plays Loki’s brother. 

As for those who always love to label Loki critics as “misogynists” or what not, I would say, since the writers and directors all love to say they want to subvert expectations of fans, and since they are “fans” of this show (unless they don’t like the show either but just want to attack critics, then they are just mean and pathetic), they should expect their expectations to be subverted. Many fans of that parody film now are lamenting about the sequel of that parody film, I do not know what their expectations were really, but I venture to guess their expectations were not fulfilled. 

i do think it’s interesting that in less than a decade after reviving both the jurassic park movies and star wars franchises, universal and disney, respectively, have fucked up what could have been never-ending theatrical cash cows to the point where the jurassic franchise is ending in critical disgrace and star wars has been relegated almost exclusively to disney’s streaming platform. how badly do you have to fumble bags that are mostly just “people and aliens in a far off galaxy and space” and “dinosaurs! what would happen if dinosaurs?” that the franchises became so devoid of any redeemable value that people are eh about seeing a cultural icon like darth vader wield his lightsaber or a website like rotten tomatoes, which grades on a heavy curve, especially for nostalgic projects, has your film at a 37% critical favorability and is being accused of making dinosaurs “uncool”. it’s fascinating. i hope the bubble bursts for marvel next.

[sunstar2021]

I have no interest in seeing any Marvel films, but Thor 4 underperforming as well as DS2 underperforming is perfect timing. 

Both Michael Waldron and TW, two not so talented, lazy, arrogant and narcissist individuals who have no regard nor respect for Loki or his fans, who are responsible for doing significant damage to Loki in MCU, failed at their respective movie job thoroughly and miserably. If Disney executives have any brain cells left, they should realize audiences now are more demanding and actually want their movies or shows to have a good story first, and Rick and Morty and TW kind of jokes are so outdated. They should push MW and TW into changing their arrogant attitude that they should always do whatever they want and never give what fans want.  

Loki S2 just started filming. Stories can still be changed. Marvel has more pressure from Disney to get things done right as their shows are not bringing viewerships and their movies are not doing well either. Perhaps we might be able to see some improvement for S2 even though it’s the same writing team. But one thing I have learned is that, narcissists double down instead of changing their ways when facing criticisms.  So I am indeed still pessimistic about Loki S2′s future. 

Ah, yes. It’s all coming together.

[sunstar2021]

I am frustrated by the third episode. It’s subpar compared to the first two in story, dialogues, pacing, just about everything, and since it doesn’t further anything in plot, it has killed the momentum built from the first two episodes as well. 

What infuriates me is Kate Herron. She has said in multiple interviews that  Loki’s actions in this episode are all to further Sylvie’s character development. This is another incidence of a selfish director trying to push her own agenda. Since Sylvie is an original character she created and her baby, she wanted to weaken Loki to show how strong Sylvie is. This is unacceptable and lazy way of filmmaking. You want to show Sylvie as a strong woman, keep Loki strong and smart too.   The Black Widow vs Loki scene is still one of the best in MCU. But no, Loki has to be a fool so that Sylvie could shine. 

I feel sad for Loki. Why does he always have to suffer in the hands of so many self-absorbed directors and writers? And I feel sorry for Tom as well. He said many times during his interviews for the Loki series, that he wanted to HONOR the director and writers’ wishes. What about his own wishes? Are the director and writers honoring his wishes back? I fear not. 

i don't agree with that anon, Sylvie not made out be better than loki, imo they equal in fight and imo loki out magicked syvlie so don't agree also the actress plays Sylvie is arrogant to think she better/matches loki so that her opinion not that she is better, and we know little about sylvie really so... i don't think the writers hate loki either and imo if they were to replace TH as loki imo it be down to maybe TH not wanting to leave the role and i don't get the impression he does but who knows? and TVA have been nothing but condensending towards loki and arrogantly underestimate this loki because they more threatened by syvlie only because she knows more about the tva, but loki has show to be smart by managing to escpae the tva so shows they underestimate loki, it mobius and sylvie arrogance and maybe loki self esteem, it opinion not fact, that sylvie is better etc.

I purposefully didn’t address that point in the ask because it’s one of those things that imo can’t be determined until the show ends because personally I need to see both Loki’s and Sylvie’s arcs in the story and the narrative framing of their characterization.

Imo Loki and Sylvie are shown to match each other in terms of physical power and fighting skills, with some exceptions. I’m listing them with how I or others rationalize the scenes:

Sylvie beating Loki up through human strength => Most people believe this as Loki throwing the fight to gain more information on Sylvie.

Loki being out of breath after a short run while Sylvie wasn’t => I haven’t seen anyone explain this.

Loki being thrown out of the train => Loki was drunk.

Loki missing his target when he throw the dagger => He didn’t. He was meant for Sylvie to use it.

Loki saying he never walked that much in his life => He didn’t mean it literally. It was a way to know about how Sylvie’s enchantment work.

Loki also is shown to be a good sorcerer but also it was mentioned that he had a proper teacher, while Sylvie didn’t, and despite that she learned that enchantment herself. So she is also shown to be talented in magic.

So for the most part they’re shown to match each other, except that Loki prefers diplomacy to brute force.

Then there’s the way TVA treats them. They consider Sylvie to be more dangerous because she was making a lot of trouble for them, which resulted in the first episode underestimating Loki, and if that happens again in the upcoming episodes I’m OK with that. But that remains to be seen.

People are saying Sylvie acts more like Loki, because she is more serious, aware of her surroundings, is better at planing ahead, carries a bitterness and pain in her which actually is validated by the narrative while Loki’s pain and his main issues has been absent so far. In fact what was addressed of Loki’s past was nothing but implying that he was a power hungry villain that despite his actions his family loved him and did no wrong whatsoever to him. So I understand their POV. What Sylvie lacks in being a Loki, is preferring fights and brute force instead of subtlety, cunning, diplomacy and mischief.

People have a right to not trust the writers and Marvel in general, after so many times their favorite character was mocked and disregarded. And personally I don’t trust someone in handling Loki’s story and characterization who calls him a pompous shithead that has control issues because he was adopted! I don’t trust someone who doesn’t even know that Laufey wasn’t killed by Odin. So no, I don’t laugh at people who have been hurt many times by Marvel which seems to not care about hiring people who actually understand or like the character or care enough to know his backstory.

[sunstar2021]

The third episode doesn’t go anywhere. A colossal disappointment. I have to scratch my “instant classic” assessment for the show and replace with...”a show with good premise and great first two episodes, currently in progress”. It will be sad if the next episode doesn’t pick up. 

Well, hello Lady Loki!

I just watched the second episode and I liked it. Unlike episode one, there was no issue in tone and pace, and the story ran smoothly.

But the problem with Loki’s characterization still stands. While he is in character in many scenes(perhaps most of them), his clownish behavior and exaggerated expressions-both a direct result of TR- break the suspension of disbelief for me every time it happens. Also I was right that they’re showing him as power hungry which is a huge drawback imo.

Still hate TVA and Mobius with a burning passion. Can’t stand any of them(except Casey :D). Mobius is obviously hero coded and I predict that he is going to change sides and be against TVA at the end. His talk with Loki about TVA and then him showing concern about the way TVA agents are treating people are hints to this.

But my favorite new character, the Loki variant. I call her Lady Loki to not confuse her with our Loki. The scene where she attacked TVA agents while “I need a hero” was playing in the background was enjoyable to watch. Her talk with Loki, fascinating. Her plans and her magic, smart and interesting. I grinned while she bombed their damned sacred timeline. I was like finally a competence and behavior I expect from a Loki. Can’t wait to see our two Lokis interact more.

I give this episode an 8 out of 10.

[sunstar2021]

The entire first episode is basically playing out how Marvel has treated Loki as a character in the last 10 years: It’s not your story, your purpose is only to serve others so that they can become the best of themselves, then you are to die an unceremonious death, and be discarded. I think many people who have loved Loki have observed how ironic it is. https://twitter.com/AlishaGrauso/status/1407121201038647296 

Marvel may be just as evil as those faceless fascist heartless timekeepers. Whether this Loki series succeeds or not, I will never forgive Marvel and Kevin Feige and those hack directors for what they did to Loki and Tom. 

Tom Hiddleston will never say how furious he is with the Russo brothers. But he showed it perfectly as Loki in the first episode.

We don't know what Tom actually felt about Loki's fate in IW. But we can all agree that, what Loki said and how he reacted in TVA trial was what we, all of Loki fans felt. It was like in a way, Renslayer was MCU when she said, "it's not your story. It never was". But he is Loki and those ridiculous bureaucrats will not dictate how his story ends :D

[sunstar2021]

Tom always has great ideas about Loki. Whether he is allowed to have these ideas materialized and realized is a different question.   For the parody film, he was not given any chance by that hack director. With the Loki show he said 5% of his ideas were used. That’s better than nothing, I guess.   

I think at this point we should all see how the rest of the show plays out before we give this version of Loki a final verdict.  The first two episodes are mainly exposition and I can only judge them based on how well made they are, and I like the fact that some attention is given to Loki’s humanity and intelligence.  I am fascinated to see where this show goes next. This show is very interesting in that it’s not exactly a show for those Marvel fanboys who only want jokes and action. It’s also not exactly a show for average TV viewers because it requires some cerebral deliberation.  As I said, if it was not set in the MCU, it would  mostly become a cult favorite and classic.  

Well, hello Lady Loki!

I just watched the second episode and I liked it. Unlike episode one, there was no issue in tone and pace, and the story ran smoothly.

But the problem with Loki’s characterization still stands. While he is in character in many scenes(perhaps most of them), his clownish behavior and exaggerated expressions-both a direct result of TR- break the suspension of disbelief for me every time it happens. Also I was right that they’re showing him as power hungry which is a huge drawback imo.

Still hate TVA and Mobius with a burning passion. Can’t stand any of them(except Casey :D). Mobius is obviously hero coded and I predict that he is going to change sides and be against TVA at the end. His talk with Loki about TVA and then him showing concern about the way TVA agents are treating people are hints to this.

But my favorite new character, the Loki variant. I call her Lady Loki to not confuse her with our Loki. The scene where she attacked TVA agents while “I need a hero” was playing in the background was enjoyable to watch. Her talk with Loki, fascinating. Her plans and her magic, smart and interesting. I grinned while she bombed their damned sacred timeline. I was like finally a competence and behavior I expect from a Loki. Can’t wait to see our two Lokis interact more.

I give this episode an 8 out of 10.

[sunstar2021]

“And that’s not always a particular scene but the movements of his face and his body. There’s too much emotions on his face, to a comedic level. He is too open. His movements aren’t calculated. Too much gestures, talking to himself. His regality and poise are absent.“

I would like to briefly address this. Loki is with a man who knows everything, well, almost everything, about him and his life. This man knows more about him than himself (Loki has no memory of himself as a  frost giant baby). This man just told him he was born to be bad, to serve no purpose other than making others suffer and turn into better versions of themselves. This man also told him he feels sorry for him and sees him as a scared little boy.  Loki is in fact almost like an “open book” to Mobius. I don’t think in this case he can still be “regal” in anyway.  There is no point acting or pretending like he is all confident and controlled in front of Mobius. And we can definitely see a difference between how he acts in front of Mobius and how he acts in front of other TVA agents and variants. 

Also the director Kate Herron in her  EW interview https://ew.com/tv/loki-episode-2-spoilers-kate-herron/ said  during the lockdown when she was doing some editing of footage they had, she saw some playfulness in that salad scene, and she wanted it to be more playful (I don’t know if it means they reshot that scene). 

“Yeah, definitely. There were bits from the TVA, like the chat about religion. The salad metaphor, that's something that came out of us cutting [things] together and seeing the playfulness in Loki and being like, "Let's push the playfulness here," like when he's trying to explain his theory.”

So at least we could say it’s not Tom but rather the director who wanted more playfulness out of Loki. 

Well, hello Lady Loki!

I just watched the second episode and I liked it. Unlike episode one, there was no issue in tone and pace, and the story ran smoothly.

But the problem with Loki’s characterization still stands. While he is in character in many scenes(perhaps most of them), his clownish behavior and exaggerated expressions-both a direct result of TR- break the suspension of disbelief for me every time it happens. Also I was right that they’re showing him as power hungry which is a huge drawback imo.

Still hate TVA and Mobius with a burning passion. Can’t stand any of them(except Casey :D). Mobius is obviously hero coded and I predict that he is going to change sides and be against TVA at the end. His talk with Loki about TVA and then him showing concern about the way TVA agents are treating people are hints to this.

But my favorite new character, the Loki variant. I call her Lady Loki to not confuse her with our Loki. The scene where she attacked TVA agents while “I need a hero” was playing in the background was enjoyable to watch. Her talk with Loki, fascinating. Her plans and her magic, smart and interesting. I grinned while she bombed their damned sacred timeline. I was like finally a competence and behavior I expect from a Loki. Can’t wait to see our two Lokis interact more.

I give this episode an 8 out of 10.

[sunstar2021]

This duplication vs illusion projection explanation was in fact an improv by Tom according to the writer for this series. I recommend following the writer https://twitter.com/MrEricMartin (who was on set the whole time, unlike Michael Waldron who mostly wrote the pilot). This writer has nothing but high praises for Tom. 

Tom said himself, probably too modestly, that only 5% of his ideas made to the final script. I have never seen another actor so devoted to his own characters. It doesn’t matter whether one thinks this Loki series is perfect or not, we should all appreciate how much Tom cares about Loki.

Well, hello Lady Loki!

I just watched the second episode and I liked it. Unlike episode one, there was no issue in tone and pace, and the story ran smoothly.

But the problem with Loki’s characterization still stands. While he is in character in many scenes(perhaps most of them), his clownish behavior and exaggerated expressions-both a direct result of TR- break the suspension of disbelief for me every time it happens. Also I was right that they’re showing him as power hungry which is a huge drawback imo.

Still hate TVA and Mobius with a burning passion. Can’t stand any of them(except Casey :D). Mobius is obviously hero coded and I predict that he is going to change sides and be against TVA at the end. His talk with Loki about TVA and then him showing concern about the way TVA agents are treating people are hints to this.

But my favorite new character, the Loki variant. I call her Lady Loki to not confuse her with our Loki. The scene where she attacked TVA agents while “I need a hero” was playing in the background was enjoyable to watch. Her talk with Loki, fascinating. Her plans and her magic, smart and interesting. I grinned while she bombed their damned sacred timeline. I was like finally a competence and behavior I expect from a Loki. Can’t wait to see our two Lokis interact more.

I give this episode an 8 out of 10.

[sunstar2021]

I think the parody film named after the destruction of Asgard did a lot of damage to Loki, and to his fans. In that movie, everybody is quipping regardless of situation, even the destruction of Asgard is treated as a joke. Loki is mocked, punched, put down, tortured by Thor and others without any chance to demonstrate his own wit and power. Because of this, people cannot accept anything like that and want Loki to be treated with absolute dignity and Loki himself to act as serious as possible.  I think having this sentiment is normal. 

After seeing the first Thor movie, I of course gravitated towards Loki immediately, so when I saw Avengers I was not entirely happy about Loki’s treatment in that movie, believe it or not. I felt Whedon ignored Loki’s tragic past and turned Loki into a joke at the end when Loki got thrashed by the Hulk. But Loki did get to show some of his charisma and wits, and the film overall was competently made, so I tolerated the film. Looking back now, what happens to Loki in the Avengers is nothing compared to what that parody film does to Loki. The parody film is a nightmare, not only the weak story, not only the non-stop jokes and lack of gravitas and pathos, not only the absurd characterization of Loki and everybody else, but from camera work to editing, that movie is a technical disaster. 

You are right in TDW, immediately after Loki gets out of prison, he is very playful and does things just for fun. And he has had a history of being playful and mischievous. I think there are couple scenes in this second Loki episode that may annoy people. One is Loki running after Mobius who comes out of Renslayer’s office, the other is in Pompeii.  Outside these two incidences, I cannot think of another one that should make people uncomfortable.   I am fine with either scene because it’s obvious to me in the first scene he is trying to make Mobius’ put his guard down. The second he is trying to cause as much ruckus as possible, that’s the point, no? 

In this Loki series, Loki is able to show his wit and smart, he is able to turn bad situations into his advantage. And the scene where he reads a piece of paper on the destruction of Asgard is million times more poignant and moving than anything in IW. I would like to reiterate in that parody film named after the destruction of Asgard, nobody gives a crap about the said destruction. This series already shows Loki has more humanity than everybody in that parody film. 

I think the series has a good balance of everything. Loki can be playful, he can also be serious. Loki can be beaten down by his enemies, but he gets to turn his wit and his tricks on them. It’s funny but also emotional.  I genuinely hope people could distinguish what’s shown in this series from what’s done in that disgusting and irredeemable parody film. 

On top of this, this series is just remarkably well made.  Dialogues are sharp, from directing to editing to cinematography to set design to music, everything is impressive. Even if the title character were not Loki, I would have loved it too. I really hope people could watch this series with an open mind, and see what a great example of good filmmaking it is.  I will never forgive Russo Brothers for what they did in IW, but I am glad Loki finds a new home in this series because of what Russo Brothers did in IW. I am also glad Loki is in this series, rather than in the sequel of that parody film that will no doubt be doubly as bad. I think this series is an instant classic and I hope more and more Loki fans could embrace it and cherish it. 

Well, hello Lady Loki!

I just watched the second episode and I liked it. Unlike episode one, there was no issue in tone and pace, and the story ran smoothly.

But the problem with Loki’s characterization still stands. While he is in character in many scenes(perhaps most of them), his clownish behavior and exaggerated expressions-both a direct result of TR- break the suspension of disbelief for me every time it happens. Also I was right that they’re showing him as power hungry which is a huge drawback imo.

Still hate TVA and Mobius with a burning passion. Can’t stand any of them(except Casey :D). Mobius is obviously hero coded and I predict that he is going to change sides and be against TVA at the end. His talk with Loki about TVA and then him showing concern about the way TVA agents are treating people are hints to this.

But my favorite new character, the Loki variant. I call her Lady Loki to not confuse her with our Loki. The scene where she attacked TVA agents while “I need a hero” was playing in the background was enjoyable to watch. Her talk with Loki, fascinating. Her plans and her magic, smart and interesting. I grinned while she bombed their damned sacred timeline. I was like finally a competence and behavior I expect from a Loki. Can’t wait to see our two Lokis interact more.

I give this episode an 8 out of 10.

[sunstar2021]

His “clownish” act is just that, an act. Listen to the conversation between Loki and Randy.  Loki says gaining confidence from TVA was no mean feat, and Randy replies, “OMG You went undercover”. One can say Loki uses childish behaviors as his cover. He is dead serious when he negotiates with Lady Loki.  I think people need to watch more before jumping into conclusions. With most of the exposition out of the way, the show is only getting started. 

This episode is perfect for me. I give it 10/10. This show if not in the Marvel universe, would definitely be an instant cult favorite (can’t say cult favorite here, because Marvel has such a huge following).

I would like to give a special shoutout to Loki’s editing team. Since editing is my special interest, I just appreciate so much when I see a show's editing is so well done.  

Well, hello Lady Loki!

I just watched the second episode and I liked it. Unlike episode one, there was no issue in tone and pace, and the story ran smoothly.

But the problem with Loki’s characterization still stands. While he is in character in many scenes(perhaps most of them), his clownish behavior and exaggerated expressions-both a direct result of TR- break the suspension of disbelief for me every time it happens. Also I was right that they’re showing him as power hungry which is a huge drawback imo.

Still hate TVA and Mobius with a burning passion. Can’t stand any of them(except Casey :D). Mobius is obviously hero coded and I predict that he is going to change sides and be against TVA at the end. His talk with Loki about TVA and then him showing concern about the way TVA agents are treating people are hints to this.

But my favorite new character, the Loki variant. I call her Lady Loki to not confuse her with our Loki. The scene where she attacked TVA agents while “I need a hero” was playing in the background was enjoyable to watch. Her talk with Loki, fascinating. Her plans and her magic, smart and interesting. I grinned while she bombed their damned sacred timeline. I was like finally a competence and behavior I expect from a Loki. Can’t wait to see our two Lokis interact more.

I give this episode an 8 out of 10.