#what’s the deal w Brad and Dox?

[sylvies-kablooie]

I agree!! This season has so many open ends and there’s no way they will close them all up next episode.

I saw someone say they chose plot over characterization and that seems to be true

it could very well be a strategic, long haul move to incorporate some of these characters- like renslayer or brad- into future marvel content.

the problem is i’m not really interested in future marvel content! there are a few characters i keep up with but i’m not interested in noticing every tiny detail about every film like i used to be, which i mostly chalk up to just being really really busy these days. but it is overwhelming to think, aw man do i have to have seen the 5 most recent series, 7 newest films, etc to know what’s going on in this new installment I want to watch?

and let’s be honest- some characters within the vast cinematic universe are just going to appeal to certain people more than others. having to play mental chess to figure out where each of the hundreds of characters are to figure out what the one dude you love is doing is a Lot.

i also prefer a storyline contained within one show/movie because the next person who gets to write the script could take all of your blorbo’s character development and turn it into a punchline.

but there is also the possibility that these characters won’t be built upon in future installments because every other show/movie has equally interesting side characters and developing them all would be impossible. you get a spin-off show for your specific fave? they will incorporate more side characters for you to get curious about. etc etc. u see what I’m saying? we’d need infinite time!

#juni answers #this is very ramble-y but do you see what i’m saying? #you love a character. you want to watch their show. you have to keep up with 15 years and counting of lore to figure out what they are doin #i don’t think it is possible to resolve all of the open questions we have been presented in s2 #i don’t even think it would make sense to try unless there was intention for an s3 made very clear #so the best we can hope so is answering a few #Like what are renslayer and miss minutes up to? #what’s the deal w Brad and Dox? #is there significance of B-15 being Verity? #etc etc #i don’t have the time to keep up with every tiny moving piece of the MCU #so i just watch the stuff i know has my faves in it these days #but that context can be crucial and you also Don’t Know WHEN your faves will show up #So it’s gambling to miss out on anything! #But yeah unless the episode is gonna be 2 hours I don’t think it will touch half of the questions I have #And even if it WAS 2 hours idk how they would tie all of those threads into a cohesive story #Alas we must wait and trust #two things I loathe doing

[sylvies-kablooie]

the problem w loki s2: hey, where did the women go?

this is criticism so if that isn’t your thing you have been forewarned! i knew by episode 2 that something was off compared to s1 and i couldn’t quite place it. was it the sole focus on drab retro futurist TVA aesthetic instead of the colorful cinematography in s1? was it the focus being placed upon this Loom that we just found out is a thing and also Hey we have to stop it right now? Was it the lack of sylvie content?

but i think it just comes down to bad writing and whilst also trying to salvage what we DID get, i would feel dishonest to pretend that my problems with s2 arose from the finale alone. and while there were narrative inconsistencies between the seasons, i think a central error in s2 was sidelining the female characters.

s1 had beautiful themes, including self-acceptance and the power of love, and was building up to a ton of unanswered questions. a central theme of s1 (like it or not) was the connection between sylvie and loki. it was intended by waldron and herron from the start to be a romance, but beyond the romantic aspect, sylvie was the driving force of the show. she’s the variant the TVA is chasing, she’s the one who reveals that the TVA is a lie and makes everyone question what they were taught, it’s her that plunges the blade into HWR and opens the multiverse- and it’s no secret that in s2 she was largely off screen, only to show up at key plot points and kind of make things difficult rather than allow a further explanation into her character. and i could and might make a whole post on the sidelining of sylvie, but also- renslayer.

we saw a lot of renslayer in s1! she was pretty damn integral to the plot. her connection with mobius was fascinating, her dedication to doing what she saw as the right thing even when she learned all her gods were dead, her willingness to prune her best and maybe only friend to protect the big TVA lie- that was captivating. she’s also the first character we get to see the real non-TVA life of! she’s a principal at a school! and what did we get from her in s2?

she throws the book at victor, we learn she was his general and she’s Mad, and then exiled to the void. she’s barely there this season despite being central to s1! why, when you have an actor as talented as gugu mbatha-raw, would you not take advantage of that! we see threads of what COULD have happened in her storyline- her alliance with miss minutes, realizing maybe they never needed him at all- but at the end she’s pruned, thrown in the void and That’s That’s, stay tuned to see if anything happens in one of the endless future installments. we get that amazing I’m order line, and then what? and what type of order is she even representing? why is she so willing to toss mobius to the curb? you see why we need more development here?

b-15 met a similar fate. actually, i was really excited at the start of s2 to see her get her moment defending the new branches, realizing those were people, seeing the grief on her face; remember, sylvie showed her her life on the timeline, so this is personal for her. but she’s also quickly regaled to the side after her speech in the war room. she was a doctor, she is VERITY WILLIS, but do we get into any of this? No! (I also didn’t like her willingness to negotiate with Dox after the bombed the timelines, saying deep down I know you’re good right after we watched her cry over the devastation that had brought to the timelines, but maybe that’s another point)

and dox? what’s the deal with her! we are introduced to this strong general with a weird connection to brad, someone who is willing to go against TVA orders to bomb the timelines in the defense of what she believes is right, but then- squashed in a cube. that’s that. no examination into why she would be willing to betray the TVA in that way but also NOT join renslayer, no explanation into what was going on w brad.

(brad is worth a whole separate post but this is focusing on the ladies so just keep that in the back of your mind)

and back to sylvie. i saw some people point out how gross her being frozen during the final battles between her and loki was; how it eliminated her agency and allowed the men to have a Serious Talk. i have to say i agree with that judgement. in this season we get to see glimpses of what sylvie wants, but the unresolved relationship (whichever way you wish to characterize it- you do you!) between her and loki just hangs in the air like a heavy storm cloud i kept waiting to break but it… didn’t. the closest we got was the pie room scene, but everything between them was stilted and awkward when she was onscreen, which wasn’t that much.

it was almost as if the connection with loki was considered in opposition to her role as a Strong Woman, in a way- she was Strong and Angry. in s1 we see sides of her that defy stereotype- giving that doomed child her candy to ease the pain, her admitting to loki that she numbed herself with flings; there’s a vulnerability there, a complexity. the two of them rehashed their first fight again and again instead of moving onto something new (that being said sophia’s performance in episode 3 added a weight to the story that pleased me greatly) but overall she was regarded as a plot obstacle to be hidden away- at least past episode 3.

anyway i do think it comes down to writers biting off more than they could chew and losing the central concept of the show and focusing on sciencey plot rather than characterization. you can’t make season 1 centered around a love story and then pretend that didn’t happen and expect a cohesive transition between seasons. you can’t bombard us over and over again with the centrality of loki and sylvie’s duality- all of the we’re the sames, all of the i’m not you’s, and then move into s2 deciding it’s time to focus on only one half of that duo you spent the whole series focusing on.

you also can’t give us a “aHH we’re all gonna explode” thing over and over again and expect us to give a damn when you’re not letting the characters have dialogue that makes us say, oh man, i hope this loom thing doesn’t blow up, because i want to see where the connections they have going on end up! you can’t replace emotional weight with a ticking time bomb and expect it to do the work for you.

there are other problems with the series as well, and other people are far more articulate than i am, but the lack of female gaze and only one episode having a female writer this season was glaring, imo.

thank u for coming to my tedtalk and i’d love to hear ur thoughts!

#there was also just no whimsy #it was whimsy-less #but that’s another point entirely #anyway i’m torn between embracing what i do like about s2 and throwing the whole thing in the trash mentally #loki series negativity #loki series critical #loki tv show #loki #loki series #loki show #loki tv #loki s2 #renslayer baby i’m so sorry they did all of that to you you deserved SO much better #and sylvie and dox and b-15 #i’m sure i’ll think of other things too but these are the big ones

[sylvies-kablooie]

just getting some thoughts re:loki s2 off of my chest

i think anytime you LOVE s1 of a show getting a second season can be a terrifying thing that almost always leads to disappointment. but i guess my biggest problem with s2 is the lack of follow up on certain things…?

what’s the deal with brad? what’s the deal with him escaping to the sacred timeline and being a movie star? is that genuinely all he wants and he’s just a giant jerk because that’s the way he is? what’s his relationship w dox?

what’s the deal with dox? what was her motivation for pruning all of those branches? what was the motivation for the TVA workers she recruited to go along with her? why was she willing to betray and die for the TVA?

what’s the deal with ravonna? last season we learned she was a school principal on the sacred timeline. now we learn she was kang’s general. why did she want to stabilize the timeline but refuse to cooperate with our heroes? what is it she wants beyond being the head of the TVA? why is she so willing to toss everything she had with mobius aside? what’s the implication of miss minutes saying they never needed him at all?

what’s the deal with victor? we get to meet this HWR variant and then… we see him die? we see him beg for his life and plead to get the autonomy he would have been denied and then… spaghetti? i liked seeing him prove his valor, but don’t you think there could have been more to explore? we see miss minutes say he will never be him but then don’t get to explore what that would mean?

what’s the deal with loki? why can’t he see beyond the TVA? he wants to keep the world safe but when sylvie asked do you care about anything BUT the TVA… was she really wrong? why are they rehashing the fight from the end of s1 instead of saying what they mean? why does he have the nerve to call sylvie selfish? why can’t he tell her he cares?

you see how there’s a lot of stuff that i would like to be resolved but with only one episode left i can predict about half of these will be on the chopping block, a quarter will be addressed, and the other quarter resolved in another MCU film or show you have to do homework to enjoy?

granted!!! an episode can change a lot and maybe they can answer all of these things within that timeframe. but i have Many Questions and few answers.

#One episode just seems like such a short time to wrap this up!!!! #I wish they would just say what they mean!!! #Girl who cares about the damn loom!!! #Is this negativity? Honestly not sure #I still have been enjoying it just doesn’t have the same feel as s1 #We shall see how it ends!! Not making any predictions #Regardless i will keep cherishing this community so don’t think I’m going anywhere #Juni rambles #loki #loki series #loki tv show #loki show #loki tv #loki s2