Reading the Reddit thread, it would appear that Marvel has passed the point of things becoming too complicated for people to follow.
I wouldn't exactly rely on Reddit for a good gauge of anything like that given the average IQ of Reddit users...
I’m mixed. I’ve enjoyed the entire show and all the performances. It’s been a fun ride. But I feel kind of unsatisfied with how this season ended. Spoiler Loki & Sylvie were given 2 choices: 1. Kill He Who Remains & splinter the timestream/restore true free will to the universe. 2. Take his place as curator of time. I feel like Loki & Sylvie should’ve hit upon a hidden 3rd option. The whole point of the show was that they would craft their own destiny, but they still allowed this guy to lay out their only options for them & chose one. Where’s the cleverness? Two Lokis can’t think of something more clever than what he’s offering? The timeline would still need to be freed from his control for all the upcoming MCU stuff to work, so the end result needs to be the same. But I wish they’d gotten there a different way. They made such a big deal about Loki & Sylvie’s potential when they’re together, but it didn’t play out in the finale. I guess the big moment for them was overcoming Goliath in ep 5. But really- they should’ve kept that going and shown them still working together in this ep. I like the idea of Loki & Sylvie together, going on crazy adventures. And maybe that’ll still happen in season 2. Maybe he’ll learn to forgive snd she’ll get her own redemption arc. But I feel like that should’ve already happened here. I did still like it. But I feel like the destination in the final ep could’ve been reached by taking a different path.
Spoiler This was the point of the fight between Sylvie and Loki. Loki wanted to take a beat, weigh the info they were given, and figure out the best way to proceed. But more importantly, he wanted to do it WITH Sylvie. He didn't care what the outcome was, as long as Sylvie was OK. It was the ultimate moment of growth for Loki - he was literally being handed the keys to the timeline, and he had reached the point where he wasn't in it for himself, he was 100% focused on someone else. Sylvie, on the other hand, didn't grow or change. She was unable to look past her desire for revenge, which she had had most of her life. She didn't want to listen to reason, not from Loki and certainly not from Kang (this is why she didn't enchant him, which is something a lot of people apparently feel she should have done). It was the same as Tony when he found out Bucky killed his parents. At a certain point, reason goes out the window and isn't an option. "You can't trust, and I can't be trusted." This was the moment that they realized they didn't want the same thing. And so they fought, and Sylvie made the choices she made. Personally, I found it amazing.
Yup, "You can't trust, and I can't be trusted." Was the real climax of the series and wonderfully encapsulates the tragedy that both characters experience. When he says that line your heart breaks because you know this is not going to end in a happy ending. Having a few days to reflect more on the series I think what makes me like it even more is the introduction of several really good characters- Ravonna, Mobius, Sylvie, Hunter B-15 (she needs a better name), and of course "what's their name" too. (Miss Minutes wins major points for turning super sinister towards the end, haha.) The ending was a lot of exposition and a semi-frustrating cliffhanger but it ended exactly where it should have considering we are getting a second season. I'm glad Hiddleston is sticking around for more Loki.
That moment when Loki sits in silence and contemplates everything that just happened... just a beautifully tragic moment. This show has made me realize that I apparently enjoy exposition more than most people. I could have watched Jonathan Majors chew scenery for hours.
Despite my mixed feelings on the last episode, I'm just glad the ending allows for more Classic Loki. Richard E Grant needs to return as a Classic Loki variant in Season 2. This alone could be the series' greatest gift to the MCU.
I have such mixed feelings about that. I think Jonathan Majors did a great job showing an off-kilter but also manipulative character but I was getting impatient with the exposition. While watching it I was also worried that the climax would just be a lot of talking heads with no real resolution. I think this was more of my own issues though because I saw a headline that heavily hinted that Majors would be appearing and I'm also a long time comic book reader. So it was impossible for me to watch the final episode with a blank slate. I also think Majors just needs to be in scenes that don't involve so much explaining. When he teases Sylvie by asking her if she can truly trust Loki, you can totally see him turn into a lovable snake you want to strangle. But then he immediately turns back into wacky grandpa with early dementia. It's interesting, lol. I assume that this won't be how Majors will typically portray this character. But it's certainly a nice contrast to the type of super duper villains we've gotten in the MCU so far (Ultron, Thanos, Hela).
Well, this is the other issue. Shit is about to get very, VERY complicated in the MCU. They've got to keep the general audience somewhat able to follow along.
Hm. I like your reading of it too. One thing I forgot to mention- I kinda loved it when Majors’ only reply to Sylvie was, “Grrrr GROW UP, SYLVIE! GROW UP!!”
My guess is they're going to use the Disney+ shows to delve into the more complicated aspects of it all, which will allow things like Dr. Strange 2 and Spider-Man 3 to be a bit more streamlined and easily digestible for the larger audience. Kind of like when there's a company wide crossover event in the comics - there's a limited series book dealing with the details of the larger plot, but there's also just that issue of your favorite title where the crossover spills into the book and the hero has to deal with just a little slice of it.
My own speculation for season two: Spoiler •Miss Minutes is going to be the only one who remembers "our" Loki, and will be his only ally at first. •The Variant Lokis who had speaking roles may show up as TVA agents, without their memories. •Whatever role "our" Loki plays in Dr. Strange 2 will take place for him *AFTER* season 2 of Loki, as once you start dealing with time travel, you can do things like that. And "our" Loki will be very adept because of all the things he's learned about the Multiverse, during season 2.
LOKI Director Kate Herron Confirms She WON'T Return For Season 2 (And Isn't Working On Another MCU Project) Really disappointing.
I hope whoever Marvel gets in place of Herron will be a good successor. Herron did great work with Loki, and it helps that she's a fan of Loki.
As long as Haldron stays on as showrunner, I don't think much will change. Typically the director on television is much less important to the overall storytelling than they are in features. I assume that's still true on these shows.
I thought that ending sucked. Spoiler All that for a Supernatural villain and a really lame sword fight. When He Who Remains said "not what you expected?" I felt like saying "no, you are, I just hoped you wouldn't be." I got kind of invested when he actually started getting a bit serious, talking about his own variants like things actually had gravitas, but ultimately he was just unfunny and annoying. Almost as annoying as the unnecessary sword fight with some of the worst fight choreography. It's Wandavision all over again, they just can't resist going back to the old Marvel formula at the last moment.
