'Loki' web series season 1 review: A new world, a new time(line)

Disclaimer: This review of Loki includes the review for the sixth and final episode.

So it ends, the first season of Loki's (mis)adventures with time. It has been quite a ride, watching the younger, power-mad and despotic Loki turn into something similar to, and yet so very different from the Loki we see killed in Infinity War.

It's really a character journey for the God of Mischief throughout his imprisonment and struggle at an agency where all the power he has is for naught and trust is a commodity that is not exactly in circulation. Yet somehow, throughout all this, Loki comes out the other end all the better, if a little broken.

Still, it's as they say, the journey is what matters, not the destination. And though his destination is still far off, the impact he has had on the universe through this journey makes Loki the single most influential character in all the MCU so far, and that is not underselling what he has become.

The series has been a most preposterous set of escalating affairs, intertwined with comedy, drama, action and everything that makes a Marvel movie tick, spread across six wonderful little episodes. Each episode appears to have its own identity, yet they work harmoniously as an entire arc. Many of the episodes feel like they're almost working on instinct, and yet somehow it all works out in the end, though it does leave many questions to be answered in an uncertain future.

At the core of Loki, is, well, Loki and all the other Lokis - specifically Sylvie. She is as enigmatic as she is powerful and inventive, and she makes a perfect complement to Loki's oftentimes more brains-first approach to handling danger. Calling it chemistry feels weird since they are essentially both Lokis, but they do work well together on their journey to the end of time to find the one responsible for the mess they're in, and it's plainly obvious that Tom Hiddleston and Sophia Di Martino are having way too much fun playing their characters.

Speaking of fun, the one other personality, who is an absolute riot for every second of his screentime, is Mobius M Mobius. Owen Wilson doesn't get to say his trademark "wow", but somehow he manages to exhibit the same level of amazing acting he's known for. Then, of course, there's the assorted cast of side characters like Ravonna Renslayer and Hunter B-15, all of whom are on a level between okay and great in terms of both characterisation and competence.

Loki, being part of Phase Four of the MCU, much like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier before it, is equal parts expanding the universe and giving more meat to the characters we have seen and will be seeing taking key roles in the future, and while Loki's future is certain(?), in this regard, he is not the greatest player. That honour belongs to a certain Conqueror, who is strangely aloof, yet tired and holding back something far far worse, sitting at the end of time, who we see in episode 6.

There is no lie in saying that Loki is by far the best miniseries put out by Marvel, beating both its predecessors by a fair margin in terms of quality and gravitas. The expansionist tendencies of Marvel are likely to branch into more insane things down the road, and the time could not be more exciting to open the doors to greater things.