LOKI Ranking Ep 1-6
"I've Been Where You Are. I've Felt What You Feel. Don't Ask Me How I Know. All I Know Is I Don't Want To Hurt You. I Don't Want The Throne. I Just Want You To Be Okay." - Loki to Sylvie
(Spoiler Warning!!!)
Here we are again with another Disney+ MCU series ranking! For this one, I’ll be talking about the six-episode event, LOKI. I remember, when this series was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con, I had no real interest in it. I liked Loki before, but I wasn’t so attached to him as a character. When we first got a tease of the series in a Super Bowl ad, I knew it was going to be exciting. It became one of my most anticipated Disney+ series ahead of WandaVision and What If…? The direction, sets, writing, acting, score, and importance of the show produced the best series for me in phase four. The ending changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it. It was incredible. Let’s go ahead and rank these episodes, in my opinion!
(1) Episode 4 - The Nexus Event
At the top of the ranking is episode four! The opening set the tone of the episode. We were going dark. The chemistry between Sophia and Tom was so good. The visuals were breathtaking. I wanted to be at that apocalypse. After three episodes, we finally got a tease of the Time-Keepers. It felt very spooky. B-15 and C-20 were getting suspicious about the TVA, and later, Mobius was as well. It felt like we were going to get to the bottom of the TVA. I was happy to see Lady Sif back in the MCU. Thor: The Dark World was the last time we saw her. There were so many emotions throughout the runtime. I felt for Loki, especially when Lady Sif said he is alone, and he always will be. One of my favorite scenes was Mobius interrogating Loki. The camera shots, movement, and lighting were well done. Loki planted a seed in Mobius’ head about the TVA. He changed his mind about the TVA and was ready to help them. It was quickly stopped when he was pruned. Loki finally got a friend, but he was gone instantly. Renslayer felt so evil in this episode, and I loved it. I just kept thinking she was going to team up with Kang The Conqueror. The meeting with the Time-Keepers was confusing a bit. I could tell they weren’t real at first. Something about the CGI wasn’t good. I don’t know if that is what they intended to do. Once again, there was a twist. They weren’t real; they were robots. It drove me crazy, like who is behind it all? From the beginning, I wanted Kang to be the main villain, but at this point, I was losing faith. When everything felt like it was going down, Loki wanted to confess his love for Sylvie. Renslayer stopped that by pruning him. It was tremendous how they did that. I knew he wasn’t gone, though. I mean, it is his show. The mid-credit scene got me so hype because it was Loki variants! They had classic Loki for crying out loud! It was beautiful. What a cliffhanger.
(2) Episode 6 - For All Time. Always.
The intro for this episode was the best in any MCU movie or series. They made us a part of the universe. It was a sight to see. The set for the Citadel at the End of Time was gorgeous. Miss Minutes told us about He Who Remains. When she said He Who Remains, I lost hope for Kang. I knew he was an actual character in Marvel Comics, but what they did was brilliant. As Sylvie and Loki looked for him, the elevator doors opened, and it was Jonathan Majors. The actor who was already confirmed to be playing Kang the Conqueror! The outfit looked like Immortus, who is a version of Kang in the comics. The causal vibe He Who Remains had was so pleasing to watch. He is too powerful to care about anything. Renslayers and Mobius's scenes were mid, especially when he tried to attack her. But she did say before leaving that she was going to search for free will. Who has free will? Yes, He Who Remains! It is perfect for them to meet. What I really loved about this finale is there was no big final battle. It was like 20 or 30 minutes of exposition. I get tired of big boss fights sometimes. It was welcoming to see a finale different from others. The idea of the multiverse opening up if they killed He Who Remains got me excited. It was great for us, but for the characters, it was very terrible. Different variants of He Who Remains would be unleashed, and it isn't a good idea. Loki wanting to make sure Sylvie was okay was heartbreaking. Sylvie’s betrayal made it even worse. Sad boy Loki is me. She finally did what she wanted to do for decades, but it felt pointless. He Who Remains’ last words were chilling. I’ll see you soon. Wooo, let’s go! Multiple branches opened up quickly; everything felt like it reset. Mobius and B-15 didn’t know Loki. Instead of the Time-Keepers statues, it was Kang the Conqueror! Mother of all cliffhanger, jeez! We get confirmation of a season two as well. It was so well done. What an ending to a fantastic series.
(3) Episode 5 - Journey Into Mystery
I loved the title because it was the comic run title for Thor and Loki's first appearance in Marvel Comics. I’m a sucker for Easter eggs, and this episode was filled with them. Qeng tower, yellowjacket helmet, Thanos copter, Throg and Mjolnir with comic issue Thor #365, Kree ship, the Living Tribunal head, and a helicarrier. There are many more, but those are the ones relating to Marvel. There were so many variants of Loki because Lokis know how to survive. It was very fitting. I liked the nod for the comic run Vote Loki, which is President Loki. My favorite variant was Classic Loki, though. I love older comic runs. When Marvel throws characters from those eras with comic-accurate costumes, it is beautiful. His story is very depressing as well. He hates his glorious purpose. They help him try to escape the Void and kill Alioth, but it isn't much. Sylvie planned to enchant the cloud. Before doing that, Loki and Sylvie share a tender moment. I mean, they obviously had feelings for each other. I know people didn’t like that, but I thought it made sense. Loki had done far worse in Norse mythology. Loki and Sylvie teaming up together to enchant Alioth was impressive, but Classic Loki stole the show. His sacrifice was unbelievable. He changed his mind with the talk he had with Mobius. The score elevated the scene as well; I had tears in my eyes. I didn’t expect it. They reached the end of time, but we had to wait a week for the final conclusion. Another episode with a superb ending.
(4) Episode 2 - The Variant
We got more time with the variant Loki. I didn’t see them until the end, but we saw their actions throughout the episode. I kept going back and forth with the idea of them being Kid Loki or Lady Loki. Before we got into that, Loki was helping the TVA with the variant. I always liked traveling to different periods. The way the Timedoors were used was great. In a briefing, they showed different variants of Loki. It was so badass. You could tell something was up about the TVA, though. I felt like there was a lot of propaganda. They were too good to be the good guys in this situation. There was a lot of focus on the Time-Keepers, which made me think something was up about them too. Loki continued to help Mobius after he blew his first mission. When he came across the file on Ragnarok, it made me sadder for Loki. He didn’t know about that event since he was from 2012. He solved the mystery of where the variant could be. Mobius and Loki tested it out in Pompeii, and it worked. Before they traveled to Alabama, 2050, they shared a conversation about free will and the concept of life. I was amazed they were deep-diving into those ideologies. The best part of the episode had to be the final moments between Loki and the variant. They kept transferring their enchantment from one person to another. Once they revealed who they were, I was shocked for two reasons. The variant is a lady but doesn’t look like Lady Loki from the comics. I mean, the horns are similar, but she is blonde. It gave me a thought that she could be Enchantress. The reset charges go off, and she bombed the Scared Timeline. At this moment, I thought the multiverse was opened up. I was freaking out. She left through a Timedoor, and Loki followed her. The episode ends right there; the endings are always good. I was impressed.
(5) Episode 1 - Glorious Purpose
I was hooked from the beginning. The series gave us different angles of shots that we had already seen in Avengers: Endgame. Then they showed where Loki went with the Tessaract. I was just amazed because this series came from a concept the screenwriters had. They didn’t plan this beforehand. The set design for the TVA was phenomenal. It felt like it was a mix between an old and modern style. The technology looked old while being so advanced too. We were introduced to the TVA in animation by Miss Minutes. It was a clever and short way to introduce them to us. The title card for LOKI was simple, but it was so darn amazing to me. It felt mischievous. The rest of the episode was mostly Mobius trying to help Loki figure out who he was in life. He kept insulting and belittling him. I loved them going back to past events since this Loki didn’t get the same character development. It kept getting sadder when they showed Frigga dying because of him. He managed to escape for a little while, though. When he found multiple infinity stones in a drawer, I was baffled. What we thought were the most powerful objects in the universe were pointless here. Once he got back to the Time Theater, he saw more past events. Odin’s death, a shared moment with Thor, and his death. I was in awe. It was tragic for Loki, but to see him go through the same character development in one episode was incredible. Mobius told Loki they needed him because the variant they were hunting was him. Mindblown. The episode ended with the variant killing more minutemen. The first of many great endings.
(6) Episode 3 - Lamentis
This episode isn’t necessarily bad, but it isn’t as close to being thrilling as the other ones. So, I’ll just tell you about the things that I liked or loved about it. The visuals were magnificent. The heavy use of purple was very pleasant. Sylvie and Loki were great. People didn’t like how different Sylvie was from Loki, but I did. It wouldn’t make sense if every variant was the same because they lived in different timelines. I felt like we met Sylvie but only learned more about Loki than her. I wanted way more backstory on her, even more than episode four. They said the love is like a dagger line didn’t make sense, but to me, it did. I absolutely loved it. What I got from that saying was that you feel love. You can see yourself in love. Love is beautiful until it hurts you. You can’t reach out for love because it is just a feeling/emotion. It isn’t real. It was something that I felt during the time I watched the series. The main plot point that we received was the twist that the workers at the TVA weren’t creations of the Time-Keepers. They were all variants. The best sequence of the episode was the one-shot. It was done well, plus the set design of the town was very cool. They ended up not reaching the ark in time, so they just stood there in disbelief. It seemed like they were going to die. Should I say it again? What a great ending, even if the episode isn’t as great.
Hello there! I’m happy you took the time out of your day to read my post. Remember if you have any questions or want to have a discussion, leave a comment! My next post will be about Hawkeye before the series comes out. I won’t be doing a What If…? ranking because I recently did a recap/review on that. Happy days and take care!