LOKI - Finale - The Cosmic Storm (Patreon)

“Not what you were expecting, hmm?”

Well, yes, actually.

It was exactly what a lot of us were expecting. Which brings us to the crux of things pretty much immediately. Because there’s a simple problem with trying to create drama within a story when 1) you’re dealing with a giant interconnected series of media experiences that clash with 2) the reality of being in the movie news sphere uneven  the most adjacent way. Because when they announced a Dr. Strange movie called “The Multiverse of Madness” several years ago, we pretty much knew the multiverse was coming in some form (not to mention how much Multi-verse-y casting news has made the rounds for other films). But then we started watching an entire show where Loki gets involved with The Sacred Timeline, which was all about preventing separate worlds from invading each other. Then it’s pretty simple math in guessing what was going to happen. We knew the walls of multi-verse-separation were going to crumble once we understood the show’s conceit.

Because one plus one equals two.

And then when the great Jonathan Majors showed up in this episode as “He Who Remains,” we could already connect dots on what was coming because just two days prior we were told he was cast as Kang The Conqueror in the upcoming Ant-Man movie and thus we could realize exactly how this choice is going to play out: He Who Remains would be killed and his not so fun variant(s) will come into the picture.

Because one plus one equals two.

The real question is whether or not this even matters.

After all, I’ve long been the advocate of traditional drama where knowing the danger that’s coming is the more effective tool. Just as I’ve argued that endlessly chasing surprises and mystery boxes will always lead to a dead end. Just as I’ve argued that no great movie can ever truly be spoiled. And yet, at the same time I understand that dramatic experiences require balance. Yes, it needs the tension of planted expectation, but also needs surprising moments of execution, genuine threats, and something to lose - all to create that quality of edge that makes us feel rapt with attention. But at the same time - there is a vast difference between creating expectation of possibilities based on plot points andr story clues dropped into the narrative vs. getting them from ding dang movie news.

… Or is there?

At this point, I think it’s fairly obvious to say that some people aren’t watching the MCU to have a traditional dramatic experience, at least not in the way we necessarily assume. If Wandavision taught the producers any lesson, it’s that fans being able to guess simple conjecture correctly (as opposed to the whole wild guess Mephisto stuff that came from the show’s hyper-cryptic teasing) is actually what most people want. To wit, I’m scanning through twitter right now at 2.A.M  and Mephisto is literally trending because they said Loki “didn’t pull a Wandavision,” which feels like a massive misunderstanding on two fronts. I mean, really. Think about what would cause that kind of motivation in watching. It not only invokes a hyper-logical, left brain approach to art, but also the sad joys that come with getting an audience to predict that “one plus will equals two.” And at the same exact time, that’s an incredibly cynical way for me to read it, no? I mean, when I read detective fiction, I don’t obsess over the surprise, either. I want to be sure that the story earns its ending with just a slightly more complicated version of “one plus one equals two.” So maybe it’s totally fine. Maybe the movie news element is just part of a modern meta-game. Because what is the MCU at this point if not one big, ever-evolving mass of fan conjecture?

Honestly, I don’t even really know anymore.

It’s so easy to see the negative side of this swirling mass, but it’s just as easy to see it as a merry-go-round, all part of the non-stop party that people look to for relief from their hard ass days. Just as it’s so easy to use that metaphor of “always circling forward” to get lost in more future analysis of what the show’s decisions mean for the new movies; all games of conjecture about everything that will follow this finale. Just as it is so easy to see the show itself as something that merely exists to set up other pieces… But I don’t want to get lost in what’s easy.

I want to talk about Loki as a piece of television.

* * *

Since this is technically a finale recap, I imagine there is some want to talk about the episode itself, of which there are some obvious discernible highs. Like the stalwart “opening Contact shot” (complete with new MCU opening title card that feeds into it). Or the fact it actually succeeds as an episode that’s composed of long, series of pointed conversations. One of the rare successful bits of Matrix Reloaded-like entertainment of them meeting the closest we can come to a “god” in this universe. And these are conversations that have really strong lines like “Peace… narcissistic, self-congratulatory peace.” These things are good. And most of my purely-episodic complaints are small. Like them trying to shoe-horn in a big “choice” with the Miss Minutes cartoon thingy with her offer of “you can kill Thanos.” It doesn’t work because you can’t put the offer in front of Mr. Wizard reveal sequence because we don’t know what the real bargain is yet. What are they going to pack up the entire season without us knowing who he is? We’d never buy it. They just can’t make a real choice unless they’re talking to him. So it just feels like this weird choice to try and “split up” the mass of ending dialogue. Also, I can’t help but wish they underlined a few thematic concepts better in terms of how they integrated with Sylvie and Loki’s journey (but we’ll get to that in a second). I simply have to acknowledge that on the pure surface level, the episode mostly works and then brings down that thunderous hammer of an ending (a wow moment we will come back to). Because it would be easy to get lost in these reactions and keep going blow by blow through the episode. To speculate about what it will all mean. But as everyone looks forward, I want to take this as an important moment to look back…

Because what was LOKI, anyway?

Yes, to those who look at the whole Marvel enterprise cynically, I fully understand it is a piece of entertainment architecture that is designed to get us from one place to another. Just as it is meant to be a successful Disney+ show that gets them subscribers. Just as it is meant to be a Tom Hiddleston showpiece that keeps him happy. Just as it is meant to keep him around in the MCU a little while longer in this endless attempt at empire building. So yes, when looking at the show as a piece of stock dividend, it does all that well enough. So I’m sure The Mouse and the producers are happy. But pointing out the obvious corporate nature of this work is 1) incredibly easy to do (insert Jeff Bezos level sarcastic “Congratulations!”) and 2) ultimately it’s reductive of the artist’s work and those who labor loving within that hierarchy but 3) it’s not a simple dichotomy between the two. For it's worth acknowledging the way such intense corporate nature DOES make for certain creative limitations. But any analysis of that needs specificity or else it’s just worthless generalization. So in order to answer that question of whether or not the show was compromised by limitations, you have to ask…

Does Loki succeed as a lone piece of narrative?

Is it more than a lark of distracting fun? Does it have a resonant meaning? Is it a successful story in it’s own right? Someone recently noted out on twitter that it felt more like a movie (I’m sorry I can’t find the comment) and they’re not wrong in the sense that this is some pretty big universe-building stuff and I feel bad telling anyone the architecture of the entire next MCU arc was 100% built in a six episode TV show you might not have access to. But structurally speaking? I usually find that sort of argument to be a misunderstanding of whether or not any story inherently works better as a movie or TV. There’s just the ability to execute. Because there’s ways to make ANY length of show work if you know how to tell episodic stories in meaningful fashion. And when you look at the shape of Loki’s narrative, you can at least see the logic of this six episode approach…

Episode 1. They take the most grudge-laden-before-god character in the MCU and make them kneel before the highest power of the universe thus 2. Make him go to work for said power and we think “this is the show” with him playing time-cop the rest of the season, but they 3. Immediately go on a detour and make him stuck with the bad guy he was chasing (AKA a version of himself) and do a quasi team up / learn the other isn’t so bad before escaping and 4. Coming back and turning hierarchy on highest power upside down and end up 5. Finding out where pruned variants really go and having your little crossroads moment at the end of time before they 6. Meet the wizard, fight over what to do with the future, and end up blowing up the order of the universe... All makes sense to me! The thing is that coming up with a vague shape is an easy way you can pretend to have meaningful structure. If you don’t get us from point A to point B within that story in a compelling way, it’s all for naught.

So I have two questions.

Was this story compelling to watch?

Simple answer: yes. For whatever it’s worth, when it comes to the pure dramatic level Loki is the most narratively successful show the MCU has put out so far. I liked parts of pretty much every episode. They stayed on pace and played with the viewer’s sense of anticipation. Episode 4 was the highlight for me because it featured things actually coming to a head and big power exchanges and all that stuff that makes for fun drama. Sure, there were some energy dips and plot moments that stalled along the way. I also wish there was a little more edge and that some people’s deaths and the notion that sacrifices actually mattered (the MCU seems terrified to actually lose a single actor at this point). And yes, there’s even some lingering logical nitpicks why He Who Remains has structured the secrets of the TVA the way he has… but mostly one huge ass question that I can’t get out of my mind..

What was this about?

Because I kept thinking about that during the final stand-off between the three of them.

Sure, there’s a lot of talk about free will, but with very little practical application of what that means. And I get what it’s talking about regarding trust between the two of them, what with the way it paints Loki and Sylvie as an unstoppable force vs. an immovable object. But… is that really who they are in this particular narrative? I know the characters are asking themselves that same question / fighting against their past nature - but by all accounts, Loki is no longer the immovable object in this show, no? I mean, he pretty much hasn’t been that since the second episode. And as Sylvie has gotten to know him, Loki hasn’t really been scheming and tricking and tricking her at all, no? Sure, we know his lifetime of behavior… but does she? Why does she believe he can’t be trusted? What has he done to earn that besides “be a Loki.”

The trouble is this runs hand in hand with the flip-side of this demonstration, which is how they’ve also rushed through his growth in a way where I have trouble believing it, too. In the first episode they actually got into his psychology and I was like, “oh hell yeah, they’re actually gonna do some death of the old self stuff and lesson learning!” But then it felt like Loki hit his growth beats quickly (which I believe was mostly a meta response because he’s already done it in other media). It makes for this weird catch 22 when it comes to her framing of him as “a Loki.” Heck, by these last few episodes, he’s basically a straight up milquetoast do-gooder in atoning mode (who isn’t having much fun).

And at the same time, we’ve seen so much softness in Sylvie at this point - and yet she falls back to the old killer so fatalistically. She’s just straight up not listening to this guy and I think this is the one moment that actually gets mishandled on the surface-level. Because you have to have her utter rage come out in order for the irrationality to play - it has to be ALL about that life that’s been stolen. More importantly, you also have to have Time Dad actually answering WHY she was taken (it sort of doesn’t get into it) to further that rage. Yes, I know her motivations and I understand the logic of it, but I want to better FEEL it in the moment. And better yet, I want it to underline an aspect of her psychology because that again leads to the question I can’t get out of my mind…

What was this big climactic brouhaha thematically about?

Because as it turns out, the wizard air dad in the sky was doing all this… to protect you from… other variant versions of himself? What’s the metaphor here exactly? I’m actually asking, because I feel like I can play around the space and stab at some ideas - it’s a show playing in the space of selfhood and variation and whether or not we can change - but nothing congeals into a single solitary arrow - let alone the diamond bullet to the brain. So when it comes to Loki’s growth / Sylvie’s falling back to old habits, what’s it all add up to? Is it a portrait of our most willing and toxic selves? Is this about fatalistic behavior or not being able to get beyond impulse? How could all of that have been hammered home better? How do you make Sylvie’s journey feel like a tragedy instead of her merely going from point A to point A; a closed loop of basic justification that is unconnected to her deeper psychological theme? Maybe there’s some answer, but nothing quite gels for me yet. Which all adds to the swirling thoughts I still have going, like when I suddenly remember Gugu’s real character’s double in Freemont Ohio and I’m like wait, what? How did that end up fitting into the climax exactly? And the truth is I can’t know yet - just as I can’t know a lot of how Sylvie reacts to the horrors of her choice… because so much of the finale is the reveal that we’re in the first act of a much, much bigger story…

Which is where we come back to the hard part of creative limitations in the Marvel machine. Because if I can’t come up with truly meaningful answers to these thematic questions - and talk about them in a concrete way that addresses the characters’ journeys - and any prospective answers get punted to “they’ll answer in the fallout” -  then this is where the rubber meets the road. This where “limits of control” and being part of the giant interconnected MCU fabric has unfortunate merit. This is where Marvel’s thematic and characterization “punting habit” wreaks havoc. And this is where every slight against Disney-Plus-ification feels more valid because I feel like most other shows HAVE to answer these questions because that’s what all good, resonant thematic work does. Whereas the answer to some of the questions here honestly might indeed be, “because it drives you to phase 4.” And we always seem to end up here.

Someone on twitter commented that they felt, “unsatisfied, but intrigued” and love ‘em or hate ‘em, I think it speaks to the exact nature of the MCU playbook. But for me, it comes with the acknowledgement that I’m really tired at this point. I got a case of The Existential Blues. Because where the movies were at least big events - and I know the following jam-packed schedule is a Covid response - but after three Disney plus shows in a row, Black Widow, and three more movies rapidly approaching… I’m very tired. Just as I’m tired that after the genius of Spider-Verse, the MCU took whatever non-lessons from that and now we’re probably gonna get three white-as-hell Peter Parkers (look, I wanna see Tobey too, but the larger point stands). I’m tired because time-travel is literally the hardest genre in the world and both writing it / writing about it ties the brain in knots. I’m tired because I always feel like I’m always straddling two groups of people, the die-hard MCU-ers who eat it all up so non-critically and always look to the future instead of the present - and those who dismiss it all so casually without acknowledging the merits of having something genuinely fun so central to our zeitgeist. It’s one group always seeing forest and another only seeing the trees. And not to keep mixing metaphors, but writing about it constantly makes you feel like Schrödinger's cat.

Which is exactly why I’m also so thankful for y’all specifically. The thing about the space we’ve carved out here is it feels like one of the last bastions of where we talk about all this from the space of Schrödinger's cat. It’s something I’m especially thankful for because my old friend Siddhant Adlakha was basically taken off IGN’s coverage of Loki because he offered a thoughtful mixed-bag on a take on the fourth episode and the fans there had a conniption. He’s an incredible writer, not just with his exceptional MCU / Nolan pieces, but he just wrote his first dang piece for The New York Times. So if you’re able, he’s absolutely worth supporting over on Patreon, too. All this is important because I deeply fear a critical world where everything is distilled down to catering to fandom and being the arbiters of hype. Because the whole thing about criticism is that you’re best doing your job when you’re sort of accounting for everyone. I mean, it genuinely doesn’t matter if you or I loved or hated Black Widow. If I’m able to write a thing that makes you see how people could have responded either way - or better yet, helped in some kind of deeper understanding of your own interpretation of storytelling (whether or not it lines up with mine), then I’m so damn happy.

And for all my tiredness, I’m happy to be a part of this swirling zeitgeist. Specifically, when all that MCU conjecture goes for meme heavy fun (this one is absolutely my fave). These things are actually grounding. Because when you have The Existential Blues, you have to not only savor the moments of joy - but still cut to the heart of things in blunt fashion while finding that “glorious purpose.”

There's a framing to this that might be a little heavy, but speaks to this rather exactly. Because I was once with an old friend (who was very high) and I was talking him through astronomy and the physics of the known universe to, like, help him have fun in that high. And he was imagining the possibility of what was beyond death / heaven / hell and he kept talking about these ideas of a beautiful other world. But then I was arguing the nature of ANY reality always comes with the same burdens OF reality and consciousness itself. So I think I said, “whatever it is, it’s just more this.” That hit him in an unexpectedly hard way (think “the universe is indifferent” moment from Mad Men). But honestly, I didn’t actually mean for it to be cynical. It’s just understanding that so much conjecture of the cosmos / afterlife is about WANTING something different than this. It’s imagining there’s some great better plane where things will just work out on their own accord because someone else did the work. But when “it’s just more this,” it is therefore reliant on your ability to make the “this” better in whatever small way you can. This is a radical simplification. But in essence, the idea is to actually learn something.

Believe it or not, all of this gets wrapped right up into the final moments of Loki.

Because I don’t think it's an accident that when the big moment to speak with the “god” finally came, the MCU basically exemplified that exact idea. The multi-verse is something that’s purported to be this massive change in order of the universe - and in a logical way it is - but the net result is that it just stacks and changes and allows more of the same - it creates more stasis instead of genuine progression. Dead characters aren’t dead. Everyone can keep playing. Your faves will always be here. For all time. Always. And this is the MCU’s shell game. But with that comes an acknowledgment for the one thing they have learned. Because when it came to “the big bad” of the 11 years between Iron Man and Endgame, the MCU’s treatment of Thanos was an endless tease. The constant promise of a coming storm that loomed on the horizon. But here, now, with Loki not being remembered by Mobius and that hammer of that final image of Kang, they actually nailed an electric moment that captures the evocative terror of time travel happening around you; one that genuinely made my hair stand on edge. But really, the joy of what hit me was the lesson learned - the idea that they went for stunning immediacy for once. Because the storm isn’t coming.

The storm is here.

<3HULK