Loki is sensationalist in the best way possible. From the endearing way the environments look intentionally fake, to the playfulness of the Loki variants, to the world of the TVA, the first season featured David Lynchian-like tropes just like its Disney+/MCU counterpart WandaVision. And the show wasn’t just fun to watch, it was important to the MCU narrative as a whole too.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier may have set up Sam as the new Captain America, and WandaVision may have hinted at Wanda’s larger role in the future, but Loki established that idea of branching timelines, the idea of variants of characters, and of course, Kang. With all this setup, fans may have to wait for Ant-Man 3 and Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness until they get any payoff, but Loki wasn’t about payoffs, it was about the journey, and fans loved every step of the way. But unsurprisingly, they loved a few of those steps more than others.
Episode 3: “Lamentis” - 7.9
“Lamentis” focuses on the female variant of Loki, Sylvie, and just like all of the episodes in the series, all of the locations, whether it’s the train or Lamentis-1, the moon that the duo are seemingly stranded on, looks incredible. As the episode focuses mostly on the character development of Sylvie, it’s as close to a bottle episode that there can possibly be, it's mostly just her and Loki talking about their past in these bizarre locales. This is likely why it’s the lowest-rated episode amongst fans, as the TVA doesn’t appear, and Mobius, the best character that isn’t Loki, is completely absent.
However, though it’s by far the lowest scoring episode of the series, 7.9 is still a very high rating, and it’s a testament to how great the rest of the episodes are. At the end of the episode, there’s an incredible one-shot sequence in which Loki and Sylvie attempt to evade meteors and reach the evacuation spaceship before it takes off. And though it might not have technically been filmed in one shot, all of the cuts were creatively hidden.
Episode 1: “Glorious Purpose” - 8.8
Loki is far more similar in tone and presentation to WandaVision than Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It’s a visual spectacle and is shrouded in mystery, and that was clear from the very first episode, “Glorious Purpose.” Between the projection of the animated clock, Miss Minutes, to the hand-drawn cartoon that describes the Time Variance Authority and the Time Keepers, “Glorious Purpose” was almost like a mission statement for the whole series. It let viewers know that it wasn’t going to be the usual MCU affair, as it was full of unusual elements, whether it was visually or narratively.
Though Loki has always very much been a villain, up until he faced off with Thanos in Infinity War that is, Loki was clearly the start of the character’s redemption arc from the very beginning. Loki was shown what his future holds, and it was the catalyst for his actions later in the series, and it was the perfect introduction as well. It was also the start of one of the best MCU bromances, as surprising as it may be, as Loki and Mobius both enjoyed engaging each other in deep philosophical discussions.
Episode 6: “For All Time. Always.” - 8.9
As there are so many theories about Kang's possible futures in the MCU, almost everybody expected the villain to show up by the time the finale finally came around. So it wasn’t exactly a surprising reveal. However, it was the way in which Kang appeared and the reason why he was there that made the episode so great. “For All Time. Always.” is much more of a slow burner, but for an episode that was mostly a huge exposition drop, director Kate Herron handled all of the dialogue perfectly, as it remained just as captivating as any action sequence with giant set pieces.
In fact, when the situation does escalate into a sword fight between Loki and Sylvie, it’s the least interesting part of the episode. The only thing that held the episode back for some fans was the confusion at the end, as there was so much speculation over whether Loki ended up in a different timeline, back in time, or had changed the path of the same timeline. It was very much an episode that confused viewers had to research and read about after the fact.
Episode 2: “The Variant” - 9.0
“The Variant” delivered on the first episode’s promise of the series being unlike anything Marvel fans had ever seen and more. And the biggest moment came when the female Loki Sylvie was revealed, which was inspired by the Loki comic book storyline “Special Delivery.” It was almost as shocking as any reveal in WandaVision. Loki and Mobius became more of a unit, and it was hilarious watching Loki, the God of Mischief, trying to outwit Mobius and failing miserably.
The show became even more visually stunning, as all of the locations that Mobius and Loki traveled to when they were trying to uncover the Loki variant were mesmerizing, especially when they traveled to Pompeii in 79 AD. They all have such a unique look about them, and though all of the locations are detailed, they also clearly look very fake, with some backgrounds even looking like oils paintings. Though it looks fake, that’s very obviously the aesthetic, and it plays into the fact that none of it is actually real from the perspective of the MCU’s Loki.
Episode 5: “Journey Into Mystery” - 9.1
After figuring out that the real creator of the TVA is hiding behind Alioth, the big selling point of “Journey Into Mystery” are all of the Loki variants that fans get to see, which even includes Alligator Loki. It’s the first time that Loki actually properly works in a team without having an ulterior motive. And that’s another example of the show’s ingenious subtle way of depicting Loki’s character development, as well as being the most exciting fight sequence in the entire series.
All of the Loki variants have their own powers that are on hilarious display in the fight. On top of that, the MVP of the episode is Classic Loki, not just because of the comic-accurate costume, but because he’s played brilliantly played by Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant. The philosophical conversations between Loki and Classic Loki are fascinating, as Loki learns from his mistakes that he hasn’t even made yet because of the advice that is passed down from Classic Loki.
Episode 4: “The Nexus Event” - 9.3
In “The Nexus Event,” everything about Loki is on full display. Between Loki building a romantic relationship with Sylvie, Mobius trying to uncover what is really going on with the TVA, and Ravonna Renslayer trying to protect the TVA at all costs, it’s by far the most exciting episode of the season.
But the biggest moment of the episode is when Loki finally meets the Time Keepers, the creators who float on hovering thrones and look like Crash Bandicoot bosses. After Sylvie beheads one of them and realizes that they’re just androids, it divided audiences and is comparable to the revelation that the Mandarin was nothing more than a theatre actor in Iron Man 3. However, that still wasn’t enough to bring down the fan reception, as the whole episode is fantastic.