Loki
Superhero fatigue is real. I honestly want to know if there's someone out there who has watched all of the almost forty movies out there in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and loved every single one. Because I sure as hell haven't. There were ones I liked and enjoyed, but there are literally only three that I can watch over and over. They're Captain America: The First Avenger, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, if you were interested to know. The thing that amazes me most is that Marvel takes actors I really like and makes them almost unwatchable. Seriously, what is that accent Benedict Cumberbatch is using? And as for Paul Rudd's Ant-Man? I'd rather watch his CoBro. But the actor and character criminally underutilized is Tom Hiddleston's Loki. Therefore I couldn't at first bring myself to actually watch Loki, we shall ignore the fact that I actually didn't get Disney+ until long after it started. Yes, Marvel seems to have a far better handle on their television properties, but for every win like Agent Carter, there's a massive loss. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D anyone? How did that show last seven seasons? I don't know if I got beyond season two it was so bad. Tom Hiddleston has been in seven movies as the God of Mischief and they just never knew what to do with this character and his glorious purpose. Well, his glorious purpose was this show. A show that's written almost as a play. Loki is notorious for monologuing, but by teaming him up with Owen Wilson's Mobius he has someone perfectly dispositioned to play off of and chew the scenery with. This show makes Marvel more cerebral. You actually have to think versus mindlessly enjoy. It's multilayered and deals with Loki's true purpose, his villainy, and his possible redemption. There's a Wizard of Oz quality to the first season's arc, to the reveal of the Kang behind the curtain. And that's where we start to encounter a possible problem, Kang. Not just that Loki was what jump-started Phase Four which begins Marvel's Multiverse Saga which is built around Kang, but they felt a need to link it into the greater mythos. Therefore Loki suffers a bit because it feels like it's serving the Multiverse versus just serving itself. And lets not even get into the problem that is Jonathan Majors. All this means is going into season two the stakes were even higher, especially given how disappointing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania performed and how depressing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was. But the thing about how Loki is written is, for the most part, it doesn't make sense until the end. It's this big puzzle and they know where every single piece is going to slot and you have to just have faith. And episode three, "1893," really tried my faith. Aside from the fact they somehow actually made The World's Columbian Exposition boring and obviously didn't know where Wisconsin was, we are NORTH of Illinois not "across the lake" not that that matters seeing as that boat was going south and would be shortly in Indiana, but they really failed the female stars of the show. A trend that was consistent throughout this season. Sylvie was almost a nonentity, and as for Renslayer? Her and Miss Minutes should talk to their agents. But then the ending happened. The most perfect episode that rested completely on the shoulders of Tom Hiddleston. Loki's "Glorious Purpose" was revealed and he was redeemed, and who knows, he might not just have saved all timelines he might have saved the MCU. Rarely is an ending so perfect that I don't want more. It's a compliment to this show, the cast, and the writers, that I don't want more. Take a bow, you've earned it. Bonus points if it's in a seventies tux.
The Great Gatsby
