Disney+ Loki (2021) (1 Viewer)

[Walter Kittel]

But would a Kang unknowingly step into a situation where he'd get pasta-rized? Or was that just a hoax?

With this series it is difficult to assess what is what. I believe that Kang is strategic enough that he would self sacrifice if he knew it would achieve his goals. I guess we'll see the ramifications of episode four soon. I have no idea where this series is headed for these next two episodes.

- Walter.

 

[NeilO]

In retrospect this 5th episode is what could be expected - an episode that lays the groundwork to undo the cliffhanger , which somehow they will do in the season finale. They do things an interesting way and I'm looking to see what happens in the finale.

 

[TonyD]

Unfortunately D+ shrinks the credits before they are done.
This episode had one small thing g at the very end of the credits.


There is an unrecognized voiceover right at the end that says, “You died. Insert your coin loser.”

 

[Josh Dial]

The voiceover at the end of the credits was from the arcade machine.

One thing I noticed that was probably just for funsies was that Mobius' kids were dressed and acted sort of like Loki and Thor. One was mischievous, getting fire from nowhere, and wearing mostly green (bike was green, too). The other was wearing Thor-like colours (bike to match), was sent to chase after his brother, and liked snakes.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I've been on record in this thread that season two really hasn't worked for me. It's not terrible, but its focus is on plot mechanics and fetch quests and confusing sci-fi nonsense. I feel like the strong character work that exemplified the first five episodes of season one has been in short supply this season. Even though Loki is the title, his growth has taken a back seat to everything going on in the TVA, and I have not responded to it well.

I think episode five is easily the best thing they've done this season. Loki was finally front and center in his own show, and his relationships to the characters became the focal point. This is the first time this season where I felt like the sci-fi mechanics were serving the characters instead of vice versa.

I also appreciated the reprieve from whatever the hell Jonathan Majors has been trying to do the last two episodes. I find Victor Timely way too broad, ridiculous and scenery-chewing.

This episode isn't enough to improve my opinion of the season as a whole, but it is a significant step in the right direction. Hopefully they can stick the landing next week with a strong finale.

Unfortunately D+ shrinks the credits before they are done.

They shrink it after the graphically designed credits, unless there is a post-credits scene at the end of the white-on-black credits. You can click on the shrunken box to watch the rest of them if you want, which I do. Because it was just some weird unidentified audio line, I don't think it rose to the level where they wouldn't shrink the credits.

The director of Lightyear, Angus McLane, said in an interview last year that one of the reasons he put a third credits scene after the closing Pixar logo in that film was to force Disney+ to run all the credits full screen without it being shrunk.

 

[Joe Wong]

I thought this was the most entertaining episode in S2 so far.

Spoiler

It had character moments (Loki saying he wanted to be with his friends), humour (OB trying to promote his book), and a vibe that reminded me of a sequence from Endgame (we’re getting a team together, right?).

One question I had was - if everyone is back to their original location because the loom blew up, what happened to the Renslayer / Brad Wolfe / Miss Minutes team? Unless they have a way to get back or remember the TVA, or maybe a Kang variant appears or shows themselves, they should not be in the TVA, right?

 

[NeilO]

The voiceover at the end of the credits was from the arcade machine.

One thing I noticed that was probably just for funsies was that Mobius' kids were dressed and acted sort of like Loki and Thor. One was mischievous, getting fire from nowhere, and wearing mostly green (bike was green, too). The other was wearing Thor-like colours (bike to match), was sent to chase after his brother, and liked snakes.

The closed captions identified the voice as Brad's.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I assume that the question in @Joe Wong's spoiler will be addressed in the finale. I didn't mind not having that this week because what we had going with Loki and his group was so strong.

Spoiler: Speculation

They took Miss Minutes offline, so I don't think she would be anywhere. Brad is probably back in his actor life. Renslayer is the hardest to pin down.

 

[Josh Dial]

The closed captions identified the voice as Brad's.

It was his character from the arcade machine based off his movie.

 

[Sam Favate]

Good, intense episode, even if all it did was somehow give Loki the ability to time jump.

 

[Jake Lipson]

all it did was somehow give Loki the ability to time jump.

I think it did a lot more than that in terms of his character. I loved the scene with him and Sylvie at the bar when he realized what he really wanted was his friends back. This episode really put his emotional journey back at the center of things, which I don't think it has been since episode five of last season.

I don't really care about the "now we have to go do this random thing" structure of most of this season, but I cared a lot about Loki as a person throughout this episode. This is what the show should have been all season instead of putting the plot mechanics in front like it has been up until now.

 

[jayembee]

Unfortunately D+ shrinks the credits before they are done.
This episode had one small thing g at the very end of the credits.


There is an unrecognized voiceover right at the end that says, “You died. Insert your coin loser.”

The voiceover at the end of the credits was from the arcade machine.

Zaniac. The character that X-5/Brad Wolfe (I keep wanting to call him "Bad Wolf", from Doctor Who/Torchwood) played in the movies in his non-TVA life. Based on an arcade game (or was the game based on his movies?).

When Loki mournfully says, "But I don't know where I belong," I said to my wife, "In New York City, 2012...duh!" I'd find it rather amusing if Loki finishes the season going back to take the place of the version of him that died in The Dark World (I don't think we ever found out how he survived that, unless like Jeffrey Sinclair, there's a hole in my mind) and that the Loki from that point on in the Sacred Timeline was actually this variant. It would explain the change in his character.

By the by...

Spoiler

It strikes me that this episode ended in much the same way that Infinity War ended, with the heroes being spaghettied instead of dusted. And that Loki will save them with the same plan in Endgame: traveling back in time to undo what had been done.

 

[TonyD]

You can click on the shrunken box to watch the rest of them if you want, which I do

Yes I know this as do
Most of us here but the common man(person) likely dies not.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

died in The Dark World (I don't think we ever found out how he survived that, unless like Jeffrey Sinclair, there's a hole in my mind)

It's been a long time, but wasn't it heavily implied that him 'dying' was just another one of his illusions?

 

[jayembee]

It's been a long time, but wasn't it heavily implied that him 'dying' was just another one of his illusions?

Probably, but I don't think it was ever said for sure.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I don't think we ever found out how he survived that

He survived that because test audiences refused to believe he was dead. The original idea was for that death to stick, but no one thought it was real. So they shot the new ending with him impersonating Odin during reshoots to revive him.

That's the actual answer.

 

[Jake Lipson]

It looks like the finale will drop on Disney+ at the same time as my showtime of The Marvels on Thursday. Therefore, I am going to the movie first and will get to the show when I get home.

This was brought up weeks ago, but I mention it again because nothing has changed. I am not really worried about overlap because these appear to be separate projects. If seeing one or the other first mattered, they would not be scheduled on top of each other. If they were doing the midnight drops as was previously the norm, Loki would be out on Friday. I also understand that the show can be watched anytime after it drops. So Disney probably isn't really thinking about this.

However, it does seem odd to drop Loki at the same time as they want fans to be going out and seeing The Marvels in theaters. If anyone was thinking about this, perhaps Loki could move up a day and drop on Wednesday this week instead.

Oh well.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

He survived that because test audiences refused to believe he was dead. The original idea was for that death to stick, but no one thought it was real. So they shot the new ending with him impersonating Odin during reshoots to revive him.

That's the actual answer.

I thought that was the most hilarious scene in Ragnarok, at the beginning where Thor unmasks Loki as Odin.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I loved Loki season 1. I stopped watching season 2 after the first 3 episodes. It’s like they completely changed the writing staff and traded people who write interesting things for people who just want a paycheck.

 

[NeilO]

Good, intense episode, even if all it did was somehow give Loki the ability to time jump.

And in the finale we see what he does with that ability. At one point in the episode I thought they were going to go in

Spoiler: one direction:

undoing this whole season by having Loki stop Sylvie one way or another. Perhaps even getting her to stop herself. But they built on the growth of the character and he sacrifices himself to be a living loom that keeps all of the timelines alive.

I am not entirely sure how I feel about how it ended, but I think it does make sense. It also leads into all the upcoming Kang stuff.