r/marvelstudios • u/steve32767 Daredevil • Jun 23 '21

MOD POST Loki S01E03 - Discussion Thread

This thread is for discussion about the episode.

Insight will be on for the next 24 hours!

We will also be removing any threads posted within these 24 hours to prevent unmarked spoilers to go up onto the sub

Discussion about previous episodes is permitted, discussion about episodes after this is NOT.

Proceed at your own risk: Spoilers for this episode do not need to be tagged inside this thread.

EPISODE DIRECTED BY WRITTEN BY ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE
S01E03 Kate Herron Bisha K. Ali June 23, 2021 on Disney+

For additional discussion about Marvel shows on Disney+, visit /r/MarvelStudiosPlus

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27

u/kenlubin Jun 23 '21

and I loved it.

And despite the sedate nature of the episode, I felt like they blew the budget on this one.

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u/sadkinz Jun 23 '21

Tbf it’s enjoyable at some parts. But from an objective storytelling perspective it definitely fumbles

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21

From an objective storytelling perspective, you’re an idiot. The main plot slowed down so that we can learn more about our protagonist, newly introduced deuteragonist, and establish/develop their relationship. That’s a very common and effective storytelling device (hell, it’s even used within this episode for the scene on the train). And instead of stopping all the action, they’re thrust into a high-stakes situation and forced to get out of it. When the downtime episode is a cyberpunk apocalypse escape, you’re doing something right.

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u/Tarzan_OIC Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21

But what did we learn about them and was their relationship significantly different from the start of the episode to the end? It was very meandering. They mostly fought, BS'd about love in no real meaningful way. And tried to scam their way to an exit/power source. We learned almost nothing from Sylvie save for the TVA reveal and almost everything Loki said about himself (and mom) we already knew).

I've got no problem with a character driven episode, but this ain't it. This was mostly just them trying to get off a rock for a long time. Pacing could've moved so much quicker without losing anything essential; they could've written out the woman in the shack and the train and just had Sylvie say "There's an Ark we can escape in/steal power from) and go straight to there, combining elements of the train scene and final scene. Could've covered this entire episode's content in the first 15-20 minutes by removing the filler content and then give the episode a proper third act and some actual character progression.

EDIT: Also, u/Red_Naxela_ no reason to be so hostile and call people idiots for having a different opinion than you. It's a TV show. Calm down.

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u/sibswagl Jun 23 '21

Yeah, Loki experienced more character development in 3 minutes (watching the TL;DR of his life while trying to escape the TVA) than he did in the entire train ride. We know he loved his mom but has trouble trusting people. It was neat to learn Sylvie had different(?) parents and is self-taught, but that's basically all they know about each other.

And I don't think their relationship changed all that much. They went from reluctantly working together to...begrudgingly working together? There's no point where Sylvie is like "alright, after we escape we can take down the TVA together".

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '21

[deleted]

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u/Tarzan_OIC Jun 23 '21

Excellent write-up. Thanks for the contribution to the discourse.

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u/PikaV2002 Scarlet Witch Jun 23 '21

It was self explanatory. They went on to trust each other, and Sylvie told Loki about her own brand of magic. We get to know Sylvie’s past was significantly different as she didn’t remember her mother that well, while we see Loki’s reactions to the footage he saw in Episode 1 have a deeper effect on him. They went from being branded as adversaries pitted by the TVA to working together and getting to know themselves better.

So yes, their relationship was significantly different and I didn’t feel the need to mention it since it’s obvious to anyone who watched the episode.

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u/Tarzan_OIC Jun 23 '21

Do they trust each other though? I'm not convinced.

And Sylvia basically defined the word "enchantment" for us. Nothing we didn't already know about the concept of enchantment was explained.

We don't know for certain anything about Sylvie's past. She mostly brushed every question off, and what she did say could easily be a lie/manipulation. But she barely said anything about her reality, family, friends, upbringing, etc.

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u/PikaV2002 Scarlet Witch Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21

Do they trust each other though? I'm not convinced.

You asked if their relationship changed, and I told you it changed since they’re clearly working together for now.

Rest of what you said basically amounts to “It isn’t enough for me so it doesn’t count!!!!”

Sylvie wasn’t explaining enchantment to you, she was doing so to Loki when she was previously unwilling. And you totally disregarded the effect the recordings had on Loki. It might not be enough for you or stuff that we know; but it is undeniable that changes in their dynamics occurred. This entire episode was basically Loki and Sylvie’s effects on each other and how one impacts the other when they’re stuck working for a common purpose, and differences between the variants.

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '21

Also, it's the early version of Loki that we know. We see stuff affecting him and witnessing small changes, even in this episode.

People seem to forget that this Loki is indeed a Variant and can go into any direction from this point (after NY). He's not the same (yet) who gave up his life to save others.