Loki Recap: Episode 1 | Loki is back and is more mischievous than ever

WRITER’S NOTE: The following post contains spoilers.

With WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, the beginning of Phase 4 of the MCU proved to be an exciting one, to say the least. But now, the release of Loki on Disney+ is finally here for us to enjoy, and the God of Mischief has returned to grace our screens once again.

The time has come ⌛ The series premiere of Marvel Studios' #Loki is now streaming on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/gaaErLKGLG

— Loki (@LokiOfficial) June 9, 2021

Episode 1 titled “Glorious Purpose” starts off with the events that occurred in The Avengers where the team captures and arrests Loki (Tom Hiddleston) after his attack on New York City in 2012. The scene then transitions into the one that is featured in Avengers: Endgame where Tony Stark is on a mission to steal the space stone aka the Tesseract.

For fans who have seen Avengers: Endgame, they know that the plan is a failed one and 2012-Loki gets his hands on the Tesseract and escapes with it. These events are what eventually lead up to what happened to Loki and we then watch him crash land in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia.

Thinking that his plan has worked, Loki then encounters hunters, one of them being Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) of the Time Variance Authority aka the TVA, and arrests him for committing crimes against the Sacred Timeline.

https://twitter.com/LokiOfficial/status/1397553093198323717?s=20

Loki then arrives at the TVA headquarters and is given his time in court. While waiting in line for his turn, Loki learns more about the TVA from none other than Miss Minutes (Tara Strong) herself.

The Time Variance Authority was created after there was a vast multiversal war where many unique timelines battled each other for supremacy. The war almost caused the total destruction of everything. But it was the Time-Keepers who came together and brought peace by reorganizing the multiverse into one timeline, the Sacred Timeline.

The Time-Keepers protect and defend the proper flow of time for everyone and everything. But for people who veer off the path that the Time-Keepers created for them, they are what the TVA call Variants. In this case, this is Loki because he veered off his timeline when picking up the Tesseract and escaping with it.

Miss Minutes goes on to explain that when a Variant veers off their path, a nexus event is created. And when this is left unchecked, it could branch off into madness which could then lead to another multiversal war. Essentially, the TVA has been around to fix any mistake and set time back on its intended path.

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Thinking that TVA is just one silly joke, Loki is then freaked out when he witnesses someone get evaporated and then comes to terms that those in the TVA are not playing around.

The episode then jumps to the year 1549 in Aix-en-Provence, France where Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) is investigating a murder and comes across a child who most likely witnessed the crime. When getting ready to reset the area, Mobius is given Loki’s file by one of the TVA hunters.

We then see Loki in court facing judge Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and shares that he does not find himself guilty of the crimes that have been placed on him. Loki goes on to accuse that the real ones who are guilty are the Avengers but Renslayer explains to Loki that what the Avengers did was supposed to happen and him escaping was not.

Loki, still adamant that the Time-Keepers is all one big joke, eventually pleads guilty but only for him to try using his powers. However, he learns that his powers don’t work in the TVA, and Renslayer sentences him to be reset.

Luckily for Loki, Mobius was sitting in court watching the whole thing unfold and approaches Renslayer and explains to her that he chasing a hunch. For viewers, this ‘hunch’ isn’t revealed yet.

Mobius takes Loki to the Time Theatre to talk and sits down with him to learn more about him. When asking Loki a few questions, Mobius then shows him a film of his life or as he calls them, a sampling of his greatest hits.  These moments range from him getting captured by the Avengers, killing Phil Coulson, and some of his greatest escapes.

Aboard on a plane and disguising himself as D.B. Cooper, Loki explains to Mobius that he lost a bet to Thor which led him to that event. Mobius continues to show Loki his reel and shares with him the moment his mother dies. For Loki, this is the first time he’s seeing it because it hasn’t happened yet. Distraught, Loki believes that Mobius is lying, however, Mobius explains to him that the events he watched were meant to happen.

When a situation causes Mobius to put his talk with Loki on hold, Loki takes this opportunity to escape. Loki then goes on to hunting down for an exit but most of all, the Tesseract. Loki comes face-to-face with Casey (Eugene Cordero) a TVA receptionist who had his hands on the Tesseract ever since it was submitted for evidence when Loki first arrived.

In taking back the Tesseract, Loki discovers in the evidence box multiple Infinity Stones that have been confiscated. Loki, who is confused as to how the TVA has gotten its hands on the stones, is informed by Casey that the TVA frequently comes across them [Infinty Stones] and uses them as paperweights (the Avengers are shaking right now).

#MissMinutes #MissMinutes #MissMinutes #MissMinutes #MissMinutes

Sorry….just fangirling over the #MissMinutes emoji.#Loki

— tara strong (@tarastrong) June 9, 2021

Shocked by the discovery that the TVA is more powerful than himself and the Infinity Stones, Loki looks around and asks out loud, Is this the greatest power in the universe?  Before he can enjoy his revelation, Loki uses TVA tech to jump back to the Time Theatre he and Mobius were previously in.

By himself, Loki continues to play the recording of his life and learns of his father’s death, and watches his relationship with Thor become better. It isn’t until Loki reaches the events of Avengers: Endgame where Loki learns that he dies at the hands of Thanos.

After witnessing the end of his life, Loki then comes to terms that he cannot go back to his timeline and finally opens to Mobius and shares with him that he does not enjoy hurting people. Loki explains that the reason why he does it is that he has/had to and that it’s part of the illusion. In his own words, It’s the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear.

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Mobius, glad to see that Loki truly knows himself, then shares some information with Loki that not even the God of Mischief saw coming. In offering Loki a deal because he can’t give him the salvation he seeks, Mobius explains to Loki that there’s a fugitive Variant that has been killing the TVA’s Minutemen.

In asking Mobius why he needs his help, Mobius shares with Loki that the Variant they have been hunting is him.

The episode then jumps to 1858 Salina, Oklahoma, and shows some Minutemen troops tracking down a Variant. It isn’t until one of them sees a shadow in the distance and then causes destruction, resulting in the death of these Minutemen, that viewers realize this is the Variant that Mobius mentioned.

https://twitter.com/LokiOfficial/status/1402656734632562688?s=20

Visually, Loki is pleasing to the eye. From Loki’s crash landing to him waiting in the TVA queue, these sceneries give viewers a taste of the visuals we are expected to see within the rest of the series. But it doesn’t stop there for fans of the MCU but specifically, fans of Loki.

From the looks of the first episode, fans can look forward to more of the character’s mischievous stunts and cheeky remarks. Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson’s performances, solo and together, look to be one that many will enjoy and will garner many laughs. Even though this was only the series premiere, it’s without a doubt that Loki is gearing up to be this summer’s new exciting show to watch.

You can watch Loki on Disney+ here.