Reading roundup, Loki, and meme

[hamsterwoman]

31. Freya Marske, A Marvelous Light -- this debut novel will be out in November, but meanwhile I got to read it in an ARC through a series of fortuitous connections (<333 at the chain of said connections: THANK YOU!) It was fun, and well done, but in a way that had me thinking of it as fanfic pretty much the whole time -- not a criticism, per se,

Comments

[blakmagjick]

I was more than just meh about the Loki finale. I thought E5 was one of the strongest in the series, and then E6 was just...lame. S* was outta town the week it came out, and I waited to watch with him...and he had said he kinda wished I would have watched it without him...cause then I could have warned him that he sucked and he wouldn't have watched it :P

[hamsterwoman]

Episode 5 was really good, and the next one definitely felt like a letdown. It's funny what you say about not watching ahead and warning S*, because I'd watched most of the episodes of Loki after watching full spoiler reviews, but decided to watch the finale unspoiled. I think I might have enjoyed it more if I HAD been spoiled and knew not to expect a satisfying sort of conclusion to the actual Loke and Sylvie storyline...

[blakmagjick]

"I think I might have enjoyed it more if I HAD been spoiled and knew not to expect a satisfying sort of conclusion to the actual Loke and Sylvie storyline."
That's a completely fair thought actually.

[hamsterwoman]

Heh, this is why I try to (or at least don't try not to) go into most MCU things spoiled, actually -- mostly it's better to inoculate myself against disappointment :P (I did watch WandaVision completely unspoiled for the most part, because it was delightfully bonkers, and a couple of the movies I was most looking forward to, like Endgame, but mostly it's not worth it :P)

[_profiterole_]

I was very bored by Loki, especially the finale, where the reveal was the EXACT same thing that had been said before, except with 1 guy instead of 3 lizards. I get that comics readers know this guy, but I don't. At least I liked the actor, so hopefully they'll do something interesting with him in the movies and in Season 2.

I'm going to skip on What If, because it doesn't seem very interesting either.

[hamsterwoman]

where the reveal was the EXACT same thing that had been said before, except with 1 guy instead of 3 lizards

Hah, that's true, I guess -- it was sort of a reverse twist, in untwisting the previous twist...

O, who is familiar with Kang from the comics, did enjoy the finale more than me, so I think you're right that the potential of it appealed to comics fans more. (I did also like the actor, even if I was a little tired of this particular take on the character before the episode was done.)

I'm going to check out What If because it's such a different premise from the stringent continuity (at least in theory) of the rest of the MCU, but I'm curious if the animated format will work for me, or if it'll feel too different from the MCU and will thus end up not being interesting to me, since my interest in Marvel/superhero comics outside of the MCU is pretty limited.

[meathiel]

I loved Loki alligator! ;-)

And I really wonder what Marvel will do with the new timeline now ...

[hamsterwoman]

The alligator was a hilarious touch! (I bet there will be plushies of it all over...)

I'm also curious how this will all play into, or not, the larger Marvel universe. They can certainly keep it in its own pocket reality for the most part, but I imagine Multiverse stuff will start showing up in Doctor Strange and the main movie timeline, what with the movie title...

[lyssa027]

I enjoyed Loki though I do agree the finale could've been more satisfying, and I'm glad there is another season of it. I think I enjoy it because it really reminds me of Doctor Who, which is one of my favorite shows.

[hamsterwoman]

I heard a lot of comparisons to Doctor Who, yeah!

I'm also glad Loki is getting another season! Even though I found the finale underwhelming, Loki and Sylvie were really charming, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with them next.

[qwentoozla]

I thought episodes 2 and 5 were definitely the best episodes of Loki, although I liked 3 too.

I do wish there had been something to make the story of the season feel more complete -- that wasn't a satisfying ending, it just kind of stopped.

I totally agree with this! It felt like they just dropped Loki's story in favor of this new guy and there was way too much talk and exposition. I mean, I was also excited because I immediately recognized the actor from having heard he was cast as Kang, and I'm excited for what it means for the future of the MCU, but as an episode of television it just wasn't great.

[hamsterwoman]

Yeah, I would say 2, 3, and 5 were my top half of the episodes for Loki. I mean, 1 was a good way of setting everything up, but it was laying so much groundwork, it didn't have room to do much besides that.

and there was way too much talk and exposition

So much exposition! And, like, I feel like they spiced it up as much as possible with the miniature visuals and the amount of character He Who Remains was injecting into his account, which, good job with all that, but that was still WAY MORE exposition than I think belongs in a finale...

(I did not recognize the actor, but I'd heard earlier speculation about Kang potentially showing up because of Renslayer being connected to him and that image of the fortress at the end of episode 5, so when this new guy was there in episode 6 and clearly a big focus, I figured that had to be him.)

and I'm excited for what it means for the future of the MCU, but as an episode of television it just wasn't great. That seems like the fairest takeaway! I'm intrigued to see what happens next, but it