#recap blogging

[dtrhwithalex]

TV | The Good Fight (501)

501: PREVIOUSLY ON...

D: BROOKE KENNEDY. W: ROBERT KING & MICHELLE KING. Original Air Date: 24 June 2021.

Non-spoiler-free recap and review of episode one of CBS' THE GOOD FIGHT (2017-) season five.

You know, I came to this show when my rabbit hole consisted of MICHAEL SHEEN's entire filmography, and I decided to watch the entire thing instead of only S3 which he appeared in. I've stuck with the show, because I find it incredibly fascinating.

Last season got cut short due to the pandemic, and this episode serves to remind the viewer where we left off a year ago, and fills in the gaps of this past year.

This show has always had a great talent at incorporating current events and news into the goings-on of the episodes, and so does this season premiere. Being a legal drama that came out of THE GOOD WIFE and started its run early in Trump's first term as president, the tie to the real world events are strong and important, and I've felt this show does a fantastic job at creating a story around and including them.

This first episode really serves to make up the missing year in short time. ADRIAN (DELROY LINDO) announces he will be leaving the firm because of the Democratic Party's offer he got at the end of last season, to be a presidential candidate in 2024. The death of George Floyd and the following protests stand as a conflict between who the Party wants Adrian to be (the token Black candidate), and who he actually is as a Black man. At the end of the episode following Biden's win and the insurrection of January 6th, Adrian tells LIZ (AUDRA MCDONALD) and DIANE (CHRISTINE BARANSKI) that he will be moving to Atlanta and try to help facilitate change there.

Diane, meanwhile, is still engaged in her fight against Memo 618 and serves as JULIUS' (MICHAEL BOATMAN) lawyer against the bribery charge. Using intel from Adrian against JUDGE HAZLEWOOD (TAMBERLA PERRY), Diane gets a new judge assigned to the case -- who turns out, is a worse choice, and eventually sentences Julius to seven years in prison. Trump's last ditch pardoning effort before his term is over also extended to Julius, as Liz informs the others at the end of the episode. Diane is also engaged in a Supreme Court gun law reform case.

With the pandemic, the show also deals with the firm having to shift into online mode and what that means for job security of its employees. Liz and Diane see this as the moment they had been waiting for to finally comply with the order to lay off 20% of their employees. While MARISSA (SARAH STEELE) is one of the first to go -- she is now attending law school to become a lawyer --, Liz is concerned that many of those 20% are Black associates, meaning the firm may soon not be a Black firm anymore. In order to fix this problem without having to demote Diane, they offer LUCCA (CUSH JUMBO) a position as equity partner on the firm. Being in London on behalf of BIANCA (CHASTEN HARMON) who offers her the post of CFO and much more money than her old firm can afford, Lucca eventually decides to leave the firm as well.

While Marissa is let go, the other investigator JAY (NYAMBI NYAMBI) is hospitalised with Covid. At the hospital he begins hallucinating Frederick Douglass, Karl Marx, Jesus Christ, and Malcolm X, who advise him on how to deal with the rise in police brutality on Black people and the question of resistance vs retaliation. Even after he is healthy enough to leave the hospital, he still sees these hallucinations around him.

This episode, while structured around the individual character beats, makes sure to stop a moment at important key dates of the past year. We have the beginning of Covid and the first lockdowns in March, followed by the death of George Floyd and the demonstrations against police brutality which are strongly tied to Jay and Adrian's character beats. We have the announcement of Kamala Harris as Biden's vice-president, and also the death of Supreme Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which are found in the beats of our female main characters. We have election night and the following days -- and may I just say, Diane watching the election is a damn mood -- and finally, at the end, the Capital riots on January 6th.

I quite liked this episode as a season-opener. I think the creators did a great job book-ending the last season and working in certain moments that had been meant for the end of season four. We get a proper goodbye for Adrian and Lucca who are leaving the show, goodbyes that were cut short due to the pandemic. The episode tied in all the important points we have had throughout the last season, and reminds the viewer nicely where we left off, where we still have unfinished business, and where these characters are currently situated in their lives. It's very nicely done. Looking forward to what this season brings.

[still image taken from the j99news article breaking down the episode with the showrunners]

[dtrhwithalex]

TV | The Good Fight (503)

503: AND THE COURT HAD A CLERK...

D: TYNE RAFAELI. W: WILLIAM FINKELSTEIN. Original Air Date: 08 July 2021.

Non-spoiler-free recap and review of episode three of CBS' THE GOOD FIGHT (2017-) season five.

RECAP

Thanks to her success with Rivi, Carmen is personally chosen as representation by another high-profile client, Craig Wolfe-Coleman, an accused rapist. DAVID LEE (ZACH GRENIER), who is currently in charge of STR Laurie which Reddick & Lockhart is a subsidiary of, is at first confused about the demand for Carmen but is quick to recognise a profit to be made.

While Carmen is busy taking on this new client, Marissa is left to deal with menial paperwork older associates deem to be below them. Frustrated with being ignored and being denied actually valuable work, Marissa finds herself returning to Judge Wackner's copy-shop court 9 3/4. Wackner is delighted to see her and, after aiding him in deciding on a case about fanfiction copyright, offers her a job as a law clerk with him. Unsure at first -- because this is, after all, not a real court -- Marissa eventually accepts the offer.

Marissa's career at Wackner's court is seemingly cut short after Diane discovers what she is doing, because a client sent her hundreds of Build-A-Bears after she helped them. Diane doesn't want Marissa's activities to get the firm in trouble, so she tells her if she wants to keep working at R&L she needs to stop going to Wackner's court. However, Wackner seeks out Diane and decides to hire the firm for their consultation services -- thus effectively hiring Marissa in a more official manner which is acceptable to Diane.

At the same time, Diane is dealing with a personal matter as well. Her husband KURT (GARY COLE) discovers that he recognises one of the people on the FBI's wanted poster regarding the Capital riots of January 06. Finding out about this, Diane asks him about it, but he refuses to name names. However, with what he discloses and Jay's investigatory talent, Diane eventually has a name and decides to anonymously report it.

FBI's MADELINE STARKEY (JANE LYNCH) investigates the report and visits Kurt at his job to ask him about the names of the other veterans belonging to the same group he was teaching at the shooting range. Kurt, of course, refuses. As Kurt tells Diane more, she decides to take matters into her own hands and represent him legally. Meeting with Starkey, they find out that the man Kurt recognises has now, in his statement, made Kurt part of the whole conspiracy. Throughout, Diane is conflicted between her love and support for her husband, and the justice she wants to have served against the people involved in the Capital riot.

While Diane is engaged in personal matters, Liz is handling a defamation case against a small bike store owner who lost his business because a neighbour spread rumours online about him grooming and molesting young boys. Although the representing lawyers meet to decide on a settlement in favour of Liz's client, it turns out that the neighbour is bankrupt and cannot even pay her lawyer.

Liz is then approached by DAVID CORD (STEPHEN LANG) who offers the firm 12 million dollars if they continue the defamation suit, but go after Section 230 -- which protects online platforms and social media from being sued, unlike what can happen to newspapers -- and sue the online platform ChumHum where the rumours have been circulated instead. Taking on Julius as her second because their sponsor does not take well to Democrats (he's a GOP operative), Liz continues working on the case. And although they, arguably, win the case in the eyes of JUDGE CLAUDIA FRIEND (BEBE NEUWIRTH), she cannot legally rule in their favour because of Section 230. Their sponsor is, however, interested to continue the case for as long as possible.

REVIEW

There was a lot going on this episode, but as always I've quite enjoyed it. I don't know what it is about this show exactly, but I really dig it. It's so far out of my usual tv watching pattern, but for some reason I am always super invested while watching this.

I am still a huge fan of Mandy Patinkin's copy-shop court. I've always enjoyed him as an actor, and he is just magnificent here. I am so happy that we will likely see a lot of him this season, especially with Marissa now working for him. I think he is delightful and I cannot wait to see where that plot line is going exactly. I love the story he tells to Diane to convince her that him hiring the firm so he can keep Marissa is a good idea. And I was glad that she accepted.

I am still very suspicious about Carmen. There is so much hidden depth in that character and I want to know more. I loved Liz's line: "I have no idea what I am about you." Carmen is an enigma, a puzzle, and I can't wait to learn more about her. There has got to be something behind that cool, confident exterior.

The whole Kurt dilemma is going to be big drama, I suspect. But I am very happy we have Jane Lynch back with her terrible office. Agent Starkey is such a great character. But yeah, I smell a lot of tension in the Lockhart-McVeigh household coming up about this whole Capital riots thing.

Also, uhm? Shout-out to the return of AARON TVEIT's lawyer character SPENCER ZSCHAU? I forgot he was in this show before, to be honest. But yay, Aaron! We love him here.

And of course, lest I forget, we had another wonderful musical short explaining Section 230 this episode! Those musical shorts are one of the fantastic things about this show, and I am glad we have them back this season too.

Anyway, I really quite enjoyed this episode. Looking forward to next week!

[still image taken from vulture's recap article of this episode]

[dtrhwithalex]

TV | The Good Fight (502)

502: ONCE THERE WAS A COURT...

D: MICHAEL TRIM. W: JONATHAN TOLINS. Original Air Date: 01 July 2021.

Non-spoiler free recap and review of episode two of CBS' THE GOOD FIGHT (2017-) season five.

RECAP

In this second episode we follow two main threads throughout the episode — Marissa and her first week as a lawyer, arguing one of Diane‘s cases in an unofficial court on the one hand, and on the other, the first week of a new associate at the firm, CARMEN MOYO (CHARMAINE BINGWA), in which she becomes the primary lawyer of a convicted murderer.

Among the new associates, Carmen stands out immediately as the singular person voluntarily choosing to be assigned to the case of OSCAR RIVI (TONY PLANA) who was convicted and imprisoned for murder. Due to the invalid ID of BARRY POE (TYRONE MITCHELL HENDERSON), the lawyer she is meant to accompany and learn from, Carmen meets with Rivi and his translator by herself and decides to ignore Barry‘s advice of not saying anything. Instead, she makes it her mission to actually help Rivi. Because she speaks Spanish she is able to properly communicate with him and, meeting with another convict imprisoned for similar crimes, is able to bring her case to court to prove the wrongful conviction of her client.

Meanwhile, Diane has Marissa accompany her associate PHOEBE (ZOE MANN) and their client TONI HEDGER (HEATHER BURNS) to court where they were summoned by the people suing Toni. However it turns out that the judge summoning them does not work in the regular courts. Following clues and signs marked with 9 3/4, Marissa and Toni eventually end up in an improvised court room in the back of a copy shop, where HAL WACKNER (MANDY PATINKIN) presides. Judge Wackner is unlike any lawyer in an official court — he hits his gavel on a bell on his desk, indicating a point having been scored by either side, which is then marked on a scoreboard to his left.

Diane who, once she arrives, does not fare well in this type of court, is incredulous when she finds out that Toni would prefer their case be decided here than in any other court. Eventually, at the suggestion of Judge Wackner, Marissa takes the lead on the case while Diane has Jay investigate how long Wackner has been holding court like this. With the young associate in the lead and Jay‘s findings, Diane and Marissa manage to sway Wackner in their favour and he rules accordingly.

During this first week, Diane and Liz also have to deal with the issue of Adrian‘s absence and the image the firm wants to uphold. After talking to Julius, as well as CALEB GARLIN (HUGH DANCY), who Liz had a fling with in an earlier season, Liz decides she wants to hire Julius as a senior associate. Meanwhile, Diane decides that she wants the two of them to decide on a third equity partner, and that this person would have to be African-American in order to let the firm remain a Black firm. However, she also makes Liz promise that she would not be pushed out of her name-partnership for this same reason.

REVIEW

I thought this was a very interesting second episode for this season. After the first episode provided a wrap up of last season and a review of the events of the past year, this episode already brings us back into the thick of it. I really enjoyed Marissa's story thread of this episode. Although I really liked her as an investigator, seeing her as a lawyer now is really intriguing and I am curious to see how that'll go for her.

I am already a huge fan of Mandy Patinkin's lawyer character. I think he is hilarious. I loved that Marissa took very quickly to his style of doing things and that Diane did not cope at all at first. Just goes to show that we do things for so long in these ways of "it's always been like this, it can't be any other way, this is how it's done" that we forget there are always other options, other ways of doing things, that work just as well, or even better. I thought it was great that, thanks to the intel Jay collects, Diane does find a way to communicate with Wackner after all, but she still lets Marissa take the lead on the argument. I really hope we get to see more of Wackner's court and especially Marissa practicing law there.

I also quite liked the character of Carmen. Although I can understand the criticism that she seems to be just a replacement of Lucca, I thought she was an interesting addition to this set of main players in this show. I am very curious to see where her philosophy of treating every client, no matter the severity of their actions, as a human being, will take her and if she will be able to sustain it. There was also something about her that I found suspicious and I do wonder how much more there is to her than appears to be on the surface. I think that might be something that may come up in scenes with Liz, because their current character dynamic would allow for it the best, probably.

I am also curious to see how the relationship between Liz and Diane will develop or change due to the whole situation concerning a third equity partner for the firm, and the firms image of being a Black firm, and how that clashes with the fact of Diane as a name partner. I also wonder how much bringing Julius back into the mix is gonna upset the current order of things.

This show falls a bit outside of the kind of shows I usually tend to watch, I think, but I am enjoying it quite a lot, and I am very intrigued by it. Looking forward to the next episode, definitely.

[still image taken from the episode's imdb page]

[dtrhwithalex]

TV | Loki (102)

102: THE VARIANT

D: KATE HERRON. W: ELISSA KARASIK. Original Air Date: 16 June 2021.

Non-spoiler-free recap and review of the second episode of LOKI, which airs every Wednesday on Disney+.

RECAP

We open this episode in what looks like the medieval period, but turns out to be a Renaissance Fair in the 1980s. Another TVA team has been deployed in the search of the rogue Loki Variant and is promptly attacked by said Variant. Taking control of HUNTER C-20 (SASHA LANE) similarly to how we have seen Loki do during THE AVENGERS, the Variant eliminates the team and leaves the Fair through a time-window, taking C-20 with them.

Hunter B-15 and her team, as well as Mobius and Loki travel to the event to investigate and reinstate the sacred timeline. During the investigation, Loki plays at analysing his rogue counterpart, but Mobius sees through his stalling for time, and calls for the timeline to be restored. Hunter C-20 is declared MIA.

Back at the TVA, Mobius meets with Ravonna Renslayer to discuss the failed mission and the risk Mobius is taking with using Loki to find the Variant. Mobius insists Loki is, if not trustworthy, still useful to them. He tasks Loki with researching every Loki variant that has ever existed and "bans" him to the archives. Begrudgingly studying the files, Loki eventually tires of reading the exact same thing over and over again, and attempts to read up on the secrets of the TVA. However, his attempts are foiled by the Archivist, who only allows him to read one file -- his own.

However, in reading the file, Loki finds out about the events of RAGNAROK and realises that this is the key to finding the Variant. Disrupting Mobius' lunch to explain his theory -- and ruining Mobius' salad in the process -- Loki convinces him to go to an apocalyptic event such as Ragnarok to test the theory that, because of the complete destruction, nothing able to create new timelines would actually register as such. Reluctantly, Mobius agrees and takes him to Pompeii in 79 AD shortly before Mount Vesuvius erupts. Despite Mobius' warnings, Loki does as he does best: he creates chaos. He frees goats, throws things around, tells the people of the imminent eruption, that he is from the future -- and to Mobius' surprise, none of it registers as a deviation from the timeline.

Returning to the TVA, Loki and Mobius attempt to narrow down the specific apocalyptic event the Variant may be hiding in. However, it is not until Mobius remembers the child from the French church, that they are able to do so. Using the specific brand of chewing gum the Variant gave the child to create a specific time-window, Mobius and Loki find the one plausible catastrophe: New Haven, Alabama in 2050, destroyed by a hurricane.

Once on location, Loki is paired with Hunter B-15, despite Mobius' objections. While Mobius and the other Hunters take to the refugee camp, they search the store and come upon a single shopper. Touching him he drops to the floor and the possessive energy is transferred to Hunter B-15. Loki realises that this is the Variant, using their powers to, essentially, make ventriloquist puppets out of other beings.

While Loki tries to find out what it is the Variant wants, and offers up his own secret plans -- infiltrate the TVA, gain their trust, be granted an audience with the Time Keepers and take them out, ultimately wanting to rule the TVA himself -- Mobius and his team find the traumatised C-20. Although strongly disoriented, C-20 is able to reveal that she gave up the location of the Time Keepers to the Variant.

Meanwhile, Loki discovers that the Variant has been rigging the entire store with the time-reset devices. As they go active and vanish through individual time-windows, the real Variant reveals themself to Loki: the VARIANT (SOPHIA DI MARTINO) is a blonde, female version of Loki. Shocked by this revelation, Loki watches as the Variant opens another time-window and vanishes. Hearing Mobius and the Hunters approach, Loki makes a decision and follows the Variant through the time-window, which closes before Mobius can reach it.

As the time-reset devices vanish, the TVA registers anomalies and the agents monitoring the screens watch as multiple new timelines branch out of the sacred timeline, leaving only one conclusion: the timeline is being bombed. Watching her own screen in shock, Renslayer grabs her Hunter gear and leaves her office.

FAVOURITE MOMENTS

There were quite a few moments in this episode that I really loved. I adored this vibe of 'Loki Has A Day Job'. His whack-a-mole fight with Miss Minutes was a lot of fun. I loved the scenes in the archive, his somewhat flirty attempt at getting the Archivist to let him read classified files (also shushing the lady behind him? Hilarious). His chaotic energy and great Latin speech in Pompeii was absolutely fantastic too. God of Mischief indeed.

And I just adored all the banter scenes with Mobius. They have such a great buddy-cop dynamic, I really love it. The whole salad scene was just A+ comedy (also big yay for Casey!!). Their conversation about existence and free will was so good, too. And I adored the scene where Loki explains the difference between the two powers of projection. What a nerd. I love him.

I thought the reveal of Sophia di Martino as the Loki Variant was amazing. I think it's really interesting that this doesn't seem to be a version Loki himself was expecting to meet, which I'm sure will make for some great moments between the two in upcoming episodes.

Oh and, of course, lest I forget: setting the opening fight between the Variant and the TVA team to Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero"? Whoever made that choice is an absolute genius.

FAVOURITE CHARACTER(S)

I mean, Loki, duh. But I also really enjoyed Ravonna Renslayer in this one. I am really intrigued by her character and I can't wait to see more of her -- especially in action. Also I am very curious about her and Mobius' relationship. I smell history.

QUESTIONS, CURIOSITIES

Do all Hunters know the location of the Time Keepers? Or did the Variant have to keep nabbing them until finding C-20 who had the information they were looking for?

Also I am not entirely sure about the Variant being played by another person. I mean I get it from like a visual storytelling perspective, that it is easier to have two different faces when Loki and the Variant interact, and like, from an acting perspective too. I get that Loki is a shapeshifter, so whatever body he assumes does not necessarily have to look like himself -- in this case Tom Hiddleston -- and I guess some people would have complained about him playing a female version of himself as being drag or a mockery thereof or something, but... I don't know, I am just not entirely sure about it. It just feels very gendered, somehow, if that makes sense. A very "gender is tied to body" kind of thing. But I'm gonna wait until I see more of it before forming more of an opinion.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

An absolutely brilliant and compelling second episode of this show. I am enjoying it tremendously. I completely adore the Loki we get to see in this show and the character dynamic between him and Mobius is so funny and so well done. Loved the reveal of Sophia di Martino as the rogue Loki Variant, and I cannot wait to see more of her in this role. Next Wednesday cannot come soon enough!

[still image taken from imdb page of the episode]

[dtrhwithalex]

TV | Loki (105)

105: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY

D: KATE HERRON. W: TOM KAUFFMAN. Original Air Date: 07 July 2021.

Non-spoiler-free recap and review of the fifth episode of LOKI, which airs every Wednesday on Disney+.

RECAP

Picking up from last week's mid-credit scene, we find Loki stranded in an unknown place, where he is found by four other Loki variants. The place, it turns out, is the Void, and it is where all destroyed timelines end up. The Void is home to Alioth, a cloud creature which devours everything thrown into the Void and removes it from existence permanently.

While Loki and his new companions hurry to safety -- a bunker they have survived in together since arriving in the Void --, back at the TVA, Sylvie is forcing Renslayer to give her the answers about the TVA and the Time Keepers she is looking for. Claiming to want those answers herself as well, Renslayer teams up with Sylvie and they use Miss Minutes to access data. They realise that, much like Sylvie had been able to hide from the TVA in apocalypses, whoever is behind everything may be hiding beyond the timeline, inside or behind the Void. However, going beyond the Void is impossible, except with a spacecraft specifically designed to do so. However, it turns out, Renslayer lied about the craft and has merely been stalling. She has no intentions to betray the TVA and join forces with Sylvie. In a stand-off with Renslayer and her agents, Sylvie -- still in possession of Renslayers TemPad -- decides that the only way to be sure about her theory, is to prune herself and be sent to the Void.

Meanwhile, Loki had learned about the individual stories of the Variants as well as the reality of the Void and Alioth, and has decided that the only way to leave the Void, is to kill Alioth. The variants laugh at this plan, so Loki decides to go at it himself, however, before he can leave the bunker, an army of other Loki variants led by PRESIDENT LOKI (TOM HIDDLESTON) infiltrate the bunker and seek to overthrow Kid Loki who is, among the Lokis, the current ruler. As it is a main characteristic of Lokis to betray others, a fight among the variants for the throne breaks out, and Classic, Kid, Alligator, and our TVA Loki make an escape. Reluctantly, the others decided to help Loki get to Alioth.

Having pruned herself, Sylvie has arrived in the Void and immediately has to escape from Alioth. In her escape, she uses magic to defend herself and realises that the creature could be enchanted. While running from Alioth, a small Pizza delivery car races towards her to aid her in the escape. The driver, it turns out, is none other than Mobius. While driving away from the creature, Sylvie makes a similar realisation as Loki: the only way out of the Void is through Alioth, so she has Mobius turn around.

While our Loki variants are in the Void, Renslayer seeks answers herself. Hunter B-15, who had aided Sylvie in her escape, had been imprisoned, and Renslayer goes to her for intel about Sylvie. B-15 realises that Renslayer was not entirely lying when she told Sylvie she, too, wanted to know who is behind the TVA. However, she tells Renslayer, Sylvie would manage to find out way before Renslayer would ever get to her, because she needed to, and Renslayer only wanted.

Back in the Void, the Loki variants arrive near Alioth and our Loki starts to lay out his plan of attack -- only to witness a ship being dumped into the Void and immediately being completely devoured by Alioth, making him reassess his plans. Sylvie and Mobius arrive at the same spot and Sylvie lays out her plans to them -- she wants to enchant Alioth and make it show them what it is protecting. While Sylvie and Loki share a moment outside, talking about the future and themselves, Mobius and the other Lokis are talking in a decaying house nearby.

The Lokis decide to remain in the Void, despite the possibility of escape with Sylvie's TemPad. Our Loki, too, decides to stay and help Sylvie defeat Alioth and find out who is behind the TVA. Taking the TemPad, Mobius says his good-byes to Loki and Sylvie and then returns to the TVA with the plan to burn the whole thing to the ground. Taking on Alioth, Loki starts to distract the creature in order to give Sylvie time to enchant it, however, his efforts are too small. In an act of extreme power, Classic Loki conjures up Asgard as a distraction, allowing Loki and Sylvie to enchant Alioth together. Just as Classic Loki's powers fail and he is, presumably, devoured by Alioth, who is now rapidly approaching the enchanters, the plan works. Within the clouds of Alioth, a space opens, revealing a building beyond the Void.

FAVOURITE MOMENTS

I think unsurprisingly at this point, my favourite moments in this episode feature Mobius. I loved the moment when he picks up Sylvie in his little Pizza car. I may have yelled quite a bit when I saw his face again. Their conversation in the car is also quite lovely.

I also really liked the scene with Mobius and the Loki variants in the little hut while our Loki and Sylvie are outside. I just thought it was delightful how they immediately take to him and ask him questions.

Most favourite moment goes, of course, to the hug. I definitely cheered. I love their dynamic so very much. I just hope that this wasn't the last they see of each other. That would be a shame.

FAVOURITE CHARACTER(S)

Our main man Loki, once again, of course. Also, of course, again Mobius (I am still kinda mad about how much I like him). But I gotta say I also really enjoyed the Loki variants. Richard E. Grant as classic Loki was amazing. And I loved Hiddleston as President Loki also very much. That is an excellent costume.

Also, shout-out to Hunter B-15 for being a badass. I love her and I hope she gets to kick some TVA ass next episode.

QUESTIONS, CURIOSITIES

Of course, like everyone else, I am wondering who is behind the TVA and the Time Keepers, but I am assuming we will find out exactly that next week. So, I'll talk about something else.

I am still very unsure about the whole Sylvie thing. She's definitely a Loki, that's for sure. But seeing all the other possible Loki variants who are all (if applicable) male, having her as the only female version kinda irks me. The comment about it, too. What was it, "that's a terrifying idea"? Something like that? It just doesn't really land right. Loki is, canonically, a genderfluid character. But if Sylvie is the only female version of him, that's not genderfluid. That's just an alternative timeline. And that bothers me.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

While overall quite a fun episode with some amazing visuals and lovely moments, something about this one was kinda off. I liked it very much, still, but the whole Sylvie/Loki thing feels very odd and the fight between all the Loki variants felt kinda thrown away for comedic effect. I thought the episode was great, but it had potential to be even better. But I am really pleased with this show generally.

[still image taken from the episode's imdb page]

[dtrhwithalex]

TV | Loki (103)

103: LAMENTIS

D: KATE HERRON. W: BISHA K. ALI. Original Air Date: 23 June 2021.

Non-spoiler-free recap and review of the third episode of LOKI, which airs every Wednesday on Disney+.

RECAP

We open on the Variant and Hunter C-20 in a bar, having drinks. It quickly becomes clear that this is a memory the Variant is manipulating in order to extract information from C-20 about where the Time Keepers are located and how to get to them.

Picking up from last weeks episode, we see that the time window the Variant has opened, leads to the TVA. The Variant makes her way to the golden elevators leading to the Time Keepers and, confronted by Minutemen finds out that her magical powers are useless here, so she sticks to physical combat and using the TVA's disintegration staffs to fight the Minutemen.

Having followed the Variant, Loki finds himself back at the TVA as well. Taking his knives from Hunter B-15's locker, he goes after the Variant. Their fight in front of the elevator is interrupted by Ravonna Renslayer showing up, and in order to escape, Loki grabs the Variant's TemPad and transports them out of the TVA.

The escape lands them on the moon Lamentis-1 in 2077, during one of the worst apocalyptic events in recorded time. Unable to escape this place and return to the TVA because the TemPad has run out of charge, Loki and the Variant find themselves stranded. Albeit reluctantly and with a lot of argument, Loki and the Variant -- who introduces herself eventually as Sylvie -- decide to team up and find something with a big enough power source to recharge the TemPad which Loki has magic'd away out of Sylvie's reach.

Coming upon an old woman in a largely abandoned place, they learn that there exists an escape pod -- the Ark -- which a train nearby is taking people to. Smuggling themselves onto the train through disguise and manipulation, Loki and Sylvie head to the Ark. They exchange a few details about what kind of Variants they are and then decide on a momentary truce to get them both out of this apocalypse. However, while Sylvie rests, Loki gets drunk and engages the other passengers in a sing-along of a Lamentian folk-song (or maybe Asgardian?). Having shed his guard disguise, the guards eventually catch on, and after a brief fight, Loki is thrown out of the train. Sylvie follows because her only hope of getting off the planet is the TemPad in Loki's possession -- which, it turns out, just broke when Loki was thrown off the train.

Deciding their only chance at escape is highjacking the Ark, Loki and Sylvie make their way to the train's destination and find the city full of guards trying to keep more people from getting to the Ark. Fighting their way across the city and toward the Ark's launch pad, Loki and Sylvie, for the first time, really fight together. However, before they come near the Ark, the planet above is torn apart and they watch as large meteoric pieces destroy the Ark and with it their hope of escape.

FAVOURITE MOMENTS

All the banter scenes, to be honest. There was so much fun dialogue in this episode. The whole tech-savy bit, what makes a plan a plan, Loki conjuring a feather and parchment to take notes sarcastically -- just so good.

Overall favourite has got to be their conversation about love on the train though. I absolutely love this show for the bit about what kind of lovers Loki had.

Sylvie: How about you? You're a prince. Must have been would-be-princesses...or perhaps, another prince. Loki: A bit of both.

We have a male and a female Loki (although I'm still suspicious about Sylvie and still not entirely sure about the whole two actors playing the same genderfluid character thing) and now we have this magnificent dialogue -- finally I get my canonically bi/pan genderfluid God of Mischief in the MCU! Huzzaaaah!!!!

And coming back to the love thing, I also absolutely adore Loki's analogy he comes up with while drunk off his ass: "Love is a dagger. It's a weapon to be wielded far away or up close. You can see yourself in it. It's beautiful. Until it makes you bleed. But ultimately, when you reach for it... *makes the dagger disappear*". I absolutely love it. I love this Loki so much. Finally, he is the chaotic, mischievous idiot I love so much.

FAVOURITE CHARACTER(S)

Still very much Loki, obviously. I love him more the longer this show goes on. I love this Loki so much. He is so much fun. And Tom Hiddleston is marvellous.

I do really like Sylvie so far, too. Her banter with Loki is fantastic, and I enjoy their dynamic a lot. But I wanna know more about her, I can't wait to find out more of who she is, exactly.

I also very much liked the old woman in the abandoned town who blasts both their asses away. You go, lady. You show them.

QUESTIONS, CURIOSITIES

Uhm? The whole "all TVA agents are Variants" reveal?? That opens up so many doors. Cannot wait to see that explored. I mean, that is huge??

Again, who exactly is Sylvie. I've seen some theories floating around that she isn't a Loki but rather Enchantress, but I am not very well versed in Marvel Comics knowledge, so I don't actually know who that is or what that means, and I won't google it because I like finding out stuff as it happens. But...very curious.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

I really liked this episode, it was great fun. I loved the banter, I loved the character dynamics. I did find myself missing Mobius a lot, though. I really like him. One of my favourite things in this episode was the sequence at the end with Loki and Sylvie fighting their way to the Ark. I love the visuals of that city a lot. And the camera movements and the specific shots in that whole sequence was absolutely fantastic. It honestly felt very much like a video game to me, and I kept thinking that I really would love to play this sequence in a game. Absolutely brilliantly shot. Also fantastic opening song choice. Overall, yeah, great episode, once again. Can't wait to see where next week takes us.

[still image taken from the marvel homepage]

[dtrhwithalex]

TV | Loki (104)

104: THE NEXUS EVENT

D: KATE HERRON. W: ERIC MARTIN. Original Air Date: 30 June 2021.

Non-spoiler-free recap and review of the fourth episode of LOKI, which airs every Wednesday on Disney+.

RECAP

As Loki and Sylvie watch the world around them slowly but surely fall into complete destruction and collapse, the TVA is scrambling to locate the two and recapture them. Ravonna Renslayer especially is desperate to have the two variants located, being put under pressure by the Time Keepers. It is also revealed that is was Renslayer herself who was the one to pluck Sylvie from the time line and declare her a variant -- when Sylvie was merely a child, still on Asgard. It is also from Renslayer that Sylvie subsequently escapes and, as she reveals to Loki, has been on the run and in hiding ever since, growing up in apocalypses which were the only place her mere presence did not cause any nexus events.

Sharing a heartfelt moment as Sylvie recounts her life, she and Loki create enough chaos to spark a nexus event even within an ongoing apocalypse, allowing the TVA to locate and recapture them. Once captured, they are separated, with Renslayer forbidding anyone to interrogate Sylvie, while Mobius has Loki thrown in a time-loop -- where he is repeatedly threatened and beaten by LADY SIF (JAIMIE ALEXANDER) in a memory from Loki's earlier life on Asgard, where he as a joke cut off Sif's hair. After finally admitting that he played jokes out of loneliness and a desperate need for attention, Mobius retrieves Loki from the time-loop and takes him back to one of the TVA's interrogation rooms.

Loki tries to make Mobius understand that everything about the TVA is a lie -- as Sylvie has told him -- but Mobius does not trust him. He baits him into revealing what caused the nexus event on Lamentis-1 by telling him Sylvie has been disintegrated, and gets Loki to admit that he cares for her. Accusing him of such narcissism that he fell in love with himself, Mobius closes the case and has Loki returned to the time-loop.

Despite his distrust in Loki, Mobius questions Renslayer about what had happened to C-20 and her intentions behind not letting him talk to Sylvie, and eventually steals her TemPad to investigate the matter further. He learns that C-20 confirmed what Loki had tried to tell him: everyone at the TVA is a Variant, plucked from the timeline and brainwashed to serve the Time Keepers. Returning to Loki's time-loop he admits that Loki was right and wants to help him, but they are quickly found out by Renslayer, and she disintegrates Mobius.

Meanwhile, Hunter B-15, despite Renslayer's orders, went to see Sylvie and took her back to the apocalypse they had found her in. Questioning her about her powers, B-15 reveals that she, too, had been having memories of another life since Sylvie had controlled her. Sylvie shows her the memories again, effectively gaining B-15 as an ally.

Following the disintegration of Mobius, Renslayer takes Loki and Sylvie to see the Time Keepers who wish to witness their destruction. However, once in their chambers, Loki and Sylvie are freed from their constraints by B-15 and a fight between them and the TVA ensue. Gaining the advantage, Loki and Sylvie eventually find themselves free of any enemies, and Sylvie attacks one of the Time Keepers with her sword. The Time Keeper is beheaded and, as the head falls to their feet, Loki and Sylvie realise that these three beings are merely robotic avatars and not the real Time Keepers.

Without any way to destroy the Time Keepers and the TVA, Sylvie is lost. Loki, reminiscent of their moment on Lamentis-1 and Mobius' accusation of romantic feelings between the two, tries to communicate to Sylvie whatever it is he is feeling, but before he can make her understand, he is disintegrated by Renslayer who turns out to be alive, still.

The mid-credit scene reveals that Loki did, in fact, not die, but finds himself in another realm where he is greeted by various other incarnations of himself. Prominently among them: CLASSIC LOKI (RICHARD E. GRANT), KID LOKI (JACK VEAL), and BOASTFUL LOKI (DEOBIA OPAREI).

FAVOURITE MOMENTS

Loki is back in Mobius' presence and we are immediately back to bantering like an old married couple and I very much appreciated that. These two have such a lovely dynamic, I adore it. Never thought I would say that, but I really do. I love Owen Wilson in this role very much and he and Tom have such great chemistry.

I also really liked Hunter B-15 taking Sylvie back to the apocalypse they had found her in, and asks her about C-20 and the memories the both of them have lived while Sylvie controlled them. Her chocked back sob and then the "I looked happy" was just so nicely done. I was very happy to see that B-15 was immediately ready to team up with Sylvie and drop the TVA at a moment's notice.

The same goes for Mobius. I loved that, despite Loki's betrayal and the fact that he was so set in not wanting to trust him again, Mobius still couldn't shake the feeling that Loki's comment was more than just a quip and went to investigate. He is not just a mindless follower of orders and I love that very much about him.

FAVOURITE CHARACTER(S)

My main man Loki, always and forever. I adore this version of Loki so much. He is so much fun! I love that we get this actually, truly mischievous Loki, this chaotic mess. He isn't brooding and full of evil plans. No! He wants shenanigans and fun. I love it. And I love that we get to see more of his vulnerable side too.

But also, Mobius! My man! He's back!!! If this man doesn't get to ride a jet ski at least once I will be very upset. I will also be very upset if he is actually gone now. (Cannot believe I am saying this about an Owen Wilson character. This is new. Good on you, Owen, good on you.)

QUESTIONS, CURIOSITIES

Less a question and more a demand: if the mid-credit scene means Loki exists somewhere after being disintegrated, Mobius better be alive somewhere. I want that lad back, whole and in one piece. You hear me, Marvel? Otherwise you might have yourself another CoulsonLives on your hand, you just watch.

I've already seen a bunch of reactions to the whole Loki/Sylvie thing and most either go with happily shipping along, or being very against this concept out of some sort of incestuous concerns. And I feel like, am I the only one who watched that scene as neither romantic nor incestuous as such, but more as Loki being very confused?

Apart from Frigga, and possibly, to some degree and especially earlier in life, the brotherly love of Thor, I don't think Loki has ever felt love. And for the first time there is someone who not just understands him completely, but also accepts him exactly as he is. Especially following their conversation about love in 103, I think what was between Sylvie and Loki on Lamentis-1 that caused the nexus event, and makes Mobius accuse Loki of being in love with her, is not a romantic sense of love, but in a way a certain self-acceptance?

I'm sure Loki has some kinds of feelings but he doesn't know what they are or how to categorise them. And he is very confused about liking Sylvie and caring that she is alright. But I don't think he would have understood it as romantic love without Mobius' accusation of it. I don't think it's narcissism either. What I saw, was a glimmer of Loki realising that he can love himself, he can accept himself. If Sylvie, who is him, understands and accepts him, then so can he. But yeah, I'm curious to see where they're gonna go with this, certainly.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

Generally, this episode was absolutely amazing. Every week I keep finding myself becoming the shocked Pikachu meme while watching the episode, but this week especially. I can't wait to see what next week brings, and I hope very much that we find out Mobius is, in fact, still alive somewhere.

[still image taken from the episode's imdb page]

[dtrhwithalex]

TV | Loki (106)

106: FOR ALL TIME. ALWAYS.

D: KATE HERRON. W: MICHAEL WALDRON & ERIC MARTIN. Original Air Date: 14 June 2021.

Non-spoiler-free recap and review of the sixth and final episode of the first season of LOKI, which airs every Wednesday on Disney+. It was announced at the end of this episode that LOKI will return for a second season.

RECAP

Loki and Sylvie approach the place beyond the void. It is a citadel around which the timeline circles. Before Sylvie can make up her mind about how to enter, the doors fall open before them and they, swords drawn, enter cautiously. Out of nowhere suddenly Miss Minutes appears and informs them that the person behind the TVA — He Who Remains — has decided that, if they wanted to, they could both continue existing together, unbothered, could have a throne, something to rule, if that was what they wished. However, Loki and Sylvie have other plans.

After Miss Minutes vanishes, they continue exploring the citadel. As Loki wonders out loud if anyone was even still alive there, a door to an elevator opens and HE WHO REMAINS (JONATHAN MAJORS) beckons them to enter. Sylvie immediately attacks, but he time jumps to safety with the help of a special TemPad on the back of his hand.

After several other failed assassination attempts, they arrive at his office, where he prepares them a drink and asks them to sit. Reluctantly they do. He Who Remains explains to them that he knows all there is to know, knows all there was and will be. He explains how the TVA, the Time Keepers and the Sacred Timeline came to be and the role he plays in all of it. It was he who discovered Alioth when the different timelines became fragmented, and he used Alioth to end the war between his own variants of different timelines.

After he finishes, he realises that they have just crossed the threshold of known time. From here on out, not even he knows what will happen. His plan, however, doesn't need him to. He wants to retire and have Loki and Sylvie take on the role of Time Keepers. This is the way they can both continue to exist, but more importantly, can continue to exist together.

Sylvie doesn't believe a single word he says, and goes to attack again, but Loki stops her. Loki believes him. They argue, they fight it out with their swords, and eventually, Loki manages to stop Sylvie. She accuses him of wanting to accept the job for the throne, but Loki says that all he wants is for her to be okay. Hearing this, Sylvie kisses him — long enough to distract him from the fact that she gets a hold of the TemPad, with which she opens a time window and shoves him through, back to the TVA. Alone now, Sylvie kills He Who Remains, unleashing the different timelines from the Sacred Timeline.

While Loki and Sylvie were looking for the face behind the TVA, Mobius has returned to the TVA and goes to confront Renslayer. She is surprised to see him, but says that if anyone would make it back alive from the void, it would be him. Mobius reveals to her that he has found a way to convince other Hunters and Minutemen that the TVA lied to them — he found a variant of Renslayer on Earth. A teacher, she is the source of the blue ballpoint pen Renslayer had been using and Mobius had been asking questions about in an earlier episode.

Arguing with Mobius about who betrayed whom, Renslayer reveals that she is leaving. Mobius attempts to prune her, but she disarms him quickly. Leaving him behind, Renslayer opens a time window and steps through, on a quest for free will.

Arriving back at the TVA, Loki finds the place in action, Hunters are rushing off on missions, and everyone largely ignores him. He finds Mobius and Hunter B-15 in the archives, talking about the branching of the timeline. Loki tries to tell them what happened beyond the void, what He Who Remains told them and what Sylvie did. However, neither Mobius nor B-15 recognise him. Mobius thinks he is an analyst and asks his name and his sector. Because the timeline had already begun to branch when Sylvie sent Loki through the time window, she sent him to a timeline that was not his own. In this timeline, the statues of the Time Keepers are replaced by a single one -- that of He Who Remains.

FAVOURITE MOMENTS

I quite enjoyed the scene of Mobius confronting Renslayer. Their dynamic plays out so well there, and I thought it was great that Renslayer doesn't prune Mobius again. She easily could have, but she doesn't, and I think there's something really great about that.

I adored how He Who Remains tells his story to Loki and Sylvie. The visuals of it were just fantastic. Generally, the visuals at the end of time are gorgeous.

FAVOURITE CHARACTER(S)

It's always Loki and it will always be him. I just adore him. I enjoy Sophia's Slyvie but I just like Loki so much better. Oh and, of course, my dude Mobius. Love that guy.

QUESTIONS, CURIOSITIES

Where exactly did Renslayer go? She said she's looking for free will, so I kind of assumed we'd somehow see her again at the end of time. I have an inkling that she may be going to see the variant of herself on Earth, the teacher.

Where was my boy Casey? I miss him.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

I quite enjoyed this one. I thought Jonathan Majors was fantastic as He Who Remains and he really carried those scenes. I hope to see much more of him in the second season. I think this episode, while not necessarily providing something that feels like a true ending to this season, definitely solidifies a pretty decent anchor point to the show and its place in the MCU. Obviously this show serves to establish what we will no doubt be dealing with in DOCTOR STRANGE: MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS and I think it does a pretty good job with it.

[still image taken from the episode's imdb page]