Reviews for Loki, Marvel Studios’ latest TV show, are here. Critics were only given the first two episodes to review, but the reactions to those episodes have been highly positive, praising the show’s humor, cast, and genre-bending production design. They also pointed out how much exposition was needed to kickstart the plot, which resulted in a slower first episode.
Loki picks up after Avengers: Endgame‘s time heist, where the Avengers time travel back to the events of The Avengers to steal the Infinity Stones. In the ensuing chaos, Loki escapes with the Tesseract and gets in trouble with the Time Variance Authority. It’s a lot to take in, so be sure to check out Mashable’s Loki primer to make sure you’re all set for the show’s first episodes.
Here’s what critics have to say about the latest entry into the MCU.
A promising, yet slow start
Mashable, Proma Khosla
Where WandaVision deliberately shifted tone from week to week and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier struggled to pin one down, Loki busts out with a confident, chaotic voice. The first episode’s pacing jumps from light-speed exposition to almost tediously slow, with [Tom] Hiddleston and [Owen] Wilson doing their mightiest to keep us in their grasp. The timing could be tighter, but the show firmly establishes a consistent sense of humor a lot like Thor: Ragnarok‘s (it’s almost like they’re…siblings).
Variety, Caroline Framke
Of [the] first two episodes, however, the second was far more engaging. The pilot has such an extraordinary amount of ground to cover that director Kate Herron only gets a couple opportunities to find humor in between the exposition, and Hiddleston can barely get into the pithy groove that made Loki such a standout in the first place. The second, at least, can have a bit more fun.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in a bit of a rough spot
Image: Courtesy of marvel studios
Strong performances all around
Metro, Sabrina Barr
Just like Robert [Downey Jr.] as Iron Man, Tom [Hiddleston] was born to play Loki. And boy does he continue to deliver in his eponymous Marvel show with every wink, menacing grin and quick-witted retort a decade after first donning his greasy-haired wig.
Collider, Liz Shannon Miller
Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Wunmi Mosaku, as variously ranked cogs within the TVA machine, are both delightful on-screen presences, even if their characters remain a bit underdeveloped in the first two episodes.
USA Today, Kelly Lawler
[Owen] Wilson slides easily into this section of the MCU, perhaps a surprise to fans used to his comedies. The actor plays a Wilson type on low volume, an “aw-shucks” middle manager enlivened by the chaos Loki brings. But the real scene stealer is Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country) as a no-nonsense TVA enforcer who knocks Loki around precisely as much as he deserves.
Judge Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) oversees a case
Image: Chuck zlotnick/marvel studios
An exciting direction for the MCU
Metro, Sabrina Barr
While the MCU has only just started to dip its toe into the prospect of a multiverse – a concept that will undoubtedly be explored at great length in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – the time-bending backdrop of Loki presents a unique opportunity to take his story in weird and unexpected directions.
The Verge, Andrew Webster
Loki is evidence that there’s a lot of room to experiment within the tight confines of the MCU. It blends elements of buddy comedies and police procedurals with a hefty dose of classic sci-fi, helped along by an incredibly charming cast. It’s also a story that seems ideally suited for episodic storytelling, with the space to dig deeper into a character that’s often stuck on the periphery of larger moments. In its first two episodes, Loki nails the formula — now we just have to see if that momentum keeps up for the next few weeks.
Slashfilm, Ethan Anderton
The first two episodes of Loki feel like Marvel Studios doing what they do best. But there’s also a feeling the comic book movie studio is letting the filmmakers behind these Disney+ shows veer away from their established formula, at least when it comes to putting a new spin on familiar genres… If what’s on display in Loki‘s first two episodes carries over to the rest of the season, then this could be Marvel’s best series yet.