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They should have used more of it to go into Sylvie's back story. Yeah, she didn't grow up with a mother, but that doesn't tell us anything much. We still don't know what her plans are..and it's amazing that Loki would not have pressed that issue harder.
I've been watching another SF program on Amazon, "Counterpart" starring JK Simmons. It's an alternate universe spy thriller in which JK Simmons in our "prime" universe works as a mild-mannered low-level functionary in the organization that manages the trans-universe portal in this universe. His function is so low that he doesn't even know what his organization actually does. His life is boring. His main avocation is playing Go! with an acquaintance on the sidewalk. He spends each evening reading to his comatose wife in the hospital.
Then circumstances cause him to meet his "counterpart" from the other universe (which is totally against protocols). His counterpart is a hard-core operative "licensed to kill" agent and all that. But when they have a chance to talk, what he really wants to know (and what the audience wants to know) are the details of how their lives diverged to produce such different end-products. (Got to give Simmons his kudos for carrying off both roles so differently yet believably.)
Loki doesn't seem to have that same desire.
Yeah, I agree it does seem really a little hollow that they aren't delving into Slyvie's backstory. Although, I kinda figured they were pulling back the layers of her character to describe more later. But with Loki since he's such a fan favorite, I kind of was hoping they would go a little deeper with him. Loki is a great character, but we don't know too much about his back story.
I thought they did a pretty good job with Wanda's backstory, and while I wasn't necessarily crazy about the plot for Falcon and Winter Soldier, I really loved the character development and emotional toes to Sam and Bucky. Since Loki is a fan favorite, I kind of wanted a deeper dive into him with this series.
But there's a lot going on with the multiverse and other stuff, so they may be going that direction.
I've been looking for something new to watch on Amazon, so I think I'll give Counterpart a look
I was pretty much bored by most of Loki Episode 3. Most of the time, I didn't know what was going on and didn't care, except to notice that they should have had Loki wearing something other than the boring uniform or a shirt with a tie. The only part I liked was too brief - Loki singing that Norse song - I never knew the actor could sing like that, and boy did Loki's energy and charisma, even when supposedly drunk, come out and play. I could have listened to him sing for another 15 minutes and enjoyed it...
I hope the show becomes more interesting. Maybe Loki works best when paired with Thor after all....
I was pretty much bored by most of Loki Episode 3. Most of the time, I didn't know what was going on and didn't care, except to notice that they should have had Loki wearing something other than the boring uniform or a shirt with a tie. The only part I liked was too brief - Loki singing that Norse song - I never knew the actor could sing like that, and boy did Loki's energy and charisma, even when supposedly drunk, come out and play. I could have listened to him sing for another 15 minutes and enjoyed it...
I hope the show becomes more interesting. Maybe Loki works best when paired with Thor after all....
I think that's one of the great thing about classically-trained English actors. In addition to just acting, they are also trained to "perform" and I think that's what makes Tom Hiddleston so great. Anytime the camera is on him, it's like he's on "stage." That singing scheme was emblematic of his range. He is great in one-on-one dialogue and doing a performance like that. Great actor.
Most of the time, I didn't know what was going on and didn't care
Run! Explosion! Explosion followed by snarky dialogue! Talk with snarky banter. Explosion! Fistfight that makes no sense! Run again! Talk with snarky banter. More explosions!
Pretty much sums up Episode 3.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Regina14
The only part I liked was too brief - Loki singing that Norse song - I never knew the actor could sing like that, and boy did Loki's energy and charisma, even when supposedly drunk, come out and play. I could have listened to him sing for another 15 minutes and enjoyed it...
This show is coasting on Hiddleston's charm. The guy could make a dramatic reading of a dishwasher manual fun. Too bad the writers aren't giving him anything actually interesting to do.
I think that's one of the great thing about classically-trained English actors. In addition to just acting, they are also trained to "perform" and I think that's what makes Tom Hiddleston so great. Anytime the camera is on him, it's like he's on "stage." That singing scheme was emblematic of his range. He is great in one-on-one dialogue and doing a performance like that. Great actor.
That reminds me of a "dad story" that actor Jared Harris tells of his father Richard Harris. He tells of a time when he was a boy, and he and his father were in a small restaurant. His father was telling him a story, then noticed a guest at a nearby table had recognized him and was eavesdropping.
Richard shifted his chair and raised his voice a bit so that the eavesdropper could hear the story more easily. then someone else began listening, so Richard shifted his chair and raised his voice a bit higher.
More and more people began listening, and Richard moved his chair and raised his voice more and more...until eventually his chair was against the wall and the entire restaurant had become his audience.
I wouldn't be surprised if Hiddleston was the same way...as he was as Loki in the train bar scene.
Lots of good comments. I agree with everyone. I am hopeful that things pick up quickly beginning next episode, and given that there's some deep twists with the multiverse stuff they need to cover, I think they will.
I agree with you. However, LOKI is failing to do this on almost every level. The characters aren't developing. Loki is the same as he was in episode 1. So is everyone else. They aren't changing. There is no depth at all to any of these characters. Loki has Mommy Issues. We knew that already. Lady Loki might not be who she claims. Duh.
There are two things they could do. One would be to develop the characters--that is, show change in the characters. As you pointed out, they haven't done that.
The other thing is to reveal more character depth to the audience. But they're not doing that either, to any substantial degree.
My favorite example of this (and many other elements of writing) is in the series The Expanse. The lead character Holden has been shown to be changing from a high-horsed white knight impressed by the absoluteness of his own moral correctness to a man who can see the grays and bend when necessary.
OTOH, the fan-favorite character of Amos appeared at first to be a mindless head-smasher, but has been slowly revealed to have been a brutally abused child suffering severe and permanent psychosis...but he knows his own moral compass is broken, so he's trying to act like a good person by following good people. He hasn't changed at all, but the audience now knows more about him.
There are two things they could do. One would be to develop the characters--that is, show change in the characters. As you pointed out, they haven't done that.
The other thing is to reveal more character depth to the audience. But they're not doing that either, to any substantial degree.
My favorite example of this (and many other elements of writing) is in the series The Expanse. The lead character Holden has been shown to be changing from a high-horsed white knight impressed by the absoluteness of his own moral correctness to a man who can see the grays and bend when necessary.
OTOH, the fan-favorite character of Amos appeared at first to be a mindless head-smasher, but has been slowly revealed to have been a brutally abused child suffering severe and permanent psychosis...but he knows his own moral compass is broken, so he's trying to act like a good person by following good people. He hasn't changed at all, but the audience now knows more about him.
Yup.
Not every story requires character development. Do we really want Batman to develop as a character? I don't. Batman is Batman. He is an icon. You don't want your icons changing.
If that's the kind of story you're telling, fine. But the plot had better be all kinds of interesting to make up for it, and so far at least, LOKI isn't. This is more like watching a video game than a story. Character wants X and discovers Y. Proceed to the next level. Character uses Y and realizes he now wants Z. Proceed to the next level. All with lots of chasing, fighting, and explosions, of course. But no real story.
Not every story requires character development. Do we really want Batman to develop as a character? I don't. Batman is Batman. He is an icon. You don't want your icons changing.
If that's the kind of story you're telling, fine. But the plot had better be all kinds of interesting to make up for it, and so far at least, LOKI isn't. This is more like watching a video game than a story. Character wants X and discovers Y. Proceed to the next level. Character uses Y and realizes he now wants Z. Proceed to the next level. All with lots of chasing, fighting, and explosions, of course. But no real story.
I think they had a pretty nice setup in Episode 1. I was really scratching my head in a good way. Kind of confused and didn't know exactly where things were going, but it was really intriguing. Add to that Time Travel and the Multiverse, and I thought they had a nice setup, similar to WandaVision (where it was nothing like what we've seen in the MCU before).
But I didn't feel they really ran with that momentum in episode 2. And certainly not in episode 3. It kind of went down the path that you are describing.
Tbh, I've never been completely disappointed by Marvel. They seem to always have at least one clever twist that makes things really entertaining, so I'm waiting before I completely cast judgment.
I personally feel like Loki is one of those characters where it would be great to get some character development. He's so entertaining on screen, but he's kind of one dimensional. I thought, similar to WandaVision, that they would dive into his character some more since it's his show. There were a few scenes (first episode with Owen Wilson where he saw the future and even last episode when Sylvie asked him to tell her about himself) where it seemed like they may have actually gone into his past; but the scenes ended within a few seconds, and we didn't really get anything.
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