Given how impressed I am with the two Marvel shows "WandaVision" and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", even though I've always liked "Loki" this work, I'll hold back until I watch the finale. He breathed a sigh of relief: It's okay, it didn't collapse, it looked good.
Last night, I deliberately went through all six episodes of the first season quickly, and reconfirmed that "Rocky" has finished telling a good story, even if some viewers do not agree with or like some of the settings or endings in the show, but this The story itself is complete and self-consistent.
In order to write this article well, I roughly divided "Rocky" into two parts: "functional" and "literary" (the classification is not rigorous and only serves the article). The former mainly refers to the basic setting and plot logic. In terms of promotion, MCU story development, etc., the latter refers to character image building, emotional context extension, and theme positioning.
In fact, in the past month or so, many people have interpreted and analyzed the "functional" part. Therefore, out of the consideration of reducing the wisdom of others and my stronger desire to express myself, I will focus on "literary and artistic". superior……
To put it more simply, it is the N "why?" about the protagonist Rocky Lawfeison.
In my opinion, these questions, and the attempts to answer them, are the real charm of Loki.
[There will be spoilers below. 】
The multiverse opens
Out of the most basic respect, I still want to say a few words about the wonderfulness of "Rocky" in "connecting the past and the future". After all, it fully opened up the fourth stage of the MCU in a high dimension.
The audience gradually got to know the special agency of Time Variation Administration (TVA) through the perspective of Time Criminal Loki.
Like Loki, we have to seriously examine the existence of TVA, and have countless reverie about the "time guardian" and "sacred timeline" behind him.
The experience of watching "Rocky" is like a slow puzzle game , each episode will provide some new clues to bring everyone closer to the truth, and some small discoveries and small easter eggs in the process (for example, Loki is D ·B · Cooper, verifying the theory that time crime is hidden in the "doomsday event", etc.), is also using the positive feedback it brings to continue to inspire the audience to continue to move forward.
A large part of the fun and watchability of "Rocky" comes from this process . If you watch it episode by episode and serialization, this feeling may be stronger.
TVA is a miscellaneous office and a pretense for bluffing people, but this does not mean that it is full of powerless tool people. The most representative ones are Mobius and Lothrael-they are both Knowing that TVA hides lies, but compared to Mobius, a good comrade who simply pursues free will, Lothrael, who devotes itself to lies, is more worth pondering. She wants to know the truth, but she is full of the Time Guardian and the system it has established. After the ambiguity, although it is impossible to face the BOSS directly, it will still play a big role in the future...
Because next, the world of MUC will usher in complete chaos, and anyone can become a butterfly that sets off a storm.
In the finale, we already know the setting of the show as it is: Kang, the ruler of time/conqueror of time/forsaken, won the multiverse war caused by "them", and he put the past known The timelines of (roughly until the early 31st century) converged into a non-reciprocating cycle, the Divine Timeline, constantly maintaining its stability to ensure basic order.
This seemingly stable time rule has two fatal flaws. One is that there is no real unknown future, and the other is that someone needs to keep it running, because the sacred time line was forcibly twisted by Kang, and it is destined to be forever. New branches keep popping up.
Now, Kang is tired, and he needs his heir to decide what to do: either take over the mantle and become the new Time Keeper, or kill himself and restore the multiverse he once was. (PS: It is always an extreme choice between two extremes. The zero-sum game thinking is deeply rooted. This is really a cultural difference...)
In the contest between the two successors, Loki, "Female Loki" Sylvie was slightly better, stabbing Kang to death and opening an uncontrolled multiverse.
In fact, the split of the multiverse had already begun the moment Kang gave up his identity. The proof is that Loki, who was sent back by Sylvie, went to a new TVA branch (or reset), where Mobius He didn't know himself, and when Loki discovered that the statues of the three large lizards had become Kang, it proved that this "mutation" was overwhelmed .
Sylvie's knife directly opened up a new world for the MCU, and the next Marvel animated series "What If...?" ", the films "Doctor Strange 2", "Ant-Man 3" and other works are also instantly clear.
However, Marvel's leaping/chaotic operation is a dangerous move. It tests the creators and the audience more, and at the same time raises the viewing threshold a lot. It is inevitable to reshuffle the cards after breaking them ... This is also part of the audience's dissatisfaction. The reason for Loki and Marvel.
Who is Loki?
Now I come to my favorite part, and talk about the shaping, growth and placement of Loki in this show.
As the main villain of the first phase of Marvel's works, Loki is actually quite likable for many reasons, for example, Dousen is handsome enough, the "Marvel villain" lacks a realistic sense of villainy, and if he fails to do evil, he will be fierce. The "Hero Sharpening Stone" character design and so on... In short, this character has room for digging.
"Rocky" chose Loki, who was newly defeated by the first Avengers in 2012, as the protagonist . He still maintains the spirit of "I'm number one in the world", and the funny (bi) attribute is also stronger.
But the series will not really arrange such a Loki to take risks, so let him quickly "retrospective" to watch his future life, which not only allows him to be basically the same as the dead Loki in "Avengers 3", but also guarantees so that his will is not broken.
At this point, the "New Rocky" is considered to have embarked on his journey-with the opportunity to "restart", he urgently needs a new target, and the TVA that is close at hand is the most suitable choice.
At first, Rocky out of inertia , want to overthrow the time is still the guardian of the rule of TVA's the same old, he does not believe more strongly than their other Rocky, the whole a better idea.
All this changed with the appearance of Sylvie.
On the surface, Loki is chasing after Sylvie because of the deflation in Sylvie's hand and the opponent's goal of "destroying TVA"; but in fact, after a brief meeting with Sylvie, Loki Her interest surpassed that of the Time Guardian , otherwise she wouldn't be blocked before she stepped on the elevator.
Sylvie is not only Loki's new goal, but also Loki's new direction of "conquering, overthrowing, and ruling" different from the past - he has never figured out "Who am I?" Now, Sylvie gave him such an opportunity.
Loki's journey of curiosity unfolds after a brief confrontation aboard Lamandis One, and the two have to work together before Doom Crisis.
This is a process of mutual observation and enhancement of understanding . Sylvie, who has known since childhood that her life is still in a turbulent life, is obviously more tenacious, vigilant and indifferent than Loki, who has maternal love and a good life, but this cannot stop her from Loki. Have all the yearning.
They will also fall into the same doubts as ordinary people. About what "love" is, their cognition may be even lacking than ordinary people.
It is precisely because they are faced with another self that is both unfamiliar and familiar, the two will say the golden sentence of love, hate, deception, and a dagger: it may be far away, or it may be close in front of you, you can see it through it. to your own beauty until it blows your mind, and eventually, when you reach out to it, it's a blob.
After the end of the first season of "Rocky", you will find that this metaphor about love happens to be the best commentary on Loki and Sylvie's feelings for each other and themselves.
The show has never had time for the two to slowly develop their relationship. From the moment they first met, their relationship has been advancing by leaps and bounds in a desperate situation - besides, only in a desperate situation where there is no way out can the two continue to force themselves. Break through the limit , and even force an unprecedented timeline in the doomsday event.
Loki has always been lonely, confused, and tangled. He is very smart, but he is always less intelligent, and whenever Loki makes a breakthrough, he will be erased by TVA... Loki and Sylvie are in the The "letting down" and snuggling before dying just accomplishes what the Rockies have never done before: understanding and reconciling with themselves.
This may be the most buggy part of the show. Out of their attraction to each other, Loki and Sylvie have achieved historic "love others" and "self-love" at the same time .
So looking at Loki who was taken back to TVA later, his temperament is very different. Just relying on the time loop to punish the abuse in prison can't make Loki say "I'm a narcissist... I'm afraid of being alone". Come to consciousness.
The tragedy of the prototype Loki lies in the futile pursuit and inability to get it, which in turn urges him to use more pranks and intrigues to brush up his sense of existence... The appearance of Sylvie broke this kind of Going back and forth, showing her his heart, was Loki's closest chance to truly changing himself.
However, it is also one of Loki's basic characters to never be smooth sailing . No matter where he goes, he will experience countless disasters.
Thousand Faces Loki
Before being sent to the "Void at the End of Time", Loki has achieved his staged growth and transformation, but this answer to the big question "Who is Loki?" is far from enough.
So, after pressing the pause button in the episode, we see a new answer from another dimension.
The protagonists Loki and Sylvie are just two points, which are the personalities to be highlighted in "Rocky", and the fifth episode tries to find out more commonalities among the Lokis, such as being able to toss, love to do things, and have strong survivability. , so that the end of time has become "Rocky Nest".
In my eyes, the most interesting part of this episode is not "Young Rocky" who killed Thor, "Old Rocky" or "Alligator Rocky" who saw through the world, but Rocky headed by "President Rocky" because they are what Loki should/most likely look like.
Duplicitous, tongue-in-cheek, treacherous, and insatiable , a few Lokis with similar temperaments have not lived a stable life for two days, but they were disturbed by "Black Loki" again.
That's why old Loki couldn't help berating them for a life of nothing new: we lied, cheated, and killed everyone who believed in ourselves, just for the glorious power and mission... We can't change, we're bad guys, everyone Versions are always like that.
It is because they are trying to change that they are sent to this place without future one by one, which also means that no matter what, the result is the same.
Of course, our protagonist Loki has to do something different, not only does he have to go with another Loki to uproot the Time Keeper, but he also befriends a TVA employee who is fighting alongside him.
The significance of Loki's hug with Mobius is not inferior to the hug with Sylvie, and even more precious - this is the first "non-Loki" trust .
With the foreshadowing of all kinds of Loki in the front, the highlight moment of old Loki sacrificing himself at the end of the fifth episode is even more heroic and charming : In the void where everything is meaningless, there are two different fools willing to do something meaningful. The thing that happened, Loki, who lived the longest, decided to be the third fool, and used the proud Asgard to confront Elios who had been evading all the time. This was the only glorious mission.
It's very not "Rocky", but it's Rocky at his best.
from loneliness to loneliness
Before meeting Kang, the story of "Rocky" was generally developing towards a positive side. Although Loki didn't confess to Sylvie, his actual actions were almost the same.
At the same time, Sylvie is also really trying to trust another person for the first time.
They don't know where the future will go, but this does not prevent them from meeting and working together.
Because of this, I was very frustrated when Kang said, "I caused you to get transformed, and I opened the way for you to come in": it represented the change of Loki and Sylvie, which was largely manipulated by Kang, He wanted to find a capable heir, which brought the two of them to the front.
But in hindsight, Kang's statement is not absolute - he can only use his detached authority and ability to make the most of the situation and make others go in his preset direction to the maximum extent, but he can't control all of everyone's decisions, just Like he can't really prevent new timelines from emerging, he can only keep pinching his tips to maintain the sacred timeline... He is not an omniscient and almighty god, and Loki and Sylvie's self-selection still plays a big role.
As for Kang giving up his special status, the differences between the two are actually traceable.
Loki's extraordinary growth environment and rich knowledge made him always have a lingering pessimism about human nature, believing that "it is a mistake for people to have the right to choose", which not only reflects his arrogance, but also reflects his sense of order. The yearning , if Kang wasn't lying, the chaos of a utterly disordered multiverse that few could afford.
In contrast, to play small grew up alone Silverstein not so much concern, she has been living in desperate doomsday event, before the protagonist met Rocky, she even nothing good memories, every day In the atmosphere of "there is no tomorrow", where can she think about complicated and long-term things, her life goal is only one: to kill the guardian of time to take revenge.
Pessimism and despair are two different levels of negative emotions, which are also irreconcilable differences between Loki and Sylvie based on their growth experiences.
Due to the existence of differences, when the two are all in charge of themselves, any differences will cause a fundamental confrontation - here we should pay attention to the order of the differences, first because Sylvie can't trust others, and then because Loki is not worthy of being attacked. Trust - As long as one person doubts, the cornerstone of their mutual trust is gone .
When I saw this, I was also very frustrated. There was always a sense of frustration that I lost everything in an instant after I worked hard to accumulate some results. I need to know that Kang is no longer at the mercy of them. The two are based on their own concepts and ideas. The stance is divided .
Fortunately, after saying "I don't want the throne, I just want you to be safe", the kiss between Loki and Sylvie made my twisted heart stretch out again.
Although Silverstein said. "But I'm not your" Rocky also push it away, but that without more ado, without pretending to kiss, they proved while reserving differences, there is still a really seeking the same.
That journey together was not in vain. Loki and Sylvie did return to a state of being alone, but their shared experiences, memories and yearnings made them no longer as lonely as they used to be... It's just that loneliness, they can Get rid of it?
For the sake of "Rocky" and the second season, I accept the current ending. I hope that Marvel will continue to shape and improve the character of Loki while engaging in the MCU chaos. The N questions about Loki are still unanswered, so don't give up halfway.
Looking forward to seeing you and me in the future .
[You are also welcome to pay attention to my official account "You Love Comment Area". 】
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