TL;DR: Falcon Soldier didn't have much expectations…better than I thought it was going to be. LOKI?….HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AWESOME! Also moving old links to the bottom from here on out.
Falcon / Winter Soldier
So I went in to this one with low expectations…not because I heard bad things (honestly hadn't heard anything) but mainly cause Falcon was always a side character and Winter Soldier hasn't gotten really any attention since Civil War. Ended up being pretty good overall.
First 2 episodes were kind of "meh" for the most part. Up until…..ZEMO! The reveal of him coming into play at the end of the 2nd episode got me way more invested in this story. And after that I was pretty much getting back to the same vibes as Winter Soldier.
With it being Disney, I'm always expecting bad guy to turn good so was pleasantly surprised when the leader of Enfy's Nest killed a bunch of people in an explosion and basically said, "It's their purpose." Yup, no redeeming this freckled character this time….
And just gonna say, this series definitely peaked at Episode 4. They should have just ran with that and found a way to finish this whole thing with Episode 5 and not tried to stretch to 6 episodes because man the momentum dropped off after that. And I get it there was still things to wrap up but when you have Cap 2.0 DECAPITATE A GUY……just…..WOW! You gotta keep it going there bud!
What they did would've been like if Civil War was a TV series, and having an episode end on it revealing Bucky killed Starks parents then dedicating the next episode to Vision & Spiderman trying to help rebuild the airport they demolished in Germany. Interesting? Yes. A bit of a drop off? A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y!!
Biggest complaint was the entire time the story was just hard to follow. And maybe that's on me I don't know…if y'all were able to follow it then kudos. But dang the whole GRC….moving people….I kept getting confused on was it the people who "blipped back" that were being forced to move? Or people that never blipped to begin with and having to be forced to relocate due to people returning. I think they could've handled that better.
Cause honestly it's interesting as hell!!! The number of plot devices around half the population being gone for 5 years and suddenly returning poses nearly limitless possibilities on what direction to go and I think this just got mudded up as beyond seeing a few characters it was hard to envision this new world that our characters found themselves in.
And I guess she's a bad guy now??? But no idea why??? Twist….I guess??? You sure recovered from that gunshot wound to the gut pretty quick….
Last thing….the messaging at the end was pretty good but accomplished a little bit better with Isaiah's story arch coming to a close rather than Falcon's speech towards the end….pretty sure the issue of trying to figure out what to do 3-4 billion people re-appearing over a period of a few months is a little more complicated than he made it sound.
Would've liked a little more subtlety on their part too….If I remember correctly at one point in the episode they had said for 5 years people came together like they never had before due to the snap, but then only a few months after everyone blips back after 5 years of "human race came together like never before" all of a sudden, "RACISM GRRR they'll never let a black man be Captain America." Really? Even Zootopia was going, "Jeez way to make it obvious guys."
Anyways, like I said overall it was better than I was expecting. Falcon and Winter Soldier together was pretty fun all throughout. Zemo was a great add. Not sure what to think of John Walker. Isaiah's ending to finish the series was done very well. Good Disney.
LOKI
Holy smokes what first????
This show has been the first Disney + series (including Mandalorian) that legitimately felt like it could've been a movie series simply by how it looked. This never felt like a TV show at all from the production quality of it and that became most apparent of all within the last 2 episodes with purple guard dog cloud and space timeline go bad scene. Gotta break this one up sheesh alright here we go.
The TVA
There's no way I was the only one getting "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" vibes with this setup. The first 2 episodes could've easily fit into that world. Hell just the elevator scene by itself when Loki first arrives feels like it's from that world.
You have this overly bureaucratic society that dress like depressed Cleveland Browns fans with Owen Wilson as its protagonist and a cartoon clock with TV monitors / offices that look like they were pulled from the 70s. I loved it!!
Seriously…..Tony Stark and humans have virtual 3D printers that can make a brand new Spiderman suite on a plane from scratch…..they have file folders. So good!
Owen Wilson & Loki
I could watch these 2 have a conversation all day. No joke. And boy there's a lot of fan art for these 2 dudes….
This scene sums up these two perfectly and I was smiling during it's entirety…..
It's amazing how quickly the chemistry between Owen and Tom became apparent on screen. Just them getting going in the first episode, chatting on the elevator, interrogating Loki and showing him his past life….I had no idea how badly the MCU needed an actor like Owen Wilson to be the perfect counter to the type of villain that Loki is.
And dangit when Marvel gets it right….they friggin get it right because these 2 scenes did me in….
Story
This is just as amazing. The twist at the beginning with the Variant they were following being another Loki wasn't exactly shocking, but it was really well done and having it be a female Loki really helps setup what a true "alternate universe/reality" really means in this world. And these two played off each other very well and including that certain Loki's have different powers was also a nice unexpected surprise.
And yes the trope of using a villain to catch an even worse villain has been done plenty of times, but this was such a unique way of telling that story I don't see how anyone would've cared. Shoot having Loki open a desk drawer and seeing it randomly littered with infinity stones from alternate universes and being the very thing that so many sought after being reduced to the value of a paperweight and that being within the first half of the first episode…….REALLY sets the tone for the audience having to accept, "Yup….no idea what we're in for now."
I mean….there was literally a version of Loki as an alligator…..and I'm going, "Yup. Makes sense."
Even Loki's transition at the end of the series felt 100% legitimate. This is still Loki, the God of mischief but now we've seen all these different versions of him….he's seen his own death at the hands of Thanos….seen a female version of himself and literally traveled to the end of time and yet we could still buy him having some sort of double cross moment like he always has (of course if they were going to do a full character arch change and have the villain become a hero….THIS is the character I want to see them do it with….in fact….I WANT Loki to be redeemed and become a good guy).
Best part of how this went down when watching it, was I had no idea they were doing a 2nd season….and maybe y'all didn't know either so maybe we were on the same playing field there….but I did not expect the ending that we got….pretty much me watching on the couch:
Overall….what they did with this first season and the 6 episodes we got from a creative standpoint…..hands down the biggest creative risk the MCU has done since deciding on the first Avengers movie. There were SO MANY ways this thing could have gone wrong with such a different take using a familiar character (and only one character mind you….all other characters in this were new to the MCU) and with the crazy direction they took this they did everything right. I feel like every Marvel series now is going to be getting compared to this as the measuring stick for greatness.
Can't wait for Season 2!!!!!
Past Threads:
Phase 1 Reaction:
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3278723
Phase 2 Reaction:
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3285463
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 1): Dr. Strange / GotG Vol 2 / Civil War
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3287952
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 2): Ragnarok / Black Panther / Homecoming
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3290581
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 3): Infinity War
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3291814
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 4): Ant Man & The Wasp / Captain Marvel
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3294976
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 5): Endgame
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3297903
Phase 4 Reaction (Part 1): No Way Home / WandaVision
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3300455
Falcon / Winter Soldier
So I went in to this one with low expectations…not because I heard bad things (honestly hadn't heard anything) but mainly cause Falcon was always a side character and Winter Soldier hasn't gotten really any attention since Civil War. Ended up being pretty good overall.
First 2 episodes were kind of "meh" for the most part. Up until…..ZEMO! The reveal of him coming into play at the end of the 2nd episode got me way more invested in this story. And after that I was pretty much getting back to the same vibes as Winter Soldier.
With it being Disney, I'm always expecting bad guy to turn good so was pleasantly surprised when the leader of Enfy's Nest killed a bunch of people in an explosion and basically said, "It's their purpose." Yup, no redeeming this freckled character this time….
And just gonna say, this series definitely peaked at Episode 4. They should have just ran with that and found a way to finish this whole thing with Episode 5 and not tried to stretch to 6 episodes because man the momentum dropped off after that. And I get it there was still things to wrap up but when you have Cap 2.0 DECAPITATE A GUY……just…..WOW! You gotta keep it going there bud!
What they did would've been like if Civil War was a TV series, and having an episode end on it revealing Bucky killed Starks parents then dedicating the next episode to Vision & Spiderman trying to help rebuild the airport they demolished in Germany. Interesting? Yes. A bit of a drop off? A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y!!
Biggest complaint was the entire time the story was just hard to follow. And maybe that's on me I don't know…if y'all were able to follow it then kudos. But dang the whole GRC….moving people….I kept getting confused on was it the people who "blipped back" that were being forced to move? Or people that never blipped to begin with and having to be forced to relocate due to people returning. I think they could've handled that better.
Cause honestly it's interesting as hell!!! The number of plot devices around half the population being gone for 5 years and suddenly returning poses nearly limitless possibilities on what direction to go and I think this just got mudded up as beyond seeing a few characters it was hard to envision this new world that our characters found themselves in.
And I guess she's a bad guy now??? But no idea why??? Twist….I guess??? You sure recovered from that gunshot wound to the gut pretty quick….
Last thing….the messaging at the end was pretty good but accomplished a little bit better with Isaiah's story arch coming to a close rather than Falcon's speech towards the end….pretty sure the issue of trying to figure out what to do 3-4 billion people re-appearing over a period of a few months is a little more complicated than he made it sound.
Would've liked a little more subtlety on their part too….If I remember correctly at one point in the episode they had said for 5 years people came together like they never had before due to the snap, but then only a few months after everyone blips back after 5 years of "human race came together like never before" all of a sudden, "RACISM GRRR they'll never let a black man be Captain America." Really? Even Zootopia was going, "Jeez way to make it obvious guys."
Anyways, like I said overall it was better than I was expecting. Falcon and Winter Soldier together was pretty fun all throughout. Zemo was a great add. Not sure what to think of John Walker. Isaiah's ending to finish the series was done very well. Good Disney.
LOKI
Holy smokes what first????
This show has been the first Disney + series (including Mandalorian) that legitimately felt like it could've been a movie series simply by how it looked. This never felt like a TV show at all from the production quality of it and that became most apparent of all within the last 2 episodes with purple guard dog cloud and space timeline go bad scene. Gotta break this one up sheesh alright here we go.
The TVA
There's no way I was the only one getting "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" vibes with this setup. The first 2 episodes could've easily fit into that world. Hell just the elevator scene by itself when Loki first arrives feels like it's from that world.
You have this overly bureaucratic society that dress like depressed Cleveland Browns fans with Owen Wilson as its protagonist and a cartoon clock with TV monitors / offices that look like they were pulled from the 70s. I loved it!!
Seriously…..Tony Stark and humans have virtual 3D printers that can make a brand new Spiderman suite on a plane from scratch…..they have file folders. So good!
Owen Wilson & Loki
I could watch these 2 have a conversation all day. No joke. And boy there's a lot of fan art for these 2 dudes….
This scene sums up these two perfectly and I was smiling during it's entirety…..
It's amazing how quickly the chemistry between Owen and Tom became apparent on screen. Just them getting going in the first episode, chatting on the elevator, interrogating Loki and showing him his past life….I had no idea how badly the MCU needed an actor like Owen Wilson to be the perfect counter to the type of villain that Loki is.
And dangit when Marvel gets it right….they friggin get it right because these 2 scenes did me in….
Story
This is just as amazing. The twist at the beginning with the Variant they were following being another Loki wasn't exactly shocking, but it was really well done and having it be a female Loki really helps setup what a true "alternate universe/reality" really means in this world. And these two played off each other very well and including that certain Loki's have different powers was also a nice unexpected surprise.
And yes the trope of using a villain to catch an even worse villain has been done plenty of times, but this was such a unique way of telling that story I don't see how anyone would've cared. Shoot having Loki open a desk drawer and seeing it randomly littered with infinity stones from alternate universes and being the very thing that so many sought after being reduced to the value of a paperweight and that being within the first half of the first episode…….REALLY sets the tone for the audience having to accept, "Yup….no idea what we're in for now."
I mean….there was literally a version of Loki as an alligator…..and I'm going, "Yup. Makes sense."
Even Loki's transition at the end of the series felt 100% legitimate. This is still Loki, the God of mischief but now we've seen all these different versions of him….he's seen his own death at the hands of Thanos….seen a female version of himself and literally traveled to the end of time and yet we could still buy him having some sort of double cross moment like he always has (of course if they were going to do a full character arch change and have the villain become a hero….THIS is the character I want to see them do it with….in fact….I WANT Loki to be redeemed and become a good guy).
Best part of how this went down when watching it, was I had no idea they were doing a 2nd season….and maybe y'all didn't know either so maybe we were on the same playing field there….but I did not expect the ending that we got….pretty much me watching on the couch:
Overall….what they did with this first season and the 6 episodes we got from a creative standpoint…..hands down the biggest creative risk the MCU has done since deciding on the first Avengers movie. There were SO MANY ways this thing could have gone wrong with such a different take using a familiar character (and only one character mind you….all other characters in this were new to the MCU) and with the crazy direction they took this they did everything right. I feel like every Marvel series now is going to be getting compared to this as the measuring stick for greatness.
Can't wait for Season 2!!!!!
Past Threads:
Phase 1 Reaction:
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3278723
Phase 2 Reaction:
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3285463
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 1): Dr. Strange / GotG Vol 2 / Civil War
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3287952
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 2): Ragnarok / Black Panther / Homecoming
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3290581
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 3): Infinity War
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3291814
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 4): Ant Man & The Wasp / Captain Marvel
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3294976
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 5): Endgame
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3297903
Phase 4 Reaction (Part 1): No Way Home / WandaVision
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3300455
