Loki Is Still The Most Important MCU TV Show 2 Years After Release

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Loki season 1 premiered two years ago on June 9, 2021, and it is still the most important MCU TV show to this day. The Disney+ streaming platform launched shortly after Marvel Studios wrapped up the MCU’s Infinity Saga with Avengers: Endgame. As a result, Marvel got to expand its universe beyond the original Avengers and Thanos thanks to multiple TV shows. Unlike previous Marvel series, every Marvel Studios TV show was intrinsically connected to the MCU movies. However, none of them worked as well as Loki.
Several Marvel characters received their own Disney+ MCU TV show, including but not limited to Wanda, Vision, Sam, and Bucky. This new format of MCU content allowed the franchise to revisit established characters from previous movies, now with stories centered on them. Despite having appeared in three Thor movies and three Avengers films, Loki received his best MCU character arc in the Loki series.
Loki Worked As A Stand-Alone Story And A Part Of The MCU

Loki season 1 was both a character study centered on Tom Hiddleston’s character and a key part of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. Finding the balance between working as a stand-alone story and being a part of a larger franchise is tricky, and not every MCU movie or TV show has succeeded at it. For example, while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness advanced the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, it did not progress Stephen Strange as a character too much. Likewise, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania set up Avengers: The Kang Dynasty but had several problems as a film.
Loki worked both for those who were simply looking for a Loki story and those who were interested in where the MCU would go next after Avengers: Endgame. WandaVision almost achieved something similar through Wanda’s story, yet the aftermath of the series was mostly tied into Doctor Strange 2. Loki season 1 had major implications for the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, which had not even been officially revealed by that point. This includes properly introducing the MCU’s multiverse, the TVA, the concept of variants, and Kang the Conqueror. Two years later, Loki is still setting the narrative for post- Endgame MCU. For example, Loki and Mobius appeared in Quantumania’s post-credits scene.
Loki Succeeded In Adding Something New To An Established Character

The MCU’s best Loki story happened after Loki died. On one hand, bringing Loki back after he died in Avengers: Infinity War through time travel shenanigans risked feeling like a cheap trick that would lessen the impact of Loki’s death. However, Loki season 1 soon proved that revisiting Loki was the right decision. Firstly, the Loki the show followed was not exactly the one who died in Infinity War. In Loki, Tom Hiddleston played “The Avengers’ Loki,” the version of the character who had just invaded New York. As such, no part of Loki’s character development from the Thor sequels and Infinity War could be considered in the show.
Therefore, Loki essentially created a new version of its titular character. This Loki did not experience the events of Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War. However, he did watch those events after being arrested by the TVA, thus “rebooting” Loki. Other Disney+ Marvel shows, such as WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, took their main characters in different directions as well. Still, Loki combined its sci-fi aspect with the character-driven narrative in a way that no other MCU show did. The six-episode formula not always works for the MCU shows, but it did for Loki.
Loki's Variants Are The Best In The MCU

Alternate timelines, different universes, and variants are now very common in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The MCU has entered the Multiverse Saga, after all. However, whereas some MCU multiverse cameos sometimes feel like just a big cameo, Loki’s variants served the character and the story. There was no legacy Marvel character involved in Loki, and every Loki variant in season 1 played a role in the character’s progression. Loki got to see different versions of himself and ponder what his life could have been like. Of course, Sylvie was the most significant MCU Loki variant in season 1. Whereas audiences were already familiar with Loki, Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie was a surprise.
As interesting as it was to have Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man assisting Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, what Loki did was even more special. Sylvie was a Loki, yet neither Hiddleston’s Loki nor the audiences knew what to expect from her. Sylvie and the other Loki variants made sure that Loki season 1 was completely different from the Thor movies, during which Loki’s story was limited to his relationship with Thor. Here, Loki and their many versions across the multiverse were the focus. Sylvie also played a huge role in the MCU’s multiverse, as she killed Kang’s He Who Remains variant.
Loki Is Getting A Second Season

Loki is the only live-action MCU show to have a confirmed second season. Aside from Loki, only the animated series What If…? is confirmed to return for season 2. A Loki season 2 trailer has yet to be released, but the series is expected to deal with the consequences of Sylvie killing He Who Remains. Going by Quantumania’s post-credits scene, Loki season 2 will likely see Loki and Mobius tracking down Kang the Conqueror and his variants. The Disney+ Marvel shows have been a huge part of the MCU’s post-Endgame slate, yet most series have been limited stories. Loki season 2 happening reveals how well the show worked.
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