Loki’s ending proves WandaVision’s toughest critics were right

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Marvels Loki ended his first season in a surprising and unexpected way.

The sixth episode of the series (titled For All Time. Always) brings Kang the Conqueror into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time, revealing that the mysterious creator of the Time Variance Authority was actually a variant of Kang who oversaw the timeline for thousands of years. .

Appearing in the episode as the central variant of Kang, Jonathan Majors made his first appearance in the MCU, ahead of his planned turn as the iconic conqueror himself in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023. The majors do not pass up the opportunity to hijack episode 6 of Loki. As the One Who Remains, the actor chews the scene so vigorously that you think he could swallow the whole episode whole.

From a narrative standpoint, the choice to focus so heavily on the majors was undeniably bold. Not only does the decision work; it also proves why the ninth episode of WandaVisions should have featured the Mephisto reveal that fans have been waiting for from this series.

WandaVisions Mephisto Fiasco

Mephisto seated on his throne in Deadpool vs. Thanos Vol 1 # 3. Published in 2015. Marvel Comics

Immediately after WandaVision premiered its first two episodes on Disney +, Marvel fans began to suspect that the series would end with the official introduction of Mephisto into the MCU.

These early episodes had a number of allusions and references to the character, essentially the Marvels version of the devil. And subsequent episodes of WandaVision even went so far as to borrow elements from an iconic comic book storyline involving Mephisto and Wanda Maximoff. WandaVision kept hinting that he was heading towards the appearance of the bad guys.

This, of course, never happened. Instead, the mysterious villain of WandaVisions turned out to be Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), a witch with a catchy theme song that proved little to live up to Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). Asked later by Deadline about the apparent red herrings in the Mephisto series, WandaVision chief writer Jac Schaeffer said:

We didn’t think this show needed a big bad guy. I mean, the great evil is grief, you know, and that’s the story we were telling, and then we had a bonus villain in the form of Agatha Harkness who ended up facilitating Wandas therapy. , so yeah, i think we feel pretty good about that.

A number of other key members of WandaVision’s creative team echoed Schaeffers’ comments in their own interviews. Indeed, the creators of the series all agree that WandaVision was about Wanda’s crushing grief. Including a villain like Mephisto would have distracted attention from that.

But Loki Episode 6 shows why it shouldn’t be.

Why Lokis Kang Reveal works

Jonathan Majors as The Leftover in Loki Episode 6 Marvel Studios

Loki Season 1 is all about transforming his titular god from the wickedness of a selfish conqueror into a selfless defender of the universe.

To do this, Loki opens up by forcing his central variant (played by Tom Hiddleston) to face the consequences of his actions, going so far as to show him where his reckless acts of violence ultimately lead. Subsequent episodes then bring him face to face with alternate versions of himself, some better, some worse, that provide opportunities for him to grow beyond the trickster character he’s adopted all of his life.

But it’s Lokis’ encounter with The One Who Remains in Loki Episode 6 that represents the climax of the entire Antiheroes Season 1 arc. At the end of time, whoever remains makes an offer to Loki: he and Sylvie can either kill the Kang variant and complete their quest for justice (which would simultaneously open the universe to destruction by the variants of the one who remains), or it may be that VAT continues to rule the universe.

It is here that Loki must choose between killing his target (embracing chaos in his ultimate form) and setting aside his own personal desires and vendettas to keep others safe. While his efforts are in vain, Loki chooses the more heroic option, completing his Season Arc.

The Final Plan of Loki Season 1 Marvel Studios

The episode ends with Loki gazing in terror at a statue of Kang, a character who believes it is his birthright and destiny to rule over the entire multiverse.

In other words, Kang is an even worse mirror of who Loki was at the start of the Disney + series, one determined to establish his dominance over others regardless of the consequences. It’s a moment reminiscent of Loki’s plan to dethrone the keepers of time and take back VAT himself. However, because he has grown and changed so much by the time Loki Episode 6 reaches his final moments, he looks at Kang’s statue not out of envy but out of fear.

The plan encapsulates Lokis’ entire journey, and sees the Disney + series successfully weave into the emergence of a new Thanos-level MCU villain without hampering his central character’s journey. WandaVision could have pulled off a similar maneuver.

Elizabeth Olsen in WandaVision Episode 9 Marvel Studios

Wandas Journey Out of Westview Through nine episodes of WandaVisions, Wanda gives in to the enormity of her grief before finally placing the needs of others before her own. It’s a powerful journey, beautifully conveyed by Olsen. However, the climax of the Wandas arc ultimately falls short of anything that came before it, given the poorly organized final battle between Agatha and Wanda.

The fight itself acts as a strange exteriorization of Wandas’ journey, compounded by cartoonish CGI effects that overwhelm the confrontation. But a big part of the reason the fight fails is because Agatha, despite Kathryn Hahn’s delightfully mean performance, has never been a big threat to Wanda. Their fight seems foreign at best.

Mephisto, on the other hand, could have been a much more intimidating villain for Wanda to face at the end of WandaVision. A notorious negotiator, Mephisto’s presence would have resulted in Wanda being tempted (by the very embodiment of temptation) to give in to her grief and forever abandon the needs of others.

It’s the kind of sequence that could have been a lot more compelling and engaging than the bland CGI fight we ended up having between Wanda and Agatha in the WandaVision finale, although this skirmish is more in line with the series at more. Small scale.

It was Agatha from the start. Marvel studios

The Reverse Analysis None of this is to say that Marvel needed to include Mephisto in WandaVision. The studio had their reasons for making the decisions they made, and it was up to the show’s creative team to make the show they wanted to make. That’s exactly what they did with WandaVision, delivering a series that, ranked relative to other Marvel versions, felt refreshingly complex and emotionally intimate.

But the idea of ​​Mephisto coming forward would have derailed Wandas’ arc doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny. The use of Kang the Conqueror in Loki’s Season 1 Finals is proof that WandaVision could have reached a little higher.

Loki and WandaVision are now broadcasting on Disney +.

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