#pretty rambles

when has Loki ever felt like he belongs anywhere? he’s always been the outsider, the outcast, the villain. at the TVA he has felt appreciated and accepted. no one is singling him out or giving him a hard time for being himself. he FITS. he has come so so far. and shipping aside, the main reason for that is Mobius. someone who has seen every dark crevice of his life and his bad choices and his darkest moments and treated him with compassion and understanding.

SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST WHAT IF... EPISODE (Already in the tag, but just in case!!!)

I'm keeping:

- Steve and Bucky's designs. So pretty. - Steve thinking "Bucky" out loud th moment he sees a soldier. - Bucky's face in awe when he sees Steve. - Parallels being intentional because someone inside Marvel fooled them all. - Romantic parallel of Steve being the one shouting for his "romantic interest" vs. Bucky for Steve on TFA - Howard Stark. - Bucky Barnes stealing a jeep as a form of cockblocking. - Romantic parallel of Carter losing romantic interest in the train being the motivation for the final act vs. THE FUCKING SAME IN TFA BUT WITH STEVE AND BUCKY - Bucky and Steve's interaction when they find him alive. Bucky's face. - Them surviving the war and living happily ever after. - The existence of the multiverse meaning they end up togheter in 99.9% of them.

I'm dropping: - The rest, but specially Bucky's joke about the queen of england and him going away from the train. And the whole other ship, of course.

but this. this far surpassed anything i could have hoped for. even if this story hadn’t been Loki’s i would have devoured it. it was clever and well thought out. it was well written with amazing sets and lighting and music. it played up strengths from season 1 that i thought for sure they had long abandoned. like the incredible and compelling setting that is the TVA. and making the cast an ensemble with the already stellar cast they had (and adding the instantly lovable O.B.). Tom was excellent. Owen was phenomenal. and every scene we got with them together was a gift.

the story was crafted with care and forethought and amazing attention to detail. you can’t say that about most big budget studio stories these days. i’m so in awe of everything this season was. it far surpassed season 1 for me and honored the legacy of Loki in a way i never could have dreamed. i honestly think it will go down as one of the most epic seasons of tv ever, for me.

Rob’s performance in the suit, versus out, is very layered and nuanced with many different things going on in his physicality alone. but the simple fact of him being this looming, imposing figure as Batman with half his face covered and everyone kind of being afraid of him and then he takes off the mask and he just looks so young. almost painfully so.