Marvel is back with a much-needed franchise centered around the so-called “God of Mischief.” Loki takes place after Avengers: Endgame—which saw Loki steal the Tesseract during the 2012 events of The Avengers. Those who remember the legendary franchise well know that Loki was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. But the Marvel timeline is an absolute mess due to all of the time travel and its ramifications. So the events that unfolded in 2019 in the Marvel universe—well, when the 2019 characters traveled back to 2012—led to the 2012 version of Loki evading capture and branching into his own iteration of the multiverse. This lands him in trouble with a mysterious, all-powerful faction. But he has tricks up his sleeve. Confused yet? Well, you don’t need background info. You can give him a clean slate and pretend that he’s a new figure. Loki is a self-contained masterpiece.

Absurdity. Romance. Humor. Action. Deception. Adventure. Surprises. Dreams. Netherworlds. Constructs. High-tech fantasies. This immaculate series has it all. And it’s not just contrived themes compounded by stunning visuals and impeccable audio and cunning plot twists. Loki is a series with heart. It challenges everything that has ever covered Loki as a character; he no longer merely tiptoes the line between villain and antihero. Loki is the arena in which this character blossoms into a hero. He still has sinister moments. But he ultimately vindicates himself as a textured, admirable soul. Plus the series unfolds in a multiverse containing all sorts of Loki forms, so there are many Lokis to marvel over.

All in all, the brand new series is a wild journey, a captivating show, from the start. It is impossible to predict how expansive and beautiful of a series Loki becomes. It welcomes you into a surreal world—a fresh, magical, weird, and expansive new Marvel universe—and then flips the tables on you. Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson are electric together. And indeed, there is a delicious blend of humor, action, plot, CGI, and twists. I can’t wait for season two. The first three of six episodes in this first season were incredible, but episodes four and five are even better. As for episode six, it comes out on Wednesday. So I can’t say how my thoughts on Loki will permeate yet, but I have high hopes. It is arguably the show of the year.

Rating: 9/10