It’s a strange time to engage with Marvel’s Loki this week. In case you haven’t caught wind, trade publication Variety published on Wednesday a buzzy feature about the waning grasp of Marvel Studios over Hollywood and its once-attentive audience. So, it’s painfully ironic that season 2 of Loki has been all about the imminent collapse of interwoven, convoluted continuities that seem to vanish in an instant, with the people working inside – ostensibly tasked with controlling it all – now desperately seeking a solution for stability.
Science/Fiction, the penultimate episode of season 2 written by Eric Martin and co-directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, is no salve for the MCU. Lumbering and drab with a dissatisfying resolution so saccharine it’s a miracle Tom Hiddleston isn’t in a diabetic coma, Science/Fiction feels like a pale imitation of mid-tier Doctor Who that doesn’t even soar to the same triumphant notes. That the episode puts a tight spotlight on its rare collection of top-tier actors (people who are legit Emmy nominees and Oscar winners) who come off just as lost as their characters only magnifies the larger problems corroding this franchise. It doesn’t matter how many resources Marvel throws at the screen. When none of it sticks, it all just feels like loose strings floating in the air.
