Review of Loki, Season Two: Marvel’s multiverse strains under its own complexity

Published November 3, 2023 5:45am ET



Disney’s enormous TV and film production schedule often makes me wonder who its intended audience is. For decades, the answer would have been “children” or “families.” But Disney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox and its decision to take the Marvel and Star Wars franchises in darker directions means it is now making quite a lot that seems more geared for adults, including, most obviously, the R-rated Deadpool franchise.

And its reliance on existing intellectual properties to spin off new series and films makes for some particularly baffling results. Take Disney’s most recent Star Wars outing, the TV series Ahsoka. While the main character makes an appearance in The Mandalorian, Ahsoka’s backstory is based on the animated show The Clone Wars. So, despite looking like a stand-alone series for older audiences, viewers who haven’t seen 133 preceding episodes of a children’s cartoon will frequently be lost amid the writers’ false assumption that we know or care who these people are.

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