If there's one thing I have to give the first batch of Disney+'s cinematic universe tie-in shows credit for, it's actually having legitimate ramifications on their theater released counterparts in a way their older Netflix siblings did not. WandaVision explains a big character change in Scarlet Witch that viewers will witness in the latest Doctor Strange for example, while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier straight up crowns the next Captain America. Loki's significance meanwhile is that it marks the birth of a concept that plays a huge role in two of the biggest films of "Phase Four," and one that will likely have a huge impact on the future of the MCU moving forward. Which is why it is so massively disappointing that it's not very enjoyable to watch. It's got a great premise that sees the trickster god getting begrudgingly inducted into a secret organization that investigates temporal anomalies to ensure the timeline doesn't get out of control. It could have led to a great buddy cop-esque serial as Hiddleston and the incredibly charming Owen Wilson fought anonymously behind the curtain to keep reality from unwinding. Unfortunately, the very nature of how this new faction and the rules of its plane of existence work are incredibly complicated, and the series painstakingly explains nearly every little detail of it. This causes the first three episodes to feel like 90% exposition, as the characters engage in extremely lengthy elucidatory conversations with the occasional self-reflective whining from the titular antihero. It isn't until the fourth and fifth episodes that the plot is finally able to get going for real and begin indulging in all the exciting variant weirdness of its central narrative conceit, before slipping back into the long-winded explanatory talk in the particularly cosmic finale. The problem is that none of this is as interesting as the writers seem to think it is, and arguably there are parts of it that STILL don't make any sense when all is said and done. Loki does carry some serious weight in the MCU thanks to the events of its conclusion, but the big defining moment loses some of its impact if you've already seen the two movies it most directly affects thus far. Mix that with how plain boring it is and as of yet there's no reason to consider this essential viewing.