Loki has always been the wildest card in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The lovable trickster has gone through a number of transformations in the six films he has been featured in, from a villain set on conquering Asgard to a mercurial antihero whose motivations and ambitions are sketchy at best.
But now, Loki is spearheading his own Marvel project in a eponymously titled Disney+ TV series, and fans can intimate themselves with the God of Mischief like never before. It is an opportunity the character has been yearning for since appearing in the 2011 film Thor to shine outside of his brother's shadow.
The Loki pilot episode was released on Wednesday. The show, available to watch in the UAE on OSN Streaming, is set after the events of Avengers: Endgame. It features an alternate version of Loki, who is brought to the Time Variance Authority, an organisation that exists out of time and space.
Being a "time variant", Loki faces erasure at the hands of the TVA, which promises to spare him if he helps fix the frayed timeline. Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as the Prince of Asgard in the show, which also stars Owen Wilson and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Loki comes at the heels of Marvel's newest TV offerings, WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, both of which were received (mostly) warmly by fans. Expectations have been high for the new show and, if online reactions to the first episode are anything to go by, Loki is off to a stellar start.
On the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the show has amassed a 95 per cent rating and an average audience score of 94 per cent. These numbers will almost certainly change as the show progresses, but it is a promising start.
On IMDb, the show has, so far, scored a rating of 9.3 out of 10. A swift scroll down the Loki reviews shows the list is teeming with accolades. "The God of Mischief is back again with a glorious and epic first episode," one user wrote.
"A first episode and it is already shaping up to be a really good show. Not without some very minor problems however," another IMDb user added. "Though I'm not going to rate the series yet based on one episode. Hopefully it doesn't turn out like Wandavision or The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and keeps up the high quality."
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User DiCaprio-Hardyfan wrote: “What more can be said about Tom Hiddleston that hasn't already been said? He's such a great actor and does his best work as Loki. Also, this is one of the best performances of Owen Wilson's career, he was just fantastic! I can not recommend this incredible series enough!”
There were also a few disappointed reviews, with some pointing out that the time travel concept can cause messy plot holes in the otherwise meticulously tied together Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“Time travel always screws everything up,” user korpake wrote, rating the show five out of 10. “I'll continue to watch to see where things go, but this was a disappointing start.”
On Twitter, the reaction to Loki seems overwhelmingly positive, with plenty of memes and cheeky one-liners dedicated to the show and its protagonist.
"Best Marvel series pilot episode so far!" Jeremy Rodriguez wrote. "Loki is going to be a game changer."
"I did love Thor more but after watching Loki, I have gone to the dark side and love me some Loki," wrote Twitter user Duchesshastings.
"I adored the Loki premiere," Jason Sidious Gibson wrote. "I am officially freaking out at having to wait a week for the next episode. Totally love Owen Wilson in this."
Boulder shooting victims
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Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
Tearful appearance
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A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm
Thursday April 25: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-5pm
Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm
Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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Key facilities
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
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- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Ain Issa camp:
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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