XVI. “How should one periphrase Loki? Thus: call him Son of Fárbauti and Laufey, or of Nil, Brother of Býleistr and of Helblindi, Father of the Monster of Ván (that is, Fenris-Wolf), and of the Vast Monster (that is, the Midgard Serpent), and of Hel, and Nari, and Áli; Kinsman and Uncle, Evil Companion and Bench-Mate of Odin and the Æsir, Visitor and Chest-Trapping of Geirrödr, Thief of the Giants, of the Goat, of Brísinga-men, and of Idunn’s Apples, Kinsman of Sleipnir, Husband of Sigyn, Foe of the Gods, Harmer of Sif’s Hair, Forger of Evil, the Sly God, For the centuries that Norse mythology has been a subject of scholarly study, scholars have been unable to explain the meaning of Loki’s name in any convincing way. Most have simply thrown their hands up and declared the meaning of his name to be unknown and probably unknowable. Recently, however, the philologist Eldar Heide may have solved this puzzle. In his research into Nordic folklore from periods more recent than the Viking Age, Heide noticed that Loki often appears in contexts that liken him to a knot on a thread. In fact, in later Icelandic usage, the common noun loki even means “knot” or “tangle.” Spiders are sometimes referred to as loki in a metaphorical sense, as their webs are compared to the fish nets (which are made from a series of knots and loops) that Loki crafts in certain surviving Viking Age myths. From all of this, the most straightforward meaning of Loki’s name would seem to be “Knot” or “Tangle.” [8][9] This proposed meaning of Loki’s name powerfully resonates with his role in Norse mythology in two ways. First, it points to his role as a maker of nets, both literal fish nets and metaphorical “nets” in the form of his cunning schemes that trap the gods in perilous situations. Second, it could indicate his being the “knot” in the otherwise straight thread of the gods and their world, the fatal flaw that ultimately brings about their demise. The size of some of the buildings in the show are kind of overwhelming. I know that some filming was done in the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, with that huge soaring atrium. You just completely get dwarfed by that kind of architecture. But with teases hinting at plenty of thrilling new storylines coming in the next six episodes, that wait will only be harder to endure as Marvel Studios ensures the best quality possible for this story.

Lo’dhurr was one of the three Aesir (another was Odhinn) who gave Elm and Ash (the two first peoples according to the Voluspa). Giving, essentially, Life fire, while Odhinn gave spirit (onde; similar to how pneuma means both “spirit” and “breath” in Greek) and Haenir gave o’dh, mind (both in emotion and thought). Again, Loki as an ACTUAL Aesir, not as a tolerated or an adopted Jotun.Polygon: Kate Herron has cited everything from sci-fi classics to architecture when it comes to the design of the TVA. What was the biggest challenge in creating the distinctive visual signature of this timeless interdimensional bureaucracy? One of the reasons that Loki’s heritage is unlcear/confusing is because unlike the other Gods who have counterparts in other religions, Loki really just appeared out of nowhere. The most likely scenario is that he is the child of the giants Laufey and Farbauti and then was taken in by Odin (whether he became Odin’s brother or Thor’s brother depends on what you read). Loki, the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe TV series from showrunner Michael Waldron and director Kate Herron, has stood out from previous MCU series like Wandavision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in large part due to the show’s dimensioning-spanning setting and premise. Herron has described the show as, “a big love letter to sci-fi,” citing influences as far-flung and varied as David Lynch’s Dune, Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, and Jurassic Park as primary inspirations in the creation of the Time Variance Authority’s distinctive look and feel. In addition to the work of cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, production designer Kasra Farahani has had perhaps the largest role in shaping the physicality and texture of Loki’s images and setting, from the brutalist megastructures of the TVA to the mauve-colored moonscapes of Lamentis-1.

In The Avengers, Loki thought he wanted power, so he sought to rule the Earth. After making friends at the TVA and learning more about purpose, Loki realizes that all he ever really wanted was to feel like he belonged. When the Temporal Loom threatens to obliterate the closest thing he has to a family, he knows that he must do whatever it takes to protect it and sacrifices himself to do so. He finally has the satisfaction of knowing his purpose and keeping the people he loves safe. Because Loki’s character arc wraps up so neatly, it would make sense if season 2 is the MCU's farewell to him.Even though Loki is in some sense a god, no traces of any kind of worship of Loki have survived in the historical record. [10] Is this any wonder, given that his character is virtually the antithesis of traditional Norse values of honor, loyalty, and the like – and that he is ultimately a traitor to the divinities the Norse held in such reverence? Loki is put under the supervision of Agent Mobius M Mobius (Owen Wilson), who may just know Loki better than he knows himself. He pushes and prods at Loki’s psyche, unsettling and wrongfooting him. Wilson is at the top of his game – the unassailable confidence and light comic touch that are his specialties given a full run-out – and his chemistry with Hiddleston (as fleet and funny as ever, in such contrast to his earnest-actor vibe offscreen) in their extensive scenes is a joy to behold. Together they are even better than they are separately, and evidently having a whale of a time playing off each other. Perhaps it is this that encouraged so much privileging of dialogue between them rather than action elsewhere. Whether their alchemy will be enough to leaven the burden that comes with turning an ensemble character (best-suited to dropping in on the MCU, detonating a chaos bomb then hoofing it) into a main protagonist, we will have to see. We were very inspired by that, but it's different in some very subtle, but for me, very important ways. Number one, the size of the bulbs is much smaller, they were manipulated to create eyeballs, basically. Another important difference is that in the Breuer building, they have these dishes hanging in space, whereas in ours, they're negative space, there's a solid ceiling. It creates a matrix of eyeballs peering down, like the always-watching Time-Keepers. And maybe the most important difference is that the ceiling is slammed down—you know the cheapest apartment you can go into has an eight-foot ceiling, this is six inches shorter than that, and our actor is about six-foot-three. The idea was to create a sort of trash compactor feeling in this claustrophobic space with this matrix of eyes, watching as all of this is happening. He was as much of a warrior as any, cunning, sly, powerful and had an ability to change his shape freely. London style brutalism was a big influence, as well as Soviet influence; Eastern European mid-century modernism, like those were big influences for these imposing monolithic, intimidating scaled spaces in the TVA. But there was a goal to create a contrast, almost a feeling of cognitive dissonance, by using the warm and whimsy of American mid-century modernism as a kind of skin. So you have these big monolithic, stoic space skinned in these warm pallets and wood tones and whimsical patterns to create this kind of paradoxical feeling. You walk into the receiving room, and it’s these beautiful warm wood browns and bright orange Saarinen inspired desks. But then, you also immediately realize that the doors all look the same and it’s a labyrinth; you’re trapped, and you don’t know how to get out the way you came. Or You walk into the time theater, and it’s these massive, concrete columns, but there’s also these bright, warm orange doors on the sides as well. So it was a matter of constantly playing with these two different mid-century influences.

Loki alternately helps both the gods and the giants, depending on which course of action is most pleasurable and advantageous to him at the time. During Ragnarok, when the gods and giants engage in their ultimate struggle and the cosmos is destroyed, Loki joins the battle on the side of the giants. According to one Old Norse poem, he even captains the ship Naglfar, “Nail Ship,” which brings many of the giants to their battle with the gods. [5] When the battle for the world is fought, he and the god Heimdall mortally wound each other.Loki was the son of Farbauti and Laufey. BEING LAUFEY THE MOTHER! (I don’t know whythe hell marvel changed her gender, but still…) He had two brothers, Hellblindi and Balyestyr The story is played in an alternate universe witch is similar to ours. Here your male character who is a university student decides to join in an exchange student program, where 2 universities from different countries exchange students. These students will spend one semester in their new institution. The exchange students will live at a host family. The story will focus on the hero's living situation. Unfortionatly his name is usually given to girls in this new country he was put to a host family where they were expecting a female student. And this is where the story will start. And as Loki goes into different times and locations, you get a completely different design environment in those places. There’s a scene on a train car, that has a very Art Deco look.

The series obviously intends to ask questions about identity (what is Loki without his powers, which do not work in TVA-land? What happens if he is forced to do endless good under Mobius’s ever-watchful eye?), free will (aren’t the Timekeepers making everyone their slaves by working out the timeline for all?) and other such profound issues. But for the first two episodes the characters feel as if they are nothing more than vessels for that, rather than the questions arising organically out of their stories. He is responsible for a wager with a giant which puts Freyja into peril ( Myth 3) but by changing both shape and sex (characteristics he has in common with Odin) he bails her out. In Myth 10 he shears Sif’s hair which is more mischievous than evil, but he makes amends in the end. In Myth 8 his deceit leads to the loss of the golden apples of youth… but he retrieves them again. He helps the Gods and gets them out of predicaments, but spawns the worst monsters ever seen on the face of the Earth: Fenrir, Jormungand, the Midgard Wyrm. His other children include the goddess Hel (Hella, Holle), and Sleipnir, Odin’s 8-legged horse. Thanks. We were very happy with it, and it created this kind of forest of light columns which helps set the neo-noirish, interrogative nature of the space. And the unnecessarily large super graphics that you mentioned are a very Paul Rudolph sort of a thing, he did that in his building too, and I love that.

I am a hard sell on endings. I could give a long, detailed answer as to why that is, but mostly it boils down to the fact that I am a big baby who hates saying goodbye to her favorite characters. Still, there are quite a few impeccable closers to long-beloved stories out there. Very recently, Loki joined their ranks. The MCU's extensive Disney+ slate has been prevalent in the news stream in recent weeks, although it's unfortunately been due to the fact that multiple new Phase 5 series are likely set for some substantial delays. Scandinavian folk references to Loki when seeing mirages (and similar phenomenon) due to heat and a few medieval literary sources citing Loki’s connection to the element of Fire are not the only reasons many people (Asatru’, Ro:kkatru’ and other) associate Loki’s providence with Fire. One of the most striking aspects of the design of Loki is the diversity of show’s lighting and set design, particularly in the case of the circular lamps in the waiting room hall in the first episode that evoke allusions to the Marcel Breuer’s Met Breuer museum. What were some particular examples of real-life brutalist architecture that inspired the design of the TVA?