WARNING: Spoilers for Loki episode 3, "Lamentis"
Loki is the third Marvel Studios TV show to release on Disney+, and it's becoming clear they're encountering the same problems as the earlier Marvel Netflix shows. Disney+ is now the streaming home of the MCU, and it's proving to be a huge success. But, of course, it wasn't so long ago the MCU was found on Netflix instead - complete with TV shows that were (very) loosely connected to the MCU.
The old Marvel Netflix shows were tremendously popular, but they weren't without their critics - notably for their pacing. The best TV series vary their pacing subtly, with gripping action sequences interspersed with slower character moments, drawing viewers into its world and ensuring they connect with the characters. Every series must find its own balance, based on its own unique identity, but Marvel Netflix shows became synonymous with pacing problems. It led to the popular view they simply had too many episodes per season, with Marvel's writers struggling to fill them.
Sadly, it's now becoming clear the current slate of Marvel Studios shows releasing on Disney+ has the same issue. Take the example of WandaVision; Marvel dropped the first two episodes together in order to accelerate the plot because the central concept was only revealed in the fourth episode. The Falcon & the Winter Soldier had fewer episodes and yet seemed to take just as long to go anywhere, made worse by the fact a number of twists were easy to predict. Most viewers, for example, had deduced the identity of the Power Broker by the end of episode 2, even though it was treated as a major reveal in the finale. Now Loki has become the latest series to encounter these pacing problems, with episode 3 feeling as though it doesn't contribute much to the overarching plot. So what's going on?
The uncomfortable truth is that "pacing" signifies a deeper issue. Take the example of Marvel Netflix: there, even shorter series like The Defenders struggled with pacing. In the case of Marvel's Disney+ slate, there has also arguably been some inconsistency with the writing. But the real issue seems to run even deeper, to a more conceptual level. The stars have repeatedly referred to their shows as "six-hour movies," which makes sense given they're being produced by a film studio, but film and television are vastly different mediums. This is particularly the case with an episodic weekly release, where every episode needs to justify its existence as a standalone piece rather than simply part of the whole. The pacing problems indicate Marvel isn't quite managing to pull this off.
Ironically, Marvel would be wise to take a look at comic books for inspiration. Comic book writers have always understood that every issue is both the latest for an old fan and a potential jumping-on point for a new one. Thus every individual issue has to have enough of a hook to draw a new reader in, to make them decide to pick up back issues and buy the next one, even as it continues the overarching narrative. There's nothing wrong with "filler" issues or ones that are focused on characters, but those have to feel compelling enough to ensure people sense their value. Right now, Marvel Studios isn't striking that balance on Disney+.
There's one other reason Marvel Netflix and Marvel's Disney+ shows are facing the same issue and it's that there's no mandated episode runtime. Traditional television shows are written strictly to fit commercial breaks, which provides consistent pacing. However, most streaming platforms don't have commercials and thus, neither Netflix nor Disney+ have to be concerned about episode length. With no fixed episode length, it means writers have more room to experiment and actors have the freedom to improvise, which results in creativity but unwittingly makes pacing problems a near inevitability. Disney+'s shows have deviated from the Netflix model in a number of ways, and they'd be wise to do so in this respect, fixing episode lengths in the future.
Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.
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