I have never been a big fan of the Marvel films. I very much agreed with Scorsese's criticisms that the movies were empty vessels with minimal plots and high action sequences meant to appeal to the largest global audience possible in the least offensive packaging imaginable. Still, I could never deny that the Marvel films were well-made. They are exquisite, and you could always tell that, for as bland as they were story-wise, a lot of heart and soul went into making them. They were the best dollar-menu cheeseburger you could ever eat.

Marvel has stepped up its game with its new shows on Disney+. I adored WandaVision and am loving Loki even more. You can tell there are some new stylistic changes being implemented but the stories are much more engrossing, largely because they follow a "whodunit" model. In most Marvel films, there is a clear bad guy with clear objectives and you know where the movie is going from the first five minutes of the film. Loki's first big adventure, The Avengers (2012), is the perfect example of that. But these new shows keep a layer of intrigue over the whole thing. WandaVision did not reveal who the big-bad was until the last episode, and even then the big-bad was not even a main character. That's what made it interesting. Loki is following suit. For better or worse, I am hooked.