Episode #26 - A Day Unlike Any Other
Review:
Lots of great moments the episode as well, apart from all the fighting. First we have some more scenes with Captain America still in Nifflehein, the Asgardian realm of the dead, confronting its ruler Hela (who is revealed to be Loki's daughter). Cap insists that his mission isn't done yet, and wants to leave to help Thor and the others. Hela accepts to let Cap leave her realm, but with one condition: if he will die in the upcoming battle against her father, his soul will belong to her forever. Then we get a short scene where Thor tells Loki that they both underestimated mortals; Thor has seen what humans are capable throughout the series and has learned to respect them. Another neat moment is when Black Panther confirms that he can "see" magic thanks to Thor lending his hammer to the scientists and shamans of Wakanda for studying. This also explains how he was able to find a portal between realms in the previous episode. I just love the continuity between episodes on this show.
During the battle, Loki breaks Cap's shield just to prove how powerful he is now. Iron Man using his Uru armor (meaning the same metal Thor's hammer is made of) seems to be the only one who can stand a chance against him, until the other Avengers free Thor. Trying to "repair" the flow of the Odin Force through Yggdrasil (the Tree of Life, which was explained in more detail back in the episode "This Hostage Earth"), and re0direct it back to Odin before Loki brings upon Ragnarok, the end of the world. Once Odin regains his rightful powers, he punishes Loki with a fate worse than death. The entire fight between the Avengers and Loki was amazing; Loki was also the biggest and most powerful villain they have faced so far. The punishment Odin gave him was pretty creepy, but you can't really say it wasn't well deserved. I really liked the ending in Asgard, with Odin admitting that the Avengers, the "mere mortals" as he called them have proven themselves to be the mightiest heroes in the Nine Realms and it was great seeing all the Asgardians start acclaiming the Avengers as their heroes.
Really impressed by this first season, and this episode was no exception. And this cliffhanger ending was pretty awesome, as it continues the on-going sub-plot of a Skrull invasion of Earth (which was first addressed back in the episode "The Widow's Sting" and mentioned again in various other episodes). Or at least it was a sub-plot until now, as it seems it will become one of the main themes of the next season. Having a Skrull agent impersonating Captain America will probably lead to some interesting situations. I wouldn't be surprised if this "Cap" was the one responsible for the end of the world Kang mentioned back during his story arc. Besides that, Hela's reflection in a fragment of Cap's shield is another mystery for now. Hopefully the next season will resolve many of the "problems" this season left unsolved, and also feature many other Avenger stories as great (or maybe even better) than the ones we got so far.
Original Airdate - June 26th, 2011
Eight realms have fallen, and only Midgard remains. The Avengers are nothing against his power. Loki has won. Every moment has lead to this.
Written by Christopher Yost
Directed by Sebastian Montes
Review by RoyalRubble
Media by Marvel Animation
This was another excellent episode, and it worked great as a season finale. Most of the Avengers have reunited and joined other Asgardian "rebels" in their fight against Loki. But before confronting Loki himself, they have to get past the Aagardian traitors that have sided with Loki, and Hoarfin, the giant ice wolf. With a little help from Captain America (who once again demonstrates he is a born leader, giving the others orders on how to win the fight), the Avengers defeat the creature and finally come face to face with Loki. I thought the fight with Hoarfin was a little more brutal than the other fight scenes we have seen on the show before, but it was still pretty awesome. Loki, now having access to the Odin Force proves to be more than a match for the Avengers, at least until Iron Man returns, with his new Uru armor. It was so cool seeing this new armor in action. And speaking of armors, Wasp's and Ant-Man's Asgardian armors looked pretty cool as well. I wonder if any of them will keep using these armors in the future.
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