The MCU Diaries is Blake Larsen’s craft-first Marvel essay series for people who love the MCU but want more than recap, Easter eggs, or empty hype.
This is where I break down what Marvel stories are actually doing under the hood: character pressure, moral debt, value shifts, structure, theme, and the choices that make something hit — or miss. These essays are built around one idea at a time, with on-screen receipts to prove it.
That means you’ll find writing on Loki, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the bigger road to Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Sometimes the question is about a single episode. Sometimes it’s about a saga-level move. Either way, the goal is the same: figure out why the story works, why it doesn’t, and what it teaches us to watch for next.
If you’re looking for smart Marvel essays with a character-first lens and no sacred cows, you’re in the right place.
Start Here
- RDJ As Doctor Doom: The Mirror Villain Move
- What Secret Wars Is (Defined In LOKI Season 1)
- Why Doctor Strange Matters to Marvel’s Multiverse Saga
- Secret Wars Explained Through Loki Season 1
Prefer audio?
If you'd rather listen than read, the companion podcast lives here: The MCU Diaries podcast.
Latest MCU Diaries Entries
Loki: Episode 1.06 “For All Time, Always” | The End Is The Beginning Is The End (SEASON 1 FINALE)
Loki episode 1.06 "For All Time, Always" is a perfect finale for both Loki and Sylvie. But, in terms of everyone else, well, that's a different story...
Loki: Episode 1.05 “Journey Into Mystery” | That’s Not Who I Am Anymore
Loki episode 1.05 "Journey Into Mystery" is a straight up bananaland episode of television which serves as a perfect "theme vs. anti-theme" mirror for our main character as it...
Loki: Episode 1.04 “The Nexus Event” | Hiding A Twist In Plain Sight
Loki episode 1.04 "The Nexus Event" has given you a major twist, but it's not the twist you're thinking...
Loki: Episode 1.03 “Lamentis” | Love Is Knowing And Accepting Fault
oki episode 1.03 "Lamentis" really wants to resonate with the viewer and clearly set up a redemption arc for Loki, but it falls just short.
Loki: Episode 1.02 “Variant” | Going Beyond “The Hook”
Loki episode 1.02 "Variant" builds on the hook of the first episode, and shows it's cards for the rest of the series in an unexpected fashion.
Loki: Episode 1.01 “Glorious Purpose” | Deconstructing Character Through Exposition
Loki episode 1.01 "Glorious Purpose" is a perfect entry into this series and serves as a flawless deconstruction of a character we thought we knew to a tee via...