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
WandaVision: Episode 1.09 “The Series Finale” (SEASON 1 FINALE) | A Thing Isn’t Beautiful Because It Lasts
The WandaVision season 1 finale, episode 1.09 "The Series Finale", is a deeply satisfying conclusion to the operative theme of the story and it shows the viewer that not...
WandaVision: Episode 1.08 “Previously On” | The Only Way Forward Is Confronting Defense Mechanisms
The penultimate episode of WandaVision - episode 1.08 - serves as an exercise in Wanda's fragile psychology while also exhibiting a magnificent balance of exposition, plot, and character.
WandaVision: Episode 1.07 “Breaking The Fourth Wall” | Be Careful What You Wish For
Wandavision episode 1.07 "Breaking The Fourth Wall" drops a major MCU bomb on us, but keeps it's laser focus on it's main character while warning us to be careful...
WandaVision Episode 1.06 “All-New Halloween Spooktacular” | The Devil’s In The Details
WandaVision episode 1.06, "All-New Halloween Spooktacular" is a creepy experiment framed by and existential crisis where the devil's in the details.
WandaVision: Episode 1.05 “On A Very Special Episode…” | What Is The Cost Of Lies?
WandaVision episode 1.05, "On A Very Special episode..." goes full 80's and we are forced to ask ourselves, who is the real villain here and what is the cost...
WandaVision: Episode 1.04 – We Interrupt This Program… | Things Just Got Really MCU-ey
WandaVision episode 1.04, "We Interrupt This Program..." reminds us there's a big vast world which keeps spinning outside Wanda's sitcom bubble and connecting the two is a very hard...