Loki works with Mobius M. Mobius, Hunter B-15, and other members of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to navigate the multiverse in order to find Sylvie, Ravonna Renslayer, and Miss Minutes. Taking place almost immediately after the events of Loki Season One, this second season revolving around the God of Mischief is yet another textbook example of just how good the MCU can be when it plays with the right characters and story elements. Getting the obvious out of the way, Tom Hiddleston is truly phenomenal as Loki and I believe that his performance here deserves some award recognition. The chemistry and friendship between Hiddleston’s Loki and Owen Wilson’s Mobius is so strong and meaningful that by this point, I as the viewer have grown incredibly attached to them as a dynamic duo. Returning supporting characters such as Ravonna Renslayer, Sylvie, Miss Minutes, and Hunter B-15 are all given important roles that have significant purpose specifically when it comes to the whole convoluted time jumping aspects.
More is learned about Ravonna and there are some intriguing implications surrounding her relationship with He Who Remains. Those who know the comics may have a better understanding of where Ravonna’s relationship with certain variants of He Who Remains can be headed towards in future MCU media. Speaking of which, Jonathan Majors once again does a fantastic job at playing He Who Remains and I really enjoyed his hilariously over the top performance as 19th century inventor Victor Timely. Like in Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania, seeds are planted here for Kang and his many variants to have a vital role in future movies. Perhaps my favorite new character is Ouroboros, the TVA’s best engineer played with tons of energy and irresistible likability by Ke Huy Quan.
Once certain loose ends from season one are resolved in the first couple of episodes and Loki teams up with Timely, Ouroboros, Mobius, Hunter B-15, and Sylvie, things really become special. During the final two episodes, there is an extended sequence involving these characters making a desperate effort to fix all the different timeline branches from falling apart and this situation gets progressively more consequential with a clear sense of urgency and dire stakes that can be felt. The way in which the last couple of episodes play out with time slipping and Loki going back to former versions of himself to fix certain issues or reconcile with his past are genuinely brilliant and in many respects allow the character to come full circle. All of the convoluted time travel elements would not have worked if the performances, editing, and screenplay didn’t sell it as well as they did. Thanks to head writer Eric Martin who keeps the script air tight and lead directing team Justin Benson/Aaron Moorhead, Loki Season Two is able to simultaneously balance all of the seemingly incomprehensible time travel elements with deeply satisfying arcs for just about every character, new and returning alike.
I would also like to commend the VFX team for delivering truly dazzling visuals in regards to the whole timelines going berserk situations. Maybe certain parts of the story aren’t as cohesive as they were in the first season, but that’s mainly due to the amount of ground that this season has to cover. I can go on and on about just how much I loved this second season of Loki and how Marvel can truly soar when it wants to, but I would like to keep this review devoid of spoiler details out of respect for fans. Two Marvel Cinematic Universe projects were released on 11/10/2023 and they couldn’t be more different from one another in terms of quality. Overall, Loki’s second season continues to enthrall as it’s jam packed with compelling characters old/new, stylish direction/editing, meaningful character moments, excellent music, exuberant effects, and a powerhouse lead performance from Tom Hiddleston. Being both a comic book and MCU fan, I cannot wait to see how vital components of Loki Season 2 factor in to future MCU projects.
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