Original series streaming now.
Loki is a 2021 superhero sci-fi series created by Michael Waldron. It is now streaming exclusively to Disney+. It will run for six episodes until July 14, 2021. The show stars Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson. It is based on various Marvel comics. The series runs parallel to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, acting as the third original Marvel series and a sequel to both The Avengers and Avengers: Endgame. It was preceded by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and will be followed by What If...?.
"No one bad is ever truly bad. And no one good is ever truly good." -Agent Mobius M. Mobius
Plot
After Loki agrees to help the TVA catch an evil version of himself, Agent Mobius takes advantage of this and forces Loki to work as hard as possible. While Loki continues to scheme against the TVA, the rest of the TVA agents become skeptical of Mobius's plan to catch the villainous Loki variant.
IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN LOKI EPISODE 2, STOP READING!!!!!!!!
Episode 2 "Time Variant" Review
Wow.
Like I said in my review of the first episode, I was a little underwhelmed by the introduction to Loki. The pilot felt very exposition-heavy, and, although they handled it well, it wasn't the most exciting episode with all of the setup. I also felt that Loki's character underwent seven years of character development in fifty minutes, and that frustrated me. Throughout the week, I've really been hoping that the second episode would sway me a bit more positive.
And, oh my god. It spun me the hell around.
Right off the bat, I felt that the chemistry between Owen Wilson and Tom Hiddleston was given the spotlight. That was easily my favorite part of the last episode, and there's a lot more of it here. Since Loki has become more trusting of Mobius, he's much more open toward him, and that lets Tom Hiddleston flex his Loki charm and personality a little bit more. Owen Wilson also plays off of him really nicely.
Another complaint that I had in the previous episode was the forced comedy. In episode 2, the comedy works. The bit where Loki uses Mobius's salad as a metaphor for Ragnarok was absolutely fantastic. And I loved that they were able to spew out exposition and explain how a variant would hide in an apocalypse while using a comedic format.
I also thought that the episode did a great job of being clever. The plot of the episode is essentially them tracking down the evil Loki variant, and there were a lot of things that were set up and then payed off, but they didn't exactly pay off in the way you expected. Everything surpasses expectations. The episode feels intelligent. It outsmarts you. Whether it's with the Loki variant hiding in apocalypses, the final little twist reveal of the Loki variant itself, or the insane ending that I'm about to talk about, the episode really feels thought-out by the writers. I love it when a screenwriter is able to be smarter than an audience member, and I felt like this episode encapsulated that perfectly.
But easily the best thing about this episode is the ending. It starts off with this very ominous setting inside of what is basically a futuristic Walmart. They establish right away that they are back in the real world and Loki has his powers. There's a little argument between Hunter B-15 and Mobius that ends with Loki being taken by B-15. This leads to the Loki variant eventually possessing B-15 and teasing real Loki by possessing other bodies. The Loki variant beats the crap out of Loki while possessing some big, burly guy and then reveals HERSELF.
That is correct. Lady Loki is the Loki variant. While I don't think that this actually does any major things for the plot, it's a pretty cool reveal that you don't see coming until she reveals herself. As soon as she walks up to real Loki in her hood, you could tell that it was going to be a girl.
The one problem that I have with the episode can be fixed in the next few episodes. I really hope that they tell us the origins of Lady Loki, because she is an alternate version of Loki, and I don't know how that'd happen if there is only one timeline. It's only a problem now because I am slightly worried that they won't answer that question. But hopefully they will.
But the real kicker is what happens after that. Lady Loki has an arrogant exchange with Loki before activating a device. Before this confrontation, we saw all of these time reset bombs stationed around the store. The device that Lady Loki activates causes the time reset bombs to fall into portals that scatter them all throughout time, resetting parts of the timeline that weren't meant to be reset.
Even typing this is making my head explode in excitement.
We then cut to the TVA, where we see an infographic of the sacred timeline as it begins to expand. Multiple time rifts are created throughout the sacred timeline, branching off and creating new realities inside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it.
And now we have multiple timelines inside of this universe. Sorry. I misspoke. This is no longer a universe. I think that the second episode of Loki just created the multiverse.
Final Score
While the first episode may not have hooked me immediately, the second episode definitely did a great job of swaying my opinion on the show.
"Time Variant"
Fun Factor: 9/10
Acting: 8.5/10
Characters: 9/10
Story: 9.5/10
Quality: 9/10
Created by Michael Waldron
Rated TV-14 for superhero violence and action, disturbing themes and images
Released on June 16, 2021
Episode runtime: 51 minutes
Tom Hiddleston as Loki Laufeyson
Owen Wilson as Agent Mobius M. Mobius
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna Renslayer
Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15
Sophia Di Martino as Lady Loki/The Variant
Tara Strong as Miss Minutes
Sasha Lane as Hunter C-20