‘Loki’ Season 2, Episode 1 Review: A Fast But Slow Start
by Frank Martin
After a wild and crazy first season, fans were eagerly anticipating where Loki‘s story would go next. A lot has happened in the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe since the first season, but no time has passed in the show. It picks up exactly where the first season left off. The suspense of the show is cranked up as everyone has to deal with the ramifications from the previous season’s ending. But rather than move the plot forward in any meaningful way, the show slows down with a side quest, making the premier almost feel like a filler episode.
After leaving the palace at the end of time, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) realizes he actually visited the TVA in the past. He keeps jumping back and forth, which forces him and Mobius (Owen Wilson) to solidify him in the present. They visit Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan), a recluse who lives and works in the TVA basement. Together, the three perform a dangerous maneuver to fix Loki’s problem while also stabilizing the temporal loom that is straining to process the many branches of the timeline. They are ultimately successful, but the rest of the TVA is gearing up for war and to find Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino).
The first season of Loki was all about quirky bureaucracy, and this episode nails that perfectly. Ouroboros is a great inclusion to the show and his scenes were very entertaining. But again, nothing truly consequential happens in terms of the plot. The story wasn’t moved forward and the characters had to scramble to basically keep the status quo. So while the episode might have been fun on a surface level, nothing truly deep or meaningful took place. Fans will just have to wait for subsequent episodes to see how all this will come together.
Loki streams Tuesdays on Disney+.