Spoilers for the season premiere of Loki, "Ouroboros," lie ahead, so read at your own risk.
It took over two years for it to happen, but the second season of Loki finally debuted for Disney+ subscription holders. Some fans have been a bit lukewarm on the Marvel Cinematic Universe as of late but, due to the strength of its first season, Tom Hiddleston’s show has still been highly anticipated. And at this point, Season 2 is off to a great start and seems to be gaining some solid buzz. I’m also quite high on this latest chapter in the God of Mischief’s mulitversal odyssey thus far. Yes, only the premiere has aired thus far, but I’d argue it’s already doing something better than more recent MCU shows.
The expectations surrounding this new batch of episodes are sky high due to the reasons I mentioned above. So it’s impressive that new head writer Eric Martin and co. have already come out of the gate strong. The writing is still solid, the visual effects are striking and the production design is impeccable. And above all else, Tom Hiddleston and the rest of the cast (including highly praised newcomer Ke Huy Quan) are simply perfect. There’s another reason the premiere succeeds, though, and to convey that, we’re going to recap what happened during it.
What Happened During The Opening Episode Of Loki Season 2?
This installment picked up immediately after the events of Loki’s Season 1 finale, which saw the character returning to a version of The Time Variance Authority ruled by He Who Remains (a.k.a. Kang the Conqueror). It was soon revealed, however, that the Asgardian trickster-turned-time-fugitive had actually been transported to the past. From there, audiences learned he was spontaneously teleporting between that time and the present. It was in the latter that his allies – like Mobius and Hunter B-15 – were dealing with the ramifications of Sylvie’s decision to kill He Who Remains and compromise the sacred timeline. When viewers revisited the characters, the TVA was struggling to deal with the excessive number of branch realities that were forming.
The lead character eventually touched base with his comrades and filled them in on his condition, which was later revealed to be a practice known as “time-slipping.” And as Ouroboros (or OB) explained, such a phenomenon doesn’t line up with the usual rules of time in the TVA. By consulting with a past version of OB, the God of Mischief was able to get him to construct a Temporal Aura Extractor, which could remedy his condition. However, present-day OB also reveals that someone (who ultimately turns out to be Mobius) must cure the demigod by pulling him out of the timestream using the Temporal Loom, where "raw time is refined into a physical timeline."
That proved to be a tricky task, as Mobius nearly lost his life when walking into the stream. Loki himself -- who was still flipping between eras -- also had prune himself for the process to work. And when he arrived in the future (and saw Sylvie), he was pruned at the last second and pulled from the timestream.
His time-slipping issue may have been fixed, but the Time Variance Authority was still left with a myriad of problems by the end of that first episode. That aforementioned glimpse into the future teased that its inhabitants are far from being out of the woods and still have a massive crisis on their hands. That notion is nerve-wracking but, like this premiere’s plot, it also gives this season something fans may have been missing from an MCU production.
Loki Season 2 Has Already Created A True Sense Of Urgency
What Eric Martin and the writing staff have managed to do so well early on is emphasize to audiences that there is a true threat looming. The Time Variance Authority is practically on the brink of ruin, and the titular antihero and his colleagues are going to have to race against time to prevent utter destruction. It's not just the TVA that’s in trouble either, as the entire multiverse is at stake. This sense of urgency gives the story a weightiness from the jump, and that’s a welcome element during this era in the MCU’s mostly illustrious history.
Loki Season 2 Has Goonies Easter Eggs, And The Producer Tells Us Where To Look For Them
Some of the other Disney+ shows set in the massive cinematic universe simply had narratives that didn’t convey much cruciality. Moon Knight and Secret Invasion touted threats like rogue gods and power-hungry extraterrestrials. However, it was occasionally difficult to feel the protagonists were in actual danger at times. In fairness, WandaVision was mostly successful in that regard, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier did a solid (if not messy) job of ramping up to the threat. However, Loki seems to be operating on a different level when it comes to crafting that feeling of dread. This is also refreshing amid the more lighthearted fare to come out of Marvel Studios as of late, including Hawkeye and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (which are admittedly charming and not meant to be nail-biters).
The bottom line is the Tom Hiddleston-led show makes it clear right away that the threat is real, and that’s definitely something you want your season-opener to emphasize. With that, the stage has been set for a tense set of episodes, and a number of fans will likely be eager to see how the story plays out. One can only hope this intensity remains until the very last installment and that such urgency carries over into some other MCU series moving forward.
New episodes of Loki are streamable on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT as part of the 2023 TV schedule. Those who are heavily invested in the small-screen side of MCU can also read up on upcoming Marvel shows.
