Loki - Episode 2 - Review

Now that Loki has consented, I mean been conscripted into joining the TVA, the second episode of Loki had to deal with making his presence mean something and not just be a token appointment. Plus, with Mobius and the rest of the TVA still struggling to find this mystery Loki, there was a lot going on in this second episode, but did it continue to keep things interesting?

We left Loki struggling to come to terms with his place in the universe at the end of the first episode, not only did he find out that his mother died, his father died, and he died, he also discovered there was another Loki out there, causing more mischief than he ever did. This episode picks up with Loki being inducted into the TVA, via a stylish jacket, before being let out onto a mission and while he does play up his mischievousness, nobody is buying it, thus Loki is relegated to research, as he can use his unique Loki-ness to try and find this other Loki. After a few moments of trying, Loki begins to get bored and tries to look up other things, which he fails at, but within that failure, he discovers a potential lead.

However, with Loki’s history of truth, being almost non-existent, Mobius is not sure if he should believe him, which gives us another shot at seeing another point in time, within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pompeii. While Loki and Mobius are enjoying their time past, it again serves as a way for the pair to bounce off of each other, even when Loki is being his most annoying. Sadly they seem to be the only two to get any real growth this time around, while the Judge does get a chance to be a little more grounded, everyone else pretty much slides into the background, though Hunter B-15, played by Wunmi Mosaku does have a nice moment with Loki near the end.

The outlier for all this is the mystery person who pops up at the end, to taunt Loki for playing by the rules of the TVA, while the show hints that this might be Loki, once the true face is revealed, we learn it might not be. While the show doesn’t name this person, it does leave enough breadcrumbs, leading you to a conclusion, is it the right one, well that will have to be discovered in time there. At this point, you should have expected that any Disney+ show that is based around the Marvel Cinematic Universe, would do this, lay out breadcrumbs to try and keep people talking about it and while I can appreciate it, at the same time, I am growing a little old of the forced mystery.

Tom Hiddleston again delivers a wonderful performance as the titular character, even when Loki is being deceitful, Tom still manages to make you want to care about the character. Owen Wilson is a little less used this time around, but when he gets a few moments to shine, his character really shows a level of compassion that most of the TVA folk, seem to lack. The moments of hilarity, like the throwaway moment of Loki being D.B Cooper in the first, are not as prevalent here, but the show still manages to have some fun, Loki in Pompeii to be one example. While things may not end of the best note for the TVA, there is still plenty of adventure left, I just hope we get more fun and mischief from Loki with it.

Speaking of Loki, or should we say Lady Loki, her plan to destroy the sacred timeline could be seen as one tremendous mistake, or giant push forward for the MCU. While I would like to see the show connect more to the MCU, than just being a Loki show, I also don’t want it to; being able to see this Loki solving mysteries and exploring the timestream could be fun on its own, which if the trailers are anything to go by, will happen at some point. My concern is that the show is going to kickstart the fourth phase of the MCU and it will lose some of the fun of Loki being Loki in the mix. While the first episode was all about Loki discovering the TVA, coming to terms with his new reality and his place within the universe, the second was more about the hunt and the mystery of this other Loki and while they providing answers is always welcome, I just wish there were a little more.

The second episode of Loki is keeping the mystery going, though it feels like it took far to long to get to that point and with how much more fun it was to see Loki evolve a little and Mobius thaw just a little, I feel like the pay-off wasn’t worth. Where the show goes from here, will depend entirely on how they treat Loki, if they give him free reign, it could be amazing, if they use him to explain the story, it could be a mess, I am hopeful that it is the former.

The Score

8.0

Review access provided by Disney

The Pros

+The dynamic between Loki and Mobius is delightful

+Tom is still able to make Loki fun, even when he is lying to everyone

The Cons

-The mystery of who they are after feels dragged out, for what we get

-There isn't a lot that happens in this episode, that couldn't have been put into others