‘Loki’ season 2 review: Marvel’s downturn continues

Time travel is impossible in real life, but it is also extremely difficult to achieve in fiction. In fiction, a nifty plot device can easily devolve into a tangled web of convoluted exposition. The first season of “Loki” avoided this issue and provided a bright spot for the Disney+ show in a somewhat stagnant era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The series combines impeccable production design with a simple emotional narrative as it follows the “alterform” of the Norse trickster god deep into the depths of the Time Variance Authority (TVA). Especially after the main character Loki (Tom Hiddleston) meets his female counterpart. His relationship with Sylvie (Sofia Di Martino) raises questions of identity, free will, and self-determination. Tracking potential branches of the so-called divine timeline can make your head spin. Like a Zen koan, “What makes Loki Loki?” It’s grounded and easy to grasp.

In the final moments of the first season, it was revealed that Loki would be the first Marvel Studios show to have a second season on Disney+. Considering the cliffhanger ending, this news came as a relief. After Loki and Sylvie travel to the end of time, Sylvie meets Hee-Fu, the founder of his TVA and the main hindrance that was preventing the divine timeline from becoming a full-fledged multiverse. Killed Remains (Jonthan Majors). After trying to stop her, Loki returns to TVA alone to find the office transformed, with statues of the Remains towering everywhere, and employees like Agent Moebius (Owen Wilson)… He had lost his memory of the person who became his collaborator from the quarry.

Two years later, “Loki” returns. It’s not right away. Although the show started his MCU Multiverse saga off on a high note, the latest phase of the series has since been plagued by trouble on and off-screen. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania failed to build on the goodwill generated by Loki, despite using some of the same concepts and characters, and was a critical and commercial disappointment. It was a work of art. Meanwhile, Majors is on trial for assault and aggravated harassment against his ex-girlfriend, calling into question Marvel’s plans to make his character the next big villain a la Thanos. (When it comes to allegations of domestic violence, the business plan of a blockbuster is not the main concern, but with so much money at stake, be Some people are worried. )

This situation has put a lot of pressure and scrutiny on Loki season 2, and there have been some personnel changes behind the scenes. (Eric Martin took over as scriptwriting director from creator Michael Waldron, and solo director Kate Herron passed the baton to a larger group led by co-creators Justin Benson and Aaron Morehead.) ” is still better than other MCU films, with only “WandaVision” in second place, and Season 2 succumbs to the same traps that the original story cleverly avoided.

The first episode of “Loki” uses the eponymous character as a surrogate for viewers, gradually revealing the TVA’s objectives, customs, and bylaws, and kicks off Season 2. In media resolution. Immediately, Loki finds Sylvie, figures out why he’s been jumping through time, and has just discovered all the mutants whose memories have been erased from the “disconnected” (eliminated, not euphemistic) timeline. tasked with navigating through the chaos of TVA staff. That’s a lot, perhaps too much, for both Loki and the viewer to handle, especially as the story feels increasingly unsteady from Loki’s own (literal) journey of self-discovery.

Instead, the season introduces new MacGuffins like the Temporal Room and characters like Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan), a cosmic IT guy tasked with maintaining the health of TVA equipment. There is frenzy and momentum, but when it comes to complex issues of individual autonomy and collective good, there is little sense of who wants what and why. In fact, “Loki” feels like it maintains its breakneck speed with precision. have Slow down and root the action in your characters’ wants and needs. Online commentators will certainly explain the logistics in detail, but they can’t create the emotional urgency that’s clearly lacking in this season.

At the very least, the performance provided by the ensemble within the MCU’s massive ensemble remains one of the best. In a long victory lap after winning an Oscar for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Quan brings a quirky energy to Ouroboros (OB) and the wacky pranks he was asked to facilitate. I’ll make up for it. Rafael Casal isn’t treated very well as a TVA employee, though through no fault of his own, he’s barely featured before becoming a fugitive. And to put it on its own terms, Majors’ work as He Who Remains in its various incarnations is a break from the idiosyncratic, mysterious charm of the Marvel House style. should Separating it from his contradictory behavior is another matter entirely.

Playful and inventive visuals also give Loki an extra edge, from the overstuffed tools of OB’s workshop to a brief detour through 1970s London to an entire episode set in 19th century Chicago. I keep giving. But while everything from TVA’s set design to its complex cosmology once felt like it was contributing to Loki’s growing capacity for friendship and love, now that hierarchy has been reversed. It feels like it’s happening. Through spoiler-like means, Loki and Mobius resume their daily life as partners, but with everyone fighting for unclear reasons, there is little room for their friendship and the bond between Loki and Sylvie to be depicted. Become. “Loki” still has a good time, but even though it has been renewed, it may not have been made for a long time.

The first episode of “Loki” Season 2 will premiere on Disney+ on October 5th, with remaining episodes available every Thursday.