LOKI (Season 2) -- It Was Hard To Top Season One, But They Did

Review by Dan Skip Allen

(L-R): Owen Wilson as Mobius and Tom Hiddleston as Loki in Marvel Studios' LOKI, Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Gareth Gatrell. © 2023 MARVEL.

Marvel/Disney has put out a bunch of series on Disney+ and Loki is considered one of the best they've released. Season 2 of Loki doubles down on the weird and crazy stuff from the show’s first season, picking up after Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) pushes Loki (Tom Hiddleston) through a time door and kills “He Who Remains,” the god-like figure who once maintained order over the TVA and the various timelines.

Season 2 of Loki gets off to a wild start as Loki is time slipping, which causes him issues. He needs help from Mobius (Owen Wilson) and the rest of the TVA, including Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) and a new man fans haven't met as of yet, Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan). Once they help Loki, they have to set their sights on Sylvie and any versions of Kang the Conqueror that may be left as a threat to the TVA and the timeline.

As before, the locations and sets are cool, and the TVA itself has once again been built on a soundstage. These sets look great. They help bring the viewer back into this world right off the bat. The writers have also made this world much more accessible to viewers who watched season one and are fans of the characters seen in season one. The thing is, those that follow the MCU already know it's going to play a big part in the Multiverse Saga, but it still works as a story in its own right.

There are many things that were good about season one of Loki, but season two has some equally, if not better things in it regarding some of the technical aspects. First of all, there is an amazing score by Natalie Holt. It is so much a companion of this season. It goes hand-in-hand with everything going on. Also, the costumes and hairstyling are great, and spot-on as well. With a show with characters traveling through time, you know each of the periods has to have its own look and feel.

(L-R): Ke Huy Quan as O.B., Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and Owen Wilson as Mobius in Marvel Studios' LOKI, Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Gareth Gatrell. © 2023 MARVEL.

The creators and writers of the show — Eric Martin, Michael Waldron, and Brad Winterbaum, among others — use some easy ways for people to follow along with all the time jumping and so forth. They put graphics on the screen, saying where and when the show is taking place. It's a popular way to go to all these different places from episode to episode. In one particular time, a character by the name of Victor Timely (Jonathan Majors) does a time demonstration. As comic book fans know, this is an alternate version of Kang the Conqueror. This is in fact the beginning of the Multiverse Saga. It's how these writers and directors get from point A to point Z that will be the most interesting part of all this.

As is a good thing with any show or film, the cast must have good chemistry. One of the best parts about Loki season one was the chemistry between Owen Wison’s Agent Mobius and Hiddleston’s Loki. This second season, they are even better together. They have plenty of funny banter about various things, but they are just enjoyable to see act opposite each other. The rest of the cast is great as well, and an unexpected hero, Tara Strong, as the AI character Miss Minutes also has a lot of time to shine this season. I could watch these actors all day, though, because they just have a knack for being entertaining. 

After the success of season one of Loki, Marvel and its chief content officer Kevin Feige went into production on season two rather quickly. There was a reason for that — we know now that the Multiverse Saga was coming right around the corner. If the first season had failed, I don't know if there would have been a justification for doing a second season. That doesn't matter now because it's here and fantastic. The storyline is terrific, and it allows this cast — mainly Wilson, Hiddleston, and Majors — to shine. The production design regarding the TVA, in the ‘80s, and especially the 1860s, was quite impressive. The score by Holt was phenomenal and felt like a perfect companion piece to this series. Season one was a hard act to follow, but Season two is even better after four episodes I've seen. It left off at a cliffhanger, but up until that point, it was pretty amazing so far. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Loki streams on Disney+ beginning October 5 at 9pm ET/6pm PT, with new episodes streaming subsequent Tuesdays at the same time. Four out of six episodes reviewed.

Rating: 4.5/5