Season two of Marvel Studios’ “Loki” concluded on Nov. 9, wrapping up what is undoubtedly one of the most satisfying superhero projects to date. From jaw-dropping cinematography to stellar storytelling, the show’s second season captures the magic of season one while still raising the stakes.
The second season immediately picks up with Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, scrambling in an unfamiliar Time Variance Authority as timelines are rapidly branching. This is because in the final episode of season one, Sylvie, a Loki variant played by Sophia Di Martino, kills He Who Remains, a variant of Kang the Conqueror played by Jonathan Majors, at the end of time. If that all sounds confusing, it’s because it is.
While the show’s logic does make sense, it might take a few rewatches for the average viewer to follow along. However, even if everything doesn’t makes sense right away, fun character moments, references to real-life history and stunning visuals are enough to carry the show while your brain eventually catches up.
The first and second seasons are very intertwined in feel, but a change in the director’s chair makes for some unique camerawork.
“I felt like having someone new and with fresh eyes — that, for me, is what will make a good season,” Kate Herron, the director of the first season of “Loki,” said in an interview with Variety.
Herron got her wish, with four new directors – Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Dan DeLeeuw and Kasra Farahani – coming together to create season two of “Loki.” Benson and Moorhead, who directed episodes one, four, five and six together, utilized camera techniques akin to Wes Anderson.
The center compositions, deadpan humor, ‘70s visual style and the presence of Owen Wilson all contribute to the Anderson-inspired feel, which makes it a unique MCU entry in terms of camerawork.
However, one returning member of the crew was composer Natalie Holt, who once again crushed the score out of the park. You can feel Holt’s music throughout the show and her season two soundtrack is much more aggressive and dark, contributing to the overall tone of the season, as our heroes are faced with the end of the universe as we know it.
When Sylvie killed He Who Remains at the end of time, it unleashed an infinitely growing amount of branches — which are alternate realities — from the sacred timeline. The show’s main goal is to figure out how to expand the TVA’s temporal loom, which threads the branches together, avoiding the destruction of all timelines.
As a way to explain a lot of the scientific aspects of the show, season two introduces Ouroboros, played by Academy Award winning actor Ke Huy Quan, whose energy fits in perfectly with a cast that already had great chemistry.
Every scene with Ouroboros is filled with scientific explanations, but mixed in with great comedic presence from Quan so that it’s not an overwhelming amount of information without breaks.
One of the better scenes with Ouroboros is when he meets Victor Timely, a Kang variant also played by Majors, where they discover that all of their life’s work has been based on each other.
Timely, a 19th century inventor from Chicago, is a lovely addition to the group, as he feels out of place in a way that makes sense. An entire episode is based in Chicago during the 1893’s World’s Fair, in which Timely presents a temporal loom prototype — seen in the “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” post-credits scene.
Legal issues have occupied a lot of conversations around Majors, who was arrested for an alleged domestic dispute in March, with many people calling for Majors to be recast. However, season two of “Loki” was filmed prior to Majors’ arrest, meaning it was too late for Marvel to recast him anyways.
Regardless of Majors’ legal troubles, his performance here as Timely is intriguing to say the least. While some people could argue his over-the-top acting style is distracting, Timely feels properly out of place and different from the other Kang variants Majors has portrayed in the past.
He Who Remains is extremely cocky and arrogant, while Kang the Conqueror is more aggressive and defensive. During the “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” mid-credits scene, Majors depicts a handful of other Kang variants from the comics. Immortus is the most notable member of the council of Kangs, who he portrays with a raspy, high-pitched voice.
This makes Timely’s awkward presence and stuttered speech a new take on a Kang variant. I also like to think that the reason he speaks with a stutter is because he has spent so much time building TVA equipment in his life, he doesn’t have much room for socializing.
While the surrounding cast is all doing a great job — specifically the returning faces from season one in Wilson, Di Martino, Eugene Cordero, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Wunmi Mosaku — Hiddleston is clear and away the heart and soul of season two.
After portraying Loki for more than 12 years, Hiddleston knows the character like the back of his hand, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he was born to play the God of Mischief. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Hiddleston called season two’s finale “the conclusion to six films, and 12 episodes and 14 years of my life.”
The final episode of “Loki” may very well be the best hour of Marvel Cinematic Universe content ever created, as Loki’s character comes full circle in what is one of the best character arcs in superhero media.
If you haven’t tuned into “Loki” just yet, I thoroughly suggest you do, because watching this show just might be your glorious purpose.
