Loki Season 2 brings Tom Huddleton’s beloved character back to Disney+.
Loki is a fan-favourite villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the would-be conqueror of Earth in The Avengers movie and the step-brother of Thor. In the first season of this Disney+ TV series, a Loki variant ends up in the Time Variance Authority (TVA) and begins a journey – together with another Loki variant, Sylvie – to discover who or what is behind the TVA and seek freewill and determination for themselves. At the end of that first season, I wrote – “So in that light, Loki Season One – together with WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – operate as the purest fan-service to keep fandom engaged, while laying down markers for the upcoming MCU movies – all at the expense of effective plots and characterisations.“
Ironically, even as the MCU fanbase began to grow disillusioned with recent output, She-Hulk and Ant-Man: Quantumania being prime examples, the second season of Loki was somehow viewed as a means by which the previously loyal fanbase could renew old ties. Unfortunately, Loki Season 2 is not able to rise above the poor writing that has plagued MCU content since Avengers: Endgame with meandering plot lines and non-existent characterisations. In addition, even though a meeting with Victor Timely (a Kang variant) was teased in the Quantumania post-credit scene, there is no connection whatsoever between this series and the movie!
In essence, Loki Season 2 has our protagonist dealing with the fallout of Sylvie’s killing of He Who Remains. Loki’s path to resolving this dilemma is a circular one, that involves loops and the impossible choice. In the end, Loki does indeed save the day but how that was achieved is unclear and inconsistent with the character.
In the final analysis, Loki Season 2, like its predecessor, was totally pointless, even if there is a change in the status quo in the finale. Due to a lack of clarity and exposition, even the most diehard MCU zombie would have trouble with deciphering what that ending meant? And if your audience is unable to understand your story, then you have failed! Avoid.
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