Marvel Mondays: Loki, Episode 2
June 22, 2021
Warning: Spoilers for Loki, Episode 2: “The Variant” ahead!
Episode Recap:
The most recent episode of Loki starts with a team at the TVA going to the year 1985 in Wisconsin to fix the timeline. On their mission, one of the TVA agents gets kidnapped by the supposed Loki variant. Agent Mobius then goes to find Loki to bring him on the rescue mission to see if he can shed some insight on how to catch the variant. Loki tries to give the team some valuable insight on illusions and duplication while clarifying that he is the superior Loki to any other Loki variant. In a conversation between Mobius and Judge Renslayer after the failed mission, Mobius notes how he has never met the timekeepers. To keep him busy, Mobius gives Loki the chore of looking through files. Loki finds information about “Ragnarok,” the destruction of Asgard. He puts some pieces together and finds out that the Loki variants hide in timelines that are going to end in mass destruction. To test the theory, Mobius and Loki go to Pompeii and wreak havoc before the volcano blows. As the episode wraps, the TVA goes to an apocalypse in 2050 to try to find the variant. Loki gets split from the rest of the TVA and has a little battle with the other variant, who keeps taking form in different people’s bodies. After an intense fight scene, the variant is revealed to be (what seems to be) a female Loki, and our original Loki abandons the rest of the TVA to follow her through a portal.
Overall thoughts after the second episode:
Mason: I thought this was a really great episode. It’s so much fun! I’m really loving Tom Hiddleston’s and especially Owen Wilson’s performances. I am really excited to see what happens next, and I think the show is doing a great job of creating an exciting atmosphere. The Pompeii scene this week was particularly fun.
Audrey: I really loved this episode. Unlike the other Marvel shows, I feel like Loki has jumped right into the action and isn’t wasting any time. Obviously, this is still the MCU, but similar to WandaVision, the Loki TV show is dealing with something entirely new that we haven’t seen before (the TVA). It’s unlike Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where the issues faced in that show felt like a continuation of your typical Marvel movie. Loki is fun, comedic, and is doing a really good job representing the very conflicting character of Loki himself.
How are we feeling about the timekeepers?:
Mason: I really do not trust them. I am still supporting my theory that there is no “sacred timeline”, and that the TVA just picks and chooses what they want in the timeline and what they don’t want. I think the timekeepers either don’t exist, used to exist but don’t anymore, or I still think Kang the Conqueror may be involved.
Audrey: I also do not think that the timekeepers exist. I agree with Mason, where it feels like the TVA just chooses what they want the timeline to look like. Especially since Mobius has not met the timekeepers, they just feel fake. It gives me the “Wizard of Oz” vibes, they are there and people know they exist but they actually are not very significant.
Is Loki becoming a better person or is he staying the same?
Mason: He is just so unpredictable! He is definitely becoming more cooperative, but I don’t know if he’s just doing it to outsmart the TVA or for his own personal benefit. Honestly, I still think Loki does not have the best intentions here.
Audrey: I would not say that Loki is becoming a better or worse person. I don’t think that he is changing at all. Loki is a very selfish person who acts only on things that would benefit him. I think that the reason he is being so cooperative with the TVA is that he understands that they hold an immense amount of power, which he loves. I’m not saying that he doesn’t care for others, we have seen him shed tears over his brother and his mother, but he definitely is his own top priority.
Thoughts on the supposed second, female Loki:
Mason: It was a great scene and a cool reveal. I think it is too early to judge Sofia Di Martino, but her first impression was pretty good and I’m excited to see what she does in the role. Many people are theorizing that she may not be a Loki variant and may be a different Marvel character, but we will just have to wait and see!
Audrey: I am very excited for her. Marvel is definitely trying to show more female power in this phase, which is something that I love to see. This character reveal of the Variant was very cool, and I love that Loki followed her. I’m not sure if she will work with Loki or against him, but given that she is a “second Loki” I think it could go either way. I am most excited for another female face in the MCU!
Predictions for upcoming episodes:
Mason: Since the Loki variant made all of the TVA agents leave TVA headquarters to handle the Nexus events, I think she is headed for the TVA headquarters for a possible takeover, The headquarters is currently not guarded! Our Loki is with her too, so maybe a possible team-up? I am really hoping we will see other Loki variants before the season ends.
Audrey: I think we will discover the truth about the timekeepers very soon considering how eager Loki is to get to them. The dynamic between our new Loki and the original Loki will be something very interesting that I would love to see. Time travel is one of my favorite concepts and it is going to be fun to see how the TVA gets out of its current pickle with multiple timelines.
Any final thoughts?
Mason: The more I think about this show’s time-travel and multiverse logic, the more confusing it gets. I think it makes sense, but it is hard to explain. It was a big risk to introduce more time travel into the MCU, and I hope they make sure that everything is still digestible and understandable, or else they could run into some major problems and plot holes. Overall, I have faith that Kevin Feige can handle it.
Audrey: A part of me wishes that Loki stayed with Mobius and the TVA so he can help solve the issue of the variants. Seeing Loki be a “good guy” is a fun thing to watch. I agree with Mason about time travel making sense but hard to explain at the same time. They said in Avengers: Endgame, how complicated time travel is, but I am confident that the creators and the MCU as a whole know what they are doing. I have been loving the cinematography and editing in this show! It is captivating and so well done and thought out.
Check back next week after episode three for even more Marvel Mondays!
