“I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose.” Those words have long been attributed to Marvel’s Loki character, and he has stayed true to that ethos for over a decade since the quote’s debut over a decade ago. Loki has never been a cookie-cutter villain: he has always aimed for a deeper goal, benevolent in his eyes, that just so happens to hurt people. Disney+’s Loki series put that goal on full display in 2021, and the latest season is a creative, fresh extension of his story.
A struggle with series is creating additional seasons that are additions, not repeats, of the original. However, Loki’s second season managed to not only extend the story of the first but also explain plot points across both seasons. The first season ended in such a way that was perfectly set for a continuation – a cliffhanger that also wrapped up the show to a satisfactory extent. Because of this, season two could easily answer the lingering question from season one and get right to the new plot. Even better, the new story was still part of the greater storyline established by season one. In it, Loki continues his quest to unravel the secrets of the Time Variance Authority (TVA), inch the crumbling universe toward temporal harmony, and maintain a strong timeline while also allowing alternate timelines (and the people in them) to survive.
In his quest to save the countless lives unaware of their impending doom, Loki no doubt changed as a character. Previous movies, and even season one of Loki, portrayed the god of mischief as a misdirected, yet power-hungry, deity bent on world domination for the sake of creating a utopia. Always arrogant, deceptive, and sly, he tore through the world until he was inevitably stopped by the superhero Avengers. However, especially in the Loki show, he started to warm up to people, making a friend with Mobius, Loki’s interrogator during his stint in TVA detention. Loki was less of a trickster and more of a genuine soul trying to find a way to save the universe. Season two of Loki furthered this transition, adding compassion and kindness to Loki’s skills, and he used these to improve himself and aid his campaign.
Despite the strong plot and development, Loki season two did include a bit of unwanted fluff. Action movies often fail to sensibly explain phenomena such as time travel, in which Loki deals heavily, adequately, and simply labels them with something in the unexplained realm of science (quantum physics comes to mind). While Loki does provide background to its time physics, it still hides a lot of it behind the curtain, leaving unanswered questions. Yet, this flaw can be overlooked for the sake of enjoying the series at large, as shown by Deadline’s figures stating that the finale drew upwards of 11 million viewers.
So, with healthy numbers, characters, and story, Loki season two was a more than sufficient extension of its previous, and an even better reflection of Loki’s character. Asgard’s favorite villain embarked on a universe-saving quest in the Loki series, but more importantly started (and completed) a journey to discover himself. While the season certainly does not deserve to be spoiled, what is safe to say is that Loki is finally at peace with his newfound glorious purpose.
