Episode Two of the Loki mini-series finds the God of Mischief teaming up with the TVA to track down another version of himself who is running amok through time for some unknown reason.
Where episode one was hampered by a lot of set up and not a lot of payout, episode two is a lot more balanced, showing off a mixture of high concept science fiction and buddy comedy to boot. Owen Wilson and Tom Hiddleston were a lot of fun to watch as they bounced dialogue against each other and watching the two of them research the possibilities of where the Loki Variant might be reminded me of cop procedurals in the best possible way.
What I liked about this episode the most is that, unlike the first episode, it seems to revel in having fun with its own ridiculousness. There is a certain self-aware quality about the show that I am really digging.
I also very much enjoyed Loki causing chaos in Pompeii knowing that it wouldn’t matter and the high concept idea that armageddons would be the perfect place for a time traveler to hide. This is the high concept weird stuff that I live for and that I want to see more of.
I can also appreciate how quickly this series is moving forward. Six episodes isn’t a lot of time, so seeing Loki seemingly betray the TVA — which, let’s face it, we knew he was going to do — came along at the perfect time as did the identity of the mysterious variant. I’m becoming less and less of a fan of the mystery box style of storytelling, so when a mystery box is unraveled this quickly, I’m impressed.
While Loki still hasn’t grabbed me like I hoped it would, I am very happy that it appears to be ramping up instead of trying to maintain the same level of engagement or, worse yet, going down in quality. Hopefully, the upward momentum continues toward the end.
Jason Gaston 