TV Review: Loki Season 2 (2023)

Loki Season 2 (2023) created by Michael Waldron based on the character from Norse mythology and Marvel Comics

Apparently I never reviewed season one of Loki. It's a fun outing for the Norse god of mischief (Tom Hiddleston), where he gets involved with the Time Variance Authority (TVA). The TVA polices various timelines and other universes, making sure things go properly or at least don't get out of hand. Loki travels to different times and encounters other Lokis from other branches of the main timeline. Those other Lokis include an alligator version of himself! The most significant one is Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), who teams up with the Hiddleston Loki to stop whatever nefarious scheme the TVA is hiding. A big bad is hiding behind the scenes, manipulating realities for some purpose. Sylvie winds up killing the big bad, He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), a variant of Kang the Conqueror, a time-traveling baddie from the comic books. The ending of the season wasn't as good as the build-up to it.

In this second season, the TVA has run into trouble. The main timeline is branching more than usual, causing an overload in the Time Loom that is supposed to keep things running smoothly, presumably by weaving variant branches back into the "sacred timeline." Loki needs to get a group together to fix the problem, though convincing people like Sylvie of the plan's value is difficult. All the people that work at the TVA have been plucked from various timelines and don't remember their previous, normal lives. The TVA is a bit of a dystopian bureaucracy which Sylvie thinks is awful and doesn't mind if it collapses (thus, she killed its organizer in season 1). Some factions in the TVA want to take over, others want to fix the problem. Things get more complicated and out of hand. Even the god of mischief has a hard time sorting things out and getting them back in order. What exactly is the order they are supposed to be in anyway?

The show suffers from too much time travel. Loki involuntarily travels to other moments and places, which causes him agony and problems, though it does help with the narrative. Towards the end of the series, he gets control over it and uses it for what he thinks is good. Loki is persuasive and charming (Hiddleston is a master actor) but his transformation from selfish con artist to, ultimately, a self-sacrificing hero is not quite believable. The story creates problems and complications that are not very convincing, as if they want more problems to stretch out the story and give Loki time to change. 

The ending gives Hiddleston a chance to bow out much like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans did in Endgame. This isn't as great an ending for him as it was for them; Loki seems more like he's in a Purgatory burning off the consequences of his previous sins. I find that very satisfying but I don't think the creators of the show had that idea in mind.

Mildly recommended--Tom Hiddleston is great as usual but the story is a little too convoluted to be really satisfying.

Book Review: Thor & Loki: Double Trouble by M. Tamaki and Gurihiru

Thor & Loki: Double Trouble written by Mariko Tamaki and art by Gurihiru

Thor brags about how great he is while Loki tricks him into raiding Odin's treasury of magical objects. Thor retrieves a Lur, which is a magic horn. When Loki blows the horn, it summons the sister of the Midgard Serpent. The giant snake starts to lay waste to Asgard, with Thor and Loki (okay, mostly Thor) fighting the monster. More mayhem and adventures follow from this action-packed beginning.

The plot is a bit episodic, running from one situation to the next. As with other Thor and Loki stories, the joy is in their interactions, verbal and physical. The story is fun and moves along at a good pace. The art by Gurihiru (who worked quite well on Avatar: The Last Airbender) is very good and captures the playful tone. It's light-hearted, kid-friendly storytelling.

Recommended.

Book Review: Vote Loki by C. Hastings et al.

Vote Loki written by Chris Hastings, art by Langdon Foss and Paul McCaffrey

Politicians are considered inveterate liars, so what better candidate for President of the United States of America than Norse god Loki? He's the trickster of the pantheon, so lies and misdirections are his favorite things. He sneaks into a presidential debate as a blogger. At the debate, a bunch of Hydra goons try to kill both candidates. Loki reveals himself and takes them out--the Hydra agents, that is. He then gets swept up (or is he sweeping himself?) into running for president. He claims to have reformed his evil ways and even has a certified West Virginia birth certificate to show he's qualified. His superhuman powers and his disarming ability to admit he is a liar to the press and the public skyrocket him to fame and frontrunner status. But is it all really a put on? Does he really want to be president?

The book is a thinly-veiled satire of 2016's political election with Loki filling the outsider/media enemy role that Donald Trump had. The other two candidates in the story are never named and are completely unidentifiable, the focus remains on Loki, who does act more like Loki than Trump throughout the story. At one point, he interferes with political unrest in Latveria, using magic and deception to secure America's interests there. So he's not just a Trump stand-in. As a satire, it's a great premise but the execution of that premise is only good, not great. I finished reading and said to myself, "that was fun," not "that was awesome."

If it sounds interesting to you, give it a try, otherwise give it a pass.