The second season of Loki, the Marvel Studios series starring Tom Hiddleston as the trickster god, premiered on Disney+ on October 6, 2023. The show picks up from the cliffhanger ending of the first season, where Loki found himself in a different version of the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a bureaucratic organization that monitors and controls the flow of time. Here are some of the highlights and key points from the season 2 premiere episode, titled “Ouroboros”.
Loki Meets a New Mobius
One of the most shocking moments of the season 1 finale was when Loki returned to the TVA headquarters and discovered that no one recognized him, not even his friend and ally Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson). The TVA was now ruled by a statue of He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), the mysterious figure who claimed to be the creator and protector of the Sacred Timeline. Loki realized that he had been transported to an alternate reality, where his actions had never happened.
In the season 2 premiere, Loki tries to make sense of his situation and reconnect with Mobius, who is now a different version of himself. This Mobius has no memory of Loki or their adventures together, and he is more loyal and obedient to the TVA than ever. He is also partnered with a new hunter, B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku), who is also unaware of her previous encounter with Loki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), another variant of Loki who was his love interest and nemesis in season 1.
Loki manages to escape from Mobius and B-15, but he is soon captured by another group of TVA agents, led by Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the former judge and ally of He Who Remains. Ravonna is also different in this reality, as she is now a hunter who is obsessed with finding and eliminating variants. She recognizes Loki as a dangerous anomaly and orders his execution.
Loki Finds an Old Friend
Before Ravonna can carry out her sentence, Loki is rescued by a familiar face: Sylvie. The female Loki had survived the confrontation with He Who Remains in season 1, and she had been searching for Loki ever since. She explains that she had used He Who Remains’ TemPad, a device that allows travel across time and space, to track down Loki’s location. She also reveals that she had killed He Who Remains in season 1, unleashing a wave of chaos and creating multiple timelines that diverged from the Sacred Timeline.
Sylvie tells Loki that they need to find a way to restore the original timeline and undo the damage they had caused. She says that He Who Remains had warned them that killing him would unleash his evil variants, who would wage war across the multiverse. She suspects that one of these variants has taken over the TVA and erased their history.
Loki agrees to help Sylvie, but he is also conflicted about his feelings for her. He admits that he loves her, but he also wonders if she loves him back or if she is just using him for her own agenda. Sylvie says that she cares for him, but she also reminds him that they are both Lokis, and they can never trust anyone, not even themselves.
Loki Discovers a New Enemy
Loki and Sylvie manage to evade Ravonna and her agents, and they use the TemPad to travel to another time period. They arrive in New York City in 2012, during the events of The Avengers movie. They hope to find clues about the identity and whereabouts of He Who Remains’ variant who controls the TVA.
However, they soon realize that they are not alone. They are confronted by another Loki variant, who calls himself King (Majors). King reveals that he is one of He Who Remains’ variants, and he is the one who orchestrated the TVA’s takeover. He says that he is a conqueror who has traveled across time and space, subjugating countless worlds and realities. He claims that he is the rightful ruler of the multiverse, and he intends to eliminate any threat to his supremacy.
King mocks Loki and Sylvie for their foolishness and arrogance, saying that they played right into his hands by killing He Who Remains. He says that he had anticipated their actions and used them to create a distraction while he seized control of the TVA. He also says that he knows everything about them, their pasts, their futures, and their feelings for each other. He taunts them by saying that they are nothing but pawns in his game, and they have no free will or destiny.
King then attacks Loki and Sylvie with his powers, which include manipulating time, matter, and energy. He proves to be a formidable opponent, as he easily overpowers them and injures them. He tells them that he has no intention of killing them, as he enjoys watching them suffer and struggle. He says that he will keep them alive as his prisoners and toys, and he will make them witness his glorious conquest of the multiverse.
The episode ends with a cliffhanger, as Loki and Sylvie are left in a desperate and hopeless situation, facing a new and powerful enemy who seems to have the upper hand.