Everyone loves to root for the bad guy, and Loki is no exception. Being one of the standout characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a lot of people questioned what happened to variant Loki after Avengers: Endgame. Well, Kevin Feige, the brain trust behind the MCU, along with the Disney+ streaming service had the answers. As we have learned now through Loki Season 1 and 2 as well as Deadpool & Wolverine, there is something called the Time Variance Authority (TVA) that helps control the sacred timeline, and prunes (erases) timelines/variants that should not be.
Loki Season 2 starts right where the first season left off. Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino; Yesterday) had just killed Marvel's big bad Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors; Creed III) from Season 1. After that, all matter of chaos breaks loose in the Multiverse. Branches that aren't being pruned are overloading the system and are threatening to destroy the entire Multiverse. To add to all that, Loki can't seem to stay in one place on the timeline, consistently moving times, that he cannot control.
Loki, now understanding the importance of the TVA, looks to save himself and the Multiverse from destruction with his new friends, Mobius (Owen Wilson; I Spy), and Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). Joining them is a variant of Kang the Conqueror, Victor Timely, who tries to help them fix the issues with the TVA.
Tom Hiddleston has been amazing as the God of Mischief, Loki since the first Thor film came out in 2011. In each subsequent movie he appeared in, Loki changed from just being a 1-dimensional "bad guy" to becoming an "anti-hero" for the MCU, one that most people considered their favorite character. While Loki Season 2 gives him an amazing send-off, it is a bit sad his story is now done in the MCU.
Joining Loki, just like in season one, is his sidekick/boss, Mobius, a 19th-century variant of Kang the Conqueror called Victor Timely, and the only other variant of Loki that can pretty much match the Loki we know and love, Sylvie. Along the way, various characters show up from Season 1, however, the best addition to the show is Ouroboros who is the brains behind most of the TVA and the "timeline loom." Every time Ke Huy Quan is on screen it is hard to pay attention to most of the other characters. He brings levity to very intense scenes plus it's great seeing Short Round all grown up.
When the First Season of Loki was aired I enjoyed it, but it was like the rest of the new Marvel shows on Disney+ (Wandavision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, etc). They just didn't match the script or the spectacle of the films. However Loki Season 2 changes all that. The story is solid, the set designs and cinematography are more grandiose, and the actors truly feel at home with their characters. There is also more of a sense of urgency, danger, and consequences in Season 2 than there was in Season 1 because the stakes are so high.
This 2024 holiday season Loki Season 2 comes out on Steelbook 4K as its predecessor did a year ago. The collector's edition Steelbook case is made to last and looks beautiful to boot with concept art from the show depicted both outside and inside the case. Loki Season 2 is set in its original aspect ratio: 2.20:1 which differs only slightly from the broadcast 2.39:1 version. The HDR10 visuals and audio Dolby Atmos audio quality is what you come to expect from Disney 4K UHD discs, basically perfection. Because of the higher bitrate found on physical media, the sounds from the show envelop the full room making use of the Dolby Atmos system used to review this edition. The picture quality is hands down better than I thought could ever be. I did a side-by-side comparison of the Disney+ stream and the disc and the difference is night and day. Even though this collector's edition does not come with a Digital copy of the season (I think Disney wants you to just use Disney+ for that) it does have a plethora of bonus features that include - Loki Through Time, Gag Reel, Deleted/Extended Scenes, What Would You Like?, Key Lime Break, Roll Call, Assembled: The Making of Loki Season 2, and last but certainly not least, this collector's edition also comes with some great collectible concept artwork from the show.
Loki Season 2 is one of the best Disney+ MCU shows to date. It was also the last one that made the films and the Marvel shows all fit together. Starting with this year's Agatha All Along, all Marvel shows (now called Marvel Television) are not required viewing for the films as there is just too much content out there now. With this being the ending of such a larger-than-life character that we have known since 2011, it is bittersweet, but it was the best send-off they could have given him.
Grade: A
