Season 2 of the Disney+ original series Loki released its first episode, “Ouroboros”, on Oct. 6.

 

It’s been a while since season 1 ended, so here’s a recap for those who need it; After escaping with the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is apprehended by the Time Variance Authority for violating the timeline. He is then recruited by a TVA agent named Mobius (Owen Wilson), who wants Loki’s help in capturing a fugitive variant of himself named Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino).

 

Loki and Sylvie team up and discover that the Time Keepers, the TVA’s supposed creators, are fake. They then encounter the TVA’s true creator, a man waiting at the end of time who calls himself “He Who Remains” (Jonathan Majors), before Sylvie kicks Loki through a portal back to the TVA and kills He Who Remains.

 

Season 2 starts where season 1 left off, with Loki telling Mobius and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) everything that happened at the end of time, only to find out they have no idea who he is. The episode begins with Loki being chased by TVA agents and Hunters before he suddenly and unexpectedly vanishes. Loki’s vanishing looks horrifying, like melty cheese being pulled apart.

 

What I really enjoy about the opening is how it puts us right into the action, which is very important for a show hook people, even at the start of a second season. Some of the more recent Disney+ shows have had issues with pacing (I’m looking at you, Andor), so to see season 2 of Loki get its pacing right was a welcome relief. Here’s hoping I didn’t just jinx it.

 

When Loki reappears he finds he’s in the exact same spot in which he vanished, but now everyone recognizes him. After asking where Mobius is, Loki starts heading in his direction before vanishing again.

 

By the way, here’s a helpful tip: don’t look away from the screen. I had to rewind so many times because I glanced away from the screen for just a second and missed something important. Dear God, this happened so many times. If you need to look away, pause it first.

 

Meanwhile, Mobius and B-15 are summoned to meet with TVA leadership regarding the branching of the timeline. Loki then reappears and tells Mobius about He Who Remains — or rather, he tries to, but he’s speaking quickly and forgetting to include key information, so it takes him a while to convey the information.

 

Seriously, it’s as if Loki’s completely forgotten that Mobius wasn’t with him at the end of time. If he would just start over, recall the events chronologically, and provide as much information as possible, Mobius might be more able to grasp what Loki’s saying.

 

To fix the problem of Loki constantly disappearing, they visit the Repairs and Advancement Department. They meet the technician, a man named Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan), who goes by the nickname “O.B.” O.B. identifies the problem as “time-slipping” after Loki vanishes in front of him. Basically, Loki is being pulled between different points on the timeline.

 

This scene is really funny. I’d elaborate further, but I don’t want to ruin the jokes by explaining them. Although, I will give props to Mobius for committing to the bit of pretending to remember having ever been down to Repairs and Advancement, even when it seemed painfully obvious that he had no memory of such events.

 

I’m not gonna spoil the end of the episode. You’ll have to watch it for yourself to find out how it ends. What I will say, however, is that this part of the episode is definitely when I had rewind the most. Remember my tip from earlier: pause the show before looking away.

 

In a mid-credits scene, Sylvie enters a branched timeline in 1982 and visits a McDonald’s in Oklahoma. She’s also wearing the same outfit she was wearing at the end of season 1. I bring this up because she’s in Oklahoma in 1982, a time and place in which that outfit will stick out — which is not a great idea when you’re on the run from the time cops.

 

I really enjoyed the first episode of season 2. It was well-paced, engaging, and fun. I think it sets a good tone for the rest of the season. It’s got everything I want from a Marvel production.