Marvel’s favorite antihero returned with a timely mission—save the multiverse. 

Season two of “Loki” debuted on Oct. 5 and will air an episode on Disney+ every Thursday at 9 p.m. ET until the sixth and final episode on Nov. 9. 

This season has big shoes to fill: season one received a 92 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating and was nominated for six Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. 

The spinoff series follows Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in an alternate reality after he uses the Tesseract to escape in “Avengers: Endgame.” In season one, Loki meets Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), who is another version of himself. The two have a love-hate relationship until Sylvie betrays Loki in the final episode. 

The Time Variance Authority, a mysterious organization that kills people who deviate from their predetermined fate, kidnaps Loki and Sylvie. At the end of season one, Loki and Sylvie find He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), the man who created the organization and rules “at the end of time.” He can see everything that has happened and is going to happen and warns the two that killing him would result in the collapse of the multiverse and a new influx of enemies.

While Loki urges Sylvie to think of the consequences, she is overcome by rage and revenge and kills He Who Remains, throwing the timeline into chaos. 

While Loki often acts out of emotion in other appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he has never acted stupidly. Sylvie, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to comprehend that the universe does not revolve around her and refuses to listen to reason. Because of this, she comes off as annoying and unnecessary. 

Loki and his partner, TVA agent Mobius (Owen Wilson), now team up to fix the timeline. To do this, they set out to find former TVA judge Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and an artificial intelligence entity called Miss Minutes (Tara Strong). As the TVA collapses, Renslayer and Minutes enter a timeline to find an alternate version of He Who Remains, hoping he can fix it. 

After the third episode aired last Thursday, I have many questions. The TVA is collapsing as a new character, Ouroborus, played by the ever-lovable Ke Huy Quan, tries to fix it. Loki and Mobius have found a variant of He Who Remains—Victor Timely from 19th century Chicago.

This season does a much better job of reminding us that Loki is not a hero, but he’s also not the villain. His losses are not an excuse for his villainous actions—murder, deception, usurpation–but he acts out of emotion and selfishness, not malice. 

Because the TVA took Loki out of his timeline, we do not see the Loki that’s been through multiple losses, movies, and years of character development. This Loki is fresh out of the Battle of New York, where he tried to take over the Earth and lost. 

Season one put this loss on full display, showing a softer side of Loki that we hadn’t yet witnessed. In the second episode of season two, however, we glimpse the darker side of the antihero when he captures and tortures a TVA agent for information. While not entirely criminal  or evil, Loki represents a powerful character who acts out of selfish ambition.

After reaching the halfway point of the season, Loki and Mobius have found Timely and are trying to figure out how to save the TVA. Renslayer is still in the way, yet slight innuendos suggest that she has a bigger purpose—one that might rival Timely. 

I wish I could say that Sylvie has been notably absent from season two, but that is unfortunately not the case. After causing a mess at the TVA and abandoning Loki, she blames him for pulling her back into the ring and has been following along and wreaking havoc. The writers are trying to make Sylvie a weak spot for Loki, and this is the only major flaw in the otherwise captivating series. 

Loki has always been a very independent character. Season one attempted to spark a romance between him and Sylvie, which was uncomfortable to watch. The chemistry seems completely one-sided and boils Loki down to a hopeless romantic instead of a powerful, complex character. 

After finally revealing Loki’s canonical bisexuality, they make him fall in love with himself. As a longtime Loki fan, I certainly don’t support it, and would rather have Loki end up on his own than with a worse version of himself. 

The “chemistry” between Loki and Sylvie still stands throughout season two, and I am hoping that will dissipate within the next three episodes. Overall, this second season is even more adventurous than the first, and an enjoyable watch for Marvel fans and casual viewers alike.

So, for the next three Thursdays, don’t try to contact me. My mind will be on Loki.