'Loki' web series episode 2 review: No rest for the variants

Loki is on a roll, both literally and figuratively. It expands only a little bit into the players of the world but raises its stakes to astronomical levels with almost silly levels of ease.

Picking up shortly after the first episode ended, with one Loki variant (let's call them Variant Loki) casually murdering multiple TVA Minutemen and stealing their equipment, this episode starts off with that Loki casually murdering another set of TVA troops but taking one of them prisoner. This prompts the Avengers Loki, now working for the TVA, to wear his best suit and help the team out.

Of course, Loki doesn't do anything out of the goodness of his heart, and yes, there is a deal involved with Mobius, but that deal appears to be, if anything, a red herring. Whether or not it happens depends entirely on what Loki will do, though Loki loses no confidence in his typically dominating goals.

There is a neat little Chekov's gun introduced early into the series that plays out with potentially disastrous consequences, as the Avengers Loki fails to mislead, and then discover a key element of the Variant Loki's modus operandi, which leads to a hilarious little snippet of his and Mobius' exceptional teamwork in 79 AD.

The episode also cements the Avengers Loki's lingering attachment to his adoptive home, Asgard, as he reads files about its destruction. There is a sense of genuineness in this Loki that has scantly been seen, and it serves to make his character more well-rounded.

There is a lot more that can be discussed about the show, but sadly, speaking any of it would amount to spoilers, which are best avoided for a show that is likely to have massive ramifications for the mainline MCU. For now, Loki continues to sate and whet the appetite for what has come and what will come next.