Loki: Ouroboros

The Loki series on Disney+ was a lot of fun, and an interesting look at the God of Lies (or Mischief, or Stories, depending on which version you’re going by). It was also the introduction of Kang, a hugely powerful foe of the Avengers, into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, Loki does something else no one else in the MCU has done, by getting a second season of his series. The madness starts with “Ouroboros.”

Picking up roughly where last season stopped, Loki has returned to the Time Variance Authority, but nothing is quite right. Mobius doesn’t know who he is, nor does anyone else, and the décor is a lot different, with an ominous recurring theme. After fleeing from some TVA guards, Loki ends up in a weird chase, crashing through a window, and doing a number on the floor of the room he lands in. Casey, a recurring character from season one, is there buffing the floor, and apparently listening to a podcast we last heard of from a frazzled and desperate Stephen Grant over on Moon Knight. Some very strange spams overtakes Loki, who disappears and reappears. Now, Casey knows who he is, and there’s a familiar looking bit of damage to the floor. Despite what Mobius has claimed in the past, it appears there is a past within the TVA.

Mobius and B-15 (which I still think sounds like part of a bingo game) are trying to figure out how to share the stunning news they’ve learned about everyone’s true origins at the TVA as the time monitor they are watching shows multiple branching timelines getting worse and worse. Casey wanders in and tells Mobius that Loki was looking for him, further confusing both Mobius and B-15. We get introduced to a new character, X-5 (how do some get names and some get these weird letter/number combos?), who seems to be some kind of TVA Internal Affairs, calling Mobius and B-15 to appear before the Judge’s Council. Just after they leave, Loki appears again, not looking like he’s enjoying his jaunting around. Casey, getting confused, points Loki in the right direction. The poor guy is probably long overdue for a vacation.

Things continue to get confusing as Mobius and B-15 plead their case before the Judges, while Loki bursts into the room… but is alone. Clearly, strange things are afoot here. As Loki hears some interesting recordings, Mobius and B-15 try and explain what they’ve learned to the Judges, and to X-5, who looks far from impressed. As things get more and more heated in the Council room, Loki suddenly appears, startling everyone. In his typical showy style, he presents some proof to back up his claims about what he’s seen. After a lot of questions, everyone’s attention seems to turn to the matter of Sylvie. Mobius hustles Loki out of the room, and Loki gives a somewhat garbled account of what happened during the season finale in the Kang/Loki/Sylvie battle. Loki also shares what he’s learned about He Who Remains, as Kang is being called presently, and what the TVA’s mission actually was until now. There’s some very entertaining banter between Loki and Mobius about the past, or lack if it, at the TVA and whatever weird condition is yanking Loki through time.

Mobius decides to consult an expert, and this leads to my favorite sequence in the episode. Down in the lower levels of the TVA is a junk room/workshop, which is the domain of the titular Ouroboros, played by always entertaining Ke Huy Quan (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Everything Everywhere All At Once). There’s a very odd conversation, or pair of them, between Mobius, OB (as he likes to be called) and Loki in the present, and, after he glitches out again, Loki and OB in the past. It’s fun watching the past conversation start to affect the present one, and the time ripples are very well done, like some of the better Doctor Who episodes. Eventually, and after a lot of complications, we get a better idea of what’s happening to Loki, how to fix it, and the great risks involved.

OB brings to them to a part of the TVA none of them have seen before, and OB’s initial timetable of how long they have gets comedically and drastically changed. Mobius has a risky job to do and Loki disappears again, this time ending up in a different timeframe. How that’s happening isn’t really explained, but they don’t exactly have a lot of time to chat in this episode. Loki wanders around a much emptier TVA, and encounters an ominously ringing phone and a familiar face before he gets yanked back to Mobius’ era. Mobius gives Loki as much time as he can, but things aren’t looking good for the wayward Asgardian. Finally, Loki and Mobius run into each other again and, hopefully, Loki’s condition has been stabilized.

As Loki and Mobius compare notes, B-15 sees a lot of odd preparations taking place throughout the TVA. Neither her nor X-5 believe the official story being given out, and I don’t blame them. This episode also comes with an end-credit scene, as one of the characters who has been unaccounted for finally turns up in a place familiar to those of us who have read the Thor comics. How that’s going to tie into the larger plot I’m not sure, but it’s probably going to be a fun ride.

What I Liked: Ke Huy Quan was brilliant, and stole most of the scenes he was in. Considering he was playing opposite Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, that really says a lot. The two different conversations with OB in different times were handled really well. I was very happy to see the nod to Moon Knight, since that series was really good and has been off on its own. They are doing a great job of making Kang/He Who Remains an ominous presence without the character himself actually showing up. The effect they used for Loki disappearing and reappearing was great, if disturbing.

What I Didn’t: Sylvie was almost entirely absent from the episode, and I missed the chemistry between her and Loki. X-5 seemed to go from antagonistic to our heroes to siding with them really quickly without a lot of explanation.

Overall, I thought this was a great episode. I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out, and what happens with the various Kangs. I’ll give this a 4 out of 5.