DISCLAIMER: This recap of Loki Season 2 Episode 1, “Ouroboros,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Welcome back, TVA agents and variants! “Ouroboros” is an absolute delight that maintains the momentum established in the Season 1 finale. God, how I’ve missed this show. Loki is, hands down, one of Marvel’s best live-action offerings. This outing has all the kooky sci-fi energy we love from the first season, with perhaps a dash more humor this go-round. Tom Hiddleston acts his ass off, proving why our titular god of mischief is a gold mine of a character. Part of me hopes Hiddleston becomes a Marvel fixture (while acting in other projects, of course) because I love this character and his performance so much.
Overall, the premiere is a ridiculously fun jumping-off point that lays the groundwork for what’s to come.
Ready to delve into “Ouroboros”? Let’s get to it.
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We open with Loki (Hiddleston) running through the TVA while Mobius (Owen Wilson) chases him. Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) traps our titular god of mischief from the other side. That’s when he leaps off the ledge, landing in the bed of a flying vehicle. Naturally, he scares the driver, who inadvertently cracks the face of a giant statue of He Who Remains.
Then, the pair crashes through a window while Casey (Eugene Cordero) cleans the floor. Loki emerges from the vehicle somewhat unscathed. He whirled around as the driver and said vehicle teeter over the edge, crashing on an unseen ground below. She’s okay … right?
Next, Loki approaches Casey and asks if he knows him. Casey doesn’t since this isn’t Loki’s timeline. Suddenly, Loki vanishes. He looks as if he’s being pulled in multiple directions. Finally, he returns. He notices the crack in the floor (courtesy of him in the other timeline). Casey tells him that crack has always been there. That’s when Loki realizes he’s traveling between the past and present. But, you know, he disappears again before he can do anything about it.
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Meanwhile, the Mobius and B-15 of our timeline examine the alarming rate at which branches from the Sacred Timeline form. Should they prune these new branches? B-15 argues that innocent people in those timelines deserve to live their lives. Casey approaches them, revealing that Loki is looking for them. Then, Hunter X-5 (Rafael Casal) lures Mobius in with talk of jet skis. (Is there a greater love story than Mobius and his jet skis? I think not.)
After being a jerk, X-5 tells Mobius and B-15 that the judges’ council wants to meet with them in the War Room. With Renslayer MIA, someone needs to take her place. Once they depart for the War Room, Loki reappears. He attempts to follow them, but he vanishes once more. In the other timeline’s War Room, we see giant stone faces of He Who Remains erected on the wall. However, in our timeline, it’s a mosaic of the Time-Keepers.
We see X-5 join the judges (played by Kate Dickie and Liz Carr) as Mobius and B-15 file in. They’re listening to a recording of Loki explaining that they’re all variants and that He Who Remains created the TVA. Meanwhile, our fave variant listens to He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) chat with Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). We know Renslayer and Kang the Conqueror have quite a history in the comics.
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Next, B-15 emphatically tells the council they can’t prune any more branches. It wouldn’t be right. And it’s important to remember that they’re all variants, the Time-Keepers aren’t real and a legitimate threat is on the horizon. Suddenly, Loki reappears in the War Room, but in the present, this time. He grabs X-5’s Time Stick and prunes the Time-Keepers mosaic to reveal the He Who Remains display Loki saw in the past. X-5 chats with one of the judges, and they determine that Sylvie, who’s MIA, is the genuine threat. They must neutralize her.
Then, Mobius pulls Loki aside. Loki breathlessly explains what’s happening. He’s unsure why he keeps bouncing between timelines. However, He Who Remains and his variants are coming now that the Sacred Timeline is branching. War is looming. Mobius has a solution — they can visit the Repairs & Advancements Department for answers regarding why Loki’s making unwanted trips to the past.
While on the elevator, Loki continues to vanish and reappear, much to Mobius’ horror. He tells his pal how horrifying it truly looks. It is as if Loki’s being born and dying simultaneously. Hey, you said it didn’t look that bad, Mobi. Our god has self-esteem issues.
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Later, they arrive at Repairs & Advancements, where Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan) greets them. He’s tickled to see Mobius again. Mobius is the only person who’s visited him in 400 years, give or take. Unfortunately, Mobius doesn’t remember him. Ouroboros mentions that Mobius had a nickname for him: O.B. How cute. While they’re all chatting, Loki vanishes again. O.B. states that Loki is “time slipping,” which is impossible in the TVA.
Meanwhile, in the past, Loki asks past O.B. about time slipping and if there’s a solution. After trying to reconcile with the fact that, yes, there is time slipping occurring in the TVA, O.B. reveals that Mobius would need a Temporal Aura Extractor to place Loki in the appropriate timeline. Thankfully, past O.B. constructs one for present O.B. to find.
Present O.B. explains to Mobius how it all works. He’ll need to utilize the Temporal Aura Extractor in the Temporal Loom, the heart of the TVA. There, he’ll pull Loki directly from the time stream. Should Mobius fail to execute this in time, Loki will be lost forever and Mobius will lose his skin. Fun! Oh, and at some point, Loki must prune himself before reappearing in the correct timeline. It’s all, you might say, “wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey.” [Insert joke about how Loki is “everything, everywhere all at once.”]
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Finally, Loki returns to his time. O.B. learns about the power surges in the TVA, which also isn’t normal. He believes they’re a result of the new timeline branches. However, there might be a solution to that. He leads Loki, Mobius and B-15 to the Temporal Loom. Inside, they see the Loom is overloading because there are countless timelines. Miss Minutes would typically take care of the Temporal Loom, but she’s in the Citadel at the End of Time. O.B. suggests they prune a few branches to cease the overloading; however, B-15 puts her foot down in that regard.
O.B. urges Loki and Mobius to remedy the time-slipping problem now. Then, he can close the blast doors to protect the TVA. Then, we get to my favorite moment in the whole episode — Mobius standing there and writing “Skin?” in the dust on a computer. Earlier, Mobius and Loki were debating which would be worse: Mobi’s skin peeling off or Loki pruning himself.
O.B. explains that Mobi will have to launch the Extractor in the Temporal Loom. Then, Loki can only prune himself when the light on a certain device turns green. Mobius will have mere minutes to return to the safety of the TVA before the Temporal Loom ages him so severely that his skin falls off. That’s why he must wear a bulky suit to execute this task. Unfortunately, they only have five minutes to do this. Double-unfortunately, Loki disappears again.
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This time, he winds up in the future in that same room. Realizing he left the Time Stick in the present (well, past), he sets about locating another one. Thankfully, he still has the circular device that O.B. gave him, telling him when Mobi successfully launches the Temporal Aura Extractor. Loki runs down the corridors, noticing they’re empty. They also look as if a tornado barreled through them.
Meanwhile, Mobius launches the Extractor and waits for Loki to return. O.B. reminds him that they don’t have much time. With seconds to go, O.B. presses a button to close the blast doors. This would also trap Mobius outside with the Temporal Loom. In the future, Loki sees the device light turn green. Uh-oh. He spots a ringing telephone next to an elevator. Suddenly, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) pries open said elevator with her hands. She pokes her head through, exclaiming that she was expecting him.
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Next, Loki prunes himself. We see him soar out of the time stream and onto Mobius as the pair fly through the still-closing blast doors. Just in time! Loki tells Mobius they have to find Sylvie. B-15 notices the judges’ council, X-5 and the other agents gearing up for a mission. They’re all running through a time door. Why? To find Sylvie, who’s now Public Enemy #1.
Speaking of Sylvie, she exits a time door in Broxton, Oklahoma, in 1982 (the mid-credits scene). It’s a branched timeline. She wanders into a McDonald’s and approaches the order counter. She lists her requirements for food, and the order taker rattles off his recommendations. Sylvie smiles as she watches the customers socialize in the restaurant. She states she wants everything. Aw.
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I love all the scenes with Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson and Ke Huy Quan. Quan fits right in regarding the style and tone of this series. He nails the comedic and dramatic moments in equal measure.
Do you think our heroes will find Sylvie before the TVA does? What’s Renslayer up to? Will Mobius ever get to go jet skiing? Only time (and more episodes) will tell.
Loki drops new episodes every Thursday at 9 pm EST/6 pm PST, only on Disney Plus.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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