Loki: Season 2 (Where Will It Lead?)

Of all the first-run, Marvel/Disney+ programs, the apocalyptic-angled Loki was most prone to expansion. Lo and behold, a six-segment sequel arrives.

Season 1 had protagonist/antagonist Loki (Tim Hiddleson) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), aka Lady Loki, meeting (and striking down) a variant of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), aka He Who Remains, now re-stationed as Victor Timely, recycling the Multiverse with neo, clashing complexities. (The warm-up even got us comfortable for Quantomania, as much as WandaVision got us hyped for The Multiverse of Madness.) 

As with Season 1, more TVA (Time Variance Alliance) action dominates, queued by Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson); Ouroboros (Ke "Short Round" Huy Quan); Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku); Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw); Casey (Eugene Cordero); and Miss Minutes (Tara Strong). (Rafael Casal, Liz Carr and Kate Dickie join the ensemble in undisclosed roles.) 

Loki, in my humble estimation, exudes a Doctor Who spark (with a marginal smidgeon of 12 Monkeys), though with a much stronger (if not, anguished), time-slipping shove. (Based on the trailer, Asgard's perilous God of Mischief will be yanked here, there and everywhere.) Sometimes, though, an overload of ambitious meandering can cause more confusion than not, so let's hope this follow-up gives just enough uncanny trajectories as not to lose coherence. 

Oh, and as a venturesome gimmick, the famous, restaurant chain, MacDonald's (or at least one of its pervading pitstops) will play an instrumental role in the storyline, though sprung from Lady Loki's vantage. Weird, but again, with infinite possibilities pinballing, where would such a temporal novelty go, and how it might such shameless, product placement jive with thee surrounding surrealism? 

Guess we'll soon see, for Season 2 interphases Oct 5.  

Time Travel Time/Loki Time: Erasure or Redemption

That Thor's adopted brother, Loki, is now a heroic sort, or in the very least an anti-hero, is rather peculiar when one considers how rotten-to-the-core he once was (and probably still is). Nevertheless, just like we see bad guys turn good in pro wrestling and the fans let bygones be bygones, the same seems to apply to this lethal trickster. 

Loki's Disney+, Michael Waldron co-produced extension will explore the God of Mischief's quirky duality by placing him front and center where his mad charm can be further dissected and savored. Tom Hiddleston (also the show's exec producer) is, of course, reprising his most famous role in the 6-part event which, like WandaVision and the Falcon and the Winter Soldier, will buffer further Phase IV chapters. 

From what's reputed, Loki's exploits will bounce off Endgame, with the devilish deity summoned by the Time Variance Authority (a league that monitors time/reality ruptures), giving our lead the choice of erasure or redemption, the latter by investigating the murders of TVA's police force, the Minutemen. (Incidentally, there may be a Loki counterpart in this crafty caper and a fetching lady, at that; hint, hint.) 

Joining Hiddleston is Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Revonna Lexus Renslayer (a TVA judge) and Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius (a TVA analyst). Also in the series is Sophia D. Martino (hmmm, wonder who she's portraying), Eugene Cordero, Erika Coleman, Tara Strong (via voice), and fantasy-film favorite, Richard E. Grant.  

Fans continue to speculate on whether Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie and/or Jaimie Alexander's Lady Sif will drop by, not to mention Jonathan Majors as a possible Kang the Conqueror. Anything is possible (perhaps even probable) after Evan Peters shook the MCU, and springing surprises on viewers when they least expect them is now the norm, but all the same, we'll wait and see.

But one thing's for certain: From every indication and insinuation, Loki should be another huge, Disney+ hit. It streams into home theaters June 9.