Published at 1:45 am. Updated at 11:00 a.m.
Even further… over time
“The multiverse, timelines, space-time loops… these things can be overwhelming, but now that we know people are addicted, we’re taking it a step further,” says Kevin Wright. It was he who first suggested to Marvel Studios that they develop a series about Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who was stuck in the labyrinths of the Temporal Variation Authority (TVA). “With Kate’s departures [Herron, la réalisatrice] And [du scénariste] Michael Waldron, I ensure continuity between seasons. “I wear different hats, but basically it was Tom and I who set the plan and found the right people to execute it,” explains the producer.
PHOTO GARETH GATRELL, PROVIDED BY MARVEL
Sophia Di Martino takes on the role of Sylvie.
Loki and Sylvie
In the first season, Loki met Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), a female version of him from an alternate timeline. This “variant”, who has been seeking revenge on the VAT for centuries, softens through contact with Loki, but not as much as Thor’s little brother, who falls in love with her, so in a way with himself… Together, you expose the lie of the TVA, seemingly controlled by three Timekeepers, but instead led by He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), who hides in the shadows at the end of time. Sylvie’s decision to end He Who Remains’ rule plunges the TVA into crisis management timelines, allowing her to seek refuge in 1982 to live a quiet life as a McDonald’s employee. “After what she did, Sylvie is trying to get a taste of life, have friends and get a job. “She wants to find peace after a life in the apocalypse,” explains Kevin Wright at the beginning of the second season.
PHOTO GARETH GATRELL, PROVIDED BY MARVEL
Ke Huy Quan joins the MCU as Ouroboros.
VAT
Meanwhile, Loki tries to convince his friends at the TVA, Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku), that war is imminent. He Who Remains’ death freed all of his dangerous variants from other timelines, as seen at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. However, the civil war within the TVA is a more pressing issue, as one part of the staff strives to maintain the sacred timeline by eliminating its branches deemed undesirable, while the other part seeks to protect the countless lives that inhabit it. Loki also has to deal with an annoying problem: his body slips from one moment to the next without warning. To remedy the situation, Mobius calls Ouroboros, played by Ke Huy Quan, who won an Oscar for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. What we call OB is the reference in VAT technology. “We wanted to show who was behind all the extraordinary gadgets seen in the first season and give him an important role in the rest of the story,” says Kevin Wright.
PHOTO GARETH GATRELL, PROVIDED BY MARVEL
Gugu Mbatha-Raw returns as Ravonna Renslayer, who is searching for Victor Timely.
Victor Timely
Jonathan Majors also plays Victor Timely, another take on He Who Remains, and Kang, the antagonist in Quantumania. He is a Chicago-based scientist of the late 19th century. “When Loki says war is about to break out, we expect to see Kang the Conqueror, but we had fun subverting expectations by personifying the threat through a somewhat cheesy inventor,” reveals Kevin Wright. We wanted to make him someone who could play any role: a good guy, a bad guy, or even an ally. »
Our opinion
Loki is a delight for the eyes and ears! The retro-futuristic aesthetic of the first season, which completely enchanted us, reached new heights in this second part. Cinematographers Isaac Bauman and Oliver Loncraine take on the role of Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who did a remarkable job. Artistic director Kasra Farahani is back, as is Christine Wada for costumes and Natalie Holt for music. The complicity between Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino is as delicious as ever, and the arrival of Ke Huy Quan only enriches the whole thing. It makes us a little uneasy to see Jonathan Majors on screen now – he’s awaiting trial on domestic violence charges – but we have to admit he’s very good.
However, this second season is particularly difficult to follow. Space-time concepts and the jargon used to explain them are not always clear. In the four out of six episodes we’ve seen, our interest in VAT is slightly overestimated. The settings and mechanics may be intriguing, but the title character and his accomplices should be the focus of the story. Let’s hope the final two episodes give them the space they deserve.
On Disney+