Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Review, streaming, TV | Tagged: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jonathan Majors, Ke Huy Quan, loki, Marvel Studios, owen wilson, Review, tom hiddleston

Loki Season 2 Episode 3: World's Fair in Love & War (REVIEW)

Loki Season 2 reintroduces Jonathan Majors to the series as another Kang variant, Victor Timely, in a mixed-bag, 19th-century-set episode.

It was inevitable given how much Jonathan Majors' role in Phase IV in the Marvel Cinematic Universe started with Loki season one. While Disney has remained mum on his MCU future given the controversy surrounding his recent legal issues, he's in the unique position to play multiple roles due to the current phase's emphasis on the multiverse in the form of his primary role as Kang the Conqueror. He's made his debut as his variant "He Who Remains" in season one of Loki, revealed to be pulling the strings from afar that's been affecting Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino). The latter proceeds to assassinate him in the season one finale despite his warning that he's been keeping his more dangerous variants at bay. The season two episode "1893" reveals another variant, played by Majors in Victor Timely. The following contains minor spoilers.

Hitting Familiar Notes with Loki, Mobius & Sylvie

Sylvie has no interest in doing anything else despite Loki's insistence, given how she's content letting chaos be following her assassination of "He Who Remains." Meanwhile, the rogue elements from within the TVA prune several branches from the timeline, causing an unfathomable amount of chaos with the lives lost, but luckily, Loki and Mobius (Owen Wilson) try to get Sylvie to stop dragging her feet to help prevent further damage. Meanwhile, OB (Ke Huy Quan) is doing everything they can to try to restore some order from within the chaos by trying to restore the Temporal Loom.

On the other end, we find out rogue TVA agent Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Miss Minutes (voice of Tara Strong) slip a TVA manual to Victor's younger counterpart before traveling forward in time to 1893 at the Chicago World's Fair that finds the grown-up version unveiling its secrets through his own time device. As we get to know Victor and what he's done in his life, we get some tension bordering on déjà vu concerning him and Sylvie as all paths eventually cross. There isn't anything particularly that stands out about "1893" other than hitting the familiar notes from previous episodes, reintroducing Majors into the series as another variant, and expanding on Renslayer & Miss Minutes and their ambitions.

Directed by Kasra Farahani (Tilt), writer Eric Martin is keeping his cards close to his chest as far as the big picture goes. There isn't some looming threat to build to – rather, it seems the season's going to spend a decent chunk of its run patching up the damage from its season one finale while rehashing what worked before. There isn't anything the season's adding to Hiddleston's Loki, which is a shame because season one was the most he's grown in the MCU. He seems like he's competing with Wilson on who gets to play the "straight man" and "jokester" – saved only by the chemistry between Hiddleston & Wilson. We're only halfway through the second season, but the excitement and buildup are barely strung along. There's no sense of urgency to advance the series, but rather in-the-moment adrenaline moments that are more meant to fill in the blanks left behind from the previous season. Once again, Hiddleston's Loki is chasing Sylvie around like he did in season one, but the series itself is still chasing a stronger sense of purpose for the viewer. Loki streams Thursdays on Disney+.

Loki Season 2 Episode 3 "1893"

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Review by Tom Chang

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6.5/10

Marvel Studios' Loki Season 2 Episode 3 "1893" establishes another Kang variant in Jonathan Majors' "Victor Timely," who insists he's not like the others and just wanted to invent. It feels like a bit of deja vu, but at the very least, we get to know Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Renslayer and Tara Strong's Miss Minutes better, providing the nuance we didn't get in season one. We still have no idea what the season two is building towards other than the enclosed crisis at hand - one that not everyone necessarily sees as a "crisis."

Credits

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Director

Kasra Farahani

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