Loki season 2, to quote Doctor Who, is very wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey

Marvel Cinematic Universe in Trouble This is the prevailing sentiment regarding the still-dominant studio’s output of late. Phases Four and Five, as they’re called, have underwhelmed critics, floundered at the box office, and generally struggled with a sense of directionlessness that contrasts with the methodical plotting of the MCU’s first decade. There’s a bit of irony to all this disarray, because the current MCU era is What is the best way to get in touch with us?Marvel Cinematic Universe in disarray

Loki sits At the nexus — or at least a nexus — of this disaster. The show traps its protagonist, the sort-of villain, sort-of helpful god of mischief (Tom Hiddleston) in the labyrinthine halls of the Time Variance Authority, a clandestine organization devoted to ensuring the MCU timeline doesn’t endlessly splinter into a kaleidoscopic hell of alternate realities and universes.

Previously, it was the Loki of one of those alternate universes — a femme variant of Loki named Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) — that threatened the integrity of what the TVA called The Sacred Timeline. Sylvie, aided by our Loki, connived to get to the end-of-time to track down the madman at its core, He Who remains (Jonathan Majors). This man, who is a variant of Kang the Conqueror, is not good news for the pair of Lokis. Ant-Man and Wasp: QuantumaniaOr something like that. Or, something along those lines.

Season 2 Loki picks up in the immediate aftermath of this confrontation, with Loki sent through a time-travel portal to a TVA that’s under the control of He Who Remains, and Sylvie missing after killing He Who Remains. The timeline is now in a state of disarray, as the events of season 1 effectively created a multiverse that’s spiraling out of control. This leaves TVA agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) scrambling to figure out what’s going on, conscripting the help of timeline expert Ouroboros (an excellent Ke Huy Quan) while he and Loki try and stabilize a timeline that is falling apart, and a TVA that’s torn on how to respond.

This is a bit of a mess. Loki’s first season had its fair share of indulgent exposition, but it also had some solid character work and goofy alternate Lokis that were a lot of fun to watch. For all of its strange lingo and confusing logic, the TVA made a fantastic setting. LokiIt’s an oddball midcentury modernist office full of quirky quirks. This was an excellent means of achieving a goal, keeping Loki separate from the MCU but important, and building a unique cast of characters for him to see. This was Marvel Studios’ best effort to build an actual TV series.

TVA is a term used to describe the government’s excuse for stealing money. Loki’s characters to do interesting things and meet interesting people. By itself, it is not a good reason to watch. But Loki Season 2 revolves around that. It spins a tale centered on TVA’s integrity, purpose and creator. And the philosophical dilemma of free will against determination, which its continued existence continually intensifies. The show is called This Is Loki’s second season in a nutshell: Its writers are overly concerned about the mechanics of the MCU, and the MCU as an abstraction, not the characters and stories within it.

Gareth Gatrell/Marvel Studios

And it’s not like LokiThere aren’t enough good characters in the world! Wilson continues to be fantastic as Agent Mobius. She brings an aw, shucks humor to the series. Quan’s quirky character is perfect for the TVA setting. And Di Martino’s Sylvie, while frustratingly underwritten, remains a fantastic foil for Hiddleston’s Loki, continually deflating his British smarm just by being in the room with him.

All of these characters would be fun to spend time with every week, but LokiPreoccupies them all with something that is not the other. The four episodes that were made available for critics are too long, with too much time travel logic, and too many problems to solve. Ironically, it is the most urgent episodes that are available to critics. There’s too much exposition and confusing time-travel logic. Loki’s characters say a disaster is, the less meaningful it seems.

LokiThe writer seems to believe that TVA’s work must be emphasized in order for the reader to accept it. The MCU’s relationship with the TVA is a tautology. It exists so it must be important. The MCU, which is just a few tiles from Disney Plus and doing great, is a good example of why this is a weird mission. It’s possible. LokiShould make more mess. It would be a lot of fun.

The first episode LokiDisney Plus is streaming season 2, with weekly new episodes.