We Loki fans are desperate for news of Loki Season 2, set to begin filming this summer at London’s Pinewood Studios. It’s torturous, knowing that somewhere out there, scripts have been written, and a select group of people already know what’s going to come next for our beloved God of Mischief. Luckily, Tom Hiddleston has been dropping hints about what we can expect, and in a new interview with Total Film, he’s alluded to Loki’s “turbulent” and “chaotic” character in Season 2.
Season 1 ended with a cliffhanger that left us screaming. Loki finally lets himself open up to other people and decides to put his villain days behind him, helping Sylvie find the mysterious head of the TVA beyond the void at the end of time. Sylvie betrays him, though, shoving him through a time door so that she can finish her life’s work of killing He Who Remains. In doing so, she unleashes the multiverse, and leaves Loki stranded in an altered TVA where even Mobius doesn’t know who he is.
The cliffhanger was especially dramatic for a couple of reasons. First, the multiverse set up the events that are now unfolding in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Secondly, it left Loki in an extremely vulnerable place. When Season 1 ended, the cocky, rakish trickster we’d all come to love was almost unrecognizable, and the series made it clear that Loki’s character arc is far from over.
Tom Hiddleston Drops Hints Here and There
Hiddleston has been giving us tiny little tidbits of what we can expect in Season 2 for almost a year now. For instance, last August, in an interview with Empire Magazine, he mentioned Loki’s feelings after his separation from Sylvie, saying:
“I don’t think [Loki] will stop searching now. He feels that this is something he has done, a mistake that he has made, and he’s invested in setting it right.”
That’s a really interesting perspective to take, considering that from the audience’s point of view, the blame falls 100% on Sylvie, since she’s the one who pushes him through the door. (Though our Kaila Hale-Stern argued that Sylvie was right.) That Loki would not only refuse to give up on Sylvie, but actually feel like he’s the one to blame for their falling out, signals a huge leap from the self-absorbed narcissist from The Avengers and the Thor movies.
Of course, a lot of fans were really unhappy about the new direction that Loki’s character has taken, complaining that they miss the more chaotic and flamboyant personality he had in films like Thor: Ragnarok. They have a point: the Loki we see in the final moments of the Season 1 finale is heartbroken, desperate, and frightened. Season 1 ends with Loki at his absolute lowest, and it’s understandable that fans want to see his character get his spark back. It’d be like ending Thor: The Dark World with Loki crumpled up in the corner of his prison cell, barefoot and filthy. Total downer, right?
Luckily, Tom’s latest interview suggests that he and everyone else behind Loki haven’t forgotten that Loki is a chaos god!
A “Turbulent and “Passionate” Trickster God
In his most recent interview, Tom spoke with Total Film (via GamesRadar) about Loki’s future in the MCU. Along with a very interesting quote about him literally not knowing if he’s in Thor 4 or Doctor Strange 2 (remember that Marvel actors often aren’t told what project they’re filming scenes for), he gave some insight into Loki’s character arc in Season 2.
“What can I say? It’s very much continuing to excite and challenge me… At the end of season 1, the story isn’t over. I think that’s really clear. Loki’s almost more unstable, and as turbulent and passionate and chaotic as he’s ever been. And maybe some of that needs resolution. There’s stuff to unpack.”
Yes, there certainly is! In Episode 5 of Season 1, Loki thinks back on his villainy and offers a startlingly candid insight, acknowledging that he betrayed everyone who ever loved him and stating that “That’s not who I am anymore.” But does simply stating that you’ve changed make it so? Will Loki backslide in Season 2, or will he stay firm in his commitment to do better? It’s the presence of Mobius, Sylvie, and his alternate selves that inspired him to become a hero in Season 1, but without them around, he’s going to have a hell of a time. Fans will be gratified to see some of that chaos come back, though.
(image: Marvel)
