The situation for Loki and the TVA got serious for Season 2's second episode, “Breaking Brad,” as the titular god was on a renewed quest to find Sylvie after the events of Loki's season premiere.
*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Loki Season 2, Episode 2*
Recap
Things don't start off that way as Loki and Mobius find themselves crashing the London premiere of a new film, Zaniac, starring Brad Wolfe. It turns out, though, Wolfe is none other than Hunter X-5, who left the TVA alongside a large and well-armed force of hunters under the command of General Dox on an alleged hunt for Sylvie. His reaction to seeing Loki and Mobius makes it clear Wolfe knows more than he's letting on and, ultimately, after a failed attempt to escape, finds himself back at the TVA for interrogation.
As the team attempts to learn what Wolfe, Dox, and the other hunters have been up to, OB has been hard at work trying to find a way to modify the Temporal Loom so it can handle all the branching timelines. He runs into another problem, unfortunately, as the doors OB needs to get through can only be unlocked directly by He Who Remains, which is no longer an option, or with help from Miss Minutes. However, the AI has been absent from the TVA since the season began and, apparently, helping the still missing former TVA judge, Ravonna Renslayer.
Mobius and Loki are eventually able to break Wolfe thanks to mischievous means and learn where Sylvie is. It turns out she has made a new life for herself on one of the branches working at a McDonald's in 1982 Oklahoma, where Loki, Mobius, and Wolfe show up. The reunion is as tense as viewers would expect considering where the pair left things at the end of Season 1 especially when Wolfe reveals the imminent danger all four are now in.
Review
Compared to the season premiere, “Breaking Brad” definitely feels more like a mixed bag of results once the credits role.
The episode gave viewers a first proper look at Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie in the aftermath of Season 1. As mentioned earlier, she has built a new life for herself. Di Martino's performance continues to be on point, as does her chemistry with Tom Hiddleston. Owen Wilson even gets to flex his more dramatic muscles in one scene that shows Mobius may not be as content with his life at the TVA as he has been letting on.
Another big positive over the first episode is the majority of it is focused on Loki and Mobius as they work to get Wolfe to talk. It gives “Breaking Brad” a more coherent through line for the audience to follow compared to how the season premiere set up multiple subplots for the coming episodes. It does give moments to advance the most pressing subplots, those being the Temporal Loom's instability and the hunt for Renslayer, but even those manage to be loosely woven into each other in a believable way.
On the other hand, it does feel like the episode squeezes what should at least be two episodes worth of material into one. It is largely due to the ending which, despite being hinted at in the premiere, also feels like it comes out of nowhere and could have been built to a little more to heighten its impact.
As for what that impact is…
Ending Explained
Tragedy strikes the branching timeline as the suspicions about General Dox's plans are not only confirmed, but worse than anyone thought. Despite orders not to from the TVA's current leaders, Wolfe reveals Dox intends to trim the growing branches and maintain the Sacred Timeline as the TVA previously had for eons. It throws Sylvie right back into the action alongside Loki and Mobius as the three thwart Dox's plans, but not before multiple branches are destroyed.
While tragic, Dox may have inadvertently bought OB and the TVA more time to find a way into the Temporal Loom to implement OB's modifications. The wildly branching timeline was already causing problems for the TVA between power surges and even the occasional tremors that are only going to get worse. Dox's plan hasn't averted that outcome, but it has at least lightened the proverbial load for the time being.
Loki and Sylvie, though, end the episode on seemingly worse terms than they already were before their reunion. Sylvie has never hidden her disdain for the TVA, and after seeing the result of Dox's plan, is even less convinced that it can provide the kind of defense against other Kang variants that Loki believes it can. She doesn't seem completely beyond reach, though, as she appears to be contemplating her place in everything after going back to the branch she now calls home with He Who Remains' temp-pad in hand.
Should you stream Loki Episode 2?
Despite its issues, the positives outweigh the negatives by the time the credits role for “Breaking Brad.” It continues pushing the season's narrative in the right direction and throws Sylvie back into it in a way that maximizes the emotional impact for both her and Loki. That being said, it feels like the climax could have benefited from at least one more episode worth of build to make the impact of Dox's action hit harder.
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