‘Loki’ Season 1 Recap

Catch up with where we left the trickster-god-turned-hero before you dig into the second season of the Disney+ series.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in Marvel Studios' 'Loki,' exclusively on Disney+.

Fans of Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, the rest of the ‘Loki’ gang (and multiverses in general), get ready to be happy. Because the Marvel Disney+ series about the character is back in just a few days’ time.

Yet Season 1 screened back in 2021, so what if you’ve forgotten some of the pertinent details and need a refresher? Never fear, we are here to help. Like the Time Variance Agency, we will make sure you are on the right track (and we won’t prune you out of existence, either).

‘Loki’ Season 1 Explained

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) in Marvel Studios' 'Loki' exclusively on Disney+.

Created and run by Michael Waldron (who would end up spending more time in parallel dimensions when he was hired to re-write Marvel movie sequel ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’, ‘Loki’ picks up the story of Tom Hiddleston’s title character back at a time when he was very much more a villain than the heroic character he has become in the likes of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’.

You’ll recall that Loki spotted a chance to escape custody at the end of ‘The Avengers’ when heroes such as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) travel back in time looking for the Tesseract. Instead of them getting it then, Loki grabs it and uses it to transport himself away.

But he is picked up by agents of the Time Variance Authority, where he has been deemed a dangerous “variant”, a chaotic version of himself that disrupts the timeline that the authority –– or so it claims –– is working to protect. A bureaucratic, retro-futuristic organization that exists outside of time and space, it gives Loki a choice: face being erased from existence due to being a or help fix the timeline and stop a greater threat.

Loki ends up in his own crime thriller, traveling through time hunting a female version of himself named Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino).

Who is Sylvie in 'Loki'?

Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) in Marvel Studios' 'Loki,' exclusively on Disney+.

Sylvie, as mentioned, is a female Loki Variant. Targeted for “pruning” (AKA removing from the timeline), she’s been fighting back across time and space, looking to discover the truth behind the TVA.

She’s causing chaos to attract the organization’s attention and ends up crossing paths with our Loki.

The two actually start to fall for each other, realizing their innate connection. But after figuring they could hide in apocalypses (as Sylvie has been doing), their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when they are brought before He Who Remains (but more on him later) and ends up killing him, shoving Loki into a portal.

She will be back for Season 2, so we’ll find out what happens between the two Lokis. Let’s be honest: “it’s complicated” barely begins to encompass this one.

What’s behind the TVA?

Miss Minutes (voiced by Tara Strong) in Marvel Studios' 'Loki,' exclusively on Disney+.

One of the first faces that any arriving prisoner sees is Miss Minutes, an animated clock who cheerily greets people. Voiced by Tara Strong, this mascot provides information –– but she’s also got a hidden agenda.

The authority is overseen by the “Timekeepers”, mysterious creatures represented by statues in a hidden chamber that some at the TVA see as godlike. As it turns out, that’s a giant lie crafted by He Who Remains (again, more later).

The Timekeepers are androids created to control the TVA and its employees, who, it is revealed, were not specially created to work there, but were in fact all variants themselves, with their memories wiped.

What other characters are in ‘Loki’?

Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) in Marvel Studios' 'Loki,' exclusively on Disney+.

Other memorable characters include…

Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson): An agent of the TVA who specializes in the investigations of particularly dangerous time criminals. He befriends Loki, and the two work the Sylvie case. But once he learns about his variant nature, he helps Loki and Sylvie battle his former employers.

Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw): A former TVA Hunter known as A-23, who rose from the ranks to become a respected judge; she oversees the Loki variant investigation. An ambitious, fervent believer in the TVA’s mission, she’s forced to face hard truths about the organization. And when they are revealed, she vanishes into a portal in search of free will.

Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku): A high ranking Hunter of the TVA determined to stop the variant that has been killing Minutemen troops. She’s among those who believe the Timekeepers are gods.

Hunter C-20 (Sasha Lane): A TVA Hunter kidnapped and enchanted by Sylvie to reveal the location of the Timekeepers.

Judge Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) in Marvel Studios' 'Loki' exclusively on Disney+.

Who are the other Loki Variants?

Boastful Loki (DeObia Oparei), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), Alligator Loki and Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant) in Marvel Studios' 'Loki,' exclusively on Disney+.

(L to R) Boastful Loki (DeObia Oparei), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), Alligator Loki and Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant) in Marvel Studios' 'Loki,' exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

At one point, Loki is “pruned” and banished to an apocalyptic, ruined New York, and meets a host of other variants of himself, including Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant) who wears a comic-accurate costume and has more extensive illusionary powers than Hiddleston’s version.

There are various others, including Kid Loki (Jack Veal), Boastful Loki (DeObia Oparei) and, of course, Alligator Loki (himself), who we can all agree is the best Loki.

Who is He Who Remains?

He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) in Marvel Studios' 'Loki,' exclusively on Disney+.

In the final episode, we meet the true architect of the TVA and the chaotic state of the Multiverse into which Loki has plunged.

He Who Remains (played by Jonathan Majors), is a variant of a comic book character called Kang the Conqueror.

He’s manipulating the timeline for his own ends and has been in combat with his “brothers” the various other versions of Kang.

Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror in Marvel Studios' 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.'

Sylvie kills him, pushing the multiverse of timelines into even more madness, but that’s not the last we see of the character.

Kang, one of the other variants (also played by Majors), is the villain in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania', and versions of him are being set up as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Big Bad for its next couple of phases.

That is being complicated for Marvel by the allegations surrounding Majors’ personal life, but he is back for Season 2, playing Victor Timely, yet another Kang variant. He has been somewhat downplayed in the promos for the new season, but we’ll see how much he appears in the show itself.

Is there a trailer for ‘Loki’ Season 2?

Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Ke Huy Quan as O.B. and Owen Wilson as Mobius in Marvel Studios' 'Loki,' Season 2, exclusively on Disney+.

You can see the trailer for ‘Loki’ Season 2 below.

When does ‘Loki’ Season 2 come out?

Ke Huy Quan as O.B., Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and Owen Wilson as Mobius in Marvel Studios' 'Loki,' Season 2, exclusively on Disney+.

(L to R) Ke Huy Quan as O.B., Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and Owen Wilson as Mobius in Marvel Studios' 'Loki,' Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Gareth Gatrell. © 2023 MARVEL.

‘Loki’ will launch with its first episode (of a planned six) on October 6th. Will the producers announce a third season at the end of the second? Only time will tell…