I love the first season of the Loki series. That’s why I’m hyped for season two. The first episode only increased my excitement. The second episode however, somewhat disappointed me.
I do love however, media that shows potential and doesn’t quite deliver on it. It makes me think about what I would change. And that’s what I did here too. I still enjoyed the Breaking Brad – the second episode of Loki Season 2, but here are some changes I thought about, that maybe would improve it.
1. Scene: Confusion with purpose
The episode should start from moviestar Brad’s perspective. Like in the actual show, he has his glamourous entrance, some of the interviewers ask him question about his movie, where we can establish that it is a horror movie. Suddenly, he spots Loki’s face in the crowd. He gets nervous but continues with his entrance. He spots more and more Loki faces in the crowd and grows anxious. Finally, he escapes the theatre into a dark alleyway. There it is a huge Loki shadow that scares him, into letting go of his timepad and running away. The chase is shorter, soon he gets into a busier crowd – the gang from the real show. Brad gets annoyed, but is more confident in taking them on, rather than Loki. Similarly to the show, he tries to strike one and finds out they are only illusions cast by Loki. Loki himself doesn’t show up however, it’s just the gang now laughing at Brad, while he tries to run past them. Finally, Loki catches up with him and the scene plays out like in the actual episode, with the shadow play and everything. Mobius shows up with the timepad in hand, Brad hat let go before, and like in the actual episode, they go to the TVA.
My second grievance is about their tinkering with the tampered with timepad. Sure, it is meant to establish everything that’s going on with Ouroboros and that’s fine. But the fact that they find out that the tampering is not meant to make it untraceable is in my opinion not enough for them to start the interrogation. So, instead I would propose the following scene:
2. Scene: More Clarity
Casey just told them, that it would take him a while to find out what exactly the modifications are for. Mobius wants to wait but Loki is impatient.
Loki: “What I saw in the future could happen any moment. Everything will be destroyed. We don’t have the time.”
Mobius: “I get that. What I don’t get is, what Sylvie has to do with everything.”
Loki (impatiently): “She was there! I don’t know why. That’s why we need to find her. That’s why we need to talk to Brad now.
Mobius (sighs): “Alright, alright.”
They get up and start walking to the cell. On their way:
Mobius: “Remember, Brad is a tough nut to crack. He will get under our skins. When he does, take deep breaths and stick to what we discussed earlier.”
Hunter B-15 after they arrived at his cell: “Remember, we want to know where Sylvie is, what his timepad does, and what Dock’s plan is.”
They enter.
I think with this we established a bit better why Loki wants to find Sylvie, and why they have a time limit. We also give a hint that they talked about a strategy to interrogate Brad before they went to capture him, and lastly, we established their goal for the interrogation, I think, a bit clearer than in the real episode.
Next, and that is really the core of this whole exercise is the interrogation scene. Unfortunately, it had nothing of the witty and well thought out exchanges the interrogations of the first season showed us. I probably also can’t write that great of a dialogue, but here’s my attempt to make it a bit more of an intriguing scene and, to make it more sense.
3. Scene: Interrogation
Hunter B-15, Loki and Mobius in Brads cell. They stand that far away from each other, that Brad has to turn around everytime he talks to another one of them.
B15: “We ask questions, you answer. It’s an easy game. What were you doing on the sacred timeline?”
Brad (scoffs): “Living my life.”
B-15: “So, we are to believe you just abandoned Dock’s mission? You just abandoned your post?”
Brad (laughs): “Abandoned my post? Weren’t you the one telling us, that none of this is real and we have lives on the sacred timeline, where the TVA kidnapped us from? Why have you abandoned your life?”
B-15: “Look at you, wearing that (points to his prison outfit), not long ago you’ve been wearing this uniform (points to her uniform). This stands for something. We have the duty, to …”
Brad (laughing sarcastically): “Duty, uniforms and posts. They don’t matter. Don’t you get it. It all doesn’t matter. Their just, costumes, props to hide yourself from your real life.”
B-15: takes a deep breath.
Mobius: “Alright, alright. A movie star. I get it. I do. Who wouldn’t want that. So, you follow Docks on her mission, see what life you could have had and chose the glamour over this boring old job.”
Brad (turning on his chair): “Yes! Thank you. You get it. (Looking to Loki) He gets it.
Mobius: “And you fixed your timepad, so no one could track you down. Pretty smart.”
Brad: “That’s exactly right. Mobius here is a clever one, isn’t he. You’re a clever one. I dipped their stupid mission, whatever it was they wanted to do, to enjoy my true life. I did nothing wrong. Can I go now?”
Mobius: “Except, we could track you down. And the modification didn’t hinder us at that. Which makes me wonder; What are they doing?”
Brad (hesitating, then staring intently at Mobius): “I know why you get me Mobius. You would have done the same thing, wouldn’t you? Yes, yes you would. Not a movie star life, no. You’re not the type. But if you saw a Jet Ski waiting there on the sacred timeline for you, ooh, you would hop on it in an instance, wouldn’t you?”
Mobius (chuckling): “I don’t see why this is about a Jet Ski now.”
Brad: “Doesn’t that excite you? Finally, something is about a Jet Ski. Finally, it’s about something that matters.”
Mobius (irritated, taking a deep breath): “The Jet Ski doesn’t matter.”
Brad: “Oh we both know; the Jet Ski is the only thing that matters.
Mobius (chuckles in irritation): “That’s silly.”
Brad: “Deep within you, you know, all this (points around them), the TVA, it’s a lie. It’s nothing. And you don’t matter here. Just another gear in a clockwork you don’t understand and never will. So insignificant. But down there, sitting on that Jet Ski, riding that sacred timeline, that’s all that matters.
Mobius (screaming and attacking Brad): “The Jet Ski doesn’t matter!”
Loki rushes in and keeps Mobius from hitting Brad.
Brad: “Oh, you, don’t play the hero.”
Continuing with his monologue about Loki being a villain, like in the real show. Loki is then approaching Brad threatingly like in the real episode as well.
Hunter B-15 then rushes in: “That’s enough. Out with you. Both of you.”
They leave the cell and B-15 orders them to sit down and calm down.
They then get to have their fun scene with the lime cakes, where they talk about Mobius’ Jet Ski.
I don’t know exactly where they are going with Mobius in this season, but based on their conversation, it seems to me that Mobius is scared of being tempted to live his true life. I just think, they missed that opportunity to have a silly discussion or argument about a Jet Ski, where the Jet Ski obviously stands symbolically for Mobius’ fear.
4. Scene: Villainous Loki?
After they calmed themselves down, Loki and Mobius return to Brad. They do their rouse with the torture machine until Mobius leaves the cell.
Loki then threateningly walks towards Brad.
Loki: “What was that you said? I’m a villain, right? I do bad things, yes? Do you even know, what that means? Let me show you.”
He looks down on Brad and lays a hand on his shoulder.
Brad looks up, scared, but manages to hold it together.
Brad (not very convincingly): “Your magic doesn’t work here, you can’t do nothing to me.”
Loki smiles, without taking his hand away from Brads shoulder: “Just kidding. But I could be. (He shows Brad the missing piece of the machine.) See, I’m a villain alright. But I’ve learned a thing or two about me. And my villainess comes from an egotistical place. Sure, I hurt Hunter B-15 or Mobius or … my mother, because I pursue what I want. I’m not interested in greater schemes. Just like you. I don’t care for this (points to his surroundings). It doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me, is Sylvie. Maybe Mobius doesn’t want his Jet Ski, but I want my Sylvie. So, here is my deal: Tell me where she is. That’s all I want to know, everything else, Docks, your weird timepad, doesn’t interest me in the slightest. Bring me to Sylvie, and together we escape from Mobius and the TVA and go back to what we want. A simple life of mischief and glory. How does that sound?”
Brad (considering his options): “I’m not going with you to her.”
Loki (walking towards the torture machine): “My patience is running out.”
Brad: “I’ll tell you where she is. Cut a deal with Mobius to set me free and I tell you where she is.”
Loki (starting the torture device): “The time of negotiations is over.”
Brad: “Alright, alright, I tell you where she is. Just leave that thing alone.”
The scene with Sylvie, is not overwhelmingly well written, but it is okay, or at least, I have no idea for better alternatives at the moment. One thing that grinds my gears is that neither Loki nor Mobius realize the reason for Brads desire to escape this timeline. But I think the thing I would change there, is the one line said in the first episode “All that for Sylvie, I don’t buy it”, when Docks is raiding the weapon stashes of the TVA. I think this line made it way to easy for the viewers to put together, what Docks is trying to do.
Anyways, there is one last scene I would change.
Scene 4: Villainous Lokis
The fight at the docks, or wherever it is, is somewhat underwhelming. The location is meh, the action is meh and the whole sequence isn’t as intense as it should be. I think the location could be another apocalypse, because that’s how Dock’s loyalist could hid from the TVA, it would reverse the situation, Sylvie relaxing at a normal time, while part of the TVA now has to hide in difficult situations, and lastly it would visualize the thousand apocalypses happening through Dock’s bombing. The action should be Loki and Sylvie unleashing their full powers and ruthlessness, casting them as the villains, Brad and Docks made them out to be, at least to Brad and Docks.
There you have it. I tried to work with what is already there and make a few changes to the second episode of Loki season 2 to improve on it. I tried to make it clearer and more intriguing in the dialogue as well as more exciting. We now have an episode where the villainess of Loki is a running gag and the viewer is made questioning, if Loki learned from the last season. We brought back Mobius’ Jet Ski and tied a symbol to it and started Mobius’ journey. Did I succeed? What do you think?