It follows an alternate version of the character who cannot return to his own timeline and is now working with the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA) to hunt down a fugitive variant of himself.
Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki from the film series, with Sophia Di Martino, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Eugene Cordero, Sasha Lane, Tara Strong, and Owen Wilson also starring.
At superstore Roxxcart's hurricane shelter, Loki, Mobius, and TVA agents are ambushed by the Variant, who uses enchantment to possess the bodies of Hunter B-15 and other locals.
[3] Herron and head writer Michael Waldron executive produce alongside Hiddleston and Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Stephen Broussard.
[7] Revealing Sophia Di Martino as the Variant in the episode was Waldron's way to continue "building the thrill ride" of the series since her introduction would "reshuffle the deck of the show" moving forward.
[8] An early outline for the episode had proposed showing more of what the Variant did on the timeline so the TVA would search for her, but Marvel wanted the focus to remain on Loki.
[10][11][12]: 49:49–50:29 Also appearing are Neil Ellice as Hunter D-90, comedian Kate Berlant as the Ren Faire Woman, and several actors playing bystanders who are controlled by the Variant: Lucius Baston as a male shopper, Austin Freeman as Randy, and Hawk Walts as a country hoss.
For example, she chose to make the Renaissance fair "muddy" opposed to the "shiny, bubblegum version" of the 1980s, and the Roxxcart store in 2050 a reminder of the horrors of apocalypses, such as global warming.
[8] Herron felt Roxxcart, which is set in 2050, was a fun way to continue the series' dark sense of humor by showing extremely expensive products as a result of inflation.
[20] Ryan Parker of The Hollywood Reporter felt Loki seeing the Variant transferring her powers among people by touching them was a direct homage to the film Fallen (1998), which features a similar scene and sequence.
The set location already had the fluorescent fixtures, with Arkapaw replacing the bulbs with RGB ones that gave her greater control of their functions, such as turning them on and off or switching their color.
[23] Visual effects for the episode were created by Crafty Apes, Method Studios, Cantina Creative, Luma Pictures, Rodeo FX, FuseFX, and Rise.
[29] Nielsen Media Research, who measure the number of minutes watched by United States audiences on television sets, listed Loki as the most-watched original streaming series for the week of June 14 to 20, 2021.
The site's critical consensus reads, "Following an exposition-heavy premiere it's a little surprising how much table-setting "The Variant" has to do, but one swift twist quickly thrusts the story into hyperdrive.
[5] Giving the episode a 7 out of 10, Siddhant Adlakha from IGN said the series' comedy moments continued to be "on point", while "its dramatic conceit still feels half-baked".
Adlakha added that this scene "leans into self-aware horror, but it also establishes how minuscule Loki's scheme to dethrone the Time Keepers actually is, compared to the Variant's plan".
Club, Caroline Siede believed it was "kind of funny" that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier had been described as a "buddy cop show" when that description was more fitting for Loki since Hiddleston and Wilson had a "much more interesting dynamic".
The lengthy dialogue scenes, particularly Loki and Mobius' that started about jet skis and ended about the nature of existence, were a highlight since it made all of the characters "feel more lived-in".
[32] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Lauren Morgan said, "The second episode continues to be heavy on exposition, which is a little concerning since there are only six of them, but the surprise at the end of this one promises to kick the plot into high gear.