J. Shruti
Loki is, ultimately, a cog in the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU). This is a serious imposition because, amongst other additions of Phase Five, which suffer from filler-like quality, Loki gave us an original, jargon-riddled, kooky invention entailing chronicle.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is magisterially time-slipping to protect the Time Variance Authority (TVA) and prevent the implosion of the temporal loom that holds the sacred timeline together. He ventures into the past multiple times.
The series had ambition and a brilliant cast that blathered off the indulgence of its concepts with such conviction and emotional heft that you could argue that it transcended the momentous limitations of the studio it is a part of.
In the follow up, Loki succumbed to the demands of the franchise, which, with its inter-connected-ness, has effectively whisked the charm out of the stakes of individual narratives.
That Loki trying to save the world is a character inconsistency, then make peace with the fact that this series only superficially acknowledges the conflicting portrayal. It mostly shows him as a good-at-heart chap, and his mischief is buried under the serious tone of this season.