Episodes 4 and 5 of Loki gave me exactly what I wanted to see and, frankly, what I've been expecting from this show since its announcement: a high-stakes caper of cosmic proportions, dozens of humorous versions of Loki, and mind-boggling time travel shenanigans. What probably will go underappreciated is the integrity of the character moments that keeps this show from feeling like little more than another grand Marvel adventure (not that I don't like those, too). But these two episodes were incredible to watch, and I'm sad to think that there's only one more episode left, even though it feels like there's too much ground to cover in one hour.
Here's my take on episodes 4 and 5:
Episode 4: The Nexus Event
It was interesting seeing a young version of Sylvie. The TVA arrives in Asgard to prune her as a child, which doesn't feel consistent with how they have operated thus far. Sylvie was just playing with toys at the time. Does that mean her mere existence is the problem that caused her Nexus Event (it seems to be the case)? Why would the TVA choose that exact moment to come after her? Normally the TVA would come after a variant when that person is in the act of veering away from the timeline and creating a branch. This makes me curious for a couple of reasons. How was that exact moment creating a detectable branch? Or had the TVA tried to apprehend her before, maybe even several times? Maybe they though getting her as a child would be easier (which suggests that changing the past does change the future, contrary to the principles established in Avengers: Endgame. Heck, if that were the case, the TVA absolutely should've tracked down baby Sylvia). If she's a variant, what exactly created her at such a young age? They didn't even tell us what year the TVA found her as a child, and I'm sure that was calculated.
Ravonna was the agent who let Sylvie escape back then, so she seems to have obvious motives for her actions now, but I'm not sold. More and more, she seems to know more than she's letting on. Her behavior around (or rather, manipulation of) Mobius indicates to me that she's hiding what's really going on with the Time Keepers' pursuit of the Lokis. Why would she be so adamant not to let Mobius interview Sylvie? I even wonder if she had something to do with Ravonna's mysterious death (as alluded to when Mobius watched that video clip).
Research of her character revealed that she works directly for Kang the Conqueror in the comics. If Kang is, indeed, the "big bad" coming to the MCU (maybe even at the end of this show?), it would make sense that Ravonna has her own agenda apart from her TVA duties. If she isn't running things herself (which is possible at this point), she's certainly working for whoever is in charge.
That bonkers final scene of Episode 4 further solidifies those possibilities to me. The Time Keepers' room alone felt like something out of the old Legends of the Hidden Temple show; it felt less like a throne room and more like a room rigged with traps. But there's no way that Ravonna was surprised about the phony robots. Either the Time Keepers are somewhere else (perhaps on that random asteroid in space, as we saw in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2?), or they don't exist, and someone just invented them in a story to establish control.
Mobius is back in action this episode, and he was sorely missed. He saves the Lokis from annihilation on Lamentis, and he and Loki's exchange was nothing short of brilliant. Though the story writing hasn't fully convinced me that these two characters were really that close and trusting of each other to have such strong feelings of betrayal and hurt (to me, they really haven't spent enough time together to justify that), the acting and dialogue more than make up for that shortcoming. These two are so enjoyable to watch together.
It was also incredibly enjoyable to watch Lady Sif make an appearance again! I loved when she appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (back in Season 1, I think), but she's been MIA in the MCU movies since Thor: The Dark World (other than one or two brief mentions). I'm glad they acknowledged the character's existence again. I get it; Jaimie Alexander had other priorities at the time (I loved the show Blindspot), and if all we get now are cameos, I'll take them.
Speaking of acting, Tom Hiddleston has been brilliant in the romantic scenes with Sylvie. He's coy and comes across like an awkward teenage boy stumbling over his words. He reminded me of Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man 2 (a criminally overcriticized movie) when he was so giddy around Gwen. Whether he's wooing Sylvie or lecturing Mobius, Hiddleston's range is undeniable.
I am glad we finally got a post-credit scene. We were due since both WandaVision and Falcon and Winter Soldier both had one or two.
Notes:
-I've never watched Doctor Who, nor do I intend to, but I have heard numerous comparisons made with that show and Loki. I sure hope those who have watched Doctor Who don't let that diminish their appreciation for this show (as some chatter I've seen suggests might be the case).
-Of all the episodes to miss and watch back-to-back with the next episode (instead of waiting the usual week), this seems like the best one to come back to. Finding out that "pruning" someone means something different than what we maybe were led to believe was a nice touch, but I would've been a little upset for a week while waiting to see what happens next.
Episode 5: Journey Into Mystery
And so we forge on into the bizarro world of the timeline called The Void. This penultimate episode was, by far, the most creative of the season. We got to see fun, imaginative versions of many characters, including the several Lokis - we absolutely need more backstory on the alligator Loki (other than eating a cat) - and Alioth was a fun evil threat of sorts. All the pieces were placed for a fantastic finale, though not without clunkiness. More on that later.
Seriously, there was some crazy stuff in this episode: a mini Thor trapped in a bottle buried in the ground as he tries to reach some version of Mjolnir, a Loki fort that might've been created by middle-school boys, a helicopter with Thanos' name on it....this level of creativity was long overdue.
Then there were the multiple Lokis swapping war stories and even more Lokis attacking the fort. What other character but Loki would fight other versions of himself? Can you imagine several versions of Captain America or Thor fighting themselves instead of, say, taking on Thanos? The latter would be awesome. With Lokis, it's comedy at its finest. Watching Lokis betray each other one after another was priceless. In classic Disney/Marvel/Star Wars fashion, the alligator even ate off one Loki's right hand (Captain Hook, anyone?)! For an episode with such heavy plot points, the writers sure found organic ways to keep things balanced with comedy. They even found time for an intimate moment with 2012 Loki and Sylvie as they warm up under a shared blanket before setting out to enchant the giant cloud creature Alioth.
It's at this point when the writing really stumbles. The newer Loki variants who decided to follow 2012 Loki and Sylvie into battle against Alioth all of a sudden have a change of heart at the last second and decide they're better off stuck in The Void. Not only that, but Sylvie gives her time portal device to Mobius for no apparent reason. What, does she think that will have no use now? And to top it off, the new Lokis don't even want to leave The Void with Mobius, either. Apparently these versions are content with living out a meaningless life under constant threat of extermination. Okay, sure, one of the new Lokis decides to help by conjuring distractions to lure away Alioth as briefly as he can, but still, a lot of that felt contrived, as if the writers had no other way to get the characters where they need to be.
The final showdown was cinematically appealing. The believability of Alioth getting tricked on such a large scale is no easy feat, but for the most part, it worked. The intertwining of clouds to physically demonstrate the enchantment was a nice touch.
More Religious connections
I've mentioned a couple of times that Loki has treaded on religious themes during these five episodes, but those themes were far more prevalent in this week's episode than the others so far.
The Void is basically the MCU's version of Purgatory, a place outside of time that mostly serves as an in-between location between the timeline and the points in time and space that are not yet written, which the Time Keepers are so desperately guarding. Purgatory is lightly hinted at in the Bible, but I think it's been misconstrued over time. Some believe it's a place where souls of elect Christians go for final purification before entering Heaven, but I believe that Jesus forgave all sins, past, present, and future. Believing in Him and asking for forgiveness cleanses you of those sins, which eliminates the need for a place like that.
The connection is undeniable. Here in Loki, the people who end up in The Void (Purgatory) are the ones who needed to be pruned; that is, the pruned variants are removed because they would cause irreparable damage (i.e. sin) to the timeline. Do I think Marvel is making any statements about religion? Of course not, but Marvel is good about walking that fine line without taking too strong a stance that would alienate some of their audience.
Theory time
So who exactly is pulling all the strings for the TVA? As I previously mentioned, the story is ripe for setting up Kang the Conqueror. I could see this show leading into the Ant-Man and the Quantum Realm movie much like WandaVision leads into Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. We were burned by coming up with outlandish theories about Mephisto when WandaVision was new, but I feel like Kang is far more likely since we (for better or worse) already know this character is coming.
What I'm hoping is not happening, but I think could very well be happening, is an ending that serves merely as a promo for Marvel's next show, What If? I mean, if any show made sense to use as a promo for another show about alternate realities/variants of characters we already know, it's Loki. Hopefully that's just an added bonus.
What I'm most interested to see during next week's finale is what happens to 2012 Loki and his variants. Will dozens of versions of him be let loose on the timeline? Can Loki end up being a key bad guy moving forward? Heck, is there some version of Loki that's been setting everything up for him to take over the timeline? Maybe Loki has been trying to get the TVA's attention throughout the history of the timestream on purpose. Think about it. It seems too coincidental that so many of these Lokis have ended up in The Void. Then again, maybe that's just what all Lokis are destined for, right?