Main cast: Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Owen Wilson (Mobius), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Ravonna Renslayer), Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie), and Wunmi Mosaku (Hunter B-15)
Director: Kate Herron
Wow, so they do remember that Sif exists! Well, sort of.
You know, in my review of the previous episode, I was joking that Loki would fall in love with his female self, but that is exactly what happens here, and oh my good, while the conclusion to that arc where this episode is concerned is sort of telegraphed when one knows their tropes, it’s a pretty funny and in a way sort of appropriate kind of development.
The Nexus Event refers to the catastrophic event that necessitates the TVA in capturing various variants and terminating them from existence. This episode, however, is all about poor fools in botched relationships. Mobius and Ravonna clearly have feelings for one another that they will not acknowledge, while there is of course Loki and Sylvie making eyes at one another. Relationships in the MCU tend to be shallow, but when the script is on point, some feels can be had along with some chuckles, and the script to this episode is definitely on point.
Yes, Loki and Sylvie are rescued, not that there is any doubt because there are still some episodes to go before this series ends. The fallout is pretty impressive, though, as the secret about the TVA as revealed by Sylvie to Loki start to take root in the minds of several key TVA officers—Mobius and B-15—and it may seem likely that the nexus event of both the Loki variants could very well be the destruction of the TVA itself. Or, is it, because, there is a twist at the end of this episode, as well as another twist during the middle of the credits, to make me wonder whether the next two episodes will be a rushed job like WandaVision was in its late season run.
Yes, I really like this episode. I know some folks feel that this episode emasculates Loki to elevate Sylvie, but come on. It makes sense for a weapon to be thrown at Sylvie instead of Loki, as she has clearly always been the more physical fighter of the two; she will make the best use of a weapon from an outsider’s point of view. Why shouldn’t Sylvie get an origins segment here? We all know Loki’s story, and it makes sense to tell a bit more of Sylvie’s back story as her past is intrinsically intertwined with Ravonna’s and hence that of the TVA itself.
My only complaint here is how Loki seems to have forgotten that he can do magic altogether. Why is he swinging his arms and legs like that? Shoot some fireballs or something! I know, budget may be an issue, as they spent a lot of money on the CGI scenery and heaven knows, Disney isn’t exactly drowning in money these days. I mean, there’s probably a reason why the TVA officers are all humans—all the better to save money on CGI and make-up that would be needed should there be non-humans among the staff, I’d imagine. Still, it can be exasperating to see Loki having a brain wipe where his abilities are concerned.
This is well put-together episode with lots of fun and a touch of feels. Loki is just so cute when he’s going all goo-goo eyes over a lady version of himself, and seriously, I don’t know how or when Owen Wilson became this hot to look at. When’s the next episode again? I find myself very impatient to see what will happen next.
