Our deities of discord have avoided certain doom, but it’s out of the frying pan and into the torturous time-loop cells for them. An emotional connection between our two Variants has sparked a nexus event like none other. The TVA has an enormous mess to clean up – especially if they want to keep their biggest secrets under wraps…
Armaan Babu: Mikey Zee! Thank you for joining me for this week’s column. I’m feeling especially grateful for someone to bounce words off of this after Mobius drove home the importance of good friendships. How have you been enjoying this series so far – and has this particular episode changed your feelings for the series as a whole in any way?
Mikey Zee: I’ve really been enjoying the series! It’s been a total breath of fresh air and a surprise, since I came into it with absolutely no expectations.
Have you ever heard of the essay structure where you lead with your second-strongest idea, follow with your weakest, then close out with your strongest? That’s how I feel about Loki; after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier left me so cold I never finished it, this show has come out of nowhere to hit on every possible point that I love. Time shenanigans, multiverse machinations, eldritch office bureaucracy, and emotional turmoil. And I feel like this episode fused all those elements together in a beautiful forty-three minute package.
Armaan: I’m glad you enjoyed it, because this episode felt a little bit like a step back for me on a few fronts – though I enjoyed it as well. There’s still a lot to discuss, so let’s dive right in!
Sitting by Your Self at the End of the World
Armaan: One of the bigger disappointments for me came early into the episode. At the end of Episode 2, Sylvie set off a number of time reset bombs across the Sacred Timeline, introducing a number of nexus events in what I assumed was the new start of a Multiverse.
It appears that that was nothing but a distraction to help Sylvie try to get to the Timekeepers last episode. We see that the TVA’s time line monitor shows us that whatever nexus events Sylvie set off were all fixed offscreen. This robs a lot of the impact of episode 2’s big ending for me, even if it does double down show’s focus on what makes a Loki – even when that Loki is a different person entirely.
Mikey: Is it bad to admit that I’d completely forgotten about that until seeing people talk about it after the episode ended? Maybe it’s just because my brain had already assumed it was a red herring, but… something about it seemed like an intentional misdirect. And in a way, that makes sense to me. She is a Goddess of Mischief after all.
Armaan: There that, though I do feel like I’ve been tricked by the show more than I feel tricked by Sylvie. Speaking of whom, we also get a little bit of Sylvie’s backstory. We learn that she was was born, like you said, the Goddess of Mischief, and that was just not very Sacred Timeline of her. It’s a mistake the TVA attempted to rectify, and shows us that Sylvie’s been on the run from them for all of her life.
The story of a Goddess on the run from time tyrants, hiding out in apocalypses all her life gets me right in the sci-fi heart, it has got to be one of the coolest origin stories in superhero history. However, showing that Sylvie was born female feels a little bit like Marvel’s walking back any kind of examination of gender identity that could have been explored. Fellow CXF contributor Nola Pfau talked about this in her recap of the episode at Vulture, but what did you think, Mikey?
Mikey: So, I definitely understand that perspective, and there’s a lot to be said about the episode using a lot of the language of trans identity but never actually committing. Personally, I find it every bit as valid as an examination of gender identity whether Sylvie is cis or trans. And, given what we learn about Sylvie this episode, I almost wonder if it isn’t less harmful for a piece of mass media to tackle those themes without making the character explicitly trans.
I don’t know that with Loki being a Disney+ show and with true empathetic trans representation still being a rarity in media, that Sylvie revealing she’s a character whose existence the universe and the Sacred Timeline fundamentally abhors would be something I would trust the Mouse with. That’s not to say that stories of trans people feeling like the universe is trying to squeeze them out aren’t valuable and vital, as that is the lived experience of so many of us. It’s just that I think we don’t get a version of that story on this program with the same level of pathos… unfortunately, if it was explicitly trans, in all likelihood it would be a Trans 101 story. The reading that can be made as a viewer—of a trans Sylvie that exists because the viewer sees themselves in Sylvie—is vital to me. But again, I want to state that I could easily see while viewing the episode that the counter-argument is just as vital.
Armaan: I find it hard to see past the missed opportunity, but I do appreciate your perspective. The thing that’s hitting me the most that you bring up is whether or not this is a story that Disney can be trusted to tell. I certainly think they should try – but you bring up some valid points, as well.
While we’re on the topic of Sylvie, though, one thing I have… unresolved feelings about is that the show seems to be pushing the idea of a Loki-Sylvie romance. I may not be sure how I feel about it but I’m certainly fascinated.
Tom Hiddleston and Sophia Di Martino are certainly selling that chemistry. I remain deeply pleased that the two of them got an entire episode to themselves just before this. Even with that, they’ve only had so much time together but they already have such a strong bond onscreen, and that is communicated fantastically in their performances. The comfort level they have in little touches with each other, Loki’s eyes when he talks about her, the way Sylvie looks at him, of all people, for comfort.
It’s an interesting kind of relationship on so many levels – this is the first time in the MCU that we’re seeing Loki being given a romantic interest, and the idea of such a self-centered God only being able to see outside himself by looking to another version of himself is a very complicated kind of interesting.
We all, on some level, seek out our mirrors when it comes to romance. Someone who, on the surface may be completely different but shares something vital when you look deeper inside. Whatever kind of love this is, despite the fact that Sylvie is, on some level, another Loki, Loki’s love for her isn’t a selfish love. He admires her, he cares for her, and there’s an openness to it that’s beautiful to watch.
Dammit, I may have talked myself into this. At the end of the day, the most interesting Loki stories of the past decade have been the ways in which he deals with himself – especially when versions of himself are externalized.
Mikey: Yes, exactly that! It’s something that’s honestly fascinating to me, and feels true to what little I know of Norse mythology as well. I was feeling that this show definitely pulls some thematic ideas from Gillen’s excellent run on Journey into Mystery before this episode, but this episode kind of confirms it. That Loki story was different in some ways though, and I’m glad that Sylvie is much more an agent in her story than the more passive and spectre-like Leah. One thing that I think Di Martino does maybe even better than Hiddleston is give Sylvie a sort of… haunted interiority. This is a woman who has been through a lot as I said earlier, and whose outlook on life is bleak, but who ultimately still craves and seeks out love, satisfaction, and validation.
I do think something about them being together is powerful… and I think that the Nexus Event that was close to occurring on Lamentis-1 had something to do with them both truly realizing their potential by working together and fulfilling that attraction. Which is why what happens later in the episode is so particularly devastating… but I think I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here.
Chrono-conspiracies and Cover-ups
Armaan: So aside from all the Loki stuff – which we will absolutely get back to – Mobius and the operations of the Time Variance Authority get big focus this episode, too. Owen Wilson shines this episode – he’s so delightfully earnest, it’s almost painful to see his heart get broken twice over. First by Loki’s betrayal (Loki’s been called a lot of things in his time but I don’t think anything’s as hurtful as being called a bad friend by Mobius), then by the organization he’s dedicated his entire life to.
Last episode we discovered that all TVA agents are Variants, recruited and brainwashed by the organization into believing they were created to serve instead of being forced into service. As someone higher up in office hierarchy, Ravonna Rennslayer is in the know, and she’s doing her damndest to keep that secret under wraps…but just like a young Sylvie, the truth slips free of her grasp.
Mikey: I think it’s such a brilliant indictment of bureaucracy, especially a fascistic one like the TVA, that for all her control it’s a little thing beyond her interest or gaze that unravels the whole thing. Letting the TVA Minutemen act with impunity while still trying to control them? With Sylvie still around? A bad idea, turns out.
Armaan: If there’s one thing to take away from all this, it’s that there are always just one too many variables to be able to control everything. I can’t imagine what it’s taken for the TVA to be able to get everything to adhere to one sacred timeline, but I do love that it’s the Lokis who are slipping through the cracks. They will not be boxed – though the TVA does have some rather inventive boxes. How much did you love the return of Jamie Alexander’s Sif to the MCU(note: you’ll notice I’m not allowing you the option of not loving it, that is intentional)?
Mikey: Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it at all and Jamie Alexander’s character was… kind of given a bum deal in the MCU in my opinion. So anything that reinforces the importance of that character to Loki’s life and allows him some character growth in the process, I’d call a win-win.
Armaan: Between her appearance here and on Agents of SHIELD, I think she’s actually got more screen time on TV than she has in the movies that introduced her.
Speaking of the movie that introduced her, one of the most criminally unexplored plot points to me is that when the MCU introduced Loki in Thor, it was as an ally. Thor, Sif, the Warriors Three and Loki were friends. They’d had adventures together. This prank of Loki cutting Sif’s hair – pulled straight out of classic Norse mythology – harkens back to that time. When the time loop finally broke Loki, he begged her to stop hitting him, but the most heartbreaking thing is his tone of voice speaking to her as that friend. As someone he’s familiar with, someone he knows he can ask to stop if only he could just, for a moment, admit he’s done wrong and show some genuine vulnerability.
That vulnerability was lost when Marvel went erased Loki’s character growth from The Dark World and Ragnarok, but he’s gotten that character growth back from a completely different angle thanks to Mobius and Sylvie – and I think he’s stronger for it.
Mikey: …speaking of character growth. The biggest, and saddest part of all the TVA manipulation for me is the very human cost. Seeing Hunter B-15 so clearly devastated by the mere idea that she was happy, seeing Sylvie’s clear regret at having to be her enemy? That is, as they say, chef’s kiss from a dramatic perspective, but it also demonstrates something that the MCU up until this point was lacking.
Whedon’s influence on the MCU as a whole is… unfortunate, and maybe even more unfortunate is the idea of basing this whole media empire on Mark Millar comics. Everything has seemed so snarky, mean-spirited, and eager to undercut any kind of serious character drama with a quip. But Loki seems to get that superhero comics are about more than just fighting, and that the main tension in the show can be the intrapersonal relationships without constantly undercutting itself with self-deprecating jokes. We can finally have two characters coming to understand each other, and even caring about each other enough to fight for the other’s freedom.
Armaan: You’re right, and it has taken far too long to get here. You know what’s also taken far too long to get to, at least as far as Sylvie is concerned? The chamber of the Timekeepers!
The Timekeepers Lose Their Heads
Armaan: Hunter B-15 isn’t the only one teaming up with an illegal Norse Variant after learning the truth about the TVA. Mobius and Loki reconcile and begin to team-up, only for Ravonna to drop in, and prune Mobius from existence for knowing too much. Even though I refuse to believe this death will stick, it was still a moment that hit me right in the gut.
Ravonna means business. As far as she’s concerned it’s time to put an end to things, once and for all, and that means taking Loki and Sylvie up to meet the Timekeepers themselves before their execution. With the help of B-15, though, our mischief-makers turn the tide, beat the TVA… and discover that the Timekeepers are only a mechanical front. Someone else is pulling the strings.
Mikey: Geez, talking about emotional tension… this whole sequence was emotional gut-punch after emotional gut-punch, huh? From Sylvie desperately asking in the elevator what her Nexus Event was, only for Renslayer to coyly answer “I don’t remember,” to the head of the Time Keeper falling off like nothing more than an amusement park attraction. Someone has dedicated a lot of effort to the elaborate farce of the TVA.
Which leads to Loki and Sylvie planning their next move, and maybe the most emotionally devastating part of the episode. It wasn’t enough to take Mobius from Loki when the jet-ski loving analyst had just told Loki he wasn’t alone after all, was it? Damn.
Armaan: Defeated in a scuffle but not taken out of the fight, Ravonna comes back for one last hit – seemingly erasing Loki from existence. I felt that punch – though sometimes the meta-aspects of a show really get in the way of buying into an emotionally heavy moment. I went through a bit of a ride. First the initial shock of sadness. Then skepticism at the thought that they would permanently erase Loki from his own show. And then, for a little while, a strange surge of hope that Marvel would take this opportunity to give us a new Loki in Sylvie, explore new stories in completely new ways.
This excitement was, of course, undone by that mid-credits scene…but given how much fun that scene promises for the show’s last two episodes, I wasn’t too disappointed.
Mikey: I know! I’ve been going into this show the same way I tried to go into WandaVision, spoiler-free and just letting myself be surprised. And surprised I was. I know I’ve seen some friends speculating about Kang and timelines, but I truly didn’t think we’d get ‘Oops! All Lokis’ like a Spider-Man crossover event. I have to say, I know I mentioned Journey into Mystery earlier, but I didn’t think we’d GENUINELY get Kid Loki in the show… not to mention a classic Loki played by Richard E. Grant, who’s just a supremely good actor. I can’t wait to see what the next episode has in store, myself. I’m an avowed lover of multi-dimensional and timeline nonsense. Secret Wars was one of my favorite events. And seeing worlds collide like this—it opens the possibility space of not just the show, but the entire MCU in such an interesting and creative way to me. Plus, I truly didn’t think this show would be getting this wet and wild. The show has just taken me by surprise to be an utter delight.
What about you, Armaan? I’m curious to hear your thoughts on where we go from here!
Armaan: I am excited. Getting to see Kid Loki on screen is a thrill – even if he was just there as a throwaway gag. This show, however, has shown a surprising amount of care given to characterizing Loki, so I’m actually looking forward to seeing some great character moments from this mischief of Lokis we’re going to be treated to this episode.
The cherry on that cake is that Sylvie has Ravonna cornered, and this close to the end, we might finally get some answers to the show’s biggest mysteries. Who is truly behind the TVA? What kind of branched timeline did Loki and Sylvie start? What’s with that hammer “Boastful Loki” (name taken from the credits) is holding – and what, at the end of it all, is Loki’s ultimate fate?
Wednesday can’t get here fast enough.
Timely Variant Afterthoughts
- The treatment of time here is starting to make less sense – if the TVA can see through ALL of time and space, then they should have seen Loki and Sylvie’s Nexus event as soon as they started looking, not as soon as it happened, since the TVA aren’t in the same present as those two. Also, adult Sylvie’s attacks should have begun happening more or less the moment young Sylvie escaped – if young Sylvie grew up across different time periods, then young Sylvie is still out there in the same times Adult Sylvie is. It’s a good thing this is so close to the end ‘cause this time-related plot hole can only grow from here.
- Ravonna’s serial number A-13 is a fun reference to her first comics appearance in Avengers #23.
- The apocalypse our Loki finds himself in looks awfully like the fragmented timeline where the Avengers fell in the original run of Young Avengers: a destroyed New York City and the moss-covered rubble of Avengers HQ (here presented as Avengers Tower). Maybe that’s a reach, but given that Kang was at the heart of that as well… maybe not too much of a reach.
