Episode Grade: (7.7/10)
Loki and co. are stretched thin as they fight to put out many fires at once. Sylvie assists Loki in apprehending Dox but refuses to join the TVA’s ranks.
Plot (39/50)
This was a fairly straightforward episode that centered around finding Sylvie but ended up involving all other relevant characters in some capacity. The focus on Sylvie allowed Dox to execute her plan and highlighted just how unprepared Loki and the new-look TVA is in the face of impending challenges. Sylvie refusing to rejoin the fold suggests that her relationship with Loki is more broken that initially thought.
Working Brad
Loki and Mobius head to 1977 London investigate a lead. There, they find X-5 masquerading as Brad, an actor. Brad tries his best to evade capture, but he’s no match for Loki’s powers. Loki believes that Brad found Sylvie before he deserted the minutemen. Getting that information out of Brad proves difficult, as he’s able to rile up both Loki and Mobius in their first interrogation session.
Meanwhile, Casey is given Brad’s TemPad to identify what sort of modifications he’s made to it after O.B. makes it clear that his priority is the Temporal Loom. Casey had earlier reported that Miss Minutes is working with Ravonna, which prompted Loki to tell the team about Ravonna and He Who Remains’ partnership. With all the cards on the table, it becomes clear that the TVA in its current state is in no condition to adequately address all its threats. Nonetheless, finding Sylvie remains Loki’s priority.
A brainstorm session yields a new plan, one that involves Loki calling on his villainous side. He and Mobius bring a torture device in, but Brad still doesn’t buy it. Loki then locks Mobius out to put their plan in motion. Loki uses the device on Brad without hurting him but long enough to convince him that the threat is real. Brad finally coughs up Sylvie’s location.
Dox Strikes
At this point, O.B. had brought his completed device to the control room of the Temporal Loom for installation. However, when he tries to open the blast doors, he’s locked out. B-15 brings Casey to O.B. for support, but it’s no use. They need the Temporal Aura of He Who Remains or an override from Miss Minutes to open the blast doors. Unfortunately, they have neither.
At least they’ve found Sylvie. Brad takes Loki and Mobius to 1982 Oklahoma where they find Sylvie working at a McDonald’s. Loki probes her about why she was in the TVA in the future, but she has no idea. Then, when Brad starts freaking out, Sylvie enchants him to discover that Dox is planning on pruning all the branches. They raid her base of operations but are unable to stop her from pruning a large percentage of branches.
Dox and her crew are captured and returned to the TVA, but some of her loyalists manage to escape. Casey got a hit on Ravonna’s TemPad, so the team will presumably hunt her down next. The alliance with Sylvie was short-lived. After she witnessed all the branches disappearing, she left the TVA in disgust. She returned to her “home,” but she still has He Who Remains’ TemPad, so we’ve obviously not seen the last of her.
Final Thoughts
This was the weakest episode of the series. It wasn’t bad, but its focus was more on setting up future subplots as opposed to delivering in this episode. Still, there were some important developments that kept all the important characters relevant. With Dox captured and Sylvie located, Loki and Mobius can now focus on finding Ravonna and Miss Minutes. I expect to see a Kang Variant make an appearance sooner rather than later. It also looks like the mystery surrounding Sylvie’s presence at the TVA in the future will be important, so look out for any clues there.
Character Development (11/15)
Much like the previous episode, the character development was light here. Loki and Sylvie’s reunion was short-lived, so they weren’t able to hash things out. There was some character building for side characters like Dox, Brad, and Casey, but it wasn’t much. The best sequence of the episode came from Mobius.
Mobius
Both Loki and Mobius were riled up by Brad’s provocation, but Mobius’ irritation felt more significant. Loki was under pressure to find Sylvie, but the comments about his villainous acts are nothing new. Brad’s comments about Mobius, on the other hand, cut deep. Both Loki and Brad are surprised by Mobius’ lack of interest in his life before the TVA. Loki’s probing allowed us to better understand how Mobius thinks. He has a sense of purpose at the TVA.
Mobius truly believes that he’s doing important work, and that brings him satisfaction. If he were to find out that he had a good life on the Timeline, that would distract him from his duty. So instead of putting himself in a potentially compromising situation, he curbs his curiosity altogether. It’s a noble reason, but one that will not last forever.
Sylvie
The conversation between Loki and Sylvie did not go how I envisioned it. Sylvie was the one who betrayed Loki, but they were acting like it was the other way around. One could argue that she too was betrayed, but her betrayal was more pronounced. Anyways, she’s been living her life, just like she always wanted. Because of how little she’s lived, she can enjoy the small things in life, like working at a McDonald’s. Still, when Dox threatens to prune the branches that she “freed,” she springs into action. Her efforts are ultimately in vain, but her disgust towards what happened suggests that she very much cares.
Others
Brad (a.k.a. X-5) was given a surprising amount of attention for a minor character. He came off as intelligent and capable. He was able to locate Sylvie very quickly, but the fact that he didn’t bring her in is what’s interesting. Unlike Mobius, Brad sees that the TVA robbed him of his life. And now that he knows the truth, he wants to live the life he was meant to live. In a sense, he’s the anti-Mobius. His involvement brings an interesting dynamic.
Casey seems positioned to play a bigger role if his involvement here is anything to go by. He’s very knowledgeable about the technicalities of the TVA and has already proved his worth on a couple occasions. He’s understandably a big fan of O.B., so look for that partnership to blossom. Elsewhere, Dox’s actions proved that she has no intention of changing her ways. She believes that the TVA should be run the way its been run this entire time. She did what she could to restore order, but now that she’s captured, it will be interesting to see what her future involvement looks like.
Theme/Messages (3/5)
- “Sometime our emotions get the better of us.”
- “If you never look, you’ll never know.”
Acting (12/15)
Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and Owen Wilson (Mobius) continue to entertain as a duo. A returning Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie) brought about a level of intensity that’s not there in her absence. Rafael Casal (Brad) made the most out of his extended screen time.
Cinematography (12/15)
- The show continues to do a good job distinguishing between the different time periods
- Cool shot of Loki, Mobius, and B-15 surrounding Brad (12:34)