Episode Grade: (8.0/10)
With nowhere left to run, Loki teleports himself and Sylvie to Lamentis-1 right before an apocalyptic event. Despite their best efforts, they can not escape.
Plot (40/50)
Sylvie’s actions at the end of the previous episode were intended to create a distraction so she could confront the Time-Keepers. However, her plan fails after Loki and Ravonna intercept her. In order to avoid getting captured or pruned, Loki sends himself and Sylvie through a timedoor. Unfortunately, the timedoor sends them to Lamentis-1, a moon on the verge of destruction. Loki and Sylvie work together to avoid the apocalyptic end, but nothing they try works.
Sylvie’s Plan
The reset charges Sylvie set off at Roxxcart were designed to distract the TVA long enough to allow her to go after the Time-Keepers. The plan is a success, to some extent. The TVA’s resources are depleted as most of the minutemen leave to respond to the various nexus events caused by the charges. What little forces remain are easily dispatched by Sylvie, even without her powers. The fact that she didn’t know her powers wouldn’t work in the TVA suggests that her plan wasn’t as great as she made it out to be.
Regardless, she manages to get as far as the golden elevator before Loki arrives. The two spend some time arguing before Ravonna shows up with a squad of minutemen. Cornered and out of options, Loki uses a TemPad to open a timedoor which the two fall through. They successfully evade the TVA, but they’re not out of the woods yet because Loki sent them to Lamentis-1 right before an apocalyptic event that wipes out the moon and anyone on it. What’s worse, the TemPad is out of charge, so they can’t open a timedoor to escape.
A Race Against Time
Sylvie recognizes Lamentis-1 because she’s hid there in the past. She tells Loki that they have about 12 hours before the apocalyptic event. At first, the two try to find an energy source powerful enough to recharge the TemPad. However, due to poor teamwork and complacency on the part of Loki, the Tempad is destroyed along the way. The two must now find a way to escape the apocalypse without cheating time.
Their best option is to try and board the ark that’s meant to save the inhabitants of the moon. According to Sylvie, the ark is always destroyed before it can take off, thus ensuring that there are no survivors. Loki proposes that they hijack the ark and ensure that it takes off this time around. They don’t really have any better options, so they give it a shot. Ultimately, their effort is in vain. They can only watch as the ark is destroyed, just like every other time.
Final Thoughts
This was a contained subplot that was entertaining for what it was. I liked that Loki and Sylvie were not able to escape the apocalypse because it establishes that apocalypses can not be avoided. If they had escaped on the ark, it would have invalidated much of the previous episode. The two will certainly find another way off the moon, but at least it won’t be inconsistent with the established rules.
Another interesting revelation is that individuals who work at the TVA are all Variants. This answers a question I had in the first episode and explains why Mobius, for example, longs for jetskis. He probably had a jetski in his previous life before he had his memories wiped by the TVA. This opens up the possibility of an awakening among members of the TVA. If they can access their memories, they will know that the TVA lied to them. That would create enough chaos for a potential takeover.
Character Development (12/15)
After spending a couple of episodes with Mobius, Loki finally gets to mix it up with someone else. He seems genuinely interested in Sylvie, and she starts warming to him as they spend more time together. By the end of the episode, it’s clear that the two can accomplish much more if they work as a team.
Loki and Sylvie
There’s a definite clash of styles when it comes to these two. The Loki in them is apparent, but they manifest it in different ways. Loki leans into the mischief by way of diplomacy and illusions. Sylvie, on the other hand, uses compulsion to brute force her way into getting what she wants. Without any coordination, the two styles work against eachother. However, when the two work together, the two styles actually complement eachother. Loki and Sylvie learned this the hard way.
The two also got to know eachother a bit better throughout their journey. Loki talks about how his mother talk him magic. He talks about her character glowingly. Remember, he only recently learned that he would accidentally lead to her death, so that guilt is certainly weighing on him. That will continue to define his character, especially since his mother was one of the few who actually believed in him. Sylvie tries to feign disinterest, but she’s clearly effected. Because she was taken by the TVA as a child and made to live a life on the run, she never experienced an upbringing like that of Loki’s.
Despite their contrasting upbringings, Loki and Sylvie have one major thing in common: they long for a genuine connection with someone. Neither have had any meaningful relationships, and they don’t have any friends either. This is as open as we’ve ever seen Loki, he even says as much. Underneath all of the plotting and backstabbing, there’s very real potential between these two. The question is: can they recognize that potential, or will they ultimately turn on eachother? The shows seems to be leaning heavily into the former, but this is Loki, so anything is possible.
Theme/Messages (3/5)
- What is love?
Acting (12/15)
Is Tom Hiddleston (Loki) so good that he fits well with anyone? Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie) was fantastic in her own right, and the chemistry between these two is just fantastic.
Cinematography (13/15)
- The visual effects were stunning! The entire atmosphere felt unique, as it should seeing as they were on a moon.
- Cool shots of the train as it moves through the moon (23:15)
- Shot of Loki and Slyvie walking towards the ark as the moon continues to be destroyed (30:54)
- Great lasting shot of Loki standing defeated as he watches the ark explode (36:03)