Episode Grade: (8.3/10)
Loki and Sylvie’s efforts gain them an audience with He Who Remains. When they can’t agree on a path forward, they handle things the Loki way.
Plot (43/50)
This episode, and the entire series even, is planting the seeds for the Secret Wars. Kang is introduced to the MCU as He Who Remains, and we know that he will play a pivotal part in the Multiverse Saga concluding in phase six’s Avengers: Secret Wars. And based on how things played out here, it seems as if Loki and Sylvie will play a crucial role as well.
He Who Remains
Sylvie was right. Alioth was, in fact, guarding the creator of the TVA. What she and Loki did not expect was that he was waiting for them all along. Enchanting Alioth opened up a walkway to the Citadel at the End of Time. Upon arrival, Miss Minutes greets the two Lokis with news that He Who Remains (Kang) wants to offer them a deal. It doesn’t take long for Kang to show himself. He greets them with an unsettling excitement and immediately takes them to his office for a discussion. Sylvie makes her first attempt to kill him in the elevator, but he uses his TemPad to easily dodge her assault.
Back at the TVA, Mobius has wasted absolutely no time going after Ravonna. He teams up with B-15 to show the minutemen the truth about the TVA. Showing them a Variant of Ravonna is conclusive evidence that they’ve been lied to about their origins. The two have an argument that ends in Ravonna leaves through a timedoor “in search of free will.” Kang almost certainly put her up to whatever mission she’s on because earlier on, Miss Minutes brings up a set of files for Ravonna that she did not request but that Kang thought she should see. This ensures that Ravonna will remain involved in some capacity heading into season two.
The Truth
Kang’s first order of business is to inform Loki and Sylvie that everything they’ve done up until this point has been planned. He offers damning evidence that unsettles Loki, but Sylvie denies his claims. She believes he’s playing some sort of trick on them just as he’s been doing with the TVA this entire time. Nonetheless, she too is unsettled. Kang then tells the story of how he discovered other universes in the 31st century. Other Variants of himself made the same discovery and started communicating with eachother, but that soon devolved into an all out Multiversal War.
In order to end the war, Kang created the Sacred Timeline and weaponized Alioth to eliminate all other branches. He created the TVA to ensure that any nexus events are purged before they can create any new branches in the Timeline. However, he’s grown tired after all these years, so he wants Loki and Sylvie to take over the TVA in his place. As their conversation goes on, they cross the threshold, meaning Kang no longer knows what’s going to happen. He leaves his fate, and that of the world, entirely in the hands of Loki and Sylvie. Unfortunately, the two disagree about how to handle Kang.
Loki understands the gravity of the situation and wants to take him up on his offer while Sylvie simply wants to get her revenge. After a sequence of fighting, Loki manages to calm Sylvie down. However, after they share a kiss, Sylvie pushes him through a timedoor back to the TVA. She then proceeds to kill Kang as the Timeline continues branching off. Back at the TVA, Loki collects himself and informs Mobius of the impending danger, but he doesn’t remember him. Loki then notices a statue of Kang where that of the Time-Keepers once existed. It seems as if another Variant appeared to reshape the TVA, just as Kang said he would.
Final Thoughts
In an episode filled with massive revelations, it was great to see Loki and Sylvie remain at the center of the story. Sylvie’s betrayal was a nice show of originality that leaves plenty of runway for season two. Now that Loki is an analyst and she’s presumably on the run, will he hunt her down? And what of Ravonna, what sort of mission did Kang set her on? Also, did the Timeline somehow reset or did Kang reincarnate to keep everything together? I imagine we’ll be seeing at least another Variant of him in the next season. Overall, this has been an enjoyable series. I’ll be tuning in to season two.
Character Development (13/15)
As I mentioned above, Kang’s introduction is an important milestone for MCU, so it was critical that they got it right. Loki and Sylvie’s relationship is obviously central to this series, and they wrote a big chapter in it here as they got their first kiss and their first betrayal within seconds of eachother. Mobius and Ravonna are another pair who are set to stick around if their interaction here is anything to go by.
Kang
The MCU is going with a Thanos-esque type of villain with Kang. The most effective villain is one who makes the audience question right and wrong. This is a big part of why Thanos worked as well as he did opposite the Avengers, so why not use that same formula? Kang recognizes that what he does is “evil,” but having lived through the Multiversal War, he believes everything is justified in the name of maintaining order. In his eyes, pruning branches, lying to Variants, and withholding free will are a small price to pay for universal peace.
There’s more nuance to him than that. Having done this for so many years, he’s clearly exhausted. His fascination with the relationship between two Lokis gives him an out. If they would just take over the TVA, he could finally rest. Unfortunately for him, Sylvie wouldn’t play ball, so the cycle continues. When you think about it, he’s not so different from the other Variants. He too has a specific role to play. His path is lonely and exhausting. The excitement he had when talking to Loki and Sylvie is evidence of that loneliness. Too bad he couldn’t convince them to break the cycle.
Loki and Sylvie
The contrasting reactions to Kang’s offer is a direct result of the differing experiences of Loki and Sylvie. Loki’s already gone through an extensive self-reflection after seeing that he ultimately redeemed himself before his death at the hands of Thanos. Mobius’ intervention made him believe that he could change, but meeting Sylvie is what set him on the path of change. He cares for her in a way he’s never cared for anyone else before. That love is what drives him to do good instead of just looking out for his own self-interest. It’s a shame that the first person he truly trusts betrays him right away.
Now, that’s not a knock on Sylvie. She will have to deal with the consequences of her actions, but she was only doing what she thought was right given her life experiences thus far. She had her life ripped away from her as a child for a nexus event that’s still unknown. Then, she was hounded down by the TVA for the remainder of her life. Of course she’s not going to resonate with Kang’s proclamation that she never had free will. All she knows is that he ruined her life. Her mission has always been to take down the TVA, and despite her feelings for Loki, she felt she had to go through with her plan.
Mobius and Ravonna
If you’re looking for a clear black-and-white relationship, you’re not going to get one from this series. Even the friendship between Mobius and Ravonna is complicated. Ravonna believed that she was protecting Mobius by hiding the truth. When she pruned him, she did so reluctantly. She genuinely believed that she was doing it for the greater good, just as Mobius had justified hunting Sylvie down. There’s a self-awareness on both sides and a sense of remorse for what they’ve done. That’s a clear sign that they care for eachother even as they each feel betrayed. Look for a reconciliation down the road.
Theme/Messages (4/5)
- What exactly is free will?
- Do the ends justify the means?
- “And that’s the gambit: stifling order or cataclysmic chaos.”
- Unintended consequences often have cascading ramifications.
- “You may hate the dictator, but something far worse is gonna fill that void if you depose of him.”
Acting (13/15)
Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie), and Owen Wilson (Mobius) have been fantastic all season long. Adding Jonathan Majors (Kang) to that core group is only going to improve the dynamic of the show. He was excellent in his first outing as Kang.
Cinematography (13/15)
- Opening montage featuring excerpts from famous civil rights speeches
- Cool shots of the Citadel at the End of Time (2:33 onwards)
- Great shots of the timeline branching (37:00 onwards)