The second season of Loki has been much more plot-focused than the first one, and I can’t say I dislike it. The character moments we’ve seen have been strong, and the two elements balance out extremely well. Episode 5, however, is quite plot-heavy, with much of the runtime devoted to saving the TVA. But, as always, Loki’s character growth is never far behind.
My theory, before starting this episode, was that the TVA gang would be thrown to random points in time. Mobius would hide among Roman troops, Sylvie would disguise herself as an FBI agent, etc. But no, instead everyone is placed in their “true” roles – the lives they would’ve lived if they hadn’t been taken by the TVA.
Casey being an escapee from Alcatraz was funny, and his “they’ll gut us like fish” line was a good callback. I see you. B-15’s a doctor, which means she’s always been helping people, and we finally know what she saw when she said “I looked happy.” Mobius as a jet ski salesman is a little sadder than what we’ve been hoping for, but he’s a single dad, so that’s fun! And OB as a sci-fi writer, despite his unsuccessful career, is very true to form as well.
I felt bad for Loki. Like the end of season 1 and the beginning of season 2, he’s returned to a point where no one recognizes him. All he has is Sylvie – but he doesn’t really have her, does she? She moved on from him a while ago.
But let’s get back to the true central relationship of this show – Loki and Mobius. Their interactions in this episode were so sweet, from Loki fixing his hair before approaching Mobius to Loki remembering what Mobius once told him about jet skis. Loki may have lost Sylvie a long time ago (if he ever had her), but Mobius has always been determined to be Loki’s friend no matter what.
As popular a character as Loki is, it’s easy to forget that he hasn’t had an abundance of canon moments where his true wants have shone through. In his every interaction with Thor, you could tell that he just yearned to be accepted and loved. But here, in his conversation with Sylvie, Loki is finally saying what he wants at the end of his story – he doesn’t want to be alone.
As I’ve mentioned before, I despise the Loki/Sylvie romance, but this episode had a very nice convo between the two of them. I liked Sylvie reaching out to Loki as a friend. And I’m so surprised and pleased that the romance plotline is well and truly dead. It’s like when (spoilers here for season 3 of The Mandalorian, jump to the next paragraph to avoid them) Bo-Katan regained the Darksaber in episode 6. Both events are something I desperately wanted but didn’t think would happen. And then, out of nowhere, canon surprised me. So props for that, Loki.
Near the end of this episode, when Sylvie returned to her timeline, I liked seeing a glimpse of the life she’s made for herself here and the friends she’s found. This isn’t what Loki has, not yet – but if Sylvie can find a happy ending, doesn’t that mean all hope isn’t lost for Loki?
Despite the band getting back together, the multiverse is still unwinding. I loved that moment when everyone started to come apart – it reminded me of the unease and hopelessness from the last episode. All those quotes that surrounded Loki were fantastic, especially Sylvie’s about how Lokis are always destined to lose.
But hey, Loki’s finally done it – he’s controlled his time slipping! This is an ability he’s gained and learned on its own, making the mastery of it all the more impactful. Now it’s time to see if he’ll be able to save not only the multiverse, but his own story.
