“Loki” Episode 4 Recap and Review: Pay No Attention to that Villain Behind the Timekeepers!

By Rob LoAlbo

Photos courtesy Marvel Studios

So, it’s feast or famine with this show. 

Holy information cram, Batman! Along with my vacation luggage, this show gave me a lot to unpack this week. If you were starving from last week’s episode (where really you should have been savoring those tidbits), this week gave you more than you can digest in a single sitting.

In the most enjoyable and bonkers episode thus far (come on - there’s now Gator Loki!), it’s clear that the showrunners have been holding back. As I suspected with last week’s runtime being a little over a half hour, the head muckety-mucks decided to cut our heroes adventures just before their Lamentis save to develop EXTREME momentum this week. Where last week was all about the character development, this week is about world and plot advancement.

Spoilers on the way!

We start off by eliminating all doubt as to Sylvie’s identity, showing that she’d been snatched off Asgard as a child, which means that she is, IN FACT, a Loki. And to fall in love with oneself is, as Mobius puts it, the greatest narcissistic act one could possibly commit. They are just...𝆕two Lokis in love𝅘𝅥𝅮! 

And while Paris (or Lamentis) is burning, Renslayer is running scared, with the writers fleshing out her backstory a bit. You see, she was the one responsible for Sylvie first escaping and seems to know the truth about TVA workers being variants. So, while Mobius tries to dig deeper and sort out all of what’s true and what’s a trick, Ravonna is in the business of covering up the truth and has no problem letting a little death get in the way of friendship. Seems everyone’s got a secret to hide, so what’s hers? (That’s probably next week’s episode, I’m thinking.)

Titled “The Nexus Event,” referring to the spike caused by Sylvie and Loki getting the feels for each other (something that could apparently break time), it’s that love that alerts the TVA as to their whereabouts. A soft touch here, and kind word there, and the almost doomed star-crossed lovers are pulled out of the apocalypse just in time (as if we ever doubted- there are still two episodes left after this one!)

The ever arrogant Loki (who is insulted that there are fewer guards around him than around Sylvie) is placed into a time loop prison of a memory (because of course they have those at the TVA) involving the since Dark World missing Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander! Yay!) who endlessly assaults our hero until he breaks. (That the story of Sif’s haircut via Loki comes from actual Norse mythology shows just how much lore and authenticity is in these stories.) Loki calls his hair cutting prank, “just a bit of fun,” but after a few hundred knees to the crotch, he begins to realize that his actions have consequences, continuously and savily developing the major theme of the show. Loki has never had to consider anyone beyond himself, and now that someone beyond himself is actually himself, he is realizing that people have feelings. As Homer Simpson would come to realize, “Other people are just as important as me!” Seems like that revelation took a bit long to come to, but whatever. When you’re a god, sometimes you’re a bit thick. (Amiright, Thor?) However, I can’t help but tire of the constant revelations Loki has to go through before he convinces himself, and us, that he’s reformed. Sure, a beatdown is entertaining, but haven’t we already had these moments of clarity? Hopefully, we can soon let go of that practice and see a reformed Loki becoming the hero we always knew he’d be.

But apparently punches to the face are what passes for psychotherapy these days as Loki comes to learn that what he fears most of all is being alone, so he begins to really cherish the “friendship” he has with Mobius, as do we. Both feel betrayed by the other, and in continuing their fireside chats from episodes 1 and 2, they carry on their game of checkers, outmaneuvering each other’s pawns, trying to see what cards the other is holding (mixed gaming metaphors, anyone?). And thank GOD Mobius is back, as Wilson is so comfortable in this role. He really is the heart of the show, and that he is a stand-in role for Loki’s conscience helps us visualize Loki’s internal struggle externally. So, he better not be gone for good. (IMDB has him listed as being in 5 episodes, so I’m hoping that’s not a typo.)

A lot of deceit gets thrown back and forth, and it’s when Mobius lies about Sylvie being “pruned” that we see Loki drop the facade and get real. He’s devastated but tries to hide it, but of course he can’t. Mobius sees it, taunting him with that timeless schoolyard chestnut- “You like her!” And Loki can’t lie his way out of that one. The flashes of stages of denial on Hiddleston’s face afterwards are a master class in acting.

But the biggest lies aren’t the ones we tell others: they are the ones we tell ourselves, a lesson that applies to almost every character in this episode. It’s when they each start to seek out a truth beyond those lies, that’s when the plot moves forward and the show pivots. Hunter B-15 can’t lie to herself and be a good soldier any more, so she gets Sylvie to enchant her and reveal her past life. Mobius can’t brush off Loki’s claims about the TVA, feels a little off about the case, and can’t accept Renslayer’s company line about the case being closed, so he swaps her TemPad for his and digs up info on Hunter C-20’s interrogation. Loki can’t accept that his only fate is to be bad, so he strikes out in friendship with Mobius to try to take the TVA down. And once you swallow that red pill, there’s no going back into the Matrix. 

What sets Marvel apart from most is how it expertly weaves in those thematic elements, giving the characters gravity, and with the format of television episodes giving them room to breathe, we’ve had a great deal of thematic storytelling that usually takes several films to achieve. Sure, Tony Stark was developed with a great character arc, but it took eleven films for us to get there. Here, Wanda, Sam, and Loki can do it in a half dozen or so episodes. (Great idea to foray into television, Fiege!)

But just when all three have their epiphany moments, down they go. Mobius gets his emotional death scene (is a jet ski really too much to ask for?), Hunter B-15 is labeled a traitor and knocked out, and Loki is pruned. But not before they finally get their audience in front of the Timekeepers, something the Timekeepers asked for, and I still can’t figure out what the purpose was since they were just being pruned anyway. Why do it there?

In one of the goofiest reveals yet, the Timekeepers are so rubbery and animatronically futuristic you half expect Bill and Ted to unite them with the Hall of Presidents. Sylvie and Loki battle their way to the front of the line in a meh-ish battle (it’s more emotional stakes than anything), only to behead one of the TK-ers and find that they are merely robots. Someone else is pulling the strings! Pivot again! But wait...Loki has some words of love to express but can’t get them out in time. Sad pivot.

Just when we didn’t think our titular character had been killed, our first mid-credit sequence of the series arrives to show us that he is now in some sort of apocalyptic New York world (see Avengers tower in the back right), with more Lokis than we can shake a stick at. There’s Kid Loki, Classic Loki, Boastful Loki (as he’s named so in the credits - the one with steampunk Mjölnir) and Florida Gator Loki. Yikes! Mind blown. Despite Mobius’s claim, we have not been spending too much time with Lokis. In fact, we’ve apparently only scratched the surface.

So, just to recap- the first two episodes were a lot of talk, last week's episode was a lot of action without talk but not much development, and this week balances out talk, development, action, and throws in a bunch of reveals. (Everything we wanted!) It’s easily the best and most satisfying episode of the series so far, as well as the one that brings up more questions than answers. Who are these Lokis? What’s the plan? Is everyone else who has ever been pruned there too? Who’s behind the TVA? What’s Ravonna’s relationship to them? Now that vampires have been made official, when does Blade come in to rescue everyone? Does Miss Minutes have the answers? Will Loki need to fill out additional paperwork for everything he’s said in this series?

And more importantly, is there anything Hiddleston can’t do? He seems to have amazing chemistry with everyone he comes into contact with, and I can’t wait to see him play off various versions of himself. That the fabulous and amazing Richard E. Grant is in there makes it all the more tantalizing.

Next week: Will the real Loki Laufeyson please stand up?
Star City Rating: 4½ out of 5