I loved this episode. Great acting, great action, great plot, great pace, it's just excellent. Also, Loki and Mobius trying to manipulate each other is just brilliant.
The episode opens not with our Loki, but with the variant in a medieval festival in the 80s. The TVA show up after detecting variant energy. The people of the place are unhappy with the TVA as they don't blend in. They walk into a tent in which a contest was once held. The music of "Holding Out For A Hero" by Bonnie Tyler is just brilliant. These Minuteman need a hero to save them, but there will be no such person. As the music starts we see the variant enchanting the commander of the team and causing her to attack other members of the TVA. She attacks and the variant kills them. The variant doesn't kill everyone, she kidnaps the commander who becomes unconscious after the enchantment. Who knew that "Holding Out For A Hero" is a great song choice for an action scene.
Back at the TVA Loki goes through training to become a TVA agent. He looks at Mobius's Jet Ski magazine and Miss Minutes questions him about concepts of the TVA. The most important thing that we learn is when a Nexus event crosses the threshold it could lead to the destruction of the timeline and reality as we know it. Also, oddly enough, Miss Minutes is actually able to get outside of the computer and hop around like some evil hologram. Loki asks her if she is alive or a recording, but she is both. Because everything is so setup that she is probably alive, but recorded in advance as well. Then Loki tries to hit her with the paper, which is hilarious because you can't hurt a computer by hitting it. But she scolds him for his lack of manners and jumps back inside of the computer.
Loki doesn't have long to prepare. Mobius shows up telling him there has been another attack. He also gives him a TVA jacket that says Variant on the back. God forbids that he should forget that. Another team went missing and it is their Loki variant at fault. They don't know which Loki variant it is, making you wonder how many Loki's are out there. B-15 really hates this Loki so much that it is funny. She makes fun of him and his jacket.
Mobius is all business. He explains that they are looking for a Loki and that the TVA pruned more Lokis than any type of variant. There are no two that are similar, and we get to see a lot of different versions of Loki and some are really out there. Mobius also explains that each Loki has different powers, but some powers seem to always reappear one of them being illusion-casting. Loki correct him by saying projection casting which is an accurate duplication of oneself. I guess that's how he faked his death in Thor: The Dark World. It was only a replica, an exact replica of himself that died. Mobius explains that they have not been able to capture this variant so they are bringing in an expert. Mobius is a master manipulator, much better than Loki, that's why he is not concerned about Loki betraying them. Loki wants to talk to the Time Keepers, probably to kill them and take over. That would be so Loki and Mobius knows this and uses it.
Loki is smart though. He calls the TVA videos propaganda, which they are. Reset devices prune the effects of a Nexus event, and as Loki smartly states they basically disintegrate everything around it. That sounds very evil. When they arrive on the scene, the team notices that a member is missing, C-20. They are getting close to a Nexuses event. Loki gives a speech to distract them, it starts as a very interesting one, but then he asks to see the Time-Keepers and Mobius calls him out, saying that he is talking crap trying to stall them. For the first time we get to see the effects of the time reset device and it is creepy. Everything just disintegrates rapidly. But the branch timeline is pruned.
Then Mobius is in Ravonna Renslayer office. She has souvenirs from all of the solved cases that she has and she reminds Mobius that she has other analysts working for her. He collects the souvenirs while she keeps them, apparently, because she approved the missions. She is not happy about how Mobius' mission with Loki went. Also, she actually compares him to Loki and he compares her to him. Everyone feels like a Loki. Free. Mobius thinks that by understanding this Loki, he can find the Loki that they are after. Apparently, Mobius never meet the Time-Keepers, that's interesting considering that they are his bosses. It doesn't sound really trust worthy when Renslayer says that they are monitoring this case closely. But she gives him one more chance with Loki. She signs the paperwork and so does Mobius. He is very interested in the pen that she gave him, he doesn't recognize it and teases her that it is from an analyst she is keeping on the side. The answer is a bit more sinister then that apparently. It is funny that Mobius says that Loki believes in himself enough for the both of them and that he is really arrogant. He says that if it comes down to it, he will delete him himself. That's not great news for Loki. But then again I doubt that that will be Loki's fate.
When Mobius leaves Renslayer's office he actually whistles to Loki to join him. Like he is his pet dog or something. It's actually demeaning. Loki just immediately starts talking too much trying to explain himself and Mobius is having none of that. He knows how to work Loki, he simply calls the other version the superior version of Loki. Loki tells Mobius that he can't manipulate him, but he sure can. Loki says he is playing his own game, but Mobius knows exactly which game that is. Loki doesn't fool him. Mobius knows all of the Loki points to push and he pushes all of them, because all he cares about is catching the variant.
Surprisingly, Mobius' last chance for Loki is to get him to actually work. Good luck with that. He wants Loki to go over the variant files and give him his unique Loki perspective, which I don't think anyone knows what that is. Mobius subtly threatens Loki as he tells him he should work as if his life depends on it, because it probably does depend on it. Loki gets really board really fast. Threats never work with Loki.
In order to entertain himself he goes to the library. He tries to fish out information about the TVA, deep information, but he is not going to get it. It is classified. The librarian looks like she wants to kill him when he asks her what files he can have. He can only read about himself. The more extended version of the video from the previous episode. But he is really into reading about himself, more than about the variant. In the endless file that he has he finds the paper regarding Ragnarok. Tom Hiddleston is just such a great actor. You can see him tearing up when he reads about the destruction of his people. It appears a lot more people died then Thor: Ragnarok lead us to believe. Sure, we know the planet got destroyed, but we didn't know just how many people died. Despite everything, they were his people and Loki cares about their fates. But he also finds inspiration about how to catch the variant.
Obviously he goes straight to Mobius with his new exciting information. The salad metaphor is hilarious and we get to see Casey again, as Loki takes his souse to make a point. If the salad if Asgard and the sauce is Ragnarok, what you do with the salad or how much pepper or salt you put in it doesn't matter. Nexus events can't happen in apocalypses, because nothing can stop them or change them, so no new timelines can be created. Loki convinces Mobius to take him to an apocalypse event and Mobius choose Pompeii. Mobius wants to go small, but Loki goes big. He frees all of the animals and tells everyone that he is from the TVA and they are all going to die. But it doesn't matter and no branch reality is created as 5 seconds later the volcano erupts. Also Loki makes an interesting point about time. He asks if the TVA is in the future and that's an interesting question. When is the TVA? I think it is simply outside of time altogether. But the experiment Loki thought of is successful, he figured out where the variant is hiding, in the end of the world, any world, any disaster.
Soon they figure out that there are just too many disasters. Mobius looks tired from going over papers and Loki is just asleep on the table. They take a break around a different table. Loki asks Mobius about the Jet Ski and Mobius says that they are awesome. Which they are and even Loki agrees. He talks about Jet Skis in the early 1990s and I got to say that these were some awesome years. But I now really want to see Mobius on a Jet Ski. At some point, it has to happen.
Loki however still looks at the big picture. Something doesn't add up. He asks Mobius if he believes everything, but Mobius just accepts everything as it is. Mobius has a good point. Loki is a god raised by a god in a mystical realm. If you think too hard about the logic of reality it all sounds absurd. Mobius uses Loki's words against him, he says that the TVA is his glorious propose. But Loki isn't just going to drop it, he tries to get to Mobius in a different angel. Loki says that if everything is predetermined than only the workers of the TVA have free will. So what is the end? Mobius says that the Time-Keepers are writing the perfect ending so there will be no need for the TVA, just endless peace. Now that, I don't buy. Loki doesn't seem to buy it either. He says that a world full of order sounds boring, which it does. Then Loki has an amazing line. He has a response to Mobius calling him a scared little ice rant after Mobius left Renslayer's office. Loki says he know something children don't know, "no one bad is ever truly bad, and no one good is ever truly good." Which is true. It will probably play an important part in the show later on.
However, Loki's speech gives Mobius a different kind of inspiration. He remembers the little boy in the first episode who had candy from the future. He asks Loki about candy on Asgard and apparently, they didn't have any, just grapes and nuts, I agree with Mobius, it is awful that they didn't have real candy. But that candy was only sold during a specific period of time, so now they have a way to narrow down the apocalyptic events. Mobius turns it into a bet, they bet on honor, who will be the first man to find the event. Boy are there a lot of terrible events in the future, but it's not like our present is wonderful. But it's nice that they think that Earth will survive by 2050. Mobius compliments Loki and tells him he might get his job if Mobius isn't careful. He knows how to work his Loki. The smile on Loki's face is that of an extremely pleased child. Sometimes he can be manipulated.
Mobius goes to Renslayer to approve a mission on a particular apocalypse. She isn't happy. Loki did destroy the previous mission. Mobius' confidence in Loki is enough to persuade Mobius goes to Renslayer to approve a mission on a particular apocalypse. She isn't happy. Loki did destroy the previous mission. Mobius' confidence in Loki is enough to persuaded Renslayer to approve this mission. Both Loki and Mobius are excited about this opportunity. Loki wants to meet with the Time-Keepers, something which Mobius doesn't commit to. Mobius also gives Loki his signature daggers and B-15 takes them away in seconds. B-15 gives a nice briefing speech which ends with her telling her team to prune Loki if they see him and Loki jokes that it is preferable that they prune the bad Loki and not him. Then he goes on his second, well, third field mission.
But they still go along with it. B-15 wants Loki with her. Bad idea. Loki says that they can trust him and he will earn that trust. They should totally not trust Loki. What the team of TVA doesn't understand is that supermarkets have security cameras and that the variant sees them arriving. He sets off a timer which is never really a good sign, especially since it is inside of a TemPad.
B-15 is walking with Loki. She doesn't know that Loki loves to talk. She tries to shush him but it doesn't work, obviously. They see a man shopping for flowers and Loki notes that it could be a him, although he dresses differently. B-15 carefully approaches the man who touches her, and his touch is green magic. He is possessed by the variant just like in the beginning of the episode. Now it is B-15 who is possessed and Wunmi Mosaku just crushes it. She is a great actress and now she is totally a confident Loki. Also, she sees herself as the original and our Loki as a version of her. They both have the same horrible fake smile. Loki meets Loki, how awesome.
In the meantime Mobius is on a different path. He finds C-20 who keeps mumbling its real. She looks shocked. Loki is talking to Loki to try and get some information. He insults her magic saying that enchantment is amateurish and cowardly. She says that working for the TVA is cowardly, but he still thinks that he is working for himself. Then a worker approaches them and the other Loki posses him. Loki wants to meet the other Loki face to face instead of this body swap game. Loki offers the new Loki a deal and a part of his plan to take over the TVA. So, new Loki does not like to be called Loki, anything but that. Now Loki understand why Thor found his games annoying, it is different when you basically look at yourself from the side. But new Loki is not interested in Loki's deal, he has a plan of his own.
Things don't look so great for Mobius and C-20 either. She keeps saying that it was real and that she wants to go home. The other minuteman thinks she's crazy, but not Mobius. She also tells Mobius she told Loki how and where to find the Time-Keepers. B-15 wakes up and she looks terrified. Loki is still in a competition with Loki and calls himself the superior Loki. He mocks Loki because he thinks that his plan is to blow the place up. He doesn't see the larger image. Then new Loki possess a new really big dude who shows up out of nowhere and hits Loki. I think he has Loki powers and not just human powers. I don't think a human could have actually hurt him. New Loki mocks him saying that he was simply stalling and our Loki says he would never treat himself like this. They get into a hilarious fight in the house cleaning department. Who knew you can try and strangle someone with a vacuum cleaner hose. Our Loki lost and time is running out.
But Loki always thinks about himself. Loki asks the variant what he wants from him, because he obviously thinks that the world revolves around him. The new Loki body faint and Loki hears the eco of his own question coming from all directions. Then we see the new Loki as a hooded figure with hand glowing green so we can be sure that it is a Loki. Then she takes off her hood and it is female Loki. She has the broken horn on her head like Loki in "Loki: Agent of Asgard," but she looks more like Enchantress then female Loki. It's an interesting choice. Loki is very surprised. Probably surprised to see a woman version of himself. She tells him that it is not about him. He has no idea how right she is.
Time runs out. We now know why she stole the reset devices. She blows up the time and creates multiple branches. Many teams are dispatched to clean this mess up so the TVA headquarters are going to be fairly empty. Loki just stands there shocked as she waves goodbye and goes into a portal with her TemPad. Despite Mobius calling after him he goes into the portal. I can't say that I blame him. He is probably super curious about female Loki.
I can't say that I was surprised. Sophia Di Martino has been cast in the show and rumors have been going around for ages that she will be playing female Loki. Still even though she wasn't obviously a Loki, I liked her performance a lot.
It was a brilliant episode. It was super fun and upbeat. The plot moved forward at a decent pace. Tom Hiddleston just kills it in every scene. From the comedic aspects to the heart touching aspects. We see him cry for his people in privet, but he makes a joke about it in front of Mobius, because he will not show his pain publicly. Loki oozes charm and confidence. Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson have great chemistry together. Mobius is just a great character. Sure he is comedic, but he is also sarcastic, manipulative and insulting when he needs to be. All in all I love this show and I can't wait to see where Loki and Loki go next and what Mobius will do. +
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