By This week on Loki, we finally get more clarity and a lot of fan theories are starting to pan out. No, not Mephisto yet, but we’re getting pretty close. The episode opens on a recap of the last three episodes before finally showing us Sylvie’s origin. Heavy spoiler warning ahead if you are waiting to binge-watch the entire series when it finishes.
From the top of the episode, we get to see a child Sylvie being innocent and youthful while playing in the Asgardian palace with her toys. Suddenly, a young Ravonna Renslayer (who was a Hunter in the past) arrives with other Minutemen to arrest her and prune her timeline. Scared out of her mind, Sylvie is taken to the TVA and goes through the same booking procedure Loki did in the first episode.
While awaiting her appearance in front of a judge, Sylvie manages to steal Renslayer’s temp pad and escapes her grasp through a time portal. We then cut to the present day where the now Judge Renslayer is getting ready to appear before the Time Keepers.
Renslayer takes the gold elevator and enters their chamber. After weeks of being teased with statues of them, we finally get our first glimpse of them surrounded in shadow and smoke on their thrones. The conversation between Renslayer and The Timekeepers doesn’t play out on screen but you can tell she is rattled.
Mobius catches up with her and she tells him they need to find Loki and the Variant because all their lives depend on it. Mobius asks to speak to Hunter C-20, who was enchanted by Sylvie. Renslayer refuses his request, revealing that C-20 is dead, which shocks Mobius who wants to know what she meant by “it’s real, it’s real”.
Refusing to discuss it further, she simply instructs Mobius to find them. The TVA is again searching the Sacred Timeline, which seemingly recovered from Sylvie time-bombing it in episode two. Hunter B-15 is with Mobius while the analysts search for Loki and the variant remarking that the two have to be stopped before they plan their next massacre. She also asks about C-20 seeming a little but out sorts herself.
One TVA Analyst states that wherever the two are hiding, no one could possibly survive. Back on Lamenitis-1, Loki and Sylvie realize their death is imminent and have another heart to heart. Sylvie asks if what makes a Loki a Loki is because they are destined to always lose. Loki responds, no, they are survivors. She also recalls remembering Asgard and how the universe wants to break free, so it creates chaos like her, “the Goddess of Mischief”.
As the two are having this moment, back at the TVA, a nexus spike pops up and reveals the location of Loki and Sylvie on Lamenitis-1. Just before the planet is obliterated, the two are once again brought into the TVA and apprehended with time collars. Loki remarks how Sylvie has more security than he does and that it’s insulting.
While Sylvie is taken away, Mobius takes Loki to an interrogation room, asking him how long he’s been working the variant. He also wants to know what caused the Nexus Event spike. Mobis then adds how crazy it is that the two variants of the same person have seemed to have fallen in love. Loki refuses to answer any of Mobius’s questions, causing Mobius to throw him in a Time Cell. Loki tells Mobius that the TVA is lying to him. Mobius dismisses his claims.
Loki is stuck in a time loop reliving a memory where Lady Sif keeps appearing and yelling at him for him pulling out a chunk of her hair. Loki tries to break free of the loop to no avail. While Loki is being forced to keep getting the snot beat out of him by Sif, Mobius is doing some more digging with Renslayer.
He keeps pressing Renslayer for more info on C-20, which again is denied. Renslayer says that the Time Keepers want her to witness the two variant’s deletion and that Mobius has been invited to come along. The two banter back and forth about their “friendship.” She asks Mobius where in time he would want to go. Mobius doesn’t really answer, simply stating he can already go anywhere in time. He then asks Renslayer where she plans to display her latest “trophy,” being Sylvie’s sword. As she is distracted Mobius swaps Tempads with her.
Meanwhile, Hunter B-15 is beginning to have a change of heart after her encounter with Sylvie in Roxxcart where she was briefly enchanted. She demands entry into the room where Sylvie is being kept and takes her back to Roxxcart to talk. She asks for the truth and so Sylvie tells her that she is a variant as well. Through enchantment, she reveals Hunter B-15’s real memories. While we don’t see B-15’s past for ourselves, she simply remarks that she looked “happy.” After seeing her true self, B-15 asks, “What now?”
Mobius is in the TVA library with Renslayer’s Tempad going through it. He does a search for Hunter C-20 and she shows up as deceased. We catch a glimpse of her interrogation video when she was brought back to the TVA after the incident at Roxxcart. In the video, C-20 tells them all that she’s a variant and reveals that they are all variants. Previously, she had a life on Earth and friends. Renslayer appears on the video and stops the interrogation as the video ends.
He realizes Renslayer has been lying to him. Back in Loki’s time prison, Loki admits to Sif why he hurts people: it’s because he’s afraid of being alone and that he’s a narcissist. Sif helps him up but says he’s alone and always will be. Mobius appears to have a change of heart and admits to Loki that he’s right about everything and wants to help him.
As they reappear back in the TVA, Renslayer and a group of Minutemen are waiting for them. She simply states that Mobius has something that belongs to her. Mobius tries to play it off as a simple mistake but then finally answers her question from earlier. He says he would go back to wherever he came from before he got involved with the TVA.
Renslayer orders a Hunter to “prune him,” turning away as Loki watches in horror while Mobius is “erased.” She then tells the Hunters to meet her at the elevator with Loki. Both Loki and Sylvie are brought to the golden Time Keeper elevator with Renslayer. Sylvie whispers and asks if Loki is alright, who simply nods his head clearly still shaken. Renslayer takes her time twister device and dismisses the Minutemen, stating that she’s got it from here as the three enter the elevator.
On the elevator ride, Sylvie asks Renslayer if she remembers who she is. Renslayer says she does. Sylvie further presses her on what made her nexus event so bad they had to kidnap her from her timeline leading to all this. Renslayer smirks and says she doesn’t remember and that it doesn’t matter.
The three enter the Time Keeper chamber with Renslayer announcing she had brought them the variants “as promised.” We finally get a good look at the Time Keepers who really do look like space lizards. The Time Keepers take turns questioning them with Loki saying he’s died so many times he’s lost track. Sylvie also says that she thinks the Time Keepers are scared of them.
They scoff at her and order their deletion. As Renslayer tries to activate her time twister device, it starts to glitch. Hunter B-15 arrives, freeing the two Loki’s who rip off their time collars. B-15 also throws Sylvie back her sword saying, “for all time always.” Renslayer, in shock orders, the Hunters to protect The Time Keepers as a battle breaks out.
Loki and Sylvie manage to take out all the Hunters and Renslayer. The two then confront The Time Keepers. One of them, who seems to be the head Time Keeper, says that Sylvie is also a child of the Time Keepers and they can talk.
She angrily throws her sword at his head where he is decapitated. His head lands at their feet and Loki picks it up realizing it’s an android. Manic laughing can be heard in the background as the other “Time Keepers” power down. Sylvie scoffs that it’s another dead end basically. Loki then asks, “who created the TVA?” He then tries to tell Sylvie about the Nexus Event on Lamentis-1 but before he can he starts to vanish having been “pruned” by a revived Renslayer.
Sylvie once again manages to disarm Renslayer who tells Sylvie to go ahead and finish her. Sylvie refuses and says that this time, Renslayer is going to tell her everything.
In a mid-credit scene (the first of its kind in this series), Loki wakes up asking if he’s in hel (the Asgardian version of hell). A voice answers him that he’s not but he will be if he doesn’t come with them. The scene then cuts to more Loki Variants, Old Man Loki, Child Loki, Alligator Loki, and a Loki holding aversion of Thor’s hammer. They are all staring at him in what looks like an apocalyptic version of New York.
This episode was a complete rollercoaster ride and probably the best in the series so far. So many fan theories have played out and it’s no wonder that Hiddleston himself loved episodes four and five. Hopefully, we finally see President Loki next week!
