This past Wednesday, another
chapter of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) came to an end in the
form of yet another limited series, following the alternate-universe “variant”
of the one-time big bad for Phase 1: Loki. The Asgardian-raised Frost Giant and
God of Mischief became one of the breakout characters of the franchise thanks
to the portrayal of Tom Hiddleston. His take on the variant Loki that did not
have the same character development as the canon one who died in “Avengers:
Infinity War” was expectedly nuanced, especially as his self-titled Disney+
series finally concluded its story.
There are several ways to look at
what transpired in “Loki” episode 6: “For All Time. Always.” It can be seen as
affirmation of what Tom Hiddleston’s Loki learned from both his viewing of his
canon self’s fate and his interactions with the other variant Lokis in the Void:
that they can change. Alternatively it can be seen as proof that Loki’s
character archetype, particularly his treachery is set in stone, as
surprisingly demonstrated by the female variant calling herself Sylvie (Sophia
Di Martino). Story-wise, “Loki” might be a solid standalone narrative, or
symptomatic of the rut that MCU media is perceived to have fallen.
Going into the episode from
previous, Loki and Sylvie managed to pacify Alioth, sentry of the Void where
pruned timelines end up. They gain access to a Citadel at the End of Time,
where the creator of the Time Variance Authority resides. It turns out to be a
human scientist from the 31st Century, calling himself “He Who
Remains” (Jonathan Majors). HWR (for brevity’s sake) explains that he formed
the TVA and maintained a “Sacred Timeline” of events in the MCU to prevent a
catastrophic war between parallel dimensions caused by different variants of
himself.
Meanwhile, now-renegade TVA Agent
Mobius (Owen Wilson) returns to TVA HQ where he encounters Judge Renslayer,
leading to a brief confrontation where the latter beats the former, but only
for Renslayer to leave and look for “free will” under last-minute orders given
her by HWR. Elsewhere, TVA organization starts falling apart when Hunter B-15
(Wunmi Mosaku) reveals to TVA Minutemen pursuing him the true natures of their
organization personnel as variants, calling to question what they have been
fighting for.
As HWR finishes his last-episode
info-dump, he gives Loki and Sylvie a choice moving forward: to kill him and
revert the Sacred Timeline into a multiverse ready to erupt in dimensional war,
or take his place as overseers of the TVA. It turns out that these two Loki
variants were groomed by HWR via the TVA’s actions for this moment. While Loki
L1130 seems amenable, in line with his alternate character development
in-series, Sylvie is too traumatized by her childhood under TVA custody that
she takes up the “murder HWR” option, forcing the two
variants-turned-allies-turned-reluctant lovers to come to blows.
The conclusion of this scuffle plays
up the question of whether Loki is capable/incapable of changing his nature.
L1130 tries to appeal to Sylvie that they can do something different from what
is expected of them as Lokis. Sylvie appears to consider…then pulls a textbook-Loki
betrayal by teleporting L1130 back to TVA HQ, leaving her to kill He Who
Remains without interference. As consequence, the Sacred Timeline becomes a
full multiverse, with all it implies. Loki L1130 finds himself back with the
TVA but with nobody, including Mobius and B-15, recognizing him. Furthermore,
the statues of the (decoy) Time-Keepers are now replaced by one statue of HWR.
To Be Continued.
Yes. “Loki” after all is the
first MCU limited series to be green-lit for a second season. But the ending
phrase also highlights the show’s integral place in the MCU Phase 4. That “restored”
multiverse is sure to be tackled in the animated anthology series “What If…?”
as well as the MCU films “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” and “Ant-Man
and the Wasp: Quantumania.” Setting up plot developments for a later production
was the innovation the MCU banked on since Phase 1, leading to “Avengers” in
2012, but there has been an increasing voice of criticism in the fandom that
this old horse has worn out its welcome, as it threatens to force “continuity
lockout” against late-MCU followers.
Be that as it may, the conclusion
of “Loki” was still quite the trip and worth the build-up of the five episodes
that came before. One can only guess as to what Loki L1130 will be doing while
the multiverse issue is touched upon by other MCU shows and films, before his
own series’ second season comes to light, but for the moment he has satisfied
fans of the franchise, and his portrayer has sated die-hard Tom Hiddleston
groupies, so all in all it was a great MCU installment overall.
Image from Den of Geek
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