Hey! Hallie here!
Episode 3 gave us something a little bit different than what we’ve seen in ‘Loki’ so far. Instead of spending most of our time in the TVA, this episode used distance from the TVA to expand on the characters and the mystery we’re seeing unfold. Once again, we saw a lot in this episode. And a lot of it was character development. With so much to cover, let’s jump into this review! SPOILERS ahead! You’ve been warned!
What I Liked:
Loki: I’m going to start this off with the most exciting thing to come out of this episode. Loki was confirmed as bisexual! When Sylvie asks him if he’s had any princesses or princes in his life, he answers that he’s had a bit of both. The series creator, who is bisexual herself, confirmed that this line was a very purposeful reveal of his sexuality. She also noted that his sexuality is, and will remain, an incredibly important part of his character. This makes Loki the very first queer character in the MCU. It’s taken way too long for this to happen in the MCU, but I’m still incredibly happy they finally embraced this part of Loki. On an unrelated note, Loki gets a bit tipsy and starts singing in this episode. I didn’t know I wanted to hear Loki sing before this episode, but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the entire thing. Tom Hiddleston has a very good voice. While it was fun to see Loki letting loose and reveling in the attention he was getting, which is very Loki, there was a specific part of the performance where he seemed to be sizing up Sylvie. At parts of this episode I started to wonder whether or not he was testing her in some way to see if she was really a version of him. Strangely, Loki ended up being the most level-headed between himself and Sylvie. While a major cause of his level-headedness could be that he still wants Sylvie on his side to take down the timekeepers, he was still the first one to attempt to end an argument, suggest a truce, or provoke a friendly conversation. And some of these conversations seemed to be sly ways of getting information. Such as speaking about his adoption and his mother to her so she would feel compelled to give him some information as well. He even managed to get information out of her about the way her magic works. While I do think Loki is starting to trust and enjoy the company of Sylvie, I wouldn’t doubt he has another plan in mind while he’s concocting hilarious schemes to annoy her.
Sylvie: I didn’t like Sylvie at all by the end of the last episode. Her maliciousness didn’t match up to the sly mischievousness Loki usually displays. Not only that, but her complete dismissal of Loki made their altercation a bit less interesting than I initially anticipated. This episode shows a completely new side to Sylvie. She has a shorter temper than Loki, but her wit matches Loki’s completely. So much so that their banter was one of the most enjoyable things about the episode. Sylvie is also impressive. She taught herself her own magic, having grown up without the influence of Frigga. And rather than being distracted by pleasurable detours, which often catch Loki’s attention, she’s been stubbornly persistent in a plan lasting several years to take down the TVA. She loathes the TVA for reasons unknown. She even refuses to be called Loki. Which makes a kind of sense. Viewing the TVA as a completely tyrannical organization, it’s only fitting that she takes on another identity that doesn’t align with the Loki of the main timeline. If she is Loki, that is. But Loki or not, her slowly developing friendship with Loki is endearing. She went from hating his guts to trusting him enough to help her get through the destruction of an entire moon. I can’t wait to see her open up more.
The New Information: In this episode Sylvie revealed that all of those working for the TVA are regular variants from various timelines. While Sylvie may not have proved herself completely trustworthy yet, there isn’t really arguing with this statement. We saw her meddle with the memories of one of the TVA agents, and these memories could have only come from a past beyond the TVA. Which means Mobius’ belief that he was created by the timekeepers is a mix of propaganda and brain washing. Even Loki seems concerned by this news. To top it all off, Miss Minutes tweeted a few very positive tweets after the airing of this episode assuring viewers that the workers in the TVA enjoy their work and the jobs they were created for. There’s something very wrong with the TVA.
What I Have Questions About:
Is Sylvie Really Lady Loki?: It isn’t unrealistic to assume that Marvel simply merged the characters of Sylvie and Lady Loki from the comics. While I want to see Loki embrace his gender fluidity and turn into Lady Loki, I can see why making Lady Loki into an alternate version of Loki named Sylvie might be desirable to differentiate the characters. But I’m still not completely sold on the idea that Sylvie is a Loki variant. She might be. But Loki still seems suspicious and she hasn’t proven herself enough for my guard to be completely down. And I don’t think the possibility that she may be Enchantress is completely off the table yet, either. So who is she?
What is the TVA Hiding?: The TVA is outright brainwashing the people who work for them and basically holding them captive for hundreds of years to do what they want. Why do they need this much labor? Why are they obsessed with keeping only one main timeline? Who are the timekeepers and what are their real goals? Or, as Loki suspects, are the timekeepers fictional? There’s something very dark going on in the TVA and there’s only three episodes left to unravel it all.
Where’s Mobius?: I didn’t realize just how much I loved Mobius until he was absent from this entire episode. He’s precious. He’s the best disgruntled dad. He works so well with Loki. I miss him. And with Miss Minutes tweeting about potential consequences Mobius may face for losing Loki, I’m kind of worried about him. If he’s not in the next episode I’ll be very upset.
This was probably the most sci-fi this series has gotten so far and it was satisfying. Between the alien train, the abandoned town that was very reminiscent of ‘Borderlands’, and the entire city being affected by the destruction of a moon, this episode felt like a love letter to all of the sci-fi entertainment I’ve enjoyed. I can’t wait to see what other planets and timelines Loki will get to explore once he gets off of the planet he stranded himself and Sylvie on. Maybe Mobius will rescue them!
Don’t do anything fun until I get back!
Hallie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 