RECAPPING 'JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY'
The episode opens with where we left off in the post-credit's scene in episode four, Loki waking up, but then we jump to the TVA, and we see the head of a Timekeeper on the ground. We are back in the place at the end of time, that Original Loki (OG Loki) calls the Void he also says the giant dark cloud coming towards them is Alioth. Sylvie is questioning Renslayer, Renslayer says that when they prune a branched timeline, they are moving it to a void at the end of time. Renslayer also says she didn't know the Timekeepers were not real and that she wants to know who is behind the TVA too. Loki is following OG Loki, Kid Loki, Boastful Loki and Alligator Loki and he makes them stop to explain what is going on. OG Loki explains the same as Renslayer, but he adds that Alioth eats up everything and that they need to keep moving so they don't get eaten. They make it to a hatch in the ground and they enter the hatch, they are in a bunker that appears to be a bowling alley. Renslayer is having Miss Minutes look up files that may help Sylvie, but Renslayer and Miss Minutes are stalling for time. Sylvie figures out that there may be something beyond the void, she thinks that someone has figured how to obscure themselves from the timeline. Hunters enter the room and Sylvie is forced to seek cover, though instead of fighting Sylvie prunes herself.
The Lokis are hanging out in the bunker, Boastful Loki telling a story of how he defeated the Avengers and claimed all six infinity stones. Alligator Loki growls which OG Loki says is for "liar" and Alligator Loki and Boastful Loki fight. OG Loki explains that when Thanos attacked their ship he cast a projection so good that Thanos did not realize it was not really Loki. OG Loki then lived in isolation for a long time until he decided to leave his isolation and then the TVA arrived and capture him. Loki decides to leave to kill Alioth and get back to Sylvie, but as he opens the hatch, he is confronted by another group of Lokis. Sylvie wakes up inside a bus, she sees Alioth, and she takes off running, a car is honking and driving towards her, it is Mobius coming to rescue her. Sylvie and Mobius drive away in the pizza delivery car. The Lokis are there to take the throne (apparently Kid Loki is king), Boastful Loki has told the rest of the Lokis their location so he can use them to take the throne. However, Lokis being Lokis they all want the throne, and they all turn on each other leading to a battle in which OG Loki, Kid Loki, Alligator Loki and our Loki escape from.
OG Loki says that all Lokis are broken, our Loki pleads with them for assistance to get back to Sylvie and help her take down the TVA. Mobius and Sylvie are driving around, and Sylvie tells Mobius that the "angry cloud" is the key to getting out of the void. The Lokis see a WWII battleship appear (the famous USS Eldridge) and they watch as it is quickly decimated by Alioth. The Lokis see a ncar approaching on the horizon, Kid Loki says it usually mean cannibalistic marauders or canibalistic pirates. It is neither, Mobius and Sylvie exit the car and are reunited with Loki and his new compatriots. Sylvie tells them her plan to enchant Alioth much to Loki's utter disbelief. Back at the TVA, Renslayer goes to see an imprisoned Hunter B-15. Renslayer wants to know what drives Sylvie, Hunter B-15 says revenge. Hunter B-15 believes that Renslayer herself is also interested in finding out who is behind the TVA. Renslayer then asks Miss Minutes for all the files on the founding of the TVA, she says that she believes whoever created the TVA is in danger and that she needs to find them.
Mobius is hanging out with OG Loki, and Alligator Loki and they debate whether Alligator Loki is actually a Loki and Mobius remarks "it's always the game within the game with you guys, which I respect". Loki and Sylvie are sitting outside, and Loki conjures a blanket that places around them, the awkwardly talk about their nexus moment. Sylvie asks Loki if she can trust that Loki won't betray her, and Loki tells her he knows what he has done, and he will not let her down. Mobius is sent back to the TVA using a Tempad that Sylvie took from Renslayer, he offers to bring OG Loki and Kid Loki, but they say the void is their home. Kid Loki gives our Loki a knife/sword, they say their goodbyes; before Mobius leaves, he says that he will burn the TVA to the ground and he and Loki hug. Sylvie and Loki prepare attack Alioth when a branch appears he gets distracted. When a branch doesn't appear Loki charges Alioth and lights his sword on fire, he is attempting to give Sylvie time to enchant Alioth. The plan does not work as Alioth goes after Sylvie, but OG Loki comes their aid and causes a replica of Asgard to appear getting Alioth's attention. OG Loki urges them to enact their plan, Sylvie tells Loki that they will both enchant Alioth. OG Loki keeps the illusion active as Alioth gets to him he shouts "glorious purpose" as he is destroyed by Alioth. Sylvie and Loki enchant Alioth, his cloud scatters and reveals a castle beyond the cloud, Loki and Sylvie hold hands as they walk through the cloud to the castle as credits roll.
LAST THOUGHTS AND EASTER EGGS
Journey Into Mystery had so many easter eggs and possible hints as to what to expect in the final episode. There was so much in the background of the episode, but it was so hard to pay attention because what was happening in the episode was awesome. This episode had so much happening that it took a few watches to truly appreciate everything that was going on. I was so happy to see Mobius again, I assume we will see him next week too, but I still have some questions about this place at the end of time. Is the place at the end of time where all pruned people go and is it where the things from cleaned timelines go. Judging by some of the things we saw in the background I would think that all the debris from branches that are cleaned go. Just looking at some of the things in the background could be a fun comic book series or an episode of the new Marvel series What If...? that will explore tales from the Marvel universe where things happened differently. The trailer for What If...? showed a timeline where T'Challa was the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Killmonger was Black Panther. It seems interesting that the week where the What If...? trailer came out is the same week where Loki's episode featured a lot of potential future material for What If...?; one of them is the Thanoscopter, another is the giant Yellowjacket helmet, and the last is Qeng towers instead of Avengers Tower.
I have not even talked about the Loki variants that we meet throughout the episode, or possibly one of the funniest scenes in the show so far. The Loki variants that rescued our Loki were all seemingly good Loki's (though Kid Loki killed Thor), with the exception of Boastful Loki who betrayed Kid Loki. The funniest scene involved the various Lokis all betraying each other leading to an all-out battle, the look on our Loki's face when they start betraying each other was hilarious. Loki in that moment realized just how little power matters when you betray everyone just to have power over a wasteland. All of the material with Loki interacting with the other Lokis was not essential for the story, but it lightened the episode and add a lot of humor. Richard E. Grant as Classic Loki was outstanding, he has survived for a long time, but his amazing sacrifice was one of the better moments of the series. I knew at some point that we would see our Loki use Sylvie's mind control ability, but I was surprised by them teaming up to charm Alioth. When I first saw Alioth my first thought was is that the smoke monster from the TV series Lost, I know Alioth is from the comics but the design in the episode made me think of Lost. Alioth was eating up everything in it's path, but I wonder if it is guarding someone that needs protecting or if Alioth is keeping someone trapped. Despite not getting the answer I wanted, I was blown away by the end of the episode. The visual of Loki and Sylvie holding hands as they walk through the clouds mixed with the musical score was very powerful, and I can't wait for the finale.
To properly theorize what comes next, I also need to analyze what we saw, and one of the most confusing things of the episode involved Ravonna Renslayer. Renslayer was taken captive by Sylvie at the end of episode four, in episode five we saw Sylvie question Renslayer about the TVA and Timekeepers. Renslayer said she did not know that the Timekeepers were robots, but she did not react like someone who just had their whole purpose called into question. Renslayer then questioned Hunter B-15 and she continued to imply that she had no idea that the Timekeepers were robots. Renslayer also then asked Miss Minutes to pull files on the creation of the TVA, so I have no idea what to think of her now. Renslayer obviously knew about the Hunters being variants, she also did not react to the robot reveal, but she kept insisting she did not know about the Timekeepers. I am sure we will get our answer about Renslayer, and we will also learn who is behind the TVA. There has been a lot of breadcrumbs dropped to suggest that Kang the Conqueror will be making an appearance, but based on Wandavision and fans expecting Mephisto I need to temper my expectations. Wandavision seemed to be teasing Mephisto, and fans made things worse by over-analyzing everything. I do think Kang might be different because he is confirmed to appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania. We will see about my Kang theory next week, thank you for reading and I hope you come back next week for my review of episode six.
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