'THE NEXUS EVENT' RECAPPED
Episode four starts on Asgard, but not the Asgard we have seen in the MCU, but rather the Asgard that Sylvie is from. We see Sylvie as a child playing with some toys when a portal opens, and some hunters step through, one of the hunters is Renslayer who takes Sylvie back to the TVA. When Sylvie is brought to the TVA she goes through the booking process like Loki did, but before she can be brought before the judge she attacks Renslayer, takes her Tempad and escapes. We are now back "in the present", it seems that was a memory Renslayer was thinking back on. Renslayer was on the golden elevator heading to meet with the Time Keepers. The room has a blue glow and is smoke-filled, we get our first glimpse of the Time Keepers sitting on a dais with a glowing red symbol behind them as the opening credits start. Renslayer is back in the TVA and Mobius is waiting for her asking what happened with the Time Keepers. Mobius wants access to Hunter C-20, but Renslayer says that Hunter C-20 is dead. Hunter C-20 went crazy and lost her mind after Sylvie took control of her mind. We are now back on Lamentis 1 with Loki and Sylvie, they are preparing for the imminent destruction of the moon by sitting on a rock and watching the apocalypse unfold. Sylvie tells Loki that she remembers her childhood on Asgard, and because she is the Goddess of Mischief who is a being of chaos that once she created a big enough detour from the Sacred Timeline she was taken. Sylvie believes that the universe wants to break free so it manifests chaos (God/Goddess of Mischief). Sylvie's says that after she escaped, everywhere she went caused a nexus event that alerted the TVA to her presence.
At the TVA, Mobius and Hunter B-15 are looking for Loki and Sylvie, they are watching the timeline and looking for any event. Sylvie asks Loki if what makes a Loki a Loki is that they are destined to lose, Loki uses Sylvie as proof that they are not failures. That moment causes a massive event that alerts the TVA to Loki and Sylvie being on Lamentis 1. As the moon is hit and starts to break apart, portal doors open so Loki and Sylvie can escape death. Loki and Sylvie are now prisoners of the TVA and they are separated, Loki is pushed into a time cell which is your worst memory lived over and over again. Before being placed in the time cell Loki tells Mobius that the TVA is lying to him, Loki's worst memory is Lady Sif walking up to Loki back on Asgard hitting him and telling him he will be alone forever. With Loki stuck in the time cell, Mobius visits Renslayer in her office to ask for permission to interrogate Sylvie, but Renslayer denies Mobius's request. Mobius starts interrogating Loki, during the interrogation Mobius tells Loki that he has fallen in love with Sylvie which fits since Loki is a known narcissist. Loki tells Mobius that he is a variant too, but Mobius does not believe him and Mobius has Loki sent back to the time cell. We see Hunter B-15 struggling to compose herself, she goes to speak with Sylvie, opens a portal and takes Sylvie out of the cell. Renslayer is meeting with Mobius to sign paperwork closing the Loki case. Mobius is distracted, and again asks why he can't interrogate Sylvie. Renslayer keeps trying to evade the answer and tells him that she is trying to protect him, that Sylvie scares her. Mobius does not seem to believe her reasons, when she is distracted he takes her Tempad and leaves.
Hunter B-15 has taken Sylvie back to the Roxxcart where she asks about what she saw when Sylvie took control of her. Sylvie explains that Hunters are variants, they had lives before the TVA took their memories away. Mobius looks at Renslayer's Tempad, he watches the video of Hunter C-20's interrogation after she returned to the TVA where she tried to explain that she had a real life. Mobius now believes that Loki may be right and he goes to the time cell to free him. When Loki and Mobius return to the interrogation room Renslayer and a group of Hunters are waiting for them. Mobius is pruned and disappears, Loki is upset at Mobius' pruning. Renslayer then brings Loki and Sylvie to the golden elevators where she is bringing them to the Time Keepers. While on the elevator Sylvie asks Renslayer is she remembers her, she asks what her nexus event was Rensayer declines to divulge. The Time Keepers tell Renslayer to delete the variants, but the elevator door opens and Hunter B-15 comes out and unlocks the collars from Sylvie and Loki. Hunter B-15 tosses Sylvie her sword as a fight begins, eventually, Sylvie and Loki overwhelm the guards. Sylvie then throws her sword at a Time Keeper cutting off it's head, the head is that of a robot. Loki is about to tell Sylvie something and then he is pruned by Renslayer, Sylvie takes the pruning wand and tells Renslayer that she is going to make her tell her everything as the credits roll. There is a post-credits scene, Loki wakes to ask if this is Hel and if he is dead. A voice answers saying no, but he will be if you don't come with us, we see that Richard E Grant is dressed in the classic Loki costume, he is with boastful Loki, kid Loki and Alligator Loki as the episode finally ends.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON EPISODE FOUR
I still really enjoyed episode one, but episode four was just as enjoyable it is frustrating to know that I need to wait a week to find out what happens next. The flashback to Sylvie's history was something I have been waiting to see since she was introduced in episode two. We still have not been told the reason Sylvie was taken, she is considered a variant, but what was her crime. The episode gave us answers while also giving us new questions to ponder, the episode also was designed to emotionally devastate us. I was not prepared for Mobius to go, I know there is a good chance we see him again, but we have no way to know what happened to him until we see him again. We still do not know what happens to someone when they are pruned, based on the post-credits scene we see that Loki went somewhere filled with other Loki variants. There were so many major moments in this episode, from Loki and Sylvie sharing an intimate moment before they are killed to the Time Keepers are revealed to be robots. I had a Wizard of Oz feeling about the Time Keepers, but I was still surprised to see them turn out to be robots. The whole vision of the Time Keepers always felt a little Wizard of Oz, and I am glad they were finally revealed to be fake. The Time Keepers being robots leads to a bigger mystery of who is actually behind the curtain of the TVA, Renslayer did not seem surprised about the Time Keepers so I think she must know who is actually behind the TVA. One theory that is out there is that Kang the Conqueror might be the one behind the TVA. Kang is set to make his MCU debut Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania so it wouldn't be surprising if he was revealed to be behind the TVA.
Kang the Conqueror is from the 31st century, when I looked at his history I noticed he has had a lot of interactions with both the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Grandmaster and the Black Knight (Eternals). Kang also has an attachment to a character named Ravonna, I see a time-travelling villain from the future who has connections to a lot of our heroes as a strong possibility. I don't have any idea where the show is going, with only two episodes left I am curious how the show will wrap things up. Are we going to learn the nexus event that caused Sylvie to be targeted by the TVA, is it something she did then or something she is going to do. Considering there was an event when Sylvie and Loki were preparing for their deaths, is her and Loki's connection the key to everything. Since the TVA is protecting the sacred timeline, is it possible that if Kang is in control of the TVA could he be trying to steer the timeline to a place where he ends up ruling. The big hole in that theory is what happens when someone is pruned, as the post-credits scene suggests, a pruned individual does not disappear from existence. There is no way to know for certain where Loki is, we know when comes to he is surrounded by other Lokis, but we will have to wait for next week's episode to know where Loki went. If pruning does not lead to someone being erased from existence then that might mean that Mobius might be alive still.
Another thing that gave me some questions was seeing Loki's worst memory, it seemed such a minor thing his interaction with Lady Sif, but it was his worst memory. I think it has to be his worst memory because her comment that he would be alone forever really stung him, did he never feel a connection to anyone that made him feel something. There is something perfect that Loki couldn't find love until he met himself, he admitted that he is a narcissist and so it makes sense that the person he would fall for was himself. The visual style of the show continues to impress me, and I think that the direction the show introduced in the final few moments teases a different direction for the final two episodes of the season. The introduction of the four other Lokis was a great cliffhanger ending, I am sure we will meet some other Lokis in episode five. Richard E. Grant we now can confirm is playing what is being called Classic Loki due to him wearing the original Loki costume. I am so excited about Richard E. Grant in the next episode, he is such an excellent actor and I think he will be a lot of fun to watch in that role.
Thank you for reading and join me next week for my review of episode five, I hope you enjoyed the episode like I did.
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