Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Loki Season 2, Episode 4.
The latest episode ofLoki, “Heart of the TVA,” was a literal game-changer in so many ways. After all their attempts to stop the Time Variance Authority from being destroyed, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Hunter B-5 (Wumni Mosaku) finally found salvation in the form ofVictor Timely (Jonathan Majors). Timely — who happened to be one of He Who Remains' variants — attempted to fix the loomthat held the Sacred Timeline togetherbut was dissolved in the process, and the TVA seemingly went alongside him. It was the cherry on top of an episode full of twists: in addition to the apocalyptic consequences of the TVA being annihilated, there was also a coup led by Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) to take back control of the TVA. Not to mention the resolution of the time loop Loki found himself stuck in, which is the sort ofpayoff that directorsJustin Benson& Aaron Moorheadutilized throughout their filmography.
But one of the biggest twists comes halfway through “Heart of the TVA.” WhenOB (Ke Huy Quan) shuts down the TVA’s safeguardsin order to stop Miss Minutes (Tara Strong) from impeding his plan to fix the Temporal Loom, he also allowsLoki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) to access their magic. The God of Mischief instantly possesses Hunter X-5 —aka Brad Wolfe, or Zaniac (Rafael Casal)— and pits him against Renslayer. The fight is rather short-lived…but ends with X-5 pruning Renslayer from the timeline and seemingly ending her existence. In an episode full of twists, this may have been the biggest one — especially considering everything that surrounded it.
Loki, the God of Mischief, steps out of his brother’s shadow to embark on an adventure that takes place after the events of “Avengers: Endgame.”
‘Loki’ Positioned Renslayer As the Next Villain
“Heart of the TVA” opens with what may be its biggest twist yet:Ravonna actually helped He Who Remains form the TVAand served as one of his generals in the multiverse-spanning war against his variants. But afterward, he commanded Miss Minutes to wipe her memories alongside the rest of the TVA’s workers. A furious Renslayer chose to take control of the TVA and run it her own way, prior to being pruned by the Loki-possessed X-5. It seemed as thoughLokiwas subverting expectations by having Renslayer and Miss Minutes as the primary antagonists instead of He Who Remains. The source material even played a role in this development, as Kang the Conqueror and Ravonna became husband and wife in Marvel Comics canon; Kang even tore time itself apart to find a cure for her when she suffered a seemingly fatal blow.
Instead of a major victory,Renslayer is pruned from the timelinejust as quickly as her coup began. On one hand, this feels somewhat unsatisfying; after the revelation concerning her background and having her lead a coup, she’s just taken out? It wouldn’t be the first time a villain with promise had that promise squandered within the Marvel Cinematic Universe — theThorfranchise suffered the worst blow withThor: The Dark Worldand its underwritten antagonist. Yet,Lokihas proven time and time again that nothing is what it seems — though “Heart of the TVA” seeminglyends with the destruction of the TVA, there are two episodes left in this season. Executive producerKevin Wrighthas also teased that Renslayer and Miss Minutes may play a role in events yet to come. ““Look with what happens at the end of four, we don’t know where anybody is, or where they’re going, or if they’re alive…I think the thing that I would say is, if we were able to get back to that TVA, do Renslayer and Miss Minutes know what needs to be done to get time and reality back on track?“he told TheWrap. After all, given the genre in whichLokitakes place, death is rarely the end.
Lokiis available for streaming exclusively on Disney+.
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