To corrupt Shakespeare, there is something rotten about the state of TVAnmark. Image courtesy of Marvel StudiosTelevision is a product of a feeling of stability, status quo, a relationship and a perception of the stage it's on. Then, you take that sense and blow it up into little pieces. Loki, Marvel's premier agent of chaos, is a good thing. All the show needed to do to make this interesting was to rip itself apart.AdvertisementThe Nexus Event, a name that is appropriate given that it unfolds in a moment of massive chaos in Lokis's previously established order of affairsopens with a double truth. We see in the past the TVA taking Sylvie (Cailey Fluming) and then learn that Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha–Raw), then a Hunter, did it. This allowed Sylvie to escape into time before she could be tried for her crimes. The present is on the doomed planet Lamentis-1 where Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), are melancholic about their apparent doom. We see the devastating effects that the TVA's cruel work had on Sylvie over the years. She spent her entire life on the run, believed to be an aberrant being that shouldn't exist. Her life is confined to a timeline of apocalypses, which provides a contrast to the lessons our God of Mischief will learn later in this episode. Even before the TVA intervenes, it is important to remember that Sylvie and Loki are far more alike than being time-shattered versions.Lokis insight into Sylvie's remarkable ability to endure the hardships she faces aloneis more than just a crude clone bone relationship vibe. It is clear that these two Lokis find respect in each other's presence and a sense of love. Loki discovers that he can care for others in this manner. This is a crucial step in his strange journey towards the future self he has been striving to become since the beginning. This is unfortunately put on hold temporarily when Mobius (Owen Wilson), at Renslayers request, focuses his investigation awayfrom discovering what happened to Hunter C-20 (Sasha Lane), when Sylvie enchanted him. The TVA then appear to whisk the Asgardians from destruction to confinement.Image courtesy of Marvel StudiosThe story continues in a fascinating parallel. Renslayer presses Hunter B-15 and Mobius to stop asking questions about his case. Loki tries desperately to uncover the truth from Sylvie. Mobius uses the same tactics Renslayer used against him as a buddy cop to devastating effect. He traps him in a timecell to relive a embarrassing moment with Lady Sif (a guest appearance by Jamie Alexander) and tells him that Sylvie is already gone, that he has failed, and that he's next. Lokis has lost Mobius and is now alone. He cannot defeat the combined might of the Time Keepers. Loki might find the repeated punches of Sif to his head for cutting his hair therapeutic. It may allow him to once more litigate the fact that he has been a slut to push away his family and friends his whole life. But it is his loneliness that hurts the most. Mobius seeks to conceal the truth, just like Renslayer did for him. He also doubts Sylvies fate and is now beginning to doubt the TVAs. The truth, together with B-15, Sylvie, and the rest, can free them. However, in isolation, Renslayer and the Time Keepers can continue to lie.At least for a brief time. Mobius' curiosity wins him over and he frees Loki from his Sifloop to bring the gang back together. Hunter B-15 also frees Sylvie by whisking her back into the Roxxmart where they last met, giving her a glimpse into her pre-TVA days. Mobius and Sylvie make some progress Scot-free while B-15 and Sylvie get to enjoy it. However, Mobius and Loki are not so fortunate. Judge Renslayer arrives and Mobius uses her baton to erase him from the face of the universe. All hell breaks loose from there and, in true Loki fashion, both the show as well as the character embrace chaos to great effect. The potential endgame showdownLoki, Sylvie and B-15 against Renslayer, the Time Keepers, becomes an instant clash. It is both shocking in its importance and how it's undercut, which makes it not as dramatic as our heroes expected. Renslayer, who is simply an android, is just a cog in an algorithmic lie she leveraged to keep power for untold times and, uh...AdvertisementImage courtesy of Marvel StudiosLokis is dead? Lokis is dead. But we'll get to that. The Time Keepers' subtext drama is given a brief jolt when Renslayer shoves her baton into Lokis' back during Sylvieonce's confession to Sylvieonce. This act is as much about Lokis accepting the possibility of loving himself as an individual as it is about sharing feelings for the alternate versionseemingly offending our hero for all good. It is a heartbreaking ending to The Nexus Event, despite the fact that they wont bump off the title stars with only two episodes left That is exactly what happens. Sylvie is left alone, and Renslayer's power dynamic hangs on by a thread. A post-credits scene shows that Loki is still alive... and among his friends. Friends who happen to all be Loki themselves, including guest star Richard E. Grant, dressed in Lokis classic silver age comics costume, Young Avengers Kid Loki (Jack Veal), and a hammer-wielding variant, Deobia Oparei. Gator-Loki is even dressed in the cutest little crown.AdvertisementThe reveal is chaotic and full of Marvel's favorite love stories, comic book easter eggs and the possibility of many questions. My favorite being "Is this something that happens every variant killed by the baton? and Is Mobius just having his Crisis on Infinite Owens Wilson?" but the real theme of the moment isn't in idle theorycraft. This is a reminder that there's power in connection. There is strength in numbers. It's in the power of multiple perspectives. A multiverse of Lokis can be a formidable force against the TVA's ever-isolated power structures, regardless of how many fake-disintegration batons Judge Renslayer tries to wield at them.Are you curious about where our RSS feed went. The new one can be found here.
