Photo by Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel StudiosRetrospectively, it was the time Loki lost control of its story that Sylvie destroyed the Sacred Timeline at episode 2. This cliffhanger seemed like a huge shift in the status quo of the show, but it was a minor distraction that had no impact on the rest. That moment seemed to me like Loki ripping up its own premise in an incredibly bold way. Two episodes later, we find ourselves back in the same dimly lit TVA corridors that have characterized the show from the beginning. Loki is beginning to feel like Doctor Who if he never left the TARDIS. It's only top-notch acting, and an intriguing tease in the middle of the credits that elevates this episode from being a placeholder to something more exciting.AdvertisementAfter an opening act that was mainly about filling in the Sylvie-related details that should have been the focus last week's episode, The Nexus Event's main thrust is about getting Mobius/Hunter B-15 to a point where they believe Loki and Sylvie are telling them the truth: The TVA staff is made up of mind-wiped variants. Wunmi Mosaku and Owen Wilson are excellent at portraying the horror Mobius and B-15 feel as their worlds turn upside down. However, The Nexus Event also involves a lot more waiting for characters to solve problems. This isn't the most exciting way to run a TV series. Even a Lady Sif appearance, a villain reveal and several shocking deaths are not enough to spice up the proceedings.Review Loki Reviews Loki Event B B The Nexus Event Episode 1Loki is a show that wants to be full of surprises, twists and turns. However, the writing isn't smart enough to make it seem like mischievous fun. Although I didn't expect that the Time Keepers would be mindless androids, the fact that there was something wrong with the TVA felt like the foundation of Lokis premise. It felt strange to reveal this fact in the fourth episode, without giving any further details. It's a natural progression of TVAs generally bad and authoritarian vibes. Not the surprising twist Loki wants it to be. Ravonna is a villain, although I didn't think of her as such before. However, from the moment she tells Mobius C-20 has died, it's clear that she isnt 100% on the up-and down.The Nexus Event s biggest shock is not about the TVA. It s that last week's episode was supposed to be a love story. I, along with many others, created our own theories about the tricks and illusions that were going on beneath the episode's surface. However, Lamentis was actually a character study about two Lokis falling in love. Although I did joke about the ethics behind hooking up with your own version in last week's review, it was not a serious joke. I was most likely thinking that the show was a joke about inevitable shippers. Lokis was not explicit romantic to me. His love for his variant would be the heart of the series.Photo by Marvel StudiosIt's an emotional anchor that is truly wild for the show. This is especially true because it's not introduced until the beautiful and moony Loki/Sylvie scene at the beginning of the episode. If Lamentis' purpose was to show Loki falling in love with Sylvie then surely we should have spent more time exploring how Sylvies vulnerabilities worked their way into Lokis hearts, instead of having him do all the talking. In retrospect, I think their intimate mid-apocalypse relationship from this episode should have been the climax of previous episodes, to allow us to linger over the nature of their relationship. Lamentis ended with a semi-comedic plot-driven finale that did not prepare us for the hard left swerve to earnest emotion.AdvertisementTom Hiddleston's ability to play earnest romance is almost comical. He is quietly tragic when Mobius convinces him that Sylvie has been pruned. This is, however, a much more significant shift for the character that the show seems to realize. Loki has been asexual and aromatic throughout the MCU. This is why his question about Sylvies relationship felt so strange last week. It is difficult to swallow the enormity of a love-at-first apocalypse story and suddenly jump in on it. There is the dark joke that a narcissist only falls in love with himself (in female form), but part of it is Loki's fear of being alone. Loki's sudden love for himself isn't consistent with his character.Screenshot: Loki/Disney+AdvertisementEven though it is possible that Sylvie doesn't reciprocate the romantic inclination, I believe we were supposed to invest in Lokis feelings for Sylvie. He doesn't seem ready for the confession of love and/or kiss he is about to give before Ravonna prunes. It's difficult to decide what to invest in at this stage of the show, though. The scene after the credits removes any doubt that Hiddlestons Loki won t be returning next week. Is it possible to invest in Mobius' death? Is that just a plot challenge for the series?Perhaps the answer will depend on Mobius' past life. The Nexus Event's most intriguing idea is right at the beginning. As Loki attempts to comfort Sylvie, they realize that there is more to a Loki than a godly sense or mischievousness. They always survive no matter what happens to them. They are the Rory Williams of Doctor Who. Loki made it its raison dtre after Thor was so stifled in Infinity War. If my theory that Mobius might be a Loki variant is true, then maybe we won't see the last jet-ski-loving man. Who knows? Maybe everyone pruned is sent to an alternate timeline with their own variants.AdvertisementScreenshot: Loki/Disney+We have more Lokis to meet, however. The episode's mid-credits scene, the first in the series, shows what appears to be four new Loki versions. A child version is played by Jack Veal; an older version is played by Richard E. Grant; a weapon-wielding Loki version is played by Deobia Opari (although, based on his weapon, I wonder if it might be a Thor variant); and a literal alligator Loki. It's a hint that Loki may finally open up its world to something more expansive. Even though I've been burned by these shows cliffhangers, like Mobius before, I chose to believe that things could change.AdvertisementStray observationsLady Sif appeared and I was a screamer! She is one of my favorite MCU players and I wish that this episode did more than make a time loop joke.Although Sylvie's birth as a girl may have been what made her a variant, there was an additional Nexus Event that caused her to be pruned by the TVA when she was a child. It seems a bit inconsistent with the way they have treated variants in the past, but it is possible! We now have to answer the question: Who made the TVA?It was possible that I just couldn't understand the Time Keepers without captions.I'm beginning to wonder if COVID filming limitations affected this show more than the creators thought. The scene in which Sylvie shares Hunter B-15's past memories with Sylvie was clearly intended to be a flashback sequence, and not two women standing in a rainy lot.It is hard to overstate the impact Natalie Holt's music has on this show.What about the word of someone you know?
