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As Loki's second season steams towards its finale, the penultimate episode set the spotlight on the series' titular god of mischief in the aftermath of Temporal Loom's meltdown at the end of Heart of the TVA as he races against the end of existence to save his new home and all of time.
*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Loki Season 2, Episode 5*
Recap
Science/Fiction opens with Loki in the TVA after bracing himself for the impending impact of the Temporal Loom's meltdown on the organization, itself. While he finds it abandoned, he painfully learns his time-slipping has returned due to the loom's destruction and is beginning to send him across time and space just as the TVA begins to vanish. The slips end up sending Loki to the branches where Mobius, B-15, Casey, and OB originally came from, giving the god a glimpse of their lives before the TVA.
As with episode one, it was OB who was able to provide the aid Loki needed thanks to his previous life as a theoretical physicist and wannabe-science fiction writer. He suggests to Loki that he may be able to control his time-slipping, but they are unsuccessful in trying to figure out how. Instead, OB begins working on a makeshift temp-pad using a TVA handbook Loki picked up while the trickster god time-slips away.
Loki arrives back on the branch where Mobius originally from, where he lived as a powersports salesman and single-father to his two sons. Things quickly get tense as Loki attempts to explain the situation to Mobius who, like OB and the others, has no memory of his time at the TVA. OB's timely intervention with the makeshift temp-pad helps defuse the situation before a hesitant Mobius leaves with the pair in order to protect his sons.
After bringing in the original Casey and B-15, Loki goes to find Sylvie who still has her memory of everything that happened. She is not as eager to return with Loki, though, convincing him that it may be for the best to let the TVA go and allow his friends to return to the lives He Who Remains ripped them from. While Loki nearly listens to her, Sylvie has a change of heart after witnessing the branch she was on literally unravel before her eyes.
Sylvie's arrival means they can potentially find the point in time needed to send Loki back to in order to stop the Temporal Loom's meltdown, but it proves too late as the branch they are on also begins to unravel. It eventually leaves Loki as the last man standing as time ends around him, but he isn't completely powerless to stop it.
Review
The episode, itself, comes across as somewhat of paradox as Loki races against the looming end of time juxtaposed against the calmer, more inter-personal moments he has with Mobius, OB, and Sylvie. One doesn't manage to overtake the other, though, and it is able to maintain a balance where each are able to feed into the other as the episode goes on.
It also offers what may be the strongest individual performances by Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson in the whole season as Loki and Mobius, respectively.
Wilson finally gets the chance to show Mobius away from the TVA and how different he actually was. At first glance, it does not appear all that different from his performance up to this episode, but it is when audiences get a small glimpse of the single-father that Wilson is able to paint a slightly different picture.
Hiddleston, by comparison, has always been able to deliver the charm and chaotic energy that seems to follow Loki around, but he is really able to flex his acting skills during the character's more personal moments across the MCU. Science/Fiction delivers that in spades during his back-and-forth with Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie as they debate if it is worth saving the TVA. Hiddleston's chemistry with Di Martino has been natural since their first episode together in season one, but this back-and-forth may be among their best interactions in the whole series.
Ending Explained
It is these back-and-forth talks between Loki and Sylvie that provide the answer he needs in order to finally control his time-slipping just as reality unravels. He then time-slips back to moments before as Sylvie arrives from her branch unravelling, with Loki realizing he finally has a chance to re-write his fate and, in turn, everyone else's. He then time-slips back to moments before Victor Timely is killed and the Temporal Loom melts down as the episode cuts to black.
The ending sets up this version of Loki as finally getting the chance to be the hero the original Loki was able to be before his death at Thanos' hands. It could mean, though, this version of Loki is also being set up to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the TVA and the rest of existence by the end of the season. That said, him finally understanding how to timeslip at will could be the proverbial x-factor needed to ensure he is able to make it out of the season relatively unscathed.
Should You Stream Loki Season 2, Episode 5?
With only one episode left, Science/Fiction can almost be considered a necessary must watch given the episode's cliffhanger ending. The episode is still able to deliver, thankfully, with plenty of the zany science and personal moments that has helped make Loki stand out among some of the more bombastic works of the MCU.
The only question at this point is will Marvel Studios be able to stick the landing with the season finale?
Loki season two is available to stream on Disney+.
