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Loki went on a trip back in time for the third episode of season two as the TVA continues searching for a solution to get the temporal loom under control before it destroys everything. However, the episode results in some uncomfortable reunions and an introduction that could shape the very fabric of time itself.
*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Loki Season 2, Episode 3*
Recap
While the episode is titled “1893,” it actually begins in 1863 Chicago with Ravonna Renslayer and Miss Minutes first appearance of the season. The pair reunite to execute a contingency plan from He Who Remains that would place the pair right back at the top of the organization alongside a hand-selected variant.
The TVA, meanwhile, is still struggling to find a solution that would ensure the temporal loom could handle the branching timelines and save the organization from destruction. It forces Mobius and Loki to seek out Renslayer and Miss Minutes at one of the two places the TVA was able to ping on the former's temp-pad. While 1863 bears no fruit, a quick jump to 1893 and the Chicago World's Fair produces far different results.
It is here Loki and Mobius get their first look at Victor Timely, the variant set on his path by Renslayer and Miss Minutes actions in 1863. Despite Loki's initial fears, this variant proves to be more akin to a snake-oil salesman with his bizarre inventions that seemingly don't work. This leads to a colorful chase across the World's Fair as Timely tries to escape a few of the people he managed to dupe, the situation quickly escalates after Sylvie arrives with the intent of killing the variant. She doesn't do so as Timely is able to escape with Renslayer and Miss Minutes to his lab, though Renslayer is left behind in a boat in the middle of Lake Michigan after a subtle misunderstanding and some manipulation by Miss Minutes.
Once at Timely's lab, things come to a head as Miss Minutes makes her own intentions clear of wanting a body to “be with” Timely. Renslayer then appears armed with a large, crude prototype of the TVA's time sticks to bring Timely to the TVA, fix the temporal loom, and assert her authority over the organization. Loki and Mobius intervene, followed shortly after by Sylvie, all the while Timely remains at the center of the situation they all find themselves in.
Review
Coming off of Breaking Brad's somewhat mixed bag, 1893 delivered another cohesive episode that managed to keep the important threads from the previous episode. It also managed to shine a bigger light on episode two's shortcomings, specifically the importance of the ending on the grand scheme of the season.
For starters, the pacing of this episode is an improvement as it keeps the focus solely on setting up Victor Timely and his importance for the remainder of the season. The 1893 setting allows for some humorous interactions, especially one involving less-than-accurate wood carvings of Thor and Odin. Some of the humor doesn't manage to land, thankfully those moments are not enough to distract or detract from the rest of the episode.
On a larger scale, however, the episodes does manage to further reduce the impact of the branch pruning at the end of episode two. It effectively amounts to a narrative excuse to give the TVA and feels like it should have had a larger impact on several characters' motivations, specifically Renslayer and Sylvie.
Jonathan Majors is front-and-center in this episode as Timely, who audiences got their first taste of in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania's post-credits scene. He continues to deliver as the different versions of Kang, with Timely coming across as much more awkward and unsure of himself compared to Kang or He Who Remains. It gives the variant a sincerity that makes him both more fun and endearing as a man with grand ideas who feels trapped where he is.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw continues to deliver as Renslayer, as well, alongside Tara Strong's Miss Minutes who feel like driven characters ready to unravel by the end of the episode. Speaking of which.
Ending Explained
The end of the episode saw Sylvie ready to kill the variant of the man she blames for ruining her life before a seemingly honest, heartfelt plea from Timely stays her hand. Loki and Mobius are then able to bring the variant to the TVA in hopes he can help address the loom, leaving Sylvie to deal with Renslayer. Instead of killing the former TVA judge, Sylvie instead sends Renslayer to have her “seat at the end of time” alongside the decaying corpse of He Who Remains inside his crumbling home. Despite this setback, it seems to be enough to get Renslayer and Miss Minutes back on the same page as the two make it clear they are not done with Loki, Sylvie, and the rest of the TVA.
In regards to Timely, it seems the path he was set on by Renslayer and Miss Minutes at the start of the episode is set to continue with his pending arrival in the TVA. The question then becomes what will happen to the variant once exposed to the organization meant to manage all of time? While the Victor Timely in the comics becomes one of the more dangerous versions of Kang the conqueror, it remains to be seen if the MCU will follow suit with this version.
Should you Stream Loki Season 2, Episode 3?
The short answer here – yes.
Episode three is a notable improvement over episode two that sets the stage for some potentially massive story implications for both Loki and the larger MCU. With three episodes remaining, it will be worth seeing if those threads are explored in any meaningful way or if they end up getting pruned before it can truly form.
