Go Out With a Bang: Loki Season 2 Episode 4 Review

Last week, “1893” gave us a glimpse into a few pivotal characters’ pasts. We met one of He Who Remains’ variants, Miss Minutes showed her true nature, and all the while, the Temporal Loom continued to deteriorate.

Now season 2 of Marvel’s Loki is ready to raise the stakes. From prison breaks, untimely deaths, and a fascination with hot cocoa machines, “Heart of the TVA,” the series’ fourth episode, goes hard on the horror and ends in one crazy cliffhanger.

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Everybody Wants to Rule the World

The clock is ticking. Naturally, then, we don’t get any major skips in the series. We pick up at the End of Time with Ravonna Renslayer and Miss Minutes. Miss Minutes reveals that the “big secret” from last episode is the memory wipe. The audience already knew, so it falls a bit flat. However, the juicier tidbit is that Ravonna and He Who Remains built the End of Time and orchestrated all of the TVA together — but Ravonna’s the only one who’s been working hard to maintain it.

Miss Minutes was right. It does make Renslayer angry. Thus, the two gals decide they don’t need him. They return to the TVA as a united front, ready to reclaim their “rightful” place as rulers. Or Sacred Timeline protectors, if you choose to subscribe to their genocidal way of doing things.

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Chocolate Soup

Meanwhile, the Temporal Loom is in danger. Like, critical failure level danger. Loki and Mobius must cajole Victor Timely into coming with them to meet O.B. Naturally, this results in another adorable autograph moment. Ouroboros’ full name is pretty on the nose, we realize, as he and Victor express that one another’s work inspired their own. Chicken and egg, much?

Then we run away into more complex sci-fi jargon and detailed doohickeys meant to solve the Loom issue. Team Science is left to do their thing while Team Magic and Mobius meander. Victor really wants to see the hot chocolate machine, though. We can only gulp in trepidation as he separates from the group to check out the hot cocoa contraption.

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Stick a Fork in it

Although the world is ending, we still need time to talk about our feelings. Sylvie admits that she regrets changing. Loki brings up a charming anecdote about his brother Thor gaining empathy, and thus strength. Mobius is in denial about his life on the Timeline. Comforting pie is not had, but difficult discussions are.

Here’s the thing, however. Loki has been acting like a good guy but it’s clear he’s reaching for some sort of power disguised as moral responsibility. Loki has always been a prince and has always ruled over subjects — maybe he hasn’t changed as much as we’d like. It’s certainly a little chilling to hear Sylvie say, “We’re playing God,” only for Loki to reply, “We are gods.”

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Cubes and Clocks

B-15 attempts to convince Dox and Co. to protect the new version of the TVA. They’re unmoved, or seem to be, until Renslayer and Miss Minutes arrive a few scenes later. They want this insurgent group to help them retake the TVA. Dox stands firm, stating she and her team would rather die than support this new direction. Only Brad, who really wants to get back to that acting gig, betrays his teammates.

Well, here’s where things get truly horrible. Miss Minutes gleefully traps them in a cube that gradually reduces in size, crushing the prisoners within. Brad, the only Hunter to escape this fate, can barely watch. Renslayer observes coldly. Miss Minutes? She’s got wide eyes and a sadistic smile that would be off-putting on anyone, but is especially unnerving on a cartoon clock. And the implied body horror is especially timely since we’re so close to Halloween.

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That Was Loki

Certainly, it’s time for that clock to go. Thankfully O.B. reboots the entire TVA system in some sort of override that we really think should have come sooner. In any case, the reboot erases Miss Minutes and also allows magic to be used inside the TVA. Time to get our Asgardian sorcery on!

Loki and Sylvie lure Brad out and then she takes over his mind. As Brad, Sylvie prunes Renslayer, staying true to her word that she regrets going soft. Next is the super fun bit. We move to a familiar scene — power outages, busted elevator, a phone ringing. Loki prunes the time-slipping version of himself and promises Sylvie that it will all make sense. Eventually. Over the landline, O.B. tells them to get back to the Loom for the final Hail Mary.

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Always?

Victor Timely is the hero, not the villain. Maybe he wants to prove he won’t become He Who Remains. Or maybe, after spending years trying and failing to invent something that works, he just wants to be the man who sees it through. Victor dons the radiation suit. He enters the chamber while the music swells … and then he’s promptly eviscerated into spaghetti. It’s not a pleasant sight, to say the least.

Unfortunately, that means the plan failed. Our heroes register it with varying degrees of shock and fear. As the Temporal Loom explodes, it ruptures the entire Sacred Timeline. Plus, it spells certain death for our heroes. Loki raises his hand to shield his eyes as the blast hurtles right toward them, and then we fade to black. Um … RIP the TVA and everyone in it?

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The fourth episode of Loki blew our minds, exceeded our expectations, and possibly ripped the whole MCU apart. What are your predictions for the rest of Loki season 2?

Join the conversation with other Marvel fans over at Sideshow Social Network or at side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!

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