First Thoughts On ‘Loki’: “Lamentis”
Welcome back, Marvel fans. Another Wednesday has come and gone, meaning another episode of Loki is now streaming on Disney+. As with episodes one and two, it's time to recap what happened and share thoughts on the overall episode. As always, though, before we start by saying a Spoiler Warning is in effect. So if you haven't seen it yet, stop now and go watch it. For those who have, let's crack on.
This week's episode begins a little bit differently from episode 2. Instead of picking up immediately where the previous one ended, we begin with Minuteman C-20 having drinks in a bar with "Lady Loki." What starts as two friends seemingly sharing drinks and having fun whilst chatting about brain freeze quickly turns toward the time-keepers and their location.
If you don't remember, in last week's episode, when the Minutemen find C-20, she tells them she gave away the information on where the time-keepers are and how to get to them. At the time, we didn't really understand what she meant, so episode 3's beginning covers that. It turns out the female version of Loki is using her powers of enchantment to trick C-20 into giving the information she wants, which of course she does. Then the title rolls.
Following this, the episode continues on from last week's with the new variant exiting the portal she used to escape, inside the TVA. Proving herself to be a formidable foe again, she begins taking down every Minuteman in her path whilst heading toward "the elevator," which will apparently take her where she needs to go.
Our main Loki then arrives through the portal, having followed her, retrieves his daggers, and engages her in a fight. They are interrupted by Ravonna, at which point the main Loki is used as a bargaining chip. However, before anything can happen, main Loki uses a Tempad to allow both of them to escape.
The portal leads them to Lamentis-1, confirmed by Lady Loki to be a moon which is set to be destroyed by a planet in mere hours, and the Tempad runs out of battery, basically stranding them there. Seeking shelter in an abandoned cabin, both characters engage in a verbal sparring, with the female version confirming the plan our Loki "interrupted" was years in the making and she will return to finish her work. Both then come to the conclusion that, in order to survive and charge the device, they will need to set their differences aside and work together (at least for the time being anyway).
Seeking a power source, the two wander through an abandoned village, eventually coming across a female inhabitant wielding some sort of energy blaster, who has no intention of leaving her home, despite the immediate danger. After blasting Lady Loki, who previously stated she goes by Sylvie now, the inhabitant explains that everyone has left for the Ark, a mode of transport ready to take the people living on the moon to safety.
In order to get where they need to go, though, they must travel by train. But the inhabitant advises that they won't get on without a ticket. In true Loki fashion, illusions, trickery, and a little bit of teamwork are used to gain passage on the train.
During their journey, both characters reveal aspects of themselves and their history. In a touching scene, main Loki reminices about his adoptive mother Frigga and reveals how she taught him basically everything he knows and tells Sylvie she is dead (even though she technically hasn't died at this point in the timeline yet). Sylvie reveals she taught herself the power of controlling people, much to Loki's surprise.
After Sylvie falls asleep, Loki has a bit too much to drink and causes a bit of a party atmosphere with the other passengers, having them all join in with some Asgardian singing. This leads to one of them leaving suspiciously and bringing back guards with him.
After an impressive fight scene, Loki is thrown from the train via a window and Sylvie follows after. Despite Loki using his magic to hide the Tempad, the fall from the train proves to be too much and it results in it breaking, leaving them with only one option for escaping - getting to the evacuation ship.
Sylvie confirms that the ship never successfully leaves. However, Loki believes that them both being there will result in a different outcome. Finally arriving where the ship is, the planet begins to further break apart and sends chunks of it hurtling toward the two of them, blocking multiple paths and leaving utter destruction in its wake.
As they both get within a short distance of the ship, a chunk of planet passes through it and completely obliterates it. Realizing their only chance of escape is now gone, Sylvie turns and begins to walk away while Loki just stands there, exhausted and defeated.
With episode 3 clocking in at 42 minutes in total, including credits, it is the shortest so far, but it focuses solely on the two main characters. We get to see some really poignant scenes in which Loki speaks fondly of his youth as well as scenes showing him use different variations of his powers, including the ability to fire bolts of green energy to incapacitate those who stand against them.
We also start to get some background on the mysterious Sylvie. We learn that she is just as calculating and manipulative as the Loki we know and love, but seems to want to no association with the name Loki, hence the change of name.
One of my favorite scenes from the episode is when she tells Loki she always knew she was adopted, causing him to become very disgruntled that he wasn't and opening up some old wounds. We still don't know her motivations or actual plan yet, but with there only been a few episodes left and the end goal for both of them being to come face to face with the time-keepers, it's only a matter of time before it is all revealed and they get their wish.
Compared to the previous episodes, personally I found this one to be the weakest so far. But, as with many shows, not every episode can be full on action and plot twists. Sometimes, some episodes serve to be mostly filler ones, designed to give some background information and set up future events. To be fair, we did get one pretty big revelation with regards to those working for the TVA. Until now, it has been believed that all those working for the TVA were created by the time-keepers, as explained by Agent Mobius. However, Sylvie states that she had to use a memory of C-20's from before she worked there to get the information she wanted. This clearly suggests Mobius was incorrect, but Loki states they must not know this to be the case. Cleary this is going to be a plot focus in the coming episodes.
In spite of this week's episode being a bit of a slow burner, the overall show is still definitely my favorite so far, and I can't wait to see how it all comes together over the next few weeks. Could we see two variations of Loki working side by side? Will Sylvie succeed in her plan? Will Mobius turn against the TVA after learning some hidden truth? Or will it all end with their demise at the hands of the TVA? We'll just need to wait and see.
Until next time!