Loki Episode 5: Marvel goes full Disney as Loki finds his purpose

Warning, this recap of the fifth episode of Loki contains spoilers! The amount of Easter eggs for both Disney and Marvel fans alike in the latest episode of Loki is enough to make you dizzy – if the twisting camera angles don't do it first!

Nothing and nobody is who they seem to be in this Disney series.
Nothing and nobody is who they seem to be in this Disney series.  © IMAGO / Prod.DB

We left off last week with Agent Mobius and Loki having been "pruned" by the Time Variance Authority, and with Sylvie left to fight it out with Judge Ravonna Renslayer after they all discovered that the holy Time Keepers were simple robots, created by an as-yet-unknown entity.

A mid-credits scene saw Loki wake up in a land of other versions of Loki, and that's where we start off this week, with our anti-villain coming to terms with his value compared to other Lokis who accomplished far more than he. One evaded the death grasp of Thanos, and a child version even managed to kill Thor.

The "Void" at the end of time that everyone has been sent to after pruning seems to function as a quantum garbage disposal, complete with a giant cloud-dragon gobbling every "pruned" timeline or individual sent by the TVA. Entire cities and the U.S.S. Eldridge (a nod back to The Philadelphia Experiment) are all fair game for Alioth the dragon, who moves through the world in a cloud very similar to the one conjured in WandaVision.

Kylie Jenner shares Stormi's reaction to iconic "To Our Daughter" video!
Kylie Jenner Kylie Jenner shares Stormi's reaction to iconic "To Our Daughter" video!

We see tons of Easter eggs, like a helicopter with Thanos' name on it and what seems to be a tiny Thor variant fighting his way out of a bottle that was perhaps shrunken by Pym Particles. All these versions of Loki spend their time surviving, living in their clubhouse, fighting with each other, and trying to be made king of the Void. One even gets his hand snapped off by Alligator Loki in a very suspicious Peter Pan reference, but our Loki has been changed by love thanks to Disney's magic spell, and he wants to do more than just survive.

Because Sylvie has identified her "glorious purpose", she has inspired Loki to fight back discover what or who has been pulling the strings all along.

Where is Sylvie?

Officer B-15 and Agent Mobius both have learned that they weren't created by the TVA.
Officer B-15 and Agent Mobius both have learned that they weren't created by the TVA.  © IMAGO / Cinema Publishers Collection

Meanwhile, back at the TVA, there is A LOT of over-acting on par with a floppy Disney channel series. It kind of dampens the energy of the episode built up by Tom Hiddleston until that point.

Fortunately, Sylvie calls Ravonna Renslayer on her constant lies and realizes she's getting nowhere fast, so she prunes herself! This shouldn't be confused with the romantic notions that brought the world Romeo and Juliet – now that Loki has been pruned, Sylvie just knows that everything the TVA has done has been a lie, so following him isn't going to be real death.

When she wakes up in the Void, we get a scene very reminiscent of Moira Rose's The Crows Have Eyes: 2 project in Schitt's Creek. Sylvie has somehow ended up in a giant bird's nest. Realizing the cloud-dragon is about to consume her, she flees, but not before the tendrils of dark clouds touch her, and she sees into the mind of the dragon.

Olivia Rodrigo shakes up classic LBD in vintage Thierry Mugler look
Olivia Rodrigo Olivia Rodrigo shakes up classic LBD in vintage Thierry Mugler look

Somehow we've forgotten about Mobius completely since the last episode, but here he comes to her rescue, in what looks to be the Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story, because Disney just can't get enough Easter eggs.

Their inevitable reunion with Loki and his other variants does finally give us a moment of romance as our main hero shares a blanket with Sylvie, but the while the new characters are unpredictable, the plot line is not: they vow trust, promise each other a future together, and now must fight evil in its big, ghostly form.

"My glorious purpose"

Judge Renslayer claims she wants to ensure stability for the TVA going forward, but is she the one pulling the strings?
Judge Renslayer claims she wants to ensure stability for the TVA going forward, but is she the one pulling the strings?  © IMAGO / Cinema Publishers Collection

Sylvie stole a TemPad on her way out of the TVA and has Mobius use it to go back, presumably to fight Renslayer, but not before he offers Loki the warm hug and the episode's best line: "Thank you, my friend, you're my favorite." We've all been secretly hoping for a moment like that, cheesy as it may be.

Of course, our couple seems abandoned by everyone as they must turn to believing in themselves to go forward. Though the plot seems completely predictable at this point, it would be more grating had the writers delved into any further declarations of friendship or love for Loki. Thankfully, Hiddleston's acting can pump every interaction full of meaning better than words ever could.

If the climax of the episode is ringing bells for you, it should: one of the Lokis who vowed not to help suddenly returns, Sylvie teaches our Loki that he has underestimated his power, and at just the last second they enchant and dispel Alioth. In fact, the scene so perfectly mirrors the storyline of Moana that it seems plagiarized.

We don't get a mid-credits scene to clarify what's going on with the castle that appears in the mist of the defeated dragon, nor do we know what has become of Agent Mobius on his return. But at least Loki has made clear in this episode that he has finally found "his glorious purpose", and she's standing right by his side.

Cover photo: IMAGO / Prod.DB

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