Loki S01E05 is the fifth instalment of the first season of a scifi superhero action-adventure drama set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The series stars Tom Hiddleston reprising his role as the God of Mischief, Loki Laufeyson which Hiddleston had previously portrayed in the MCU, most notably as the main antagonist in The Avengers.
Entitled “Journey into Mystery”, Loki S01E05 is mainly focused on the void at the end of time, where variant timelines (and their inhabitants) are transported to when “pruned” by operatives of the Time Variance Authority (TVA). There, Loki encounters even more variants of himself and ultimately, he and Sophie have to figure out a way to finally get to the people behind the TVA.
READ OUR REVIEWS OF LOKI SEASON 1.
Anyone reading these reviews will know by now that we have been largely disappointed by this series so far. While there was an uptick in quality in the previous episode, Loki S01E05 ploughed the same tired path as the first three instalments. Lots of meaningless dialogue, strange character motivations and rather unexciting action sequences though layered with loads of fan service. And still no answers to any of the questions raised throughout the series. Very frustrating, to say the least!
Ultimately, presumably the title is a reference to Loki and Sophie having to best Alioth (the giant smoke monster) threatening to destroy everyone in its path, in order to get to the bottom of the mystery of the series – who are behind the Timekeepers – revealed to be androids in the last episode. That’s basically all Loki S01E05 is really about. Ho hum.
To be fair along the way we are introduced to even more Loki variants – who are basically throwaway cyphers for Loki and Sophie to fight – though at least original Loki (Richard E. Grant) and Kid Loki (Jack Veal) were fairly interesting and contributed to the storyline.
READ OUR REVIEWS OF WANDAVISION.
So, with Loki S01E05 out of the way, the season finale is the last chance saloon to make Loki a worthy addition to the MCU canon. Which upcoming MCU movies will the ending of Loki connect to? Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania? We shall wait and see…
Now streaming on Disney+.
… still there’s more …