Loki – Breaking Bad Review

Now that felt like the best of Loki. From the excellent character pairings (I’m really enjoying Rafael Casal’s X-5) to the not all that complex story arc within the episode (although I’m still a bit hazy on why the multiple timelines is ok when having them throws the entirety of existence into question*), “Breaking Bad” was an example of all that Loki does right. And perhaps the best part of all? This felt like an episode of a series about Loki and the TVA and not like a necessary installment in the greater MCU – despite the actions taken having some relevance in the wider Marvel world. This is how you create a television episode that relates to a larger whole: by focusing on the characters you have and their immediate needs, not on the needs of the entire monolith itself.

*So, I get on a basic level that what General Dox did amounts to a massive genocide. On each of those branches there were billions of people living some version of their lives. You and I had infinite variants on those timelines, living different lives than the ones we lead here on this timeline. So, pruning the branches means those variants all die. Heard, chef! But when those branches’ mere existence is destabilizing the entire timeline – branches and all – is there not an argument to be made that pruning saves at least some even at the expense of others? I wish the series was more focused on presenting that side of the argument – because it is a compelling one. Sure, the TVA might be able to come up with an alternative – and likely will by the end of the season – that allows branches to exist, but at this moment, saving who you can isn’t necessarily a bad thing, right? I would have liked to see someone make that argument in the TVA if only to give the other characters a more morally complex thing to weigh.

We already knew that Mobius and Loki were a dynamite tag team (and, of course, their bad cop-confused cop routine with X-5 was excellent), but Eugene and OB teaming up as a great nerd duo and X-5 and Mobius turning into comedy gold were wonderful new additions to a series that thrives when its characters are allowed to bounce off one another to great comedic impact. And while I made fun of the McDonald’s brand placement last week (which continued into this week), I did appreciate that it allowed us to see that Sylvie – who has spent most of her life as an out-of-place variant running for her life – was genuinely thrilled and content to simply have a nice, calm place to call home. That simple piece of character development was such a smart choice in a series where time-hopping and constant movement is such a feature – to have a character love just being in one place and setting down roots, well that contrast truly stands out in a big way. Even Loki can’t quite understand how Sylvie can accept that life, a life without trying to stop the end of days, a life without movement, is acceptable, because he’s never really considered it for himself. Much like how Thanos went away to rest post-snap, Sylvie just wants to spend time alone in a calm world for eternity now that she has killed the man who forced her to run for so much of her life. I can certainly understand that need and respect it.

But, as Loki said, we know that Sylvie – or at least some version of her – will be at the TVA in the future when Loki gets pruned (so that he can survive in the past – I suspect the simplicity of the series will complicate itself pretty quickly as the plot starts chugging along). So, something is going to get her back there, at the moment someone (as I don’t think it’s Sylvie) goes to prune Loki. Is it the discovery of Kang variants? Is there another threat to the Scared Timeline and the remaining branches that will bring Sylvie back into the game? Or is it simply guilt over the billions of others lost when their branches were pruned this episode? The series has a number of interesting loose threads still out there (Renslayer and Miss Minutes’ location is number one on that list now), but Sylvie’s motivation for getting back in the game is one I’ll be intrigued to see as the season plays out.