Loki – The Nexus Event Review

If last week’s installment of Loki was all about character, “The Nexus Event” was all about plot. And with only two episodes remaining in the series, having an episode dedicated to pushing the series towards its climax was much needed – and incredibly well executed. Nothing brings me greater joy as a viewer and as a critic than when the exposition and character development in a series pays off in a single fell swoop – which is exactly what happened with “The Nexus Event.” It was a thing of creative beauty to behold – something that I never thought we’d really see from the MCU.

After three episodes of Loki, we knew precious little about the TVA and its motivations. While we still don’t quite know just why they have a penchant for taking seemingly normal folks from their everyday lives (I’m certainly not convinced any of the TVA officers are really Variants – are you?), wiping them from existence, and making them work for the TVA as shells of their former selves, we do know that it’s all true – and that it’s absolutely sinister in nature. We also know that the Time-Keepers are simply an Oz-like construct – animatronics without any actual life behind them (more on just what might be happening with them at the end of the review). The TVA seems to be a house of cards that is one deep breath away from crashing down around everyone. Well, I guess not everyone. Ravonna Renslayer certainly seemed to be in on the stealing “Variants” situation, and I would suspect she knew about the Time-Keeper bait and switch, although we don’t have confirmation on it.* Plenty of deception and lies all around in this one.

*While we did see Ravonna head into the Time-Keeper’s room to discuss the situation looking nervous, it’s entirely possible that was an act for whomever was outside their chambers. It’s also possible she doesn’t know that the Time-Keepers are just puppets, although I would have expected her to be a bit more shocked and dismayed at their apparent demise after she woke up from her fight with Sylvie. I suppose we’ll get the full breakdown of just what the hell is happening in the TVA next week, but my money is on Ravonna being in on all of it and trying to keep the TVA afloat after something happened to the Time-Keepers – or even being someone who helped create the fiction of the Time-Keepers in an attempt to manipulate and control the stream of time.

For a series named after the God of Mischief, I suppose we shouldn’t be shocked that the show is mired in a series of deception and lies – it’s Loki’s MO, after all. And to be frank, I’m wholly enjoying the web of storytelling that we have been presented with – I like being asked to distrust characters’ motivations and to dig through the plot to unearth the real bits from the not-so-real ones. It keeps me on my toes. Loki, thus far, has done a superb job of keeping the narrative fresh and keeping the hits coming. Hell, until the mid-credit scene in the episode, I was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) that the series had apparently decided to kill of both Mobius and Loki before the end of the series! I didn’t think Marvel had the guts to add such impressive stakes to the series* – and make Sylvie the central character with two episodes left (she is, after all, confirmed to be a Loki, so she could easily fit the bill as the title character moving forward had they opted to off the Loki we all know and love). I was a bit let down at the realization that Loki was, in fact, not really dead and gone – although that disappointment was assuaged by the reveal that he’s now stuck in a realm with at least four other Loki Variants (including Classic Loki, played by the great Richard E. Grant, so I’m plenty excited to see what he will get up to in the remaining two episodes of the series).

*When it comes to big franchises – whether it’s the MCU or something like Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead – the concept of life or death stakes has become a major stumbling block. When it comes to the big climactic fight in an MCU film, or when a key character is facing their own mortality in a big TV series, the audience knows that the hero really isn’t in any danger. Much was made of Thrones’ “we can kill anyone at any time” ethos after the death of Ned Stark in season one and the Red Wedding – but then the series spent the rest of its run not killing major characters, even when they faced insurmountable odds. Major characters in big budget shows and films are almost always encased in “plot armor,” meaning that the audience knows the story needs the character to go on – whether it’s for a sequel or another season. Characters don’t die until the story is about to end – think Black Widow and Iron Man in Endgame or Dany in the Thrones finale – and the audience can trust that their hero will be just fine despite the mortal danger they are facing. Which is why it was such a delightful shock to have Mobius and Loki appear to be killed off this early – and why it wasn’t a shock to see at least Loki reappear in a new realm with a new quest in the mid-credit scene – and why we also can’t assume Mobius won’t be back as well.

We’ve reached the climactic point in the series right on time. Sylvie has Ravonna right where she wants her – ready to reveal the whole plot of the TVA (as I’ve been saying since the premiere, you don’t hire Gugu Mbatha-Raw if you aren’t going to give her something juicy to do – and a villainous reveal would certainly check that box). Loki is about to find out just why there are a number of Loki Variants being housed by the TVA wherever they are being housed – and why Loki Variants seem to be a specialty of the TVA. And we need to figure out who exactly is pulling the TVA strings, since it doesn’t appear to be the Time-Keepers. Lots of questions, but questions that flow nicely from everything that we’ve seen thus far. We’ve been given enough character development to care about what happens to Sylvie and Loki moving forward – and to really mourn the loss of Mobius if he is indeed gone (while I’d love to see Owen Wilson back on-screen bonding with Tom Hiddleston once more, there’s a larger part of me that would like to see some stakes realized in the story and have him be well and truly gone). There’s a lot of plot to get through, and the show could still stumble in the final two episodes, but I am so incredibly ready to see where this fun, fast, and smart story is set to take us as we approach the end of time.

Final Thoughts:

— Ok, so what’s up the Time-Keepers? There has to be a puppet master controlling the puppets, but who is it? It could be Kang the Conqueror (who will be played by Jonathan Majors and appearing in the next Ant-Man film), but I’m not sure the MCU wants to introduce him this early in the game and then have us wait for him to appear several films from now. It could just be Ravonna, but where’s the fun in that? We saw that she was once a Hunter back in the day, so it serves to follow that she was recruited by someone for that role in the early days of the TVA. Now, as we’ve all learned from past MCU TV shows, sometimes it’s the most obvious answer. And that answer would be another Loki. The show is, after all, called Loki. Loki just met more Lokis in whatever void he’s currently in. Sylvie is a Loki. And each Loki – whichever version it is – fancies themself to be the smartest person in the room. So, it would make sense that there’s a Loki pulling the strings, eliminating all Lokis they encounter, making it so they are the only true Loki in the timeline.

— It was nice to see Lady Sif back on screen (again played by Jaimie Alexander), especially after Alexander’s Blindspot commitments prevented her from appearing in Thor: Ragnarök. Kevin Feige was clear that Sif survived the destruction of Asgard and is still out there in the universe and, considering Alexander was posting Instagram pictures from Australia during the filming of Thor: Love and Thunder, I think it’s a safe bet we’ll see Sif alive and well – and in the present day – in the next Thor film.