“Loki” Season 2 has entered its chaos stretch.
This season has been nothing but high-stakes fare since its opening moments; in Episode 4, however, with the fittingly grandiose title “Heart of the TVA,” the story has reached a height of action and tension from which it won’t descend.
Episode 3 left viewers with Ravonna Renslayer and Miss Minutes at the end of time, temporarily stunted in their ambitions of regaining control of the Time Variance Authority. “Heart of the TVA” picks up immediately from this moment, and we watch as the two antagonists conclude that they don’t need He Who Remains in order to carry out their plan.
What proceeds is a cat-and-mouse game of sorts between the two main groups of characters. Loki and the heroes must rescue He Who Remains variant Victor Timely and repair the temporal loom that filters all the diverging timelines; Renslayer and Miss Minutes, with help from Brad Wolfe of “Breaking Brad” notoriety, seek to flush out the heroes and take over the TVA.
This back-and-forth dynamic makes for an enthralling 45 minutes of hero-villain interaction. Bolstering this interaction is its setting; aside from the first couple minutes at the end of time, the entire episode takes place in various parts of the TVA, which is in the middle of a collapse. The almost-apocalyptic imagery works beautifully as a frame for the momentous events at hand, and it creates a succinctly urgent tone.
“Heart of the TVA” functions as a hinge point for the entire season. Like most of the other six-part series Marvel has put out, the fourth episode is where a major climax occurs. Look no further than John Walker’s brutal killing of a Flag-Smasher at the end of “The Falcon and the Winter Solider” Episode 4 or even the same point in “Loki” Season 1, when Loki and Sylvie discover that the Time-Keepers are fake and Loki is pruned into the Void at the end of time.
Those having already watched “Heart of the TVA” will know that its ending is no less calamitous than those of its Marvel counterparts. This shock ending is executed to near perfection: It is completely unexpected both for the characters and for the audience, and the reaction is spot on. Each cast member involved sells their devastation with conviction. The closing frame focuses on Tom Hiddleston’s dumbfounded and despairing face, which precisely mirrors viewers’ sentiments.
Episode 4 doesn’t have the same scenic novelty and classic feel as Episode 3, but it more than equals its predecessor in significance. It is the point this season at which the stakes have been the highest and most keenly felt. If the six-part series format holds — after a chaotic fourth part, the penultimate episode tends to be a little tamer before the finale — we’ve been catapulted into the eye of the storm. Until next week, all we can do is ruminate on the frenzy.
