Where does one even begin with an episode like “The Nexus Event?” Did anyone else stare at their wall for a good five minutes after the mid-credits scene?Because I did, and I would like to feel less alone about this.
Loki is proving to be a series about self-love and self-discovery, and it’s doing so without being overtly obnoxious. It’s a series where words are blatantly spoken at times, but it never feels like it’s trying to sell the audience on something as much as it’s trying to evolve an incredibly complex character.
And Loki Laufeyson has never been more complex in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the same way, Loki’s world has never been more of a clusterf—k, which oddly, works in favor of the show. We all expected chaos from this. We all expected complete madness in the best way, and that’s what we’re seeing.
If you haven’t seen Loki’s fourth episode, “The Nexus Event” yet, now’s the time to turn away because spoilers ahead. There is a lot to unpack with this one, and condensing to it highlights proved to be incredibly difficult.
The Nexus Event of Self-Love
I have absolutely no idea how I feel about this, and if this were any other show, I’d probably run for the hills. But Loki is chaos exemplified and whatever this is, it works. It took director Kate Harmon’s words to do a bit of convincing, but I’ll accept.
“Who’s a better match for Loki than himself?” director Kate Herron chimes in. “The whole show is about identity. It’s about him, and he is on a very different path, and he is on a different journey. He sees things in Sylvie that he is like, ‘Oh, I’ve been there. I know what you feel.’ But she’s like, ‘Well, I don’t feel that way.’ And I think that was the kind of fun thing about it. She is him, but she’s not him. They’ve had such different life experiences. So just from an identity perspective, it was interesting to dig into that.”
‘Loki’: Inside the Decision to Have Him ‘Fall In Love With Another Version of Himself‘
If the nexus event is caused by self-love, then what a remarkable way to really show the power of acceptance, and the importance of learning to live with the parts of ourselves that aren’t perfect. This is incredible for both Loki’s growth and likely Sylvie’s who’s had so much ripped from her and is now finally on the brink of understanding why.
Loki might have been pruned, but Sylvie is not going to let Ravonna off the hook easy until she learns why she was put through all the things she faced. And “The Nexus Event” showcases that as a duo, Loki and Sylvie are both fascinating as individual characters and most surprisingly, as a team.
In the same way that “Lamentis” proved just how much transparency both characters are capable of, this proved that together, they could get things done.
There is a sense of liberation here that they are both dealing with in confronting their pasts, their presents, and hopefully their futures, which could not have been achieved had they not known each other. So if they learn to love themselves by loving each other, (and not even in a romantic sense), it could still prove to be an exceptionally beautiful thing that I still can’t grasp the fact that this show is doing.
B-15 For All Time. Always
Hunter B-15 walking through the door and taking a stand was as glorious as any entrance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if not more. I was worried we wouldn’t see her again after this, but her arc in “The Nexus Event” was colossal, and the understanding that something was wrong was a moment that brought forth an excellent performance by Wunmi Mosaku.
In which case, I’m now hopeful we will get more of the character.
This was B-15’s moment to shine and what a moment it was—for all time, always. Short and sweet but evocative in every way.
Timekeepers Action Sequence
THIS ACTION SEQUENCE. Holy variants, what a moment. It’s hard to believe this one wasn’t on the big screen because every bit of it was a pure spectacle worthy of praise. The cinematography, the performances, the score, and every little angle is worth dissecting.
It might just be the scene I rewatch over and over again just because of how brilliantly it was shot, and how seamlessly in worked in advancing the story along.
And who doesn’t love an excellent back to back fight prep sequence? Someday, I’ll have more words for this scene, but for now, it’s one of those moments we all just need to collectively geek out about for a little longer. And sometimes geeking out means just screaming into a void while staring at a wall.
Mobius’ End and Beginning
I will prune everyone in the TVA if “The Nexus Event” is really Owen Wilson’s last episode as Mobius. (I don’t know how, but I’ll figure out a way. Don’t at me.) But my goodness, that soul crushing line about “maybe I had a jet ski” is going to haunt me for a long time. What tremendous weight that delivery was full of.
Mobius’ journey has been fascinating since the very beginning because if he’s the character who’s meant to be our eyes into the TVA then “The Nexus Event” proves he’s the one we can actually trust. As I mentioned in “The Variant,” it’s hard to trust anyone on this show, including Loki, but it’s clear in this episode that Mobius is a character we could trust because he’s shown us that we can.
When he realizes that something is off about Hunter C-20’s death, his decision not to let Ravonna’s words go reiterated the notion that perhaps somewhere deep down, he has questioned the legitimacy of the TVA and all that they stand for. He has questioned the ins and outs of this place, and for a moment, the one person who he’s supposed to trust is proving that something is off.
So, he swallows it up and makes it seem as though he’ll accept it. He argues with Loki, but then he listens. He continues questioning. When he finally learns the truth and is caught, he’s pruned.
And making the moment that much worse is Tom Hiddleston’s visceral reaction to watching someone he genuinely considered a friend perish on sight. Thus, to say it was horrifying would be an understatement.
So, I say this again—this better not be the end.
Pruning? Or Rebirth
Pruning is a terrible word to use for what they are actually doing to variants, but the mid-credits scene poses the question of: what on earth does pruning actually do? Are these characters born again or sent to another dimension?
Loki seeing three different versions of himself touches on this possibility intricately, but also continues to add more complicated layers into the world of time travel.
“The Nexus Event” is an episode that forces our characters to not only look within themselves, but to look towards the friends they’ve made—the people they can trust. It is an episode that touches on communication and transparency gorgeously, but it’s also an episode that intricately notes to the robots that do the terrible bidding.
It deals with unveiling the corrupt, and it deals with the ramifications of betrayal while trying to remain afloat.
And with just two episodes left, I think it’s safe to be rightfully nervous about what is to come while still trusting the show to deliver exquisitely.
Glorious Mischief and Further Thoughts
- “You told me shut up!” And I might never shut up about this.
- Lamentis has no right to be as beautiful as it is and I will keep using shots of it just because of the stunning colors.
- Loki calling Mobius a friend broke me a little. (Just kidding, it was a lot.)
- Loki admitting to craving attention and being a narcissist was so fascinating because isn’t that how we achieve self-love? By essentially admitting to our flaws and our true desires? The series actually went there, and it was brilliant in every way.
- “I’ve lost track of the amount of times I’ve been killed.” Meanwhile, we’re still haunted by the time you really were in Infinity War, but this is oddly hopeful.
- B-15 was everything in this episode and I can’t wait to see more of her.
- It’s such a bummer that Ravonna turned out as she did because she was such a riveting character (still is), but I wanted her to fight against the TVA, too.
- The sequence with Lady Sif was hysterical, and I’m glad they brought her back, even for a short while.
- “It never stops.” Oof, haunting in every way.
- Sylvie admitting that she grew up in the ends of the thousand worlds where the TVA could never find her was just so utterly crushing. GIVE HER THE FREEDOM SHE DESERVES 2k21.
What are your thoughts on Loki’s fourth episode? Scream about it in the comments below with us.