Loki - Episode 3

By Ephraim Belnap

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Created by: Micheal Waldron

Episode 3 directed by: Kate Herron

3 Out Of 5

    With its third episode, Loki both expands and retreats inward. 

    After the last episode ended with Loki going AWOL - chasing the villain through a portal to keep them close - it takes a sharp left turn into contemplation. After a tense opening sequence, the two are soon trapped on a soon-to-be-destroyed planet by Loki's faulty teleporter. And with only one way to recharge it, the villain - revealed to be a female Loki from another timeline - decides to work with our Loki to get out alive. 

    Played by Sophia Di Martino, and going by the name of Sylvie, our new Loki is bold, ambiguous, and tricky, the mirror of her counterpart. But she's not flawless; she doesn't recognize Loki's magic, for one. And her motivations hardly seem sinister up close. On the contrary, she seems as if she's the protagonist of some other TV show, and Loki decides to treat her as such. No sudden betrayal, no double meaning sentences; their exchanges are positively kind. Aside from trying to kill each other at the start, of course. 

    Traveling across a gravel-strewn planet, the two form an uneasy connection that blossoms into something real. And the episode's ending shows that it isn't over between them. With a beautiful background, good performances, and engaging action, the episode feels as good as ever. 

    But it sadly isn't. This turn into introspection, while good, feels stunted in comparison to the careful development of previous episodes. Loki doesn't so much develop as grandstand, doing Loki-like things he's expected to do. And the character of Sylvie, while a relief to finally get to know, is almost a cypher, and not in the fun way. Is she a good guy? A bad guy? Misguided? The rule of every Marvel product is that there has to be an overarching villain, and the rule of Loki is that they're always bluffing about something. But the episode seems to suggest neither. Perhaps this will be a good thing, but the episode refuses to truly resolve this question by episode's end. 

Perhaps the next episode will do that instead.

Loki is available to stream on Disney+