Loki (1×05) Journey Into Mystery Review

For our review of the last episode of Loki, click here.

The penultimate episode of Loki continued the wave that was a fantastic previous episode by carrying that emotion while connecting all its pieces in a satisfying way in positioning them towards next week’s season finale, What could be deemed as filler for the most part was not without its moments as it had its payoffs with Sylvie continuing to cement herself as the standout character in the series and some new additions making their presence felt. Though in setting up the end, some potential was lost here as not everything was firing on all cylinders with some frustrating storylines holding it back.

Journey Into Mystery as an episode title was a little bit of a misnomer but it started where the last episode left off with Sylvie and Renslayer as the latter managed to talk her way out of being pruned by convincing Sylvie that she was just as clueless and wanted the same answers which proved to just be a ploy to get the upper hand or at least until Sylvie pruned herself. Whether or not she is actually clueless is debatable though the ambiguousness of her true intentions continues to be frustrating as the series doesn’t quite seem to know what to do with her. Nevertheless, her plan was to maintain stability and the status quo. Meanwhile, Loki was still getting acclimated with his new surroundings and his new companions, Classic Loki, Kid Loki, Boastful Loki, and Alligator Loki (CL, KL, BL, and AL). They were more experienced than he was as they merely found themselves in a dumping ground for the TVA along with a mysterious cloud creature that the other Lokis did not dare to mess with.

Frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the other Lokis, Loki set out on his own only to find another Loki (from the trailers) leading a group of marauders to their current holdout thanks to being sold out by BL. However, his reign was cut short after his hand was bitten off by AL. The subsequent commotion afforded the other Lokis the means to escape. From there, they agreed to help though the key (there’s obviously a mutual trust there) was clearly Sylvie who just happened to show up with Mobius who she just happened to run into just in time. Sylvie had an idea of her own on what to do which was enchant the cloud monster. Sylvie may have been the key but Mobius added some much needed humanity to the Loki dynamic.

As the group turned their attention towards the cloud monster, Mobius went back to the TVA while Loki and Sylvie forged ahead (not before Loki gave him a hug which only showed the arc of their relationship). Their chemistry was on full display as they worked together to enchant the monster in an intense sequence that featured a compelling sacrifice from CL who used his powers to distract the monster. Enchanting the monster opened up a pathway towards a far away fortress where one can only assume the forces responsible for all of this reside. The episode ended with Loki and Sylvie heading in that direction.

Whatever they may or may not find there remains to be seen and the internet will definitely be all over it either way. As soon as we got to this world, we are already moving on from it which is the nature of the beast with a 6 episode season. Putting all the chips on the last episode, hopefully it all pays off as the pieces are finally coming together even if it may not be in a quick or satisfying enough way thus far.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.