Why the Hel is there any alligator in here?!
After witnessing the pruning of Loki, Sylvie confronts Renslayer about the truth about the TVA. Renslayer admits she’s as much in the dark as Sylvie is, except for the fact that the temporal energy can’t be destroyed, so when something is pruned it is sent to void at the end of time. After some stalling from Renslayer, Sylvie prunes herself in order to rejoin Loki and find whoever is behind the TVA.
Meanwhile, back in the void, Loki joins four other variant Lokis; Kid Loki, Old Man Loki, Worthy Loki holding a variant of Mjolnir, and an alligator with Loki horns I am lovingly calling Loki-gator (move over Baby Yoda!). After discussing their backstories, the strangeness of Loki-gator, and fight the more violent variant Lokis who have survived the void, Loki learns about the greatest danger of the void, a beast named Alioth, an all consuming cosmic being who devours everything in its path. As Sylvie arrives, finds Mobius, and joins Loki, they come up with a plan to enchant Alioth and find whoever is behind the TVA. With some distraction from Loki and an impressive display of magic and sacrifice from Old Man Loki, Alioth is enchanted and dissipates, revealing a castle beyond.
After the last episode’s dramatic revelations and near goodbyes to favorite characters, “Journey Into Mystery” throws out some silly antics to lighten the mood. Particularly funny are the variant Lokis Loki meets in the void, such as Worthy Mjolnir wielding Loki who lies about gathering the Infinity Stones, or President Loki and his “Vote for Loki” marauder Lokis who are constantly betraying one another. But honestly, Loki-gator steals every scene he’s in just by existing and having his growls translated. But when there’s danger, Loki-gator is fast to lend a hand to his friends, or bite one off.
It didn’t skip out on offering more insight into the greater story though, or building the love between Loki and Sylvie. Having the different Lokis, while entertaining, also offers new perspectives for Loki to see himself, such as Old Man Loki who was tired of the destruction left in his wake and chose to simply live alone instead of being killed by Thanos. Loki also glimpses just how powerful he could be based on Old Man Loki’s magic.
One of the biggest, and exciting, questions from this episode, though, is the origin behind Alioth. It’s not likely to be a creation of whatever is behind the TVA, but an inevitability that will occur at the end of time. Given its nature, is it possible that Alioth is somehow connected to Galactus, the all encompassing cosmos being who feasts on galaxies? Could Loki and Alioth be evidence of the MCU beginning to focus on its cosmic elements? Silver Surfer? The Fantastic Four?
Who is behind the TVA? What will Loki and Sylvie find in the castle? Is Loki-gator going to save the day? There is only one episode left of this season and we are only steps away from answers, hopefully.
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