The episode opens with a look inside the Time Variance Authority as its bureaucratic agents go about their jobs like any other day.
In the purgatory-like Void at the end of time where reset timelines and pruned variants go to die, Loki gets acquainted with other versions of himself: Classic Loki .
Loki, determined to find a way back to Sylvie and the TVA, attempts to leave the variants’ bunker but finds a dozen more Lokis waiting outside.
As he says, “Blades are worthless in the face of a Loki sorcery.” Instead of engaging in a ridiculous battle, Classic Loki uses his magic to create an illusion of himself, Loki and Kid Loki fighting when they’re actually teleporting away.
Meanwhile, Sylvie’s back at the TVA on her own adventure, trying to pump Renslayer for information about the Void, but the TVA judge stalls until she can get Minutemen to back her up and arrest Sylvie.
Her arrival is instantly met with action, as she must escape Alioth, a sentient cloud of smoke that destroys anything in its path.
It’s a bit awkward for the two characters to explore their emotions but nevertheless heartwarming to see how they’ve become friends and developed trust in each other — a surprise, since Loki typically betrays others’ trust.
As Sylvie prepares to enchant Alioth with her magic — as she did to Hunter B-15 — and Loki fails to distract the monster with a flaming dagger, Classic Loki proves his point yet again that magic is superior to weapons by conjuring a massive illusion of the entire city of Asgard.
While it took years for him to redeem himself in the Sacred Timeline, it’s only been a matter of days for Loki to go from a snobby, power-hungry god to being someone who still may not be a hero but does his best at doing something good.
As the finale approaches, they’ll probably have a larger presence, since Mobius plans to “burn to the ground.” More action, shocking twists and emotional performances are to be expected in the last episode, though the chance of a conclusive and satisfactory ending is up in the air.
There’s plenty more to Loki and his magic than conjuring costumes and drying his wet clothes, which the show has already hinted at with Classic Loki’s powers and Loki learning Sylvie’s enchantment to defeat Alioth.
In the fourth episode of the six-part series, Marvel’s new hit show “Loki” takes it up a notch.