Loki Episode 3 recap: Never Forget Your Portable Chargers

In Loki Episode 3, “Lamentis,” the Variant the TVA has been hunting becomes the God of Mischief’s ally. Because of course, Loki would make friends with a supervillain.

But this episode of the Disney Plus show takes a different tone than the first two. It opens with Hayley Kiyoko’s ‘Demons’, for one, before revealing the Variant with the kidnapped Hunter C-20 (Sasha Lane).

They’re having fun—drinking margaritas at a bar. They could be friends on a night out. Until the Variant asks Hunter C-20 about the Time Keepers, that is. C-20 isn’t forthcoming. Not even a change of scenery makes her talk. But we know she eventually does.

In the previous episode of Loki, the Variant had successfully evaded the TVA—and taken Loki with her. And now we know her destination. It’s the last place Loki would expect her to go.

Loki Episode 3 – Back to the Start

The Variant heads right back to the TVA in Loki Episode 3. She tries to use her possession powers on a TVA agent but it doesn’t work—magic doesn’t work inside the TVA, as we learned in Episode 1. The Variant has to do this the old-fashioned way—with her fists. The incinerator batons help, too.

Loki follows suit and is as surprised as the audience to be back in the TVA again. He knows this place well, and he knows where Hunter B-15 hid his daggers. Finally, Loki is armed and dangerous.

It would help if Loki could actually fight well! Thor got all the battle training from Odin, while Loki got Frigga’s magic. The brothers really should have spent some time learning each other’s skills.

The Variant makes short work of Loki. Once Ravonna Renslayer appears, it looks like the two Loki Variants are done for.

But Loki uses his wits—he’s much better in this area than fist-fighting, obviously—and activates the Variant’s TemPad. A door opens and the two Variants land up somewhere else. Let’s just say the TVA was the frying pan in this situation.

Neither Loki nor the Variant knows where they’ve landed, but that doesn’t stop them from fighting some more. Free of the TVA restraints, Loki unleashes his full array of magic to dupe the Variant. It doesn’t work.

The Variant still manages to conk Loki on the head and steal the TemPad. Only to find that the battery has died. So, they’re stuck here, wherever ‘here’ is, until they find a power source strong enough to bring the TemPad back to life. Neither of them thought this plan through, did they?

Loki Episode 3 – Cosmic Fire

Of course, it gets worse in Loki Episode 3. Once Loki and the Variant exit the small home they’d fallen into, the Variant proclaims that they’ve landed on Lamentis-1 in 2077, mere hours before an apocalypse wipes out the planet.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Variant was hiding out in apocalypses. Of course, her TemPad would be programmed to another apocalyptic destination. Except there’s no escape here with a discharged TemPad.

The Variant and Loki have to team up if they’re to get off this rock. It helps that the Variant’s possession abilities don’t work on Loki—apparently, his mind is too strong. Here’s hoping, for his sake.

They come across a potential power source, but it’s an inhabited home, and the homeowner is not pleased to see them. Even when Loki takes on the guise of the woman’s husband, she just blasts him out of her abode.

The woman does tell them where they can go—the train station, where the rest of the planet’s residents have convened in the hopes of boarding the Ark. The train is a strong power source, enough to charge the TemPad and help them escape Lamentis.

But Loki and the Variant are painfully conspicuous at the station. Until Loki takes on the guise of one of the guards—those shapeshifting abilities really come in handy, don’t they?

As Loki marches the Variant onto the train, one thing becomes obvious—the people not being allowed to board are regular civilians, while the people boarding the train are of a different social status. One of the civilians even yells about only ‘rich people’ being saved. Sounds like Earth.

On the train, Loki and the Variant try to learn more about each other. We learn that the Variant wants to be called Sylvie—she was a ‘Loki’ but not anymore. This is a departure from the comics where Lady Loki and Sylvie were separate characters. But it works.

Loki surprisingly bares his soul about his mother but Sylvie isn’t as forthcoming. They do end up talking about love. Sylvie mentions a postman who’s waiting for her through time. Whether we believe her or not remains to be seen.

A moment that has delighted queer fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe also takes place during this scene. Sylvie asks Loki about the princesses and princes he’s been involved with and Loki confirms he’s had dalliances with both and assumes Sylvie has done the same.

Writer-director of Loki, Kate Herron, tweeted about confirming Loki’s bisexuality on the show. This makes Loki one of the very few queer MCU characters until The Eternals is released later this year.

https://twitter.com/iamkateherron/status/1407633677484539906?s=21

Bonding exercises aside, Loki and Sylvie still have a mission to execute—get off Lamentis-1 by any means necessary. That’s so much easier said than done.

Loki Episode 3 – Off the Rails

With so much to do in Loki Episode 3, Sylvie takes a nap, only to be rudely awoken by Loki drunkenly singing with the passengers on the train. Loki is so drunk that his disguise is gone—his ‘Variant’ jacked from the TVA is in full view. And people notice.

It isn’t long before the train guards appear and try to forcibly remove Loki and Sylvie from the train. If you thought Loki was bad in a fight when he was sober, he’s practically useless when he’s drunk. He gets chucked right out of a window of the train. Great work, Loki. Frigga would be proud. Not!

Sylvie follows because Loki still has the TemPad. No point being on the train if there’s no way to escape. Unfortunately, the TemPad was completely destroyed when Loki was kicked off the train. Understandably, Sylvie is upset.

Her plan to infiltrate the TVA was years in the making, ruined by Loki. And now here’s another plan, again ruined by Loki. Are these two even the same person?

Once again, Loki’s brains come to the rescue. They can’t take the train to the Ark, but they can get to the Ark, at least. It’s a long walk, and Loki’s not used to walking this much, but it gives them time to talk.

Sylvie doesn’t say much but she does reveal that her life hasn’t been as comfortable as Loki’s. For one, she barely knew her mother. Sylvie’s very used to walking, as well. But she also explains how her enchantments work.

Possession requires work—Sylvie goes into people’s minds but she needs something to hold on to, usually she uses old memories. For Hunter C-20, for instance, Sylvie had to dig deep. C-20’s mind was a mess until Sylvie went back to a memory from before C-20 joined the TVA.

This gives Loki pause. From what Loki’s been told, all the TVA agents were created by the Time Keepers. They didn’t have a before. But that’s not true, Sylvie tells him. The TVA agents are variants, just like Loki and Sylvie. But do the agents even know that?

There isn’t time to think about this now. Loki and Sylvie reach the Ark, and they’re not the only ones. Hundreds of civilians are vying for a spot on the ship, which historically was destroyed before ever leaving Lamentis-1. Loki and Sylvie plan to change that.

But the planet above starts raining down on them. No matter where Loki and Sylvie go, they’re cornered by meteors or zealous officers.

In a glorious one-take sequence, Loki and Sylvie fight, hide, and race to the Ark. Only for a meteor to tear into the ship, leaving the Variants stranded on a dying world.

Final Thoughts – Loki Episode 3 is What I’ve Been Waiting For!

I loved everything about Loki Episode 3. The pacing was fantastic. The story was manic but had just the right mix of heart and suspense. I had no idea where the plot was going to go and every step was a surprise.

Plus, we finally got confirmation of a queer protagonist in one of the biggest franchises, and a cliffhanger that already has me desperate for next Wednesday.

I really hope the remainder of the series follows in the footsteps of this episode because this was stupendous.

What did you think of Loki Episode 3? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Loki is streaming weekly on Disney Plus.