Loki Episode 5 recap: So, Who Really Runs the TVA?

In Loki Episode 5, “Journey Into Mystery,” Loki makes new allies but new enemies aren’t far behind. Meanwhile, Sylvie makes her own discoveries. None of them good.

This Disney Plus show has been a rollercoaster in terms of storytelling. The heroes and villains have never been clear. The penultimate episode finally gives us some clue as to how we’ll reach a resolution. But exactly what that conclusion will be is anyone’s guess.

When we last left Loki, he’d been pruned by the TVA, only to find himself very much alive and being rescued by yet another set of unlikely Loki variants, Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), Boastful Loki (Deobia Oparei), and Alligator Loki.

This left Sylvie facing Ravonna Renslayer, and the very real possibility that the Time Keepers may never be found. But such uncertainty isn’t enough to stop Sylvie from finding the truth. By any means necessary.

Loki Episode 5 – Dawn of Time

If Sylvie is frustrated about learning that the Time Keepers were nothing but androids, she’s got nothing on Ravonna. This woman has dedicated her life to the TVA and the diktats of the Time Keepers. She’s furious to learn that they’re not real.

When Sylvie demands more answers in Loki Episode 5, Ravonna makes an unbelievable suggestion—teaming up to find the truth. She does this by explaining that Loki might very well be alive.

The pruning, apparently, doesn’t have the power to kill—variant atoms always remain. Instead, the variants are simply transferred. Unfortunately, their destination leaves little room for hope.

The end of time is nothing but chaos—where diverging timelines appear and are devoured. Nobody ever comes back from there so the Time Keepers are committed to turning it into a utopia. Since they’re not real, that’s obviously not happening.

But Ravonna isn’t interested in the end of time—it’s fruitless. She asks Miss Minutes for information about the dawn of time—where the Time Keepers first appeared. This is the mystery Ravonna needs to solve—she doesn’t care about what’s happened to Loki.

That’s not good enough for Sylvie—if Loki’s alive, she needs to find him. But there’s a void that must be traversed to get to the end of time, one that’s never been crossed. Well, Sylvie wants to cross it anyway.

Miss Minutes and Ravonna suggest taking an experimental void-traveler but it soon becomes obvious that they’re stalling. No such transport exists. But it gives Ravonna enough time to call for reinforcements.

This is a blow for Sylvie—she’d really got her hopes up. But with no options and no escape, Sylvie takes the only route she can—she prunes herself.

That saves Ravonna a ton of trouble. But the mystery of the Time Keepers? Still hanging over her head. Ravonna goes to the only person she has left—Hunter B-15. She’s alive!

B-15 has been locked up and is surprisingly zen about it. She realizes that Ravonna is desperate to find the people behind the TVA. But B-15 also knows that this is something that Ravonna wants for herself. Sylvie, on the other hand, needs this information. And that gives her the upper hand in this fight.

Loki Episode 5 – End of Time

Loki is relieved to be alive but that won’t last for long in Loki Episode 5. He is informed that Alioth, a dark cloud with a big mouth and a bigger appetite for variants, is about to eat them all.

That’s all very well, but Loki is a bit sick and tired of running and not getting answers. He demands to know why they can’t fight Alioth and what in the hell this place is. Not much information is forthcoming because the Lokis only know so much. Mostly, they hide in their crowded bunker.

All the Loki’s were pruned because of a Nexus event they caused. Kid Loki apparently killed Thor—how ghoulish. He’s also the ruler of the end of time. Probably because he’s been there for a very long time.

Classic Loki actually escaped Thanos on the Asgardian ship—the same event that killed MCU-Loki—and lived a quiet life. The moment he tried to go home to find his brother, the TVA caught him.

Boastful Loki apparently defeated the Avengers and that’s how he got caught. Alligator Loki’s nexus event was a bit less dramatic—he ate the wrong neighbor’s cat.

Whatever their nexus event, all the Loki variants land up here at the end of time. They can run and hide—as this group of Lokis has done—or they can get eaten by Alioth.

But Loki is tired of hiding. He also knows that Sylvie can and will take down the TVA. She’s different. She’s driven. She needs Loki by her side to win this fight. The other Lokis laugh at this but Loki decides he’s going to go, even if it’s on his own.

No chance. The moment Loki tries to leave the bunker, he comes up against a whole bunch of other Loki variants, led by President Loki. Apparently this Loki faction have been trying to get into the bunker for a while—mainly to kill Kid Loki and rule the void.

And they’ve had help. Boastful Loki has been instrumental in betraying his own group—anyone else annoyed that the only POC Loki was the betrayer?

The plan was for Boastful Loki to become ruler but President Loki has other plans. Unsurprisingly, a fight ensues, and Loki manages to escape, with Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki in tow.

Now they have no bunker to hide in. With Alioth on their tail, Loki’s hope to fight the monster disintegrates when he sees the cloud in action. It seems hopeless until the Lokis hear a car approaching in the nick of time.

Loki Episode 5 – Enchantments in Time

Sylvie awakens at the end of time, moments before being eaten by Alioth. She manages to outrun the beast in Loki Episode 5 but makes physical contact with it. The connection is brief but it shows Sylvie there’s something here that can tell her about the real Time Keepers.

When Sylvie is about to be overtaken, a car with a pizza slice approaches her. It’s Mobius! He’s alive, as well! Mobius is apologetic for hunting Sylvie and the two form a friendly bond. After all, they both want to save Loki.

They soon find Loki and the other variants and Sylvie unveils her plan—she’s going to enchant Alioth and find out what it’s hiding. The plan is dangerous but it’s the only one that will actually work.

Loki and Sylvie share a moment before the big battle but Loki surprisingly doesn’t confess his feelings to her. Sylvie doesn’t believe their connection created a nexus event on Lamentis and Loki plays along. Does Sylvie not feel the same way? Or does she not want anything more from Loki?

It seems that the Lokis all have something in common—they want a connection with someone. And most of them don’t have any connections to anyone. Sylvie obviously doesn’t—she’s been hiding in apocalypses all her life.

This Loki variant hasn’t had the arc MCU-Loki had, so he’s looking for a connection, as well. But then why doesn’t he just tell Sylvie how he feels? The longing looks are sweet but they don’t quite fit with Loki.

Meanwhile, Mobius plans to head back to the TVA—Sylvie has managed to hang on to Ravonna’s TemPad. Mobius will bring the place down while the Lokis stop Alioth. Before Mobius leaves, Loki gives him a hug, which is a lovely gesture. They have become friends, it seems.

Facing down Alioth isn’t easy. Loki has to distract the being while Sylvie enchants it. Classic Loki comes to the rescue, using magic at a level neither Loki nor Sylvie has mastered, to distract Alioth.

Classic Loki gets eaten in the process but it gives Loki and Sylvie enough time to realise their potential and enchant Alioth together. As the last of the dark cloud dissipates, they see the hidden place from Sylvie’s vision. What’s in there? We can only find out next week in the finale.

Final Thoughts – Loki Episode 5 Gave Us Some Fun Relationships

I loved the new Lokis we got to meet in Loki Episode 5. I actually wish we had been given more time to get to know them. Whether it was the pandemic, I’m not sure, but this episode could have been expanded to give us more Loki interactions.

It was fun nonetheless, and Classic Loki got some brilliant moments, which one would expect when a veteran like Richard E Grant is brought in. It’s a shame Classic Loki is already dead. We hardly knew thee!

I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen in the finale. It’s one of the things I’ve enjoyed about this show—the unpredictability is on par with WandaVision.

I’m excited about the conclusion, but I’ll also miss spending time with Loki. It has been so long since we saw him but this is a fitting return for a complex and fun character.

What did you think of Loki Episode 5? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Loki is streaming weekly on Disney Plus.