Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Loki season 2, episode 5
Summary
- Loki gains new powers with the ability to control his time-slipping, allowing him to try and save the TVA once more while preventing his friends from being unraveled from existence.
- Loki’s desire to save the TVA stems from his fear of being alone and losing his friends, revealing a more vulnerable side of the God of Mischief.
- Loki takes control of his own narrative and jumps back to before the Temporal Loom’s destruction, hinting at his plan to stabilize it and save the TVA in the season finale.
Loki season 2, episode 5 ends on a very exciting note for the MCU show while also giving the titular God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) new powers. Following the major cliffhanger that was Loki season 2, episode 4 with the destruction of the TVA’s Temporal Loom, Loki found himself alone in the TVA just before it completely unraveled from existence. However, the return of his time-slipping gave the God of Mischief a way forward to try and set things right.
As seen in Loki season 2, episode 5, Loki started time-slipping again, soon finding his friends at the TVA who’d all been sent back to their original timelines. This included Hunter B-15 who was a doctor, O.B. who was a struggling science fiction author, Casey who was the infamous Alcatraz escapee Frank Morris, and Agent Mobius who naturally sold jet skis. Loki also reunited with Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) who initially refused to help until she witnessed her adopted branch timeline unravel from existence. With that in mind, here’s everything to know about Loki season 2, episode 5’s ending and what it most likely means for the finale.
How Loki Can Control His Time-Slipping Explained
A good amount of Loki season 2, episode 5 is very introspective when it comes to Loki himself. While O.B. convinces Loki to focus on the “why” behind his desire to control his time-slipping, it’s not until Sylvie challenges her fellow God of Mischief about the real reason “why” that’s underneath. For Loki, he doesn’t just want to save the TVA. He wants to save the TVA because he wants to save his friends and not be alone. It’s a massively crucial moment for the God of Mischief which directly leads into how he’s able to finally control his time-slipping by the episode’s end.
This is very significant considering Loki’s new power essentially allows him to break all the MCU’s previously established rules of time travel. While the Avengers were unable to go back and change events in the past to rewrite their present and future as seen in Avengers: Endgame, this is exactly what Loki can do now that he has control over his massively powerful new ability. Just like he says at the end of Loki season 2, episode 5, Loki can rewrite the story.
Likewise, it’s also implied that Loki can rewrite the story as many times as he needs to until he gets the outcome he’s looking for, though there may be limitations that might not be revealed until Loki season 2’s finale. Regardless, the ability to travel through time and space and to rewrite timelines on a whim is extremely impressive. It offers a whole range of possibilities for the God of Mischief going forward.
What Does Loki Mean By ‘Who’?
A key element behind Loki’s new control is the revelation that the time has finally come for him to redefine who he is and rewrite his own story. As he loses everyone he cares about while the whole of reality unravels, the God of Mischief recalls Sylvie’s line from Loki season 1 where she wondered if losing was perhaps a core defining trait of all Lokis.
“Do you think that what makes a Loki a Loki, is the fact that we’re destined to lose?”
Now, it seems the God of Mischief is refusing to follow that narrative/destiny going forward. As such, he then takes control and intentionally jumps back on his own personal timeline before Sylvie and all his friends are unraveled. The “who” Loki refers to is Loki himself, confirming to O.B. that that was the key to his control as opposed to the “why”. Loki is determined to rewrite who he is in the MCU. However, the “who” is also who he’s trying to save, those he cares about.
What Point In Time Loki Traveled To At The End Of Episode 5
Loki then goes back even further in the final shot of Loki season 2, episode 5. As such, he’s seen back in the TVA at what looks to be just before the Temporal Loom’s explosion as seen in Loki season 2, episode 4. It’s also likely before Victor Timely went out to try and fix the device, only for him to be immediately unraveled due to the intense temporal radiation coming from the Loom.
This should give Loki the perfect opportunity to rewrite the timeline and ensure that the Temporal Loom is indeed stabilized, thereby saving the TVA and all of his friends going forward in Loki season 2’s finale. However, it has not yet been revealed if there will be any consequences for Loki rewriting the present and future on such a massive scale. After all, the power Loki is now wielding in the MCU is huge, especially with no known boundaries and limitations following the events of Loki season 2, episode 5.
Loki’s Plan To Save The TVA Explained
It certainly looks as though Loki will be looking to try again and fix the Temporal Loom before it explodes, using the Throughput Multiplier to stabilize the Loom as was the original plan devised by O.B. and Victor Timely. However, he’ll likely be suiting up himself this time around in the season finale, rather than letting Timely go out. Perhaps Loki will be able to withstand the radiation better thanks to his new abilities. This also tracks with shots from Loki season 2’s trailers where Loki is indeed seen suited up, something he’s yet to do in the episodes that have been seen thus far.
New episodes of Loki release every Thursday at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Disney+.