After being pruned, Loki meets more variants in the Void. Sylvie follows him and together they plan to find out who is behind the TVA and all this chaos.
The fifth episode of Loki paves way for the end of all mysteries surrounding the TVA. After being pruned, Loki turns up in the Void. He meets other variants as well as Mobius and Sylvie. Together they must find out who is the puppeteer behind all the strings being pulled.
Watch: Marvel Studios’ LOKI | EPISODE 6 PROMO TRAILER | Disney+
The Void
The Void is basically the place where all the pruned variants end up. It is the home of Alioth, a living cloud. It destroys everything it touches in a matter of seconds. Imagine snapping your fingers wearing the Infinity gauntlet. Everything it devours turns to dust in the blink of an eye.
In the comics, Alioth is the first being to break free from the chains of time. It then started gaining strength and was able to conquer all time periods except that of Kang the Conqueror. However, Alioth was able to gain access to Chronopolis, Kang’s world, after which Kang had to take the help of the Avengers to defeat it. For the last two episodes, multiple clues are hinting towards the presence of Kang. This is what has led to many fans believe that it is indeed him who is doing all this; a pro time-traveler who is the main culprit behind the TVA.
However, Sylvie does manage to enchant it with Loki’s assistance and thereby get through it. (This is after she has a glimpse of someplace when she came in contact with Alioth for a few seconds while escaping from it.) This revealed a portal that apparently led to the home of the one who created the TVA hoax.
The Loki Variants
Loki finds out that are innumerable variants of his in the Void. And each has his or her own nexus event that brought them here. Boastful Loki says that he “vanquished” Captain America and Iron-Man and claimed all the six infinity stones, although Alligator Loki growled at him to be a liar. If it was true, however, it was expected for him to end up in the Void. Classic Loki says that he evaded Thanos and drifted in space and landed on a remote planet. However, his solitude made him feel the absence of his brother and he decided to get back home. But just in the nick of time, TVA arrested him. It is as if the Lokis are destined to be alone by the rules of the Sacred Timeline. And surprisingly the actions of all Lokis are what lead to such isolation. Even if a Loki tries to be good, that variant is sent to the void. The glorious purpose is nothing but an inglorious purpose.
We also come across President Loki who was not much of a role to play except deception and deceit. And like always, he aims to sit on the throne which is not really a throne but more of a room inside a sinkhole.
Sylvie Prunes Herself
Sylvie escapes from Renslayer and prunes herself and lands in the Void. Here our beloved Mobius saves her from Alioth and they meet Loki right at a breach point which is apparently the home of Alioth.
At this stage, a ship drops into the Void. The name mentioned is USS Eldridge. This is added touch of reality in Loki. USS Eldridge is a destroyer ship of the US Navy. During the Philadelphia Experiment at the Philadelphia shipyard, the ship was to be rendered invisible using a cloaking device for a brief period around on 28 October 1943. The authenticity of this experiment is doubtful and it is believed that the alleged experiment is inconsistent with the historical facts. However, episode 5 shows that the experiment did occur and the Void is where the ship arrived. A brilliant toast to reality.
Following this, we have an intimate discussion that again underlines Loki’s narcissistic nature. No matter how much we consider Sylvie and Loki as two different beings, we cannot forget that they are but Loki variants. The words exchanged and especially the stress on “together” seems to imply a union, which, in a way, is true. After all, Sylvie is a part of Loki and vice-versa. The masculine and feminine of the same being coming together literally give it a “glorious” purposeful ending of its kind.
The New World
The ending of the fifth episode shows that Loki is edging towards its end. Sylvie and Loki are finally able to enchant Alioth. Classic Loki helps them in this too. It gives way and reveals a portal to a new world, a different universe. The structure we see on the other side of the portal is clearly the one Sylvie saw when she connected with Alioth earlier. This is surely the home of whoever is behind the TVA and the Sacred Timeline. Can it be Chronopolis? Many will disagree that it doesn’t seem like the Quantum Realm. But we know how Marvel has improvised time and again in its movies, right? So can this be Kang’s mansion?!
Frog Thor
At one point in episode 5, just after Loki goes down the sinkhole with the other variants, the continuous shot shows us the Mjolnir followed by what appears to be Thor as a frog inside a jar. We recognize him from his red cape. This is a reference to Thor #364–365 issue (this is why the jar is labeled T-365) by Walter Simonson. In this, Loki fires a transmutation beam to Earth which affects an ordinary woman. This woman kisses Thor and it turns him into a frog.
Recent Thor: Love and Thunder rumors suggest that the movie will show multiple variants of Thor including the one we see here, also known as Throg. Provided how huge the movie is expected to be, Thor variants wouldn’t be unexpected but surely cool.
The 6th and final episode of Loki arrives on July 14, 2021.
