Loki Review: The Nexus Event (Season 1 Episode 4)

Loki Season 1 Episode 4, “The Nexus Event,” is this season’s crowning achievement. Not only is it the best episode of this series, but it might be the best episode of any Disney+ Marvel series so far.

After sitting through dense world-building and bottled stories, Loki is ready to let the pieces fall where they may. The aftermath is an intricate puzzle of sharp wit and sharper teeth as chaos reigns supreme.

This mid-season heartbreaker has direction and it has dialogue so profound you want to frame it above your bed. It’s a deceptive mind field of brutal unpredictability and captivating story brought to life by the most talented players in this industry.

Loki — Owen Wilson as Mobius, Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie (Photo Courtesy of Marvel Studios)

Loki uses the confines of the TVA to reach new heights. From the comfort of the time organization’s walls, we get to revisit Loki’s past through surprise appearances from Asgard and Lady Sif. Both are a welcoming addition as their inclusion bleeds beautifully into the surrounding conflict.

In a less joyous reunion, we witness Loki and Mobius pruned just as they are about to break free of the timeline. It’s a cruel bid for power we’ve seen enough from Loki to know Ravonna is scrambling for control. Alas, it wouldn’t be a proper Loki show if he didn’t die at least once.

It’s the trickery on display within the TVA’s own crumbling foundation that continues to impress.

We’re told the Time-Keepers are real but one look at their cartoonish CGI suggests these beings are no more than a bad sales pitch. We’re told the pruning sticks dissolve anything on contact, and yet the end credit scene contradicts that by introducing an alternate timeline.

This series is constantly testing its audience, the way Loki has tested Thor for years. It’s exhausting in the best ways.

Plot Twist Payoffs

There’s a misconception that for twists to be good, they have to hit us over the head with their deception. To guess the outcome correctly is to condemn a story for its transparency. However, if a TV show lays the proper groundwork, figuring it out isn’t as satisfying as seeing the payoff of a good ruse.

What makes a plot twist good isn’t always the surprise factor. It’s the ability to see every detail fall into place as expected and still gasp because the story is demanding those emotions of you.

“The Nexus Event” isn’t groundbreaking because the TVA’s betrayal is surprising — they have propaganda on every wall of their secret time-lair for god’s sake. The twists of this episode are groundbreaking because in the hands of this heavy-hitting cast the truth can still be incredibly unnerving.

The reveal that the TVA is staffed by variants isn’t as rewarding as the reaction it compels from Mobius and Hunter B-15. It is their forced change of perspective that causes the real unpredictability of this plot to fester.

The TVA’s Leading Ladies

The success of such a convoluted story is proof these series are capable of taking big leaps and sticking the landing. However, this episode’s superhero landing would not be capable without two key players.

Ravonna Renslayer has acted as the middle-man between the TVA and the Time-Keepers for some time now. It’s only right Loki reveals her to be a wicked antagonist behind this organization’s darker workings. Anything less would be a waste of Mbatha-Raw’s talent.

Ravonna is downright diabolical throughout the episode as she attempts to keep this crowded game of chess going as the only knowing player. To have her on one side of the spectrum with all the answers, and Mosaku’s B-15 on the other side peeling back the layers of corruption to reach her is spectacular.

Both characters are weaponized in ways that greatly impact this episode arc. Fleshing out their roles in this game of trickery and deception certainly takes every aspect of this story to the next level.

The Goddess of Mischief

“The Nexus Event” expertly maneuvers through multiple storylines to nurture a steady stream of conflict. Perhaps the most compelling of these storylines is Sylvie’s journey to the TVA.

By introducing us to the TVA from the perspective of a child, this episode hammers the final nail in the organization’s coffin. If there were doubts Loki deserved to stand trial for his crimes, tiny Sylvie in a variant jumpsuit will clear things up.

Ravonna’s choice to withhold Sylvie’s nexus event is a clever one too. It allows the series to keep us in the dark just a bit longer, arguably where we thrive best.

This version of Loki knew she was adopted and cared for her people. Sylvie is arrested while reenacting a scenario with her toys where she saves Asgard. This tragically suggests that Sylvie disrupted the scared timeline because she chose a path where the God of Mischief isn’t a villain.

Sylvie’s backstory is compelling, and the dialogue that accompanies her retellings is spectacular. From describing how the universe manifests chaos in the form of gods to growing up in the ends of a thousand worlds, Di Martino’s delivery is gripping.

Love is An Imaginary Dagger

As a villain, Loki should be incapable of forming loving bonds, but Sylvie’s presence allows him to see beyond his own self-loathing. Perhaps this episode’s most rewarding thread is the one that suggests a Loki variant isn’t born from chaos but from love and compassion.

This notion pulls strength from Mobius and Loki’s comradery as the men learn to embrace one another in this chaos-laden world. Mobius using his final moments to tell Loki he can be good is a rather sweet note in this sobbing hellscape of pain.

Pruning the jet-ski-loving agent at the height of his likeability can do that to a person.

Loki and Sylvie, however, are an interesting predicament for the series. While most of their feelings are left unsaid and that works in this episode’s favor, it certainly feels like the series is moving towards something romantic.

So far we’ve seen nothing but decisive storytelling, so this uncertainty between Loki and Sylvie is wearisome. Defining the bond they have could destroy the sacred timeline, but it could just as easily destroy this show’s chances of glory.

I can’t say I saw the beginnings of a romantic bond on Lamentis. It’s disheartening to have Marvel default to the same kind of love when Loki is capable of bringing so much more to this unique relationship. That said, Loki falling in love with himself is very on-brand.

Everyone on this show has ridiculously good chemistry and with dialogue contradicting the relationship at every turn, this could be another trick Loki has to navigate as he learns love can take many forms.

Love is an imaginary dagger, after all, and Loki seems perfectly capable of wielding it.

In fact, this series seems capable of some truly groundbreaking storylines now that it’s proven chaos and deception can co-exist in this world without burning everything to the ground.

—

What did you think of this episode of Loki? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

New episodes of Loki air Wednesdays on Disney+.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

How ‘Loki’ Could Be Plotting a ‘Good Place’ Worthy Twist