I’m writing this under a bit of a time crunch, so I really hope this won’t be too much of a mess. Either way, please beware of spoilers for Loki’s episode 3 “Lamentis” moving forward!

What was it about?

Loki and the Variant find themselves in a life or death situation and have to work together to get out of it.

My thoughts?

What an interesting change of pace for Loki (and not just because it was 10 minutes shorter than episodes 1 and 2). While I thoroughly enjoyed the Loki-Mobius-dynamic prior to this episode, I must say I really am into this exploration of Loki and the Variant. I must say that this show keeps reminding me more and more of Doctor Who the further we get along. I don’t know if it’s the nature of time travel or the Doctor/companion vibes I’m getting, but it definitely feels reminiscent of the classic sci-fi series.

But, first things first, is Sophia Di Martino playing Lady Loki? I think the question was a bit difficult to answer before, but Lamentis shed some light on the situation. She is credited as Sylvie, which led many people to believe she is actually Enchantress. Well, I feel like they may have blended the two characters together. From what we’ve learned, she used to be Lady Loki, but prefers being called Sylvie now. Her powers are effectively described as “enchanting people”, so it makes sense to think she is a mix of the two and honestly, why not? I know they were both iconic in their own rights, but these MCU shows really need to keep things fresh in order for the content to not get too predictable. Also, it just makes reviewing so much easier when they don’t have the same name.

Now, let’s break down the episode:

• We start off with a little flashback of how Sylvie extracted the information she needed about the Time-Keepers from C-20. Her powers allow her to invade strong-willed minds by creating a fantasy from their memories. This, later on, leads to a huge reveal concerning the TVA. All the employees, which were supposedly created by the Time-Keepers, were once regular people and are just variants as well. Although, some brain fog prevents them from knowing that information. Loki was quite shocked to find out that bit of information and I am seriously intrigued how that revelation will play out for characters such as Mobius. This annihilates their entire world view.
• After the exciting end of last week’s episode, we learn that Sylvie simply portalled back to the TVA. There, her plan is interrupted by Loki, who got his hands on his beloved daggers again. They fight, get disturbed in their bickering by Renslayer and, in an attempt to flee, end up on Lamentis – a doomed planet.
• Because the TemPad they used is out of juice, they are now stuck in an apocalyptic event, having to work together to either find a new power source or get off the planet before a moon crashes into it.

For once, I don’t think I need to go into every little detail the episode provided, as it was clearly focusing on the Loki-Sylvie-relationship. They know virtually nothing about each other, despite being a supposed version of one another. I had a hard time knowing the intention behind their interactions, which is untypical for me. Usually, I can sense where a dynamic is supposed to go, but I got odd flirtatious undertones and I felt weird about that. Maybe that’s just me, I don’t want to judge. Obviously, there’s a lot of mistrust and trying to get useful information out of the other, but they also had some genuine bonding moments.

Mini highlight of the episode for me: Tom Hiddleston drunkenly singing a song in Asgardian (which just sounded Norwegian in part to me) about “when she sings, she sings come home”

Aside from them constantly fighting and bickering, Loki and Sylvie more or less compared powers, childhoods (Sylvie knew she was adopted and only has a hazy memory of their mother – did she pass away sooner?) and love lives. I was so very happy that Loki is now finally a confirmed queer character by admitting to having had past relationships with men and women, despite none of them lasting. The MCU is slow in that regard, but I can see them trying to implement more LGBTQIA+ rep in the next phases.

As the two were discussing the meaning of love “Love is hate/love is mischief”, I think Loki was actually on to something with his comparison. It seemed fitting somehow:

Loki: Love is a dagger. It’s a weapon to be wielded far away or up close. You can see yourself in it. It’s beautiful. Until it makes you bleed. But ultimately, when you reach for it …
Sylvie: it isn’t real. It’s just an imaginary dagger.

I always enjoy the callbacks to Frigga, because she was such a beautiful character and shaped the lives of Loki and Thor so much. I’m glad she is not forgotten, although, as I hinted at above, I would really like to know what happened to her in Sylvie’s world.

Anyway, what I took away from “Lamentis” was that Sylvie and Loki would make an excellent team if they just actually worked together. Loki can’t go off and get drunk in the middle of a mission and Sylvie needs to let him in just a tiny bit. Trust is a rare good when it comes to the tricksters, but if they can’t even trust each other, then who is left? They fight really well together (someone get all the MCU stunt coordinators a raise and all the awards!) and their powers compliment each other, although I suspect Loki will try learning some enchanting magic himself soon.

While the episode ends on a cliffhanger, with Sylvie and Loki seemingly being stuck on a Lamenits, we know that the show continues, so there must be a way out of it somehow.

It’s so strange to me to think this show is already halfway done again. It feels like just yesterday that my Marvel excitement was spiked up again, yet here we are. Tom Hiddleston said in one of the many interviews preceding the season that he was most looking forward to episode 4 and 5 airing and I feel like that has been the main consensus with all Marvel shows so far. These episodes seem to be the most intense in terms of character depth and development, so I can’t wait for next week! (which will once again be a late review and not out immediately after it airs!!) Let’s see what the show still has in store for us – it’s been a wild ride so far!

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PREVIOUS LOKI REVIEWS

• Episode 1 “Glorious Purpose”
• Episode 2 “The Variant”

MORE TOM HIDDLESTON CONTENT FROM ME

• Are Tom Hiddleston and I compatible (readers)?

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How do you feel about having reached the halfway point of the season already? Do you like the way the show is progressing? Let’s talk!