Loki Season 2, Episode 5 Review

There will be time to talk about Loki’s new function in the wider MCU later. For now, Loki’s emotional fallout is the primary concern of “Science/Fiction,” a kaleidoscope of what-ifs that presents interesting variant existences for the TVA ensemble. Through a bit of time-slipping tomfoolery (where Loki wiggles into being like those air-filled Tall Boys seen at car dealerships everywhere), friends are found in their respective branching timelines. TVA receptionist Casey (Eugene Cordero), fated to be a criminal, apparently, attempts to escape Alcatraz in 1962. In 2012 New York City, Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) is a doctor. Over in Cleveland, Ohio, Mobius (Owen Wilson) is Don, a jetski salesman. TVA? ATV, more like.

It’s difficult not to feel sorry for most of these variants; they look so happy. This might have been their lives had He Who Remains (Majors) not plucked them from reality to flesh out his temporal watchdog outfit. Hunter B-15 dotes on her patients and displays compassion that complements her protective instinct to preserve all timelines earlier this season. Casey relishes his life of crime, ready to rob a bank at the earliest convenience. Mobius also appears to be quite content crouched atop one of those jetskis he loves regardless of what dimension he lives in. As Don, Mobius is a single dad and loves his domestic existence, even if one of his sons might be a pyromaniac. When Loki lays his journey into mystery schtick on Don, Wilson’s face says it all: He’d rather be jet skiing.

But that’s jumping ahead. First, Loki visits the variant life of Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan) in 1994 Pasadena. In this branched timeline, O.B. is A.D. Doug, a struggling sci-fi novelist whose work is unceremoniously rejected at a local bookstore. (Maybe Doug doesn’t have a publisher?) When Loki tries to explain his predicament as rationally as possible, naturally, Doug is ready to believe him. (“One of my characters has come to life and needs my help!” he exclaims.) It’s a match made in multiversal heaven – a science-nerd writer who’s also studying to be a physicist and Loki, who conveniently keeps a TVA manual tucked away in his stylish jacket. Slipping the surly bonds of physics shouldn’t pose much of a problem.

Streamlining Loki’s story trickery to make room for much-needed character work is a refreshing twist – it comes a bit late this season, but it’s still welcome. Directed by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead and written by Eric Martin, “Science/Fiction” unearths pathos for almost every character in this appealing ensemble, with Quan maneuvering around these tribulations with affable grace and Mosaku displaying a sense of warmth that says much about her character’s shifting views on time authority and its purpose. If the episode suddenly feels like it’s rushing to find closure beyond zipping up the Marvel timeline, that’s because it is. Shouldn’t Wilson’s Mobius find some solace after all the work he’s put into making reality a stable, safe place to live? Those jet skis are more than just a hobby; they symbolize the freedom denied to him and all TVA employees. Wilson may feel the mist of a righteous wave on his grinning face before long.

At this point, it’s beginning to look as though Loki’s time-slippage is less a condition than a very handy new power. We learn in Episode 5 that Loki has some measure of control over it. He isn’t slipping at random, but instead repeatedly transporting himself to the exact when and where his friends are located. Subconsciously, he’s able to place himself exactly where he needs to be. And by the end of this episode, Loki seems to gain some measure of active control over his time-slipping. Perhaps the question is less why Loki is still time-slipping and more if this has become a permanent ability. He’s already an Asgardian with vast magical powers. Has he gained the power to transport himself to anywhere and any when he chooses? If so, Loki has really moved up a few levels on the MCU power scale.

This is pure speculation, of course; there’s still one episode left in the season. But a happy ending for Mobius, Hunter, and even Casey -– who clearly gets a charge from nicking items that do not belong to him, even if it’s a strange take on an otherwise blank-slate character – would fit the season’s overall theme of finding one’s place in an increasingly unstable universe. As Loki and O.B. suggest this week, the story of Loki Season 2 doesn’t sound like science (despite all the jargon that’s been flying around since it began), but a wild piece of fiction. Who better to rewrite the narrative than The God of Stories himself? “Science/Fiction” hits the brakes on the wider Phase-specific implications of this series, but that’s not a bad thing.

This shift in priorities gives Loki a chance to be the thoughtful sci-fi dazzler it’s only been in pockets. Consider the moment when Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) visits the local record shop in her new provincial hometown. Set to The Velvet Underground’s “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’”, Sylvie contemplates the conversation she’s had with Loki over bourbon – what these people want should take precedence over all else; anything else would be like He Who Remains ripping them away from their lives. But what happens when reality undoes itself because of the choices they have made? As the tendrils of time pull at everything, fraying out into an infinite mess, Sylvie knows that Loki can’t rewrite this Marvel milestone alone. The final moments of the episode find her reuniting with this oddball cast of characters in time to watch her variant friend take control of his power – and destiny – time-slipping to a place where things might change for the better. Loki finds his new mojo in the season’s strongest episode yet.