Following on from Episode 1 and Episode 2, Episode 3 takes us (mostly) far away from the TVA, and features (almost) only Tom Hiddleston's God of Mischief and Sophia Di Martino's fellow Variant (Lady Loki, who we now know goes by the alias "Sylvie") as they try to escape a doomed moon.
This episode nudged the show closer to Doctor Who territory than ever before (especially lots of running around in what looks like a quarry, and time-travelling people confounding the locals, even if our two main characters have far less benevolent ideals), with the pair stranded on Lamentis-1, one of the many apocalypses that Lady L... Sorry, Sylvie had been planning to hide in. Despite the giant, destructive stakes, it's much more focused on unwrapping extra details about both Loki and – if she's even being truthful – Sylvie. And who can't love an episode where Tom Hiddleston gets to drunk-sing in Asgardian?
Let's ponder the questions raised this week, shall we?
Who Is Sylvie?
Lady Loki's alias was one of the bigger points of the episode, one that focused a lot on the two variants and their chemistry – which is excellent, by the way. "Sylvie" was largely reluctant to reveal much about herself to Loki until later in the episode, when they'd begun to work together (as much as possible). We also learn that her mission is to basically take down the TVA without trying to control it, since as a variant, she's been on the run from the TVA for many years. Her aim is chaos and a power vacuum, and we don't mean a new Dyson. She's emotionally wounded and obviously angry, quick to use force where Loki would rather aim for trickery and diplomacy. Though as we see this week, neither always work in certain situations.
The name also has resonance for those who know their Marvel Comics lore, as Sylvie Lushton is a character){href='https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Sylvie_Lushton_(Earth-616)' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'} who grew up thinking she was a normal girl until she learned she's essentially a creation of Loki. She ends up as the second enchantress, with magic powers and a mission to infiltrate Avengers groups and spy of them for Loki.
Now, this being the MCU, there is naturally not a 1-1 correlation, as Sophia Di Martino isn't – as yet - revealed as a creation of Loki. As far as we know, she's still a variant, and had a similar adoptive background, and taught herself her enchanting powers.
So Loki Is Bisexual?
Yup! As has been canon in the comics for years, Loki casually lets slip that Asgard's second-favourite prince is bisexual. Sylvie asks about, "Would-be princesses, or perhaps another prince?" with Loki replying, "A bit of both. I suspect, the same as you. But nothing ever..." "Real."
Director Kate Herron has officially confirmed even further, tweeting about that particular interchange...
The whole chat also leads to some fun ruminations on the nature of love. Is love a dagger? Hate? Mischief? All of the above? And one of Sylvie's dismissals could be seen as meta-commentary on the much-quoted WandaVisionline about grief.
Is The TVA Really Lying?
One of the quieter, yet very impactful revelations of the episode is Sylvie informing our anti-hero that Sasha Lane's Hunter C-20 is actually not a creation of the Time Keepers, but an Earth-born variant pressed into service. And that all (or at least most) of the Time Variance Authority's employees are actually variants. Can't say we're entirely shocked that the Authority is lying, given how shady everything appears around their mission.
Is That An Aliens Easter Egg We Spy?
While you probably wouldn't want to approach an actual egg from the Alien franchise, we're happy to dig into the fact that two of the soldiers on Lamentis-1, Ben VanderMey's Private Hudson and Jon Collin Barclay's Corporal Hicks are named after characters played by Bill Paxton and Michael Biehn in James Cameron's iconic sci-fi sequel.
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