In Season 2, Episode 4 of Disney Plus’s Loki series, titled “Heart of the TVA,” we delve into the journey of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) as they team up with Victor Timely (Jonathan Majors) and work alongside Ouroborus (Ke Huy Quan) to repair the Temporal Loom. The episode begins at the Citadel at the End of Time, where Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Miss Minutes (Tara Strong) discover the lifeless body of He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors). Miss Minutes reveals the truth to Renslayer through a holographic recording: Renslayer used to be He Who Remains’ partner and the general of his armies. However, He Who Remains decided he didn’t want a partner and ordered Miss Minutes to erase Renslayer and the memories of the TVA members regarding his existence. Heartbroken and betrayed, Renslayer asked Miss Minutes for advice. The digital entity suggested they could take control of and lead the TVA without He Who Remains or his potential successor, Victor Timely.
In the TVA, Victor Timely arrives and explores the facility until he meets Loki, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), Mobius, and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku). They convince him to help fix the Temporal Loom to prevent it from destroying the TVA. Later, Hunter B-15 meets with Judge Gamble (Liz Carr) to discuss General Dox (Kate Dickie) and the imprisonment of rogue hunters. Gamble advises B-15 to meet with General Dox, forgive her recent actions, and persuade her to join the reformed TVA’s mission to protect the timeline. B-15 is unsure, but Gamble reminds her that B-15 had convinced Gamble herself to join the TVA’s reformation.
The group brings Timely to Ouroborus and Casey (Eugene Cordero), much to Victor’s excitement because Ouroborus was the TVA inventor he admired. Shockingly, Ouroborus reveals that he was mentored in the past by the brilliant 19th-century inventor Victory Timely, who could have surpassed Einstein if he had the necessary resources. In other words, Victor Timely’s work inspired Ouroborus, while Ouroborus’s work inspired Timely’s work. Ouroborus describes this dynamic as “like a snake eating its tail,” referring to the Ouroborus eternity symbolism.
The group refocuses on fixing the Temporal Loom, with Ouroborus explaining a small model. Someone must venture out and load the Throughput Multiplier into the launcher, press the green button, and launch the device into the Temporal Loom to enhance its capacity for managing branching timelines. However, there is now more Temporal Radiation, making the task almost fatally dangerous. Despite the challenges, Victor Timely takes out his prototype, and Ouroborus suggests integrating it into the Temporal Loom to fix it, although it will take a considerable amount of time.
Meanwhile, Sylvie expresses her frustration to Mobius for not doing enough to discover his identity before working at the TVA and not doing enough with the Temporal Loom problem. In a fit of anger, Sylvie walks away, but Loki catches up with her and convinces her to trust in him and the TVA. On the other hand, B-15 tries to persuade Dox and the rogue hunters to join the reformed TVA, giving them time to consider the offer.
Soon, Renslayer and Miss Minutes infiltrate Dox and the rogue hunters’ prison cell. Renslayer attempts to convince Dox, but she refuses, suspecting Renslayer’s power-hungry and corrupt motives. Ravonna makes a final offer, promising any rogue hunters who help her a place on the Sacred Timeline. Brad Wolfe (Rafael Casal) accepts the offer, but Dox and the other rogue hunters decline. As a result, Renslayer and Miss Minutes sadistically execute Dox and the rogue hunters by crushing them with a cube, sparing only Wolfe due to his decision to join Renslayer. B-15 arrives at Dox’s cell and is shocked to discover the corpses, realizing that Miss Minutes has locked everyone out from their TVA devices.
Wolfe takes Timely hostage and brings him to Renslayer, who demands the Throughput Multiplier to fix the Temporal Loom. During the confrontation, Loki encounters his past self and prunes him to ensure his past continues as intended. Ouroborus reboots the TVA’s system to take Miss Minutes offline, allowing Loki and Sylvie to use their magic within the TVA. Miss Minutes taunts Timely before going offline, implying he will never become He Who Remains’ successor. Sylvie uses her magic to enchant Wolfe, who later prunes Renslayer.
Loki and Sylvie take Timely back and use him to give the group access to the Temporal Loom. Timely volunteers to repair it. However, once he steps out, he is immediately overwhelmed by Temporal Radiation, disintegrating into nothingness, resulting in the Temporal Loom engulfing the TVA in an explosion, leaving the fate of the surviving characters a mystery.
He Who Remains and Ravonna Renslayer’s Past
In Season 2, Episode 4 of Loki, directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, along with writers Eric Martin and Katharyn Blair, unveiled numerous unanswered questions. The episode reveals that Ouroborus and Victor Timely mutually inspired each other’s works, creating an Ouroborus-like eternity time loop concerning the TVA’s creation and destruction. These events signify how the ongoing mission to save the TVA is likely one of the infinite events aimed at ensuring the TVA’s continued operation under He Who Remains, with Victor Timely at the helm at the End of Time. Additionally, how He Who Remains and Ravonna Renslayer take control of the TVA at the End of Time mirrors his desire for Loki and Sylvie to assume control, as he had grown weary of running the TVA on his own for eons.
However, despite all the efforts of the protagonists in the episode, the Temporal Loom implodes, and the fates of the main characters remain shrouded in mystery. There is a possibility that they may have been returned to their respective native timelines, as trailers have shown a scene featuring Hunter B-15 working as a doctor in a hospital and Casey walking through an underground tunnel.
Rating: 9/10