DISCLAIMER: This recap of Loki Season 2 Episode 4, “Heart of the TVA,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Welcome back, variants and TVA agents! “Heart of the TVA” is easily the season’s strongest outing thus far. It’s action-packed, filled to the brim with exciting plot twists and a high-octane narrative. The stakes are higher than ever. Our cast, as is the creative team, is firing on all cylinders. This is why Loki is one of Marvel’s best offerings.
I’m curious to see where we go from here as we enter the final episodes of the season. Regardless, I’m invested.
Ready to delve into “Heart of the TVA”? Let’s get to it.
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We open with a shot of the crumbling Citadel at the End of Time as the branching Sacred Timeline rages around it. Miss Minutes (voiced by Tara Strong) shows Ravonna (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) footage from the latter interacting with He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors). She insists that HWR wasn’t alone all the time. In the flashback, we discover that Ravonna contributed significantly to the Multiversal War. HWR thanks her, calling her “quite the marvel.” Additionally, we learn HWR created the Citadel at the End of Time so they could reside there together.
Next, Ravonna claims they should return to the TVA to dole out instructions. HWR urges her to go ahead, and he’ll catch up. However, after she departs, HWR asks Miss Minutes to erase Ravonna’s and all TVA employee’s memories. Ravonna looks betrayed. Miss Minutes reveals they don’t need He Who Remains anymore. They can get sh*t done on their own. Feminism!
Then, Victor Timely (Majors) arrives at the TVA. While marveling at the organization’s ornate design, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) attempt to pacify Victor. Mobius reassures Victor that he and Loki are the good guys despite what Ravonna and Miss Minutes have said. Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) joins the group. They all usher Victor toward The Temporal Loom, where Casey and O.B. work tirelessly.
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Meanwhile, Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) chats with Judge Gamble (Liz Carr) about what to do with General Dox and the others in holding. Gamble persuades B-15 to talk Dox into helping them save the TVA. Sure, Dox is misguided, but her intentions are pure. She wants to protect the TVA at all costs. Plus, B-15’s words changed Gamble’s mind.
Next, Victor meets O.B. (Ke Huy Quan) and Casey (Eugene Cordero) as they work on fixing The Temporal Loom. While O.B.’s TVA Guidebook inspired Victor, O.B. admits he drew inspiration from Victor’s work. It’s a real “snaking biting its tail” situation. You might call it an … ouroboros. Anyway, Sylvie urges this burgeoning bromance to put a lid on it for now — they have the TVA to save.
So, O.B. shows the group his model of The Temporal Loom. Someone will have to attach their Throughput Multiplier to the launcher. Then, they’ll hit the green button, which launches the Multiplier toward the Loom, where it will dock. It’ll scale the Loom’s capacity to withstand the backlog of branches. This will make the rings on the Loom larger so all the branches can run through them. Unfortunately, there’s a ton more Temporal Radiation on the gangway since Mobius was on it.
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Mobius volunteers Loki to “hoof it” since he did it first. It’s only fair, right? Plus, Loki’s a god. Casey and O.B. reveal one issue: their Throughput Multiplier doesn’t work. Victor pulls out a prototype he made from his bag, claiming he created it when his Loom faced the same problems. Mobius, Loki and Sylvie leave our three intrepid smarty-pants to change lives.
Ole Moby suggests they get some pie while they wait. However, Sylvie chews him out for suggesting such a thing, asserting that everything’s going to sh*t. Aw, don’t rain on Moby’s parade. Meanwhile, Hunter X-5 (Rafael Casal) sits in holding with Dox (Kate Dickie) and her squad. We learn that X-5 supposedly sold out Dox’s plan. X-5 believes they can escape and return to their lives on the branched timelines.
Next, B-15 pops in to bring Dox over to their side. B-15 trusts Dox genuinely has the TVA’s best interests at heart. She allows Dox time to think over her proposal. Later, Sylvie reunites with Loki in the pie area. They argue over whether what they’re doing is the right thing. Sylvie doesn’t understand why Loki wants the TVA to watch over these timelines. Why not let them live their lives? Why not allow them to exercise free will? Loki feels if they have the power to protect them, they should. They’re gods, after all.
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You know, I understand time is of the essence (hee hee), but I’d love for these two to address what happened at the Citadel. Remember when they kissed? Perhaps the writers are saving that for the finale, but Sylvie and Loki have had little screen time this season thus far. No me gusta. While discussing their options, Dox admits she’s open to B-15’s idea. Suddenly, Ravonna and Miss Minutes appear. She offers those in holding the opportunity to be free. If they help her seize control of the TVA, she’ll allow them to return to their lives. It’s precisely what X-5 wants.
However, only X-5 joins Ravonna. Miss Minutes kickstarts the machine Loki used on X-5, which encases the prisoner in a box that shrinks, crushing said prisoner within. The box appears around Dox and her group. X-5 closes his eyes as his fellow TVA agents scream in agony. Thankfully, we don’t see their deaths. Meanwhile, Mobius tells Victor all about their hot cocoa machine. He asks to see it. Hunter D-90 (Neil Ellice) escorts Victor to the hot cocoa machine. Victor offers a cup to D-90, who hesitantly tastes it. He’s shocked by how good it is.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t enjoy it for much longer. X-5 prunes him in front of Victor. Then, he takes Victor hostage. Ravonna and Miss Minutes reunite with him. They ask him about the device O.B. and the others are working on. Victor claims ignorance. Ravonna reveals she can have X-5 torture and kill him as slowly as possible.
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While traveling to The Temporal Loom, Sylvie and Loki hear an announcement about personnel reporting to their “nearest time door evacuation point.” Loki and Sylvie get separated by the elevator, which entraps Sylvie. Loki runs through the TVA, noticing the employees fleeing. It looks like that scene from the season premiere when Loki was time-slipping. Meanwhile, Sylvie tries to hack the elevator so she can free herself. Loki glances at the device O.B. gave him in the premiere … yep, this is that scene.
Loki hears a phone ring. As he approaches the phone, which sits next to an elevator, another Loki sneaks up behind him. As Sylvie pries the elevator doors open, the second Loki prunes the first one. He promises she’ll understand it eventually. So, they answer the phone. O.B. is on the other end. They tell him Miss Minutes is sabotaging everything, blocking them out of the system. O.B. offers to reboot the system, which would bring her offline.
Next, Miss Minutes starts malfunctioning in front of Victor, Ravonna and X-5. Sure enough, she vanishes, thanks to O.B.’s quick thinking. Bye-bye! Ravonna orders X-5 to march back into the fray. Now that the system has been rebooted, everyone with magical abilities can utilize their magic in the TVA. So, Sylvie enchants X-5. He returns to Ravonna and prunes her before she can ask questions. Something tells me we’ll see her again.
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Loki and Sylvie escort Victor back to The Temporal Loom, where things are out of control. Victor puts his head in their scanner so they can scan his Temporal Aura. After the blast doors open, Loki volunteers to walk the gangway to attach the Throughput Multiplier to the launcher. However, Victor claims he should do it. After all, he knows how to fix the Throughput Multiplier. O.B. urges him to put on the suit and move quickly. There’s a lot of Temporal Radiation.
Unfortunately, Victor doesn’t get far outside of the blast doors. He disintegrates into thin air, looking like spaghetti evaporating before our eyes. So, Temporal Radiation turns you into spaghetti. RIP, Victor Timely. So, what’s Plan B? The gang stands in shock as The Temporal Loom groans and grows significantly brighter. Suddenly, the light is so bright that, coupled with a blast, our heroes cannot be seen. The screen cuts to black. That damn cliffhanger!
Do you think our heroes can save the TVA? Will they find another Kang variant? Did Ravonna wind up in The Void? Only time (and two more episodes) will tell.
Loki drops new episodes every Thursday at 9 pm EST/6 pm PST, only on Disney+.
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