The Ending Of Loki Episode 5 Explained
Contains spoilers for "Loki," Season 1, Episode 5: "Journey Into Mystery."
After "Loki" Episode 4, "The Nexus Event," ended with a shocking cliffhanger that seemingly kills both Mobius (Owen Wilson) and our main Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the wait for Episode 5 was excruciating — especially because Loki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) were seemingly about to discuss their true feelings for one another. Timeline-crossed lovers, eh? But the next chapter in this time-traveling, reality-hopping adventure is a true treat for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the comics, as there are plenty of rewarding Easter eggs to be found in the latest apocalyptic landscape.
The post-credits scene at the end of Episode 4 reveals that Loki wasn't the only variant who had been pruned by the Time Variance Authority. The sequence briefly introduces audiences to Boastful Loki (Deobia Oparei), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant), and Gator Loki. Thankfully, Episode 5 spends a lot of time getting to know this God-Squad, as well as setting the stage for a climactic finale.
So, without further ado, here's the ending of "Loki" Episode 5, explained and analyzed.
Alioth kills everything in the Void
It's established very quickly — thanks to a forced confession from Ravonna Renslayer to Sylvie — that the TVA's pruning batons don't actually kill Variants. Instead, they transport them to a place in time called the Void, where they can be vaporized by a malevolent smoky-force called Alioth. The Void's existence is obviously a highly-classified TVA secret, which is why Loki didn't learn about it when he was asking for files from the clerk back in Episode 2, "The Variant." That's typical bureaucracy, just passing the problem along to someone else.
In Marvel comics, Alioth is closely tied to a notorious time-traveling villain who many fans are expecting to see very soon in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" — Kang the Conqueror, and he's reportedly being played by "Lovecraft Country" star Jonathan Majors. The big smoky beast had his own temporal empire when he was originally introduced back in 1993's "Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective" #1, but Kang constructed a time-barrier to keep the villain out of his own domain, called Chronopolis. That doesn't sound too dissimilar to what the TVA has done with Alioth in "Loki" — trapping the entity in the Void so they can use him to wipe out pesky Variants and other things that don't belong in the sacred timeline. More on Alioth and Kang later.
But Alioth only tries to wipe out living things that come into the Void, which means there's a whole horde of references to the wider Marvel Universe (cinematic and otherwise). There's what looks like a huge discarded Yellowjacket helmet from "Ant-Man"; Ronan the Accuser's ship, the Dark Aster, from "Guardians of the Galaxy"; a broken down SHIELD helicarrier, and even a Thanos-copter, among plenty of other Marvelous hidden details.
So what about all those Lokis?
Meet the Lokis
The bulk of the episode follows our main Loki chatting with the rest of these other Variants and discovering what makes them so different from himself, all while trying to find a way of defeating Alioth and figuring out who's really behind the TVA. The episode doesn't rush through things, fully giving Hiddleston, Oparei, Veal, and Grant plenty of time to bounce off one another, all while expanding the mythology and development of everyone's favorite God of Mischief. Of course, Gator Loki — although we still prefer our nickname of Croki — is still part of the action, even proving that his bite is worse than his bark. As entertaining and witty as Oparei's Boastful Loki and Veal's Kid Loki are, the scene-stealer here is Richard E. Grant as Classic Loki.
The older Asgardian explains how he lived past the events of "Avengers: Infinity War." He reveals that he conjured an illusion of himself so exacting that he fooled Thanos into thinking the decoy was real, and that he'd killed Loki. From there, Classic Loki went into hiding as "inanimate debris." Cowardly and smart — yes that's classic Loki, alright. But not only is it an insightful anecdote as to what Lokis are capable of when they put their mind to it, it's also a clue as to how Grant's vibrantly dressed character will have an impact in the final fight against Alioth.
It all ends in a big scuffle when President Loki (who we first saw in the show's trailer) shows up with an army of other Variant Lokis from across the Void's wasteland. However, they all start betraying each other — because that's just what Lokis do, isn't it? At this point, it looks like the small appearance from President Loki might debunk a few of those theories suggesting that he's the one behind the TVA. It's still not impossible, but it's highly unlikely.
Loki and Sylvie
They just couldn't stay apart for too long, could they? Sylvie follows Loki to the Void after Ravonna Renslayer reveals that the Void is a place at the end of the timeline. That means it's out of harm's way and can't affect past events. Sylvie's self-pruning shows that the Variant clearly cares as deeply for the main Loki as he cares for her. Her main motivation is finding out who's really behind the TVA, but she's just not very good at expressing her emotions.
This is something that comes across very clearly in a touching moment leading up to the final battle. While the rest of the God-Squad and Mobius shelter in a hollowed out building, Loki and Sylvie huddle together in a conjured blanket ("Is this a table cloth?") while they try to untangle the romantic mess they've created for themselves. It's clearly the first time Sylvie has ever let herself be vulnerable with anyone, so it's quite fitting that she's opening up to an alternate version of herself.
But she even struggles to connect with Loki, because, as she says, "I don't have friends, I don't have anyone." Finally, this Loki gets his own redemption arc as he promises not to betray Sylvie — although if he breaks her heart, the internet will riot. Let's not forget he hugs Mobius and calls him a friend before the TVA agent heads back to work to "burn it down." That's called growth, people.
Defeating Alioth
Loki and Sylvie head off to face the Alioth themselves while the rest of the God-Squad decides to stay in the Void — after all, this is their home now. Thankfully, Sylvie vetoes Loki's simple (and honestly not-great) plan of trying to stab a smoke monster (she's got a point), and goes with her idea of enchanting the creature into revealing where/who the person behind the TVA is. However, just because she's been nefariously murderous up to this point doesn't mean she can't inspire Loki to have a little faith in himself. He unlocks his own enchanting abilities just in the nick of time on the battlefield, with a little encouragement from Sylvie. They're just so cute.
Thankfully, Classic Loki decides to give his life "glorious purpose" by creating a fake Asgard to distract Alioth. It is a brilliant moment to witness, especially for an older, bitter version of the character, to finally feel like he's doing something positive in the timeline rather than constantly being a villain. His trickery succeeds, but at the cost of his life. However, Classic Loki points out earlier on that he cheated death by conjuring a fake version of himself during the confrontation with Thanos, so who knows? There's probably a way for Marvel Studios to bring Richard E. Grant's Classic Loki back if they wished.
Once Alioth is enchanted, the smoke clears to show a bizarre castle or manor in the middle of a swirling cosmic background. With all the Kang the Conqueror connections to Alioth, is it possible that this is Chronopolis? Alioth clearly couldn't get inside it. In the comics, Chronopolis lies on the outskirts of limbo and contains time-points to places under Kang's control. Will we see Jonathan Majors next week? Only time will tell...