Loki Fans Agree That This Is The Best Season 1 Episode
As the third entry in Marvel's Disney+ series, "Loki" comes on strong by taking a beloved character, the titular villain-antihero Loki (Tom Hiddleston), on a journey through time and space in a distinctly science-fiction turn for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Each of its six episodes is distinct, and packed with both twists and Lokis. However, just as Loki wonders who is the one Loki to rule them all, fans debate over which "Loki" episode is the best.
First, we must consider the contenders: Episode 1 is an introduction to the Time Variance Authority and this new bureaucratic world Loki has found himself stuck in that forces him to reckon with his life and death. Episode 2, meanwhile, becomes a detective show, with Loki and Mobius (Owen Wilson) teaming up to find the Loki that's killing TVA agents. With a dark, stormy ending, it introduces Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), our newest villain-antihero and Loki variant. We get to know her better in Episode 3, when she and Loki reluctantly team up in an effort to escape a doomed planet. This halfway point becomes a crucial moment for the series, forging a bond between them that alters the main Loki's path.
In Episode 4, Loki and Sylvie return to the TVA only to discover that the Time Keepers aren't actually alive and someone else is writing the story. Shockingly, Mobius and Loki both get pruned, leaving them in the dangerous space at the end of time in Episode 5. Here, in the Void, Loki meets several other versions of himself — a kid, an old man, an alligator — in an hour that questions whether any Loki can be trustworthy. Finally, in the finale, Loki and Sylvie find an answer in the form of He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), which leads to the climactic moment: Sylvie betrays Loki.
When Reddit put it to a vote, a clear winner emerged.
The emotional resonance of Classic Loki makes Episode 5 a stand out
Reddit user u/Blaziken_Knight posted a poll on r/Loki, asking fans to vote for their favorite episode. Overwhelmingly, Episode 5 came out ahead, with the finale in second and Episode 4 in third. Really, it seems inevitable that the episode with the most Lokis in a series entitled "Loki" would garner the most adoration — as Loki himself has learned, the mischievous trickster can be downright irresistible.
There's a lot to love in Episode 5, entitled "Journey into Mystery," but chief among them for fans is Classic Loki, played by Richard E. Grant. The older variant stands out as a high point, even among the entire MCU, according to user u/Bid_Unable, who said he's already one of Marvel's "best characters" after only a handful of scenes in a single episode. Right off the bat, Classic Loki's story of faking his death in an illusory attack on Thanos — the one seen in "Avengers: Endgame" — makes a popular fan theory canon, garnering him brownie points.
However, it is Classic Loki's sacrifice in the final moments that truly moves audiences. To serve as a distraction for the giant cloud dragon monster Alioth, he conjures an illusory Asgard. The memory of his home made at least one user cry, while user u/nsturge said it was "definitely the most emotional I got during this series." They also pointed out that he is a hero throughout the episode, not just in the final scene: "[H]e spent time reflecting on his own life, he stays loyal to Kid Loki, and he saves our Loki a few different times. He is basically the Loki everyone wants to be. 10/10 episode."
Episode 5 also nails the humor
Just as Episode 5 hits high emotional beats with Classic Loki, it is also jam-packed full of great humor. Fans particularly love alligator Loki, who got them laughing out loud. User u/oldmanjassy wrote, "I was a big fan of the fact that the Alligator Loki always got a reaction shot whenever the other Lokis did. They treated him like an actual character!"
Plus, there is the great scene when President Loki (Tom Hiddleston), with an army full of Lokis, barges into the other Lokis' hideout to take over. In the hilarious Loki-eat-Loki scene, we discover that Boastful Loki (Deobia Oparei) betrayed Kid Loki (Jack Veal), all while the main Loki rolls his eyes at their predictability. Not only is it a funny moment, but it also speaks to Loki's character. User u/pretentious_timeless said, "That whole scene was a great metaphor for Loki's self sabotaging tendencies as well."
Finally, amid all the heart and humor of the episode, there are a few Easter eggs that fans adore: Namely, Frog Thor — Throg — was a hit, for all of the two seconds he appears, and fans got a kick out of a brief glimpse at the Thanoscopter. "Journey into Mystery" proves that MCU fans are on board with things getting a little weird as the multiverse begins to unravel.