Loki: For All Time. Always.

SPOILER ALERT

For All Time. Always. opens with a brand-new intro montage which incorporated sound bites of not just MCU superheroes, but real-life ones, including the likes of Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Neil Armstrong, and Greta Thunberg, heralding an all-out new phase of Marvel.

After vanquishing Alioth, Loki and Sylvie accost a Citadel floating in space before a sprawling iridescent timeline. The doors of the Citadel open of their own accord beckoning them inside. Jolted by Miss Minutes who suddenly appears before them, the duo unsheathes their weapons. The sentient hologram taunts them with their failures and attempts to coax them into believing that He Who Remains (the creator and controller of all) is capable of reinserting them into the timeline without causing any disruption. Dismissing the claims as spurious Loki counters her, asserting: We write our own destiny now. Miss Minutes scoffs at his argument and disappears.

Not long after, they encounter He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors)—a jovial guy clad in robes; coolly munching on an apple. The last guy you'd expect to be responsible for erasing countless innocent timelines.

He invites the duo to his office where he proposes to sort things out over a cup of coffee. They acquiesce, but not without giving him the benefit of the doubt.

At the TVA, Renslayer packs her bags, preparing to leave in search of answers when she is interrupted by Mobius. Immediately she tries to summon Hunter D-90 but Mobius beats her to it, revealing that the task force has been compromised. Before she could exit via the Time Door, Mobius tries to stop her but is shoved to the ground, once again finding himself at Time Stick-point. Not having the heart to prune him a second time, Renslayer departs, determined to find answers.

Ad interim, in the Citadel, He Who Remains plunges into a full-on monologue, detailing his omniscience. He argues that he is indomitable since he has been paving the way for the Lokis with the duo merely walking down it.

With an enhanced TemPad he conjures a shape-shifting blob, customized to visualize his story, while he narrated it. In the 31st century a scientist variant of He Who Remains discovered universes stacked on top of each other. Different variants of himself acquired the same piece of information around the same time. These variants used their discovery to share technology and information to better their respective timelines. But a few astray ones saw it as an opportunity to conquer land. The dissension between these variants erupted into a blitz, nearly distorting the Sacred Timeline.

The scientist stepped in to solve the conundrum by weaponizing a temporal beast (Alioth) and eventually halted the Multiversal War. Isolating his timeline, he created the TVA to ensure the smooth flow of time. He concludes that he was the one who protected them and killing him would lead to absolute mayhem.

But there's a catch—he does not know everything. He only knew stuff up to a particular point which has now passed. Now, his fate will play out apropos of the duo's choice. He offers the Lokis a gambit: take his place and rule over the TVA or kill him and unleash a legion of his variants.

To ensure that he is not fibbing he removes his last line of defense—the modified TemPad and places it before them. For a man who spent his entire life preordaining everything, he's thrilled by the uncertainty. His fate no longer lies in his hands—it lies in the duo's.

Sylvie lunges at him with her machete, but Loki stands in her way and suggests they put more thought into it. She is nonplussed at his sudden change of heart and accuses him of betraying her.

Even though they're technically the same person they're irreconcilably different in terms of their modality. While Loki is cognizant of the ramifications of his reckless impulsive actions, Sylvie is irrevocably marred by the loss of her childhood. This dichotomy between the Lokis prevent them from seeing the peril at hand the same way.

The timeline outside splinters and begins veering off course as the Lokis wrestle with each other. Thrusting Loki to the ground with a blast of green light, Sylvie proceeds to kill him but Loki materializes before her. Exasperated, Loki explains that he doesn't crave the throne, nor does he intend to betray her. He just wants her to be okay (Aww).

Sylvie drops her machete and kisses him (Ew) before using He Who Remains' TemPad to push him through the Time Door to the TVA. He Who Remains is unaffected by the turn of events and is jovial as Sylvie approaches him with her blade. The moment she plunges the machete into his chest, the timeline definitively splits into numerous branching realities.

But even though she has achieved her lifelong goal, Sylvie is not exhilarated. She does not feel cathartic or satisfied. Maybe it was the realization that vengeance was not as sweet as she expected. Overwhelmed with emotion and strain she drops down to the floor, whimpering.

Loki is overcome with grief at Sylvie's betrayal—he was deceived by the only person he ever trusted. Not giving into his sorrow, he decides to move on racing through the TVA halls to find Mobius and warn him of the incoming danger.

Desperately, he convinces Mobius of the arrival of He Who Remains' vile variants and urges them to prepare. But, alas, he doesn't recognize Loki. Bewildered, Loki turns to find a statue of He Who Remains in the place of the triad of Time Keepers, indicating that this is not the TVA he knew.

With an affirmation that Loki will return for a second season, the episode ends—just like that.

For All Time. Always. is not much of a classic Marvel grand finale, which usually culminates in a heavily-CGI'd duel. It's more of an expository episode with a whiplash-like plot twist, offering more questions than answers. Relying solely on Jonathan Majors' character, which he played to perfection, the episode is a mere prologue to Marvel's fourth phase, with Sylvie as the primary provocateur.

If not for the Avengers: Infinity War-esque climax, the episode would've easily been my favorite. But again, it is the cliffhanger ending and its looming uncertainty which excites our imagination.

Rating: 4.5/5

All six episodes of Loki are now streaming on Disney+