Loki Heart of the TVA Review: A masterful cliffhanger caps off the best written episode of an MCU show

Heart of the TVA builds off the introduction of Victor Timely from the previous episode with a terrific television episode. The last episode benefited from a focused, single storyline. Heart of the TVA continues in a similar fashion and the episode soars because of it.

Heart of the TVA is one of the best-written episodes of any MCU show, rivaling the penultimate episode of Wandavision. Every scene reveals surprising character developments. The mutual enthusiasm between Victor Timely and O.B. shines with Jonathan Majors and Ke Huy Quan quickly establishing strong chemistry. When the episode slows down, there are profound revelations and barbs thrown at characters where neither character is truly right or wrong.

I continue to be amazed by the character growth of Loki. Tom Hiddleston continues to show he may be the best actor in the MCU.

Outside of Ravonna Renslayer and Miss Minutes, every character in the Heart of the TVA tries to find the best solution for saving the TVA. Even Renslayer and Miss Minutes have plans for the TVA. They want to use it as revenge against He Who Remains and prove they never needed a variant of Kang.

The episode tops everything off with a terrific, crazy ending that throws everything we know potentially out the window. Even General Dox (Katie Dickie), Judge Gamble (Liz Carr), Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) and Hunter X-5 (Rafael Casal) have powerful, character-defining moments. Just giving these supporting characters moments to shine makes the shocking ending hit even harder.

The only problem is nobody calls out Sylvie for her actions at the end of last season. She has no problem calling out Mobius. Yet, she still hasn’t been held accountable for her actions.

From performance to writing to sharp directing by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, Loki is hitting on all cylinders heading into the penultimate episode of season 2 of Loki.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the three standout elements in Heart of the TVA . There will be some spoilers. Loki is streaming on Disney Plus.

Saving the Heart of the TVA

Heart of the TVA begins where the last episode leaves off. Loki, Mobius, Sylvie and Timely arrive at the TVA. Timely is apprehensive about helping Loki and Mobius, but his enthusiasm increases after meeting O.B. The respect between these two men is mutual. For Timely, the TVA handbook by O.B. was a source of inspiration. Meanwhile, O.B. was inspired by Timely writings. In short, we have an actual Ouroboros effect in a timeline-related show.

After autographing each other’s handbooks, O.B. and Timely work on fixing the Temporal Loom. Timely reveals a prototype similar to the device that powered Kang’s ship in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The end of the episode finds Timely putting the loom to the test. However, when Timely unlocks the loom, the radiation disintegrates him. The episode ends with an energy blast about to engulf the entire TVA.

The ending of the episode is tremendous. Timely’s apparent demise is abrupt and a great counter to Loki’s attempt to save the TVA in the season premiere. The premiere sequence was a drawn-out scene with a powerful score that builds to Loki purging his variants. In the Heart of the TVA, Timely is eviscerated when he steps outside.

Mercy and Hope

While O.B. and Timely work on the Temporal Loom, Loki, Sylvie and Mobius leave the room. Mobius suggests they pass the time by consuming some pie. Sylvie is appalled. She can’t believe Mobius is so cavalier about the situation. She also takes him to task for not caring about his life as a variant. Her barbs sting slightly more than Huter X-5’s insults in the 2nd episode. Sylvie accuses Mobius of not caring about the loss of life.

Loki and Sylvie head to the cafeteria for a heart-to-heart. Sylvie regrets not killing Timely. Loki questions why she didn’t. She couldn’t Sylvie saw the fear in Timely’s eyes. Sylvie believes her act of mercy makes her weak.

Loki takes Sylvie on another trip down memory lane. He talks about how his brother Thor changed after spending time on Earth. Loki also thought this was a weakness but now views mercy as power. Sophie saving Timely provides a chance to save the TVA and countless numbers of people.

Sylvie doesn’t understand why they should even attempt to save the TVA. Destroying the TVA and starting from scratch is the more straightforward choice. Loki agrees. Destruction is easier than fixing what’s broken. However, repairing the broken pieces can lead to a more hopeful outcome.

Loki continues to be the character that’s grown the most throughout the MCU. He’s now choosing the more difficult path than the more accessible, selfish direction. The only issue with this storyline is Sylvie calling out everyone is a little much, given her selfish actions at the end of last season.

Head of the TVA

The other storyline involves taking control of the TVA. After being spurned by He Who Remain and Timely, Renslayer and Miss Minutes concoct a plan to take control of the TVA.

Judge Gamble and Hunter B-15 are also trying to find the best way forward for the TVA. Hunter B-15 wants to know how the TVA can prevent the destruction of more timeline branches. Judge Gamble explains in the past, the TVA would have purged the branches. Hunter B-15 wonders if they should consider purging. However, Judge Gamble tells Hunter B-15 that she was moved by the speech in the premiere. She urges Hunter B-15 to talk to General Dox.

Dox’s methods may be severe. However, her devotion to the TVA has never wavered. Hunter B-15’s conversation with General Dox doesn’t go well. However, it’s nothing compared to Dox’s showdown with Renslayer and Miss Minutes.

Renslayer and Miss Minutes want Dox and her agents to help take control of the TVA. Dox and her agents can join Renslayer’s crusade or die. The agents can have any life they want on the sacred timeline. Only Hunter X-5 accepts the offer. The rest are killed.

Renslayer begins to enact her plan. However, O.B. deactivates Sylvie and Loki’s magic-dampening collars and turns the tables on Renslayer.

Renslayer and Miss Minutes killing Dox and her agents is a horrific sequence. While the deaths aren’t shown, the screams and reactions by Hunter X-5 and Hunter B-15 illustrate the terror more than showing the carnage would have.

Heart of the TVA final thoughts

The episode’s ending alone makes Heart of the TVA a wild ride. When you add strong writing and character work across the board, you get a special episode rivaling the best of the MCU on Disney Plus.

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