The Mobius-Loki buddy cop adventure through space and time takes a backseat in Lamentis. The entire episode focuses on Sylvie (the female Loki from the last episode) and Loki with a brief appearance by Ravonna Renslayer.
While different, the chemistry between Tom Hiddleston and Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie is just as fascinating as Loki’s dynamic with Mobius. Loki tends to probe Sylvie, while Sylvie is quite reluctant to provide Loki with any information. Watching these two Loki variants compare and contrast their life stories is the focus of most of the episode.
I want to make something clear this isn’t a filler episode or a bottle episode. The episode might revolve around two characters talking, but allowing characters to develop is an important aspect of television and Lamentis takes great advantage of this concept. Without spoiling anything here are some of the important events that take place solely through these two characters talking.
- A deeper dive into how enchantment works.
- Loki acknowledging his bisexuality, which is an important character trait from the comics that hasn’t been touched until this episode.
- Important information about the TVA is revealed that will likely change the course of the series.
After spending an entire episode with Sylvie, I have no idea what she is actually trying to do. I’m sure answers will come as the series progresses, but the lack of clarity does make the events of this episode somewhat lesser.
Natalie Holt‘s score continues to shine. The CGI used to create Lamentis is magnificent. Sylvie has several action sequences. All of them look fantastic. The same can’t be said of Loki’s action scenes. The fight scenes between Loki and Sylvie are fine. However, the sequences where Loki has to fight off multiple assailants look pretty bad.
There was an interesting story beat in the background about the disenfranchised being unable to board a train. Loki and Sylvie acknowledge the situation, but don’t do anything to help them. The decision to focus on their own goals is in keeping with their characters. However, it makes rooting for Loki or Sylvie more difficult.
With the non-spoiler details out of the way, lets go through another journey into mystery on Lamentis. Loki is available to stream on Disney Plus.
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Time to Meet Sylvie
Lamentis begins where The Variant ends with Sylvie exiting out of the portal she entered in 2050 Alabama. She’s surprised that her enchanting powers don’t work on the TVA Minutemen, but adjust quickly. Sylvie has no problem using her impressive combat skills. As she prepares to meet the Timekeepers, Loki shows up.
The two variants fight again and are evenly matched for the most part. Renslayer shows up and the distraction causes Sylvie to get the upper hand. Loki is able to pickpocket a device from Sylvie called a TemPad. The device is used to teleport to planets right before a cataclysmic event occurs.
Loki and Sylvie arrive on Lamentis-1 in 2077 and not at a good place or time either. The planet’s moon is set to collide with the surface and shards of the moon are already cratering. Unfortunately, the TemPad needs to recharge forcing Sylvie to work with Loki and vice versa.
There’s a fun scene where Sylvie and Loki take turns trying to convince an old woman to let them through. Sylvie tries a straightforward approach, which fails. Loki uses his ability to mimic another’s appearance by transforming into her husband. He actually says some nice things but is blasted back as well. Eventually, the woman reveals that there’s a train that will take them across the planet to a ship.
These early scenes are great. Neither Loki nor Sylvie trust each other. There’s one point in which Sylvie tries to get Loki to hand over the device. Loki recognizes he’s being played. Sylvie immediately walks in the other direction while saying there wasn’t enough power to charge the TemPad anyway.
An Enchanting Conversation on Lamentis
Loki and Sylvie eventually reach the train. They encounter a long line of people. The line is clearly being used to deter the less fortunate citizens from the wealthy. Loki notices it but uses the crowd to transform into a guard to let them pass.
Once inside the train, Loki and Sylvie sit down to have a nice chat. There are some similarities. Both are bisexual, can wield magic and were adopted. The biggest difference covered in this scene is Loki wasn’t told about being adopted until later in life. Sylvie knew she was adopted all along.
The most important aspect of this scene is who is asking the questions and providing most of the answers. Loki is trying to draw out more information about Sylvie, while Sylvie divulges some, but not a ton of useful information.
Sylvie does feel comfortable enough to sleep for a bit. Her decision allows Loki to drink himself stupid. Loki transforms into the Variant jacket-wearing version of himself. His lack of candor leads to a fight with the guards who throw Loki out of a window. Since Loki has the TempPad, Sylvie follows him.
Moon Landing
The fall from the train breaks the TempPad. Sylvie is pissed at Loki for screwing up her mission. The duo are seemingly screwed, but decide to walk to the ship.
Another walk-and-talk between the two ensues. Unlike the rest of the episode, Sylvie divulges two important pieces of information. She explains how enchantment works. Essentially, she has to create a fantasy within a person’s mind to gain control. In the opening scene of Lamentis, Sylvie is shown manipulating C-20, which gives us a visual representation of how enchantment works. Sometimes it’s easy, but in the case of C-20 (the agent from the 2nd episode who helped take down the other TVA Minutemen), it was quite difficult.
During the explanation, she mentions C-20 was a person. Loki is taken aback and dives in further. Essentially, all of the TVA Minutemen including Mobius, but probably not Renslayer, are human beings from Earth. Just like Loki, they are all variants as well. There’s a look of concern for Mobius that’s quite sweet. After this episode, it’s quite clear that the Timekeepers are the main antagonists of Loki.
The duo reach the ship location. Another fight takes place. The choreography whenever Loki was fighting felt off to me. Before they can get on the ship, a piece of the moon breaks off and destroys the shuttle. Loki and Sylvie seem out of options as the Lamentis ends.
Lamentis Final Thoughts
Diverging from the format of the first two episodes pays off more often than not in Lamentis. Sylvie seems like another great addition to the MCU. Combining the enchantress with elements of Lady Loki is a great way to get the most out of this variant of Loki.
I didn’t like the ending of the episode at all. The fight sequences felt rushed. Ending the episode on a cliffhanger that tries to show Loki in great peril doesn’t work for me with three episodes remaining. Somebody or something is going to intervene. Lamentis is more than 10 minutes shorter than the last episode. There was plenty of time (no pun intended) to show Loki and Sylvie’s escape.
The Review
Lamentis
PROS
- Tom Hiddleston and Sophia Di Martino have excellent chemistry.
- Focusing on two characters allows the Loki and Sylvie dynamic to shine.
- Some crucial information about variants and the TVA are revealed.
- Sylvie's fight scenes looked great.
CONS
- The ending of the episode left much to be desired.
- I'm certainly rooting against the TVA. However, I'm not sure whether I should root for Loki or Sylvie to prevail either. At this point, the only character worth rooting for is Mobius.