Episode 3 of the second season of Loki was directed by Kasra Farahani, with a teleplay by Eric Martin, Kasra Farahani and Jason O’Leary. This episode was the longest one of the series so far, clocking in at 53 minutes.
The episode brings us back in time while moving forward with the story. It sees the return of a very pivotal character, and introduces to us, a time travelling – manipulating – enthusiast, Victor Timely.
The episode kicks off with Ravonna Renslayer (whom we last saw in the season 1 finale) meeting up with Miss Minutes in Chicago, 1868, a branched timeline. They drop a TVA handbook in the house of a young boy, who is later revealed to be young Victor Timely.
The duo do this on account of instructions by He Who Remains in case his sacred timeline-self is killed, with the promise that Ravonna and Miss Minutes would be by his side once things are stable.
Back at the TVA, countless attempts to fix the Temporal Loom have failed, and the only solution is He Who Remains’ temporal aura, or Miss Minutes who has administrator access to the entire TVA.
To find Miss Minutes, Loki and Mobius track down Renslayer’s TemPad, who was the last known employee to have contacted Miss Minutes. This brings them to 1868, and then to 1893, at the Chicago World Fair.
A fun nod to the comics at this point were statues of Balder, Odin, and Thor at the fair. Balder was initially supposed to be a member of the Illuminati in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but that never made the cut.
The two explore the place for a while before coming across “Victor Timely’s Astounding Temporal Marvels”, at the sight of which they are intrigued. They see Victor presenting his Temporal Loom, and Loki immediately recognizes him as a He Who Remains variant.
“Call it a dream. Laugh it off as pure science fiction. But if it can be dreamed, it can be achieved. Because all science is fiction, until it’s fact!”
Victor Timely, 1893
Loki, Mobius, and Renslayer & Miss Minutes all try to take Victor with them, the former to the TVA to unlock the blast doors and the latter to bring order. However, it all goes haywire when Sylvie arrives to discorporate him, and a businessman realizes that Timely conned him.
While Loki and Sylvie fight, Victor runs off with Renslayer and Miss Minutes, heading to his lab in Wisconsin (which is also where Victor Timely resided in the comics). On their way, Victor is told that he created the TVA and that Ravonna was the one who dropped the TVA handbook.
Victor’s affection for Ravonna causes Miss Minutes to be jealous, and she convinces him to betray Renslayer and the two of them head to his lab, dropping her from the ship on a boat.
“You just kept me as your thing. Instead of what I could have been. Your girl.”
Miss Minutes
At the lab, we learn that Miss Minutes doesn’t really care about the TVA, and all that she really wants is a real body. This leads to Timely shutting her down, while the entire gang; Loki, Mobius, Sylvie, and Renslayer show up.
Sylvie gains the upper hand but ultimately lets Victor live, who is taken to the TVA by Mobius and Loki. She pushes Renslayer through a time door to the Citadel at the end of time, where Miss Minutes tags along.
Ravonna discovers He Who Remains’ decomposing body, and the episode ends with Miss Minutes revealing that she could tell Ravonna a secret about her, but it would make her “real angry.”
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