In Review: Loki (S1 – Ep3) Lamentis

Synopsis: The last time we saw Loki (Tom Hiddleston) he was chasing his female doppelganger Lady Loki (Sophia di Martino). Into another timeline. Leaving Mobius (Owen Wilson) and the TVA in the lurch.

With Loki’s short stint as a TVA agent seemingly finished and the Sacred Timeline under attack from Lady Loki. Almost anything could happen.

Story:

This is where the story gets interesting. We see Lady Loki and Hunter C-20 (Sasha Lane). At a bar where they are hanging out. It is soon revealed that this is the Variant’s magic probing Hunter’s mind. For the location of the Timekeepers. Loki’s female version cuts a bloody swathe through the TVA in her quest for the Timekeepers. Only to be halted by Loki, who proposes they work together. As Lady Loki soon has Thor’s adopted brother at her mercy. More TVA guards arrive. Whereupon the God of Mischief uses a stolen ten-pad to teleport both tricksters away.

Apocalypse How

Our antiheroes find themselves on Lamentis. A planet on the cusp of being destroyed. Loki and Lady Loki agree to work together, and discover the location of an ark ship. That will take them offworld. Significantly, Loki’s female doppelganger reveals that she prefers the name Sylvie. Indeed, the tricksters must board a train to reach the ark ship. Which they achieve after some subterfuge by Odin’s adopted son. Once on the train, Loki and Sylvie have a long conversation about Loki’s past. Unfortunately, Loki cannot resist drinking and singing with the other passengers that leads to him being ejected from the train.

A Race Against Time

Sylvie follows him to get the ten-pad, and rages at Loki’s foolishness. The tricksters realise that working together they can make sure that the ark ship reaches its destination. In a massive wham line, Sylvie tells Loki that everyone who works at the TVA is a variant, like the two of them. This shocks Loki, as he was told that the TVA’s employees were created by the Timekeepers. Our antiheroes make their way through a very Neo-Tokyo like town. Loki and Sylvie race against time to make it to the ark ship. Only to watch as an asteroid obliterates it. Loki is left stunned. While Sylvie walks away through the crowd.

Acting:

Tom Hiddleston and Sophia di Martino make an incredibly entertaining double act. Their bickering sustains an episode which follows a pretty basic setup. It was great to see their relationship deepen in less than an hour. Which only talented actors could pull off. Hiddleston shows his comedic abilities when Loki disguises himself as a guard. The best scene in the episode was when Loki talks about his mother. When he and Sylvie are on the train. Hiddleston shows his vast acting range; being by turns reflective, seductive and put out. By his doppelganger’s attitude. Di Martino gets a nice little scene with Sasha Lane at the beginning of the episode which shows Sylvie’s duplicity. It will be interesting to see how both her and Loki’s characters will develop in the series’ latter half. Alex Van got a nice moment when he played Loki in one of his disguises.

Incidental Music:

Lamentis began with some really great funky dance music. Which accompanied Sylvie’s illusion. I’d say that Sylvie’s action theme was weird and mournful. When she was killing the TVA guards. I enjoyed Hiddleston’s rendition of an Asgardian drinking song. As well as the deep romantic song he sang for Sylvie.

CGI:

Lamentis’ CGI was utterly stunning. I loved the CGI of the ruined planet with the asteroids crashing into it. The train station that Loki and Sylvie snuck into put me strongly in mind of Firefly. Notably, the town where the ark ship was stationed gave me a strong Neo-Tokyo vibe. Especially when it began collapsing at the episode’s end. Notably the CGI of the ark ship’s destruction really delivered that gut punch feeling. As we realise that our antiheroes’ efforts have been in vain.

Overall:

Lamentis was a good episode. The story was somewhat basic, but the actors’ performances more than carried this outing. The cliffhanger was excellent; and has left me excited for what happens next. There was some great character development of both Loki and Sylvie. Which I’m excited to see continue further. As well as the revelation about all TVA staff being variants.

Check out our reviews of Loki episodes one and two