The Ending Of Loki Episode 4 Explained

Contains spoilers for "Loki" Episode 4.

There's no doubt that every MCU fan was probably left reeling after the end of "Loki" Episode 4. "The Nexus Event" is arguably the best chapter of the show thus far. Not only did it double down on character development for Loki (Tom Hiddleston) as well as give us a better idea as to what Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) actually wants, but it also left us on an even bigger cliffhanger than Episode 3. The episode still gave the 2050 apocalypse on Lamentis time to breathe at the beginning, but it's clear there's a very specific story writer Michael Waldron and director Kate Herron are trying to tell, which promises to be heart-breaking and exciting all at the same time. 

Beyond that, there's also an enormous mid-credits scene, the first of the series so far — one which seems like it'll definitely have an impact on both the series and the MCU as a whole. Here's the ending of "Loki" Episode 4, explained.

The immediate question coming out of Episode 3 was how Loki and Sylvie were going to escape death in the face of an apocalypse on Lamentis. That kind of life or death situation brings out some real honesty in both of the two Gods of Mischief. Faced with the possibility of being crushed to death by the planet crumbling in the sky above, the two grow closer and Sylvie opens up about why she's trying to dismantle the Time Variance Authority.

As it turns out, Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is the Hunter who originally  snatched Sylvie from Asgard when she was just a young girl, which we see at the beginning of the episode. The trauma of being ripped away from her home has given Sylvie a real purpose: specifically, bringing down the TVA for tearing her away from her childhood home. In any case, Sylvnie definitely has a bone to pick with Ravonna herself, blaming the TVA chief for forcing her to grow up through "the ends of a thousand worlds."

As Loki and Sylvie await their doom, the two Variants have a brief, tender moment in the face of Armageddon, with Sylvie affectionately touching Loki's arm. However, when two Variants interact like that, it creates a new timeline branch — alerting Mobius and the rest of the TVA to their location so they can retrieve them — and then can arrest them both.

One of the most surprising moments of the episode was a delightful cameo from Lady Sif (Jamie Alexander), who hasn't appeared in the MCU since "Thor: The Dark World" (though she did appear in a 2015 episode of "Agents of SHIELD" — if that still counts as part of the MCU...). Although her brilliant role in the episode is only a minor one, it forces Loki to take a closer look at himself. Mobius (Owen Wilson) traps him in a time loop where Sif repeatedly beats him up in Asgard for cutting off her hair as a joke — an incident based on an actual Norse myth. Sure, the physical beating is torturous, but it's not the true purpose of the loop. Rather, it's what she says to the trickster that slowly chips away at Loki's resolve: "You're alone and you always will be." 

The God of Mischief has always seen himself as a loner and an outsider, even though he was always considered as family by the likes of Thor and Odin. Obviously, this version of the character didn't get the original story arc after the events of "The Avengers" that made him realize that he truly has a family. But this negative mantra Sif hisses about Loki being "alone" is clearly setting the Asgardian up to realize that he doesn't want to live like that anymore. 

Additionally, Loki is falling for Sylvie — something Mobius finds hilarious in his interrogation scene, saying, "What an incredible seismic narcissist!" Indeed, Loki's in love with himself, a development that definitely doesn't seem like it will end well. However, their entire conversation leads to the God of Mischief angrily trying to convince Mobius that everyone at the TVA are actually variants whose memories have been erased. Obviously Mobius dismisses this at first as another one of the trickster god's manipulations — but it does force him to think.

Loki's insistence that Time Keepers are kidnapping Variants and wiping their memories to work for the TVA does push Mobius to look into his claims. In fact, it says a lot about the impact Loki has had on the TVA analyst that he's started to take him seriously. Mobius and Loki have struck up a genuine friendship, even if that friendship is based on the two of them trying to outsmart each other at every turn.

It's that friendship that makes Mobius sneak a look at Ravonna's TemPad after she refuses to explain what really happened to Hunter C-20 (Sasha Lane), which allows him to discover that Loki was right about the TVA. This means Ravonna is covering up the Time Keeper's deceit, or whoever's really behind them. 

Obviously, Ravonna doesn't want this information to become public knowledge, so when Mobius starts wondering aloud about what his life was like before being a cosmic bureaucrat, she orders a hunter to prune him. This says everything you need to know about Ravonna: Shortly after she toasts Mobius' achievements and boasts about what she'd do to protect their friendship, she goes and orders the end of his tenure at the TVA, proving she'll do anything to survive and preserve the TVA in its current form. Hopefully, this isn't the last we see of Mobius.

Ever since the first episode of "Loki, fans have suspected that the Time Keepers aren't even real, largely because we haven't seen them in action at all in the series so far. But in a surprise twist, Ravonna takes the two Variants to meet the trio of "Space Lizards" — leading to an interesting conversation between the TVA chief and Sylvie. After everything, Sylvie is still desperate for answers about why her life was thrown into ruin because of the TVA.

The show still hasn't explained what Nexus Event made the TVA go after Sylvie, and Ravonna isn't about to open up about that just yet. Instead, she twists the knife further by brushing Sylvie's question off, saying she doesn't remember why they were sent after her, which visibly crushes and enrages Sylvie. After an atmospheric battle in the Time Keeper's smoky chamber, the series reveals the three aliens running the TVA are actually androids... so clearly, someone else entirely is pulling the TVA's strings. But who's really behind the TVA? Right now, nobody knows (we're placing a bet now that Miss Minutes is behind it all...we've got no evidence, but wouldn't it be cool if we were right?). 

Regardless, the Variants have proved that perhaps a dash of chaos is exactly what the Multiverse needs. They're even on the cusp of confessing their feelings for one another — a possibility seemingly ruined when Ravonna prunes Loki right in front of Sylvie. The devastated look on the Variant's face clearly suggests she'd fallen for her fellow God of Mischief.

But wait — there's more! The series' first mid-credits scene revealed that Loki might not be dead. Once again, the trickster cheats death in the MCU, and the Asgardian wakes up in what looks like a ruined version of New York — the same one seen in the trailers — asking if he's in Hel. In response, a dramatic voice replies, "Not yet. But you will be, unless you come with us." And that's when the show's biggest twist yet is revealed, introducing us to four more Loki variants.

On the left is Deobia Oparei ("Game of Thrones") as Boastful Loki, who sure seems to be carrying a Mjolnir-like hammer; Jack Veal (Tin Star) as Kid Loki, a version of the character we've seen in the comics; and perhaps most impressive of all is Richard E. Grant ("Logan") as Classic Loki. Clearly, the dramatic voice belongs to Grant's vibrantly dressed version of the character, clad in his original comic-accurate outfit (and it's genuinely incredible that Marvel Studios found a way to put that costume on-screen). Interestingly, Veal's Kid Loki is holding a crocodile who is also wearing its own horned crown... Croki, maybe? Is this new world filled with other dead Lokis? Or is it home to countless pruned Variants from across the multiverse? Hopefully, Episode 5 will have more answers.