'Loki' web series episode 5 review: An un-Loki alliance

As we approach the end of the line for Loki, metaphorically, the series finally pulls back the curtain on a number of mysteries, the chief of which is whether the alligator is a Loki.
Yes. Yes it is.

Jokes aside, the fifth episode of Loki finally explores a section of the series hitherto unexplored: Where does everything that is pruned go? In the first episode, we see a man get erased by the TVA over a ticket, and since then it's been a mystery if the TVA is just unilaterally killing every variant that steps out of line, and for the first time, we get to see the truth behind the light.

The most fun part of the episode, and yes this is a very fun(ny) episode, is the quatret of Loki variants we see at the end of the fourth episode: The Classic Loki, the Kid Loki, the Boastful Loki and the Alligator Loki.

All the four new variants are an absolute riot, and despite their short screentimes, they all carry an air of character which is both similar to, and distinct from, the MCU Loki, and each of whom have equally hilarious and strange nexus events that led them to the end of time by the TVA.

Speaking of the TVA, it is apparent that the death of the fake Time Keepers in the fourth episode has turned everything upside down despite the relative silence, and Ravonna is having a hard time keeping things afloat. It does not appear, on the surface, that she knows who is truly behind the TVA, but is clearly on their side, as opposed to learning the truth about the organisation.

Among the Loki variants in question in this episode, the two who get to shine the most are the Classic Loki, played by Richard E Grant, and the Alligator Loki, played by...well, a green alligator. There's a small gag in the later minutes of the episodes where the Alligator's identity as a Loki comes into question by Mobius, and it is by far, the second-most hilarious scene in the episode.

There is also an element of horror to this episode, personified as a strange purplish cloud called Alioth that eats up every variant that stands out, and it appears that it has more of a job than just eating things up at the end of time.

The series is almost at its end now, and the anticipation of the truth is almost tantalising. Onwards to next week, when hopefully, all will finally be revealed.