Loki S2 E4 Shamelessly Subverts All Expectations on Jonathan Majors' Character

Summary:

• The just-released episode goes in a direction few could have predicted, completely subverting the expectations of fans
• A bold cliffhanger leaves a massive impact on the show's storyline, and possibly the entire MCU

In light of the huge controversy surrounding Jonathan Majors, who was accused of assault and harassment, with the investigation continuing to this day, many fans were wondering about the actor's future within the MCU.

Kang the Conqueror and many of his multiversal variants are supposed to be the next big threat facing the superheroes, and many viewers expected the studio to get rid of the problematic actor, which is a rather common practice.

Surprisingly, at least for now, Majors remains a huge part of the cinematic universe, and his character remains the focus of the Loki TV series, the second season of which recently debuted.

An Intriguing Set-Up

While it was known that Majors would be reprising his role despite the ongoing controversy, the first few episodes didn't feature him at all until episode 3 introduced viewers to Victor Timely, another variation of the villain.

It was entirely devoted to Victor, who turned out to be very different from his other versions, being a nerdy and curious 19th century inventor with no ambitions to rule all timelines.

This brought him into conflict with Ravonna Renslayer and Miss Minutes, who attempted to make him the new timeline overlord, replacing his predecessor who was killed at the end of the show's first season.

With the quirky scientist now on the same side as Loki and Mobius, he ventured into the TVA with them to help them prevent the Temporal Loom from collapsing and dooming everyone in the organization.

The just-released episode 4 of the series finally showed us whether the heroes succeeded in preventing the catastrophe, but no one could have predicted such a stunning turn of events, making it unclear where the story of the series will even go next.

Upon his arrival in the organization, Victor teams up with his idol, O.B. aka Ouroboros, played by Ke Huy Quan, revealing the secret behind the latter's cryptic name.

Since Timely is a variant that branched off directly from the creator of the TVA, inspired by a manual written by O.B., the two were practically created by each other, as Ouroboros also learned everything he knows from the organization's founder, He Who Remains.

The ouroboros is originally an ancient symbol found in many cultures of the distant past, depicting a serpent eating its own tail.

In a nice allusion to this, both characters are part of a time paradox, caught in a loop as they are both creators and disciples of each other.

The Unexpected Resolution

Given all the development and screen time given to Timely, most fans were expecting him to be a big part of season 2's story, so the episode's finale must have had them picking their jaws up off the floor.

The scene where Victor volunteers to save the day by fixing the Temporal Loom is set up as a big moment for the character, but the second he steps towards it, he is instantly annihilated by the unleashed energy, which was quite painful, judging by his scream of agony.

This baffling twist cuts off the only remaining option to prevent the inevitable explosion that occurs seconds later, as the episode ends the moment before the energy wave reaches the TVA.

Such a shameless but extremely intriguing cliffhanger leaves countless questions unanswered, as it is now unclear where the plot will go next and how the explosion of the timelines might affect the MCU in general.

In order to get these desired answers, fans will have to wait for a whole week until episode 5 of season 2 is released on November 2, 2023.