Here’s a spoiler-free recap of “Journey Into Mystery,” Episode 5 of the Loki Series on Disney+ Hostar.

WARNING: This section includes spoilers for Loki Series Episode 5, “Journey Into Mystery,” currently available on Disney+.

The penultimate episode of Loki series begins with a revolving shot around the Time Variance Authority, taking us into the chambers of the “Time-Keepers,” who have now been exposed to be frauds. And the smoke and mirrors take us to a whole different location: a wasteland of items dispersed throughout time and space.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) meets four other Variants here, including Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), Boastful Loki (DeObia Oparei), and Reptile Loki, who has been post-pruned. The foursome welcomes him to his new home, the Void, as well as his new adversary Alioth, a massive purple smoke monster looming on the horizon.

Back at the TVA, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) kidnapped Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and held her hostage in her courtroom. Renslayer professes ignorance about who the actual bosses of the organization are, and Loki isn’t dead yet. Anyone who is pruned is transported to the Void, a location at the end of time where everything comes to a halt and no Variants may sprout temporal branches. After receiving this information, Sylvie appears to hesitantly trust Renslayer, returning her TemPad so they may work together to reclaim Loki.

Loki is completely perplexed as he wanders down the Void with his new “friends” since this new reality is a step too far, especially in comparison to everything he’s seen so far in the series. But it’s old hat to the other Variants, who see Alioth as the shark in the metaphorical shark tank, ensuring nothing escapes. At the end of the day, they’re all Lokis, laughing in Loki’s face as he suggests numerous escape options. Kid Loki is revealed to be their leader, demonstrating his bloodthirstiness by murdering Thor in the nexus event. And he has a throne suitable for a king, which is displayed in an amazing underground bunker where all the Lokis go.

Sylvie hypothesizes that whoever is behind the TVA is masked by the Void, as it’s the ideal area to launch nexus events and avoid detection. Renslayer agrees to utilize a spaceship particularly equipped to manage temporal energy when she recommends traveling into the Void. Their collaboration, however, is short-lived, as Sylvie discovers the judge’s offer is too good to be true. As numerous TVA minutemen charge in, she goes into hiding almost on cue. Even though Renslayer is back in command, Sylvie teases her by questioning whether she truly felt deceived by whatever her superiors are. The Asgardian then prunes herself, sending herself to the Void.

Renslayer lies about being dead and out of their hair without blinking an eye.

The boxed wine is flowing, as are the stories, in the bunker. True to his name, boastful Loki discusses his nexus event of obtaining all of the Infinity Stones. Classic Loki’s is the most similar to what MCU fans are used to seeing. Instead of attempting to murder Thanos, he faked his death. He disguised himself as debris in his version of Avengers: Infinity War. He then drifts aimlessly in space, ultimately isolating himself on a planet.

He admittedly became lonely, and it was at that point that he was apprehended by the TVA. Loki refuses to sit idly by while they celebrate “The God of Outcasts.” He exits the bunker, planning to return and assist Sylvie in bringing down the TVA. But then he sees something else that surprises him: even more Variants.

Also Read, Loki Episode 4 Ending Explained…. Who are the New Lokis?

Sylvie arrives in the Void on a desiccated school bus. She manages to flee just before Alioth approaches. However, as she becomes engulfed in the smoke, she catches sight of a medieval structure. However, she is spared from extinction by a pizza truck bearing Mobius (Owen Wilson). He snatches her up, regretting being duped by the TVA. He apologizes for following her around her entire life, and the two appear to reach an agreement.

Sylvie steers Mobius back into the storm, hoping to complete her quest of discovering what is behind the Void.

Meanwhile, President Loki (also played by Hiddleston) and his army of Variants have stormed the bunker. Boastful Loki, it turns out, gave up their whereabouts in return for the crown. But, in typical Loki fashion, the Loki-in-Chief betrays him to seize the throne for himself. In another twist, the army of Lokis revolts against their captain, resulting in a Loki-on-Loki brawl. Loki, Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Reptile Loki flee the commotion.

While the other Variants bemoan their brokenness and inability to change, Loki devises a scheme to murder Alioth and leave the Void. However, as we can see, the monster is capable of gobbling up an entire ship and its crew in seconds. Fortunately, they come across some reinforcements as they stumble across Mobius and Sylvie. Following their brief reunion, Sylvie quickly pokes holes in Loki’s scheme and proposes her own: Enchant Alioth and discover the true location of the TVA founders.

Renslayer pays a visit to Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku), who has been imprisoned since she freed Sylvie in the previous episode. B-15 contends that the other employees have a right to know the truth about their status as Variants. But Renslayer isn’t buying it, claiming that what the TVA needs right now is stability. The hunter looks straight through her, knowing that she, like Sylvie, is curious about who is actually behind everything. But she mocks the Variant’s ability to discover the truth first, stating, “You only desire it. She requires it.”

Back in the Void, the gang waits for Sylvie’s plan to be carried out. She and Loki sat peacefully on a hill, ultimately sharing a blanket against a fierce breeze. They bring up the last episode’s revelation that their nexus event fell in love, dismissing it as another TVA deception. But neither of them believes it as they continue to skirt around their genuine love for each other. Loki tells Sylvie that he will not betray her in the dying hour, informing her that he is no longer that guy. And, whatever happens, once the TVA is demolished, they’ll sort it out together.

The strategy is finally put into action at this point. The Variants opt to remain behind, making the Void their home. Similarly, Loki wants to assist Sylvie with her quest. That leaves Mobius to return to the TVA alone, ready to burn it down. It is here that he bids Loki farewell, praising him for his friendship and spark of truth. The two guys unexpectedly hug, a symbol of how much their brief meeting meant to them.

After that heartfelt farewell, it’s time to get down to work. Loki breaks from Sylvie, attempting to divert Alioth’s attention with his freshly obtained flame blade. But the creature isn’t interested, instead of making a beeline for Sylvie.

Just when it appears that everything is lost, Alioth’s gaze is drawn to something new: a complete phantom Asgard constructed by Classic Loki. It’s enough to save Sylvie as the Variant is eaten up, chuckling in delight. She can use enchantment magic on Loki while holding his hand. They probe Alioth’s mind together, turning his purple smoke green. Some of the fog lifts, revealing the structure Sylvie saw in her vision, the house of whoever founded the TVA. And, with a whole new “glorious goal” in mind, the two begin their journey to it, laying the groundwork for what should be a mind-blowing climax.

Loki Series Episode 5: Qeng Tower May Confirm A Huge Kang Theory 

What Happens When A Variant Is Pruned? 

Thankfully, the Loki series Episode 5 offers the long-awaited solution to that issue in the shape of The Void.

The Void also has what looks to be a damaged replica of Avengers Tower at first glance. However, a closer glance reveals that the building in the backdrop is not the Avengers Tower – it’s something else.

The last shot of Loki series Episode 4’s post-credits scene showed what most Marvel fans mistook for a crumbling Avengers Tower in the background behind Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant). While it has the same form and construction as Avengers Tower, it does not have the words “Avengers,” “Stark,” or even the Avengers “A” on the outside. We get a better look at the tower itself as Loki series Episode 5 begins by flying across The Void’s post-apocalyptic skyline.

Instead, the name on the side of the skyscraper is “Qeng Enterprises,” a firm that, in the comics, purchased Avengers Tower from Stark Industries. It is also, and here is where things get interesting, owned by a guy dubbed Mister Gryphon. He is a reincarnation of Nathaniel Richards as Kang the Conqueror.

Read on to learn about the Castle Limbo…

Ending Explained…

What exactly is Alioth?

Alioth is a large, hungry cloud creature who stalks the Void searching for tasty stuff in Loki’s realm. It’s the TVA’s unintentional cleaning service, eradicating any Variants that the TVA can’t get rid of. Loki’s useful analogy is that the Void is a shark tank, and Alioth is the shark.

The comic book character Alioth originally appeared in Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1 in 1993. The same issue also debuted Ravonna Renslayer and featured Kang the Conqueror as its main antagonist. Oh, yes, everything is coming together.

Alioth is regarded as the first entity to break free from the limits of time. It’s no surprise that it makes an appearance in the Loki series.

What’s the Story Behind That Castle?

It’s about time a Marvel villain lived in a real-life castle! While it is still conceivable that this is a misdirection and that the environment is not what it appears to be, it appears that episode 6 will be set in a creepy castle.

Surprisingly, there are a plethora of creepy castles in Marvel comics mythology. The most well-known is Castle Doom, which is located within Doomstadt. I bet you have no idea who lives there! Yes, it’s Doctor Doom himself, Victor von Doom to his friends…of whom he has very few.

Castle Limbo is another noteworthy residence, serving as the residence of Immortus, formerly Nathaniel Richards a.k.a. Kang the Conqueror. Because Kang is a perplexing character, you’ll just have to believe us on this one.

However, Kang built a time-barrier named Chronopolis to keep the villain out of his own kingdom. That sounds a lot like what the TVA did with Alioth in “Loki series,” locking the creature in the Void so they can use him to wipe away troublesome Variants and other things that don’t belong in the holy timeline. Later, I’ll go into more detail about Alioth and Kang.

When Alioth is enchanted, the fog clears, revealing a strange palace or mansion amid a whirling cosmic background. Is it conceivable that this is Chronopolis, given Kang the Conqueror’s ties to Alioth? Alioth obviously couldn’t go inside. Chronopolis, in the comics, is on the edges of limbo and includes time points to areas under Kang’s dominion. Will Jonathan Majors be back next week? The only way to know is to wait…