Loki season 2 episode 4 recap and Easter eggs: Renslayer’s secret past – and a big cliffhanger

Things are getting serious in Loki season 2 as episode 4 sees all chaos break out at the TVA. And yes, even more chaos than was already plaguing the time-keeping authority. The latest episode features plenty more of Kang variant Victor Timely, some great moments for Loki and Sylvie fans, and a cliffhanger ending that will leave you desperate to know what will happen next.

So, if you’re looking for a deep dive into Loki season 2 episode 4, then you’re in the right place. We’ve broken down all of the key moments from the latest foray into Marvel Phase 5, as well as tracking down some major Marvel Cinematic Universe Easter eggs along the way. But of course, before we get any further, we’re zooming into spoiler territory from here on out, so make sure you’re up to date on the Disney Plus show first!

The End of Time

He Who Remains — (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

The new episode picks up right where we left off with Miss Minutes and Ravonna Renslayer at the End of Time. If you’ll recall last week, the AI told Renslayer that she’d been keeping a big secret, and it’s going to make her mad. Well, it turns out that one of the major theories was correct: Renslayer helped He Who Remains build the TVA. In a video of their earlier interactions, it’s clear they planned to lead it together "for all time, always," before HWR wiped her memory in what’s called Protocol 42. Renslayer is in shock at the revelation, but Miss Minutes soon tells her, "We don’t need him, maybe we never did". It seems like a new villainous partnership is in the making there.

Meanwhile, Victor Timely, Loki, and Mobius wind up at the TVA to try and help O.B. fix the Temporal Loom. Timely is in awe of his new surroundings, including a disgusting-looking machine that makes coffee, hot chocolate, and soup. However, the most wholesome interaction comes when he meets O.B., the author of his beloved TVA handbook. But wait, there’s a twist here: O.B. says he learned everything to write it from notes from Timely, resulting in a confusing 'Chicken and Egg' scenario. Who came first?

There’s a more pressing worry though – how are they going to fix the Temporal Loom and stop the timelines from collapsing? O.B. has some ideas that, you guessed it, involve more space suits and danger, but while they work that out, Sylvie turns up and wants some answers.

Pie and prisoners

Amidst walls of key lime pie, Sylvie confronts Mobius about not looking for his life on the timeline, but she saves most of her anger for Loki. She confronts him about working to save the TVA even after all the bad they’ve done. For Loki though, he counters that he has actually made the "hard choice" to stay and fight for what’s broken. "Hope is hard," he tells Sylvie. Are we the only ones who don’t think they’re speaking about the TVA anymore?

While Loki and Sylvie are having their heart-to-heart, we learn that the rogue TVA agents (including Brad and Dox) are being held in a cell. Hunter B-15 goes to them and tries to recruit them to her cause without much success before they’re visited by Renslayer and Miss Minutes who are less subtle in their approach.

Renslayer tells them that they either join her or they die. Brad Wolfe is the only one who takes up the offer as she places the rest of them in that glass box and crushes them to death. Yikes. Next on her list is Timely, who she manages to trap when he goes to make himself a hot chocolate. Meanwhile, Miss Minutes has got into the TVA system and taken control.

Chaos and order

As everything goes to plan in the TVA, it becomes clear that this is when Loki went after time-slipping in episode 1. If you’ll recall, he was pulled into the future where alarms were blaring at the TVA as he walked towards an elevator that revealed Sylvie. Just as he reached towards her, someone pruned him from behind. Well, now we know that it was Loki who did the pruning. That’s not all either, after he answers the phone, he learns that it’s O.B. on the other side wondering where they are.

O.B. has a plan though, he needs to reboot the system to allow the Lokis to use magic at the TVA. This gets Miss Minutes offline as Loki possesses Brad to prune Renslayer, and crucially allows them to get the door open to the Temporal Loom. Timely volunteers to go into the suit and brave the Temporal Radiation to fix it, but the moment he steps out of the door, he’s spaghettied. A big explosion destroys everything and the show cuts to its credits. Wait, is everybody dead?

Loki season 2 episode 4 Easter eggs

Renslayer and Kang have a complicated past in the comics too. In that canon, the pair fell in love after her empire was conquered by Kang.
We finally know the meaning behind the TVA’s motto, "For all time, always". It originated between Renslayer and He Who Remains.
When He Who Remains wipes Renslayer’s memory, he calls the process Protocol 42. Not only is 42, of course, the answer to the universe in 'The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy', but it’s also an important number for Marvel heads as Earth-42 is where Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ends.
O.B.’s real name makes a bit more sense now, as an Ouroboros is a serpent that eats itself. The fact that he and Victor cannot work out who came first is a perfect example of this circular reasoning.
When Miss Minutes takes over the TemPads, we get definite Dennis Nedry vibes from Jurassic Park. Seriously, check out this video and see if you agree.

Loki season 2 continues weekly on Disney Plus. For more on the show, check out our guides to: