Phil Coulson's Death Is Finally Avenged In Loki Episode 4

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Loki episode 4, "The Nexus Event."

The events of Loki episode 4 sent the story spiraling in new directions but also honored the MCU's past while even avenging Phil Coulson's death with scenes that paralleled The Avengers. Starring Tom Hiddleston, the new Disney+ series centers on a Loki variant created during The Avengers' famous time heist. With part of the New York 2012 mission sent awry by an angry Hulk, Loki stole the Tesseract and vanished. The move immediately brought him to the attention of the Time Variance Authority. Tried and scheduled to be seemingly erased from existence, he was ultimately gifted a stay of execution by Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) and recruited to help hunt down fellow Loki variant, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino).

Far from the Loki that died at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, this God of Mischief remained every bit the embodiment of bitterness and bravado. As a result, he had to be broken down and rushed along a road to redemption in Loki episode 1, "Glorious Purpose." This came courtesy of clips from the original Loki's life, including the deaths of Frigga (Rene Russo) and Odin (Anthony Hopkins). The journey was equally fueled by the sight of depowered Infinity Stones and the belief that Mobius seemed to have in him. Ultimately, Loki experienced a breakthrough, offering a laugh over his Infinity War death and eschewing his glorious purpose to speak truthfully about himself. Still, as proven across subsequent episodes, Loki still had some way to go to really solidify his being a changed man.

Fortunately, a few moments of growth occurred in Loki episode 4, "The Nexus Event." Having already learned of the destruction of Asgard, Loki was forced to reflect in the shade of his past via a time-looped moment with Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander). More subtly, however, the installment featured not one but two allusions to the tragic fate of Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) in The Avengers. As one of Loki's most notable victims, the literal backstabbing moment was revisited in the opening episode. The references in Loki episode 4, "The Nexus Event," proved equally dramatic, though. The first came at the moment of Mobius' seeming death on the orders of Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). Unable to do anything but watch and cry out, the moment put Loki in exactly the same position as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) when he was forced to powerlessly witness Agent Coulson's murder.

Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Marvel's Loki

The second moment came when Loki and Sylvie were brought before the ominous Time-Keepers. Thanks to the intervention of Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku), the titular duo was able to overcome most of the TVA guards present. Regardless, Loki was "pruned" by Renslayer while trying to share a moment with his alternate self. The attack came swift and sudden from behind, catching both Loki and viewers so off-guard that it bordered on a jump scare towards the ending of Loki episode 4. Furthermore, it also served as another perfect parallel, this time to the exact method with which Loki had killed Agent Coulson in The Avengers. Though the weapons were different, the style of attack and intention was the same.

Whether or not Loki himself will give voice to such parallels and their effect on him shall remain to be seen. In either case, they served as shrewd moves on the parts of the show's writers, giving Loki a double dose of his own medicine. As such, it furthered the potential for him to see outside of his narcissistic bubble and at least feel what others did at the moments of his most despicable deeds. They also served to finally deliver some proper (and poetic) justice for Agent Coulson's death. Granted, Tony Stark, Captain America, and the others came together to avenge him by defeating Loki in The Avengers. Still, there was something infinitely more fitting about watching Loki literally put through the same painful experiences.

Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

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