Warning: SPOILERS for Loki episode 5.

Not all powers and abilities can be transferred from the page to screen, and that's painfully true in Loki's case - but now, Marvel finally admits he's been nerfed this entire time in the MCU. Loki is the God of Mischief and, as he always says, is burdened with glorious purpose. However, he's never demonstrated anything truly god-like and most of his mischievous plans tend to fall through. Compared to the superheroes he's gone up against, including his own brother, Thor, Loki's power is insignificant.

The MCU attempts to remedy that by making Loki a larger threat to the Sacred Timeline as well as bringing in several Loki variants, many of whom have given the TVA a run for their time. The most noteworthy of them all - even more so than Tom Hiddleston's Loki himself - is Sylvie, the only confirmed female variant. She escaped the TVA's clutches as a child and uncovered their deepest, darkest secrets over the course of decades. It all ultimately led her to Loki and to dismantling the TVA. And in doing so, she became the impetus for revealing how powerful Lokis actually can be.

Related: Loki Episode 5 Ending Explained: Where Are Sylvie & Loki?

In Loki episode 5, Sylvie manages to connect with Alioth and later enchant the time monster - with the help of the main Loki, of course. But in order for them to get past the guard dog, Classic Loki uses all of his powers to fulfill his glorious purpose in being a distraction. For a brief moment, he conjured up Asgard, surprising not only Loki but Sylvie as well. She asks, "How is he doing that?" to which Loki responds, "I think we're stronger than we realize." It's something neither of them considered before because Marvel had never considered it before. But now they finally have.

Loki episode 5 where are loki and sylvie

It's a smart move, because it plays into the concept that Loki has been his own worst enemy. It's not that he never had - or can never have - those powers, but rather that he hadn't obtained them yet. Classic Loki was powerful enough because he lived a long life and found ways to survive, even living through his own Avengers: Infinity War. Most of the other Lokis were still learning and coming to terms with who they are and, more importantly, what they deserve.

By having Loki convince other Lokis to risk their lives for a seemingly impossible task and using his magical powers to take down a time monster, the Loki series finally took the necessary steps to correct the MCU's longstanding mistake. The sad thing is, this isn't reserved to Loki. Most Marvel superheroes have been underpowered in the MCU, and it's only now that audiences are seeing their true potential. This happened with Thor in Thor: Ragnarok, when he channeled lightning without Mjolnir, and for Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision, when she became the Scarlet Witch.

Next: Loki Episode 5: Every Marvel Easter Egg In The Void

Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

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