Phew, that second episode of Loki took us on quite the ride, eh?
"The Variant" revealed more about the Time Variance Authority, dropped some huge hints about how the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of the Multiverse will work, and even introduced a sinister new foe for the titular God of Mischief. Needless to say, we have a lot to digest!
It's beginning to feel like Loki is going to have wider consequences for this shared world than we ever suspected. Heck, the Multiverse itself may have been created in today's instalment, and that's why we're taking a deep dive into the biggest reveals to try and figure out what comes next. You'll find some bold, crazy predictions here, not to mention some noteworthy Easter Eggs.
To take a look through this breakdown, all you guys need to do is click the "Next" button down below.
8. There Are A Lot Of Lokis
Talking about the many times they've had to "prune" Loki from the sacred timeline, Mobius gives us a glimpse of the many God of Mischiefs who have plagued the TVA over the years.
Some were clearly harmless (like Loki winning the Tour De France bike race), but others definitely look a little more sinister. Remember, the TVA monitors the past, present, and future, so it's really no great surprise that "The Variant" is out there causing trouble around the same time the MCU's Loki escaped his fate in Avengers: Endgame.
There's been a lot of speculation that we'll see multiple versions of Loki in this series, and it feels a lot like more than just these two will make their presence felt over the next four episodes.
Of course, this reveal leaves us with a huge question...
7. Does That Mean The Multiverse Is Real?
If the Sacred Timeline is the only one in the Multiverse, how can there have been such vastly different versions of Loki?
We know that branching timelines are created when someone heads down a path they weren't supposed to, but something pretty major must have happened for the God of Mischief to take on some of the grotesque appearances we see in the projections shared by Mobius.
On the one hand, we can't help but wonder if the Time-Keepers are lying about there only being one timeline or if the TVA has chosen to keep Loki in the dark to some extent. On the other, it seems far more likely at this stage that this is just an example of how weird things can get when someone like Loki doesn't stay on the path the Time-Keepers have mapped out for them.
With that in mind, we're pretty convinced Loki is going to be about the creation of the Multiverse, but we'll get to how that's going to work a little later in this feature.
6. The Dark Side Of The TVA
We learned in the premiere that the TVA has the ability to "prune" timelines, but this second chapter really delves into what the consequences of that are.
When a timeline is pruned by the TVA, everything and everyone within it is wiped from existence. That means both the Variant and every other being gets obliterated so that the so-called Sacred Timeline can remain intact. When you stop and think about it, that's pretty dark, and while everyone gets to go on existing, there's a version of them that was disintegrated.
There's something off about the story of the Time-Keepers, and regardless of whether they exist or not, someone is pulling the strings and clearly intent on making sure time plays out the way they want.
The Variant we meet at the end of the episode clearly has an issue with the TVA, and we're fully expecting that to be expanded on in the weeks ahead.
5. Judge Renslayer's Secrets
Look, we're not saying that Judge Renslayer can't be trusted, but we're certainly not convinced that she isn't going to be revealed as having slightly more nefarious motivations than it first appears.
Then again, it's every bit as likely she's just an unwitting pawn of the Time-Keepers. She certainly knows more about the trio than Mobius - who reveals he's never actually met them - and claims they have a vested interest in whatever the Loki Variant is up to as she jumps through time.
There's a history there we don't currently know about, and Renslayer may be key to that.
A lot about the TVA still doesn't make sense, and while Loki is clearly keen to meet them, it's looking a lot like both the God of Mischief and us will find out much more about the organisation next week.
4. What's The Deal With Miss Minutes?
Tara Strong's Miss Minutes has really struck a chord with fans and even has her own character poster now!
In this week's episode, we learn that she appears to be more than just a mascot and does, in fact, have some level of sentience. We don't want to head down anything as ridiculous as the Mephisto route here, but what if Miss Minutes is another darker side of the TVA that will be fleshed out in future episodes?
Rather than being a simple mascot, perhaps she's more powerful than it initially appears. The God of Mischief taking her on in a battle would be pretty wacky, and it would be a neat twist for this cartoon mascot to actually be the last line of defence for the Time-Keepers.
We're just throwing this theory out there, but there must have been a point to Loki questioning whether Miss Minutes has the ability to think for herself.
3. Lady Loki
The big reveal in this episode was that Sophia Di Martino appears to be playing Lady Loki. The TVA has explicitly stated that the Variant they're chasing is a Loki, and the headpiece she was wearing in those final few moments was pretty distinctive!
However, she really didn't seem to like being called "Loki" and the MCU's God of Mischief pointing out how impressive her enchantments are...well, that felt like a big clue. It seems it may very well have been because a leak has since revealed that Di Martino may, in fact, be playing Sylvie Lushton.
Better known as Enchantress, Sylvie was a human created by Loki fooled into believing she was Asgardian.
Clearly, there's more to "Lady Loki" than initially meets the eye, and now Loki has decided to follow her through that Time Door, answers about how the character will be portrayed in this shared world are likely imminent.
2. Does Enchantress Report To A Higher Power?
So, it looks like Lady Loki is, in fact, Enchantress. While that's a character who is more than capable of being the show's big bad, the fact this is Sylvie rather than Amora leaves us confident in predicting that the Variant may, in fact, be serving someone else.
Based on her apparent disdain for the God of Mischief, we're going to go out on a limb and predict that Richard E. Grant is playing an older, vastly more sinister version of Loki who has plans to take out the Time-Keepers and find a way of existing in the past, present, and future.
There's likely going to be more to it than just that, and it will be interesting to learn what he makes of his younger (or alternate) self.
In the Loki: Agent of Asgard series, we learned that a future "King Loki" has returned to his evil roots, murdering Thor and destroying Asgard. Perhaps this version of the villain succeeded in his mission in The Avengers? If so, we'll find out how Loki's story would have played out had that been the case...
1. The Birth Of A New Multiverse
There have been plenty of hints that Loki is setting the stage for What If?, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the attack on the Sacred Timeline could be our biggest clue yet when it comes to what Marvel Studios has planned.
Taking a closer look at that readout, we see that Lady Loki bombed everywhere from Vormir to Lisbon and Asgard. The ramifications of that won't be revealed until next Wednesday, but new timelines have been created that could give birth to what we come to know as the MCU's Multiverse.
It all feels a little overcomplicated right now, but this could be the moment Marvel Studios sets the stage for its entire Phase 4 slate.
Will this tie into the debut of the X-Men? That would be one way to explain the sudden emergence of mutants, while we're definitely optimistic this could all culminate in Secret Wars!