The following article contains spoilers for episode 2 of Loki.
The latest episode of Marvel’sLokiis out and it would be safe to say that it has a lot to offer. From a deep philosophical conversation between the God of Mischief and Agent Mobius M. Mobius, to a huge reveal about the Loki variant mentioned earlier, the episode packs a punch. But, one event towards the end is something that has got fans theorizing about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
WhileLokiis a standalone chapter for the God of Mischief, it will go on to play a vital role in the MCU, and evenconnect toDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Ever since the series was announced, every Marvel fan has suddenly become an expert on the multiverse. A simple search on the internet will pop out several links about the concept and its portrayal in the Marvel comics. But,Loki’slatest episode has just made it a reality.
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In the first episode, viewers areintroduced to Miss Minutes, the Time Variance Authority’s cartoon clock mascot, who appears on a screen in the waiting room that Loki is brought to while he awaits his trial. She quickly launches into an explanation on what the TVA’s sole, glorious purpose is - to protect the sacred timeline. When anyone in the universe does not follow the chronological order of events, they end up creating an alternate branch of reality, known as a Nexus event. Such individuals, or variants, have existed for decades and have notoriously tried to alternate the timeline, leading to a “multiverse war.”
This is when the Time Keepers, who Loki insists on referring to as “three space lizards,” came into existence in order to ensure that the multiple timelines were reorganized into a sacred one. In the comics, the three beings are in control of the flow of time in the universe, and their MCU counterparts seem to be doing the same work, albeit without appearing in any of the scenes inLokiso far. Instead, the TVA employees and Minutemen,lead by Hunter B-15, are seen doing all the groundwork by arriving at the scene and using reset charges to ensure that any possible Nexus event is nipped in the bud and doesn’t create an alternate reality.
It all seems to be going well until Loki decides to use the powers of the Tesseract and escape his ultimate fate, which everyone by now knows isdeath at the hands of mighty villain Thanos. While the God of Mischief was seen struggling with his arrest and circumstances in the first episode, the latest one brings forth a more confident, and cocky, Loki. He has his detective glasses on, not literally, and even figures out a huge loophole in the TVA’s defense system thatallows variants to jump timelineswithout ever being noticed.
His theory is that the mystery variant Loki has been using the cover of natural disasters or calamities to move around the sacred timeline. He reaches this conclusion after coming across a document in his own file about the destruction in Asgard, events depicted in2017’sThor: Ragnarok. It leads to a hilarious scene in ancient Pompeii in 79 AD, with Loki releasing a bunch of goats and informing the residents that they are all about to die soon due to the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Of course, he ends up being right, and it makes one wonder as to how the TVA could have missed such a critical piece of information? Seems a bit odd, but that’s a topic for another time.
Detective Loki’s wonderful theory finally results in him and the TVA agents finding the variant Loki, who reveals herself to be (spoiler alert) Lady Loki. This scene was masterfully shot, with variant Loki, or let’s call her Lady Loki now, using customers, workers, and TVA agents present at the scene to stall and waste time until her grand plan comes into play. Her aim seems to have always been about making a mess of the timeline, to the extent where the TVA is unable to control it any longer. Suddenly, several reset charges are seen going off inside a big box store, only to disappear through portals that take the devices to multiple points of the sacred timeline.
The scene cuts to the TVA where the employees notice that their timeline is being disrupted, and several branches of reality soon start to form, essentiallyleading to the creation of a multiverse. Leaving the TVA employees in utter panic, and getting Judge Ravonna Renslayer to pick up her hunter gear again, Lady Loki then walks through a portal to an unknown location or time.
At the beginning of the episode, Loki reminds viewers of what a reset charge actually does, and how it’s the TVA’s way of saying “incinerate everything in its vicinity,” to ensure that the deviation never happened. From what is revealed on the screen at the TVA, the reset charges seem to be arriving in different locations. However, if Lady Loki planned to send the charges to a time when no Nexus event had occurred, the reset charge would then potentially wipe out events that were approved by the TVA, resulting in utter chaos, or madness.
This one scene has set up the future of the MCU and all its upcoming projects. As its title suggests,Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesswill be dealing with the concept of multiple timelines and its impact on the reality of the MCU as it stands. But, before Doctor Strange even takes on the responsibility,Lokihas already started one of thebiggest events in MCU history, repercussions of which will be felt throughout the universe.
There are already several rumors and fan theories about howSpider-Man: No Way Homewill be a live-action adaptation ofSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseand will be bringing in multiple versions of Peter Parker from different timelines. With howthe second episode ofLokiended, these theories hold a lot more merit. Not only will the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man have to deal with multiple timelines, but could potentially have to face villains from the multiverse. Hopefully, he isn’t standing alone if and when that happens.
