Loki Episode 1 Recap, SPOILER Theories
Welcome back to HLS Entertainment today we are going to be discussing the first episode of Loki on Disney+ and the show going forward. I am not going to go into every single detail or Easter egg that was in the episode, there were tons and I personally would recommend New Rockstars videos on the subject on YouTube they do amazing work breaking down Easter eggs. What I am going to do is break down important plot points, as well as certain Easter eggs that are more important to the plot going forward instead of just a hat tip to fans and some crazy spoiler filled theories along the way!
This is where I selfishly plug my full deep dive Loki preview I did for the show as a whole a few weeks back. I would recommend reading that specifically to have the names of certain characters down so I am not speaking gibberish here. I am going to hit specific bullet points that slowly dive more and more into the madness of this wonderful first episode. On to the recap and theories!
The showrunners very specifically start this show with 2012 Loki stealing the tesseract in Endgame and being shot out into the desert. This crash landing very obviously is a mirror to how the entire MCU started back in 2008 with Tony Stark's crash after escaping in Ironman 1. This show is going to be a rebirth for our favorite mischief scamp and for the MCU. Showcasing what I believe this show to be about, identity and conspiracy, as well as laying the ground work for the MCU going forward.
We are already set up ready to roll with seeing multiple different Loki Variants on this show. An important moment was the moment showing Loki's temporal aura showing his true self, but what does that look like? Not in a literal sense but metaphorically, is Loki just a mischievous scamp? a hero? the villain? or more simply just someone who wants to be accepted and seen as an equal by his peers. This is the identity portion of this show, we have already fast forwarded 2012 Loki's emotional awakening but the growth has to come through actions.
Back to the show. Okay this is a BIG one. NO it is not Mephisto, it is not supposed to be a reference to the demon at all. It is literally just a child pointing to the horned demon in the stained glass window because that is what the Loki variant seemed like to her, a demon that attacked the church. With horns, aka Loki's helmet. How do we know this? Because the director has specifically said so.
"It's honestly just a super weird coincidence. Like it's genuinely a reference to Loki, the horns, he was cast out of heaven, that's what it's a reference to" - Loki director Kate Herron in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Nightmare's being a different department is definitely something that perked my ears up as a Doctor Strange fan, feed me Nightmare I love him as a villain.
I love my note for this is "Miss Minutes' Saturday morning cartoon special", and that is basically exactly what it is. This cartoon exposition drop is filled with some of the biggest game changing bits of information that changes how we look at the MCU. Let us start slow, multiversal war... WHAT?!?
Obviously that is a gigantic thread that deserves dozens of blogs and dissertations on what that means so keep it simple in your head. All of this cartoon comes with an asterisk as we do not know who to trust yet, but here we go. There were dozens/hundreds of different timelines, they became aware of each other and fought each other for supremacy. Then these giant space lizards called the Time Keepers appeared and somehow mixed the realities together and now oversee this sacred timeline.
What the implications of this is not something we know yet, and we might not know until Doctor Strange 2. Something to remember is the head writer with created by credits for Loki is Michael Waldron who is also writing Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness.
The sacred timeline is something the TVA could objectively see all of, they are just the gardeners making sure new timeline branches do not split off from what is "supposed" to happen. Something that needs to be kept in the back of your head, effectively every time the TVA "prunes/resets" a timeline they are killing off trillions every single time when they erase that timeline. But what is the end goal of this? This opens the moral dilemma of whether or not having the infinite number of realities is okay, or if it is morally acceptable to force them all into one timeline for the sake of them all being destroyed by one another. Two important words where used by Miss Minutes, "multiverse" and "madness" obviously hinting towards Doctor Strange 2, so is the endgame here the TVA sacred timeline splitting ?
This is a confusing nonsense question I have so skip past it if you wish. Does the sacred timeline mean a singular reality? Or is it the representation of the dozens/hundreds of realties being mashed together and they are all moving along at the same pace of time with the same things happening?
Back to things that make more sense(?), are the Time Keepers even real? My personal theorized endgame for this show is, Kang. Kang the Conqueror is secretly in charge of the TVA and has been using them to shape the timelines so he can amass power and wealth, to rule all of time. I am in the belief that that Time Keeper in the center IS Kang. Whether it be he was a Time Keeper and killed/imprisoned the other two or if it all is just a story he made up to indoctrinate the TVA workers, matters not to my theory both paths are amazing. If he was a Time Keeper and the story is real then it shows off the vast power he has to shape the timeline, or if it is simply a story he created then he is still Kang and has been using the TVA for endless amount of time to bend the timeline to his will.
Something we hear Loki questioning Mobius about is he asked if they were created by the Time Keepers. At first glance this is just assumed to mean the TVA in its entirety, but context clues within the show makes me question, does this mean the TVA workers themselves? "What is a fish??" the TVA analyst Casey asked when threatened by Loki. "Please confirm to your knowledge you are not a fully robotic being" the scanner clerk asks Loki. What if it is literally the entirety of the TVA was created by the Time Keepers including the workers. All they do is work 24/365.
Back to my Kang theory, I believe he has created these beings to be his personal police force making sure his ultimate plan happens, analyst created to detect anomalies and Hunters created to prune them from his sacred timeline. "Hunters and Analysts working in tandem" as one of the many creepy big brother posters read. Kang manipulating all of time.
"Is this the greatest power in the universe?" Tom Hiddleston is simply incredible, his acting in this in this single episode was some of the best we have seen throughout all of the MCU. "Glorious Purpose", free will, sacred timeline. So many questions were raised, but not all of them original to this show. Humans have struggled with the debate and concept of free will for millennia. Is what we do on a daily basis really our own choices? This is not a subject I am tackling on here but it seems will be intertwined with this show and recommend you doing your own research on the subject.
Loki believed he had his own "glorious purpose" that he alone was in control of. No matter any objections from anyone else he alone is in control of his own path. This episode really ripped open Loki's heart and showed him his own path or purpose that he deserves to be king was not something that was meant to be in the sacred timeline. This entity of the TVA is so much larger and more powerful than he could ever have imagined. He sees himself for a moment as a meaningless speck in the grand scheme of the multiverse. This self realization is not going to be some sudden flip a switch good guy role, but is Loki's first steps. But to what? Is he now dedicating himself to the TVA for morally good reasons, or is he going to help them in selfish efforts of over throwing some space lizards and ruling all of time?
How often do Nexus events happen? We have already heard this word in the MCU, specifically on Disney+ this year in WandaVision when we see the commercial for Nexus medicine and then see Wanda taking some in the episode. We might not have a straight forward answer to this but comically, there are certain beings that are "Nexus beings" that exist in each reality and can effect the flow of time. It is a confusing topic that I imagine will be used as a nod to comic fans but will not be a big focal point of understanding for audiences.
A question I have is how often is the TVA using these Nexus events and taking on variants and working with them on cases. I imagine it is a very rare occurrence. Is this just the exception to the rule because they are struggling to capture a different Loki variant? This episode gave so many questions at once I love it. I mean another example just simply is, are TVA workers exceptionally strong and about as strong as Asgardians, or is Loki weakened by being there?
If you read my preview post you know I believe this Loki variant to specifically be Lady Loki portrayed by Sophia Di Martino. Where does this variant come from? I believe we will get this answered this week. My previous theory was that this is our prime MCU Loki who had his neck snapped by Thanos but I am now doubting that seriously. So where did she come from?
I am working under the assumption that she is Lady Loki but obviously open to being wrong and surprised by Marvel, I want to keep the door open on she could possibly be Amora the Enchantress. She is an Asgardian with ties to the Frost Giants just like Loki and could easily be the villain of the series wanting to take down the TVA.
I believe she is causing all sorts of chaos for the TVA but for what reason? Working within both Lady Loki and Enchantress theories, she is obviously causing turmoil for the TVA either way. I believe she is just a rogue variant who they tried to capture but failed and has been using their equipment to hop through time doing as she pleases while on the run from the TVA.
So who is the real villain of the show? There is not going to be a Time Twisters reveal as they already used the name on the remote control device that kept reverting Loki. This show was pitched as a mystery thriller, maybe the mystery if trying to find out this woman's real identity as they chase her through time. But I believe it is more than that. I believe it will be revealed she is Lady Loki and is attacking the TVA trying to take it down because she knows it is secretly being ruled by Kang the Conqueror. I believe we will have some deeply heart felt moments between Loki and Lady Loki as she feels it is hopeless to try to take on Kang and that is when Loki joins her cause.
But is the endgame the destruction of the TVA or just Kang? "Always watching" one of the many creepy posters reads, but this time with a single face. Kang is watching.
Crazy Theories
Okay here is my fun speculation without any real backup portion of this blog. Why am I using a screenshot from Ant-Man and the Wasp? You might have seen by now the bubble city in the quantum realm here in this photo, center slightly to the right if you had never seen it before. I believe THIS was our first image of the TVA. Plenty of us on the internet speculated for a long time that this could be microworld or Kang's home. That idea still fits with it being the TVA. We know the quantum realm exists outside of what we call time, which could be perfect explanation within the MCU for the Null Time Zone where the TVA exists. This of course would be perfect for tying in this show to Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania which is a part of phase 4 and Kang will be in it because of the Jonathan Majors casting announcement was for Ant-Man 3.
Okay...Deadpool showing up in Loki makes too much sense. The end of Deadpool 2 is him hoping through time. Having him show up as a TVA prisoner makes too much sense, maybe they can not kill him or is just annoying them so much they imprisoned him. Ryan Reynolds Deadpool IS coming to the MCU the man in the hat Kevin Fiege confirmed this. How fun would it be to have him appear in this show about bounce of our favorite mischievous scamp for a scene or two.
Thank you so much for reading please share with your friends and comment below your favorite theory for what you think happens in this show! Feel free to hit me up on twitter @HaroldLStokes anytime to discuss Loki !
