Tom Hiddleston as Loki in the Loki show
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Things We Saw Today: This Potential Loki Series Plot Point Is Devastating

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Kaila Hale-Stern
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Published: Dec 11, 2020 05:44 pm

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Loki fans were thrilled when a full trailer for the upcoming Marvel/Disney+ series Loki dropped last night, and immediately set to picking apart the oft-chaotic scenes and sequences. We still know little about the actual plot trajectory, but what we do know is that at some point, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is captured by the Time Variance Authority, under the watch of Owen Wilson’s Mobius M. Mobius. And at another point therein, the TVA shows Loki scenes from his future. This has the potential to seriously change up the Loki game.

You may recall—though some of us have repressed all memories of the awful beginning of Infinity War—that this Loki is not the Loki who died in that film. This Loki is 2012 Avengers-era Loki who wreaked havoc upon New York, and he escapes with the Tesseract aka the Space Stone in Endgame after the Avengers go back in time.

When the Loki show starts (we think—time is going to be relative here!), this Loki, who likely created another timeline when he zipped out with the Tesseract, is just minutes removed from having been persona non grata on Earth and the Avengers’ prisoner.

He’ll have no idea of the character growth and changes of heart that Other Timeline Loki goes on to have in Thor: The Dark World and Ragnarok, culminating in Loki essentially sacrificing himself to save his brother Thor from Thanos and declaring himself an Odinson again (as well as embracing his Jotun identity) in his final moments in Infinity War.

The Loki who makes a misguided attempt to stab Thanos is quite a different Loki from the man who stabbed his brother in Avengers.

So it was upsetting to some Loki fans that the Loki series would feature a version of the character who hadn’t experienced these significant life events. But the fact of the TVA showing Loki at least one scene from Ragnarok, as we see in the trailer, is important, and I think it could reveal how this Loki is convinced to catch up on that character development, fast. The exact moment from Ragnarok that Mobius shows Loki is when Loki turns the tide of the final battle with Hela by deciding to help Thor and the Asgardians.

In Ragnarok, Loki shows up just when Thor needs him in Asgard on a spaceship with additional fighters and also throws himself into the melee. Of course, in dramatic Loki fashion, he announces, “Your savior is here,” upon disembarking, but this is a Loki who wants to be viewed as someone who helps instead of hurts. Someone who wanted to fight alongside his brother again instead of against him.

Tom Hiddleston as Loki in the Loki show

This means that the Loki of the Loki show will see that there’s a version of his future that plays out like this. Will he be motivated by the other Loki’s actions to do some good? And how many “future” events will the TVA recap for him? Will Loki learn that his beloved mother Frigga is soon to be murdered? (We also see him turning away from the projection, clearly upset. I’m guessing it’s Frigga.) Do they tell him that Asgard gets destroyed, and Thanos kills even more of the survivors? Does he learn exactly how Infinity War‘s Loki dies? My heart hurts already.

We don’t know the answers to any of these questions, but we do know now that in the Loki series, Loki will be made aware of some of the events that occurred in the MCU timeline the rest of us experienced. If this is what ushers Loki into more of an antihero than an antagonist role, it’s a great way to get him up to speed. But it’s also emotionally wrenching for the character, who would have to struggle with the knowledge of what happened without having experienced it himself.

Of course, we can’t guess yet why the TVA wants to show him the future (and at least this Ragnarok moment in particular). Does Loki spend a few episodes of the show on his madcap adventures through time (and space) before getting caught, or does TVA captivity kick off the show and the Authority ends up dispatching him on time-changing missions?

In other takeaways from the trailer, fans were also excited to see Loki rocking iconic outfits and posed in scenes that are adapted directly from more recent Loki comics.

Loki show comics scene

Further, there appears to be a direct reference to Thor in the trailer, as Loki can be heard saying, “Brother, Heimdall, you’d better be ready,” and then the Bifrost grabs Loki mid-air after he jumps out of the plane. Is Thor somehow involved with Loki’s D.B. Cooper mission? IS HEIMDALL ENABLING THIS BEHAVIOR? WHAT IS HAPPENING!!! (I have listened to this part of the trailer approximately 20 times and I am 99.8% sure he says “Heimdall.”)

I’m also theorizing that, if we look at how much Loki seems to be playing with time streams, it’s possible this Loki might somehow bring back the old Loki or prevent him from dying in the first place. Whichever version of Loki makes it out alive (because we’re likely also going to meet Lady Loki and older and younger Lokis), let’s hope that he’ll be showing up in Thor: Love & Thunder as well. Because considering the way that movie is shaping up, it sure looks as though Thor may need his brother’s help again.

More Thor breaking news!!!

(images: Marvel Studios)

Here are some things we saw today:

  • ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY. ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY. ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY. (via The Guardian)
  • Daily reminder that 106 House Republicans have joined with 18 Attorney Generals and are still trying to overturn the results of the presidential election. This comes more than a month after Joe Biden won by more than 8 million votes and after Donald Trump has lost more than 50 court cases in his attempts to pull off the most bumbling coup in history. These Republicans and AGs are betraying democracy. The Daily News is calling it “the Texas legal massacre.” (via The Daily News)

  • The best movies of 2020, according to Rolling Stone. (via Rolling Stone)
  • Fans have theories about the new Mass Effect trailer. (via Games Radar)
  • Chris Hemsworth and Ryan Reynolds are feuding, only make it funny. (via Hollywood Life)

This Cartoon from the 1930s shows not much has changed in this regard. from r/pics

It’s the weekend! What did you see out there today?

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Author
Image of Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.
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