Nothing makes a Loki fan’s day like seeing a new video of the cast filming on location. We’ve been given nothing but crumbs this past year—crumbs, I tell you!—so even the briefest shot of Loki being Loki is like manna from Heaven. The latest video to surface, which shows Tom Hiddleston filming some kind of stunt, is extra fun because it shows how goofy you have to be willing to act in order to film a Marvel project. More importantly, though, there’s a hidden spoiler that will make Mobius fans cheer!
Loki season 1 left off with Sylvie killing He Who Remains and unleashing the multiverse, stranding Loki in an alternate TVA where Mobius and Hunter B-15 had no idea who he was. So far, it looks like season 2 will follow Loki as he goes back to work for the TVA, trying to prevent a multiversal war.
Do not read any further if a) you’re avoiding spoilers for Loki season 2, or b) watching pre-VFX Marvel choreography ruins the magic for you. You’ve been warned.
Here’s the video:
I’m not sure why there are flames around the edges of the Instagram reel, but just ignore that part. The video shows Hiddleston filming in front of the Ace Cafe in London. In the shot, Loki stumbles, recovers (with his signature hair flip, of course), and then raises his arms, jumps up, and pushes something away. He does it twice as a camera behind him pulls out. He might be falling out of a time door, or fighting with an opponent we can’t see yet—it’s hard to tell without any visual effects. For now, though, even though his movements are obviously very deliberate, the footage just looks like a dude getting paid to act bizarre in public.
But there’s more. If you look at the left side of the video, you’ll see a very interesting detail. There’s a large banner with “Piranha” written on the top, and a photo of a guy riding a jet ski. That oversized jet ski ad, along with the inflatable tube man on the right and the overall look of the Ace Cafe, makes it seem very likely that this scene takes place at a jet ski dealership.
Why jet skis are important in Loki
Every Loki fan knows about Agent Mobius’s love of jet skis. The character played by Owen Wilson keeps a jet ski magazine at his desk and describes them as one of the only truly good things to come out of the sacred time line. “Most things in history are kind of dumb,” he tells Loki, “and everything gets ruined eventually, but in the early ’90s, for a brief, shining moment, there was a beautiful union of form and function which we call the jet ski. A reasonable man cannot differ.” Mobius really loves these things, even though he’s never been on one.
But season 1 hints that jet skis mean more to Mobius than just a fun pastime. As a TVA agent, Mobius is a variant who’s been kidnapped from the Sacred Timeline and had his memories wiped. When Sylvie shakes loose the memories of C-20 and B-15 with her magic, we learn that each agent’s past life is still lurking in their subconscious.
Mobius’s love of jet skis—along with other quirks, like his fondness for the 90’s soda Josta—likely point to his own buried memories. It’s really telling that when he realizes Ravonna is about to prune him in episode 4 and he tells her he wishes he could go back to his past life, one of the things he imagines doing as part of that life is riding his jet ski. The jet ski is a silly symbol, yeah, but it’s a symbol nonetheless. For Mobius, it starts as an unexplainable obsession and comes to represent freedom and a life that was stolen from him.
So if Mobius does get his wish in season 2, it’ll mean much more than just going on a fun ride, or finally doing something he’s always wanted to try. The jet ski ride may come as part of a much bigger revelation about Mobius’s true identity, his previous life, and where he came from. Who knows? Maybe Mobius’s former self is the owner of the dealership Loki lands in front of. It’s interesting that Owen Wilson wasn’t spotted on set in his TVA costume.
Whatever’s happening in that scene, we’ll get some answers when Loki season 2 premieres in summer 2023.
(image: Marvel)
Published: Aug 16, 2022 11:30 am