Tag: Loki

It’s easy to focus on all the multiversal shenanigans of Loki. We finally got introduced to the Time-Keepers, are exploring beyond our understanding of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and might get one of the strangest love stories ever put on a streaming platform. In the middle of it, all is the Time Variance Authority. A highly bureaucratic organization that is responsible for cleansing the Sacred Timeline and preserving the vision of its leaders. They see a purpose in their tasks, even if it is as menial as greeting new Variants and Minutemen at the front desk. In a way, their entire life revolves around their job. They believe they were created solely for that purpose, as it gives them meaning. The only moment of solace they get seems to be a time-gated lunch break. It’s pretty hard to deny that anyone working from nine to five may have felt a bit too at home with these moments.

The depressing reality of existence is that even the most powerful organization falls into repetitive structures. We were only missing a sit down with a departments manager claiming they should switch to agile project management, as it will ensure more productivity. There is a good chance those conversations were happening in the departments we didn’t get to see. Some seem to have the same job for their entire existence, such as the person making sure Variants aren’t secretly robots or the cat lover having to make sure every spoken word gets signed off on. The peons have no say and only know the goals of their operations through a singular “representative,” which is Ravonna Renslayer in this case.

It’s hard not to see the parallels between the Time-Keepers acting as shareholders of a company acting on a whim to ensure their goals are met. Ravonna is the Chief Executive Officer (and Judge) that ensures those actions are met to their satisfaction. She wasn’t always in her position, but they saw something in her to reach that point in her career. Her job is to ensure that everything is going according to plan and even if sacrifices need to be made, they may be rewarded at some point in the future. Empty promises that overshadow one’s true passion. No matter if that is wanting to enter a specific field or the simple joy of riding a jet ski. The moment Mobius confronted the fake reality he was taught to learn by being at the organization for years, he suffered the consequences.

Once you are disenfranchised from the organization that you once believed in, it becomes difficult to push forward. We all are in Mobius’ shoes at one point. Our entire belief structure is broken down because of the thing we dedicated potentially years of our lives to feels like a lie. We lose ourselves in the greater picture of those that stand above us because we hope that we could stand among them. All the hard work has to pay off eventually, right? Yet, we have to face the reality that such decisions come at a price. We will lose something on the way. Perhaps the availability of our dreams, such s riding a jet ski, or even at the risk of our health. We are all puppets connected to the same string. Some are just higher up than others. Perhaps we all need a Loki in our life. An agent of chaos that breaks us free from the monotony of our nine to five and frees us to see the world what it truly is.

I loved the last episode of Loki. After the Variant set off all of the time bombs to distract the TVA, she popped into the building followed by Loki. They worked together to fight off the guards but that’s the least of their worries. Ravonna found out the building is being infiltrated and went after them. Interestingly, we found out that Ravonna was once a hunter. When Loki realized Ravonna was coming for them, he opened a door to Lamentis, the site of another apocalypse.

Sylvie, the Variant, has been on the run from the TVA her whole life. While Loki grew up as royalty and with great memories of his mom, Sylvie can barely remember her mom and had to learn to take care of herself. The two seem to fight A LOT but by the end of the episode, they seem to have a bond. They work together to get to the evacuation ark to recharge the Tempad; however, the evacuation ark gets destroyed so now they can’t get out of Lamentis. Unfortunately, the episode just kind of ended on a pretty silly cliffhanger since we know they aren’t going to die there.

Arlyn’s Assumptions

There are lots of things that can happen in this next episode. The new trailer shows them in the TVA’s custody, so the TVA will clearly pull them out of Lamentis. But them being in the TVA could lead to them getting deleted, especially since Mobius seems to be really unhappy with Loki. I don’t think things are going to end well for our Lokis in this next episode . We only have three episodes left and I expect Ravonna to have a bigger role in these next few episodes, including our first meeting with the Time Keepers (*cough*Kang*cough*) which will probably expose the TVA for the fraud that it is….poor Mobius.

The next episode of Loki premiers tomorrow!

The first three episodes of Loki have been fascinating in their own right. Whether it’s the curiosity about the Time Variance Authority or a look into who Loki really is as a person. So far, it seems that we’re set up for quite the second half. Yet, people felt as if this episode was more filler and halted the overarching plot. I would wager it did the opposite. Here are four important questions moving forward in the series:

• Sylvie always seems to be ten steps ahead. We’ve seen the various steps of her plans unfold, especially with the manipulation of Hunter C-20’s mind early on in the episode. It creates a boding feeling as if you can’t trust anything. Throughout the episode, the two Loki Variants have plenty of back and forth conversations. They are bickering and even fighting while supposedly stranded on Lamentis-1. I would like to wager there is a chance this adventure is Sylvie simply bending their current predicament. Perhaps even Loki managed to reverse it on her?
  
• The big revelations surround the TVA agent’s true identity. They weren’t created by the Time-Keepers, but are Variants from the Sacred Timeline. Owen Wilson‘s Mobius truly believes in everything their work stands for. His words that “Existence is chaos. Nothing makes any sense, so we try to make some sense of it,” reflect the way they almost are. religion. Now that the cat is out of the bag, will it shake the foundation of his beliefs? Most importantly, will it lead to him finally riding a jet ski?

• Ravonna Renslayer has some kind of connection to the Time-Keepers. Supposedly, they’ve even been keeping a close eye on Loki’s current antics. Yet, it opens the question of why they haven’t intervened. You would think that all-powerful beings could easily snap these Variants out of existence. Yet, why would they require the TVA in the first place then? Perhaps there is more to their existence and a bigger lie at play.
• There are quite a few hints at Kang the Conqueror having a hand in the events of this series, or perhaps even surrounding the TVA’s creation. In the comics, he spends most of his time motivated to save his love, Ravonna Renslyer. We know that he’ll appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. So, all roads seem to lead to him. Perhaps he is the mastermind pulling the strings behind the curtains?

There’s been a lot of time spent getting to know Loki in ways we never have before. The levels of introspection, what he thinks about existence, love, and so much more. Yet, he’s still a Variant at the end of the day. Is he going to be able to trick his way out of this to survive, or is he destined to be erased? It seems that he might end up as a pawn in a grander story, but the series never forget who is its protagonist. It would make one think that the amount of time spent with the character there’s more to this story past this season. There’s no doubt that either way, it’s going to be fascinating to watch.

With the title being Loki, all our focus has been on the God of Mischief’s journey. We explored the Time Variance Authority, but it’s time to take a step back. It’s time to explore what exactly the show is all about. Perhaps there is an answer to the events of the original multiverse and the subsequent creation of the Sacred Timeline. Let’s explore the camera’s obsession with a specific Time-Keeper and his potential connection to why the TVA consists of Variants. At the heart of it lie the Time-Keepers. They get described as almighty beings able to create a single timeline that somehow requires an entire organization to supervise. No high-ranking members seem to have met them outside of propaganda videos and stone statues. There may be one connection to the third episode’s storyline: it may all be about a broken love story.

Let’s take a short detour through comic history. Many fans instantly recognized the head judge of the TVA, Ravonna Renslayer. In the comics, she is none other than Kang the Conquerors’ love interest. She was the princess when she appeared in Avengers #23 in 1963. After refusing his advances, she would end up falling in love with him but lost hers when his commander Baltag tried to take down his former ally. Kang traveled through time to save her life but would end up splitting up in two diverging timelines. One where he manages to save her life and another where she ends up preserved in a cryo-tube.

What if a similar type of event transpired in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? At one point in time, the multiverse existed, but Ravonna always had the same fate. She would find an early end. As such, Kang’s multiversal counterparts tried to find a way to save her no matter what but ended up leading to the first Multiversal War. They are Nexus beings like Wanda that unraveled the multiverse for the same reasoning. The events would transpire until they uncovered one timeline where she lived. In reality, the Time-Keepers are a charade. In their wake, the man named Immortus supervises all and keeps an eye on the proper flow of time to secure her life. He is Kang but split from his original to lead the TVA and its true purpose.

Selfishly, he finally had a chance to keep her close when a Variant of Renslayer splintered off from the timeline. She would be the first TVA agent taken from the flow of time and become the foundation of how its members got added. This Variant was the only one chosen to keep her memories, and we see glimpses of that. There is a lot she knows that she is not letting on. Hell, she even hinted at her connection to the Time-Keepers during her sitting with Mobius. There is also the recurring visual of one particular Time-Keeper always hovering behind her head. We see it when she is judging Loki for his crimes and in her office. Marvel Studios mastered the use of complicated mythology through simple storytelling. Perhaps the story behind the founding of a single Sacred Timeline is one simple ulterior motive: love. The only question remains, was Loki right? Is the dagger that represents love truly real? Perhaps a dark and broken future awaits when Ravonna realizes the truth of the TVA that even she didn’t know. For now, it may all lead to Kang even if his future actor, Jonathan Majors, denies any involvement.

Source: Variety

The following article contains spoilers of the latest Loki episode. Only continue reading at your own risk.

Ever since the second episode, we’ve all been wondering what is the secret behind Sophia Di Martino‘s Loki Variant. Her existence goes against the well-established rule of how these characters spin out of the Sacred Timeline. They all commonly look like Tom Hiddleston, even if he went through different transformations. We thought she might just be Loki changing his form. but literal documents are mentioning her as Sylvie. She confirmed it in the latest episode but then reveals that she chose the name. Hell, she even detests the Loki mantle. Is there perhaps a bigger secret at play with her character’s identity?

Now, there are a few things we learn about Sylvie throughout the latest episode. She taught herself how to use enchantments and seems to only possess that specific ability. The version we follow from Avengers: Endgame learned his countless abilities from Frigga, with whom she has no recollection. On multiple occasions, he even questions her if she is, in fact, a Loki. Her personality is similar but doesn’t match with what we understand from the character. She even gets defensive when she is called a Variant. The whole point of the episode seems to create the illusion that Sylphie isn’t truly a Loki.

Well, what do we know about her? The documents found in the TVA offices hint at her name being Sylvie Laufeydottir. It alludes that she was indeed born as the daughter of Laufey, which is a custom in Nordic namings. She also talks bout knowing that she was adopted early on. Yet, we can also assume she never was an Asgardian royalty. She mocks Loki on multiple occasions and never speaks of her time with the Asgardians. It’s almost as if she was down on her luck for most of her life. If she is perhaps part of an old multiverse before the Sacred Timeline was formed, she may be trying to find her old life again. She does hint that she has been fighting this fight for quite some time now.

It makes you wonder if we can even trust the words she is speaking throughout the episode. One thing that stands out is that this episode has a strong thematic tie built around “love.” Even before Loki’s ill-conceived metaphor about invisible daggers, we get a glimpse of her softer side. There is a slight vulnerability and reasoning for her actions that she still is keeping close to her chest. Perhaps she has taken on the mantle of someone she once loved. The planet’s name, besides being a comic reference, as Lamentis might be on purpose. While on the nose, grief plays an integral role in this story. Loki is heartbroken over his “glorious purpose” and is the reason his mother dies.

Perhaps Sylvie isn’t a Loki Variant but an illusion. She knows how the TVA’s technology works but was surprised when her abilities were mute while being present in the location. So, she doesn’t seem to have all the information that we thought she did. Her horn is also strongly inspired by a version of Lady Loki in Loki: Agent of Asgard. In that comic storyline, a younger version of the character was being manipulated by his former self. Perhaps they’re playing around with a similar concept. A Loki Variant achieved their goals but realized there is an even higher power at play. To get them off of his tail, he created a fake version that has some of his memories. The TVA believes she is a female Variant as she is, in essence, a copy of Loki but not the way they think. She is a means to an end while the true mastermind is waiting for his moment.