10 Questions (& Answers) From LOKI Ep 1.
Is your brain full of questions after watching the first episode of Loki? Let us help answer the 10 most important ones.
Some of you out there would probably be scratching your head a little after watching the first episode of Marvel’s new offering on Disney Plus, Loki. I will be the first to admit that it was a little dense and complicated as compared to Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Wandavision ( although Wandavision was a little confusing at first as well, it was more off-putting rather than having a lot to digest). However, it had to be done so as to set up the massive number of movies/series that would be jumping onto the time-traveling/multiverse direction, with Dr. Strange & The Multiverse of Madness coming to mind straight away, as well as the purported Secret Wars which would probably be bigger than all the Avengers movies combined considering the number of heroes from a myriad of different timelines involved, the first taste of which we would get in Spiderman No Way Home.
The rules of this brand new world had to be set, the possibilities explained, the dangers expounded. The whole Infinity saga is now done and dusted ( so done in fact, that they made a big joke out of it in one of the scenes here. More on that later ), and we are now moving into a whole new realm of awesomeness. Are you ready to step through the door? Be warned there are spoilers abound!
Still here? Ok, here we go!
1. Does the design of the LOKI title have any special significance?
Easy one first yeah? The design of the alphabets that make up the LOKI titles changes rapidly during the title sequence. This symbolises the different Lokis across different timelines that we will meet, as the main Loki tracks them down as part of the investigation process initiated by Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) of the TVA, to apprehend/destroy another supposedly rogue Loki variant who has been disrupting timelines and murdering TVA officers who were sent to reset it. Ok, did I just make it even more complicated? I will explain further in the points below. Before that, how about a little fun exercise? The number of different designs for the alphabets making up “Loki” corresponds with the number of different Lokis that will be featured in the series. Could you come up with the total number?
2. What in the world is the TVA?
TVA stands for TIME VARIANCE AUTHORITY. Formed with the sole purpose of policing the Sacred Timeline, the one true correct sequence of events - past, present, and future — as determined by the Time Keepers. TVA consists of Minutemen, soldiers led by Hunters like B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) with whom Loki had numerous encounters in Ep 1, agents like Mobius, judges like Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), and admin staff like Casey (Eugene Cordero).
TVA exists in its own little dimension outside of the normal flow of space-time. Pretty much like the same dimension Raiden brought everyone to in the recent Mortal Kombat movie. Therefore, no one in the TVA suffered any effects from Thanos’s snap as Endgame took place within the Sacred Timeline which TVA is separate from.
3. Why haven’t we heard of TVA till now then?
Because there wasn’t a need to. Everything that happened till the events of Avengers End Game — discounting the escape of this version of Loki — was according to the Sacred Timeline. Therefore TVA didn’t have to be involved. The Avengers time-traveling was ALSO part of the Sacred Timeline, much to the disappointment of Loki who tried to push the blame onto them in front of Judge Ravonna. Any other time-traveling that was not part of the Sacred Timeline got reset, and thus, didn’t exist anymore. Sorta like the Men In Black doing the memory wipe thingy. As long as the rogue timeline didn’t hit the Redline in B-15’s device, it wouldn’t become a full-on alternate reality and could be wiped off with the Reset Devices. After reset, it would be like the event never even happened before, and therefore not brought into prominence within the MCU.
4. What are some of the other tech TVA has?
We see B-15 hit Loki with a stun baton that had a slow-motion effect. Fans of Naruto would be familiar with this concept, which is similar to Itachi’s Tsukuyomi Genjutsu in terms of effect. Basically, your body reacts to the baton hit in ultra slow time, but in your mind, you are experiencing the pain in real-time. I am not yet very sure as to the various settings available for this baton, but technically, it should be possible to set the bodily effects to years. This means in your mind, you would be experiencing that pain again and again for what would feel like an eternity. Pretty sick.
Time twisters seem to be a fun piece of tech as well, and we have seen ample examples of the tech being used by both B-15 on Loki and vice versa. It alters the flow of time for individuals, moving them backward or forwards in time. It can’t move you into time that has not yet passed, and from what has been demonstrated, its reach into the past is only seconds or at most a minute. We would probably get more information on its total capabilities in later episodes.
The Control Collar that is placed around Loki’s neck is similar to the one Thor had to wear in Ragnarok, with the distinction being Loki’s collar binds him to the Time Twister. It basically acts as a de-power device, that prevents the wearer from using any of his/her special abilities.
There is also a wide area nullifier covering the TVA HQ that prevents people from using their powers. Which explains the hilarious scene where Loki tries to use his powers to escape only to be laughed at by Ravonna and Mobius.
5. Who are The Time Keepers?
Long long time ago, there were alternate realities springing up everywhere, unchecked and unpoliced. These alternate realities each decided that they should be the main one and this lead to the first great Multiverse war. Out of the ashes of this war arose these three space lizards — as described by Loki- that forged the one true Sacred Timeline comprising all the realities they deemed to be “correct” and formed the TVA to eliminate any disruptions to it. Do they have powers? What impact do they have on the rest of MCU? We will probably have to stay tuned to find out.
They may have been branded as the heroes who ended the Multiverse War and brought peace and order, but if you look at it from another perspective, they could also be considered the Conquerers of the multiverse. Hence rumors are flying around that they are associated with Kang the Conquerer, a time-traveling supervillain that has already been cast for the next Ant-Man movie. Are they working with/for him? Guess we have to stay tuned to find out.
Also it’s strange from the way Judge Ravonna was referring to them as though she has not actually met the Time Keepers. If she hasn’t actually met them, and Mobius definitely hasn’t has well — he reinterates this in Ep 2-then how are they getting their orders? And are those orders really coming from the Time Keepers?
PS — (Judge) Ravonna in the comics is a long time love-interest of Kang the Conqueror. Fuel to the theory fire!
6. They made Loki take a Temporal Aura picture at the TVA. What is it for?
Basically your Temporal Aura is like your fingerprint. So taking a photo of Loki’s Temporal Aura would give them a unique reference to identify which Loki Variant he is, because although there are slight differences in all the Loki Variants, they can all look quite similar.
Well with the exception of the Loki they are currently hunting of course, but more on that in Ep 2.
Also, everything the Variants touch when they head to the different timelines will leave smudges of their Temporal Aura. So again, like fingerprints.
7. Why did the guy by the detector ask him to verify that he was born an organic being and that he has a soul?
Cause there are beings who looks, sounds and even feel human, but are actually robots. Like Vision and Ultron. Why the TVA feels the need to separate out the robots and the organic beings I am not yet completely sure, but I believe justification would be provided in later episodes.
8. The names of the buttons in the elevator are weird! Do they mean anything?
The buttons on the elevator are deliberately confusing probably to hide confidential floors, which adds to the underlying layer of secrecy and mystery of the TVA which of course has a lot to do with the Time Keepers and their god-like statuses.
There is a call back to these buttons in the end credits actually when we see Access Denied on the elevator monitor. This could be referencing the floor where the Time Keepers are, and therefore restricted.
9. What are Nexus beings and events?
Nexus beings are rare individual entities with the ability to affect probability and in doing so, the future as well, therefore altering the flow of the Sacred Timeline. Like the Scarlet Witch, as demonstrated in the Wandavision. They are therefore under constant surveillance by the TVA. For a time, Loki was also considered a Nexus being because he was wielding a Infinity Stone, and thus capable of creating Nexus events which are the actions of these Nexus being which could dramatically affect the Sacred Timeline.
10. So….what about the Infinity Stones? How did TVA come into possession of so many of them?
Infinity stones only work in the universe they came from. As TVA exisits within their own unique dimension, the power of the Infinity Stones doesn’t have any effect there. Which is also why — as I pointed out above in point 2 — the TVA is not affected by Thanos’s snap. And because different Variants have been using the Infinity Stones across different timeline to create rogue alternate timelines, they were apprehended by the TVA — much like the same way Loki was — and had their Inifinity Stones confiscated and placed in Casey’s care/drawer. And because the stones have no power in TVA, they are basically used as paperweights. The irony of this is that Marvel spent the last 10 years coming out with movies that big-up the Infinity Stones as items of infinite world ending power, only to now reduce them to decorative items of absolutely no consequence. This is not lost on Loki though as he immediately catches on that far greater power actually lies with the Time Keepers, which explains his sudden willingness to accept Mobius’s offer at the end.
Have a question about Loki you need clarification on, or do you have an alternate answer to any of the above questions? Leave us a comment down below!
New episodes of Loki comes out on Disney+ every Wednesday.
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