#if they try to make ravonna and mobius a thing just so it parallels with sylki i think i’ll just lie down and die lmao

[lokiiied]

i haven’t seen any gifsets of this scene yet, so i bring you more shitty screencaps but this moment felt like it was important me ?

loki walking past sylvie with mobius AGAIN with zero hesitation. (two eps in a row) hmm what does it mean.

(this time loki leaves first and mobius stays behind to look at ravonna, before following after loki - a parallel to last episode with loki & sylvie. and the second time they mirrored those dynamics in this episode! interesting.)

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Loki Episode 3 Reactions (Less Coherent Edition)

Lots of caps lock today. Spoilers for Loki.

If we don't go to the World's Fair today I'm gonna riot.

If said World's Fair is not in Chicago I'm gonna riot

Oh FUCK YES just saw the screenshot

CAN I JUST SAY EVEN THOUGH I THINK I'VE SAID IT BEFORE LOKI IS BASICALLY IN HIS CLOTHES FROM THE COVER OF WML

OH MY GOD I SAW THE TITLE YESSSSS CHICAGO

The fucking music oh my god

NO WHAT THE FUCK WHY ARE THOSE BUILDINGS MADE OF WOOD TWELVE YEARS AFTER THE CHICAGO FIRE ARE YOU CRAZY AND WRONG

oh okay I will casually throw aside the large rock. It's 1868. Maybe ya'll did do your research. I SAW THE TRAILER THOUGH SO I'M NOT SO SURE

DON'T DO IT IT'S FOUR YEARS EARLY DO NOT TIP OVER A LANTERN BITCH

OB that was not simple enough for me

Are we in 1868 or 1893, then, boys, I have to know for the historical accuracy of these building materials.

THANK YOU, MOBIUS! [He mentioned the Fire and I felt vindicated.]

Yes, how could you have forgotten?? MOBIUS I LOVE THAT YOU LOVE THE WORLD'S FAIR

CAN WE TALK ABOUT WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED TO THAT NEIGHBORHOOD THOUGH

I MEAN FLAMES BUT IT WAS EITHER NOT REBUILT OR LEVELED AGAIN FOR MIDWAY [side-eyes the parallels of the history of Central Park in NYC to Hell and back] [I don't know for a fact if that is accurate but I wouldn't be in the least surprised if it was.]

okay the vintage transition made me unnecessarily excited

MOBIUS do not rationalize your snack addition [you don't need to, you're perfect]

Also Cracker Jack is nasty

Thanks Loki

YOU FLIRTS

The commentary on the global exhibits is the shit

"Thor's not that tall." SHUT UP SHUT UP YOU STARED AT HIM FOR FAR LONGER THAN NECESSARY AND SAID THAT TO COVER UP THE FACT THAT YOU MISS HIM YOU'RE NOT FOOLING ANYBODY

fuck yes post credit scene

I'm just saying it's not that far outside the realm of possibility for Theo to be here [I was going to continue to explain this but then got distracted by:]

THE VINTAGE TRANSITIONS

Loki is fucking panicking

SYLVIE MY GIRL

Wait goddamn please let's not do this shit again

Mobius just take her bag. You're a clever boy, I'm sure you can think of something.

OH MY GOD SHE THREW HIM

NO LOKI DO IT

Eew

This guy grew up in Chicago. Why is he talking like that?

"The wizard gentleman" I'm dying

Okay but this is not a Wisconsin accent either.

"Lower taxes" MOOD

HOW ARE YOU TWO SO BAD AT THIS

yeah Miss Minutes you keep trying to take credit for this, you wanna be the one that fucks him? Because that's the direction this shit is moving [Apollo please I'm begging you to pass me over. Ugh.]

Squall squall squall

Oh shit I didn't see THAT coming though damn [I was trying for a shipwreck but then they just sent Renslayer adrift in Lake Michigan.]

The writers: Okay so everyone betrays their lover in the end; Me: Okay one, are y'all okay? And two, y'all read Oscar Wilde's "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" and took it as gospel, huh? ["Yet each man kills the thing he loves/By each let this be heard,/Some do it with a bitter look,/Some with a flattering word,/The coward does it with a kiss,/The brave man with a sword!"]

MISS MINUTES ABSOLUTELY GO FUCK YOURSELF

eew what the fuck is happening

OH MY GOD THE WRITERS LOVE TO MAKE WEIRD ASS COUPLES

EEEEEEWWWWWW WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING BUT GODDAMN I FUCKING SHOULD HAVE

Rav I'd say kill Minutes but we need her

VON?? VON??

ARE WE DOING THIS AGAIN WITH RAVONNA AND MOBIUS THIS TIME

DO WE NEED THESE PARALLELS

OH FUCK YOU RAV

SYLVIE STOP

HAIR FLIP

SYLVIE

YEAH SYL KILL THE BITCH

AND FIGURE OUT YOUR NEXUS FIRST

SYLVIE YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN YOUR NEXUS FIRST BUT DAMN GIRL HOLY SHIT

EEWW MISS MINUTES COME ON

Wait I just thought of something and I HATE IT SO MUCH (sorry to not tell you but I'm gonna think on this for a few days and then post a theory)

[mythical-magik]

Thoughts on Season 2 Episode 6 of Loki

Am I the only one that doesn’t feel satisfied with the last episode? Some parts were perfect, but it feels like somethings missing, like there’s holes in it. That episode didn’t go the way I thought it would at all.

I think I actually prefer the theories of Loki going through the timelines to recruit the members again. Or Sylvie found a young Mobius, then her and Loki kidnapped him and he finds out.

I knew there’d be a separation between Loki and Mobius but this isn’t how I thought it would go. I thought there was going to be some huge truth bomb dropped instead of what actually happened.

I’m so used to seeing Mobius with Loki that when he’s not, it genuinely doesn’t feel right. Mobius looked lost, sad, lonely, unhappy when he was at his desk at the end.

One thing I’m obsessed with is the clothing transformation of the TVA uniform to the Cape and Horns. It was phenomenal. That was HIS MOMENT!

Ravonna’s ending was perfect. I feel like there’s something missing there but nonetheless I loved it.

I’m glad OB, Casey & B-15 are all okay. That ending in particular was okay. I’m happy everyone’s fine but it feels so … lacklustre, so flat, as if something were missing.

The scene between Mobius and Loki in the time theatre - not what I thought was going to happen. At all. A little disappointed. I don’t really get the point of it - like Loki obviously got what was needed from that conversation so good for him.

It’s got me asking, ‘what was the point of making a thing of Loki & Mobius’ friendship. Why focus on that.’ Because it seemed like that was what was taking up season 2 in the first 3 episodes. Then right at the end it’s SYLVIE who’s supporting Mobius as he goes back to see that life he was avoiding. Maybe she felt obligated- she knows that if Loki could have been there he would have. It felt as if the friendship didn’t mean anything in the end - like it didn’t even happen to begin with.

Moving on. I blew the whole ‘mobius grabbing the lapels of lokis jack’ so far out of context. I thought there was going to be begging, I thought there was going to be a heart felt moment but no. Turns out he doesn’t trust Loki? Why’s he mad- he’s actually trying to save you. Let him do his thing, you trusted his this far.

The end of season 1 scene; I joked when I said they should have killed Sylvie off then, then when it was brought up that killing Sylvie was an option I regretted it. Glad she’s okay and alive but they wasted her character, I genuinely don’t get why they kept her for season 2, she was irrelevant. The only thing I could think of was it shows a parallel of how mobius changed Loki, and the polar opposite of both these Loki’s.

This whole episode felt off until the very end, with Loki being the new ‘He Who Remains’. I was expecting that. I feel like this episode was rushed. It needed to be slowed down.

If I had to rate it out of ten, I’d give it a solid 7/10. Also I was fully expecting to see Thor and I don’t know why. No-one is dead, so I’ll take the win! There’s always next time. I’m just glad the Series is over, waiting week after week, left on cliff hangers does something to a person.

[vidavalor]

"You're my favorite" is a dialogue callback & a major hint as to what's up with Mobius

Let's talk about Mobius, Ravonna, the drink rings, the pen, the trophies, and "you're my favorite" because I don't think the clues are leading towards Mobius being a villain or a clone or a Loki... but they are leading towards him being a lot more *like* Loki than maybe we realized at the start... meta/analysis under the cut

Mobius is not a villain. The set of scenes meant to really underline this fact are when we see him sneak off to the library with Ravonna's Tempad to watch the Hunter C-20 video and see for himself that his suspicions that Loki was right about the agents being variants is true. If he were a villain, he would have already known this. That said... there are some clues that there *is* something that Mobius already knew and let's look at what those clues are and just what Mobius may be up to.

Mobius is something that Ravonna and the TVA need-- he's smart, inquisitive and a good leader. Their problem with that is he is smart, inquisitive and a good leader. That makes him a bit dangerous should he get too close to the truth. Other agents love him and might be more likely to follow him if he told them they were being lied to so that can't ever happen. On the other hand, it's far easier to "fix" someone that's broken by TVA definition than to just outright destroy it because good analysts don't grow on trees. That other agent who collected the other half of the trophies in Ravonna's office? The one who left drink rings on her table that overlap (in a Mobius loop-like pattern) with Mobius' own? That was the dude whose name is literally his name *twice over*-- Mobius himself. That is why there is no other analyst for Mobius to have ever bumped into in the hallway or been introduced to. Now, think about how Mobius must have thought about this other analyst. Like, a *lot*...

Mobius likes his puzzle and his ears are sharp, too. He brings up the other analyst to Ravonna in conversation, keeping it light, to watch what she says about this person. The more vague she is, the more he realizes that what he's beginning to suspect is likely true. He jokes with her to cover up that he's beginning to understand what's happened and what does he say? He jokes that he hopes that he's her *favorite*, a line of dialogue that he uses when hugging Loki and looking at another version of Loki in Sylvie. What does this mean? It means that while Mobius didn't know that all the agents are variants who were kidnapped from their timelines until Loki told him-- and we know that's the case because we saw him steal Ravonna's Temppad to watch the proof of it that he needed to see for it to be true, even if it was clear that he believed Loki when he was told of it-- Mobius *did* know something already at the start of the show: he knew that he had been reset.

He knew he was not the first version of Mobius that had existed.

That first version was the man he couldn't remember, who had gone on other TVA missions and collected half the stuff in Ravonna's office and had whole other conversations with her where he left other drink rings and that person was just gone now to him. This? Is one of the reasons why he's so empathetic towards Loki and bends over backwards so much to give Loki another chance at being the person he wants to be-- because Mobius himself has been doing that too, in secret. He probably blames Ravonna more than the TVA as a whole at that point-- he turns on the TVA more after he discovers that the agents are all variants-- but it's also why he's willing to take more risks and do things like bring Loki in to help because he identifies with him. Mobius has figured out that he was Ravonna's other agent but he knows that if he ever said that aloud or led Ravonna to think that he had realized it, she would reset him again or prune him and Mobius doesn't want to die. Ravonna tests him frequently with that pen, in particular-- it's either tied to who Mobius was in his timeline or it's something he brought back from before he was reset. She's looking for any signs that Mobius has remembered any of the resetting or any of his life from before. Mobius pretends that he doesn't but he does remember who he was before he was reset into who he is now-- at least enough to know that he was reset in the first place.

Another clue to this? When he rescues Loki from the judge in the courtroom, he's saving him from undergoing the same fate he previously did. There are only two options that we saw-- don't take a ticket (and so prove that you are not pliable and of no use to the TVA) and you get pruned to The Void. Take a ticket (and so prove that you have potential to follow orders) and the judge sentences you and then you get "reset"-- have your memories wiped & be turned into a TVA agent. That was about to happen to Loki when Mobius ran in but look at what Mobius said to him about it. Loki asked if he was taking him somewhere to kill him and Mobius said no, that that's where Loki just was. But think about that for a second-- it was clear that Loki had passed enough of the ticket test that he wasn't going to get pruned to The Void.

If Mobius at that point thought, like most do, that pruning = death, then Mobius would know that Loki had already saved himself from that by taking the ticket. So what is the "death" that Loki would have faced instead, if Mobius hadn't saved him? Mobius knows now what it is because he knows it happened to him before. He saved Loki from having his memory wiped and this version of himself from being killed by the TVA. Just as he's giving Loki another chance to embrace the moment and be whoever he wants to be, Mobius is also trying to do the same thing for himself. Whoever he was is gone now, in some ways, and Mobius can't even remember the missions he went on before, the trophies he brought back to the woman who killed who he was before and made him yet another version of himself. He struggles with what it is to be *him*-- an individual in the midst of similar copies-- and to have an identity of his own... just like Loki does.

Then, Loki uncovers the truth about the TVA from Sylvie and tells Mobius that all the analysts are variants-- that they were people kidnapped from their timelines to serve in the TVA-- and while Mobius does seek out the proof (and I think he also just is trying to figure out what happened to poor C-20, now realizing that she knew before the rest of them did), he believes Loki enough to seek out that proof. He instantly doesn't trust Ravonna. For a man who has spent his whole life (as far as he knows) in service to the TVA and its mission, it's a huge leap, even if he suspects Loki to be correct. The reason why he believed him so readily is because he already had reason to distrust Ravonna and the TVA brass because he already had figured out that he had been reset.

It's also possible that B-15 was also reset alongside Mobius, namely because she works with him all the time and might begin to notice that he wasn't remembering their previous missions. If there is anybody in the TVA that Mobius might have told about his suspicions that he was reset, it might be her and she could have been helping him. (For instance, who is it that tells Loki that he *has to take a ticket* in no uncertain terms? Why does B-15 care if he does or doesn't? What was it to her if they pruned Loki at that point? He was just another variant. Unless Mobius, whom she trusts and is her friend, told her to do everything she could to keep Loki alive in there long enough for him to get there.) So, there's a slight possibility that B-15 knows she and Mobius were reset but I also think he probably didn't tell anybody and if B-15 was helping Loki in the courtroom, it was just because Mobius asked her to.

Which means that Mobius has been wanting to fuck with the TVA a bit-- or at least annoy Ravonna-- for awhile, hence his willingness to go traipse around with Loki. His whole of the word "favorite" though is more loaded than it seems. When he says it with Ravonna, it's a dry joke only he really gets. He's flirty, he's joking with her that he hopes that she likes him more than this other analyst guy who is bringing back these other trophies for her. He makes it sound like a romantic rivalry between him and her other time-hopping Indiana Jones. Mobius at this point *knows that other analyst is himself* when he's saying this but he can't let her know that he knows, so he pretends it's a whole other person, and not a previous sense of himself that she has tried to erase and reset into a version of himself that he wants. Worse, Ravonna *never answers him*-- she never tells Mobius that he is her favorite. She talks about their friendship being uncommon and keeps trying to gaslight Mobius into believing that they have a thing between them that is exclusive to them when Mobius knows damn right well that she had him mind-murdered and he can't trust her. So, even this reset version of Mobius gets the run-around from cold fish Ravonna.

So, when Mobius is then in a moment where he's saying goodbye to the god he loves who is on a paralleling journey to his own, in terms of trying to be the best version of himself he can be with the single chance he has left, he says "you're my favorite" in such a way that while he is saying it, in a whisper, to the Loki in his arms, he's looking at Sylvie when he says it and that's intentional. He respects Sylvie, whose end goal isn't to do harm so much as to free the imprisoned and whose determination to that end is freeing Mobius more than he had previously thought possible, and he loves Loki-- and he's determined to not have them feel what he feels with Ravonna. He wants them to know they are both good as they are, that they can be their own selves and don't need to be more than just the best versions of themselves that they can be. Ravonna makes multiple copies of Mobius and tries to strip him of his sense of self and he's been fighting back quietly, recognizing the same type of fight in all of the Lokis that he meets, taking in their various issues with stride because he just admires all of it and feels a kinship to it. Telling Loki and Sylvie "you're my favorite" is a way of giving them what he hasn't had for himself, which is a sense that he's fine the way he is and he's loved and enough and who he is as a person-- the same traits that make him a good agent-- are not inherently subversive in a bad way or wrong... and if you read that last sentence and realized that Loki is then the perfect person to love Mobius, I agree. :)

[okilokiwithpurpose]

About Loki and Mobius in ep 6

ok sorry this post got out of hand and longer than expected (tell me if I should “cut” it), but maybe give it a chance and react if you feel like it? I’d love to hear any suggestions & reactions & remarks/additions and I just love time travel discussion (in general and ++ for involving Loki and Mobius ;)

So I’ve been in the Lokius fandom for a couple weeks now, and I’m still trying to catch up on things I might have missed. So far, I’ve seen different theories about the end of episode 6 (especially on why Mobius doesn’t remember Loki) and I tried to list each of them with some arguments/implications/questions I have about it.

And this is where I need your help guys! There is probably information I missed or things I forgot so feel free to send me an ask, PM me or to simply add on the post :)  Here’s what I got for now:

Loki was sent to a different timeline, in a TVA that is not “his” TVA, meeting a Mobius that is not “his” Mobius. Which also implies that somewhere, in the “right” timeline, “his” Mobius is also waiting for him. I just really love this idea of Loki and Mobius jumping through timelines in search for each other and I don't think I can ever read enough of those reunions fics. Still, it makes me wonder about the nature of the TVA. While watching the show, I had the impression that the TVA existed somewhere "out of time" and somehow "out of lines" too, since it's been created in order to watch those (to make sure the Sacred Timeline doesn't split). A unique entity, existing on its own and benefitting from a panorama of "would be" timelines and realities. If it isn't the case, could it be that several TVAs co-exist in different timelines? Maybe each one protecting its own "Sacred" timeline...and as long as each TVA makes their job correctly, those timelines stay parallels and therefore never cross? And what of Kang's Castle? Is the End of the World some "point of convergence" between timelines? Does a version of the place exist in several timelines? Or is it unique because that's how the Sacred Timeline is supposed to end...but then again, we are talking about one Sacred Timeline (and therefore one TVA?)... So yes, my reflections seem to be caught in some kind of loop too and any input is welcome ;)

The entire timeline (well, probably timelines to be fair) have been altered. Loki (+ Sylvie & Ravonna?) are the only ones remembering a now nonexistent version of the past. The TVA has been created, but has known a different history. Therefore, despite being “his” Mobius, Mobius cannot remember Loki for he never met him to begin with. This makes things so incredibly angsty! Because, even if Mobius allows Loki to search trough his forgotten memories, Loki won't find anything about them. They both lived a different version of the same timeline's past and have to go through the process of getting close/trusting each other again. Except that now the roles are "reversed", as Loki is the one that knows Mobius. Although my heart hurts at how much distraught Loki would feel in that scenario, it at least seems to comply with the "out-of-time-and-realities-self-existing-and-watching-over-every timelines" TVA idea (which is also just a theory, yes). Like, sure, the TVA has been created by someone at some time, and different people may have altered its development (in this "new" present, that context and influences have obviously been different), but once created, it left the "classic" space/time flow. I like to think that, should this theory be proven true, Mobius may have anticipated it happening. Remember when Loki stole Mobius'tempad? What if Mobius slipped a timepad (containing data about them, their time together and what they discovered...) in Loki's pocket "just in case" around the time they hugged? Cue Loki being able to show Mobius the data he himself collected to try and convince him. (also yeah, don't ask me where Mobius got that timepad before being pruned, I am sure we can find something if we try hard enough!)

The TVA has been reset after the event with Kang. The difference with point 2 is that everything we saw happen in the TVA did happen, but something forced it to “reboot”, all of the agents work and memories being "lost" in the process. That "something" is obviously linked to Kang, that is for sure, but in what way exactly? Let's take for a fact that the version of Kang Loki and Sylvie met is the one that initially created the TVA. Still, once created, the TVA, has the power to interfer with events happening before that Kang's birth or after his death. So any variant of Kang who would want to use it for his own purpose (be it continuing the previous Kang's vision or any other personal goal) potentially would'nt have to "recreate" it, but could simply take over the already existing one (and -again- brainwash everyone in the process). There's also the possibility of the TVA having been build with some sort of internal "protection" or "self-preservation" system. So that maybe, should a particuliarly threatening event happen, it would reset itself to a "blank state", to make sure it hasn't been compromised and can continue its mission. Now, the question would be "how can an event from the regular time-flow trigger an event in an "out of time" environment?". Maybe a sudden multiplication of nexus events could do it? Or maybe a direct "attack" against the TVA? (I even had a conversation with a friend where we evoqued the possibility of those "reset sessions" being a routine at the TVA. That it happens on a regular basis, to make sure TVA workers don't keep too many - possily dangerous" - memories or reflections. Which would partly explain why no one seem to remember for how long they've been working for the TVA (and why Mobius doesn't remember leaving glass traces in Ravonna's office...)). The good news with this version is that Loki might be able to bring back Mobius' mermories (and then they can hug again TT-TT). But like every other theories, it brings in so much more questions! (Which I'm alway happy to discuss in case anyone feels ike it!! :D)

[uhthor]

Liv,,, the Loki finale,,, a tragedy. I want to hear all of your rants about it and also fuck d*sney

hello sweetie it’s been almost 48 hours and i’m still in shock and disbelief that the finale was that messy but i’ll try my best!

first of all, kang was the highlight of the episode. yes, his chat was long and complicated but jonathan majors was very very good and i cannot wait to see more of him in the mcu!

second, loki himself was incredible as always, sylvie was incredible, mobius was incredible & hunter b-15 was incredible. i have qualms about how messy it all was in the end with ravonna and wtf she been off doing (why were the minute men in ohio finding her on earth? there was no real conclusion to that, no real ending to her storyline and hunter b-15’s self realisation and rebellion which annoyed me to no end) and the ending was a dumpster fire cluster fuck. all three of the shows have been so ambitious with their plotting in the first 3/4 of the series and then the finales are just trying to wrap up so many things that nothing gets the justice it deserves and they need to Stop That Right Now because they just fall FLAT and disappoint

but the k!ss...... literally ruined the whole thing for me. loki as a character went through so much growth in a six episode series and i couldn’t be prouder of the way he changed and learned to believe in himself and that he was worthy of happiness. it’s truly some of the best work we’ve seen with loki in the entire mcu in my opinion.

miss minutes offered him a place in the timeline where he kills thanos and rules asgard and the loki in episode one would have jumped at that opportunity quicker than anything. episode six loki shed a few tears and remembered that he was worth more than that. that the cause was worth more than that, that people other than himself were worth saving and rescuing from the tva.

is that not the most incredible growth for loki? is that not the best growth we have seen alongside his growth in ragnarok? his main reasoning for not killing kang was to be able to help others and for sylvie to be okay. the fact the writers turned all of the growth he had made due to meeting sylvie on its head and had them kiss will always be disgusting to me.

they set the series up so well for loki to discover self love and worth through meeting sylvie, especially in that he said he just wanted sylvie to be okay in episode six — to me it will always still stand that loki learned to love himself and believe in his own worth through discovering he cared about sylvie in a non romantic way and that it changed him as a person. seeing a storyline of loki learning to love himself after a decade in the mcu of being made to be so inferior to everyone else by the people around him would have been the biggest love letter to loki and to loki’s fans, and tom.

it’s just so unfair and sad that they went down the route that they did. loki and sylvie had such a good relationship, something i saw parallel loki and thor’s relationship in the last ten years, and after loki was taken from the timeline and never allowed to see thor ever again, something good and stable and healthy loki could have had in his life from then onward.

but noooooo they had to make it romantic. they had to make things weird and they had to throw away a relationship they’d built so nicely with loki and mobius, too. people keep claiming that it wasn’t a romantic kiss and that sylvie was doing it to manipulate him and hit him where it hurts but as i re-emphasise again... there are literally thousands of other ways she could have done that. she could have hugged him. she could have just straight up pushed him. she could’ve pulled a hans of the southern isles and cupped his face and THEN pushed him. there literally had to be no romance involved. it was a choice made directly by marvel to engage in a selfcest relationship. there’s no ambiguity about it.

it also irritated me that people were saying it was typical for loki to fall for himself. we’re seeing a loki in this series like we’ve never seen before. he is so afraid of being alone and very clearly hates himself so much that to me, i don’t think he’d ever fall for himself. yes, he’s narcissistic, but he’s acknowledged that it’s only covering his absolute fear of being alone. i don’t think in any given circumstance would loki fall for himself because he loves himself. loki doesn’t love himself, which is one of the tragedies that this series focused on and created a beautiful journey with.

by meeting sylvie and learning that he cares about her and that she cares about him and believes that she deserved her own happy ending made him realise that he also deserves that, too. that’s the greatest love story that marvel should have written in this series after all the shit loki has been through. having him loving sylvie because she replicates his own self love and wanting her to be okay and have a happy ending is the way it should’ve gone. they are the same person, variations of the same person. her name is literally sylvie laufeydottir. they’re practically siblings. musical composer for the show natalie holt has said and i quote that loki looks at sylvie like he looks at his mother. ?!!!??!!!!!!??!??!? they’re family and it’s so so fucking weird for them to be romantic. it just ruined all of the work and excellence they provided in the first five and a half episodes and it pissed me off so bad. marvel have the uncontrollable need to pair every m/f that speak to each other for more than five minutes (st*ggy), even if they have no chemistry (bruc*nat, st*ron), EVEN IF THEY ARE RELATED OR THE SAME PERSON but won’t touch same sex relationships with a barge pole. funny, that

i just wanted the finale to solidify all of this — loki finally learning to love himself and discover that he has self worth and cares for others after his journey through the mcu being one of pure pain and suffering. i just wanted it to make sense and set up something with a tiny bit of coherence but i left the series more confused than i have ever been and just angry and betrayed really.

obviously i will watch season two and can only hope that things are fixed (wtf is going on with ravonna, hunter b-15, where is kid loki and allokigator, was the k!ss truly romantic, will they denounce all the selfcest etc. etc.) and don’t even get me started on the ending with mobius... not a jet ski in sight just fucking suffering. like twelve of my mutuals predicted he’d have his memories wiped yet it wasn’t any less painful when i saw it happen. justice for wowki, the actual only good and coherent and healthy relationship to come out of this series </3

also can someone PLEASE tell me if they saw casey anywhere cause eugene cordero was credited but i never saw my boy ONCE! he deserved BETTER!!!!

ok think i’m done tldr: fuck the finale i am gay and confused

[vaguely-gestures-to-the-void]

Hindsight: My thoughts on Loki (2021)

Welcome back folks. Read the innocence dying inside me as I accept that this show eats my expectations for lunch and leaves me like it's going to buy milk.

As a side note from what I said in my first review, here’s an interesting article. Apparently I was clowning because the Gobi desert scene was filmed (probably? idk) with the tech from the Mandalorian. I think the studios were the same. Oh well. https://www.atlasofwonders.com/2021/06/loki-filming-locations.html

Episode 4: THE NEXUS EVENT

Pre-title scene

The new perspective of Asgard is incredible.

Oh baby Sylvie, what did they do to you. Also, RAVONNA??

The TVA through a child’s eyes is heartbreaking. The mixed use of shots that were familiar (the feet walking into the TVA) and new (the TVA logo on the floor) convey how though routine, this is an alien experience for Sylvie.

She too wants to help the man being dragged in. Maybe Sylvie was a better person than Loki, the TVA taking her away was what changed it.

We don’t see Casey, but iIt’s the same ‘sign here’ guy. The changing perspective and music really alters the mood created, contrasting the whimsical procedure we followed in episode one.

She hadn’t even said much in her life. They knew how to influence the audience’s emotions, that's for sure. Props to the actress, I felt genuine concern for her before I remembered that she’s acting.

TVA

Ravonna probably underestimated Sylvie as a Loki, a mistake that cost her greatly.

The golden doors.

Ravonna looks tense and a bit fearful.

Scattered throughout the episode are eyes watching. George Orwell’s 1984, anyone?

Big Brother is watching.

Mobius! He’s a good friend to Ravonna, but there’s a power imbalance.

Ravonna is shaken. Her past failure is haunting her.

Someone edit the “What? How?” into “Wow.” It’ll be a service.

Lamentis - 1

Loki’s apology and Sylvie reflecting on her childhood are the conclusion to the previous episode. Faced with death, Loki realises that her goals were hindered by his actions. His apology is the first time he acknowledges he had something to do with it. Sylvie’s offering her emotional vulnerability in the form of memories. Her mind and experiences are her most prized possession because they’re all she has of the person who she was as Loki, her childhood and what she was supposed to be. Her glorious purpose, what really makes a Loki a ‘Loki’ was her life.

THEY TRUST EACH OTHER. THIS WAS WHAT CAUSED THE NEXUS EVENT.

C H A R A C T E R D E V E L O P M E N T.

Ravonna pointed out that Loki will always be a “lying scourge” but they went against this. In any timeline, this could cause a nexus event. They found a middle ground.

“That should be setting off alarms if someone steps on the wrong leaf.” I had a whole idea about entropy and the timeline being an isolated system but I struggled to define an isolated system, and thus I couldn’t use the whole irreversible process causing entropy to grow causing a br- if you have a clue of what I’m going on about, or want to know more, I’ll explain my thoughts. I can understand why this isn’t scientifically accurate and I’m no physicist.

The unbranched timeline means all the things that were speculated - Wanda’s kids, what happened on Saakar, all of it - is gone.

“Any news on C - 20?”I called it! B-15 is having doubts! Her subtle unease building up throughout the ep is perfect!

Most settlements have a street design that can be from space. Sharru doesn’t.

“No. We may lose... ...you’re amazing!” Damn it literally took the end of a world for Loki to change as a person.

“Their smiles. If that isn’t people accepting their deaths I don’t know what is. Man, I just want both of them to be happy.

Please don’t let that be the love theme, it’s so pretty.

The music fading into the TVA theme as they get separated is so sad.

Time Theater 25

Back to square one in terms of trust with these two, but now they have history and hurt feelings too!

Oh Mobius.

Cycles are a part of who Loki is within Norse mythology (from what I know, correct me if I’m wrong). This scene is conflict.

Loki needs both Mobius and Sylvie to incite change. One can empathise whilst the other believes in him.

Mobius believes in Loki like no one else in the TVA. He treats him like an individual, they developed a bond in episode 2, so his disappointment and anger were genuine. This is reflected in their dialogue.

Even when Loki was going through all the Feels in ep 1, he didn’t shout at Mobius. It makes it more heartbreaking when Mobius laughs and dismisses him after the “TVA is lying to you” thing. His laugh was so bitter, it’s like his belief that Loki would be the variant to prove that variants were individuals had been shattered. What Mobius doesn’t realise is that Loki was genuinely trying to warn him. The trust between them was fragile but Mobius needed to come to his own conclusions before he could see that Loki had broken out of the mold the Time Keepers set for him.

“Just kind of an asshole and a bad friend.” Y’all, Mobius doesn’t rise to Loki’s baits. He’s so hurt.

I can’t be the only one that thought Loki was going to be brainwashed when they saw the red door. Turns out it’s just a time cell.

I love Mobius but he makes me feel so conflicted. Oh shit, he’s my problematic fave.

Watching Loki get his ass handed to him by Lady Sif shouldn’t be this funny.

This particular memory reflects what Mobius will talk about later, Loki being abandon by the people around him.

Putting Loki through a memory that was physically and emotionally painful was nasty. If you hear something horrible, over and over especially from a friend it would take a toll on your self-perception. Mobius was hurt by Loki leaving him, he’s getting revenge whilst doing his job and getting into Loki’s head.

Ravonna’s office

Ravonna has hang ups from failing with Sylvie. Who she is and what she knows is going to be interesting.

Heck I just realised are Mobius’ lapels not real? They look fake.

I wonder whether the “mastermind” thing was foreshadowing the next ep.

Am I the only one who thinks this isn’t the first Loki Mobius has dealt with? Could that mean there’s a reunion next ep?!

“Variant pet.” There’s a culture of dehumanising variants within the TVA.

The cuts showing both B-15 and Mobius’ faces reminds me of ep 1, but now there’s a new angle to things. B-15 certainly sees things differently.

Time Theatre 25

Lady Sif would kill with short hair. Or long hair. It’s Lady Sif, she’s a badass.

Loki’s exhale reminds me of how he tenses before a fight.

Notable things about this scene:

Heavy use of metaphors to trade jabs.

The lights are shifting in a consistent pattern, scanning the room almost.

Shots are constantly moving and cutting.

Loki’s speech pattern changes when he’s lying. Nice touch there.

When they start arguing in earnest, the shots are close ups of their faces, not circling around each other.

Loki was at first willing to talk to Mobius if he was treated with respect, the way they engaged in episode 2. He also wants to trust that Mobius won’t kill him. Mobius dismisses him (rightly so, his trust is gone) and Loki’s pride about ‘not working for anyone’ gets in the way rather than listening to each other. Loki’s behaviour is cyclic and his lying about Sylvie affirms Mobius’s understanding that Loki won’t (or maybe can’t) change. I wouldn’t be too surprised if Mobius is a Loki, the man’s uncannily good at reading him. He deduces that Loki and Sylvie have a bond and unsettles Loki to get answers out of him, because he knows that’s the only way he can force Loki to reveal his cards. He definitely wasn’t expecting Loki’s earlier admission to be the truth. What Mobius did was not right, but it sure was effective.

“No. Not partners.” I believe this. They had an understanding, but their goals differ. Maybe just give Sylvie her own show.

“Guess you don’t do partners.” MOBIUS WHY ARE YOU SO BUTT-HURT? Probably to make Loki feel bad ik, but it’s still funny to think Lightning McQueen is salty.

That memory really hurt Loki. He stuttered.

Loki fixates on Sylvie rather than his own freedom. This was the cue to Mobius to start interrogating.

Bruh, the feeling they were experiencing better be friendship.

This made me uncomfortable because I was so sure we weren’t gonna get a romantic subplot that I related the characters to my actual family relationships. Marvel. Why?

The music combined with Mobius’ subtle shift in demeanor from irritated to mockery was very unsettling to me. I never realised how good an actor Owen Wilson was.

“Our interests are aligned.” Once Mobius tells him the truth, Loki does the same. I really hope this is the extent of their relationship. Just let them recognise one another as equals. Please Marvel.

Mobius’ hands twitching, the slight swallow. Yeesh, he certainly doesn’t think Loki’s lying, but he’s not about to accept it.

Loki’s head shake is sad. He knows he can’t convince Mobius.

“That I can respect. I mean the lies you tell yourself.” This was the best writing imo. Loki doesn’t make any final attempts to connive his way out of the situation because telling the truth to someone he’d trusted had failed. He willingly walks into the Time Cell.

Time Theater 47

B-15 being unable to support herself, having to rely on the structures around her to stay upright. This woman deserves so much y’all.

WE NEED HER NAME MARVEL.

You better appreciate her beyond shipping her with Sylvie or istg.

The music is so mournful. It just emphasises how much everything changing is going to hurt not only the main characters. Lives change because of the TVA and the events of this episode, it’s not overlooked by the writing or music.

The poster and the 1984 parallels. Exquisite!

Sylvie not sitting straight made me snort.

Ravonna Renslayer’s office

More Theremin music! This time I’m pretty sure it’s Carnival of the Animals, XIII. Le Cygne (the Swan) : Le carnaval des animaux: No. 12, Le cygne (arr. For theremin and piano) by Clara Rockmore.

Fun fact! Clara Rockmore influenced theremin music and the instrument and was a virtuoso of the instrument. Give her a google, it’s worth it. Also look up Leon Theremin, he was (among other things) a Soviet spy. There’s a great Wiki spiral for anyone there.

Mobius was probably being lined up for a high position in the TVA. Damn.

TemPads are personal, or have different levels of clearance.

Mobius didn’t stop interrogating Ravonna throughout that scene. He knew that she wasn’t telling him the whole truth.

Sleight of hand wasn’t shown how Loki and Sylvie do it, they didn’t use misdirection.

Ravonna knows something is up with Mobius. Maybe he hasn’t been around for long if this is his ‘career case’.

The pacing becomes really fast like in the end of episode 2 as conflicts get resolved. Buckle up comrades.

2050 Roxxcart Disaster

I don’t have much to add, it’s a powerful scene.

They use close ups whenever a truth bombshell is dropped.

The music varies considerably between these scenes, each one has a different tone.

“We’re the same.” With what she knows of B-15, Sylvie knew not to be smug when delivering the news about B-15’s life.

B-15 crying in the rain hurts.

“I looked happy.”

TVA archives, Time Cell, Time Theater 25

The floor opposite Mobius is FE3, above it is 3FG.

Oh Mobius.

C-20 deserved better, I'd love to see her later in the series.

The music goes from mournful to harsh and we’re left in silence when it cuts to the Time Cell.

“You told me to shut up.” Loki can be salty sometimes.

“Do you really think you deserve to be alone?” Mobius is rattled, he wants to unsettle Loki.

The music starts to build somewhere between “...your connection... “ and Loki saying “‘WE?’”

The faint tinkling reminds me of the Avatar (blue people) score.

“How about the word of a friend?” This is Loki’s olive branch. When he admits Loki was right, their trust is tentatively reinstated.

The music is finally back to that chaotic theme we know. I think it’s the TVA’s theme.

“You can be whoever, whatever you wanna be, even someone good. I mean just in case anyone ever told you different.” Mobius corrects what he says in the first ep.

They are friends y’all I’m so sad.

Mobius can lie through his teeth like it’s nobody’s business.

Pruning hurts, Mobius’ face is in agony.

Loki’s tears. GIVE THEM ALL JETSKIS.

Ravonna takes a moment to compose herself.

Time Keepers (the final smackdown)

Why are the last 10 minutes always so insane?

Loki’s eyes only show hurt. I’ll leave.

Ravonna’s so sharp, she instantly catches Sylvie’s wet hair.

All of our expectations from the trailers always get yeeted out of a window because the scenes are never really what we think they are. I get that that should be expected but it’s refreshing that the writing is never what we think it is.

Did anyone else notice the egg timer/infinity sign murals on one of the hallways to the left of Sylvie?

Ravonna is so cold (and yet I’d simp for her).

The M.C. Escher staircases I see you set designers/CGI folks.

B-15 just gets knocked out. They better not kill her for no reason or I riot.

I’m pretty sure that Sylvie ripped off one of Ravonna’s TVA badges (or buttons) when she fought her.

Sylvie’s the better fighter, she’s had to use it more often though.

The elevator doors stay open.

It would be so funny if we get an elevator scene where Sylvie is just dragging Ravonna somewhere.

They really led us on with the Time Keepers, particularly the middle one. I was somewhat convinced there’d be something more to it. I’m interested to see where it goes.

Ep 4 review

I really don’t have much to add with these last two episodes. I’ve definitely come to appreciate that no matter whether you liked the writing of the show or not, it’s never what you expect. Is that a good thing? I guess that that remains to be seen. Nonetheless, I appreciate how much effort went into this series. It’s been a fun romp, I’ll be back with my reviews of the final episodes. I’ll also stop posting Loki content to my blog because the Gods know that my followers don’t read this lol.

I’m just going to survive until the season is over and then hopefully keep my sanity together until the next Marvel content or at least Dr. Strange.

Here's the link to my episode 3 review.

Thank you all for being here, you're wonderful my loves.

[lochrannn]

AU_gust: Double Date

Read on AO3

prompt no 15: Crossover

Characters: Lila Pitt, Diego Hargreeves, Herb, Mobius M. Mobius

Relationship: Lila Pitts/Diego Hargreeves; Herb/Mobius M.Mobius

-

Diego yawned loudly and scratched his belly just above the waistband of his boxers. He’d already pulled two mugs down from the cabinet and was just waiting for the coffee maker to be done.

After it spluttered nothing but steam for a couple of seconds, he pulled the pot from the hot plate and started pouring coffee into the mugs.

He’d just started filling Lila’s favorit mug - a hideous thing with a cartoon drawing of underwear on it and the word ‘pants’ printed above them in comic sans - when an almighty thunk from the other side of the kitchen startled him bad enough that he splashed coffee over the rim of the mug and onto his hand.

“Ow! Fuck!” he exclaimed and set the mug down quickly so he could dash to the sink to run his hand under cold water.

Once he was sufficiently sure he’d cooled his hand enough to avoid a burn, he looked over at the corner of the kitchen counter where the noise had come from.

“Babe?” he shouted in the direction of the bedroom and only got a half whine, half grumble in response so he went on, “there’s something weird happening to the breadbox!”

“How’s that my problem?” Lila shouted back and Diego had to admit to himself that she had a point.

So he went over to inspect it himself.

He lifted the lid and inside he found a squished bag of white bread and on top of it a shiny metal tube. Diego picked up the tube, unscrewed the top and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper.

He unfurled it and read the message written in neat typewriter letters:

To: Diego Hargreeves and Lila Gill

From: H739586B           Date: 0123748597

          Re: Offer of return favor.

                                                 H739586B

Diego started heading towards the bedroom with the slip of paper in his hand and called out, “Babe, this is definitely also your problem!”

-

Mobius M. Mobius was very nervous. He had never been on a blind date before, but Ravonna had insisted that her cousin, Dot, who worked for a parallel universe’s version of the TVA was definitely to be trusted when it came to suggesting someone. And Mobius trusted Ravonna, so he guessed, by extension he could also trust this Dot woman.

He was fidgeting slightly as he stepped into the elevator together with a tiny, cute, dark haired woman with kohl rimmed eyes who was maneuvering a tall, handsome man into the cramped space by the elbow she was clinging to.

Trying to distract himself from his nerves, he studied the pair. They were chatting quietly to each other and it must have been a continuation of an earlier conversation because for the life of him he couldn’t quite pick up on what it was about, but suddenly his detective instincts were triggered when he noticed the gleam of a bunch of knives hanging off what must have been a hidden holster under the man’s suit jacket.

Choosing not to antagonize the man by staring, Mobius took a quick look at the woman and saw her giving her partner an almost wolf-like grin before leaning up to whisper something into his ear.

Something about the two seemed oddly familiar to Mobius and when he suddenly realized that it was the fact they reminded him a little of the last person he had held a bit of a torch for, what with the goth aesthetic, the sharp grin, and the knives, he quickly focussed on the rack of lights indicating the floors they were passing and hoping they would arrive at their destination soon.

When the doors opened and he let the couple get off first, he was momentarily distracted by the view outside of the large glass dome that made up the ceiling. Then he wandered on behind them, as they were apparently headed in the same direction, when they stopped at a table where a very short man in a tidy suit, not dissimilar to Mobius’s own, with thick rimmed glasses, and a kind face got up to greet them.

“Herbie, my man, it’s good to see you!” the tall man said, his slightly intimidating face breaking into an almost childish grin of delight and he proceeded to give the much shorter man a very elaborate handshake. Once they had finished their greeting the woman stepped up, and gave the smaller man a borderline violent hug.

Mobius was slowly catching on to the fact that the small man fit Ravonna’s description and was most likely his date, Herb.

So he took a last calming breath and walked up to the small group and introduced himself.

-

Once they had ordered their meals they fell into relatively pleasant chat. Mobius was relieved to find that it seemed like Herb was about as nervous as he himself. The other two, apparently, had no such compunctions as Diego was currently in the process of praising his friend to high heavens.

“So did you know that Herbie here is the big kahuna of the Commission?” he said quite earnestly.

“Eh, acting chairperson until a new board is elected!” Herb interjected humbly with a bit of a shy smile in Mobius’s direction.

He felt enough sympathy for the man and his quite charming discomfort with being the center of attention, so he asked the table at large, “And how did y'all meet, anyway?”

“Herb and I used to work together,” Lila said, resting her elbow on top of the table and her chin in her hand and she gave Herb an almost shark-like grin that seemed to make him squirm just a little.

Diego, apparently entirely oblivious to the slightly menacing effect his girlfriend was having on Herb added, “and Herbie and I fought together in the Résistance!”

“Huh?” Mobius turned to Herb incredulously.

“Oh, uhm, he’s joking!” Herb rushed out, though that hadn’t been Mobius’s impression.

“Diego helped us out when we were having some personnel problems in upper management,” he explained a little cryptically, and Mobvius didn’t miss how Herb’s eyes darted to Lila and how she suddenly sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest a little defensively and looking off to the side.

Diego went on, apparently still oblivious to the tension at the table and explained jovially, “My family ows Herb a lot, man, we have slightly apocalyptic tendencies and Herb’s been an absolute lifesaver!”

But then Mobius noticed that while he was speaking, Diego put his arm along the back of Lila’s chair and she leaned into the contact heavily. Maybe he wasn’t so oblivious after all.

-

When they were ready to leave, Lila and Diego headed over to the elevator, but, Mobius was unsurprised to see, clearly hovering, waiting for Herb, probably so they could impart their judgment on him. The way they kept looking over and then leaning into each other to whisper conspiratorially amongst themselves certainly gave him that impression.

“Your friends are very nice!” Mobius said mildly.

Herb broke into nervous chatter, “I’m so sorry! I swear I didn’t ask Diego to say all of those things, I don’t know what he was thinking!”

“I didn’t think you had,” Mobius reassured him, “and I think it says a lot about the quality of a man how loyal his friends are!”

That brought Herb up short and Mobius thought it was very sweet how much more nervous Herb suddenly was again now that it was just the two of them. He was genuinely curious whether that was always the case.

“But if I pass the test,” he said, nodding towards Diego and Lila, who noticed that they’d been spotted and not so subtly turned towards each other trying to pretend like they hadn’t been eying them, “maybe we could meet again without them?”