#we both know sylvie was just a way for the writers to get out of anything gay-looking

[musclesandhammering]

This is all excellent but the whole point can be boiled down to “We both know that the sylkie romance never would've happened if sylvie was a dude loki.”

The "sylkie" crap is a perfect example of how brainwashed mcu fans are. The amount of "LGBT rep" that Disney puts in their products is so carefully precise as to not upset any homophobes.

And it's just enough for their staff to praise themselves endlessly on social media for the bare minimum, and to get the blind worship of their fans. It's a marketing scheme.

Disney writers often make products that have racism, anti-semitism, homophobia, etc. But you can't criticize this without die hard fans harassing you about "but the representation!!!".

So with the loki series, you can't criticize the show being far more comfortable showing multiple episodes of explicit hetero self-cest than they are having any real bi representation beyond one line. Because mcu shills will hit you with "if you hate sylkie then you're biphobic!!!!"

Like??? Loki isn't a real bisexual person who chooses not to be with men. He's a fictional character who was carefully written this way by a biphobic megacorporation that wants to get your money without losing money from homophobes. And we both know that the sylkie romance never would've happened if sylvie was a dude loki.

Not to mention they "confirmed loki as genderfluid" in an Easter egg without ever actually expressing this in the show at all. And apparently the other lokis were even shocked at the possibility of a girl loki?? LOL

Disney does not and will never care about you. Don't do their work for them.

[percheduphere]

I wanted to find and gather some lesser appreciated Mobius moments from S1, and some thoughts occurred to me.

When we see Mobius drill into Loki about his choices, his thought patterns, whether or not he enjoys hurting people, Mobius comes down on Loki HARD, cruelly, goading, and manipulating (Sound familiar? Just wait...). He does so in a way that's confident he will get the answers he expects from Loki, which he does.

When we cut to the scenes with Renslayer, Mobius's truer, gentler side appears. The side that is kind and soft and believes in second chances. Notice, also, the difference in lighting between these scenes.

And then it hit me:

Mobius was using a carefully constructed persona--an illusion--with Loki to control the situation and get Loki into the headspace of self-reflection. He uses the very same technique Loki uses regularly to get the outcome that is beneficial for both of them.

Genius, really.

As we move into S1E2 and E3, the power dynamics are decidedly uneven, but once they are out in the field, Mobius's actual power and control over Loki is quite limited and actually banks on a LOT of faith. A ridiculous amount of faith, to be honest. Despite logical misgivings, Mobius makes a POINT of giving Loki freedom and trust because he has analyzed Loki enough to know that lack of trust perpetuates a destructive self-fulfilling prophecy.

So when Loki chooses to escape with Sylvie, all those centuries of belief and good will Mobius invested in him were thrown in his face. He's understandably furious, but the interrogation scene after both Lokis are captured simply does not read as normal without the additional lens of jealousy. If Mobius were not emotionally compromised in some way, he would have handled the interrogation clinically, and he would have sent Loki to be pruned without a thought.

Mobius doesn't do either of those things. Rather than asking Loki objective questions, he focuses on Loki's attention on Sylvie and verbally twists the knife where he can. His punishment for Loki after the interrogation is shockingly personal:

A word about the Sif loop scene: I really, REALLY hated that Mobius did that. It honestly made my gut churn. I think the writers tried to play it off for laughs because Loki gets kicked in the balls repeatedly, but the emotional undercurrent of Sif's words and everything that it means is just awful.

That said, I understand that this scene reveals not only Loki's vulnerability but ALSO Mobius's. This is a "passionate diagreement" through proxy. Mobius knows what would hurt Loki the most psychologically. But why would Mobius choose to hurt him this severely with these specific words?

Remember, this might be a memory, but Mobius is choosing to speak his feelings to Loki through Sif.

I think the answer is 4-pronged: First, Mobius put his career, reputation, and friendship with Ravonna on the line for Loki. The stress of the potential repercussions (which were HIGH) should Loki betray him was a constant heat on his neck. Despite this, Mobius chooses the riskier route of believing Loki would not betray his trust. And yes, within the context of what Mobius has done to advocate for Loki and what's at stake for Mobius should he fail, Loki absolutely betrays him.

Second, Loki told Mobius everything he believed about the TVA and his place in the multiverse is a lie. When was the last time Mobius reacted so violently?

When Brad called him a "nowhere man".

Mind, there is guilt beneath this anger. Not only has everything Mobius believed in been revealed as a lie, it is revealed he was complicit in the genocide of multiple timelines for which there was never any ultimate good. YIKES. That's a lot to take in, and Mobius at his core is a deeply empathetic person. The guilt of this horror, at his hands, is probably why Mobius does not defend himself when Sylvie tears him a new one in S2E4.

Three, I think Mobius may have wished for a friendship with Loki long before his intervention. I've written elsewhere that his intervention appears to be premeditated. Mobius was only waiting for his chance to come along. Who knows how many centuries that took. I believe he may have rationalized away his emotional attachment as a means to help the TVA succeed. Mobius is adept at suppressing not only his emotions but his wants.

Four, by S1E3, Mobius came to love Loki to some degree, platonic or otherwise. I think it's very difficult to not develop love for someone or something you've been tasked to be an expert on. Having Loki actually beside him, engaging with him over lunch and work, no doubt added some much needed color in Mobius's life. It's hard not to become infatuated with someone fun and exciting.

The jealous rage that overwhelms Mobius doesn't last long. When it comes down to it, Mobius can't help but believe in Loki. Doubt in the TVA takes root once his immediate anger dissipates. So Mobius steals Ravonna's TemPad, verifies Loki's claims, and immediately self-corrects. Mobius could have dug his heels in with more denial, but he doesn't. Why? Because Mobius ultimately cares more about Loki than himself.

When Mobius returns to Loki, he asks a few other questions that I can't share images for because of the 10-image limit. Those other questions include but are not limited to:

Do you care about Sylvie?

Do you really believe you deserve to be alone?

I should point out these questions are not at all tied to the well-being of the TVA or the multiverse. They are specifically tied to Loki's well-being. Loki's happinness.

Why does Mobius ask these questions? Because, in my opinion, Mobius was preparing himself to let Loki go, be with who he wants to be with (Sylvie), and fight the battle he wants to fight. Mobius will not be the obstruction to Loki's path to personal success even if that means letting go of the TVA, letting go of Ravonna, letting go of Loki himself.

All of this is a selfless act of love. What kind of love that is is up to the viewer, but it is very much there. It's real and integral to the story.

Classic Loki points out that this is a high cost. In response, Mobius takes the crux of his belief in Loki and directs it to himself.

The beauty of the goodbye scene in S1S6 is that the emotional thrust of selfless love is echoed and amplified in Loki's own self-sacrifice in S2E6. Loki lets go of the TVA, lets go of Sylvie, lets go of Mobius himself. Ouroboros.

[loki-us]

Welcome to my Mega Problematic Sylvie post

I wanted to make a list of everything problematic about Sylvie in s1 and s2 because she gets away with whatever she wants and it bugs me to no end that she never takes accountability for any of the pain she causes.

You have been warned. So let's get into it.

1. Sylvie’s way is the only way and she expects everyone else to just bend to her will without complaint

2. She is physically mentally and emotionally incapable of trusting anyone besides herself

3. She uses other people's emotions to manipulate them into getting what she wants

4. She refuses to even entertain the possibility that anything besides her own opinion is correct

5. She criticizes others' attempts to clean up the mess she caused while she herself does absolutely nothing about it

6. Always looking to ruin and run, taking the easy way out and avoiding any accountability

7. Puts her own need for revenge above the well-being of everyone else in the multiverse

8. Blames everyone else for the problems she herself caused

9. Insults everyone at the TVA for their lack of empathy despite it being the exact reason she didn't want to return in the first place. Every critique she delivers just illustrates how much of a hypocrite she is

10. Berates Mobius and all the people who are actually trying to fix her problem even though they never once blamed her for the mess they're in

11. Acts like she's doing everyone a favor just for being there and insulting everyone when in reality, Loki had to ask multiple times before finally getting her to return

12. Never willing to put in more effort than just destroying everything and walking away

13. Even when directly asked for her help, Sylvie straight up refuses. She couldn't care less about anything besides her McDonald's employee-of-the-month badge

14. Sylvie gaslights Loki into thinking they're the same, that she's not in the wrong because they're both only thinking of themselves. In reality, Sylvie is thinking only of going back to her own timeline, alone, while Loki is thinking only of making his friends happy, because that's what makes him happy too.

15. While being completely unsympathetic to Loki struggling with his greatest fear, Sylvie makes the decision that Loki's friend's are all better off where they are now. But is it really better for them, or just better for Sylvie?

16. And now, after 11 episodes and countless requests for Sylvie's help, she actually cares about the rest of the multiverse. And yet it's still solely because her own timeline is finally in danger

17. When Loki ends up sacrificing himself to solve the problem Sylvie created, her only response is a joyful shrug that she's now happy, alone, and responsibility-free.

Overall, I know Sylvie's only purpose as a character is to be a darker mirror of Loki and everything she does is understandably informed by her trauma. This is likely a result of having a limited-episode-series and having all male/not diverse writers creating female characters. Sylvie is used only as a comparison to Loki before he met Mobius, and unfortunately is never given any thoughtful character moments like Loki had showing how he was aware that his actions hurt others. In 1x1, Loki talks about how he doesn’t enjoy hurting people and only does it to maintain control. The only time we ever see Sylvie reconsider her actions is when she didn’t kill Timely, which I think is more because she saw herself in Timely as someone who didn’t want to be controlled by their ‘destiny,’ not because she developed any kindness or compassion toward him.

I understand the fact that Sylvie was never given someone like Mobius to allow her the opportunity to change like Loki did, but I don't think that should excuse her causing so much pain and being so self-centered. Sylvie never trusted or cared about anyone and that's also my biggest argument against Sylki; her loving or being driven by anyone besides herself is just so inconsistent with her entire character.

Anyway, my purpose here was not to be hateful or to search for any reason to criticize Sylvie, but instead to look critically at her character since I've seen a lot of people praise her as the strong, independent female Loki whose behavior can always be forgiven. Unfortunately, the way she was written is that Sylvie turned her own trauma into everybody else's problem and they all spent 2 seasons trying to clean up her mess. That's my take thank you and goodnight

[mcbride]

Daryl Dixon Rewatch S1E03 - Paris Sera Toujours Paris

this ep wasn't as good as the first 2, but we got to meet Fallou and Antoine, so they made up for what felt like another ep of Daryl absolutely done with everything while relentlessly looking for a radio or a boat.

i feel like Carol's "presence" has been a constant on this show, but in this ep more than ever. her name is not mentioned, but there's at least a couple of pieces of dialogue alluring to her existence, her importance in Daryl's life, and how she is the driving force behind Daryl's urgency to get back home. more after the jump....

so Nicotero got his walker orchestra, which was cool, but def not one of the reasons i watch the show. as Daryl said this was just a stupid detour and now we gonna start doing things his way!

it bothers me how these two warrior nuns are completely useless and helpless when they have to deal with a couple of walkers. in each case, Daryl had to "save" both Sylvie and Isabelle while they were stuck dumb looking at walkers dangerously approaching them. are they warriors/survivors or what?? writers do better!

Laurent spewing some philosophical bullshit about fortitude was top TWD gimmick - kids wise beyond their years are annoying to me! but if you know me, you know i legit dislike most kids written in apocalyptic shows. adding insult to injury, Laurent be like "Not to fret, Monsieur Daryl. You will not die in Paris." *eyeroll* legit. main character plot armor. thanks, captain obvious!

in the "make everything about Carol" segment, we got "La mort et le bucheron:" i think an analogy could be made about hope, and how when we are so close to losing it all is when we hang on tightly to something and finally feel the urge to live, but to do that we need to learn how to share our burden. and i think that applies to both Carol and Daryl, if they are to move on, evolve, take the next step, they must be willing to share, to talk openly, and share their burdens with each other- let the other carry a bit of their weight.

it will never not be hilarious to me how Fallou continuously ignores Daryl's request for a radio, until he introduces him to Antoine, the pigeon guy, and their only form of communication. Daryl is SOOOO done with y'alll.

most interesting lines in the whole ep are about pigeons, heck yas! "Maybe he has a girlfriend... yes? We all have a person who waits... who waits for us somewhere." Daryl's face screamed CAROL and her name has never even have been mentioned on this show YET!!!!!

Daryl and Isa have a moment when she says they are the same, "broken until the world ended." YEAH, NAHHH. not the same! sorry girl, but your bohemian lifestyle chosen by yourself got nothing to do with how Daryl was forced to grow up and survive even before the zpoc.

omg Daryl's idiot longing face looking at the water lilies, saying it reminds him of home... and all i can think about is when Daryl took Carol to watch those Cherokee roses blooming as an apology back in s2 of the original show. that's art!!!!!!

and once again, i am not disappointed Daryl is a true man of honor, and wouldn't let Isa and Laurent suffer the consequences for a shot at getting a boat to return home. it's a very Daryl thing to do, and Isa called him out on it.

AND FINALLY she tells us something we did not know.... Daryl made a promise to whom is not revealed to get back home, and that's all he cares about. he doesn't deny it!! HE CANNOT

Daryl is just so ready to leave AGAIN!!! but not without first telling Isa she's good at making things up (ouch!!), but she needs to tell Laurent the truth.

then Daryl becomes the most reasonable person ever to have ever existed. he says, "maybe he's just a regular kid, a regular kid that got lucky and lived. maybe that's your miracle." 👏👏👏 - that's Daryl being the most Daryl since ever, calling out the bullshit, and keeping shit real. i love this show for bringing him back!

Laurent runs, Codron arrives... "the reasons are everywhere." once again, right when Daryl was leaving again, something happens that stops him from doing so. the universe works in mysterious ways indeed cause what he doesn't know is that he needs to stay around so Carol can find him, and she's on her way there already!

See y'all next week for ep 4!!!

42 days left until the premiere of THE BOOK OF CAROL!!!!!

[ladymorghul]

I think what annoys me the most about arguing Aegon is a victim of his marriage is they won’t extend that logic to anyone else. By that decree, Daemon was a victim; Viserys married him to Rhea to secure the Vale, and he was a teenager. In the main series, is Joffrey a victim when he’s betrothed to Sansa at 14? Maybe he was only abusing people because he was afraid to be with her. It’s a laughable take that refuses to acknowledge the sexism of Westeros and the way Helaena’s only purpose in this family is to have Aegon’s babies. Even young Aemond calls her “[Aegon’s] future queen.” That is what she is, for her entire life; she exists to secure his claim.

They want to say Aegon hates incest (a headcanon never suggested or substantiated in the show, he says he doesn’t want Helaena because “she’s an idiot” and they have nothing in common, not because she’s his sister). But then they also want to argue even though he hates incest, he loves his wife and has consensual sex with her. But only when he’s drunk, because the relationship is so traumatizing to them both. I can’t even put this blame on Tom, because all he said on it was “Aegon didn’t want to marry his sister, he didn’t want this life” which is what we see in the show! (I can blame him for the idea that Aegon, who fully deserts his remaining child with the man who twice tried to murder him, is a loving and caring father, but different discussion.)

This is long, it’s just so frustrating to see this concept passed around by people who either don’t want to think critically about AWOIAF and Westeros, or are misogynistic enough to believe Aegon was the victim here, and not Helaena. They didn’t even marry in the show at exceedingly young ages for Westeros; the twins are 4 in series 2, and Aegon is ~22. The script for 1.09 has Helaena at 20 and the twins I believe are just mentioned to be toddlers. But these are then the same people who spent two years saying Madam Sylvi raped and groomed Aemond, when Aegon would also be the abuser there. If they can acknowledge a 13 year old being taken to a brothel against his will is “problematic”, can they not realize who would be hurt in this marriage? The 16 year old forced to have her brother’s babies and do nothing else or the 18 year old who spends his time raping women and watching children fight each other? Nevermind that he again takes a young teenager to lose his virginity in this season. We aren’t meant to see him as a sex pest at all 🙄

yeah, you make a lot of good points here and unfortunately we have reached a point where we can't discuss the negative aspects of aegon without aegon stans jumping you because their love for aegon has blinded them to his faults and pushed out any critical discussion about his character.

and it's like they try to say "we know he's not good" but then they don't let anyone bring up any of his faults without getting piled on for being a "hater" as if any talk about the negative aspects of his character automatically means you hate his character.

and i definitely agree there's a lot of misogyny from some of his stans in addressing his position in relation to helaena and it's really sad people can't understand how they're not equals in the family or in the westerosi society.

as for tom.. i think it's a bit more nuanced. i believe that the writers were set on overkill for him (what we saw in s1 + not knowing valyrian + being asked to ride sunfyre like he doesn't know how, etc.) and there's likely things that he discussed with the writers that he thought were good for aegon's story that never translated to the screen, which happened with multiple actors on this show. OR not being fully aware of what the character was up to because they were given limited knowledge from the writers. we also have to remember that at the time of the promo tour, at least half of the season was still being edited. you never know if everything you've filmed will make it to the screen and there's times when actors shoot the same scene with different perspectives (kieran burton talked about how they had quite a few versions of the bracken blackwood scene including one where davos is crying which is so different than what we actually got to see on screen)

but yeah, i definitely agree that it's a problem and a lot of aegon stans are lashing out at anyone addressing these negative aspects of his character. and look it's fine to hate the writers' choices for him, there's definitely writing choices i genuinely dislike when it comes to aegon, but the truth is that whether you hate those choices or not they are show canon and people will address them.

[lokiondisneyplus]

Sophia Di Marto [sic] knows why the Marvel Studios breakout series “Loki” was so successful creatively. It was partially due to the casting. Much of it was in the writing and the direction, but mostly, it was about the dynamic between the title character, played by Tom Hiddleston, and Loki’s multiverse doppelganger, Sylvie, portrayed by Di Marto herself.

“Some of it’s in the writing, some of it’s in what Tom does, a little bit of it’s what I do, but that it’s how these two characters rub each other up the wrong way,” Di Marto says. “They’re so similar but so different. And I think that fine line between the two is what’s really entertaining to watch because they know exactly how to wind each other up. Sylvie knows exactly how to wind Loki up and audiences love watching Loki being wound up. So, it’s just really entertaining and that’s part of the chemistry because they sort of hate each other, but love each other and will always be connected now. So it is this really specific dynamic, which is a massive gift to be able to play with.”

Over the course of our conversation centered on season two, Di Marto reflects on whether Sylvie found peace at the end of season two, how the stunt choreography keeps her in shape, what new directors Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead brought to the series, and much, much more.

____

The Playlist: First of all, I have to tell you, that even though it aired last fall, “Loki “is still one of my favorite programs from the past 12 months. I just thought it was so well done.

Sophia Di Martino: Thank you.

When you found out you were coming back for season two, did you have an idea already of where Sylvie’s arc was going to go?

No, I had absolutely no idea until I read the script and then I had to read the script like three times because it was quite confusing.

Did Eric Martin, who was the head writer, sort of sit you down and give you a heads up, this is where we’re going, this is how we see her?

I’m trying to remember exactly what happened. If anyone sat me down, I think Tom might have given me because an executive producer as well, so he’s more involved in the writing and all the behind-the-scenes stuff. I think he may have given me a little headline sort of idea of what the second series was about, but I didn’t really know what would happen until I read the scripts. And then as we’re shooting, it’s changing all the time as well. The main structure is the same, but it’s really a moving beast and a big collaboration. So we’re rewriting it all as we go with Eric.

After reading the initial scripts, did you at least think to yourself, “O.K., we’re going to get to a point at the end of the season where Sylvie is at least at peace?” Or do you think part of her is still out for some sort of revenge”

I dunno if she’s at peace at the end of series two. I don’t think she goes back to Oklahoma. I don’t think she tries to get that peaceful human life again. I think she’s on another adventure, but I dunno. I feel like she just keeps casting an eye over what’s happening with Loki and with Sylvie. I don’t think she’s ever going to be truly at peace. I think she’s a sort of natural-born fighter. I think she’s only ever truly herself when she’s fighting for something. So she’s perhaps gone to look for the next fight.

Do you think that’s the big difference between her and her alternate timeline version of Loki played by Tom? That’s the inherent difference because Loki doesn’t seem to always want to fight.

I don’t think he wants to fight, but he has something within him that’s unfinished and he’s always searching for his glorious purpose. And I think they’re both doing that in slightly different ways.

And I know every member of the media that you’ve spoken to has asked you this in some way, but have you been given any tea about whether Sylvie will continue looking for her glorious purpose down the road?

I have no idea. They’ve told me nothing.

Do you like that in a way?

Yeah, I mean, because if you can just get on with your life until you get a phone call that says you have to be somewhere at a certain point, do something. Yeah, it’s an exciting part of it.

Was there any scene or moment in particular where you were like, “O.K., this is a moment that I’m going to have to dig deep into. This is a tougher scene than maybe I might’ve expected this day”?

The scene that was most interesting to play was that moment in McDonald’s when Loki and Sylvie meet again for the first time. I don’t think there were hardly any lines in that scene. Maybe she says, “Are you going to order something or not?” And it is very sparse the dialogue, but there’s so much unsaid, there’s so much acting going on and they look at each other for the first time. And that was really, really cool to get to play that. It’s bumping into your ex for the first time.

And I’m guessing there is not a lot of rehearsal time correct? It was mostly working it out on the scene on set.

Oh yeah. Yeah. The only rehearsals that we got were some choreo or some fight stuff. Yeah, we didn’t get much rehearsing for the actual dialogue scenes, but I like it that way.

Do you feel like there’s more spontaneity?

For me? Yeah. I like to rely on my intuition and my spontaneity.

Well, I always heard that when you put good actors together should get good results. But this cast in particular had such great chemistry. Even in season one. Do you think that that was just luck? Is it just the talent of the actors?

I think it’s also the characterization. Some of it’s in the writing, some of it’s in what Tom does, a little bit of it’s in what I do, but that it’s how these two characters rub each other up the wrong way. They’re so similar but so different. And I think that fine line between the two is what’s really entertaining to watch because they know exactly how to wind each other up. Sylvie knows exactly how to wind Loki up and audiences love watching Loki being wound up. So, it’s just really entertaining and that’s part of the chemistry because they sort of hate each other, but love each other and will always be connected now. So it is this really specific dynamic, which is a massive gift to be able to play with.

I know you had stunt doubles for a lot of it, but you did do a lot of your own action choreography, correct?

Yeah, yeah. We learn it all and then they sort of swap it and change it when they need to make it look better.

Was it fun? Is that stressful as an actor to have to do that stuff compared to just regular scenes?

I love it. It was a really great opportunity for me. I mean, I was like three months postpartum on the first [season]. It was a great opportunity for me to get fit. I don’t go to the gym. I was the most unfit person when I started, so it really kicked my ass into gear. But I really enjoyed it. And it’s watching the finished product, it just makes you feel like an absolute badass, even though it’s not me. Some of it is not me. It feels great to be a part of it, and it really helps me get into character as well as Sylvie because she’s such a brawler. She loves fighting so much. I’ve realized that I do too. And I’ve carried on. I box a couple of times a week, and I really enjoy the feeling of being able to channel my aggression somewhere. And as a woman, I think it’s quite rare to be able to be given the opportunity to be able to be aggressive and I love it.

At least for season two, do you recall one sequence or set piece that was tougher than any of the others?

There was two of the fighting stuff. I’m trying to remember. The stuff on the Ferris wheel was quite tricky because the space was quite small and there were wires. We were doing wire work, so that was tricky. And a lot of it gets changed last minute. So, you learn the sequence and then they figure out how they’re going to shoot it, and then they realized you can’t do the sequence anymore, so you have to do a different sequence. And so a lot of it is learning choreo on the fly and changing it up and doing something different that works for the camera. So, that was challenging. And I remember I had to throw the TVA guidebook and I couldn’t get it in the right place. Things like that, take ages to try and do. In the first series, there’s a sequence where a knife lands right next to my face, and one of Loki’s daggers stands right next to my face. Little things like that take hours.

In the final episode, you have a great moment when Loki continues to go back to sort of the workroom area where you guys all keep getting killed again and again. And Sylvie sort of imparts on him one last time about what he needs to do. Do you remember that scene that I’m talking about?

Is it in Key’s workroom or the Key Lime Pie?

It’s the last time that we see that version of Sylvie. The spaghetti is coming to sort of wipe her away. It’s before he goes back and realizes that he has to go into the…

Oh, yeah.

I don’t know if you remember that scene, but it seems like such a rich moment for Sylvie. I was wondering, did those moments at least sit with you at all about how emotional Sylvie’s connection had become with Loki?

Yeah, definitely. And I think she’s the spokesperson in a way for his friendship group. It becomes a real ensemble by the end of series two. It’s not just Sylvie. He’s made quite a few friends and they’ve become almost like a little bit of a team and he’s watching each one of them disappear. And I think Sylvie’s the last one to be turned into spaghetti. And that’s the moment where he realizes he needs to figure out how to control this time slipping so he can change what’s happening because otherwise, he’s going to lose everyone.

The drop-off between season one and season two from Kate Heron to Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead was almost non-existent. They certainly have their own directorial style, but the quality is just so good. Can you talk about what they’re like to work with as directors on set and what you thought they brought to the series?

They are so relaxed at times. I was like, “Why are you so relaxed? It’s making me feel nervous. Why are you so confidently cool and calm?” They just know exactly what they want and what they’re going to do. And they have their own style and they’ve done a bunch of indie films, so they’ve done their time and know how to do it, and they know how to work with each other so well. I dunno if it’s about something to do with being two of them so they can share their stress or something just so chilled out and so open and collaborative and funny and just so easy.

I know you recently wrapped “The Radleys” with Damian Lewis. It’s a horror vampire comedy, right? Can you talk about it at all?

Honestly, I dunno when it’s going to be released, but it’s a vampire movie about a family of vampires trying to live in suburbia and not drink blood.

And it’s funny. It’s hopefully funny.

Hopefully. Yeah.

[charcubed]

Look, I personally lose nothing if Lokius doesn’t become explicit canon. And if that were to become the case, I’d also have no regrets for saying for years that that would happen in the show by the end ¯_(ツ)_/¯

I’ve said it before, but by now it would be Disney/Marvel’s loss, NOT mine. Whoever wasted or limited the potential would be the idiot, not me.

I’m simply never gonna feel crazy for noticing what’s happening in a story or silly for daring to hope it’ll be brought to fully satisfying narrative completion. That's just a me thing. Maybe this is because at heart I’m stubborn! But I’d like to think I’m not unreasonable. I can’t control whether writing stays consistent or censorship is overcome... But I just do my best to construct solid arguments, and as long as those arguments remain solid, I stand by them :)

I know not everyone would say the same, or they consider this to be "hope" or "optimism," but I see it as logic based in noticing what the text of a show/story is doing. And personally I also consider blatantly evident subtext to be "canon enough," so if we get my personal minimum, my happiness may still outweigh any potential disappointment for me.

However. Here's what I've come here to say today, in reaction to things I've seen floating around in the fandom:

While I do understand on some level why people worry that Lokius won’t be more explicitly canonically romantic because it could be censored by Disney.... At this point, I don’t understand how people can think Loki/Sylvie will still happen.

As of right now, there’s no way to argue for that in my opinion. (I'd like to see someone try.)

The show has set up a fun but very simple situation from basically the start:

They made romantic love a point of relevance in the show’s story. More specifically, they pointed out Loki's desire for a "real" romantic love, and had him learn the lesson that he doesn't deserve to be alone. They didn't HAVE to do all of those things and tie them together. They CHOSE to make romantic love relevant – and they have actively continued to choose to do that, to the point of including a mirrored dark love triangle in s2 ep3. That narrative thread simply has to be fulfilled.

So if they deliberately established that Loki wants and needs a “real” love, and his relationship with Sylvie was referred to as "fiction" so she cannot be a real love for him.... Who does it have to be?

Obviously it has to be Mobius. And of course, the whole show points to Lokius also, for countless more reasons than just this simple breakdown. But pointing this element out is the simplest argument one can make.

So either...

1. They take Lokius to full narrative completion with explicit canon, as they should and as I expect them to,

or

2. Loki's desire for a real love is left unfulfilled, open-ended, and/or made clear through subtext that it's Mobius.

Those are the options, if you ask me!

This is aside from how Lokius’ love story is now even at the core of the show’s themes and plot, which is an insanely strong vote in favor for their future canonicity.

But for the purposes of this post, I’m talking about whether we'll get explicit romance specifically, like a love confession or a kiss – and I do actually genuinely think we'll get both of those things. I'm not trying to force you to agree with me, but just to be clear, that's where I'm at with it and have been since 2021 lol.

So in regards to worrying about Loki/Sylvie...

They were never really a romance (yes, even in season 1) and they sure as hell aren't now. I can’t imagine they'll become one even IF Lokius is left subtextual.

So what actually remains to be seen is if the writers got to go all the way with Lokius, or if that central queer love story was censored on some level in the end.

My hot take is no one should be ~worrying~ about Sylki at this stage of the game. Free yourselves, people.

If the story starts abruptly going in a Sylki direction, even with only 3 episodes left, I will certainly be the first to say so lol. But I simply sincerely, truly doubt that'll happen.

(Hot take in the footer: this is not the post to get into this at length, but in case this comes up… In this house we do not use the word "queerbaiting." It is a useless, nearly-meaningless, insufferable term that devalues the legitimacy of subtext and queercoding more often than not; it's rooted in the idea that media must hit arbitrary and inconsistent checklists often set with cishet approval in mind; and it perpetuates a focus on the false and harmful myth that many creators are "cowards" instead of leaving room for nuance and the fact that industry censorship still exists.)

[bebx]

Honestly, I don't get how people can think that Sylki won't be endgame. Are they forgetting that it's Disney? Or that the writer is a Sylki shipper? Let's be realistic. I agree that it would make zero sense, but this argument is lame, because we know Marvel doesn't care and they're capable of doing that. I wouldn't be surprised if they rushed it and pulled "actually Sylvie has been in love with him the entire time, but she's been hiding it, trying to push him away, because she thinks she doesn't deserve love. But she got over it now." Not to be rude, but I feel like everyone who believes that Sylki won't happen is delusional. I really want Lokius to happen, not Sylki, but even the idea of Sylki not happening is too good to be true. I feel like those leaks are true.

the leaks, which came from several people who claimed to have seen the entire season (and they all said the same thing), were correct about Marvel’s revealing that Mobius has 2 sons in episode five. I know it’s just a “rumor” and there’s no way to know if they really did see the entire season, but tbh I expect Marvel to pull the Sylki endgame in the finale (like how those leaks also said they would do that, getting Loki and Sylvie back together in the last episode).

if I had to guess, I’d say it’d go exactly the way you said, that Sylvie was always in love with Loki all along, but didn’t think she deserved to be loved, hence why she tried to push him away.

I would love to be wrong, but I guess we’re all finding out soon.

also I wouldn’t call anybody delusional for thinking Sylki won’t be endgame or that Lokius will be canon, unless it’s in a joking manner where I’m also making fun of myself. but in all seriousness, I don’t think anybody is ever “delusional” for having opinions about which direction the show will go based on what was actually showed so far in the series. because if this weren’t Disney, I’d say Lokius would absolutely go canon, after all those hints and everything they gave us so far. Sylki parting ways as friends and Lokius going canon as a couple are very highly unlikely, but it’s not entirely impossible either.

as for the writer, if you mean Eric Martin, dude’s a troll (and I say this with respect lol nothing against him, I’m sure he’s a good person with good sense of humor), he’s always liked both Sylki and Lokius posts because he knows fans monitor his likes and I fully believe he’s doing it on purpose just to (playfully) mess with the audience. so I wouldn’t take whatever he liked on social media as a “confirmation” of anything, not even his personal opinion about which ship he thinks is “better”.

*and even if he does personally ship Sylki, it’d still be unfair imo to assume he only made Sylki endgame solely because he personally liked the ship. if he’s a professional writer, I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he had other reasons behind his writing choices that had nothing to do with his personal feelings, since after all, the characters belong to Marvel, not him. so his personal preferences shouldn’t be the only factor in deciding which direction things should go. (to be clear, what I mean is: it’s perfectly okay — and it is a good thing — to write a story based on how you, the writer, personally prefer, but I don’t think he’d make Sylki endgame just because he liked it without any other reasons involved when it’s still Marvel’s show and he was hired by Marvel, not his show, if that makes sense.)

[trutrustories]

Just some thoughts I have, immediately after viewing ep 6.

spoilers! oh my god, oh my god! I´m honestly relieved! Can you believe it??? I´m SO GLAD endindg didn´t ruin the show! Quite the opposite, actually! I think that with the context of this ending, they actually made season 1 much BETTER. which is like... complete surprise for me! What the hell???? I seriously didn´t expect that! AT ALL! 🤯 It was funny, It was clever, it was epic, and absolutely heartbreaking 🥺😭 Ouroboros, Casey, Timely, and Sylvie... they all survived, and can live they lives however they choose! O. B. making the sequel of his bestseller is the best thing ever! And he has friends now!!! My precious boy!!! Good for him! He deserves it! And Loki and Mobius both survived as well THANK GOD!!!! And they still remember each other! (I was prepared for much worse scenarios, to be honest.)

Anyway, I´m sucker, for bitter sweet endings. So I´m FINE. ....except I´m not.

Because It´s so fucking tragic at the same time!!! God, what a love story! (what isn´t denied is allowed, so... ) they ended it with two of them, alone. Mobius isn´t actually getting back to his boys, because they already have Don. But he didn´t want to stay at TVA because Loki is not there anymore.

Last few shots are Mobius, just standing there, watching life he can´t have and for the first time he is free to wonder around the world on his own. he´s able to WASTE HIS TIME now. And then we see right after Loki, stuck on his throne, alone. And it is implied that he was able to hear Mobius (or see him, even!) And he looks lonely, but also happy for his man!!! GOSH. I was crying like a baby. whole sequence from that scene in a theatre room right until the end! And that freaking music!!! I only have one complaint, and that being: we should see Mobius actually enjoy some JETSKI! Or even better: last shots should have been Mobius happily steering a jet ski on the open sea (wind in the hair and all) AND then Loki on his throne with a smile on his face (because he´s watching him). Last thing: there is actually so much potential, after this finale. If not for actual Marvel project, then for fanfiction writers and for imagination. They left so much room for the good stuff! 😍 For example:

Mobius struggling to addapt to normal life on a timeline. And then he somehow finds out, Loki can see him/ hear him. And he will starts talking to him. And because Loki is so alone and unable to go anywhere, this starts to be his source of fun. Something that makes him happy. And he finds way, to talk to Mobius back somehow... or

Loki will find out that he can travel to his past selfs without having to leave his throne. He stays there, but his mind can travel to his body at any point before.

I am actually mad, I have no time to write fanfics right know (but hey, my english is totally tragic and terrible, so it´s probably a good thing 😅)

Anyway. I feel sad, and also happy. And inspired and satisfied. And I´m still sobbing. All at once! It was beautiful, and I enjoyed every second of it! Can´t remember last time marvel actually managed to do that to me.

*standing ovation* I applaud to creators, actors and everyone involved. You guys did a fenomenal job! (at least that is how I see it)

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[rebellionsuite]

loki season two is starting to be promoted and here’s your reminder NOT to watch it

the loki show did damage to not only loki’s character as a whole, but to bisexual and genderfluid people as well.

for years, loki has been a comic character that is well known for their bisexuality and genderfluidity. a huge component to this was the ‘loki: agent of asgard’ series written by al ewing (a personal favorite of mine). many queer people opened up their arms to welcome this representation. had i known i was bisexual at the time that mcu loki was my favorite character ever, i just know i would’ve been ecstatic, which i was when the first looks at season one came out.

the first red flag should’ve been when it was revealed that in loki’s tva files, his sex was labeled as “fluid” when it’s actually his gender. i remember people being skeptical and wary about it but continued to hope for the representation that the cast promised in interviews beforehand. (if anyone is able to find which interview this was in, please let me know so i could link it.)

then as the series went on for the next six weeks, hopes of there being representation dwindled. there was the line of “a bit of both” when sylvie asked if loki courted princes or princesses and he assumed it was the same for sylvie, which was SOMETHING at the time! people were happy… for the first few days or so. we quickly realized that this was probably disney’s way of telling but never showing considering their infamous prejudice against lgbt+ rep. it was quite literally the bare minimum — a throwaway line so to say that could easily be forgotten by the average viewer. i recall that lots of people were huge shippers of loki x mobius and thought that maybe, just MAYBE, there would be something more explicitly romantic between them and hey, maybe there will be in season two! but it’s disney. you can understand that there’s not a whole lot of hope.

then comes loki’s genderfluidity. to start off, the whole existence of sylvie is the most damaging. in agent of asgard, loki has confirmed that no matter how she presents, she is always loki. there’s no “female/lady loki”, it’s all JUST loki. so to change up loki’s name, bleach her hair, and contradict whether or not she IS actually loki throughout the show is… questionable.

the line of “have you ever met a woman variant?” was just insane writing. all lokis can identify/present as women if they please!!! their shapeshifting abilities give them an advantage of presentation being easy for them, but all in all, every single loki can canonically identify as a woman. when that line was delivered, all the other loki variants looked confused as if they didn’t know. loki’s genderfluidity was never at the forefront of the writers’ minds, writers that were caught to be fucking weirdos on twitter! you can find what old tweets i’m talking about on twitter… but i digress. why would the loki variants not know such an integral part of their identity?

and the KISS. THE FUCKING KISS. we’re not angry that loki kissed a female-presenting character instead of mobius like many wished, no no no that’s not the big issue because bisexuals should never have to prove their bisexuality to anyone and they can kiss whoever the hell they want. we’re angry because loki kissed a female-presenting variant of HIMSELF. all throughout the first season, the writers went out of their way to try to differentiate sylvie from loki despite sylvie having been born as a loki variant, but there’s literally no way to separate sylvie from their lineage because at the end of the day, that’s who she was born as. no amount of bleach will change that fact. (i hope i made this easy to understand; not a lot of people get why this is an issue.) and regardless of whether or not that kiss was romantic, the fact that it even HAPPENED was a slap in the face to genderfluid fans of loki, and if the leaks for season two are right, that whole thing between the two will be continued since most of the season one writers worked on season two as well.

on top of this awful rep, known abuser jonathan majors will be in season two as another kang variant. i’ve heard that marvel had bigger plans for him, but due to these allegations, they’re limiting his presence as seen in the trailer, obviously meaning that they know.

hence why i ask fans to boycott/simply not tune in for season two if you care about queer people. if you’re desperate to watch, at least don’t use disney+. just because s2d is gone doesn’t mean other websites don’t exist. i also recommend reading ‘agent of asgard’. if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me and please be respectful; your feelings about the show don’t dictate how hundreds of others feel, especially if their concerns are valid.

[alittlextrathatway]

What are some of your best and worst Brettsey moments?

What are some moments that inspire you to write or make you write because things need to be changed?

What are some storylines you wish the show had exploded with Matt and Sylvie as individuals and Brettsey?

Or times when the writers could have gone deeper?

Is there anything you want to write but feel apprehensive about or feel like you can't get it right?

Now that the Caseys have left Chicago I can answer this one. 🥺 Been saving it.

It’s so hard to narrow down BEST moments. I love the “You’re a little extra that way” conversation, Sylvie’s confession of feelings from 9x16, their love scene from that same episode, the first kiss in 9x02, and the eye contact at Molly’s from 9x02 as well. There’s more but those are the first ones that come to mind. Of course now I have to consider the BEAUTY that was their wedding ep which gave us SO MUCH. Their vows were perfect. Making out in the turn out room, also perfect. Sylvie escaping/running for her life and Matt tackling the guy and holding Sylvie for dear life after, again perfect.

As for worst, I’d say anything out of character. Matt’s 10x22 “I don’t know” always makes me mad because there’s no way someone who loves Sylvie as much as he does wouldn’t reassure her in that moment. The way the break up was orchestrated in 11x01 with Sylvie comparing her relationship to Violet’s or Stellaride’s or even Kyle’s, Matt and she not talking for two weeks — all of it felt forced and weird. Sylvie doesn’t normally compare herself to others like that and Matt wrote Sylvie a LETTER and put it in the mail in S10 when they kept missing each other. I’d say those.

I think a lot of what inspires me to write is less things that need to be changed and more things that need to be explained. Like the break up in 11x01 and Matt’s “I don’t know” in 10x22. Both those things made me want to dig in and take something that feels OOC to me and elaborate on it. That happened to me in S9 a lot. I wanted to really explore their perspectives, thoughts, traumas, and emotions in a way TV just doesn’t have a lot of time to do.

The biggest one for me is the trauma that resulted from Arnow. Matt’s guilt over Sylvie being hurt and Otis. Sylvie’s grief over losing Otis and exploring that grief as part of the reason she didn’t realize things with Kyle wouldn’t work sooner than she did. I feel like there was some excellent material there that could have been mined for them. The other one, that I was convinced the show was saving for the dating Brettsey era that we never really got, was meeting Brett’s birth father. After everything she went through with Julie, how would that go? Would he be as lovely as Julie was? How would Matt help her through it?

Times when the writers could have gone deeper for me is always going to be exploring trauma. I wanted to know more about Matt’s relationship with his dad. We saw Nancy and we heard about his dad from her but what were Matt’s memories like? How did he remember him? Also why didn’t Christie share Matt’s opinion on their mom or see the abuse? Was their dad partial to Christie? And for Sylvie, I wanted to know more about Harrison and Hope and how that dynamic shaped a young Sylvie. Harrison and Hope were clearly the gaslighting types and if those people were her childhood best friend and high school sweetheart then there must be more emotional abuse that she didn’t reconcile until after they were gone. I also would have liked to have actually met her parents or her brother.

As far as things I want to write but can’t, I have had an idea for a regency Brettsey AU FOR YEARS. I am not great with historical fiction/romance though so I’ve never seriously attempted to write it. But man do I want to. I think it would be full of so much yearning and tenderness.

Hopefully I answered all the questions you had! I LOVED THESE QUESTIONS. My favorite part of writing fanfic of these two is trying to get inside these people’s heads. They’re complicated and loving and generous but also have experienced great tragedies and faced abuse from people they loved. The fact that they find solace and safety in each other is breathtaking to me and so well deserved.

[afirewiel]

Loki, Sylvie, Sylki, and the Future of the MCU.

Firstly, as you may have heard, the MCU is reportedly scrapping the whole Kang storyline and replacing him with Dr. Doom. I have no doubt that this is in response to the domestic abuse allegations made against Jonathan Majors. The issue, however, is how are they going to write Kang out of the MCU? They spent years, both seasons of Loki, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania setting up a multiversal war with Kang's numerous variants. So how are they going to swap out Kang for Dr. Doom? They can't just pretend Kang never existed or was a threat. That would be absolutely terrible writing. The only thing I can think of is to have the Dr. Doom variants take out the Kang variants because they want to be the most powerful.

My next point of concern is Sylki and just what the MCU is going to do with it. I know that it can't be the main focus, not with so many other characters needed to fight the war. But I do want them to at least acknowledge it was a romance. The writers of Loki have said several times that it is a romantic relationship. It just didn't feel that strong in season 2 and I think they need to actually commit to the bit. Especially if, as I suspect, this is might be the last phase and end of the MCU.

I really don't want Sylvie and Loki's first reunion since the end of season 2 to happen off screen. It's something they need to show. So either a) only a short amount of time has passed when we get the reunion or b) HWR's tempad cannot take Sylvie to where Loki is. I say this part because I really hate the idea of Sylvie not going to find Loki quickly. Even Sophia said in a recent interview that Sylvie wouldn't leave Loki alone for long and the only way I will accept her not doing so is if she is unable to go to him. Plus, imagine the drama of their reunion if that ends up being the case.

Of course that is assuming that we get show-Loki (which it sounds like we are). I wouldn't mind getting movie-Loki, but not just him. If we only get one Loki, I want it to be show-Loki. What's the point of making him the God of Stories and replacing HWR otherwise if they're not going to have him participate in the multiversal war? And I'd hate to have the only Loki we get be one who doesn't know who Sylvie is. If they brought in both Lokis, though, they could really have some fun with it. Just imagine Sylvie meeting movie-Loki, quickly realizing it's not her Loki, and going "Damn! Wrong Loki!" and he just goes, "What are you talking about? I'm the only Loki!" Plus, it would be awesome to see how the two Lokis play off each other. Especially considering just how different their lives have been after the battle of New York.

Speaking of different versions of the same character, I know because this is dealing with the mutliverse, we are very likely to get variants of the other characters. And I'm fine with that, but the one character that I want our version of and not just a variant is Thor. I want our Thor to meet show-Loki and learn what he's done. It just wouldn't hit the same with a different version of Thor. And think about how much our Thor has lost. He's lost both of his parents, Loki (multiple times), Heimdall, Vlostagg, Hogun, Fandral, maybe Sif, his home, and now Jane. Yes, he gained an adopted daughter at the end of Love and Thunder, but that's just one gain compared to all of his losses. He needs to gain more. He needs Loki back. He needs to meet Sylvie and take her to heart as a sister (which he would totally do).

All in all, I guess you could say that I'm mildly optimistic about the future of the MCU.

[lokiinmediasideblog]

1 + 12 :D

The Loki fandom has more schisms than the Catholic church at this point. So I'll give multiple answers for the main schisms (pre-Loki series and including it).

character everyone gets wrong. If it's pre-Loki series and such, I think it's both Thor and Loki. And there's many variations of it. I think any characterization that flattens one into just good and the other as bad misunderstands these morally gray characters. With Loki, he's portrayed as a waifish and bookish boring character that can't fight/kill/or lie which takes the fun out of it and makes him seem rather pathetic and not!Loki complimented with either a sunshine himbo savior Thor or brutish evil Thor. With Thor, he's the precious sunshine cinnamon-roll with a purity of heart contending with Christ with either the waifish Loki, comedically murderously evil Loki, or just plain cruel Loki which makes Thor seem dumb and ridiculously gullible. The former is more popular in Tumblr in general, but casuals interpret it as the latter usually. And the comics pre-reincarnation have a lot of the plain cruel Loki with ridiculously gullible and Gary-Stu-ish Thor.

If we're including the Loki series, I'd say Mobius. I can't recognize him in most fanfics (and as such I don't read much Lokius) because most refuse to engage with the darker cannon aspects of his characterization and try to turn Lokius into Ineffable Husbands 2.0 which have nothing in common apart from some superficial level of edgy gothy man + white-haired desk job dude. This guy had access to every instance of Loki's life. Isn't that creepy? And he's responsible for the capture and pruning of many variants. There should be more fic where he's conflicted about his actions. Granted, I have a fanfic where he's terrible (dark!Mobius) and I specify it on the tags. I think the only time it's not annoying to mischaracterize characters is if the author is aware and warns of it in the tags because they're in a kick.

2. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them. I don't like telling people to like characters. I'll defend them if they get things wrong about them, but it just feels guilt-trippy to me. I know I get annoyed when people get guilt trippy for not caring about the W3 or Sif as much as I care for Loki (who has way more screentime and lines). Pre-Loki series, I think I like Heimdall more than the average Loki fan. I like that he also commits treason against Odin, not just Loki. I think the implications of the All-Sight make him interesting, though he doesn't have that much screentime. I like to portray him as conflicted over his responsibilities, and if I need some Gatekeeper to be an asshole to Loki, I make one up that preceded Heimdall and is responsible for Loki's overall dislike of Gatekeepers and why he learned to hide from the All-sight.

I understand why it happens because seeing everything is rather invasive and we live in a society with increased surveillance every fucking year. But I wish to avoid the "Black character is racist to fantasy race" trope. You can justify Loki learning to hide without pulling that trope, you know? Make up a gatekeeper before Heimdall (I'm not convinced he knew Loki was Jotun and that'd mean he was hired after Loki was adopted). You can make a story. I have plenty of HCs about Loki's distrust of Gatekeepers and that Heimdall was hired after a Noodle incident involving Loki that caused the previous Gatekeeper to quit. It's more interesting than just pure fantasy racism from the start.

If we're including the Loki series:

The character I think was unfairly hated was Sylvie. I say this for the level of vitriol the poor actress received. It's fine not to like Sylvie, but a lot of those posts claiming SdM and Sylvie are single-handedly responsile for "bad rep" when SdM has no influence on the script and it's a DISNEY show (notorious for executive meddling) is unfair and pointing fingers at the wrong direction. FOR THE MCU DISNEY+ SERIES THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE SHOWRUNNERS! THIS IS A VERY BAD PRACTICE AND INDICATIVE THEY'RE JUST CHURNING SHIT OUT!

I'm also of the opinion that the comics have more harmful tropes than the show's "self-cest" (specifically talking about Loki stealing Sif's body and Amora and Lorelei's noncon powers M.O.) but I often see the same people praising one and not the other because they think the comic book designs are more stylish. If the shoe doesn't fit, I'm not talking about you. BTW. Just some people I've seen.

[dailylogyn]

Well I enjoyed the loki show and I always loved loki and I don't get the hate for the show so what ever. It's still great. And yes I hate sylvie tho and would've love to see sigyn and loki in the mcu. No matter what tom hiddleston was perfect as loki

To each their own. I'm at least glad you enjoyed it.

I've actually had to force myself to step back at the end of both Season 1 and Season 2's finales and process what my issues were with the show -- what I liked, and didn't like. And now that I've done the same after Season 2, I think I've figured out why I overall didn't like the Loki Series as a whole...and it's mostly because of expectations I had for the show:

MY THOUGHTS/EXPECTATIONS FOR THE LOKI SERIES:

What I mean by "expectations" is: I thought the Loki Series would take over after where he was left off/escaped from in the Avengers (2012)-- a Loki struggling to accept his identity as a Jotun. The Loki who realized his whole life was a lie and the person he thought he was isn't who he ACTUALLY is.

I really thought the Loki Series writers would go into that and explore it and help Loki come to the point of Self-Acceptance and Self-Love...just not in the way they ended up writing it out with the TVA and everything we ended up getting.

And honestly, I wish they had actually explored more Loki Variants instead of briefly touching upon them (or mentioning them) and that's it. If they are getting into the concept of the Multi-verse, why not freakin explore the other Loki's too?! I want to know more about Kid Loki, Classic Loki, Gator Loki, etc. What was their universe like? How different was their life? What caused them to be pruned (we know Kid Loki's was 'killing' Thor, but what about the others?)

I also feel the Loki Series wasn't exactly focused on Loki himself. It felt more focused on the TVA and the whole Multi-verse storyline itself.

Now granted, we can argue that's because at the end of Season 2, Loki becomes the "God of Stories" and the new "He-Who-Remains", hence it being his story of how he became that all along...but I just feel they could have explored his story in a different way (but I do love & hate how Loki sacrifices himself to protect those he loves. It is what makes him Loki though...)

If I'm being serious though, this ending also feels like they killed him off just to bring him back and do it again...and again...like a cashgrab. Why can't we write a story about Loki being happy for once?

And a girl can still wish we had gotten Sigyn or Amora in the show...but like I said, I wasn't going to hold my breath for that one. ;) We know Marvel.

And yes, while I know some others may love Sylvie (and I honestly did at first), I'm glad they retconned the forced romance between them. However, I still wish we got the real Lady Loki.

Tom Hiddleston will always be our Loki. He's done a wonderful job, but I can understand why he would be done after all this. He needs a break (plus he has his wife and his own kid now.)

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Loki 2x6 Review (Spoilers!)

Phew, so that episode was quite the ride. Overall as an episode I really loved it. Were there some things I feel a bit conflicted about? Yes, but for the most part I thought it was an epic finale to the season, also I am pretty sure I cried my way through about 70% of this episode. Fair warning I have a lot of thoughts so this is another fairly long post, sorry bout that. So lets get into the episode.

Spaghetti Loops

The episode starts off exactly where we left off at the end of ep 5 and this is one of the very few predictions I made that actually came true, Loki just kept going back and trying it again and again trying to do it faster and poor Victor got spaghettified over and over. Now don't judge me ok, but I just found this whole sequence hilarious. Loki getting more and more exasperated every time it fails. Also the way everyone was looking at him like he had gone completely mad and being confused when he keeps saying again and faster this time because for them this is the first and only time its happened. I also loved when Loki gets the loom model out and says 'Mobius you're in luck. It looks like Mobius but its actually Victor Timely' about the little figurine. Loved the call back to the argument they had in ep 4.

Another moment that had me cackling like a mad woman was when after asking OB how long it would take to learn everything to know about mechanics, physics and engineering, and Victor answering centuries, it comes up with the centuries later text screen. This guy legit spent centuries learning everything he needed to know to make that multiplier faster, he's dedicated that's for sure.

A concept I did like about this sequence was how Loki would take all the things that go wrong each time and then ensure they don't happen the next time, like making sure Victor's suit is taped in all the right spots, that his visor is locked properly, that he doesn't trip on the first step, that he doesn't put down the multiplier so it won't roll off the gang way. Eventually he is able to guide Victor through a successful attempt. Well successful in the sense that he is able to get the multiplier to connect to the loom and make it back. I'll admit when they were celebrating and for a moment it looked like it had worked, my first instinct was nah this is too good to be true, it is way too early in the episode for this to be fixed. Which is when we learn that actually the Loom is impossible to fix.

A Looming Problem.

I felt so bad for Loki in that moment when they realise that the Loom can never be fixed because you can't scale for infinite. I mean he looked so damn relieved and happy when it seemed as if it had worked, poor Loki had done that scenario and watched it fail who knows how many times and for a moment it finally seems like its going to be ok but then you realise the terrible truth that all your efforts will always be futile.

I do feel like the whole sequence before that was played off in a very comedic way despite the scenario actually being rather dark, Loki has to watch Timely and his friends die over and over. But I do think choosing to give it this comedic tone was a genius move on the writers' and producers' part as it puts the audience in a good mood, so when the moment when both the characters and we the audience learn the Loom melting down is always doomed to happen, its even more of a gut punch. It really puts you in Loki's shoes, like him you're on a high and then you just get dragged right down with this drastic tonal shift.

Sylvie saying that as soon as the timeline branched this was doomed to happen gives Loki the idea to go back and try to stop her from killing HWR. I loved the scenes that took place in the citadel particularly the conversation between Loki and HWR. I loved how it seemed like once again HWR is the one in control and in the know. He reveals to Loki that the time slipping, Victor and the Loom were all part of his plan too. That the Loom was actually a fail safe to protect the sacred timeline and a way to ensure his own resurrection. It also explains why everyone was sent to their branches when the Loom exploded. HWR says that the TVA was collateral and easy to rebuild, so the Loom resets everyone and then HWR just goes around and collects them all and on and on it goes.

I love when Loki stops time and its revealed that actually Loki is the one that is a step ahead of HWR and has already had that conversation with him. I really loved that moment. When HWR tells Loki that the equation always has the same outcome, loki loses, Loki decides to 'change the equation'. This reminded me so much of the end of ep 5 when he says he'll rewrite the story. His plan is to just break the loom. I think it is interesting that HWR actually looks surprised by this. He immediately starts trying to manipulate Loki into not doing that. In episode 4 Sylvie wonders if HWR was scared when she killed him and she just didn't notice, well I can't help but wonder the same now, is HWR scared in this moment, is he scared because he knows that Loki could destroy the Loom and if he does then all of HWR's plans come crumbling down, Sylvie will kill him and with no Loom there's no failsafe, no resurrection.

HWR's response to this is to try and scare Loki into doing what HWR wants. Its like what Loki said in 1x01, its an illusion conjured by the weak to inspire fear. The illusion being this threat, if you destroy the loom there will be a war that will kill and destroy everyone and everything. Now I don't think he's lying about all of it. I do think with HWR gone there will end up being a multiversal war between his variants but do I think this war will kill everyone and destroy every timeline? Nope! This is a superhero franchise so obviously our heroes are going to band together and save the day.

Before the episode was released I made a prediction post, well there was one thought that crossed my mind that I didn't put in that post because it was more of a deep fear than a prediction and I didn't want to accidently manifest it into being. That unwritten prediction (fear) was that as a last, nothing else has worked so this is the only option left, move Loki would go back to the citadel and kill Sylvie. So you can imagine my distress when we first have Sylvie, repeatedly, saying you'll have to kill me. Then HWR says Loki has two options, destroy the Loom and unleash a war that destroys everything, or kill Sylvie and protect what you can, ie the TVA and the sacred timeline.

My immediate reaction to this was something along the lines of, no, no, NO, NOO! Not going to lie they had me going, I really thought they were going to go through with it and have Loki sacrifice Sylvie to protect everyone else. Especially when he goes back to speak to her in timeline OB's workshop. And I will come back to that scene in a moment but first I want to talk about how great the transition was between the scene where HWR lays out the two options and you see Loki looking at Sylvie as he slowly approaches her and then you hear Mobius asking 'What are you going to do?' and then we're back to when Loki was first arrested and interrogated by Mobius.

What is really interesting about this scene is that looking back at it now they give us the answer to the question here, they tell us what Loki is going to do, past Loki tells us himself, when Mobius asked what he was going to do he replies, 'Finish what I started... Claim my throne.' Then when Mobius asks if he wants to be king, Loki responds 'I don't want to be. I was born to be." Throughout the whole franchise this idea has been pushed that Loki was born to be a king, he says it multiple times himself, but Odin also tells him as a child that even though only one of his sons could sit on the Asgardian throne they were both born to be kings. Come the end of this finale Loki is now on his throne. There is also this idea of Loki being burdened with glorious purpose that's repeated throughout the franchise and that is something else we see him find in this episode. I just find it funny that they told us all the way back in 1x1 what choice Loki was going to make in the season 2 finale. One little detail I like is that both ep 1x1 and ep 2x6 have the same title 'Glorious Purpose.' It's a neat way of bringing it all full circle.

The story Mobius tells about the hunter and the 8 year old boy he couldn't prune was also really interesting to me. Firstly because it reveals that Mobius, like Renslayer, was once a hunter before he became an analyst. Also that Renslayer was his partner which explains their bond. I do wonder if the reason why Mobius couldn't prune this boy was because he was just a kid playing with his brother and maybe subconsciously it reminded him of his own boys and even though he didn't remember them, some protective instinct kicked in and stopped him from pruning the boy.

I also feel like this story about the boy is supposed to be a mirror to Sylvie's own story. They were both kids who were minding their own business playing, when the TVA showed up and destroyed their realities. In the boy's case he was pruned to boot. In both instances it was Renslayer who was the responding hunter. I think its fascinating that Loki is trying to make this impossible decision on whether he should kill Sylvie and in that moment he is told a story that has to have reminded him of Sylvie and how she was a little girl who had everything ripped away from her.

Whilst they told us in that scene with Mobius what Loki would ultimately decide to do, obviously whilst watching the episode I hadn't figured that out yet, so when Loki went to see Sylvie right after this scene, the moment in timeline OB's workshop that I promised I'd come back to, I was filled with dread. To me at first it seemed like a goodbye scene and like he had gone there to kind of explain why he was going to have to kill her. I am not ashamed to admit that I did tear up at that moment, the mere thought that they might go through with having him kill her for 'the greater good' was heartbreaking to me.

But once I had pulled myself together I rewatched that scene and what is really interesting about it is how it parallels and links to their pie room scene. In the pie room scene you had Sylvie saying that it would be easier to destroy the TVA and start from scratch and Loki saying fixing things is hard, hope is hard. Here in this conversation those two ideas combine and meet. You have Sylvie explaining to Loki that growing up in apocalypses taught her that sometimes its ok to destroy something and that's when Loki realises and finishes for her 'if there is a hope that thing can be replaced by something better.' Loki is being asked to make the hard choice and here Sylvie is asking him to have hope that destroying the loom will lead to something better which links back to what Loki said in the pie room, hope is the hard choice and therefore the choice he chooses.

King of Time

Sylvie asks Loki some really good and deep questions in this scene as well which I think influences the decision he makes. She asks him what kind of god he wants to be, whether he really wants to be the kind that takes away people's free will, aka the god he was in the first Avengers film. She also kind of points out that he is asking the wrong questions. He's asking what good is free will if everyone is dead and she's asking but who are you and what right do you have to make that decision for everyone. They have the right to chose to die trying, fighting for something better. I just think its a really interesting debate.

Another little clever detail that I noticed is that after making his decision when he timeslips into the loom room the aura reader announces 'welcome he who remains.' Loki is about to become the kind of new HWR and it's almost like they are announcing it in that moment.

So now we get to the hard part, and yes I did bawl like a baby during this whole scene. Loki heads down into the Loom and looking back to where Sylvie and Mobius are behind the locked doors he says. 'I know what I want. I know what kind of god I need to be. For you. For all of us.' Again I think this is a parallel back to the bar scene between Sylki where she asks him what he wants and also the scene in this episode where she asks what kind of god he wants to be. I know there is some debate over whether Loki was speaking to Sylvie or Mobius or both here when he said 'for you.' Personally while I do think it was partly to both I do think it was mostly directed towards Sylvie. My reasoning being that it was a reference to those conversations he had with Sylvie alone.

The scene where he was walking down the gangway and his clothes turn into his new King of Time outfit was stunning, like breathtakingly so. Him breaking the loom and setting the timelines free was also really beautiful imagery. There's a moment when Loki reaches for one of the blackened branches and tries to bring it to life with his magic but the moment he lets go it begins to die again and that's when he realises that he is going to have to weave the branches and hold them stable himself. It's such a bittersweet moment as he takes one last look back at the ones he loves and cares for before making the hard, the impossible choice to isolate himself at the end of time. Again the scene where he is weaving those branches together and the way what once was HWR chair turns into a pure golden throne that Loki takes his seat in, stunning, visually it was stunning.

Yggdrasil

Just when I thought nothing could be more stunning than that sequence the camera panned out and showed us that the timelines were now woven together in the form of a breathtakingly gorgeous tree. I mean it was such a stunning image that I want to get a copy to frame and put on my wall.

But I am sure I am not the only one who saw it and instantly thought of Yggdrasil, the world tree of Norse Mythology. So here I have, well I don't know if I would call it a theory or not, but a thought at the very least.

So something that I think is really interesting that I think might possibly have some significance later on, maybe, is that in some versions of the myths around Yggdrasil (there are different and varying accounts and sources) the tree has three main roots. One is rooted in Midgard, the realm of men. The second is rooted in Jotunheim, the land of the giants and the third is rooted in Hel, the underworld.

I think these three roots are symbolic of Loki, Sylvie and Mobius. Mobius would represent Midgard, he's a human who had a life on Midgard. Sylvie would represent Jotunheim, as a Loki variant she would have been born on Jotunheim and is a frost giant. Then Loki would represent the root for Hel, he's currently at the end of time and in season one to get there you had to go through the void and when Loki first woke up there he asks if its Hel, it definitely has that imagery or symbolism of an underworld.

I don't know exactly what this could mean going forward but I think the three of them are going to be the key to keeping the tree together and protecting it. Or I could be looking too much into it.

Sylki

So anyone who has seen any of my previous posts will know that I am huge sylki fan, so obviously I have to talk about them in this review, feel free to skip over this section if you aren't a fan of sylki.

But anyway, before this episode I was of the opinion that if we didn't get a kiss or at least a scene where they talked about their feelings and cleared the air, then I would be really disappointed, and whilst yeah it would have been nice to get those scenes I am surprisingly not disappointed because in my opinion what we got might have been even better, or at the least just as good. After this episode I am in no doubt that these guys love each other, Loki was particularly obvious about it.

I've said in previous posts that in my opinion everything Loki has done this season has been for Sylvie. His motivation was simple, what he wanted was simple, he wanted Sylvie to be ok. This episode is no different it only further reinforces that this is Loki's desire.

He is faced with this impossible choice kill Sylvie and save everyone else, or risk everything by protecting the free will Sylvie gave everyone, that she fought for. Give her the chance to live a life. HWR I think thought Loki would choose himself, would choose to sacrifice Sylvie to ensure he wouldn't be alone and so that he could get a throne. But I think HWR underestimated the love Loki felt for Sylvie. I mean he replayed that citadel fight over and over because he was not willing to hurt Sylvie even to stop her from killing HWR. Again it all circles back to what Loki said in 1x6, he doesn't want to hurt her, he doesn't want a throne he wants her to be ok, and this is something HWR doesn't understand and that is why he loses.

The moment when Loki chooses to sacrifice himself for her is so heartbreaking, the way Sylvie immediately followed him down to the loom and how she desperately said she had to get in there when she realised what he was doing. There is also a moment when the portal thingy opens to the end of time and Loki knows what he has to do, he looks back to Sylvie and she shakes her head at him, he just gives her this sad smile and does what he needs to do. It reminded me so much of the moment in 1x5 when Sylvie says they need a distraction for Alioth and Loki puts a hand on her shoulder, Sylvie shakes her head because she doesn't want him in danger. It was clear how deeply she cared about and loved him, it was just so bittersweet.

Sylki's romance in season 1 was very different from season 2, last season they were very flirty and cute whereas this season has been mostly angst thanks to the fall out after the citadel in 1x6. But I still think it was still a romance in season 2. Loki sacrificed his own happiness for Sylvie, there are so many quotes out there about sacrifice being the purest form of love and I think that is what they were going for here. Loki choosing to sit at the end of time and hold the timelines together was the burden he chose to carry for her, what's more romantic than that? I mean it hurts and it sucks and makes me want to cry, but its still the epitome of romance.

Also I couldn't help but see the parallel between Thor choosing to destroy the bridge and therefore separating himself from Jane for the greater good and Loki choosing to trap himself at the end of time away from Sylvie to protect her and his friends, as well as the greater good. Both brothers end up away from the women they love in an act of heroism. The glimmer of hope for me is that Jane searches for Thor, eventually they are reunited. I'm just saying Sylvie still has that tempad. I would love if we get to see these characters again in a season 3 or other Marvel project, if we find out that Sylvie has been searching for a way to free Loki but still keep the branches stable. Maybe she could even team up with thor and mobius. Or she could seek out Wanda or Dr strange to get more magical knowledge. The possibilities are endless.

After

So lets talk about the ending and where everyone ends up starting with B-15, Casey and OB. So I like that they all stayed at the TVA and that B-15 seems to be kind of running the show. I also loved that OB wrote another TVA guidebook edition 2, I feel like it might be a bestseller. I also love that it is yellow as that colour symbolises optimism and the promise of a positive future which I think will be good for the TVA going forward. Another thing of note and which I really loved was that when they show the new TVA with its new 'growing together' propaganda posters, everyone look really happy and content, like they've got this new purpose and its one they feel good about.

Well everyone looks happy but Mobius. Both his and Sylvie's endings were left very, very open. I do get the sense that they are both feeling lost now that Loki is gone. That could be why Sylvie seeks Mobius out, she knows he too feels lost without Loki. When asked what she's going to do now Sylvie shrugs because she doesn't know, which is interesting to me because if she is happy on her branch like she has been saying all season, why wouldn't she just say she's going back to her life there? Unless Marvel have other plans for her character. Same with Mobius we don't know what he's going to do next. Though the door for him to return to the TVA has been left open with B-15's offer that there is always a seat for him if he wants it.

Ok so let's talk about Loki. Now can I appreciate the character development of Loki going from the selfish, narcissistic god who wanted a throne and who tried to take away people's free will, to a hero who sacrifices himself for the greater good and to ensure people get to keep their free will. Yes. Do I think it was hella romantic that he chose this path because he couldn't bear to hurt Sylvie? Oh yes that was some real romantic stuff right there. Do I think his arc was well written? It was, beautifully so. Am ok with Loki ending up trapped at the end time alone, something he feared? ABSOLUTELY-FRIGGEN-NOT!!! What the hell marvel! Honestly if this is the end of the story for this character then Marvel and I are going to have issues going forward.

A Glimmer of Hope?

The first thing I did this morning was hop onto google to see if there was any information on whether we'll get a season 3 because I had seen alot of talk about season 2 wrapping up the story and I was met with a little spark of hope. There are several articles out covering an interview from producer Kevin Wright where he says this about a potential season 3:

We take it season by season, and there are certainly things that Tom and I and other casts have talked about of where we see this going, and I know there’s some excitement for that internally, but just from a storytelling standpoint, I think we always conceived of seasons 1 and 2 as a whole."

The producer went on to describe both of the Tom Hiddleston-led seasons as "two chapters of the same book," but admitted that there are "other stories" or "new books" to be told:

"That these are two chapters of the same book, and that season two is finishing that book, and there are other stories to be told there, but I think they would be new books, if that’s not too coy."

"It was similar to Season 1 in we wanted to tell this story and tell it well, but even in Season 1, we obviously were thinking about where we were going. I would say Season 1 and Season 2 were developed and created as, like, kind of two chapters of the same book. We felt pretty strongly, all of us involved, that Season 2 was about closing that book but that there are many other books on the shelf for this character and for this world. But this felt like it wanted to be the conclusion of these great things that we set up in Season 1. We don't want to constantly leave people with drastic cliffhangers for our finales."

So it seems like all the talk about closing the story was actually just in relation to the storylines they had set up in season one and that this isn't intended to be the end of these characters' stories full stop.

A few of the articles also talked about Marvel's plans for their tv shows going forward:

Contributing Loki's Season 3 odds is Marvel Studios' new direction for its Disney+ shows since, via The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel is reportedly "leaning into the idea of multiseason serialized TV" a la Loki instead of the "limited-series format:"

"And just as 'Loki,' which returned Oct. 5, marked Marvel’s first season two of a series (out of nine TV shows to date), the studio plans on leaning into the idea of multiseason serialized TV, stepping away from the limited-series format that has defined it. Marvel wants to create shows that run several seasons, where characters can take time to develop relationships with the audience rather than feeling as if they are there as a setup for a big crossover event."

So if they are going to be leaning more into multiseason shows it would make sense to me for them to make Loki one of them as it is one of, if not the most, popular shows they've done so far. So I would expect that they would monopolise on that.

So I do think there's a good chance that we'll potentially get a season 3, I for one would love to see where they take these characters next. And that is all the thoughts I have on the finale, sorry this got so long but if you did read all the way to the end thank you.

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Rewatching Loki for Unhinged Analysis Reasons

Spoilers for both seasons of Loki and Loki: Agent of Asgard.

So I did something a tad video essay YouTuber-ish. Except that I am not a video essay YouTuber. I write print essays, and as you may know if you’ve read some of them, I am not great at organizing said essays. I rewatched all two seasons of Loki for the main purpose of documenting every single interaction B-15/Verity has in the show, paying particular attention to whether a character in the scene lies and how B-15/Verity reacts when they lie. I also took into account the context of the lie, if the characters (either B-15 or the speaker) already knew they were lying, and how believable their lying was. For the purpose of determining whether or not I can feasibly say that MCU Verity Willis can canonically detect lies. (And I will be referring to B-15 exclusively as Verity in this post.)

Now, I want to preface this analysis by saying I am not determining whether the writers intended for her to have this power, or even if she was always meant to be revealed to be Verity from episode one. In my opinion, I don’t think they knew her backstory in episode one (I don’t even think they’d planned it out at the point Sylvie gives B-15 her memories in episode 4, personally). I also don’t think they even intended to retcon her having the ability in season two once they’d decided to slip in the reference to the comics in the form of her name. In terms of authorial intent, no, I don’t think she’s meant to have this ability.

But here’s the thing. I don’t give a shit. I’m gonna play in the sandbox. Fuck authorial intent.

The first thing I learned is just how upfront and straightforward everyone is with each other? For an institution with multiple brain-breaking, plot-twisting reveals within the series that these people have been lied to, they don’t lie to each other very often. For a show starring the literal god of lies, even he doesn’t lie that much to these people. Most interactions with Verity result in all characters being honest with one another. They may not say something that’s true, but what they do say they believe to be true, which Verity might not necessarily pick up as a lie. Everyone at the TVA (except perhaps Miss Minutes, but I have no comic evidence that Verity can detect lies from AI) believes the same lies for most of the first season, so there’s no reason to question why Verity would not have worked out the truth prior to the events of the show.

So the first time we get a lie in Verity’s vicinity is in episode 2, when they take Loki with them to Oshkosh, and Loki tries to stall for time by spewing bullshit. And she does a lot during this. She continually rolls her eyes and interrupts to try to get Mobius to stay on task. When Loki says “It’s a trap,” she rolls her eyes and shifts her feet like she can sense the lie in his words. When Mobius finally determines that Loki is lying, she makes a face like she already knew it. This moment leads her to determine that Loki is a lying liar and Mobius is not able to come to that conclusion quickly enough. So when they get to Haven Hills, she makes Loki go with her so she can keep an eye on his lying liar ass. Because she can tell when he’s lying.

In episode 3, we have a brief interaction in the hallway between Verity and Mobius. She asks him what Loki said to him (because she can tell he’s behaving weirdly with all this stalling). Mobius tells her “He said the TVA is lying to me.” This situation where someone brings up what someone else said in front of Verity happens at least one other time. And I’m not actually sure if she can sense if someone is lying based on a paraphrase of their words from someone else. The way Verity reacts to this statement would imply that she can, because she seems to be able to sense that Loki isn’t lying, but she was also controlled by Sylvie at Roxxcart and is currently grappling with a confusing glimpse into her past. So it may be that she’s trying to get an idea of what just happened based on whatever Loki’s said, and it’s unclear if what he told Mobius is something she can interpret as the truth or if her abilities don’t work that way. (Maybe she was hoping Mobius would tell her Loki told him nothing, because if Mobius lies to her, she can tell and can glean some information from that. But maybe she can only tell that Loki did indeed say this, and not whether or not he was lying when he said it.)

So finally Verity makes the decision to just confront Sylvie directly. This is really the ultimate point that convinces me. It could be argued that Verity needs Sylvie to actually use her magic to prove that she can restore Verity’s memories, but I genuinely think she takes Sylvie at her word. The moment when she demands Sylvie show her is when she makes the decision that she wants her past back. By this point, she already knows Sylvie’s telling the truth that everyone at the TVA are variants, and that she didn’t plant memories in C-20’s mind. All she needed was for Sylvie to say so directly to her. Her powers would do the rest.

At the end of this episode, she meets back up with Loki and Sylvie to lend them assistance in the room with the Timekeepers. She gets knocked unconscious almost immediately after, so she doesn’t have a chance to sense the Timekeepers are fake and warn them.

We see her again in episode five in a time prison. Renslayer has gone to interrogate her, and the second Renslayer lies to her, Verity knows it. Renslayer does make a slight expression that might give her away, but it is very brief, and it could still be argued that Verity picks up on the lie rather than the subtle tell.

We don’t get another situation of needing her detection skills until the season two premiere. It’s not a lie this time, but in the past TVA, when they’re chasing Loki, Loki insists that he knows Mobius. There isn’t a really visible reaction from Verity, but we also don’t get a good look at her face, so maybe she makes a face when she realizes he’s telling the truth even though that doesn’t make sense.

Then we have an interaction in the present with X-5 making fun of Mobius. Mobius doesn’t quite pick up on it right away, but Verity does make a face like she’s aware X-5 is not being genuine. Outside of the War Room, D-90 tells Mobius “I was just doing my job,” which isn’t exactly an apology about pruning him. And, yep, Verity gives him an eyebrow lift like, Sure, save it for Nuremberg.

Episode two, an excellent example of her possible skills. When asking Brad questions, an interesting dimension to her abilities comes up: Do people at the TVA know she can detect lies, or at least that she’s really good at sensing when someone’s lying? When they first ask about the TemPad, X-5 states the obvious without exactly answering their question, either truthfully or otherwise: he says something like, “I put some colorful buttons on it for you.” When they ask what he’s been doing, he says “Making movies.” Verity snaps, “Don’t waste our time” so lightning quick that it feels like she’s sensing a lie rather than just assuming he’s being an ass on purpose. When they ask again about the TemPad, and Brad says, “It blocks your trackers,” she twitches. Like they already knew this, Casey already told them that, but it’s the fact that she visibly reacts to this lie. Just because she already knows it’s a lie doesn’t mean her ability turns off.

The interrogation shifts hands, and Brad now holds the reins. So now Verity’s reactions are in response to her current coworkers (you know, the ones not currently in a shock collar). Loki pretends he’s going to attack Brad in response to his taunts. Verity doesn’t look super comfortable with Loki’s tactic here, but she also doesn’t seem to buy his act. She doesn’t step in, she doesn’t warn Loki the way Mobius does. So then Brad turns his attention on Mobius. Mobius continues to act really chill about not knowing his past, but then it cuts to Verity, and she is not buying it one bit.

The next time we might have gotten a chance to see Verity’s powers is in episode 4, when Dox and her followers are in the interrogation room (I’m not sure what we’re calling that room). Verity point-blank asks Dox, “Can I trust you?” And what I find very interesting about this exchange is that Dox doesn’t answer. In fact, she avoids answering any direct questions Verity poses to her. Almost as if she knows something about Verity’s abilities, like Brad when they first ask him about the TemPad, and isn’t going to bother giving her any information. Whether she’s honest or not, it won’t matter; Verity would know the correct answer anyway.

So we have two moments on the timeline in episode five that are of note, but I’m going to hold off on discussing the first for a moment. When the TemPad spaghettifies, Loki and OB accuse Casey/Frank of stealing it (where he’s going to hide a Gen 1 laptop-size device where they can’t see it, I don’t know). He insists he didn’t take it, and this would have been a great time to cut to Verity (or not, if she didn’t react). But we don’t, so we don’t get to see if she knows he’s telling the truth. I’ve also seen people try to draw on the scene in the doctor's office, too, as potential evidence, but there’s none here, guys. The girl never lies to her (as far as we can tell). It’s not even a matter of Verity knowing her warning on the girl’s cast won’t stop her from climbing trees. For one thing, do injuries ever stop children? That girl is about to go home and try to climb that same tree one-handed, for sure. But something else I noticed on my rewatch, Verity barely finishes writing out the warning before the girl is already shaking her head. Verity doesn’t even have to guess (let alone detect a lie that wasn’t even there in the first place); the girl outright tells her there isn’t a chance in hell she’s gonna listen to that.

So now we’re at the end, the last episode. We have two moments where her detection skills (or lack thereof) can be analyzed (or not). At the end of the first time loop, with the loom, Timely says that the trouble with the loom is a scaling problem. Later, we find out from He Who Remains that this isn’t true. It’s never explicitly stated whether Timely was lying in this moment or just didn’t understand (though for my money, given Timely’s character up until this point, even though he is a Kang variant, it’s my opinion he was telling his understanding of the truth here). Even if Timely is lying, we don’t get to see Verity’s face in this moment to gauge her reaction. Finally at the end, after Loki saves the timelines and the TVA begins to reform itself, Verity approaches a very out-of-it looking Mobius, and asks if he’s okay. He’s clearly not, so even if he said he’s fine, this woman who’s worked with him for who knows how long could probably tell he’s full of shit even if she can’t detect lies. But what feels telling to me is that he doesn’t lie. He doesn’t even tell the truth. He straight-up doesn’t answer her question and jumps straight to business. Regardless of whether Verity’s coworkers have always known about her abilities (and I’m gonna talk about that in a minute), I think this exchange shows that at least Mobius has been made aware at this point.

So before I get to my conclusion, I’m going to talk about the two moments in the series that could disprove that Verity can detect lies in the MCU. The first occurs in season 1, episode 4, when speaking to Mobius. She asks him if there is any news on C-20, and he says no. This is after he has already been to Renslayer, who has told him that C-20 is dead, but told him to keep it a secret. Verity shakes her head in response, but it doesn’t seem like an “I don’t believe you” head shake, more like “This shit is crazy, what happened to her” head shake. She seems to buy his very outright lie. This is not implicative or dancing around the truth. Mobius doesn’t decide not to answer, like he does at the end of the series. She asks a direct question, and he gives a direct answer that he knows is not the true answer. And she seems to buy it. I don’t have a counter-counter argument for this; this is just a point against the theory, unfortunately.

The second problem occurs in season 2, episode 5. After everyone except Sylvie has gathered in OB’s lab-turned-squatting situation, she picks up one of OB’s novels and starts to read it. It’s canon in the comics that her ability prevents her from enjoying fiction, because she is incapable of suspending her disbelief long enough to watch a movie or read a book. She reads physics textbooks for pleasure, because it’s the only reading she can handle. At the end of AoA, while Loki is undergoing ego death, she is finally able to start to stomach fiction. But it’s implied (or maybe outright states, I don’t fully remember and I don’t have access to my book right now) that knowing and befriending Loki is what changed this for her. In the show, Verity has just met Loki, so being able to read fiction would not yet be a possibility for her comic counterpart at this point in knowing him. This counter argument, thankfully, can possibly be refuted in a few ways. One, she doesn’t get very far in the book it looks like, maybe a couple of pages. So maybe she’s able to handle the first few pages (hell, maybe the first few pages were part of an author’s note about the science involved. That she could handle). Another option is that OB is having a lot of trouble selling his books, and maybe that trouble is that they are so dense in the science part that they’re dull and unapproachable for just about everyone else. But for someone who can only stand to read science books, this is perfect. Maybe the MCU said fuck it, she can read fiction, who cares. Only one person has the time and energy and encyclopedic knowledge on AoA to call us on it and we don’t give a shit what they think anyway. And that’s a fair assessment. Maybe the writers continue to only do cursory research and don’t know this about Verity. It wouldn’t be the first example of this. Does no one have Al Ewing on speed dial? And finally, (though even I doubt this) maybe she’s pretending to read so she doesn’t have to talk to any of these weirdos. She seems pretty friendly and able to interact with people (which is different from her comic personality), so I don’t think she would pull an introvert’s attempt to avoid socializing.

So, counterarguments aside, let’s get into the conclusion of this three-day study. Given the number of interactions where she does seem to react correctly when people are or are not lying to her, I would say there is enough evidence for me that she can detect lies in the MCU. Her restless body language and eye rolls whenever someone lies in her vicinity, the fact that she takes Sylvie at her word about the memories, the way multiple characters in season two avoid answering her questions directly. It isn’t always overt or explicit, and certainly not as clear as it is in the comics, but of course I stated at the top the reason for that (if you don’t want to scroll all the way back up, I don't think the writers did this on purpose, I’m overanalyzing for fun and there’s not enough evidence to disprove it in any case). But my conclusion is my girl still has her powers. (And there’s nothing Marvel can say to convince me otherwise, because I don’t care what they think.)

Now the other question is, does the TVA know? I think at least He Who Remains knows and that may in part be the reason she was chosen. I don’t think most others at the TVA know or at least believe her. But something happens between season one and two, or at least towards the end of season two. If the “evidence” were more obvious, I’d say the writers intended for Verity to be able to detect lies suddenly, but I’d need more from her reactions, or an explicit statement from her that she can do this. More characters in season two try to hide the truth from Verity but without outright lying to her, almost as if they know she can tell when they’re lying. So I think they either don’t know Verity can detect lies, don’t believe her, or assume she’s very intuitive rather than actually possessing a superpower. In season one, most of her coworkers don’t have any reason to lie to her because they’re all on the same side. But in season two the TVA is starting to fracture into factions, and at the end we have Mobius not wanting to admit the toll losing Loki has taken on him. And by season two Verity has her memories back and the others know (especially those who try to avoid directly answering her queries: Dox, Brad, Mobius) they’re variants. I don’t think Verity ever doesn’t know she can do this; this isn’t an ability you can turn on and off or activate voluntarily. If you can fly and you lose your memories, you likely won’t recall you have that power until you regain that memory or possibly if you get thrown off a building and by some instinctive reflex manage to catch yourself. Verity cannot turn off her power, which is why in the comics she can’t engage with fiction and avoids social interaction whenever possible (even going so far as to make sure her job is remote). It’s intrusive, a burden, there is no way to avoid detecting a lie when it occurs. So I don’t think it’s something the memory wipe could have erased. But she wouldn’t remember how she got this ability in the first place, or be able to explain why the Timekeepers gave her something so useful and no one else, so it’s possible the others write her off as mistaking a heightened but natural intuition for superpower or outright lying for whatever reason.

Except now it’s season two, and she knows what happened to her. They all do. They know she was telling the truth all those years. So when some of her coworkers are suddenly working against her and being interrogated with her in the room, they try to avoid tipping off her suddenly very real powers.

Of course, a lie of omission is sometimes louder than an actual lie. And Verity doesn’t need to be a walking polygraph machine, nor does she need a direct answer to her question, to know her longtime coworker and friend Mobius is in mourning and very much not okay.

God I hope we see my girl again and get some retconned explicit confirmation she can detect lies. I don’t need it, because I already did the research. But come on Marvel, keep riddling that target with plot holes, you cowards. Call her Verity outside of the credits, give her her comic book powers for no conceivable reason other than I want her to have them, and let her come back to the MCU in another movie or show (or a season 3 but I don’t think we’re getting that).

I love Verity, and this rewatch was worth it just to pay super close attention every time she shows up.

tl;dr: Fuck you, Marvel, my girl can detect lies in the MCU. I didn’t gain these nonsensical analysis skills to obsessively look for shit that was never supposed to be there from fifteen years of shipping for nothing.