Or rather… it's Loki semi-unintentionally siding with Sylvie over Mobius.
In this episode, that's the tipping point. And so is lack of trust.
What we just watched is the version where things go very wrong and they fail.
But here's the delightful part to remember: things had to go wrong exactly like this, so eventually things can go very right. Because as "wrong" as this was, it had at least one purpose: Loki pruning himself.
That being said... "What's wrong?"
We've got a list.
-Timely's gone.
-Miss Minutes is back (and so is Renslayer).
-Dox and her team are dead.
Now work it backwards.
Miss Minutes / Renslayer get in, Brad is freed, and Dox and her team are killed. D-90 isn't there.
Why isn't he there?
He was sent to be with Victor.
D-90 is killed and Victor is taken at the hot cocoa machine, which delays everything.
Why are they at that machine?
Because Mobius got cocoa.
Why did Mobius get hot cocoa?
Because he wanted pie, but Sylvie yelled at him.
And when Loki didn't defend him in that crucial moment and actually walked away from him instead, Mobius simply got hot cocoa by himself as a pick-me-up.
Therefore: Lokius is the tipping point.
What did they do wrong?
What happened?
Loki and Mobius were separated and weren't on the same page. THAT'S what happened. And so, everything fell apart.
Words – or the lack of them, in Loki's case above when he didn't defend Mobius – can change everything.
For good or for bad.
(These shots are back to back:)
Lack of trust is also why things fall apart.
Sylvie attacks Mobius because he walks away, trusting the work to O.B. and Casey and Victor.
She can't fathom that. She sees it as a weakness. But it's one of his greatest strengths, and it's their only way forward.
It's also part of the "trust for others" theme that's been present from the very first episode of the show, and it's a primary lesson that Loki's first had to learn through his relationship with and love for Mobius.
And the necessity of trust is showcased throughout this episode in other places. Sylvie accuses Loki of putting a lot of faith in the others, and simultaneously she keeps talking about the TVA as a corrupted place / institution instead of seeing the individual people capable of change.
But Loki explains to her that it's about the people. He lists the names of his new family – the people he trusts – as being the heart of things. What's worth saving and worth fighting for.
Brad and Dox are mirroring the trust theme here too, of course.
Brad doesn't trust B-15, and he doesn't pick trusting or aligning with anyone. He dooms Dox and the others to die.
But she sees the big picture and is willing to die with integrity rather than betray the PEOPLE of the TVA.
And Victor?
He says he doesn't trust anyone… but then he chooses to change. With O.B., he chooses to have a partner.
(Not dissimilar to the ways we've seen Loki change over the show, too.)
And were it not for the ~hot cocoa,~ in THIS regard, things were going "according to plan."
So as Victor says in the season 2 trailer in a clip we haven't heard yet (!!!): they have to "make the hard choice," of course.
Trust each other, work to fix what's broken, have hope, and STAY.
And Loki and Mobius, the personification of chaos and order in balance, HAVE to stay together or it turns to shit.
Loki can't turn into a better leader if he ends up being Who Remains all by himself. He's gonna need his partner and the rest of his people for the TVA to truly change.
But how are they gonna do that if they all just blew up? Lmao.
Well… that part of the theory's a work in progress.
But this involves both butterfly effects and time loops. Somehow we'll likely be going backwards to earlier versions of them that will be trying again.
And depending on just how far back they go… Loki and Mobius' influence on each other may be a snake eating its own tail, just like Ouroboros and Victor.
Regardless, pretty sure Mobius is correct here. As he tends to be, lol.
It's gonna be Loki's turn. God of Mischief becoming the Loki Who Remains that Mobius needs, etc.
And it always comes down to the two of them at the heart of things, somehow.
Last thing:
I'm not convinced those versions of them all survived the blast that happened because of these wrong turns, to be honest with you.
But if anyone did… the gods did.
And they're (hopefully) not gonna make the same mistakes twice.
---
Originally posted as a thread on Twitter here.
My other Loki posts on Tumblr are under the tag "chars loki posts."
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