Warning: This article contains low-level spoilers for Loki season 2 episode 1.
Loki season 2 wastes no time in hitting the ground running, as it digs deeper into the lies at the heart of the TVA, following on from He Who Remains’ death messing with the timeline at the end of season 1. The Time Variance Authority’s staff has also been filled out since the last time we visited, with new cast members including Ke Huy Quan as OB, the TVA’s quirky handyman, and two of the organization’s top brass, played by Kate Dickie and Liz Carr.
General Dox (Dickie) and Judge Gamble (Carr) both have very different reactions to the revelation that basically everything they thought they knew about the TVA is fiction. While Dox is still fanatically committed to upholding the TVA’s doctrines as always (for all time), Gamble is able to see the truth in what Mobius and Hunter B-15 tell her and orders that the organization cease all pruning of the timelines. The depiction of Gamble, in particular, is fascinating given what we know from the comics.
Judge Gamble is basically a variant of the Doctor in Marvel Comics lore
General Dox is presumably based on Mr. Paradox, who made a single appearance in the pages of 2005’s She-Hulk #3, serving as a hard-nosed TVA official in much the same way as in the show. Judge Gamble is a far more interesting choice to adapt, however, as Carr’s character is clearly inspired by Professor Gamble who, basically, is Marvel’s none-too-subtle expy for the Doctor from Doctor Who.
Debuting in 1981’s Power Man and Iron Fist #79, Professor Justin Alphonse Gamble was once a member of the TVA who disagreed with the organization’s increasingly callous methods and so stole a Time Capsule and ran away. For a time, Gamble settled in contemporary New York, with his time machine disguised as a bookshop, during which he teamed up with Luke Cage and Iron Fist to defeat his robotic enemies, the Dreadlox.
Anyone familiar with Doctor Who will be able to see the similarities here, from Gamble’s origins mirroring the Doctor’s escape from his home planet of Gallifrey to his vehicle’s ability to disguise itself to the Dreadlox obviously being stand-ins for the Daleks. Gamble’s eccentric fashion sense — he tends to wear a top hat, a bowtie, and a bright purple jacket — only completes his Doctorishness.
The Gamble in Loki — as played by Liz Carr, recently seen opposite actual Doctor Who David Tennant in Good Omens season 2 — is seemingly going on a similar journey of self-realization, so who knows if she’ll steal a Time Capsule and take off on her own adventures sometime soon. Given that Doctor Who is itself becoming a Disney Plus show, do I smell the beginnings of a multiversal crossover?
