To those indignantly insisting that the MCU won’t do Loki dirty by messing with his redemption arc: This has already happened — see Wanda’s repeated hero-to-villain-to-hero-to-villain storyline in WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness. Also, there is no denying the constant hints Loki season 2 keeps dropping and doubling down on.
“What hints?” A darn good question! Let’s start with the one that made this theory so plausible.
The continued chatter about it all being a closed loop — a snake eating its own tail
Four episodes of Loki aired so far, and we have already been subjected to numerous hint examples: Ouroboros (aka O.B.), which itself symbolizes an infinite loop; future-Loki pruning the past-Loki; and Victor Timely’s creations being the inspiration behind O.B.’s TVA guidebook, which, in turn, inspired the 19th-century inventor’s work in the first place.
But these shining examples of paradoxes are taking place in a show called Loki. Not Kang, mind you, but Loki. What if Loki is the biggest Bootstrap paradox of all — what if this is all hinting at his beginnings as a villain, his eventual transition to being a hero, and then possibly reverting to his roots? What if Loki is the one who created the TVA in the past, and will eventually rule it in the future? What if the big multiversal evil that is set to haunt the MCU is Loki himself?
Loki Time-slipping — why is he the only one being affected by He Who Remains’ demise?
HWR was guarding time, so his death should have affected all variants, right? Or at least the ones who were there with him in his cathedral — i.e., Loki and Sylvie, both Gods of Mischief? But somehow, Loki was the only one glitching between the past, present, and future — something that used to be impossible at the TVA. And if the yet-to-appear scenes from the trailers mean anything, he is not done Time Slipping.
Let’s look at it this way — what else did HWR’s death impact? Time itself as the Sacred Timeline is branching into more timelines, making the Temporal Loom unstable. And you know who else is unstable? Loki. He is directly connected to HWR, the Temporal Loom, and the TVA. And the connection is strong enough to make the Asgardian prince’s existence stretch in all directions.
He Who Remains seemed to already know Loki’s future
When Loki and Sylvie found HWR at the end of season 1, he offered them the role of overseeing all of time and the TVA to the two Loki variants. Here was a man who “knew it all” and had “seen it all,” he knew the past, the future, what would happen the next second. At the time, it felt like just another manipulation. But what if HWR knew that a Loki variant is the past and future of the TVA, its real creator and ultimate ruler?
Also, while Sylvie was driven by rage, and Loki has been living his good-guy era, he was still suspiciously eager to believe HWR’s ramblings about time needing someone to monitor it, etc. I am not saying the current Loki is faking it — he is just very understanding of the sentiments harbored by HWR, he resonates with his beliefs… almost as if one day he will embrace them all. While Loki supports free will for now, his brief speech to Sylvie in the fourth episode shows that he firmly believes that the TVA should rule all the timelines.
Which brings me to my last clue…
Loki highlighting that all Loki variants are Gods
Okay, he is one. Duh, I know. But this declaration of his in the fourth episode was following his speech to Sylvie about setting everything right, that they have to be the ones to do it, that the TVA will fix it all. Yes, as mentioned above, he sounds a lot like HWR. Who knows whose words inspired HWR in the first place? Closed loops, remember? Victor Timely inspired O.B., and O.B. served as his ideal. What if that’s the case with Loki and HWR as well?
Also, remember that variants of a single person don’t resemble the OG in mannerisms and beliefs, but their core nature remains. The other Doctor Strange was ready to sacrifice America Chavez, while Earth-616’s Strange couldn’t stop risking his life to save her. But both were being driven by their mission to lead and protect.
So, what’s Loki’s nature? His desire to rule. Yes, he is brave, kind, a good friend, etc, but the allure of assuming the ultimate throne? The OG Loki didn’t stick around to be tempted by greed again, but this one has been offered the chance to rule time itself. Then there is also the fact that he didn’t sound the least remorseful while talking to Mobius about almost annihilating New York City’s population — for him, it is just an example of when he was throwing a temper tantrum.
I know, I am running the risk of sounding like a broken record, but hear me out — what if the name “Kang” is just a front? What if they are just an army of starry-eyed, gullible variants that future Loki amassed by traveling back in time so they can run the TVA until his past self embraced his desire to rule time and the lives of millions, and do what he has always dreamt of doing — playing God?
