- Today's video is brought
to you by BetterHelp. Hey, brother! Today's episode will contain spoilers for "Loki" episode two. Oh man, you guys. "Loki" episode two is out and there are so many new
details to pick apart, and I'm sure what is just
going to be the custom for the season, maybe more
questions than answers given. One thing that I absolutely
do know for sure, though, is that I am loving it. Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson
are like magic together. But seriously though, the questions. Like, what did C-20 see
that was just so real? And why is Lady Loki bombing the timeline? And also, Lady Loki, called it. But also, who is Ravonna's other agent? And what is the deal with the snow globe? Or for that matter the roller skate? Or the FDR pen? And perhaps most importantly, why did Loki one time
win the Tour de France? I mean to tell you the maillot jaune, or for you English speaking
people, yellow jersey, does not come easy. Although, it does come with
like a gigantic plush lion, which is just pretty cool. Used to be a big Tour de France fan. Speaking of, though, I am
still not over Chaingate. Alberto Contador took advantage of Andy Schleck's chain
slipping and just took off. No class! Truly though, if you've never
been like somewhat informed on what's going on the
ascent to Alpe d'Huez, you are missing out on
enjoying something a lot. But we're not here today to talk about Tour de France villains. Although I could, for a long time. Today, our big question is who is the true villain of "Loki"? (upbeat instrumental music) Hey, brother! (logo whooshing) Guys, before we dive on in, we
need to give a huge thank you to today's sponsor BetterHelp. Guys, this past year has been difficult in more ways than one, and I personally found myself
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Brothers show will get 10% off their first month when you head on over to BetterHelp.com/SUPER. Again, that is 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/SUPER. Link in the description down below. The second installment of
"Loki" was just absolutely jam packed with Easter
eggs and little nuggets for us to dissect. And if I was a betting man
then I would make the guess that some of these are exactly that, they're simply Easter eggs, fun nods to other moments
in Marvel history. But I think some of these are
also critical plot points. Like on the one hand, when Loki is studying in
the TVA library thing, there is the number 372 in the backdrop. This is definitely a
reference to issue 372 of "The Mighty Thor" when
the TVA is first introduced. In my opinion, this is your
perfect classic Easter egg. It is a number that doesn't
really affect anything one way or another. You don't need to know that
it's a comic book reference, but if you do, it's fun. On the other hand though,
did you know that Mobius, Owen Wilson's character's,
appearance is actually based off of real world Marvel director
of continuity back in the day, Mark Gruenwald. This one feels like there could
be a little bit more to it because real world Mark was actually born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which is where the
Renaissance fair is being held at the beginning of this episode. For clarity, though, Mark wasn't born at this particular Renaissance fair. He was born at the one in 1953. Okay, to be fair, I can't
actually confirm that. He was in fact born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, but not necessarily at a
Renaissance fair, probably. Even more interesting is
the fact that if we, again, go back to the comics, Mark's legacy goes a little bit deeper than just the likeness of
this one particular character, because over in the comics
all of the other TVA agents are actually clones of Mobius, or as he's also known, Mobius M. Mobius. The M stands for Mobius. Get it? It's like Mobius
over and over and over again. Like a Mobius strip. So clever.
- I know. - These details, though,
can be kind of interesting depending on how you look at it. Like for example, Mobius
seems to be the only agent of the TVA who doesn't
feature an agent number. Even Ravonna, who he seems
to be reporting directly to, does have a number on her helmet that we see at the end of the episode. And again, with every other agent number, it seems like it's this combination between a letter and
digit, kind of suggesting that maybe they're coming
from different iterations. And I say iteration, but
there hasn't actually been any indication in the show at all that would suggest that
all of the other members that are working for the TVA are clones of the original Mobius. Like, for one, they all look different. But I don't think that his
lack of number is a mistake, and it does leave us wondering
where did Mobius come from? And this question is something
that Loki addresses directly and Mobius answers very
indirectly where Mobius points out that him being made by the
Time-Keepers is no less bizarre than Loki being the
product of Frost Giants and being raised by
the god of the heavens. But personally, I disagree. You can dress it up however you want, but at the end of the
day, Loki was adopted. It's not that complicated. Whereas Mobius, on the other hand, it's like what do you
mean they created you? And are you sure? - How long have you been here? - I don't know. It's hard to say. You know, time passes
differently here in the TVA. - I'm sorry, Mobius, but I
think you're a little unaware about something to do
with your own existence. The other really interesting
thing about Mobius in this particular episode
is maybe unexpectedly his jet ski magazine. You may not really think twice
about this particular thing. I mean, he makes a really great point. Jet skis are awesome.
- I suppose they are. - Like even Loki, who is a god, gets it. And he travels to and from the
timeline all day, every day. It really probably wouldn't
even be that difficult to snag this particular magazine without causing like
a rift in all of time. Or at least that would be something that would be easy to understand if we didn't have this exchange. - [Mobius] And why do you
get to keep all the trophies from my cases in here? You don't think I'd love
having that rollerskate? - Then why does he get
to keep this magazine? The items that they're talking about are not really anything that fantastic. Like, a roller skate out
here in the real world is not very significant, but it makes me think the
idea of having an artifact from the real world in the
TVA is pretty remarkable. So, and you might be wondering
this question yourself here, is like what does a jet ski magazine tell us potentially
about like his character? Because, myself included,
I really didn't see this as anything significant other than like a fun
moment of comic relief. Someone who comes from
having the perspective of having seen the technology of always is most impressed with a
jet ski from the 1990s. Like, that is the epitome
of human innovation? - In the early 1990s, for
a brief shining moment, there was a beautiful
union of form and function. - Which like, yeah, okay, sure. But also newsflash, jet skis
are not only from the '90s. They still make them. And I kind of have to imagine
maybe make them better, or did they like lose touch
with the original purpose, spirit of the thing since then? That's a real question. Do we have any jet ski
enthusiasts out there or the '90s, that era? I wanna ride one. I've never ridden one. Have you ridden one? And again with this, I
don't think this is just like a tiny, fun added detail. I think it might literally be a clue to helping us better understand
where Mobius comes from. Even though at first you
might just think that the TVA, despite being like the
supreme power of space? What's bigger than space? Cosmos? I think it's cosmos. Despite being this supreme
power is still featuring what feels like pretty dated technology. So, it could just be the
case that for some reason this particular era in history
is what they settled on as like how they created the TVA space. The interior designer was like, "You know what's great, guys? The '90s. "Let's do all '90s." But that's not actually the case. The technology in the
TVA is not from the '90s. It's actually from about a
decade earlier in the '80s. And I personally think that
this like set design decision by the creators of the show
was incredibly intentional because the TVA is kind
of like the watchdog or Big Brother, if you will,
of the Sacred Timeline. Big Brother as in from the story "1984," the novel that kind of
predicted the potential dangers of constant surveillance. Spoilers in case you haven't read it. Big Brother is not good. The point is I am fairly
certain the reason the TVA looks like what it does with the technology that it
has is a very purposeful nod to the year 1984, and as
such the story "1984." And the point that I'm
trying to make there is that Mobius's obsession
with a jet ski from the '90s is not like so just specifically
in keeping with the era of everything else around him anyway. If anything, jet skis,
compared to this tech, would be fairly advanced,
relatively speaking of course. Can't be certain, but I'm pretty sure they didn't have time doors in the '90s. But the jet-ski is not the only thing that we can tie Mobius to
this particular decade. The other kind of glaring item that he keeps interacting with is a can of soda called Josta. I did not recognize this particular soda, so at first I thought that
it was just kind of like a Marvel inside joke,
Easter egg type of thing, kind of like Buy n Large from Pixar. But it actually isn't. Josta was a real brand of energy drink that existed out here in the real world for a very brief run of popularity in, wait for it, the '90s. And I think that if you
pair these small details and the conversation
between Mobius and Loki about where they both came from, and I think that we're
starting to get small arrows indicating that for some reason
Mobius himself was plucked from the '90s. And now, this could totally be a reach, but do you remember
how we said that Mobius and all of the other TVA
agents, at least in the comics, were based off of Marvel writer
and director of continuity Mark Gruenwald, the guy who was maybe born at a Renaissance fair
in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Well, Mark, real person
out here in the real world, actually unexpectedly
passed away in the '90s. Meaning the things that
we're seeing Mobius be kind of obsessed
with are actually things that would have been popular
when he died in the '90s. So in a weird way, what we
might be seeing here is Mark, the real person writer, being immortalized in the character of Mobius by
showing him loving the things that he would have loved at that time. And again, if we go back
to the Renaissance fair, this might be kind of a random choice as to where they're going, except for the fact that Renaissance is the French word for reborn. And again, Mobius is a strip
that just keeps repeating on itself over and over and over again. And, and do you remember
this particular exchange with Ravonna? - Those rings were already there. - And they're all from you. - Mobius like gladly reaches for a coaster in this particular situation, and also seems kind of skeptical that the other rings were left by him. - Maybe it's from your
other favorite analyst. - Mobius keeps leaving these rings because he's on repeat over
and over and over again, which is also why he doesn't
remember leaving them and why he doesn't have an agent number, because he's the center of it all. He's the tiny cog holding
the whole thing together and he himself doesn't even realize it. Which brings us to one
of the other questions coming out episode two,
what is Lady Loki up to? Why is she bombing the Sacred Timeline? I think what's going on here
starts with Loki's revelation in this episode that the TVA
has a hole in its security and it has to do with apocalypses. I actually think the way
that they demonstrated this particular idea
was really well executed because it's kind of complicated
to understand at first. It's when they're in Pompeii
and Loki can just run out into the middle of the street screaming and release the goats and
just be a blatant anachronism because everyone there is about to die. So, despite the fact that
they could be seeing something that doesn't make sense with any of their other surroundings, there's no way for that
experience with him to reverberate anywhere
else into the timeline. But here's where things get fun, because Loki has been a
part of some apocalypses. Take, for example, the
beginning of "Infinity War" where Thanos kills him, an event that our Loki just
watched happened at the TVA. But what happens after Loki
is killed is an apocalypse. Power Stone is activated
and everyone on board dies. Or that is what Loki wants
you to believe happened. Because thanks to episode two
we now have an explanation as to how Loki might have escaped here. - Duplication casting entails
recreating an exact facsimile of one's own body in its
present circumstance, which acts as a true holographic mirror of its molecular structure. - If the Loki in this situation knows that he is about to be killed by Thanos, it is a really good opportunity to literally duplicate yourself. And it's also a great
place to escape into time because he's just discovered
that apocalyptic situations are hard for the TVA to realize when something is out of whack. And this exact trick is how Lady Loki has been dodging the TVA for so long, by hiding in apocalyptic situations. So in a nutshell, what's happening here is that when Loki lives up to the moment when he knows he is about
to be killed by Thanos, what he can do is
duplication cast himself, meaning Thanos and everyone
else, including the TVA, would just think that he is dead because the ship then explodes. It's an apocalyptic situation. But really what's happening
here is Loki is standing in the shadow somewhere
having duplicated himself and can then exit the scene. And in order to ensure that
nobody knows he's alive, changes his appearance,
something he can do. But okay, that still
doesn't totally explain why she's blowing up the Sacred Timeline. And I think the answer
to that is free will. The show's main argument
is between the ideas of free will and predestiny. Male Loki is clearly in camp free will, but his main goal of the story is to take over the Sacred Timeline and therefore predestiny. And this is why Lady Loki
scoffs at his invitation, because Male Loki is thinking too small. He hasn't grasped the truth yet. Ruling the timeline is not her goal. Allowing free will is her goal. And that can only exist
in a true multiverse, which is why she's bombing
17 and counting moments in the Sacred Timeline. This act creates tons of opportunities for a branch to redline, and all she really
needs for this to happen is one of them to make it. So now the big question becomes, can the TVA respond to
all of these at once? I also think that she needs
to get to the Time Lords, but not because she
specifically wants to rule, but because she doesn't want
there to be an opportunity for them to reinforce
themselves as the leaders. This is why she took C-20 hostage because she needed to know how to get in. And again, the end result
isn't that she is in charge. It is that nobody is
in charge. Pure chaos. - No chaos? That sounds boring. - But guys, for my question
of the day, what do you think? Is this the explanation that
would help us understand how Loki could have survived
the end of "Infinity War"? Let us know in the towel
section down below. But guys, as always, thank
you so much for watching. Be sure to like this video
and subscribe to the channel, if you haven't already, so you don't miss out on any
future "Loki" action from us. If you'd like to see J and I face off on all of our Loki knowledge, you can check out our J
versus Ben right over here. Otherwise until next time, bye.
