The only way to make sense of what’s happening in the MCU is to understand how time works in relation to the multiverse (the various timelines that run concurrently). Avengers: Endgame touched on time travel, but it’s Loki season 1 that really took things to a new level, delivering a complex explanation of how time works in Marvel’s universe. Add What If…?, and you have a comprehensive guide on understanding the MCU multiverse.
Put differently, Loki is the most consequential event in the MCU so far, especially considering the massive cliffhanger. And it looks like Loki season 2 will deliver more time complications, including another time concept that might explain a vital element of the MCU.
Before we look at this new Loki leak, you should know that significant spoilers might follow below.
Why Loki is so important for the MCU
Loki hit theaters almost two years ago, yet we keep discussing the Disney Plus TV show as we realize how massive its implications are.
We’ve already explained that the Kang (Jonathan Majors) variant that died in the finale had arranged the Sacred Timeline so that Thanos (Josh Brolin) never stood a chance at accomplishing his mission. The Avengers were always going to lose the first fight and then win five years later.
Similarly, the reason why Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) stayed in the past of a different timeline might be tied to the Loki finale. Either He Who Remains allowed it to happen, or it’s a consequence of his death.
We also explained that most of the action in Loki takes place outside the regular flow of time. Therefore, He Who Remains has a bird’s-eye view of everything that happens in the past, present, and future. That includes any timeline branches the TVA would have to prune or leave alone.
Once Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) killed the Kang variant, the multiverse was truly unleashed. Branches spawned everywhere, including the past and the future. And the events in No Way Home and Multiverse of Madness were possible.
We’ve only covered the first chapter of the Multiverse Saga, which means the events in Loki might have additional ripples that we’re yet to discover.
Loki season 2 to introduce the mysterious Time Loom
Loki season 2 certainly has plenty of questions to answer, including a significant element of the entire story. We need to understand the TVA better. How it formed and how it operates now that He Who Remains is out of the picture.
Marvel insider Daniel Richtman provided a Loki season 2 plot detail in that regard. He claims that the upcoming season will introduce the Time Loom, which is a new MCU time concept. Apparently, the Time Loom is at the center of the TVA’s power. That’s all Richtman said, so we have no way to really explain it.
Suffice it to say that Marvel hasn’t finished delivering the rules of the multiverse. And we definitely need an explanation for the TVA now that the good Kang variant is dead.
Like He Who Remains, the TVA also operates outside the regular flow of time. Or what it is they do. But it’s unclear how they’d continue pruning the branches now that the Sacred Timeline is out of control.
It’s a big existential problem for the TVA and probably one of the first questions Mobius (Owen Wilson) & Co. will have to answer. Maybe Miss Minutes (Tara Strong) can explain the Time Loom, assuming she’s still around.
We’ll have to wait until next summer to see whether these Loki season 2 leaks come true. Even if they don’t, the next Loki chapter shouldn’t be missed.
