Marvel’s Loki series is the talk of the town, and we’ve only watched two of the six episodes from this first season. There’s massive interest around the show from fans who have been waiting for Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to return to the MCU for a few years now. The show is already breaking records for Disney+ — it’s the most-watched original
The first episodes were filled with details about how this part of the MCU operates. The Time Variance Authority (TVA) got ahold of Loki for his actions in Endgame, and that’s something that we knew from the trailers. But the first episodes provided plenty of additional context about how time flows in the universe, according to the TVA. We got the brilliant Endgame connection that we expected, but we now have even more questions about what happened so far in the MCU. Episode 2 moved the action forward, bringing over a massive puzzle that could have tremendous implications for all of MCU Phase 4’s movies and shows.
With all that in mind, I’ve started to wonder if Loki’s actions so far might somehow be responsible for one of the most amazing scenes in Endgame. Before I make my case, I’ll warn you that massive spoilers from Loki follow below.
When is Steve Rogers?
One of the most significant Endgame controversies concerns Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and his retirement. Some argued that Steve lived out his life with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) in the main MCU timeline. But that contradicts the time travel rules in Endgame. Others said that Steve might’ve created a new branch of reality to make room for his retirement, and that’s the official story. Marvel made it clear a few times, including the Endgame directors who had to set the record straight in various interviews. But they never explained how far back in time Steve went to get his dance.
After analyzing the information in that final Endgame scene, I concluded that Steve and Peggy had that dance at some point towards the end of the ‘40s. To reach that conclusion, I analyzed the car, the song, the house, and Peggy Carter’s arc:
The last scene in Endgame doesn’t provide enough details to give us a definitive answer. But if Marvel wants to keep the Agent Carter arc in place, it would be easy to speculate that Cap goes back in time at some point towards the end of the ‘40s. You’d still have the same cars, and the same music, but Agent Carter would have had time to move on from her job in LA and her relationship with Sousa.
This was just a few days after the Endgame premiere. The confirmation arrived nearly eight months later, in mid-December when the Endgame made its way online. The direction in the script didn’t just tell us when Steve was, but also where Peggy lived:
A PACKARD rolls down a block of WASHINGTON D.C. ROW HOUSES.
TITLE: “WASHINGTON D.C., 1949.”
Still, we have no idea why Steve picked that particular timeframe. But here comes Loki.
Lady Loki’s Reset Charges
The first Loki episode established that the Time Keepers control all of time. They have decided everything that can happen, including the Avengers’ daring Time Heist we saw in Endgame. That’s something Loki had to learn when he attempted to shift blame to the time-traveling Avengers.
Episode 1 never clarified whether the Sacred Timeline contains one reality or multiple realities, but it seemed to hint that the latter might be the case. Steve Rogers’ retirement in an alternate timeline proves there must be at least one reality aside from the main MCU timeline. Not to mention that the Thanos (Josh Brolin) variant who jumped to 2023, breaking his natural evolution, must have created a different branch where there’s no Thanos to collect the Infinity Stones.
Then again, maybe the TVA reset the Thanos line while leaving Steve’s reality in place. After all, Steve has to pass on the shield to Sam as an old man, so his retirement must be allowed.
Episode 2 of Loki brings an exciting twist, however. Lady Loki (Sophia Di Martino) uses those Reset Charges to blast certain portions of the Sacred Timeline, prompting an emergency intervention from everyone on duty at the TVA. We’ve already explored the apparent randomness of the attack. Lady Loki blasted various locations on Earth going back hundreds of years, and she did the same thing to several other planets that we saw in the Infinity Saga so far.
One of those dates stood out: 09.21.1947 – New York, USA. That time and place is incredibly close to Steve and Peggy’s dance. That’s the only reason the date stood out. Sure, the explosion is set a few years early, but Lady Loki might be looking to create a particular chain of events that might involve setting in motion a timeline branch that allows Steve and Peggy to marry and live their lives in a different reality. It’s not far-fetched to think that Lady Loki might want Steve out of the picture. Who knows what else might happen in the same reality?
It might be a stretch, but nothing is a coincidence in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. The studio knows fans are looking for Easter eggs. And the closest thing that comes to mind when reading that 1947 date is Steve and Peggy’s dance.
It’s the same episode 2 that tells us a branch has to be reset within a finite amount of time. After a certain point, resetting it isn’t possible. The TVA might successfully reset all the branches in the coming episodes, including 1947. But what if it doesn’t get to every last one? Would Steve and Peggy have Lady Loki to thank for their reality?
The third episode of Loki premieres this coming Wednesday on Disney+.
