Loki
is without question the best Marvel TV show to date. It’s setting a high bar for the MCU on TV, which, hopefully, Marvel will strive to meet with future creations. We’ve looked at the series from all sorts of angles, trying to understand how this adventure fits in the MCU. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) gets to experience a second arc in this universe, a second redemption story after the first version of the character died heroically in Infinity War. But Loki also sets the ground rules for everything that will follow down the line. The multiverse is a major theme for Phase 4, not just Loki. In all of that, you might have missed the fantastic Thor cameo in Loki that Marvel brilliantly snuck in episode 5. Beware Marvel fans who are behind with your Loki viewing — significant spoilers follow below.
One of my biggest gripes with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was that the script went out of its way not to talk about Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). We had a Captain America memorial, and Sam (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) did bring up Steve a lot. But they weren’t fully addressing his absence. And the way they talked about Steve seemed unnatural. It was only later in the series that we learned that Steve is “gone.” We learned early in the series that Steve isn’t dead. But Marvel took its time to tell us Steve wasn’t there.
How does this tie to Loki cameos? Well, you can’t have a Loki story in the MCU without any Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in it.
Where is Thor in Loki?
Marvel did a much better job addressing Thor so far. We saw Hemsworth in MCU footage that Loki got to watch for the first time while under arrest at the TVA. Loki saw the life he should have lived in the Sacred Timeline had he not deviated from the path. It was all an emotional journey for Loki, helping him realize how small of a cog he might be in the grand scheme of things. But seeing Thor in Loki as the protagonist experienced his brother doesn’t count as a cameo.
We didn’t have a lot of Thor references after the early episodes. That made sense, as this show is about Loki. But then episode 5 arrived, filled with great Easter eggs that are worth pausing playback and rewinding. Several of them were Thor-related.
We learned during the episode that Kid Loki killed Thor, and that was the Nexus event that sent him to the TVA.
What’s more exciting is that we saw Mjolnir buried in the ground. This suggested Thor variants cause Nexus events, and some of those Thors are sent to the void to meet Alioth. That’s a great prospect right there. But it got even better instantly.
The surprise cameo in Loki episode 5
We got to meet Throg, the frog version of Thor, packed neatly inside a jar (image above). After alligator Loki, it makes sense to see frog Thor. It’s hilarious how Throg tries to reach the hammer too. Apparently, he’s not worthy.
Little did we know that Throg’s voice was Chris Hemsworth’s. And that’s the cameo we all failed to spot in episode 5.
EXCLUSIVE‼️ @ViewsFrom616 interviewed @iamkateherron and she revealed that @chrishemsworth is the voice of #Throg the Frog Thor
in Episode Five of #Loki #ReleaseTheThrogCut ⛈#PrayersForPuddleGulp 🐸 pic.twitter.com/2TIyvf1Mk8— Twitch.tv/ForAllNerds (@ForAllNerds) July 10, 2021
Loki director Kate Herron confirmed it all during a ForAllNerds podcast on Friday. She said that Hemsworth actually recorded new lines and sounds for Loki. Throg might not say anything, but he’s obviously making annoyed sounds in that jar:
Throg, getting him in [was fun]. We recorded Chris Hemsworth for that, by the way. I haven’t told anyone that yet, by the way, but we recorded him for that, so that’s a new recording. That’s a whole new recording and not recycled.
Also exciting is the fact that Throg should have had a more extended role in episode 5. It was ultimately cut, but we can only hope we’ll see it in the future.
Clever cameos aside, Loki episode 6 premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday. That’s the finale that should explain everything.
