Top 10 Things You Missed in Loki Episode 4

When Mobius is talking about the kinds of variants he brings into the TVA, he casually rattles off three different types of beings. Although we already knew that Kree and Titans exist in the MCU, his statement further confirms the existence of Vampires. But it’s not the first time a story about an Asgardian referenced bloodsuckers. While Thor is preparing to fight in the arena during “Thor Ragnarok'', Korg gives us a hilarious line about vampires. Seeing our favorite rocky alien and Mobius acknowledge bloodsuckers seems to confirm they exist across space and time. It looks like Mahershala Ali will have his hands full when he eventually takes up the role of Blade in the MCU.

After Sylvie is captured by the TVA, she's placed in time theater 47. In the comics, Loki hatched a wild escape plan to defy fate in “What If?” Issue 47. But the numbers aren’t the only similarities between the book and show. The comic version of Loki was only able to escape his magical prison and mess with the flow of time because he made Heimdall shed a tear. This moment perfectly mirrors Sylvie’s plotline in the show. After she makes Hunter B-15 emotional, the TVA agent shows up later on to help the Asgardian escape. While two versions of Loki escaped in similar ways, Sylvie seems to have much better intentions than her sinister comic counterpart.

Slyvie’s younger self was played by the talented Cailey Fleming. In her brief time on the show, she perfectly portrays the heavy emotional journey of a child who’s been separated from her parents. Fleming’s had a lot of practice playing similar characters in multiple franchises. In the new “Star Wars” trilogy, she plays a young Rey Skywalker when her parents leave her on Jakku. Fleming also had a similar tragic turn while she played Judith Grimes on “The Walking Dead’. Years after her father Rick gets separated from the group, her adoptive mother Michonne leaves to find him. While Fleming is great in all these roles, we hope she gets to play characters with happier journeys in the future.

While Ravonna was initially presented to us as a fair judge, she took many sinister turns in the fourth episode. A lot of her wicked actions reflect a few of Thanos’ worst crimes. While Ravonna deleted her “favorite” analyst, the Mad Titan executed his most beloved daughter. Speaking of Thanos, after a future version of him destroyed Wanda’s life, his past self confronted an angry Scarlet Witch and said he didn’t remember what he did to her. Ravonna similarly didn’t recall exactly why she tore apart Sylvie’s life. The most disturbing parallel between the TVA judge and Thanos is that they both believe their actions are for the greater good. As the mad titan taught us, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

We screamed at our screens when Mobius was eliminated by a TVA baton. Fortunately, we discovered there’s a strong chance that he was actually transported to a dangerous land. Since he doesn't seem to have his normal weapons, he'll probably need help from Loki to survive. This is a great parallel to the time when Mobius judged the very green She-Hulk’s trial in the comics. When a villain breaks into the courtroom, he nearly erases the judge with a TVA weapon. But She-Hulk steps in and saves the day. While Loki couldn’t stop Mobius from suffering at the hands of a TVA weapon, maybe this green themed character could save the analyst’s life.

Lady Sif made an equally hilarious and sad return to the MCU in the fourth episode. When the TVA traps Loki in a time loop prison, she repeatedly hits him with physical and verbal blows. He definitely earned Sif’s anger in the original timeline. During “Thor: the Dark World”, the god of thunder breaks Loki out of prison for a mission. On the way out of Asgard, Sif physically and verbally threatens the god of mischief. He apparently returned the favor by banishing her from Asgard while he was impersonating Odin. Although the show’s Loki technically never banned Sif from the realm, he would’ve if he stayed on his proper timeline. So, in a way, he kind of had Lady Sif’s time loop torment coming.

#4: The One Who Created the Timekeepers

Also in:

Top 10 Things You Missed in Loki Episode 6

Upon discovering that the Time-Keepers are advanced androids, Loki asks: … There’s an answer to that question in the comics. All three Time-Keepers were made by a former TVA director named He Who Remains. When the entire universe was about to end, He Who Remains helped create three beings to take care of what came next. But after the entities went rogue and were called Time-Twisters, he essentially erased them from existence and started over by making Time-Keepers. It’s possible He Who Remains created them after the multiverse war the show mentioned. While we’re unsure who went on to make the androids, it’s clear someone’s using the Time-Keepers for their own twisted goals.

Given that Ravonna is the type of person who would figuratively and literally stab someone in the back, she's definitely in the running for the to be the show's main villain. But she may be standing in for a bigger threat. In the comics, Kang the Conqueror rules over an empire that can freely manipulate time and space. When he falls into a coma, Ravonna uses technology to look like him in order to keep her subjects in line. But she later revives Kang from his coma to reclaim his power after her lies are exposed. Multiple characters on “Loki” now know that Ravonna’s been hiding huge secrets. Now that she’s backed into a corner, will she call upon the MCU’s Kang the Conqueror?

Shortly after we breathed a sigh of relief that the Loki we’ve been following is alive, we saw four more god of mischief variants appear. While we loved hammer-wielding Boastful Loki and the reptile version of the character, it’s the other two that hinted at a pivotal comic moment. The “Agents of Asgard” comics saw a new Loki struggle to avoid his destiny of becoming a villain. He’s finally able to break free of his evil expectations after he has a dramatic conversation with a version of himself in his classic outfit and Kid Loki. Since those two characters appear to be on the show, they may nudge the god of mischief we know towards a more noble path.

#1: A Grim Avengers Callback

Also in:

Top 10 Things You Missed in Loki Episode 3

As Loki awakes in a strange land, you can hear a variation of Alan Silvestri’s “I’ll Take That Drink Now”. This song was first played after Loki lost the battle of New York in the “Avengers”. But that wasn’t the only reference to the 2012 film. If you look behind the Lokis, you’ll see what looks like the ruins of Avengers tower in the background. Since this land seems to exist beyond time, is there a reality where the heroes lost the 2012 fight? And if so, is there a victorious and very dangerous Loki lurking in this realm? No matter what the story is behind the ruined tower, its presence is a bad omen for the god of mischief and the Avengers who saw the building crumble.