Loki has come to an end with an interesting season finale. The series introduced us to the mysterious TVA origination and how they serve to protect the timeline. There were a number of shocking moments and discoveries in the series, but there were two that had fans curious.
Mild spoilers for Loki ahead
The TVA & Infinity Stones
In the first episode, fans were all surprised when they saw that the once powerful infinity stones were now reduced to nothing more than just paper weights. Granted, in the comics, it had long been established that the infinity stones only work within the reality from which they derive. Meaning, that if you’re infinity stones came from Universe 1, they won’t work in Universe 2 (and vice versa). It was also established in the comics that the TVA resided in a location that was outside of both space and time.
While those concepts can be understood to some degree one thing that did not add up for fans was how the TVA agents were unaffected by the power of the stones when they traveled outside of their own reality. We saw characters like Hunter B-15 easily pick up the tesseract (aka the Space Stone) with no type of affect at all when they came to arrest Loki. After learning that all of the employees of the TVA are just human variants, this became even more curious. In the MCU when humans touch the Tesseract, it practically burns them (e.g. Nick Fury in Avengers) or even makes them a slave (e.g. Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger). So why does Hunter B-15 (a regular human) appear immune when she grabs the Tesseract? Well, we had a chance to run this question by the director of Loki, Kate Herron. Here was her response:
Kate Herron: It’s interesting, isn’t it? Like I have been thinking about this. I guess, the TVA have complete control over everything. So my thinking is always, “If anything that wasn’t supposed to happen, which would technically create a branch [timeline]…because the TVA shouldn’t be affected by them….My thought is that they would be able to control it within their means. If that makes sense.
I suppose if Marvel fans are willing to suspend their beliefs, and just roll with the notion of “The TVA can just do whatever they want”, then this does make sense. However, for the more meticulous fan, that may not fly. There is one theory you can check out below that seeks to answer this specific question. Feel free to see if this could be a satisfying answer that Marvel could use in the future.
Loki & Magic
Another curious unresolved issue is the question of magic within the TVA. We learned in the first episode that magic does not work in the TVA. Both Sylvie and Loki were unable to use their powers while inside of the TVA. However, astute fans noticed early on that there was a bit of an inconsistency here.
Going back to the first Thor film, we learned that Loki was actually a baby frost giant. When Odin discovered the discarded child, it appeared as though Odin placed a spell to make the baby appear more like an Asgardian. However, when Loki would come into contact with frost giant relics, his skin would return back to its original blue color. Naturally fans have wondered if magic doesn’t work in the TVA, then why hasn’t Loki reverted back to his blue skin? We asked Kate Herron this as well.
The GWW: Since Loki is a frost, and if magic doesn’t work in the TVA, then why doesn’t he turn blue?
Kate Herron: Very interesting, very interesting. That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer to your question. I’ll field it to the writers.
This certainly seems like an odd thing to overlook with the character of Loki. Marvel Studious would have to go back and probably fill in more information about why Loki’s appearance was not affected. The other alternative is for them to possibly provide an explanation as to how the blocking of magic works within the TVA. Maybe Loki’s appearance is a loophole of sorts. We’ll just have to wait and see if the powers that be at Marvel will provide an answer in season 2 of Loki. Then again, this could be excellent fodder for Marvel fans to speculate about too.
Kate Herron Full Loki Interview
About Loki:
Marvel Studios’ “Loki” features the God of Mischief as he steps out of his brother’s shadow in a new Disney+ series that takes place after the events of “Avengers: Endgame.” Tom Hiddleston returns as the title character, joined by Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku and Richard E. Grant. Kate Herron directs “Loki,” and Michael Waldron is head writer.
Loki Trailer:
Director: Kate Herron
Writers: Michael Waldron
Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi
Mosaku, Richard E. Grant
Loki is now available to watch on Disney+. Be sure to follow E-Man’s Movie Reviews on Facebook, Subscribe on YouTube, or follow me on Twitter/IG @EmansReviews for even more movie news and reviews!