Loki season 1, episode 4: Where do we go from here?

Loki’s latest episode left viewers in complete shock. But where does the MCU show go from here? *MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW*

The latest episode of Disney Plus‘ Loki left me with some burning questions after each bypassing section of the show. But at the end of the episode, we all have the age old question: Where do we all go when we’re pruned?

Let’s discuss, shall we?

The TVA meets classic the dystopia trope: Don’t ask questions

Once Sylvie and Loki have been brought in by the TVA, they were immediately separated for questioning. Mobius took our beloved Loki, and Ravonna Renslayer took Sylvie. Right before Mobius was getting nowhere with Loki, the God of Mischief shouts “They’re lying to you!” which causes Mobius to pause and revaluate the meaning of that. Loki spews out everything in one go, explaining how everyone in the TVA is a variant and they had their memories wiped. So now what? What would you do if someone told you your entire existence as you know it was a lie?

This was clearly bothering Mobius to the point where he brought it up to Ravonna as they sign off to “close” the case of Loki and Sylvie. She kept shooting Mobius’ questions down on interrogating Sylvie – almost as if she fears Mobius finding out something that he shouldn’t. Our fears were then confirmed correct.

He did some digging and figured out just what he feared – and was pruned right before our very eyes.

At the last second of the show – Loki was pruned as well. So that’s the end, right? Wrong.

So, are Loki, Mobius, and practically everyone else who got pruned, dead?

Loki wakes up on what he assumes is Hel (and no, that’s not a typo), and aks if he’s dead. “No, but you will be if you don’t come with us” exclaims a mysterious figure as the God of Mischief is presented with four Lokis. We saw Classic Loki, Kid Loki, a Black Loki carrying a hammer (spin off of Mjölnir?), and a crocodile with a Loki crown.

So,  if we think about these “alternate” Lokis, they never made it to the original timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we’ve seen over the years. So chances are, before we even got to see them in the MCU, they were hypothetically captured and pruned by the TVA. In addition, Kid Loki really captures my attention here for one reason: Young Avengers. After meeting Billy and Tommy in WandaVision, and Elijah Bradley in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, there is no doubt in my mind that the young boy in the end credit scene is Kid Loki.

So, now that we know Tom Hiddleston’s trickster is trapped in this weird world, does this mean Mobius is alive too? Is this a similar world where the victims of Thanos’ snap were forced to go to? Also, could these alternate Lokis lead to a potential season 2? Loki’s story does end after Avengers: Endgame and his show could continue on without disrupting the MCU’s timeline (pun intended) if this were the case.

So given how the next two episodes play out, Marvel Studios have one of two options: They leave the plot hanging for an MCU film to complete, or they renew the series for a second season to explore a different storyline so that Loki can move alongside the MCU’s timeline but never actually get involved with it.

If not season 2, what about MCU Phase 4?

One question that fans have been asking is: Who is in charge of the TVA? Once both Gods of Mischief discover that the “Time-Keepers” were just androids, it became clear that someone – or something – else was responsible for controlling the timeline.

In the comics, Ravonna is a love interest for the villain Kang the Conqueror. Back in December, it was announced that Jonathan Majors was playing the major villain in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, so the show’s storyline could potentially carry over into the third Ant-Man film – but in what capacity?

One thing is for sure, it’s incredible to see the movies and Disney+ shows overlap – similar to that of the high possibility of Wanda’s Scarlet Witch storyline crossing over into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. With that in mind, don’t be surprised if Loki‘s story carries over in to the MCU movies.

You can catch up on Loki on Disney+ now, and watch episode 5 next Wednesday, July 7th at 12:00am PST / 3:00am EST.

How do you think Loki will affect the MCU? And how will the recent developments in the show’s fourth episode impact the rest of the series? Let us know in the comments below!