Loki: What’s hidden in plain sight in episode 6

What this means for the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Thanks to Sylvie being unable to quench her thirst for revenge, Loki ends with the timeline completely fractured. Even worse, another version of Kang the Conqueror now openly runs the TVA and Mobius and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) have no memory of Loki at all.

Is Loki now in a divergent timeline? The answer is no. Remember, the series has established that the TVA exists outside of time as it’s own distinct reality, not as a separate timeline. That means instead of branching into a new timeline whenever you change the past of the “Sacred Timeline”, changes to the past at the TVA are permanent. What’s more, the “Sacred Timeline” already started to branch before Sylvie killed He Who Remains. Therefore, when Sylvie pushed Loki through the time door back to the TVA, the changes already started taking place. Because of the nonlinear nature of time travel as presented, this means that a different version of Kang established the TVA before Loki’s returned. Basically, it’s all to emphasize the point that it’s already too late.

It also, of course, sets up the upcoming What If…? animated series, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. More importantly, however, is that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now officially a Marvel Cinematic Multiverse. That means that any Marvel Studios production  -even those made before the Disney purchase – could now retroactively be part of the MCU. The Sam Raimi and Marc Webb Spider-Man movies? All of Fox Studios’ X-Men films? The Blade trilogy? The original Daredevil (2003), Hulk (2003), and two Ghost Rider movies? Both the original and the first reboot of Fantastic Four ? All of those can now be explained away as taking place in an alternate universe while still being part of the MCU.

On the more cynical side of things, it also gives Marvel Studios the green-light to potentially recast key parts if the need should arise. Having a different actor play Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff or any of the other Avengers? No problem! They’re still the same characters only from a different universe. It’s also another “take that!” at Warner Brothers and their DC Extended Universe (DCEU) which already got ahead of the game in having a cinematic “multiverse” of comic book based movies, animation, and television series.

And finally, it sets up another possible Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame style movie crossover event with Kang as the big bad. The possibility that we’ll be getting an adaptation of Marvel’s Secret Wars in a few years time is now stronger than ever (Thanks, Sylvie!). In the meantime, we’ll have to wait just a little longer until Loki season 2. And for Mobius to get his beloved jet-ski.

Did we miss any clues or Easter Eggs in the Loki season finale? What do you think the finale set up for season 2 and the MCU? Let us hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments.