# Loki TV series discussion (spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** disney-hulu\ **Created:** [January 27, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625 "2021-01-27T18:06:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/161 "2021-06-17T04:35:07Z")
> [@borschevsky](#): > > Yeah, I agree. Their primary goal is to make an entertaining show, and I think they’ll succeed at that. But I won’t be surprised if it ends up that the time travel and alternate timeline mechanics don’t really hold up as a coherent system. Time travel in fiction NEVER holds up as a coherent system. It’s because of the following: 1. The future is either as fixed as the path (i.e. “sacred timeline”) much like a film reel. So whatever you do or don’t do is already set. Sarah Conner could have told Kyle Reece to “F off” and just sat on her couch. Something would have prevented the T-800 from killing her, like a mystery jet engine falling out of the sky and crushing the Terminator before it could get to her. or 1. The future / past can be changed. Which then requires the creation of elaborate arbitrary and selectively applied rules and hypothetical physics and parallel timestreams and whatnot to avoid paradoxes, endlessly reiterating on the same event (unless it serves some comic or dramatic purpose), or creating “temporal pincers” to the beginning/end of time. Next thing you know you’re online spending all day arguing about time travel making diagrams with straws. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/162 "2021-06-17T07:28:48Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > So the Loki consciousness is both in her original body and the possessed at the same time? Yes. It’s not unlike one of the things that Loki said he could do (when listing his powers) and we’ve seen him do before in the MCU. He can effectively be in two places at once - a walking, talking, hologram of himself while he’s physically doing something else, somewhere else. EvilVariant-Loki can possess someone while EVL is physically doing something else somewhere else. EVL is the more powerful Loki. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/163 "2021-06-17T10:59:19Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > So the Loki consciousness is both in her original body and the possessed at the same time? You know how you can be doing two things at once, like driving a car and talking to your friend? Lady Loki is doing something similar, except god-tier. She’s puppeting someone else while doing setting the charges or whatever with her physical body. Note that the puppeting is limited to one person at a time and requires physical contact to transfer control. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/164 "2021-06-17T11:45:05Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > It’s interesting that the possessed body gets an upgrade of enough strength to be a threat to Loki. Do they? Random Big Guy throws Loki around, but while he’s definitely unusually strong, he didn’t really seem _super_ strong. It’s definitely my head canon that the possession also gives the victim Asgardian-level strength. But I’m not entirely sure the show runner, writers, and fight choreographer remember that _all_ Asgardians are super-strong, and that while Loki doesn’t flaunt it, he’s physically strong enough to be repeatedly walloped by the Hulk and just have the wind knocked out of him. Of course, it may be that they just didn’t have the budget for that fight to involve anything more than knocking over a few product displays, and that was _supposed_ to be a super-fight. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/165 "2021-06-17T12:23:05Z")
Loki: “I need a new Roomba” Mobius: “What kind of Roomba”? Loki: “The Lady Loki killing kind.” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/166 "2021-06-17T12:30:43Z")
Is Lady Loki causing timeline disruptions all over time and space as a distraction from her real plot - or is she causing massive timeline disruptions the actual point? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/167 "2021-06-17T12:36:07Z")
Loki’s pretty much pure Chaotic Evil (though he fancies himself Lawful Evil so long as he’s the Law), so “throwing the Sacred Timeline into disarray” seems like it would be a goal in and of itself for any of his/her variants. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/168 "2021-06-17T12:53:41Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Is Lady Loki causing timeline disruptions all over time and space as a distraction from her real plot - or is she causing massive timeline disruptions the actual point? At the end of the episode, we see TVA agents dispersing through gates, and even Judge Ren grabs a thingamajiggy, apparently heading into the field. It sure _looks_ like the classic “create chaos to empty the precinct so you can break into the evidence room” heist scheme. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/169 "2021-06-17T13:19:30Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > and based on some arcane criteria you don’t know shoots you when you do something wrong, you still have free will. But what if they then replace you with a clone that _did_ make the decision that they wanted you to make? ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/170 "2021-06-17T16:33:49Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > At the end of the episode, we see TVA agents dispersing through gates, and even Judge Ren grabs a thingamajiggy, apparently heading into the field. It sure _looks_ like the classic “create chaos to empty the precinct so you can break into the evidence room” heist scheme. I didn’t even think about that. I was under the impression that Lady Loki wanted to blow it all up with the devices. Layers upon layers… ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/171 "2021-06-17T18:02:20Z")
See, that’s why I wonder. I’m in a quantum superposition of “She wants to distract them, while she does something else” and “She just wants to destroy” (of course, it’s always possible the solution is that “She wants to distract them, so she can complete the ‘destroy’ part of the plan more effectively”) ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/172 "2021-06-17T18:17:50Z")
Im guessing the Multiverse never disapeered…there are no Timekeepers and the whole thing is created by Kang and run by his babe Ravenna for his own needs. Also Lady Rick…errr…Loki is the Most Loki Loki there is. ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/173 "2021-06-17T23:32:34Z")
Why are their ties so short? Is that part of the retro-modern-we-have-no-sense-of-style style? Also, I finally figured out what annoys me about Owen Wilson. He is so energetically homolateral that watching him is incredibly exhausting. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/174 "2021-06-17T23:38:25Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > He is so energetically homolateral What on earth does that mean? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/175 "2021-06-18T01:36:20Z")
Homolateral with what? Luke? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/176 "2021-06-18T07:56:55Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Im guessing the Multiverse never disapeered…there are no Timekeepers and the whole thing is created by Kang and run by his babe Ravenna for his own needs. Or maybe it _is_ the only timeline, because Kang is the Timekeepers and his goal is to preserve this specific timeline - and only it - because it’s the one where he wins. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/177 "2021-06-18T16:10:08Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I don’t think that the Loki that they are going to be hunting is another variant, I think it is the same Loki, but in his future timeline, after having learned not only the ways and methods of the TVA, but also the harm and destruction that they are doing in the name of protecting the “sacred timeline”. Even though Loki was, in his timeline, recently expositing on the evils of free will, learning that there is no free will, that everything is predetermined, even his _own_ fate will likely cause him to rebel against the TVA. This was my theory as well. I am glad it appears that it isn’t how they are going, as that kind of paradox feels like cheating to me. And of course, the Variant being a woman doesn’t rule out that it is this Loki in the future, as he does shapeshift, though the body chaining is a power he hasn’t displayed before if this Loki. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/178 "2021-06-18T16:16:16Z")
> [@Taber](#): > > This was my theory as well. I am glad it appears that it isn’t how they are going, as that kind of paradox feels like cheating to me. And of course, the Variant being a woman doesn’t rule out that it is this Loki in the future, as he does shapeshift, though the body chaining is a power he hasn’t displayed before if this Loki. Loki’s magic is a learned skill, not innate. His mother taught him. So a variant Loki being able to do stuff protagonist Loki can’t makes sense - they’ve spent time learning additional spells that our Loki hasn’t learned yet. Have we seen Loki actually shape shift in the MCU yet? I think it’s mostly been illusions. Well, he starts turning into a frost giant when he’s grabbed by one in the first Thor movie, so I guess that counts. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/179 "2021-06-18T16:20:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Have we seen Loki actually shape shift in the MCU yet? Thor recounted a story of Loki turning into a snake. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625/180 "2021-06-18T16:46:59Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > But generally time travel storylines benefit from lots of looking the other way and ignoring inconsistencies. I did like how they treated the time travel rules in this second episode. Mobius explained some of the rules to Loki, and they had a bit of discussion on it here and there, but it wasn’t dwelled on. It seemed like the right amount of exposition on it. The apocalypse thing was reminding me of an old movie, but it took me a while to remember what it was. _Millennium_ from 1989 has a time-travel plot with something of a similar idea: travelers from the future remove people from disasters just before they happen. > **[Millennium (1989) ⭐ 5.7 | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097883/)** > > 1h 48m | PG-13 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loki-tv-series-discussion-spoilers/931625.md?page=10)