The latest episode of Loki Season 2 was truly a game-changer as the God of Mischief discovers (or rediscovers) a new power. So does this mean that Loki is officially taking on a new moniker? Series writer Eric Martin pointed out that it was important for Tom Hiddleston's character to discover the ability on his own but also teased at what it could mean for the future of the TVA.
In Loki Season 2 Episode 5, Loki miraculously survives the explosive event, finding himself in a desolate and distorted TVA headquarters. All traces of his friends have vanished, and the very structure of the TVA begins to distort ominously. As Loki grapples with the chaos, he experiences bouts of time-slipping, thrusting him into various branched timelines.
Within these altered realities, Loki's friends, once familiar as Mobius, Hunter B-15, Casey, and Ouroboros, have been reset to lead entirely different lives. Determined to undo the cataclysmic explosion, Loki seeks the help of Dr. A.D. Doug, whose expertise may be the key to regaining control over his unpredictable time-slipping abilities.
To facilitate this mission, Doug suggests a plan: Loki must reunite everyone affected by the explosion. However, Sylvie, the only one retaining her memories, remains reluctant to join their mission. With persistence, Sylvie encourages Loki to confront his true motivations. It becomes evident that Loki's driving force is not merely correcting the timeline but the profound desire to reunite with his friends, driven by the fear of loneliness.
Naturally, everything falls apart but the catastrophe allows Loki to finally understand what must be done. As writer Eric Martin confirms with GamesRadar, the realization finally allowed Loki to control his new power.
"Free will is at the heart of all of this and there's no black and white here. It is just various shades of grey. Who is the one to grant free will? Is it anyone's to grant? You could just let everything be chaotic and wild but if you do that, you're also making a decision that's impacting people," he said.
"But I think what that conversation with Sylvie also does is that we see all of that fall apart," Martin continued. "Loki goes back into that moment and is like, 'Yeah, I care about these people. This is worth saving. I need to save them. I can save them.' Ultimately, that's what opens up his ability to control the time-slipping. So now he has that ability and he's going to try to save his people."
Can Time-Slipping Save the TVA?
Technically, time-slipping isn't a new power since we already saw Loki struggling with the ability in the premiere episode of Loki Season 2. At first, the God of Mischief saw it as a problem (and it did look like it hurt him whenever it happened). On the other hand, it was the time-slipping that allowed Loki to come up with a cure when he tells Past OB to invent the Temporal Aura Extractor.
Time-slipping might be seen as a problem but it has already proven to be useful to the God of Mischief in Loki Season 2. However, it isn't until the penultimate episode that he figures out that the problem is actually a solution to everything. With that in mind, we're hoping Loki figures out how to save everyone in the TVA and the Sacred Timeline this week.
Loki Season 2 Episode 6 will be the final episode of the current season. It is already set to premiere on November 9, 2023.
