#loki s1e5

[elodiah]

Lokius Week Day 1

S1 E5 - Journey into Mystery

Elo’s Fave Moment/s:

It will surprise absolutely no one that my favourite Lokius moment in this episode is The Hug. The one, single, solitary hug we have ever seen these two share. The longest hug in the MCU to date, clocking in at 13 seconds. The one where Loki did that little tender movement with his fingers that was wholly unnecessary, and for a split second we see that Mobius had his eyes closed, like he was savouring the best pie of his life.

That hug.

Special mentions go to Loki's "Mobius!" when they reunite (like an excited lil puppy), Sylvie's "he cares about you" which makes Loki shiver and change the subject, and whatever exchange happened off-screen in that damn pizza delivery car for Sylvie to realise these two idiots belong together.

@lokiusweek

[stealingyourbones]

Watching Loki. I’m on episode 4 and I’m trying to see what the hype was about

[gunsandspaceships]

MCU Timeline. Avengers: Infinity War

At the dawn of the universe - nothing.

The Big Bang - formation of the six Infinity Stones.

~500 or 964/965 AD - Thor is born.

Now we have this contradiction: the first Thor movie and all the MCU books tell us he was born in 964 or 965 AD, and this is the only time he says he's 1,500 years old. He could have rounded it up, or it could have been a mistake (like his mispronunciation of "Nidavellir") - pick your favorite explanation.

Early 1945 - during a fight with Steve Rogers, the Red Skull touches the Tesseract, and the Space Stone within it finds him unworthy and sends him to Vormir to serve as a guide for those seeking the Soul Stone.

Early 1990s - Gamora is born on the planet Zen-Whoberi.

~1999 - Thanos kills half of the population of Zen-Whoberi and kidnaps little Gamora, whose parents his army had just executed.

Between the fall of 2014 and May 2018:

Nebula sneaks onto Thanos's ship and attempts to kill him. She almost succeeds, but Thanos captures her.

He takes her to a cell, accesses her memory files, where Gamora mentions that she knows where the Soul Stone is, and then proceeds to torture her.

Between November 2013 and May 2018 - Thanos arrives on Nidavellir and orders Eitri to make him the Infinity Gauntlet. Once it is made, he shuts down the forge and kills all of Nidavellir's dwarves except Eitri, whom he deprives of his hands.

Beginning of June 2016 - with the help of Rogers and Romanoff, Maximoff and Wilson escape from the Raft. Scott Lang and Clint Barton make a deal with the US and German governments to remain under house arrest instead of going into hiding.

~June 2016 - Wanda and Vision start dating.

Okay, here’s the thing about the main event date: it depends on the city. Literally. If we’re in New York, it looks like mid-May, if we’re in Atlanta or Edinburgh, I’d say March. They don’t really go together, so we’ll have to pick one. Considering other movies like Ant-Man and the Wasp and Thor: Ragnarok, our pick should be mid-May 2018.

Can we narrow this down to days? Let's try:

If the calendar here is the same as ours, which is not always the case. But let's assume that it is.

There is also a contradiction in the film regarding the day of the week (Wednesday vs. Tuesday) for the first day. Now there is no hint as to which one we should choose. But as with the month, I assume that what happens in New York is closer to the truth, so I will choose Wednesday.

In mid-May we also have two options: the second week (May 9) and the third (May 16).

So, in What If? S1E5, there's a direct mention that it's been two weeks since Hank went into the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man and the Wasp (May 2), so it must be May 16. What If often makes mistakes, and later in the same episode, it makes an obvious one, but if it works in this case, let's go with that option.

~May 2, 2018 - Vision promises Tony that he will return, turns off his transponder, and leaves with Wanda for Scotland for a two-week vacation.

~May 9, 2018 - Thanos decimates Xandar and takes the Power Stone.

May 15 (Tuesday), 2018. Night - Tony dreams that he and Pepper are having a baby, Morgan.

May 16 (Wednesday), 2018

~11 am - 12 pm in NY:

Thanos attacks the Asgardian refugee ship Statesman and seizes the Space Stone.

Hulk fights Thanos but is easily defeated. Heimdall teleports him to Earth.

The death of half of Asgard's refugees, Heimdall and Loki.

Thanos sends his Black Order to search for the two Infinity Stones on Earth.

Thor is left unconscious in outer space among dead bodies.

Hulk crashes through the roof and stairs of the Sanctum Sanctorum and transforms back into Bruce. He informs Strange and Wong of the impending threat.

Tony and Pepper are running in New York's Central Park. Tony tells Pepper about his dream and asks her for a baby.

They are interrupted by the arrival of Strange and Banner, who take Tony away to save the world.

~1 pm in NY:

Wong gives Tony a lecture about the Infinity Stones. Strange reveals the Time Stone in his necklace. Bruce informs Tony of the situation and that behind the attack on New York in 2012 was also Thanos.

1:20 pm - Bruce tells Tony to call Steve Rogers. Tony tells Bruce that the Avengers have broken up.

Before he can make the call, a Black Order Q-ship arrives above them.

Peter Parker jumps off a school bus headed to MoMA and rushes to the ship's location.

Tony, Strange, Wong and Peter fight Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian. Hulk refuses to come out.

Wong saves Tony by sending Cull Obsidian onto a glacier. He also cuts off his hand. Tony invites him to Pepperony's wedding.

Maw captures Strange and takes him to the Q-Ship.

Peter follows outside. Tony saves him by putting the Iron Spider suit on him. He sends him home, but Peter manages to cling to the ship and get inside.

Tony gets on the ship and tells Pepper that he won't be back for a while.

Wong returns to Sanctum.

1:42 pm - Bruce calls Steve on the phone Tony dropped.

Having received a distress signal from the Statesman, the Guardians of the Galaxy pick up Thor.

~2 pm in NY:

Gamora tells him about Thanos' plan. Thor takes some of their food, Quill's backpack, a pod and goes to Nidavellir with Rocket and Groot.

The rest of the team heads to Knowhere, where the Collector keeps the Reality Stone.

~Unspecified time, afternoon in NY:

Strange wakes up on the Q-Ship, and Maw begins torturing him with needles to obtain the Time Stone.

A rescue team (Tony, Peter and Levi) gathers above them. Peter comes up with a plan from Aliens.

Minutes later - Tony kills Maw by blowing a hole in the ship.

Tony and Steven argue over a course of action and agree to bring the fight with Thanos to Titan.

Tony makes Peter an Avenger.

~6 pm in NY:

~6:30 pm (NY)/11:30 pm (Scotland) - Wanda and Vision are walking through the streets of Edinburgh when they are attacked by Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight of the Black Order. Vision is injured and his powers are suppressed.

6:45 pm (NY)/11:45 pm (Scotland) - they are saved by the arriving Rogues: Rogers, Romanoff and Wilson. Proxima and the injured Glaive retreat. The Rogues take Wanda and Vision back to the Compound.

~Night in NY:

In space, Gamora asks Quill to kill her if Thanos captures her, so that the Titan will not learn the location of the Soul Stone. He vows to do so. They kiss.

By this time, the "invisible" Drax has been standing "motionless" for an hour and eating snacks.

Thanos attacks Knowhere and obtains the Reality Stone from the Collector. He then sets a trap for Gamora using the stone.

May 17 (Thursday), 2018

~Before 7 am in NY:

Rocket gives Thor a cybernetic eye.

GotG arrives on Knowhere. Using the Reality Stone, Thanos easily deals with them and captures Gamora.

GotG return to Benatar, where Quill spends the next five hours sitting and listening to New York Groove.

Aboard his mothership, Thanos shows Gamora her captive sister and tortures Nebula to reveal the location of the Soul Stone.

Thanos takes Gamora with him to Vormir.

While a Chitauri is putting Nebula back together, she kills him and escapes. She sends 23 secret coded messages to GotG asking them to meet her on Titan.

Five hours after Thanos captured Gamora - GotG finally receive Nebula's secret coded messages and travel from Knowhere to Titan.

~7 am in NY/1 pm in Wakanda:

Rogues arrive at the Compound. Rhodey talks to Secretary Ross, who orders him to arrest them. Rhodes waves him off.

The Avengers discuss the situation. Vision tells them that Wanda must destroy the stone in his head. Bruce gets the idea that simply taking it out might work. They head to Wakanda to do it and call T'Challa.

Okoye gathers Wakandan warriors.

T'Challa comes for Bucky Barnes and brings him a new vibranium arm.

Thor, Groot, and Rocket reach Nidavellir and meet with Eitri.

~8 am in NY:

Q-ship carrying Tony, Peter and Strange lands on Titan.

They are immediately attacked by GotG. After a short fight due to a misunderstanding, they form an alliance against Thanos.

Strange uses the Time Stone to see 14,000,605 alternate futures and finds only one winning.

Thanos and Gamora arrive on Vormir, where they are met by the Red Skull. Thanos throws his "daughter" off a cliff for the Soul Stone.

He wakes up with the Stone in his hand.

~9-10 am in NY/3-4 pm in Wakanda:

~9:30 am/3:30 pm - the Quinjet carrying the Rogues, Rhodes, Vision, and Banner arrives in Wakanda, where they are met by T'Challa, his warriors, and Barnes.

Note: The main functional feature of quinjets is that they fly exactly as long as the plot requires, and not as long as they would fly in reality. This is not the first Avengers movie where yesterday it flew to the States all night, and today it took the jet a couple of hours to cover about twice that distance.

~10 am/4 pm - Shuri begins working on Vision and the Mind Stone. Thanos' army enters the planet's atmosphere above Wakanda.

On Nidavellir, Thor, Rocket, Groot, and Eitri restart the forge to create a new weapon, Stormbreaker.

The Battle of Titan.

The Battle of Wakanda.

Creation of the Stormbreaker on Nidavellir.

Bruce in the Hulkbuster kills Cull Obsidian, Wanda kills Proxima Midnight, Vision kills Corvus Glaive.

~10:20 am/4:20 pm - during their duel, Thanos gravely wounds Tony and prepares to kill him, but Strange gives him the Time Stone in exchange for Tony's life.

With five Stones, Thanos teleports to Wakanda. Having not met any worthy resistance for himself, Thanos takes the last Stone from Vision.

10:24 am/4:24 pm - The Snap.

Thanos meets little Gamora in the Soul Stone and then teleports to his garden world to retire in peace.

10:25 am/4:25 pm - 50% of all living beings in the Universe disappear from reality.

Nick Fury manages to send an SOS signal to Captain Marvel's pager before turning to dust.

Note: Does Marvel want to explain why Edinburgh and Atlanta look more like it's winter, while in New York it's almost summer?

Tony and Nebula are left alone on Titan.

~Later that day:

At some point, they depart for Earth on the Benatar.

The remaining Avengers return to the Compound to monitor losses.

Over the next few days:

They visit Fury's last location and find his pager, which they bring to the Compound.

Days later - Carol Danvers arrives at the Compound and soon after heads back into space to search for Tony.

MCU Timeline: The Infinity Saga

[loki-is-my-kink-awakening]

S1E5 Lokius moments

Reunion

Loki's little excited "Mobius!" when they see him. They have to stop themself running at him. It's so cute.

"He cares about you"

The way Loki would rather pretend to be cold than actively discuss how Mobius cares for them. Love is scary!

"Thanks for the spark"

Forever feral about how Loki and Mobius quote phrases back to each other as a way to show they care.

Flirty smiles

Their little blushes are adorable. The fact that episode 5 in both seasons has a moment of Lokius simply flirting with one another forever holds my heart

Handshakes 2.0

The way Loki stares at Mobius' hand and then shakes their head to initiate a hug continues to make me scream.

The Hug

World's most romantic hug lasting 13 seconds; what's not to love?

Love is a Lokius dagger 2.0

It's no coincidence that we get Mobius giving Loki daggers and then a blade visible during the hug. Yes, it's a sword, I know.

"You're my favorite"

Mobius and Sylvie definitely discussed this in the pizza car. Sylvie's smile tells me she knows exactly what Lokius means to one another.

Loki's longing look goodbye

Loki keeping their eyes on Mobius until he disappears lives in my head rent free.

Bonus: TVA as a romantic metaphor

Boastful Loki asks if Loki left their glorious purpose behind in the TVA. Loki replies, "Something like that." While Loki is likely referring to Sylvie because they know Mobius has been pruned and isn't in the TVA, the reason TVA as a romantic metaphor is important is because in S2 Loki and Mobius both talk about the TVA when deflecting their obvious feelings for one another.

S1E5 | @lokiusweek day 1

[percheduphere]

LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT MOBIUS WOULD CHOOSE

Here's the thing:

If given the choice, Mobius would 100% choose to stay with Loki at the End of Time instead of living his life out on the timelines.

It would be completely in-character for him to admit this and enthusiastically choose it because Loki has been Mobius's choice in almost every episode of the series with the exceptions of S1E3, S1E6, S2E4, and S2E5.

In S1, I think it's important to note that while working with Loki in S1E1 and S1E2 serves the TVA's purposes, both episodes hinge on Mobius wanting to believe in Loki in the first place. There is a stronger emotional undercurrent guiding all of Mobius's actions that is consistent through the S2 finale.

In S2, tellingly, the relationship firmly reciprocates with S2E1 through S2E6 showing Loki choosing Mobius, with particular attention in S2E4 and S2E5 (the very same episodes in which Mobius isnt given a plot opportunity to choose Loki). It's subtle, but the act of choosing Mobius actually begins as early as S1E4 (choosing to trust Mobius despite the memory loop torture and wanting his friendship). Loki's conviction in Mobius gradually increases alongside intensity through, once again, the S2 finale.

S1E1: Mobius chooses to save Loki from Renslayer and deletion. He chooses to believe Loki isn't a villain. The whole premise of the series relies on Mobius's belief and Mobius's choice to act on it.

S1E2: Mobius chooses to: 1.) believe in Loki's apocalypse theory, 2.) believe in Loki's deduction that Sylvie is hiding in Alabama, 3.) bring Loki out into field (where Loki's unpredictability and uncontrollability are highest; logically, Mobius should have left him at the TVA), 4.) give Loki his daggers.

S1E4: Mobius chooses to 1.) believe in Loki's claims that the TVA is lying, 2.) put his life on the line to free Loki and help Sylvie.

S1E5: Mobius chooses to bring Sylvie to Loki in the Void.

S2E1: Mobius chooses to 1.) prioritize Loki's health and well-being, 2.) put his life on the line to stop Loki's timeslipping.

S2E2: Mobius chooses to be: 1.) vulnerable with Loki, 2.) encourage Loki's cunning and more terrifying qualities.

S2E3: Mobius chooses to encourage Loki's use of magic.

S2E4: Loki chooses Mobius. Tom choosing to place himself between Sylvie and the pies (protecting Mobius when he is vulnerable) was a lovely choice.

S2E5: Loki chooses Mobius. I'm so annoyed I can't find the gif of Loki talking about how Mobius should have a choice.

S2E6: Mobius chooses to leave the TVA because Loki is no longer there and looks at his original timeline, as Loki gently encouraged him to.

Mobius would choose Loki at the End of Time in a heartbeat. What other option would he choose?

[olemisekunst]

Loki (2021) – S1E5 - Journey Into Mystery

[sylkithecat]

Giftober 2023 | Day 17/31: Mirrors & LOKI APPRECIATION WEEK 2023 | Day 2/7: Favorite Episode

Loki S1E5: Journey Into Mystery Loki S2E6: Glorious Purpose

For @giftober @dailyloki @mcuchallenge

[moonys-chocolate28]

Just watched dp&w at 2 am last night and I have to say I loved it very much.

I loved the Loki s1e5 line.

Logan lashing out in the car???

Casually drinking rubbing alcohol

He did not get Johnny killed guys, there was proof he said all that

Also, Elektra!!!! Daredevil AND Punisher mention!!!

Deadpool's remarks were, as always, delightful

Cassandra TOUCHING the INSIDE of people's heads i was not prepared for

Nicepool :(

Dogpool!!!!

All the other pools?¿?¿?¿

PETER!!!!

‘All the deadpools have peters in their universe’ is such lazy writing to get them out of that situation but I love it anyways

Loved the credits!!!!

[lettingtimepass]

Loki Parallels

S1E4: Loki "dies" S1E5: Loki finds out he was stronger than he thought he was

S2E4: Loki "dies" S2E4: Loki finds out he was stronger than he thought he was

And dare I say it......?

S1E6: Loki kisses his love interest for the wrong reason

S2E6: Loki kisses his love interest for the right reason

[kiteblue42]

s2e2 made me think about Mobius / Loki from Mobius point of view - what the heck is going on with him anyway?

Stream of consciousness on S1 -S2ep2 follows….

S1e1 - The one where Mobius goes from manipulative to empathetic.

Mobius has studied all of Loki’s life, he’s actually informed as soon as Loki is brought in (the TVA know about this particular interest of his.) In his own word “lm actually a fan.” This could all be manipulation until last scene where Loki confesses he doesn’t like hurting people. Loki can’t see Mobius expression as he says this - which if he was just manipulating would be triumphant instead Mobius looks full of compassion - so we know this is not just someone using Loki there’s some personal feeling there.

S1 e2 - The one where Mobius loses control of his feelings but doesn’t know it yet.

Renslayer spots this first - pointing out Mobius “soft spot for broken things” which Mobius denies (will we get more on that?). Mobius claims he’d still be able to prune Loki “I’ll prune him myself” and in Roxxcart heavily questions whether Loki is trustworthy. “Why are people you can’t trust always saying trust me.” The last thing he says to Loki before the infamous “divorce scene”.

S1e3 - The one with no Mobius 🙁

doesn’t have enough Mobius for us to judge really I just assume he’s ranting to himself in his head the whole time.

S1e4 The one where Mobius accepts (some of) his feelings.

This episode opens with an obviously very hurt and betrayed Mobius. So now we know that whatever he told Renslayer (about being able to handle his Loki) and he all his very logical cautionary language (about trust) in the end it was nonsense. He’d completely lost his heart at some point in S1e2 and had been in denial about it. He’s also beginning to doubt the TVA mission here and hasn’t been able to process any of that logically. So we see a very emotional Mobius is the interrogation scenes. Its useful for the audience because he straight out tells us he thought Loki was a partner (“I guess you don’t do partners”) and a friend (“… a really bad friend”). (This isn’t necessarily romantic though the “Sylvie with an i or ie” thing certainly raises eyebrows”).

At some point in Ep 4 Mobius pulls himself together enough to do some pretty calculated sleuthing on Renslayer. Then we see a partial coming together of Mobius head and heart in the time jail scene where you can see him acknowledging Loki as a friend, making a conscious decision to trust him. “I got to take the word of 2 Loki’s” “how about the word of a friend”.

The offer here is to help save Sylvie which is something he is doing for Loki (he hasn’t even spoken with her at this point and has very little interaction with her ever as it goes). In fact this will cost him his life (since Renslayer almost immediately prunes him). Given the speed of events there’s only really time for a partial acceptance of whatever messy feeling Mobius has for Loki - it goes from yes we’re friends to now I’m willing to die in the space of three strides.

S1e5 - The one where Sylvie is Mobius’ perfect excuse to ignore his feelings

This is the only episode where Mobius has any extended interaction with Sylvie - though we don’t see that much of it. But it is interesting & crucial as it tells Mobius that Sylvie is interested in Loki. One of the first things she says is that she came to the void to look for Loki. I think that’s important because we see Mobius concede pretty much all ground to Sylvie in the episode. Later Sylvie tells Loki “he cares about you” - so Mobius must have done or said something for her to figure that out - and it’s not a question she’s pretty confident about it. The Loki / Mobius final scene is the long hug beloved by Lokious shippers everywhere. What’s interesting is that Loki says “thank you my friend.” Whereas Mobius deflects and almost hands off the emotion to Sylvie with the “you’re my favourite.” It’s clearly *not true* that Sylvie is his favourite he’s met her for all of five minutes so what is this? It reads as an acceptance / concession that the more important partner for Loki will be Sylvie. Whatever messy feelings Mobius may have he’s doing the “I’m happy for you” thing. Again it’s not necessarily romantic. I don’t think Mobius would know - and now has no reason to even examine it or deal with his feelings which I suspect suits him just fine. Just like when you have a really close friend and they get together with someone you know that chapter of friendship is over - and there’s little point in wondering if it could be more.

S1e6 - The one where eons of friendship mean little

Not much Mobius content and we don’t see them together unless you count the last scene. The most interesting insight probably comes from Mobius / Renslayer scene where Renslayer makes a good point about Mobius choosing Loki over her. Logically there are good reasons Mobius would make that choice the TVA has been morally dubious at best and Renslayer tried to kill him. But what is interesting is Mobius’ emotional reaction - he just seems sad and resigned about what happened between them despite the friendship supposedly lasting eons. Contrast this with his emotions in s1e4 in response to a lesser betrayal by Loki.

S2e1 - The one where Mobius would rather die than talk about it

Given the speed at which things happen in this episode it’s another one where processing feelings is not going to happen.

Mobius opens the season is a different place to the season close - re TVA s1 ends with him declaring he’ll “burn it to the ground”. S2 starts with him questioning what they should do “everything you are doing was wrong and all your gods are dead”.

When Loki & Mobius finally find each other in the war room Mobius instinct is to get the near hysterical Loki out of the room and alone. He asks where Sylvie is almost immediately - hears enough to work out there’s unfinished business there. Partially understands the HWR threat but focuses on the time slipping. It’s worth noting that Loki and Mobius have somehow ended up in the same ambiguous position re the TVA vs Sylvie & B15 who are probably still in the “burn it to the ground frame of mind”. For all Mobius ambiguity this season so far the one thing he does seem clear about is his loyalty to Loki - he trusts everything he says without question and his priority in e1 is to fix the time slipping (this is no one else’s priority not even Loki’s). Note everyone else’s gods might be dead but Mobius god is still alive.

The episode ends with Mobius willing to die horribly to save Loki ( very nearly doing so). I’ll need to rewatch but I’m not sure if Loki actually knows this is a death sentence for Mobius (although maybe it’s obvious that’s what will happen if you lose all your skin). IIRC OB is only clear about “you will die” after Loki time slips to the future. In any case Loki can’t know in advance that Mobius will stay out in the walkway far too long.

Before Loki timeslips we have one of those “what was he going to say” declaration scenes. Very frustrating, but Mobius reaction is interesting he interrupts - which means he’s worried about whatever it’s going to be. Whether it’s going to be sone emotional declaration of love or friendship or a plea to find Sylvie - he does not want to hear it. He’s willing to go and die horribly before dealing with that - very on brand.

S2e2 - the one where Mobius is a silly little man

The meat of this episode (for our purposes) are the interrogation scenes onwards, but it’s worth noting before these that Mobius is not very focused or serious in the earlier scenes. In London he’s cool about stopping for a drink, when they go to see OB he casually declares “he has it all under control”, when they are trying to decode the tempad Loki calls him out to focus. There’s something there about Mobius disassociating from the task at hand. An interesting point is when Loki explains about the Renslayer recording in the past Mobius starts to ask “ when we’re you going to tell …?” But he gets interrupted which does tell us Loki has not given chapter and verse to Mobius yet - and bearing in mind Mobius seems (so far) to have put himself entirely in Loki’s hands this season that may come back to haunt us.

I could say a lot about the interrogation scenes but I’ll pull 3 things from them

(1) More evidence Mobius trusts Loki completely and accepts his dark side - evidenced by the approach to the second interrogation and also not intervening when Brad was taunting Loki in the first one.

2) Mobius doesn’t know what is real anymore

In s1e2 Mobius says of the time keepers “they are real because I believe they are real”. Which is an interesting position and Mobius starting point in life is accepting where he finds himself. So Brads persistent theme of “none of this is real” attacks the very basis which on Mobius operates. He doesn’t know what to believe anymore and does not know therefore what is real.

(3) Mobius does not have a lot of self worth.

This follows from 2 really. Mobius is the sort of person who accepts whats put in front of him and gains meaning from doing the task assigned to him by and for someone else. But now what does that mean - even his name is not his real name. He is “nothing” in Brad’s words (he repeats that later) and when he says “you’re a silly little man” it’s like that’s how he thinks of himself.

The pie scene

At the start of this scene Mobius tries (and fails) to keep up a facade with Loki. It tells you that Mobius gets most of his self worth from doing his job well and thinks he failed. The “heavy keys” line is also revealing - it tells us he would really like to be a match for Loki but his down cast demeanour tells us he doesn’t believe he can be.

Loki handles this all rather well (in general Loki handles Mobius rather well - when he is paying attention - but that’s another sort of post) and gets Mobius to fess up to losing it. We then get the revealing discussion about Mobius “life on the timeline” which as he points out is not his life. He starts with an obvious lie that he is happy with his life and wants to thank the person who put him there (that may have been true once but does not look very true now). Again it goes back to the idea of low self worth - Mobius thinks the alt version of him would be having a good life / doing better than him. That is not a happy thought if you are feeling bad, really bad, about yourself. He does not want that rattling around in his head.

McDonalds to end of episode

Mobius has pulled himself back together by the time we get here. The most revealing comment is probably the “mean girls” style commentary on Loki / Sylvie who both Brad and Mobius assume are having a heart to heart (they aren’t really when you listen to it). It gives us an echo of “Sylvie with an i or ie” from last season & very fun for that. Ultimately it seems pretty clear Mobius expects to lose Loki to Sylvie some point (it doesn’t have to be romantic - you can lose a good friend to a romantic partner because a romantic partner will generally be the priority). Mobius is pretty unreadable (other than sad/ serious) in the end set of sequences. There’s a micro reaction / acknowledgment to Loki’s hand on his shoulder at the finish - possibly he expected Loki to leave with Sylvie. Mentally I think Mobius expects logically that is what will happen, but this is a character who will not be emotionally prepared if it does (at least not yet).

Yes I am over thinking it ofc … 🤣

[neyafromfrance95]

sylkis, we need to recognize that loki did betray sylvie.

in s1e5, loki gave sylvie his word that he would stand by her and wouldn't turn on her after they found the one who was behind the tva, but he did exactly what he had promised her not to do after they found hwr.

and in s2, sylvie reunites with loki who willingly works for the tva and has a nerve to ask her to help saving it - saving the same organization that committed genocide against her people, completely annihilated her world and has been persecuting her ever since she was a child.

and that's only the beginning. in s2e3, loki defends kang against sylvie once again. just try seeing her point of view, please - he is physically fighting her, hitting her with his magic, all in order to protect the man whom she perceives as her abuser. he is working for the organization that, to her knowledge, is still pruning the billions.

don't forget that sylvie has pathological trust issues and yet she trusted someone for the first time in her life. so loki's behavior must have hurt her more than anything else ever has!

does loki do all of this for the greater good? yes! is this still a betrayal of sylvie. also yes.

the fact is that loki took the side of sylvie's sworn enemies and the fandom not recognizing it drives me insane! the whole tension is a lot more angsty when we see it for what it is. and as a shipper, i love it!

[kaedelaufeyson02]

Loki mysterious scene

From S1E5 promo (0:42)

I wonder how this scene would play out...

It's the same suit as avengers 2012. By the background, I think it could be the Stark tower, maybe another way this scene could've gone

[mcuchallenge]

Your nominations for Loki week Day 2 (Day 1 here and here)

[in-my-loki-feels]

Title: Sweeten the Pot

Rating: T

Fandom: Loki (TV)

Relationship: Loki/Mobius M. Mobius

Some Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship, Feelings Are Developing, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Loki Needs A Nap, Mobius Needs a Break, Flustered Mobius, Hands-On Loki, Daggers, the dagger sheath/harness from S1E5 (but on Mobius this time)

Word Count: 6.9k [complete]

Summary:

If Loki wasn’t at his best, he wouldn’t be of much help to the TVA, and Mobius knew Ravonna’s patience was limited. If they took too long, it wouldn’t matter if Loki was falling in line or not. She’d blame the lack of progress on the—what had B-15 written? Insubordinate, stubborn, unpredictable variant. Mobius needed to find a way to show Loki that Mobius—and the TVA—weren’t all that bad, something to earn a little good will and maybe inspire Loki to get on board. A treat that would convince Loki not to bite the hand feeding him. Well. Mobius cocked his head as an idea came to him. It might be a little indulgent, but he thought it could work.

Another Lokius bingo fic! A missing scene taking place during S1E2, this time covering the prompts: "Library date", "Loki teaches Mobius how to use a dagger", and "Quid pro quo". Bingo card under the cut.

I hope you enjoy! 💚🧡

@lokiusbingo @kcscribbler

[percheduphere]

LET'S TALK ABOUT "HE'LL MAKE IT BACK"

Special thank you to @mmobiuses, @starrose17, and @stevenrogered whose gifs make-up the lion's share of this post. Thank you to all the other amazing gif artists as well, without you, my metas won't be possible.

This might come as a surprise to a lot of people, but I actually wasn't big on Lokius until Season 2. I thought Loki and Mobius made a cute ship in Season 1, but that was the extent of it. In truth, I lost interest in the Loki series by the S1 finale and had 0 interest in watching S2. I didn't give the series another try until I saw positive reviews on Tumblr. I therefore started watching S2 when S2E4 dropped.

LOKI SEASON 1

Enjoying the potential love story between two characters is a deeply personal and subjective experience. So take what I say as my personal experience observing Loki and Mobius's relationship.

I fully believed Mobius loved Loki in S1 in the platonic sense. Tom Hiddleston has given a few interviews on Loki's and Mobius's relationship and seems to believe in this sentiment as well [see 5:30-7:30 and 10:57-11:00]).

That is to say, in S1, I didn't feel, "Oh, my god ... he loves him." It was more, "Yes, he loves him", there is no question, his actions prove it.

There is wiggle-room for unrequited love in the S1E4 interrogation scene, but the jealousy Mobius exhibited could have just as easily been a combination of anger on behalf of his murdered colleagues and platonic jealousy.

However, I felt the first hint of unrequited love from Mobius occurred during his goodbye scene with Loki in S1E5. Specifically, this look:

I had no expectations for that look to pay off in any way. Season 2 surprised me.

LOKI SEASON 2

S2E1 is amazing episode because, through subtext, it reframes how Mobius's S1 emotions may be interpreted with stronger evidence for romantic motivation. In this episode, there appears to be a subtle, gradual build-up to the moment that Mobius's love for Loki may be viewed as fully romantic. Let's break down the episode and look at the progression:

First, learning that Loki is at the TVA: *sigh* I can't find the "Loki's here?" gif.

Second, and perhaps the most infamous, the reunion and whole-body support Mobius provides Loki in the TVA War Room (physical comfort):

Third, Mobius bringing Loki somewhere safe and quiet, assuring him that "it's okay" (emotional comfort):

Fourth, Mobius insisting that Loki's condition must be fixed, not once but twice, in two different scenes. A third (writer's magic 3s!) instance occurs in the Heart of the TVA, just before the gangway scene (prioritizing the other):

Fifth, Mobius's admission that Loki's timeslipping looks horrible, and he can't look at it anymore. He repeatedly stresses to Loki how serious this is (emotional and physical empathy):

Sixth, Mobius taking Loki to exact right person who can help. This is particularly significant, because Mobius is the only person in MCU canon who has verbally expressed concern for Loki's physical well-being and took immediate action to stop the pain (act of service):

Seventh, the third time Mobius prioritizes Loki's wellbeing. He scolds Loki and reminds him they have only one shot at getting his timeslipping corrected before the temporal radiation becomes too high (prioritizing the other):

Eighth, Mobius interrupting Loki, insisting that he will make it back. The subtext here is that no other outcome is acceptable or thinkable for Mobius (emotional comfort):

Finally, Ninth, the clincher: "He'll make it back." (self-comfort)

This scene is everything to me. Moments 1 through 8 build-up to this singular moment. Let's do a micro-analysis on it.

After Loki timeslips, the camera stays on Mobius. It tracks him as he kneels down to pick-up the time sick, the last thing Loki touched. The camera then pans up as Mobius rises.

@stevenrogered, THANK YOU for this gifset. It's literally the only one I could find that captures the camera tracking Mobius after Loki disappears, and this is my all-time favorite Mobius scene.

Mobius stands for a moment, motionless, and the camera holds on his facial expression. He's staring at where Loki WAS for extended period of time (keep this in mind for later). He's holding his breath. He's worried, scared, and hopeful, not for himself and the danger he faces on the gangway, but for Loki.

Finally, he exhales as he says to himself, "He'll make it back".

This entire sequence--particularly the moment when Mobius picks-up the time stick and holds it in silence--made me feel, "Oh ... Oh ... he loves him."

The camera stays with Mobius, capturing his reaction to this high-stakes situation for a significant amount of time (@loki-us, maybe you can get this timed starting from the moment Loki disappears and Mobius starts to kneel to pick-up the time stick?). Cinematographers don't do this type of hold unless they want to illicit a strong emotion from the audience regarding the character we are focusing on in the moment.

My insides swooped, which rarely ever happens when I view film or television.

And this camera hold, this pregnant pause, is mirrored by Loki's stare in S2E5:

[theitcharchives]

I caved. I watched Loki S2

Loki season two was fine but too many of you are being insufferable about the series itself and its lore. Timelines and universes are not interchangeable things–a universe contains timelines according to the series' lore itself and I don't understand how people do not understand this. MCU Loki now holds the timelines of 199999. Quit throwing the 616 thing around (looking at you Feige) and talking about "worlds". Variants are the same people across timelines according to logic, that's why some of the Lokis in S1E5 (iirc episode number) made no sense–Mobius did.

The first season remains one of the worst things I've ever had the misfortune to see, so to say I'm pleasantly surprised by the second is something.

Be warned–pleasantly surprised does not mean "omg it's perfect" it means "I did not expect this measure of respect for character and narrative, there's some good points and there's definitely bad points".

Still, the first three episodes were boring. The narrative in them and in some places of the second three was clunky. Things were underexplained and impersonal, both rushed and scattered. X-05 did not appear outside of the first season premiere, not even the first season proper (according to the internet because I indeed had zero recollection of him and refuse to rewatch S1) yet the second season treats him as if the audience is familiar with him–and it's confusing as heck. I cannot even properly recall what exactly happened in those episodes because it was so clunky and scattered and half explained. Especially the characters and their goals and stakes. I barely cared for Loki's, let alone anyone else's–well except Ouroboros. I love that guy.

Wow, we have to save all these freed timelines? Sure. I mean it's the right thing to do, so let's do it. It would've been so easy to actually get the audience to personally care–have Loki realize in those infinite timelines, there were some he could be happy in. His mother, his brother, even his father to whom his attachment is not resolved, there had to be timelines where they were happy and safe, perhaps even with him. In some of those timelines, Loki gets his revenge on Thanos, he gets to heal. He comes to term with his birth and heritage, he remedies the wrongs he has been done and has done to others in turn. Yes, those timelines deserve to exist, because Loki should know he deserves to be happy too. His "friends" too. Those stories deserve to exist.

Speaking of under-explained... so at one point Loki just... gains control over time jumps? Like that? Did I miss something in the whole thing? Like if it's because it's him, according to The Who being what is important ("in magic", I would have expected) then say it.

Some pieces were predictable. The whole interrogation of X-05 match one and two, the ending path itself (I was surprised by the tree thing though), Loki pruning himself (did that scene really need to be drawn out like that? We get what's happening, get on with it).

Some pieces were drawn out like the self-pruning, like retrieving Victor Timely. The whole time I was like "You've seen him, you can block objects in mid-air and teleport people in cages, snatch him and throw him in a portal so he can see the TVA instead of just talking to him and convince him–why does he need to be convinced?? Show him!!?" Details like these, like the machine that makes the shrinking cubes being left at all in the cell, Ravonna not actually looking to see if any other minutemen were considering her offer before compressing them all (I guess they had to slim down the cast, but man), Loki the Jotun with super strength having to run kilometers to catch one human–silly.

Things that were left out–Thanos, completely. The Jotun heritage. Loki being the scapegoat child in the narcissistic royal family, all his conditioning. It is said he wants a throne, it is never acknowledged why: being groomed to do so since childhood through mentions he was born to be a king, upbringing, education, treatment by family and society. The gender fluidity and sexuality, though with the MCU's regard for those things, it's likely better they left them alone–though the lack of shapeshifting was miffing. New York was handled better than I would've expected, but still breezily.

Now to be fair, many things were good. B-5 outright stating that the pruning the TVA does is an atrocity and convincing others. I'm ambivalent about Loki and Mobius–their relationship in the first season was a terrible one, but they genuinely roped me in in the second. Some things were funny in that delicate way that doesn't need clownery and one-liners that I'd been missing ever since the first two Thor movies. Ouroboros (especially in episode 5–ouch, too close to home). The soundtrack, amazing. The acting came across as more heartfelt. I even managed to tolerate Sylvie in the last few episodes–and oh yeah, leaving romance of any kind out, completely. Thank fuck. Loki actually being the main character of his own series. The fifth and sixth episodes. The sets, the props also felt real. The final outfit is growing on me. The dialogues, the interactions, the camera work, my gods, some parts were amazing. I am willing to rewatch it to make more sense of things, and look at other MCU works to see if it will impact them. I had given up on the MCU–Loki roped me in, Loki gave me back some interest when I thought it was dead for good.

Oh I'm still mad all my searches for comics appearances are cluttered with MCU stuff. I'll be mad until it calms out. "What if it never-" then I guess I'll never stop holding a grudge and complaining.

In the end, I'm just glad Loki got his not-terrible ending. I don't like that his final choice and chance was to sacrifice himself and all his needs for others, sitting in a tree holding the 199999 universe's timelines together, alone after saying teary eyed that he doesn't want to be alone. But it's still better than how he was treated and discarded from T:Ragnarok to Infinity War, and it doesn't exclude Loki from showing up again, some way or the other.

Obligatory link to the Loki comics reading list.