WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Episode 2 of Loki
The second episode of Loki ended on quite the cliffhanger. After the reveal of the mayhem-causing Loki Variant's identity, she disappeared into another time period with the TVA's Loki following behind her.
Going into Episode 3, it looks like viewers are in for a chase throughout time, with the protagonist Loki Variant attempting to hunt down and defeat the antagonist Loki Variant. It seems like these two could end up anywhere in time, but the episode does provide some hints as to where the rival Loki's will venture to.
LOKI TIME PERIODS REVEALED AT THE TVA?
As the Sacred Timeline spirals out of control at the end of Loki's second episode, the TVA is seen experiencing the madness, and the audience is shown just how much trouble is being caused for the timeline.
A list of all the time periods that seem to be affected by the Loki Variant's scheme can be seen on a screen at TVA headquarters for a few brief seconds, with the following time periods and locations flashing by
- March 31, 1492: Lisbon, Portugal
- April 23, 2301: Vormir
- October 25, 1551: Thorton, USA
- November 22, 1999: Cookeville, USA
- February 16, 2004: Asgard
- October 3, 1390: Rome, Italy
- August 13, 1984: Sakaar, Tayo
- February 2, 1808: Barichara, Colombia
- July 14, 1708: Porvoo, Finland
- December 22, 1382: Ego
- October 13, 1982: Titan
- September 21, 1947: New York, USA
- March 1, 1984: Tokyo, Japan
- January 3, 0051: Hala
- April 2, 1999: Kingsport, USA
- September 24, 1001: Xandar
- November 23, 2065: Bejing, China
- July 18, 1903: Madrid, Spain
- April 4, 1887: ??? (the date briefly flashes onscreen, but the scene cuts away before the location can be revealed)
TOM HIDDLESTON'S LOKI AND THE TVA ARE FINALLY GOING BEYOND EARTH
While it's unlikely all these locations will be included in a single episode, this could be the lineup of locations set to be features in the remaining four installments of Loki. This theory is supported by some shots seen in various promotional videos for the series showing certain locations listed above, most notably Asgard and Vormir.
All three of the locations throughout history that Loki and other members of the TVA visited in Episode 2 — Wisconsin, Pompeii, and Alabama — were Earth-based. The premiere even saw Loki travel to the Gobi Desert via the Tesseract. While part of the fun of a time travel series is to see characters visit different time periods of the past that viewers are familiar with and futures that they can speculate about being similar to their society's own, the TVA has been established to preside over the timeline of the entire universe, and that includes planets and realms that reach far beyond Earth...including Loki's own home of Asgard.
Since Marvel fans know there is much more to the MCU than just Earth and have gotten to see some other corners of the universe over the years, it only makes sense that Loki's story would take its characters beyond Earth and whatever plane the TVA exists on.
All the listed locations in space are ones that have been visited in previous projects, including Vormir, Ego, Sakaar, Hala, and, of course, Asgard, likely to make the time travel in a later episode feel even more impactful. By choosing familiar locations, there is an inherent juxtaposition of the way the audience has seen it previously and what it looks like in whatever time period it appears in during Loki.
VORMIR
Appearing in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Vormir is the location of the Soul Stone, as guarded by Red Skull. Thanos sacrificed Gamora in 2018 in order to obtain the stone in Infinity War.
Vormir appeared again in 2019's Endgame Hawkeye and Black Widow traveled back to Vormir circa 2014 where Natasha ended up sacrificing herself so the Avengers could obtain the Soul Stone and bring back the half of the universe that Thanos decimated with the Infinity Gauntlet's power.
ASGARD
Asgard can be seen in all three Thor movies that have come out to date, as it is the homeland of the God of Thunder himself. As of Avengers: Endgame, the remaining Asgardians who survived the destruction of their land in Thor: Ragnarok and the attack from Thanos at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War now live in "New Asgard" located in Norway on Earth.
SAKAAR
Much of Thor: Ragnarok's runtime was set in Sakaar, an artificial "trash planet" created and ruled by the Grandmaster. This is where Hulk ended up after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and was then forced to partake in gladiator-style battles for the entertainment of the Grandmaster and the planet's inhabitants.
EGO
Ego is a living planet seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and the father of Peter Quill. A powerful Celestial being, he required a Celestial heir in order to achieve his ultimate goal of transforming the entire universe into extensions of himself, but was destroyed by Quill and the other Guardians of the Galaxy, resulting in the planet ceasing to exist.
TITAN
The home planet of Thanos, Titan had an overpopulation issue that eventually led to its transformation from a lush and fruitful world to a barren wasteland with only the Mad Titan himself as a survivor. The extinction of the planet's other inhabitants convinced Thanos that his idea of randomly killing half the population was a good solution to preserving its resources, and he went on to do just that on a universal scale in Avengers: Infinity War, with several Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy battling him on Titan itself.
HALA
As seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and more prominently in Captain Marvel, Hala is the home of the Kree. The planet has been at war with both Xandar and the Skrulls, and Carol Danvers lived on Hala for several years between being abducted in 1989 and returning to Earth in 1995.
XANDAR
Appearing in both Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Xandar is the home of the Nova Corps, who, together with the Ravagers and Guardians of the Galaxy, managed to defeat Ronan the Accuser and end the planet's war with Hala.
NEW YORK
While New York is an Earth-based location, it is one of the most significant locations in the MCU to date. The city has been home to Iron Man, Peter Parker, and Doctor Strange. Plus, it's also where Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes grew up, and it has been home to two separate operating locations that the Avengers call home. Loki's infamous attack in The Avengers also occurred in this city, resulting in the Battle of New York that introduced the Avengers to the world.
Even after leaving Avengers Tower, the team's headquarters remained in the state, with a new facility being built in Age of Ultron and subsequently being destroyed in Endgame. While the Avengers don't currently have an official facility (it's questionable if they even officially exist as a team in the MCU at this point), this does mean that the epic final battle against Thanos in Endgame also took place in the state of New York.
TIME BOMB TROUBLE FOR THE TVA
These locations combined with the other Earth-based ones listed above seem like a random assortment of which to "time bomb", but some do make quite a bit of sense. Vormir and Ego contain a lot of power, and as of 2004, Asgard is the location of Thor's Mjolnir. New York, of course, is a huge hub on planet Earth, especially if the Variant chose its namesake city to time-bomb.
Promotional footage for the series has depicted a scene of Loki in Asgard's Throne Room which could reasonably take place in 2004, but the shots of New York don't appear to fit the 1947 time frame considering its inclusion of Avengers' tower.
The other scene that appears to be set in New York takes place in what looks like the inside of Avengers Tower circa 2012. Loki is seen sporting his look from the film, meaning he may return to the time and place he started in at the beginning of the show's first episode.
It's possible that Loki will find a way to get himself back there at the end of the finale in order to live out his "real" life the way he wants to, but given a second season of Loki seems quite likely at this point, it doesn't seem like there's a good chance of this scenario happening.
New episodes of Loki are released on Disney+ every Wednesday.
