Loki’s TVA twist completely redefines a mysterious Mobius scene
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Loki Episode 3.
The Time Variance Authority lies, even to its own agents. That’s what Loki Episode 3 revealed in its closing act, with Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie dropping the bombshell confirmation that the TVA’s agents are all captured time variants who have had their memories wiped by the organization. It’s a reveal that, thankfully, answers one of the biggest questions Marvel fans have had about the TVA since Loki premiered.
It also explains one of the weirdest scenes from Loki Episode 2.
Ravonna’s Other Analyst — Early on in Loki’s second episode, Owen Wilson’s Mobius meets with Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ravonna Renslayer to discuss the status of his ongoing search for Di Martino’s Loki variant. Throughout the scene, Mobius questions Renslayer about some of the souvenirs from previous cases that she keeps in her office. He doesn’t remember some of them coming from his own missions, and all Renslayer says is that they’re from another analyst that she works with.
It’s a weird scene that, at first, seems to be setting up the eventual reveal of another Mobius-esque TVA detective. However, now that we know Mobius is probably a variant whose memories are being kept from him, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case anymore.
Because what if Mobius is the other analyst Ravonna is cryptically referring to, and he just doesn’t know it?
Renslayer and Mobius’ first meeting in Loki Episode 2.
Matters of Memory — Mobius is established as being one of the smartest and most effective agents in all of the TVA, as evidenced by Renslayer’s clear respect and affection for him. Even Tom Hiddleston’s Loki acknowledges his intelligence during one of their cafeteria conversations in Loki Episode 2. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn in a future Loki episode that Mobius already figured out the truth of the TVA, but had his memories wiped again before he could free himself.
That certainly seems like a legitimate possibility at this point. It’d explain why Renslayer is so vague about the “other analyst” she has working for her, and why Mobius doesn’t recognize some of the “trophies” in her office. It’s not because they were given to her by someone else, but because the memories Mobius has of giving them to her have been erased from his mind.
Plus, it’s totally in keeping with the TVA’s established methods to repeatedly mind wipe certain agents in order to ensure their continued loyalty.
Owen Wilson as Mobius in the first episode of Loki.
The Inverse Analysis — The internet seems pretty convinced at this point that Mobius was a human living on Earth in the 1990s when he was captured and “recruited” by the TVA, and it’s not hard to see why.
The character’s love of jet skis and constant consumption of ‘90s products (he’s a fan of Josta soda!) already seemed like strangely specific details to give someone who was supposedly created by a trio of cosmic space lizards. The confirmation that the TVA agents are actually captured variants, therefore, just made the theory feel even more legitimate than it already did.
In fact, at this point, there’s no reason to believe Mobius isn’t a brainwashed variant like Sylvie claims all of the TVA’s agents are. A quick look back at Loki Episode 2 also suggests that fans shouldn’t be surprised if he also turns out to be that “other analyst” Judge Renslayer kept referring to.
Loki is streaming now on Disney+.
