Loki has been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a long time. Tom Hiddleston’s first appearance as the character was in 2011’s Thor, and since then, Loki has died and been resurrected a bunch of times. He’s laughed, cried, and come face to face with both big baddies of Marvel’s Infinity and Multiverse Sagas. And now, here we are in 2023. Loki now has a second season of his own show, and somehow, we’re still getting to see new sides of him.
At one point during Loki Season 2’s second episode, Mobius warns Hunter B-15 and Loki that Brad Wolfe, a TVA agent the three of them are about to interrogate, is “an asshole” and that they shouldn’t let what he says get to them. But surprise surprise, it turns out that Mobius ends up being the one who lets Brad’s words affect him. He slaps him (which Brad totally deserves, TBH) and then leaves the interrogation room, insisting to Loki that he’s fine and acting totally normal, until he notices he didn’t even realize where he was going. It’s here that we get to see Loki take on a role we’ve never seen him in before: the calm voice of reason.
Throughout the first season and even the premiere of season 2, Mobius has largely been the one to help Loki get a handle on processing his thoughts and feelings. Even when Loki revealed to him that everyone at the TVA was a variant and he later had to start processing that revelation, the big emotional moment between the two in that episode was Mobius apologizing to him for not believing him at first and for telling him he was stuck playing the role of “causing pain and suffering” assigned to him by the (nonexistent) Timekeepers.
But now that the two are on more of an even playing field in terms of power dynamics and Loki has done some work on himself, the tables are able to be turned in this episode. For the first time, Loki (as well as the audience) is seeing Mobius “lose it.” He’s concerned, naturally, and his first instinct is to make sure Mobius is comfortable by getting him some pie and letting him know he’s “not judging” him. He doesn’t push too hard, though, waiting for Mobius to feel comfortable opening up to him (which doesn’t take long) and once he starts to, Loki prioritizes making sure Mobius knows that letting your emotions get the better of you happens to everyone before even broaching what was bothering him about Brad’s words. And when Mobius is finally ready to address the problem at hand, Loki is able to listen and provide some support and insight.
This dynamic shows when the idea of Loki being a villain is brought up in the episode (and I’m talking current Loki, because as much as some fans of the character hate to acknowledge it, Loki in some of the older MCU projects, namely the aforementioned Avengers, was definitely a villain). He can handle the discussion much better than when similar subjects were brought up in last season’s premiere, because he knows he has control over his own behavior and destiny. As seen in this episode’s opening chase scene and second interrogation scene, Loki is still a trickster and has the ability to be frightening when he needs to. But now, he’s using those skills for a much better cause than before: to help his friends, take down assholes, and save the multiverse.
But back to the pie conversation. Loki’s example from his own life of “losing it”—which is basically just a recap of the events of The Avengers—is certainly on the more extreme side, but there’s something so nice about seeing Loki this at peace with his actions and recognizing them not as something to be proud of, but also not defining of himself, as well as encouraging the same line of thinking in others. While he isn’t fully “there” yet in terms of conquering his own demons (and truthfully may never be, much like so many others with trauma), and it is true that it’s much easier to look at someone else’s problems more rationally than your own, Loki is now at a place where he’s able to help others through their own issues, and it’s really beautiful to see after all these years.
It’s worth noting that he did try something similar during last season’s finale in relating to Sylvie’s singular determination to complete her mission of killing He Who Remains, but he was definitely more stressed and wrapped up in the emotions of the situation than he would have to be to be as strong a support for her then as he was for Mobius in this episode.
While it seems to be somewhat difficult for Mobius to accept Loki’s insistence that it’s okay and normal to lose your cool at times (remember, he’s been in what is essentially a humanity-suppressing cult that’s killed trillions of people for at least a few hundred years), he’s having an even harder time facing the notion that he had a life prior to the TVA. Right now, his strategy seems to be to ignore and deny this new information that has been presented to him, which makes sense, given all that’s happened in quick succession from the moment he found out last season up to now.
Seeing Mobius so vulnerable and scared, clinging to what he knows, even if it is at least somewhat of a facade, is sad, but it’s also sooo satisfying to watch him open up to Loki. This was the guy he was so sure was meant to be a villain and nothing else, or so he claimed. Regardless of how much or little he actually believed that, his trust in Loki is clearly much stronger now than it was back then, and it’s made their relationship even more of a joy to watch than before.
It seems like the show is setting Mobius up to leave the TVA at the end of the season in favor of a life on the timeline, or a branched one. (Whether this would be him somehow returning to his old life or deciding to forge a new one is unclear at the moment, but they seem to be setting up the idea of him being too attached to the TVA for his own good.) And while it would be great to see Mobius experience freedom and finally ride the Jet Ski he’s always wanted, I just hope he doesn’t have to completely give up his relationship with Loki and his other friends in order to do it.
Selfishly, I also don’t want Mobius out of the MCU yet; there’s so much fun potential for interactions between him and other Marvel characters! (Deadpool, anyone?) But if he does have to leave our screens at the end of this season, I just don’t want him to leave Loki’s life. Their relationship is everything, and it would be a shame to see it thrown away in the end. (We already had that scare a couple times last season!)
In the meantime, I really appreciate this episode for giving us this moment between Loki and Mobius. As someone who deals with mental health issues and has been treated much like Loki was at the beginning of last season for them, it’s very satisfying to see Loki get to a place at which he’s able to help others deal with their problems. This is a great role for him, and I love that we were able to get some mischievous moments from him as well; it’s a nice balance between the original essence of the character and the growth he’s experienced—and is continuing to experience—since his MCU debut all those years ago.
(featured image: Disney+)
