Uhhh, Did Loki Season 2 Episode 2 Just Kill More People Than Thanos And The Blip?
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Loki."
Who figured that an episode beginning with the impossibly silly visuals of a Time Variance Authority agent, Hunter X-5 (Rafael Casal), living it up on the Sacred Timeline as a world-famous actor in a "Zaniac" movie would end on the incredibly dark note of countless innocent universes — pretty much all the ones that were created in the wake of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie's (Sophia Di Martino) actions in the "Loki" season 1 finale — wiped out of existence? The unfathomable death toll can only be remarked upon in hushed tones, specifically by Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) as she and the rest of the cast helplessly mourn the loss of all those individuals. "Those are people," she chokes out. "Those are lives."
How many, exactly? Well, there's no accounting for such grisly business ... but, in terms of where this catastrophe stands amid others in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would seem there's truly no precedent whatsoever. In essence, did "Loki" really just kill off more people than Thanos ever did with The Blip Heard 'Round The Universe?
Nobody directly comments on this within the episode itself (thankfully, as such a clunky reference to the MCU movies would've undercut the stakes of the moment), but the writers definitely invite viewers to ruminate on the consequences of such a heinous act. After the TVA spent the entirety of last season recklessly pruning timelines under orders of the Time-Keepers (though, in reality, they were doing so at He Who Remains' behest), the season 2 premiere immediately made it clear that they had been committing mass murder. It seemed like things would be different this time around, but Hunter X-5 and General Dox (Kate Dickie) didn't quite get the memo.
Disastrous consequences
As far as jaw-dropping climaxes go, episode 2 of "Loki" probably takes the cake as one of the most dramatic disasters to ever shake the MCU ... in a manner of speaking, at least. The very nature of the show means that even this horrific turn of events, carried out by General Dox and her army of loyalists who were intent on pruning the branching timelines at all costs, will never truly be felt across the franchise outside of the TVA. Unlike The Blip, it remains to be seen if the rest of the season will really dedicate any time to undoing this grave mistake and bringing all those souls back from nonexistence. With so much else the story needs to cover, from the looming specter of He Who Remains to the mysteriously missing Renslayer to undoubtedly more time travel to come, is there any time to undo these deaths?
More importantly, it's fair to wonder whether viewers actually felt this crime against humanity (and countless other beings, at that) as much as they should've. The writers make the conscious choice not to show any of the universes actually being pruned, which arguably robbed audiences of any deeper impact than a mere intellectual one. Then again, I'd propose that there have been plenty of other instances in the MCU that have gone out of their way to depict the collateral damage on-screen but were so brief and treated so lightly that it had no real effect.
But let's not count "Loki" out just yet. To its credit, the episode shifts such emotional turmoil onto Sylvie, who understandably takes these deaths the hardest as she abandons Loki once again. Her storyline just might provide all the stakes we need.
New episodes of "Loki" stream on Disney+ every Thursday.