Why 'Loki' Never Revealed Mobius' Backstory (AKA Why He Loves '90s Soda And Jet Skis So Much)
Mobius M. Mobius, a perfect name for a perfect character. Owen Wilson's Josta-chugging, jet ski-loving character stole our hearts in a matter of minutes, so it's a shame we didn't get to learn more about his life before the TVA. But according to Loki season 1 director Kate Herron, this was a very intentional choice — and we can expect to learn more about Mobius in the episodes to come.
Spoilers for season 1 of Loki ahead.
Who Was Mobius Before The TVA?
Mobius is introduced to us as a top TVA analyst, tasked with hunting down variants, and is in the middle of a search for Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) when he captures his new best friend, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). But Mobius isn't quite like the other TVA agents — he's a bit of a dreamer, and not nearly as straight-laced and uptight. He's so daring, he proposes a plan to use Loki to hunt down other variants and takes the God of Mischief on as his charge. His clever plan predictably backfires, but it's all for the best: their complicated friendship helps Mobius realize that the TVA is built on lies.
We certainly learn more about Mobius over the course of the season. Important character details, like his love for the fruity '90s soda Josta and his appreciation of jet skis. We come to love his sense of humor and appreciate his faith in Loki, which is critical to the God of Mischief's transformation throughout the season. But even when we learn that Mobius was once a person on Earth, before being stolen by the TVA, we have no insight into who that person was.
Speaking on ComicBook.com's Phase Zero podcast, Herron explained that there were once plans to reveal more about Mobius's life, but the writers decided to hold back. She said,
"There were a few drafts of the script where you did see like a family or you did see a life, but I think we all kind of decided we don't know what it is yet. And I think that's exciting, right? Because it gives more road to travel with him. And I think it's more painful when he is going to be deleted, him saying, 'What if I had a family.' Because, maybe he did or maybe he didn't, I don't know where the writers will take his character."
What Does Mobius' Future Hold?
We can add Mobius's life story to the long list of things Loki fans were robbed of (including a montage where Loki gets everything he wants, which includes not just the Infinity Stones but tons of sex).
But, to be fair, Herron makes a solid case that this was for the better. Even without knowing the life Mobius had before joining the TVA, we feel immensely for him. He already has such a deep longing for humanity, as proved by his impassioned speech about jet skis. Plus, he repeatedly proves his goodness. Even after being betrayed by Loki, multiple times, Mobius always trusts him in the moments that truly matter.
We don't need a full backstory to love Wilson's character, nor does Mobius need all the info of his life to feel the sting of the TVA's lies. For one, he isn't the only character making the discovery. Herron expanded on this, adding:
"B-15, for example, her seeing her memories and seeing the impact that had upon her life... I think that kind of echoes then across everyone in the TVA, because, you see how much it moves her and what she does because of what she sees. So I think for us, it felt like at least in this part of the show that we didn't want to necessarily do flashbacks. But yeah, I think the writers and I definitely had spoken about it and explored it with the studio. But I think we all decide to just in terms of when everything started to line up, oh, it's actually better to play out this way and then it can be left open for future exploration basically."
Eventually, Mobius will get the justice of his backstory, so we have that to look forward to. But we best cross our fingers that his flashbacks put our favorite TVA agent on a jet ski. He deserves his chance to ride the waves freely, and given all the chaos that ended season 1, that kind of fun may not be very near in his future.