WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Loki, Episode 2, “The Variant,” streaming now on Disney+.
The Loki series on Disney+ has brought with it seemingly endless fan theories about where the series is headed and the truth about the Time Variance Authority. One of these theories comes from a TikTok, in which two fans discuss exactly where the TVA is located. Let’s breakdown the theory and how it connects to other installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The TikTok starts by contextualizing that the Loki series is currently two episodes into its run and finds Loki trapped in the TVA. Then, they layout the theory that the TVA itself is actually stuck in the quantum realm. They start by referencing Ant-Man and the Wasp, where the quantum realm was heavily explored. Here, they include an image of the quantum realm, where there is a city in the far distance, which they believe to be the TVA. They go on to explain that Janet may be the biggest clue that supports this theory. When giving Hank and Hope her coordinates in the quantum realm, she said that “time and space work very differently down here.”
For their next piece of evidence, they explain that at the end of the film, Ant-Man was trapped in the quantum realm. This happened when he, Hope, Hank and Janet were conducting an experiment at the exact moment when Thanos snapped away half of all life in the universe. With no one to pull Scott back from the quantum realm, he was trapped there for five years. But as the TikTok mistakenly points out, Scott believed he was only trapped for about five minutes. In the actual film, he said that it was five hours. After he got out in Avengers: Endgame, he echoes Janet’s claim about time moving differently in the quantum realm, which led him to figure out that they could use it to time travel.
This brings the video back to discussing the Loki series and specifically references the moment where Loki asks Mobius how long he has been in the TVA. This connection is where the theory really starts to take shape because Mobius says, “I don’t know… time passes differently here in the TVA.” The similar wording appears to link the series to Ant-Man and the Wasp and Avengers: Endgame‘s discussions about the quantum realm.
The connection builds from there as they describe how Mobius and Loki time travel with the TVA. The theory then makes the leap in logic that the TVA agents, including Mobius and Loki, are actually using the quantum realm to do so, just like the Avengers did. In doing so, the theory begins to assume its own validity despite the fact that the TVA’s method of time travel has yet to be been confirmed.
They go on to discuss the upcoming Ant-Man film, which is titled Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Although the movie’s plot details haven’t been confirmed yet, the video asserts that it will take place within the quantum realm. In truth, the only detail that has been confirmed is that the film will feature Kang the Conqueror. The theory also claims that Kang is one of the Time Keepers in Loki.
This is probably the weakest aspect of the theory, because Jonathan Majors, who has been cast as Kang, has very clearly said that he does not make an appearance in the series. While there is a physical resemblance between the Time Keepers and Kang, his potential role as a Time Keeper is only speculation at this point. Despite the flimsy nature of that final piece of evidence, the theorized inclusion of Kang is implied to be the definitive proof that the TVA is situated within the quantum realm.
So while the theory does have some compelling ideas, it is a little flawed in its assumptions and logic. That being said, there isn’t enough evidence against the theory to rule it out just yet. Until then, speculation and theories about Loki continue to rise.
Loki stars Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Sophia Di Martino, Richard E. Grant, Sasha Lane and Eugene Cordero. New episodes air Wednesdays on Disney+
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