Loki Just Revealed A Shocking Fact About The TVA

Thanks to their relatively long runtime, the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows on Disney+ are able to uncover far more layers in their characters than any MCU movie could possibly hope to. "Loki" takes this to a completely new level by doing it with both the titular character (Tom Hiddleston), and the very concept of time itself. 

As the "Avengers: Endgame" version of Loki wrestles with the ramifications and possibilities of stepping outside his supposedly predetermined life, the viewer learns that one of the show's core concepts is the existence of Variants — folks who have somehow managed to overstep their destined boundaries, and whom the Time Variance Authority must therefore deal with. As a version of Loki that managed to escape the aftermath of the Battle of New York, the show's take on the God of Mischief is a Variant himself ... and he's far from the only one around, so the TVA tends to have its hands full.

Of course, "Loki" wouldn't be "Loki" if the agency's time-bending, but ultimately relatively straightforward mission statement wouldn't come with a few curveballs. In fact, "Loki" Episode 3 just revealed a pretty shocking fact about the TVA. 

Remember how Miss Minutes says in the first episode of "Loki" that the TVA works to maintain the Sacred Timeline by keeping Variants in check? Yeah, that mission statement actually comes with a pretty big caveat, because it looks like the TVA workers themselves are Variants ... even though they're unaware of the situation. 

Granted, this bit of information comes from Lady Loki (Sophia Di Martino) — or Sylvie, as she calls herself — who's dead-set on reaching the TVA's mysterious Time Keepers. Despite the fact that her life has been rather different from the Loki Variant who stars in the show, she is still one, so there's always a chance that it's all some sort of an elaborate con. Still, it's clear the viewers are currently meant to run with this information. 

Provided that this information is true — and right now, there's no reason to believe that it isn't — the fact that the TVA is full of unwitting Variants raises some interesting implications about, say, the nature of the mysterious other analyst that Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) uses when she's not dealing with Mobius (Owen Wilson). Could this hitherto unseen character simply be another time-displaced Mobius Variant that the one viewers know is currently unaware of? Could Renslayer really have two versions of her best agent at her disposal? What happens if the two meet? Have you already seen them both, and just don't know it yet? 

Only future episodes of "Loki" can reveal what's going on within the confines of the TVA building — and fans can't wait to find out. 

New episodes of "Loki" are available for streaming every Wednesday on Disney+.