The Variant

The Variant is the second episode of the first season of Loki.
==Synopsis==
Mobius puts Loki to work, but not everyone at TVA is thrilled about the God of Mischief's presence.
==Plot==
Minutemen respond to a Nexus Event in 1985 Wisconsin. They search for the renegade Loki Variant, but the mission goes awry when Hunter C-20 is brainwashed, causing her to attack her own unit. When she eventually passes out, the renegade Loki Variant takes her captive and passes through a Timedoor of their own. At the TVA office, 2012's Loki receives lectures from Miss Minutes about how Nexus Events function. He learns that there is a set amount of time before the TVA cannot reset the branched timeline, leading to the collapse of said timeline and reality. Mobius M. Mobius calls Loki up to respond to the ambush. However, Hunter B-15 and the others are reluctant to work with a Loki, with thousands of his Variants pruned by the TVA already. Mobius, wary about Loki's traitorous nature, offers him a meeting with the Time-Keepers should he cooperate with them to take down the Variant.
They rejoin the 1985 Wisconsin branch and discover no traces of the Variant. While attempting to scout out leads, Loki tries to inform them of a Loki's mischievous behavioral patterns, warning them of potential traps. However, this turns out to be a stalling tactic, which forces the Minutemen to retreat, pruning the timeline as the branch nears the point of no return. Meeting with Ravonna Renslayer, Mobius explains to her that by understanding their Loki ally, the TVA can understand and capture the Variant. Renslayer gives Mobius one chance to use Loki, noting that the Time-Keepers have their full attention on the case.
Mobius takes Loki to the library and has him scour through various files regarding the Variant, hoping to utilize his "Loki perspective." Loki meets a librarian at a desk, attempting to retrieve files about the emergence of the Time-Keepers and the beginning and end of time. However, since those files are classified, he is instead handed more files about himself. After finding information about Ragnarök from the Sacred Timeline, Loki concludes that the Variant is hiding in apocalyptic events. He reasons to Mobius that as long as the intended outcome of the apocalypse still occurs, no branches will emerge as all variances would be destroyed. Mobius reluctantly follows Loki to 79 A.D. Pompeii, where he advises him to create minuscule disturbances. Instead, Loki loudly warns the locals of the impending eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Despite Loki's efforts to create a town of variants, no branches are formed. The pair return to the TVA as the village is destroyed, now knowing that Loki's theory is correct.
Loki asks Mobius how Time is supposed to end, learning from him that the Time-Keepers are unraveling the future from its infinite branches, while the TVA protects what came before. Once Time fully concludes, so does the TVA, creating order across time. Loki tells Mobius of a saying that no one is ever truly good or evil, attempting to create doubt about the Time-Keeper's intentions. Recalling his encounter with a boy in 1549 France, Mobius retrieves the Kablooie candy he had taken from him. As Kablooie was sold between 2047 and 2051, the pair go through natural apocalyptic disasters that occurred between those years, such as the extinction of the swallow in 2050 and Krakatoa's 2049 eruption, in search of references to the candy. They arrive at 2050 Alabama, where a catastrophic hurricane would wipe out Haven Hills, a corporate town owned by the Roxxcart superstore.
Renslayer reluctantly approves Mobius' bid to send a Minutemen unit to Haven Hills. B-15 briefs them about the superstore: due to the hurricane, a large number of civilians are taking shelter inside, allowing the Variant to hide in plain sight. Arriving at Roxxcart, Loki accompanies B-15 on her order. Unbeknownst to them, the Variant is already aware of their presence, controlling B-15 to interact with Loki before knocking her unconscious. A civilian worker who touched B-15 begins to menacingly approach Loki. Recognizing that the man was the Variant, Loki reveals his plan to overthrow the Time-Keepers unto the Variant. He attempts to recruit him to his cause, but the Variant rejects this offer. Loki eventually loses sight of the worker and is attacked by another man controlled by the Variant, who collapses after attaching a timed TemPad to an apparatus. Elsewhere, Mobius' unit is searching for stolen reset charges when they find a catatonic C-20. She reveals that she has surrendered the top-secret location of the Time-Keepers.
Loki soon comes face-to-face with the cloaked Variant, who reveals herself as a female Loki. The timer expires, and her reset charges are sent scattered across the Sacred Timeline, creating a wide array of branching timelines. The TVA is startled by the mass occurrences of Nexus Events, forcing Renslayer and other Minutemen units into action. The Variant leaves Roxxcart through a Timedoor. Loki gives chase, leaving Mobius behind.
==Cast==
Main Cast:
*Tom Hiddleston as Loki
*Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie Laufeydottir
*Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna Renslayer
*Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15 / Sylvie Laufeydottir
*Eugene Cordero as Casey
*Sasha Lane as Hunter C-20 / Sylvie Laufeydottir
*Tara Strong as Miss Minutes (voice)
*Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius
Guest Stars:
*Neil Ellice as Hunter D-90
*Kate Berlant as Ren Faire Woman
*Philip Fornah as Minuteman #1
*Dave MacDonald as Minuteman #2
*Michelle Rose as Minuteman #3
*Sarafina King as Minuteman 90150
*Alvin Chon as Minuteman #10
*Ilan Muallem as Minuteman 90018371
*Jesse Gavin as Analyst #1
*Jordan Woods-Robinson as Analyst 1182-E
*Lucius Baston as Male Shopper
*Austin Freeman as Randy / Sylvie Laufeydottir
*Ricky Muse as Hank
*Hawk Walts as Country Hoss
*Zele Avradopoulos as Archives Shusher
*Dayna Beilenson as Archivist
*Lauren Revard as Miss Minutes On-Set Reader
*Isabelle Fretheim as Minuteman 20061486
*John Santiago as Minuteman #8
*Chris Brewster as Minuteman 200914867365 (uncredited)
*Christopher Cocke as Storm Refugee (uncredited)
*Catie Osborn as Festival Patron (uncredited)
*Lorelei Richardson as Ren Faire Maypole Dancer (uncredited)
*Bryan Thompson as IK the Troll King (uncredited)
*Unknown actor as Ren Faire Friar #1 (uncredited)
*Unknown actor as Ren Faire Friar #2 (uncredited)
*Unknown actor as Ren Faire Friar #3 (uncredited)
==Appearances==
===Locations===
*Time Variance Authority Office
*Earth
**Salina, Oklahoma
**Oshkosh, Wisconsin
**Pompeii, Italy
***
**Haven Hills, Alabama
***Roxxcart Mall
**Krakatoa, Indonesia (mentioned)
**Phong Nha, Vietnam (computer screen)
**Lisbon, Portugal (computer screen)
**Thorton, United States of America (computer screen)
**Cookeville, Tennessee (computer screen)
**Rome, Italy (computer screen)
**Barichara, Colombia (computer screen)
**Porvoo, Finland (computer screen)
**New York City, New York (computer screen)
**Tokyo, Japan (computer screen)
**Kingsport, Tennessee (computer screen)
**Beijing, China (computer screen)
**Madrid, Spain (computer screen)
**Barcelona, Spain (computer screen)
**Dartford, England (computer screen)
**Portland, Oregon (computer screen)
**Atlanta, Georgia (computer screen)
**Colorado (computer screen)
*Godthab Omega (computer screen)
*Asgard (mentioned, computer screen)
**Royal Palace of Valaskjalf (mentioned)
**Rainbow Bridge (mentioned)
*Jotunheim (mentioned, computer screen)
*Vormir (computer screen)
*Sakaar, Tayo System (computer screen)
*Ego (computer screen)
*Titan (computer screen)
*Hala (computer screen)
*Xandar (computer screen)
*Nidavellir (computer screen)
*Knowhere (computer screen)
*Niflheim (computer screen)
===Events===
*Release of the Multiverse
**Kidnapping of Hunter C-20
**Ambush at Roxxcart Mall
**Bombing of the Sacred Timeline
*Cataclysmic Events
**
**Climate Disaster (mentioned)
**Eruption of Krakatoa (mentioned)
*Ragnarök (mentioned)
**Destruction of Asgard (mentioned)
*Duel at the Rainbow Bridge (mentioned)
===Items===
*Time Stick
*Reset Charge
*TemPad
*Timedoor
*Chrono Monitor
*Kablooie
*Loki's Blades
*Sylvie Laufeydottir's Sword
*Asgardian Armor
*Horned Helmet
*Time Collar (mentioned)
===Concepts===
*Bifrost Bridge (mentioned)
*Temporal Aura (mentioned)
*Time Travel
===Vehicles===
*Time Variance Authority Mail Cart
* (mentioned)
===Sentient Species===
*Frost Giants
*Humans
*Asgardians (mentioned)
*Fire Demons (mentioned)
*Skrulls (mentioned)
===Creatures===
*Goats
*
*Asgardian Wolves (mentioned)
* (mentioned)
* (mentioned)
* (depiction)
* (depiction)
*Dragons (written)
===Organizations===
*Time Variance Authority
**Minutemen
**Time Variance Authority Narrative Commission
*Roxxcart
*Wake Magazine
*Time-Keepers (mentioned)
*Revengers (mentioned)
* (mentioned)
* (mentioned)
===Mentioned===
*Tracy Wilson (computer screen)
*Suzanne Bogg (computer screen)
*Chad Westland (computer screen)
*Thanos
*Laufey 
*Thor
*Odin
*Hulk
*Surtur
==Music==
Song title 	Artist 	Location(s)
Plague of Roses/The Build Master's Gigue 	John Debney 	
*1985 Renaissance Faire.
 	Bonnie Tyler 	
*The Variant ambushes the Minutemen unit in a 1985 Wisconsin.
18 Morceaux, Op. 72: No. 2, Berceuse (Arr. for Theremin & Piano)	Clara Rockmore & Nadia Reisenberg	
*Mobius and Ravonna talk in her office.
 	Johann Sebastian Bach 	
*Loki requests the TVA files from the archivist.
==Videos==
To be added
==Trivia==
*One of the many Variants of Loki shown to have been apprehended in the past by the Time Variance Authority bears a striking resemblance to Loki from the Viking Age, as seen in the Mighty Thor Vol 3 6.
==References==
==External Links==
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es:The Variant
fr:Le Variant
pt-br:A Variante
ru:Вариант (серия)
Category:Loki (TV series) Episodes