The first thing that Mobius pointed out to Loki is that “Time works differently in the TVA (Time Variance Authority).” This is because the organization exists outside of time and space, which renders the TVA agents to live for centuries beyond their average years of living.
This is also to help them stay above the Sacred Timeline, which helps them in ‘correcting’ the variants drifting away from their allotted path.
Now, the question is, what does Time Slipping mean in the Loki series? Why is the God of Mischief ‘glitching’? Here’s what we know.
WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Loki Season 2, so READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
How Does Time Work in the Time Variance Authority?
According to Ouroboros in the Loki Season 2 premiere, “It’s impossible to time slip in the TVA” which pretty much goes with what we already know about the headquarters since Season 1.
When Loki was first captured by Mobius and Hunter B-15, the God of Trickeries was already warned that time travel would be impossible here.
More notably, when he was still trying to claim the Tesseract, the Infinity Stones didn’t work in the TVA. So they were used as paperweights, instead, given their abundance of it.
As a matter of fact, the most that the TVA agents used the HQ for was a propelling pad to get to the variants straying from the Sacred Timeline.
There was also a time when Mobius had control over Loki to ensure he would still be safe with the anti-hero in his chamber. The most the remote could do was travel Loki back in time, which was at least a few seconds before charging towards Mobius.
So, what can we make of this? How is Loki slipping through time in a space meant to be devoid of it? As of writing, this has yet to be addressed by the series.
READ MORE: What are Loki Charms? God of Mischief’s Own Cereal Explained
Loki’s Timelines in the ‘Time Slips’ Explained
Loki is being pulled by three timelines: the past, the present, and the future — all of which are the timelines of how his story will supposedly go in the Time Variance Authority.
However, it is possible that since Sylvie killed He Who Remains, as the Kang variant previously explained, she has caused the (albeit unlimited) branching of timelines, which further complicates things than they already are.
The present-day timeline indicates what the God of Mischief must do just after the events of the finale for Loki Season 1. This includes Mobius taking Loki to seek help from OB in the basement to resolve his current condition.
This also includes when OB seemingly cannot fathom the idea of how to resolve the time-slipping condition, until Loki’s ‘slip’ to the past had the old OB building the Temporal Aura Extractor. This then affected the present-day, for when the present OB suddenly acquired the same device just in time.
Meanwhile, the past timeline had Loki unveiling the tape recorder inside the TVA meeting office where he discovers that He Who Remains and Ravonna Renslayer may have been working together behind the scenes all along.
Last but not least, the future timeline was indicated just before the premiere episode ended. OB and Mobius were gone from where Loki was supposed to be saved.
Not to mention, Sylvie appears to be looking for Loki himself, even though in the post-credit scenes, she had already gone away from the TVA.
Loki Controlled His Time-Slipping, Thanks To O.B.'s Guidance
When every TVA agent had suddenly landed in their origin timelines, Loki's time slipping returned... for some reason.
Being pulled through time initially looked absolutely painful, but by Episode 5, his slips through time had more purpose.
Instead of randomly appearing within the TVA, it would seem that Loki's time slips almost always brought him where he needed to be, aka wherever his TVA friends are located on the Sacred Timeline.
After explaining this to O.B., Ke Huy Quan's character told him:
"Well, you time-traveled in a place that has no time, right? That's not possible. So you're traveling to a place that doesn't exist anymore. It's equally impossible, and therefore it's something you might be able to do."
When Loki told him it didn't logically make sense, O.B. said,
"You need to learn how to control your time slipping. [It isn't random] because you keep ending up around exactly the people you're looking for, and it's evolving because you're not just slipping in time, you're also moving around in space. It's like you're a better version of one of those Tempads. With science, it's all 'What' and 'How', but with Fiction, it's the 'Why.' So, why do you need to do this? [As long as you know the real 'Why'], you should be able to control it."
As for the technical explanation behind Loki's time-slipping, we still have the finale episode to look out for, so hopefully, the MCU has more plans up their sleeve before Season 2 ends.
RELATED: Loki Season 1 Recap & Ending Explained: How Does This Set Up Season 2?
How Come Sylvie isn’t Time Slipping?
This part here is a mere theory, but technically, the Time Slipping didn't occur until Sylvie led Loki back into the TVA in the Season 1 finale.
At the time, Sylvie decided to eliminate He Who Remains from the map herself, despite Loki trying to tell her she shouldn't.
Considering that the Kang variant warned both Loki variants that killing him causes consequences (as it works in the MCU's Multiverse), the Time Slipping and branching of timelines are most likely what took effect after disappearing from his seat.
But how come Loki's the only one affected by the Time Slipping? Shouldn't Sylvie have been glitching herself, too?
We only got to see Sylvie in the premiere in the post-credit scenes, where she landed in 1980s Oklahoma to work in a fast food chain.
Seemingly content with having accomplished her goal to destroy the TVA, she holds no remorse in the aftermath and decides to take her life back, even if it is through the mundane world.
Could staying in the Time Variance Authority have something to do with it? Loki Season 2 has offered more questions than answers by far in the series. We'll have to wait for more episodes to come before these get addressed.
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