‘Loki’ Easter Eggs: 5 Things You May Have Missed in Episode 2

Episode 2 opens with a scene set at a ren faire in Oshkosh, Wisconsin back in 1985. That’s the latest setting for the Loki variant’s killing spree, and it has a surprisingly deep connection to the series. Oshkosh was the hometown of Marvel Comics editor and writer Mark Gruenwald. Gruenwald was the author of a definitive Captain America run wherein he created Flag-Smasher, Battlestar, and U.S. Agent—three characters you just watched in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

But Gruenwald has an even closer tie to Loki. The character of Mobius was originally created to look just like Mark Gruenwald, right down to his signature mustache. That character is now played by Owen Wilson who, of course, has a mustache.

And because I love the character, I have to point out that cosmic hero Quasar (a.k.a. Wendell Vaughn) was also from Oshkosh, Wisconsin and Gruenwald’s epic run on his solo series is a super fun read. So if the MCU wants to keep celebrating the work of Mark Gruenwald, give us Quasar!

A lot of Loki’s vibe comes from the David Fincher film Se7en, and that’s apparent in one deep cut reference in Episode 2. During the press conference ahead of the series premiere, director Kate Herron spoke about Se7en’s influence, revealing that “there’s a little reference to Se7en in Episode 2 of a little needle drop, which I’m sure fans of that film will recognize instantly.” What is that needle drop?

When Loki approaches the help desk in the TVA library, the librarian is listening to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite no. 3 in D Major. That is the same piece of music that can be heard in Se7en while Det. Mills (Brad Pitt) and Det. Somerset (Morgan Freeman) are researching their serial killer.

The big box store that serves as the battleground between a Loki, a squad of TVA Minutemen, and the deadly Loki variant is one of the few things connecting the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the Marvel Television shows of yesterday. Roxxon is a massive conglomerate that as omnipresent and nefarious as you’d expect a massive conglomerate in a superhero universe to be. References to Roxxon have been seen in Cloak & Dagger, Runaways, Marvel’s Daredevil, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., etc. On the movie front, Roxxon’s been referenced in the Iron Man trilogy.

It’s also worth pointing out that Roxxon was the primary antagonist during Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman’s Thor run in the comics a few years back—the run that introduced Jane Foster as the all-new Thor. Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder will feature Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) as Thor and introduce another one of Jason Aaron’s creations, Gorr the God Butcher played by Christian Bale. Could Roxxon be part of the next Thor movie? We’re not saying no!

At the end of Episode 2, we finally meet the Loki variant that’s been causing all this bloody mischief. This Loki is played by Sophia Di Martino—and she is even more ruthless than the Loki we already know. But there may be a lot more going on here, way more than Di Martino playing a variant of Loki. There’s speculation—justified speculation—that she’s actually playing the Asgardian villain Enchantress.

Both Loki and Enchantress have a similar color scheme (green), which explains their similar palette. We also see Di Martino’s villain possessing others, literally enchanting them. The strongest evidence that this character is a take on Enchantress can be found in… the credits for the Castilian Spanish dub of the episode? Yep—! In those credits, this character is called Sylvie. In the comics, the second Enchantress was named Sylvie Lushton. With all that considered, it seems likely that we’re in for a lot more reveals about this character.

The episode ends with the revelation of Loki/Sylvie/Enchantress’s plan: she’s blowing up the Sacred Timeline. Literally. The TVA detectives noticed that this killer was taking all the reset charges from every squad she slaughtered. Reset charges are what the TVA use to “prune” delinquent timelines, completely disintegrating the area around a breaking point and making it so that the deviation never happened. The bad Loki took all those reset charges she stole and dropped them into points throughout history, disrupting and destroying parts of the timeline that were never meant to be disturbed. This is madness!

And it is probably a lead-in to next year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Do you really think the TVA’s going to be able to fix a problem this colossal in the next four episodes? Judging by the title of Doctor Strange 2, it looks like this attack on the timeline will pose problems for the MCU for years to come.

Stream Loki on Disney+