In the midst of its six-episode first season run, Disney+ and Marvel Studios’ Loki released its fifth episode, entitled “Journey into Mystery,” and left viewers in its closing moments with a brief shot of a mysterious estate that will surely be the epicenter of the season finale. According to Comicbook.com, this final shot of the home or kingdom that faces opposite of Sylvie, played by Sophia Di Martino (Casualty), and Loki, portrayed by Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager), could possibly be the home of the Marvel comic book villain Kang. Although this is still just a theory, it comes as a confident guess of who might be the ruling factor or faction behind the mysterious Time Variance Authority or the TVA.
Loki’s first season run has been characterized by many twists and turns relating to who might be the ultimate villain within the show’s narrative. The series centers on Loki being apprehended by the TVA following his theft of the Tesseract and the further efforts of TVA agents to help ensure that the three Time Keepers’ sacred timeline remains intact, promoting the notion of limiting free will and chaos that Lokis seemingly love to enjoy. Following the reveal that another Loki variant in Sylvie has been disrupting the timeline in an attempt to destroy the Time Keepers and the TVA, it is also unveiled to the audience that these three mysterious figures are just androids and that the TVA’s agents themselves are former variants as well. This reveal in the fourth episode of the season has shifted viewers’ expectations as Loki hunts down who might really be behind all of this.
Kang the Conqueror is a major villain within various editions of Marvel Comics. Kang is a frequent antagonist towards the Avengers and deals with time travel. He has previously not been included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but is set to be a part of Phase Four with the casting of Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country) as the villainous character in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania film in 2023. Kang the Conqueror resides in the city of Chronopolis which is protected in the comics by a mysterious being in Alioth, a ghastly and smoke monster that also made its appearance in the fifth episode guarding this city shown in the closing moments. Although it is unconfirmed so far in the series, the signs indicate that the city is shown in the void of time at the end of “Journey into Mystery” is in fact Chornopolis, Kang’s home, and the series’ dealings with time and timelines supports the notion that Kang might be introduced into the MCU through this first season.
Loki’s season finale premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday, July 14.