The MCU is applying all kinds of time travel theories to Loki Season 2 including the Bootstrap Paradox. But what is it, and how is it related to Loki? Here’s a breakdown of the concept and all you need to know about it.
What is the Bootstrap Paradox and how does it apply to Loki season 2?
In the Bootstrap Paradox, an object, a piece of information, or a person goes back in time to form an infinite loop of their/its own existence with no clear point of origin. This can be seen with OB and Victor Timely’s work in Loki Season 2.
When a person/object/information gets sent back in time and becomes the reason for their/its own presence in the future, they/it gets trapped in a cause-and-effect relationship of existence, an infinite loop of self-creation. He/she/it exists in the future because of his/her/its existence in the past, and he/she/it exists in the past because his/her/its future self goes back in time to ensure he/she/it gets “bootstrapped” into existence. Clear much? I guess not!
The Bootstrap Paradox imposes the question of “which came first,” or perhaps the “chicken and egg” theory. But as OB in Loki season 2 episode 4 described it, “a snake chasing its tail,” forming an infinite loop.
The episode revealed that Victor Timely’s work was based on the TVA handbook that OB wrote, and OB’s work on the book was based on the findings of the great 19th-century inventor, Victor Timely. He Who Remains made sure that a Bootstrap Paradox was created by asking Miss Minutes and Ravonna to deliver the TVA handbook to a young Victor Timely (who could be He Who Remains’ younger self).
Does Loki season 2 follow the Bootstrap Paradox?
Yes, Loki season 2 does follow the Bootstrap Paradox in a few places including OB and Victor Timely’s work, and Loki pruning himself.
We already know how OB and Victor Timely formed an infinite cyclic loop. But the answer to “Why Loki Pruned himself” also lies in a small Bootstrap Paradox.
The past version of Loki is time-slipped into the future only to be pruned and pulled back to the past. Then that pruned Loki lived for a while and ended up in the present (episode 4) to prune his past “time-slipping” self (from episode 1), ensuring his own existence!
