WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for Loki episode 1, "Glorious Purpose."
The first episode of Loki hints Scarlet Witch has already broken the timeline. After the confusion of Avengers: Endgame, Marvel used the Loki premiere to iron out the MCU's model of temporal mechanics. The trickster god was introduced to the Time Variance Authority, and he - and, by extension, viewers - were given an essential infodump by the animated Miss Minutes. It seems the timeline is naturally chaotic, with countless events varying in scale from an uprising to someone being late for work triggering branching alternate timelines. The moments causing the branch are called "nexus events" in the MCU, a phrase that will be familiar to anyone who's also watched WandaVision.
The concept of a nexus was teased in WandaVision episode 7, which first featured a mysterious commercial discussing a mystery drug by the name of Nexus. A superhero sitcom world created by Wanda Maximoff, WandaVision's commercials were mostly projections from the sorceress's subconsciousness. This one was different, though, and still undefined by the end of the show. That's led to some speculation this idea would be central to Doctor Strange 2, but now, with a definition of a "nexus event" finally provided by the TVA, it's possible to suggest exactly how that connection works.
That Nexus commercial implies everything seen in WandaVision probably wasn't supposed to be part of the timeline at all. Wanda Maximoff's cry of grief and loss was itself a nexus, a moment in which she tapped into her Chaos Magic, which Agatha Harkness described as the power of "spontaneous creation," and created a whole new branch in reality. In this branch, Wanda discovered how to wield Chaos Magic, claimed the identity of the Scarlet Witch, and is now studying an ancient tome of forbidden magic called the Darkhold. Her personal path deviates wildly from the one the TVA thinks she's on.
But why would the TVA ignore this particular branch in reality? They serve a secretive and mysterious trio of cosmic beings called the Time Keepers, who have charged them with the duty of maintaining what they call the "Sacred Timeline." But it's important to remember that, in the comics, Scarlet Witch's Chaos Magic and the Darkhold are both bound to the Elder God Chthon, potentially conduits for his power that could allow him to break through into the real world. It's quite possible Wanda's MCU powers are likewise bound to a cosmic entity, perhaps Chthon or perhaps Shuma-Gorath, and that this being has hidden the creation of this new timeline from the Time Keepers. If so, it's a measure of how powerful they truly are.
One thing seems certain: the Time Keepers and the TVA are destined to fail in their ambition to prevent a Multiverse from forming. Marvel's What If..? series is set to explore different timelines, branches where history went differently, timelines where Peggy Carter became a super-soldier, or where the Winter Soldier fought a zombie Captain America. Spider-Man: No Way Home is believed to be Multiversal as well, and Doctor Strange 2 will see the future Sorcerer Supreme lost in the "Multiverse of Madness." Given Scarlet Witch is part of that story, it's reasonable to assume Stephen Strange will find himself dealing with the consequences of her Chaos Magic and the branching timelines she has already begun to create.
Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.
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