Why Peggy Carter's Possible Cameo In Loki Actually Makes A Lot Of Sense

Now that Marvel fans had the weekend to watch the first episode of Loki on Disney+, a fun bit of speculation started making the rounds that Agent Peggy Carter (played for years by Hayley Atwell) can be spotted in the background of a shot being escorted by an agent of the TVA. The person in question moves by very quickly, and it really could be anyone on period clothing and that hair. But the way that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) turns to look at the doorway that is being created, forcing US to look at the doorway that is being opened, means that Loki director Kate Herron intended for us to pay attention to that brief interaction. Take a look at the possible Peggy Carter in the shot below:

Which begs the question, “Why would the TVA be interested in Peggy Carter?” And based on where we left Peggy at the end of Avengers: Endgame, that’s basically the answer as to how she and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) could have created a Nexus Event, turning both of them into Variants that would attract the TVA’s attention.

A Nexus Event occurs when someone does something (anything, really) that diverts away from The Sacred Timeline, the natural flow of time that is dictated by the three Time Keepers. When that Nexus Event branches away from what is supposed to happen, the TVA steps in, corrects the mistake, and restores the timeline to its original state.

We learned in episode one of Loki that the time heist conducted by The Avengers in Avengers: Endgame was supposed to happen. However, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was NOT supposed to pick up the Tesseract and disappear from the lobby of Avengers tower. When Loki begins, the TVA is picking up the God of Mischief because he has diverted from the Sacred Timeline.

But take that line of thinking one step further. Because Loki disappeared with the Tesseract, the Avengers needed to recover another one. Improvising in the moment, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Evans) went further back in time to NewJersey in 1970. Tony had a conversation with his father, Howard (John Slattery). And Cap encountered Peggy through a window… and she almost sensed his presence. Because Tony and Steve weren’t meant to return to 1970, did that cause a large enough blip to concern the TVA? Or was that improvisation also part of the process that was supposed to happen, as determined by the Time Keepers, and the judges that preside over infractions in the TVA?

There is one other major disruption to The Sacred Timeline that the TVA may have to address, and it once again involves Peggy Carter. At the end of Avengers: Endgame, it’s confirmed that once he brought all of the Infinity Stones back to the locations where they were retrieved -- thereby restoring The Sacred Timeline to its intended flow -- Steve Rogers decided to remain in the past and live the life with Peggy from which he was robbed. The movie closes on them finally dancing, the way that Cap had promised before he plunged himself into the ice in Captain America: The First Avenger.

This definitely seems like a deviation from the Sacred Timeline, and something that was not supposed to happen. Steve choosing to stay in the past, and affect things he wasn’t meant to interact with, could and should have massive ramifications on the way the MCU timeline was meant to play out. It feels like Peggy and Steve need to answer for this.

Loki creator and head writer Michael Waldron was asked about this point blank by SUPES, and he danced around it, saying:

We will. And we’ll be keeping our eyes on the backgrounds of the scenes, maybe seeing side characters in the MCU and also thinking about the different ways the actions of the Marvel characters might have been disrupting The Sacred Timeline. Loki continues with episode two this Wednesday.