The season finale of Loki aired today and in celebration star Tom Hiddleston took over Tumblr for a “Tomblr” Q&A.
The response to Loki on the social media platform has been nothing short of astounding, but Loki has always been a Tumblr fan-favorite. After the first trailer dropped on April 5 searches for “Loki” saw an 1010% increase. Compared to May, within the first two weeks of June “Loki” increased 209% and “Loki Laufeyson” flew up 263%. In the week after the premiere, “Loki” soared up 664%, “Loki Laufeyson” jumped up 1006%, and “Tom Hiddleston” saw a 385% increase.
Read on for a few excerpts from the Loki “Tomblr” Q&A, including his pre-Loki playlist and his thoughts on Alligator Loki. You can find all of Tom’s answers to fans’ burning questions here.
Q: What kind of music do you believe Loki would listen to? I feel like he would listen to the Arctic Monkeys in public but Lady Gaga in private.
A: “Wow, I guess there’s a tension there between public Loki and private Loki. I see where you’re going with that. I think perhaps both the Arctic Monkeys and Lady Gaga would feature in a kind of Loki playlist. I think they’re both on a public playlist. I can tell you what I listened to when I was preparing to play this part on the set a lot. There was a lot of Nile Rodgers. Nile Rodgers … kind of invented his own sound.
Q: Which version of Loki is the superior one, and why is it Alligator Loki?
A: “Two questions, I see there. OK, well, you know, what can I say? I’ve been toiling away at this character going on for 11 years. And I have given everything I can only to be upstaged, perhaps inevitably, by the one true Loki, the superior Loki, which is Alligator Loki. You know I sort of knew it was coming. I felt I was going to be substituted at some point. And I’m glad it’s finally happened. Alligator Loki has arrived. And, yeah, thrown his hat down. And the rest of us simply have to get out of the way at this point.”
Q: If you could tell young Loki one thing, what would it be?
A: “What a lovely question. I probably want to give him a hug and ask him if he’s OK. Because there’s a lot of pain there, I think. I don’t know. It’s hard, isn’t it? As if, I want to sort of say, your family — your family do love you, even if it doesn’t feel like they do. So when you want — maybe don’t push them away, even though you might want to. But then we wouldn’t have these amazing stories. So far be it for me to tell Loki, who’s a character who’s been in human consciousness for thousands of years, what to do. But yeah, perhaps I wouldn’t tell him anything. I would just listen to him and see what he told me. That might be of more value. Great question, though.”
Q: How do you view the dynamic between Loki’s and Mobius’ friendship (if you could say there is one)?
A: “Absolutely there is one. Great question. And I love Loki and Mobius’ friendship. It was something that was really exciting to me as I approached the project and was developing the story. I find it very touching … And I think everybody else in Loki’s life up until that point has been emotionally engaged in this resistance that Loki has. And Mobius has a detachment. Which is to say that, I see who you are and I don’t judge you and in a way, I understand, and I have compassion. And they have a lot to learn from each other. And in that moment, Loki has a kind of a moment of real vulnerability at the end of episode one. And Mobius is able to step up to that moment and meet him there … So somehow, Loki and Mobius’ friendship evolves from the fact that they learn a lot from each other. And I think it’s really real. I think there’s a lot of love and care and affection there. It’s very sincere and presents something new for Loki. I don’t think he’s ever had a friend before. So yeah, I really loved it.”
Q: Was there ever a time with Loki that you felt you didn’t know exactly where his character was going/how to play him given that he’s gone in so many directions?
A: “That is a really insightful question, because you’re right. Loki is a character who is unpredictable and spontaneous. And fickle and changeable and transgressive and disruptive and you don’t quite know what he’s going to do next. And he’s playful. And you know, I’ve talked before about mischief being an inclination to playfulness. You just don’t know what he’s going to do. Expect the unexpected, etcetera … And that’s what I enjoyed so much is that even if the next thing he does contradicts the thing he’s previously done, in that moment, he’s completely committed. So I don’t know that there was ever a moment where I felt I didn’t know exactly where his character was going, because part of the character is this unpredictable nature … I’ve always known what Loki’s doing, because his ultimate goal is to get through to the other side, to survive. But it’s a great question. Thank you.”
The entire first season of Loki is streaming on Disney+ and its second season has been confirmed!
Look back at our coverage of the entirety of season 1 and stay tuned for news on Loki season 2 as it’s revealed!
