Episode 5 of everyone's latest Disney Plus obsession Loki introduced a few surprises in the form of several alternate versions of Loki himself. Between Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Boastful Loki, viewers had plenty of surreal fanservice to satisfy their hunger, particularly with acting legend Richard E. Grant playing the Classic variant. But the episode's standout character caught everybody by surprise, likely because it was Alligator Loki.
It seems as though everybody found themselves instantly charmed by Alligator Loki, a variant of the titular character who also happens to be an alligator (turns out some books actually can be judged by their covers). When this little bundle of teeth and cuteness showed up on the screen, some people might have been so enamored that they didn't even realize it was a completely computer-generated character. The thing is, when a character is computer-generated, they usually need a real-life stand-in (like the Knuckles statue seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 set photos) so the actors aren't just trying to interact with empty space, and Loki director Kate Herron picked the perfect little body double.
Herron posted a picture of the Alligator Loki stand-in on Twitter, revealing a wonderfully goofy, blue, horned stuffed animal vaguely resembling an alligator. Jokingly calling it "one of the biggest divas and the most demanding actor I've ever had to work with," she displayed the googly-eyed trickster lounging in a lawn chair on set and clearly showing everybody who's boss. It looks like something somebody had laying around in their closet up until the day of shooting, but now it wouldn't be surprising to see that exact stuffed creature show up on a few Etsy stores in the near future.
Episode 5 saw Loki (the main one that the audience is following, anyway) wake up in a destroyed hellscape of fractured buildings and Easter eggs, confused after realizing that being "pruned" by the TVA didn't actually kill him. He meets 4 other versions of himself who bid him to follow them if he wants to survive, only to decide he wants to find his way back in order to help Sylvie. Naturally, as a Loki variant herself, Sylvie goes all out and ends up in that same wasteland. It's a whole thing, and it's got a surprising amount of character development. Alligator Loki, while one of the Variants who discovers the main Loki and offers to help, largely doesn't do much aside from making alligator noises and biting off the hand of yet another Loki variant who tries to attack the main group. Welcome to Marvel.
Some might not find alligators cute, and that's fine. Everybody's entitled to their opinion. But consider this: maybe alligators ARE cute and Alligator Loki is as adorable as any of them. Look at how tiny it is. Even dinosaurs look cuddly when they're small. Live a little.
Anyway, it, unfortunately, seems as though this may be the last audiences will see of Alligator Loki. There's always a chance for a cameo (and maybe a bit more to do in the final episode of Loki), but hey, if a character has to go out, the least they can do is go out after biting somebody's hand off and making them scream like a tiny child.
The final episode of Loki will release July 14th on Disney Plus.
Source: Kate Herron/Twitter