WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Loki, Episode 2, "The Variant," streaming now on Disney+.
In the Loki TV series, Owen Wilson's Mobius has had a tough time trying to convince Tom Hiddleston's Asgardian trickster to forsake his evil ways. He had to remind him via a film reel of all the nasty things he's done, depraved acts he'd commit if free, and more importantly, the repercussions of all these actions, all before Loki became regretful and moved towards the light. However, come the latest episode, Mobius takes issue with Loki's deception once more and calls out his biggest lie.
The God of Mischief has told so many untruths in his lifetime that it's hard to keep count. Still, he's adamant Mobius can trust him. He's trying to play the Time Variance Authority, though, as he wants access to all its files so he can take down the Time Keepers and rule the Sacred Timeline. Sadly, he's preoccupied with the rogue Variant, and as he and Mobius traipse around history, uncovering secrets of this Loki, Mobius' prisoner wants free, unfettered access in the field, especially now that he knows the Variant is hiding out in various apocalypse events.
Mobius is understandably negative about it, making it clear that he will never trust Loki as they try to figure out where exactly the doppelgänger is. Loki asks him what could possibly go wrong in testing this theory and living through apocalypses to catch the fiend.
"Here's a fun theory. You lure me out into the field and then you stab me in the back," Mobius confesses. "And that's a theory I don't wanna test!" "I'd never stab anyone in the back!" the sinister villain replies, "That's such a boring form of betrayal."
However, Mobius, in disbelief, reveals he's studied every moment of Loki's life and reaffirms, "You've literally stabbed people in the back, like 50 times." A flabbergasted Loki then admits he'd never do it again in one of the most comical moments in the show so far.
Hiddleston's delivery is on point as Loki seems to even be lying to himself. It's a stark reminder that while he's owning his faults, you simply cannot place faith in him. Mobius, after all, would have seen so many traitorous moments with Thor, Odin and Thanos as well, with Loki serving his own purposes selfishly.
Granted, he didn't stab these people in the back per se, but he did try to kill them in many other ways. It's why when Loki reiterates backstabbing has gotten old and pleads his case, Mobius laughs it off as this is Loki's most frequent lie. It's in his duplicitous nature and no matter what, Mobius wants him kept on a leash due to his ulterior motives.
Loki stars Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Sophia Di Martino, Richard E. Grant, Sasha Lane and Eugene Cordero. New episodes air Wednesdays on Disney+.