The Se7en Reference To Look For In Loki Episode 2
"Loki," the first series dedicated to the fan-favorite anti-hero portrayed by Tom Hiddleston, is nearly here, and to celebrate the premiere of the first episode, director Kate Herron and writer Michael Waldron dove deep into some of the show's influences. In particular, the two spoke about the show's crime thriller roots and some of the films that inspired the look of "Loki."
Like "WandaVision" before it, "Loki" takes an unconventional approach to telling an MCU story while giving viewers a chance to understand one of the setting's more complex characters. Some of the small details of the newest trailer revealed that Loki is working with the Time Variance Authority under the supervision of Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) to try and repair the damage done when the trickster god stole the Tesseract. The show uses a somewhat more muted color palette than some other MCU projects and is, in many ways, a visual reflection of some of the films that inspired it, such as "Silence of the Lambs" and the David Fincher film "Zodiac."
However, not every callback to the classic crime thrillers that inspired "Loki" is buried in the show's color scheme. Herron mentioned that another Fincher film, the neo-noir classic "Se7en," is more prominently referenced on the show. Here is the "Se7en" reference to look for in "Loki" Episode 2.
Herron says fans should look for a needle drop reference to Se7en in Loki
During a recent panel with some of the stars and producers of "Loki," one audience member asked Kate Herron and Michael Waldron to explain how crime thrillers had influenced the show. "Stylistically, I would say me and my DP Autumn [Durald] were really inspired by a lot of film noir films, and you can see that in our lighting and how we approached it." Herron responded. "'Se7en' is a very heavy influence. There's a little reference to 'Se7en' in Episode 2, a little needle drop which I'm sure fans of that film will recognize instantly."
"Se7en" has a reputation as a disturbing classic, with many shocking scenes and stand-out performances from Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Spacey. Of course, far and away, the most famous moment in the film is when a devastated Detective Mills (Pitt) begs Detective Somerset (Freeman) to tell him "What's in the box?" Any allusions by a character in "Loki” Episode 2 to boxes, or the contents of those boxes, might be the reference that Herron is hinting at.
Meanwhile, a needle drop is a filmmaking term that refers to using a pre-existing piece of music as opposed to an original score, which means that the reference could also be a musical cue. David Fincher has famously worked with Trent Reznor on many of his most notable films, and "Closer (Precursor)," a track from Reznor's band Nine Inch Nails, is featured in "Se7en," so if that song shows up, it may also be the reference.
Fans will just have to wait until "Loki" premieres on Disney+ on June 9 to truly see how the crime thriller genre has been adapted to the MCU.