The Guardians Of The Galaxy Reference Hiding In Plain Sight In Loki Episode 5
**Contains spoilers for "Loki" Episode 5**
In true Marvel Cinematic Universe fashion, "Loki" Episode 5 is jam-packed with Marvel Easter eggs. The Disney+ series' penultimate installment more or less picks up where "Loki" Episode 4 left off, with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) trapped in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by, among other things, numerous other Loki variants. The episode even features the long-awaited appearance of the President Loki variant that was teased heavily in early "Loki" trailers and promotional materials, as well as a fight scene between a large number of Loki variants that is delightfully absurd and chaotic. But the Easter eggs in "Loki" Episode 5 — of which there are many — don't just begin and end with its dozens of Loki variants.
The episode takes place almost entirely in The Void, a dimension that sits at the very end of time. It's where all the variants and branch realities that get pruned by the Time Variance Authority are sent, and as such, it's filled with a wide collection of both variant beings and artifacts. There are a number of obscure comic book Easter eggs scattered throughout The Void, most of which appear only around the edges or in the backgrounds of certain shots, as well as dozens of nods to past Marvel Cinematic Universe characters and films. There's even a reference to the central villain from 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy" that you probably missed — here's the "GoTG" reference that went by in a flash during Episode 5 of "Loki."
Loki Episode 5 features a subtle reference to one past MCU villain
As seen in "Loki" Episode 5, The Void boasts more than its fair share of crashed spaceships, buildings, and vehicles — some of which are familiar and some of which are not. In fact, there are so many eye-catching objects populating the landscape of The Void that it'd be easy to miss the few that happen to be duplicates of past MCU ships and props. There's one familiar MCU Easter egg featured in "Loki" Episode 5, however, that's easy to miss but still worth pointing out.
The Easter egg in question is the return appearance of the Dark Aster, the warship helmed by Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) in "Guardians of the Galaxy." The iconic MCU ship can be seen during a handful of moments throughout "Loki" Episode 5, including in a long shot that shows Loki and his compatriots watching the approach of the fearsome Alioth in the distance. The ship's appearance is by no means a major Easter egg and it doesn't really change any established MCU canon, but it does confirm that even a disciplined figure like Ronan may have broken off from the TVA's Sacred Timeline at one point or another. Ultimately, more than anything else, though, the appearance of Ronan's ship in "Loki" Episode 5 just serves to further fill out The Void and sell it as a believable, real place within the MCU.