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In episode 1 of Loki, Glorious Purpose, Loki watches a TVA recording of his life, shown in the third person:

A picture of Loki in the third person

Why is it shown as if someone is looking at him, rather than from his perspective?

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    Note on reusing footage from previous films. It doesn’t really make sense financially to re-film all those scenes just to add it from Loki’s perspective. And that’s before you even consider whether first or third person makes sense here.
    – TheLethalCarrot ♦
    Commented Sep 7, 2021 at 21:01
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    Why would it be from his perspective? How would they manage to fit tiny cameras behind his eyeballs?
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 8:42
  • @PaulD.Waite It could have been somehow linked to his perception.
    – Anonymous
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 20:36

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Presumably, it's because that footage is not a recording of Loki's memories. It's some form of 'camera' footage, quite possibly captured by He Who Remains himself.

Bear in mind that the main Loki variant played by Tom Hiddlestone on the show was plucked from the year 2012, during the events of the first Avengers movie, so he didn't have any memories of the events of Thor: The Dark World (set in 2013), Thor: Ragnarok (set in 2017), or Avengers: Infinity War (set in 2018).

As far as we know, the TVA never captured the Loki from the later movies who did experience those events, and therefore did possess those memories. And even if they did capture him, there's been no indication that the TVA are capable of directly viewing people's memories from a first-person perspective.

He Who Remains also made it clear that he was somehow capable of observing events occurring within the Sacred Timeline, in a way that the rest of the TVA could not. How he managed this is unclear, but there's no suggestion that he was seeing things from any perspective other than his own.

HE WHO REMAINS: Don't you wonder how I'm able to get out of the way just before you kill me?

SYLVIE: No. It's because of that little TemPad you have there.

HE WHO REMAINS: Right. But how do I already have it loaded up with everything I need to know to keep from being killed by you two? It's easy. I know it all. And I've seen it all. Everything you guys did on Lamentis, I saw. All the stuff the TVA didn't know about, I knew. All the scheming, all the... talking. That little look by the lake. Quite sentimental, very touching stuff, by the way.

Loki - S01E06 - "For All Time. Always."

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    We could even say that what we have been "fed" so far from the MCU is this show view that will remain in the archives. Sort of what Wanda did in her show.
    – Philippe B.
    Commented Sep 7, 2021 at 22:18
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This is never mentioned in the show, but I considered it implied that, as 'stewards of the timeline' who have the ability to monitor all of existence for variations/nexus events, the TVA also has a "video output" option to choose from when reviewing said timeline.

Out of Universe, they didn't have footage of all the events from Loki's perspective, so I assume they just re-used footage they did have for practical reasons.

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    I like your take on it, too. To speculate on the 'video output' of it, it'd be fun if they had been able to show off scrubbing through scenes, rotating around subjects, etc.
    – crichins
    Commented Sep 7, 2021 at 21:03
  • @crichins if that's the sort of thing you're in to then look up the film The Adjustment Bureau - it has exactly that sort of thing.
    – Ed HP
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 15:48
  • Thanks for the suggestion! I had forgotten this movie existed and now its going on the movie list.
    – crichins
    Commented Sep 10, 2021 at 17:00
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I would venture to say that the technical answer is that the cast/crew are using footage from previous films and have to use the framing and cameras that the originals were shot in.

From an in-universe perspective, consider that the TVA are meant to be showing Loki an impartial and unbiased view of his life. To show things from his perspective might be to lose context or to paint things with his own personal bias.

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    Good point about the "impartial nature" of the TVA; I hadn't considered that in my contemporaneous answer.
    – TylerH
    Commented Sep 7, 2021 at 20:58
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    Also, if the events were viewed from movie-Loki's perspective, then TV-Loki would have no way of knowing that, because he wouldn't see himself in the footage (unless there was a mirror present). So as far as he'd be concerned, he'd just be watching a bunch of scenes involving some people he knew (and possibly a few this version had never met), but nothing directly relevant to himself. And remember that as a self-identified narcissist, anything not explicitly about Loki is not all that important to him.
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 13:34
  • Also thought this was a good point. Further in-universe, its tactically a good way to impress upon Loki (or whoever they've detained) what their behavior looks like to others.
    – T.E.D.
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 18:26

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