Loki’s fate was teased back in the first episode of season 2, all thanks to Ke Huy Quan’s O.B.

The Loki season 2 ending was poignant and heartbreaking in equal measure for fans of the Marvel show as Tom Hiddleston’s beloved character made the ultimate sacrifice. To stop the timeline branches from dying, he destroyed the Temporal Loom and used his magic to hold onto them himself, becoming the keeper of the multiverse.

The camera then panned out and we saw that Loki is now at the center of the multiverse tree, becoming a physical representation of the Norse tree of life, Yggdrasil. It was a huge reveal, but actually one that it seems has been hiding in plain sight since Loki season 2 episode 1.

Back in the season 2 premiere, viewers were first introduced to O.B., Ke Huy Quan’s chief engineer at the TVA. Loki and Mobius (Owen Wilson) descend to the depths of the agency to find him and see if he could help with Loki’s Time-Slipping. They find him inside of his laboratory, where he’s been working away for 400 years without a visitor.

However, if you look behind him, you might notice that there are a series of tubes that look very, well tree-like. You can see them during the episode at around the 26:50 minute mark, but they look even clearer in the still above.

Even more intriguingly, when we meet O.B.’s variant in episode five, he’s got a very similar workspace, which contains exactly the same tease. One Redditor spotted the connection here where you can see a tree-like structure, as other viewers suggested that the sofa sitting underneath it also acts like a throne.

It’s an incredible set design from the show’s creators, who clearly put a great deal of thought into designing Loki’s world. But it also suggests an inevitably to Loki’s fate as the lonely God of Time, suggesting this was always the way his story would play out.

For more, check out our guide to Loki season 2 and if Loki season 3 could happen. We also have a breakdown of all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way.