Did Loki actually survive Avengers: Infinity War after all? The God of Mischief is well known for his tricks, and has had a number of fake deaths over the course of the MCU. As a result, when Loki’s neck was snapped by Thanos, viewers immediately questioned whether or not he was truly dead this time.

The film itself seemed to be aware of this. In a comment that was essentially addressed to questioning audiences, Thanos observed that there would be “no resurrections this time.” It felt like a promise for the film as a whole, a reassurance that every death really did matter. Ironically, though, by the end of the movie that promise had been broken; Thanos’s “snap” killed characters who are already confirmed to appear in sequels, so deaths in Avengers: Infinity War are unlikely to be as permanent as Marvel claim. That leaves every other death in question, including Loki’s.

Over on Reddit, one theorist has spotted a minor detail that may be significant. Across his four previous appearances in Marvel films, Loki has been consistently presented as right-handed; he always holds his weapons with his right hand, even the specter he wielded in The Avengers. There’s only one notable exception: a scene in Thor: The Dark World, where the Trickster God held a dagger in his left hand while in battle with the Dark Elves. Crucially, this scene ended with Loki’s faking his death via illusion. The use of the left hand seems to have implied that it was some sort of “mirror reflection” of the real Loki, albeit one with physical form.

And, in Avengers: Infinity War, just as in Thor: The Dark World, Loki holds the dagger in his left hand. It’s a subtle detail, but the theorist suggests it’s a hint that Thanos didn’t actually kill Loki at all.

It’s important to stress that this observation, while exciting, doesn’t actually prove anything. As another Redditor pointed out in response, Thanos’s Black Order are stood to Loki’s side, and the God of Mischief is actually trying to conceal the knife. Thus it would make sense for him to hold the blade in his left hand this once. Still, although this isn’t exactly persuasive, it is another aspect of Loki’s death that’s sure to persuade some fans that their suspicions were correct; the God of Mischief is indeed still alive.

There are two major problems with this idea, though. The first is that Avengers: Infinity War tied up Loki’s various characters arcs perfectly, most notably with his choice to identify himself as a Son of Odin. As Tom Hiddleston himself has observed, “that closes the whole journey of Loki and what he can do.” The dialogue in Infinity War gives Loki’s death a sense of finality, with his character finally going full-circle, as he becomes the good man his mother always believed he could still be. It makes the death scene tremendously effective, and it may not be wise to sabotage that character arc.

The second issue, of course, is the question of just what Loki does for the rest of Avengers: Infinity War. While it’s possible he’s just vanished into the background, licking his wounds, fans are theorizing other possibilities; one of the most popular is that he actually replaced Bruce Banner, and that Banner’s presence on Earth was actually the Trickster God in disguise. Your mileage for these theories may vary but certainly, this Redditor’s observation raises the possibility that he’s still alive and thus was active in the background somehow in Avengers: Infinity War.

Even assuming Marvel did kill Loki off for good in Avengers: Infinity War, there’s no reason the studio couldn’t decide to retcon that death at a later date. If Marvel does indeed choose to bring Loki back, this detail will probably be viewed as a smart bit of potential foreshadowing.

More: Thanos is DUMB: Why His Master Plan Won’t Even Work

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