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When you think of a Millennial, what comes to mind? Some would say, a very young person.
But that wouldn't be accurate. Millennials are generally classified as those born in the eighties and early nineties, which means that many of today's Millennials are pushing forty.
Season 5 of Loki, entitled "Science/Fiction," takes quite the unexpected turn when the entire TVA spaghettifies (kudos to the special effects team for not reprising the Thanos dusting effect and doing something new!) and Loki finds himself time-slipping yet again, but not randomly: He keeps appearing in the vicinities frequented by his old friends from the TVA, but none of them recognize the god of mischief. They have gone back to their "real" lives in the timeline.
We meet O.B., who is now A.D. Doug, a scientist who writes science fiction that nobody reads, and who is working on his PhD just so that he can keep his job. He is so desperate to sell his works, in fact, that he goes to a bookstore where he previously slipped copies of his novel onto the shelves and attempts to purchase one.
A.D. Doug is your typical Millennial!
Millennials are arguably the generation most pushed by their elders to "pursue their dreams." As the timeless tale goes: Grandpa came to this country with just the clothes on his back, and worked hard manual labor so that his children and grandchildren could have a better life. But you — you are lucky! You get to achieve the American Dream! Go to college or start your hustle or both, and achieve glorious purpose!
Yet millions of Millennials in their thirties are wondering what in the world went wrong. In exchange for the American Dream, they got a mountain of student debt and the inability to buy a home. Despite working relentlessly to pursue their dreams, they find themselves constantly running on a hamster wheel — working hard and not getting anywhere.
So it is with Doug. Dough lives in, well, a dump, is very brilliant and hard-working, and has little to show for it. The version of him at the TVA seemed more fulfilled (despite literally working around the clock for over a thousand years!), because he was doing what he loved. When Loki gives him the plans for the TemPad — a device used for traveling between timelines — Doug succeeds at building it in just 18 months (although to Loki it's a matter of minutes due to the time-slipping).
It is fitting that MCU Loki and Doug have this existential connection; in Norse Mythology, Loki is the father of Ouroboros, the great serpent that circles the earth, and can literally bite the end of its own tail.
In his search for his friends, Loki comes to realize that his true intent is not necessarily to save the TVA or to be a hero or to achieve any sort of glorious purpose, but rather, and quite simply, to be together with his friends.
Could it be that the elders were wrong about this whole "pursue your dreams" thing? We know deep down that the real dream is not riches or fame or glory, but something much simpler and more wholesome: Family and friendship.