Miss Minutes' cartoon wasn't enough to convince Loki and it certainly wasn't enough to convince me. The last thing that happened in the 2012 universe was Thor and Tony looking around their surroundings for Loki and the tesseract that disappeared. If that cartoon was saying it was undone, then it's important to show us how exactly it was undone, especially since the show literally started off with scenes from Endgame that took place in 2012.
I'm assuming by original Loki, you mean another Loki that was replaced by the 2012 Loki that is the protagonist of this show. So if you're saying it isn't that the TVA cloned him and the tesseract, what method do they use to undo the events of him getting arrested, him showing up in the desert, and him disappearing with the tesseract?
Putting the cube back in the suitcase is not all they need to do, because if that is all they do, then 2023 Tony would still get knocked out by 2012 Hulk. What happens to the suitcase after that if the TVA makes sure that the one that doesn't happen is that Loki takes it?
This show is practically inviting the idea of thinking too hard about the rules of variance. I don't think they are trying to lead the viewer to believe that the TVA can't be trusted; there hasn't really been any scenes implying something sinister, only that they are a governing authority trying to keep order and avoid chaos. I do distrust them, not because I think the show wants me to, but because a lot of what they said to Loki doesn't make sense to me.
Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the show, but it has its flaws. Marvel is aiming for higher storytelling and I can be a harsh critic, so credit where it's due but criticism where it's due too. The fact that they have done so much exposition is a point against the show and if they don't bother to clear up some of the things that have a portion of the audience unable to follow along, then it loses more points with storytelling in my opinion. Either way though I am here for it.
That's what they say, but they don't show us how the healing takes place. Just as I said earlier in this post, at what point was the 2012 timeline restored to? And whenever that was, did they clone Loki and the tesseract to keep the sacred timeline in tact for this branch universe? Because if they did, then that's really important; it's not something the show should expect the viewer to assume