TAGGED AS: marvel cinematic universe, streaming, TV
After six startling weeks of mind-bending ideas and equally strange visuals, Loki ended its second season – and possibly its whole series – Thursday night with key questions solved and, of course, a few that remain.
As part of an ongoing saga, that which remains is a big takeaway from Loki. Even the character moments are as wrapped up in that concept, as Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is with the notion of purpose. So was the purpose of Loki, as a series, just to set up subsequent events for Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga, or was there something more to it? Let’s take one last look at the season, investigate that which remains, and see if our favorite god of mischief was changed by it all.
(Warning: Spoilers follow for Loki season 2, episode 6: “Glorious Purpose”)
(Photo by ©Marvel Studios)
First, let’s look the future Loki sets up. In the end, Loki took it upon himself to replace the Temporal Loom and all of He Who Remains’ (Jonathan Majors) handiwork in the hopes the Time Variance Authority and his friends could find a better way than what He Who Remains set in motion. The threat of total Multiversal war among the other HWR variants is still very real and, as mentioned by Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) in the finale’s closing moments, those variants – we’ll call them Kangs for simplicity’s sake – are as unaware of the TVA as the heroes of Earth are of the Kangs themselves.
For all the lack of clarity about the Multiverse Saga across the Phase Four and Five projects to date, this appears to be the true conflict hidden in the actions of wielders of mighty shields, Wakandan queens, various Marvels, or guardians of the galaxy. Is there a better way than the predetermined destiny He Who Remains mapped out for everyone in his attempt to prevent total destruction across all time, space, and possibility?
Also, is destruction in every facet of the Multiverse the only outcome of the Kang desire to install a dynasty across all existence?
(Photo by ©Marvel Studios)
For the moment, the TVA is the only group even aware of the problem, much as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) was the only one cognizant of the danger the Infinity Stones represented as Phase Two drew to a close. Is it possible they will start seeking out recognizable heroes or their variants to build a bulwark against what the Kangs?
Meanwhile, is the TVA aware of the Council of Kangs depicted in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s mid-credit scene? Are these the true battle lines or is something else waiting to be revealed?
The frustrating thing: We may have to wait until 2025 or even 2026 for any of this to be expanded upon, as the rest of Phase Five concerns itself with more Earth-bound issues. Unless, of course, Deadpool 3 dives headlong into all of this. His understanding that he is fictional could make him good recruit for the TVA.
(Photo by Gareth Gatrell/©Marvel Studios)
With concerns of the ongoing Marvel saga out of the way, let’s look at what happened to Loki. After everything he experienced this season, he uncovered it was mostly a trick set up by He Who Remains to prove a point about the hard choices – a notion Loki has doggedly resisted his entire life. He is a trickster god after all, and no choice should be hard to one who sees existence through a more flippant lens.
Of course, the Loki of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and most of his variants are more than just tricksters. They are burdened with a sense of purpose thanks to a messy adoption into the Asgardian royal family. And, as the finale reminded us this week, that sensation could only be framed in their mind via the mundanity of the Nine Realms: a gaudy, golden throne.
It is fitting, then, that only a trick engineered by someone who could see further than Loki would be adequate to change his mind and his heart.
Although, it is interesting to note that He Who Remains’ trick worked too well. Instead of pushing Loki toward the desired outcome – killing Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) and preserving the Sacred Timeline – he embraced empathy, compassion, and sacrifice along the way. Curiously, his prime variant learned similar things in Thor: Ragnarok and carried through with that newfound sense of purpose in Avengers: Infinity War, but this variant absorbed these concepts in a dramatically different way and on a vastly larger scale.
(Photo by Gareth Gatrell/©Marvel Studios)
Also, as executive producer Kevin R. Wright told us when we spoke with him in October, putting Loki in a position where he could make a choice outside of He Who Remains’ orchestrated timeline was also important to the story. “I think [the question of free will] is something that allows you to tell really interesting, complicated stories that everybody can grasp onto and has their own perspective on,” he said, adding that element of the overall tale excited Hiddleston before either season’s creative team assembled.
Getting to this place with the character, but in such a wildly variant way, was also the point of the series. Loki once again had to embrace certain values to resolve the problem even if it took centuries for him to understand that no trick could be employed to save the day. Ironically, He Who Remains was correct about the hard decisions, but he never considered a choice in which one gives up oneself for the sake of everyone else.
And the result led not to death, but a god of mischief taking a seat at the core of all things; a new framework for reality that suspiciously resembles the Yggdrasil of Norse mythology Loki lusted to control for so long. Nevertheless, this is a good and desired outcome. Loki, still a villain when this series began, was utterly transformed into the one entity who could hold things in balance and keep most of what was the Sacred Timeline intact.
(Photo by ©Marvel Studios)
Well, presuming the “616 adjacent” universe of the MCU is, more or less, the Sacred Timeline we’ve known up until now. And wouldn’t it be interesting to discover some events depicted in prior films or TV shows are no longer part of that reality, thanks to Loki underpinning the Multiverse?
Nevertheless, sitting on the throne of all things has seemingly left him a distant and unreachable god who will be unable to act when the Kang threat expands to every corner of reality. Unless, of course, he gets one last chance to reveal his purpose when the Secret Wars arrive.
(Photo by Gareth Gatrell/©Marvel Studios)
Loki left behind a group of people more dear to him than seemingly anyone he knew in Asgard – even Frigga (Rene Russo). Those bonds motivated his sacrifice and inform the countless eons of isolation he’s no doubt already experienced. His one comfort: they all survived.
Hunter B-15 remains in a leadership position at the TVA, as she is essential to the organization’s plans to combat the Kang variants. Mobius (Owen Wilson) says as much. We genuinely hope to see more of her, as Mosaku’s warmth as the character is a great contrast to the bulk of Marvel’s generals and, certainly, the iciness exhibited by the TVA judges.
Speaking of judges, it was a surprise to see Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) survived in the end, although it is unclear how much she experienced before waking up in ancient Egypt. To be sure, that entire scene had a lot going on. Besides the Giza Pyramids and Great Sphinx in the distance, there was also a TVA seal at her feet and explosions of purple light in the distance. Our guess: events have led her to the moment when another Kang variant, Rama-Tut, arrived in the pharaonic Old Kingdom to rule. Will this Ravonna and Kang act on their mutual attraction, which seemingly survived the collapse of the old Multiverse and the Sacred Timeline? Is she key to Kang enacting his desired dynasty?
Or, maybe, she saw (an) Apocalypse in the distance…
(Photo by Gareth Gatrell/©Marvel Studios)
Meanwhile, poor Mobius learned who he really was, but we suspect he is still unsure who he really is. On his way out of the TVA, he declared himself a “washed up old analyst with a heart of gold.” When Loki time-slipped into their earliest conversation, he also revealed he was a failed hunter who could not prune a mass murder because the variant first emerged as a child. Those statements only indicate who he is not. And we suspect his examination of Don’s suburban life will yield little else that is helpful to him. He’s not exactly a father or a jet ski salesman, after all. But maybe there’s a chance for him to prove that he is a hero.
Casey (Eugene Cordero) and OB (Ke Huy Quan) remain in the TVA, doing their duties and living what seems to be their best destinies. That said, you have to wonder how much of The Zartan Contingent wormed its way into the second edition of the TVA Handbook. Also, it was interesting to see Miss Minutes (voiced by Tara Strong) and Brad Wolfe (Rafael Casal) pop up again.
Additionally, we are treated to one last glimpse of Victor Timely as a boy (Nasri Thompson). He never received the TVA manual and, presumably, did not grow up to be He Who Remains. But did he become a Kang? And, come to think of it, was Victor Timely even his real name?
(Photo by Gareth Gatrell/©Marvel Studios)
And then there’s Sylvie.
Presumably, the branched timeline where she found contentment is a full universe in Loki’s world tree. She can always make her way there. That said, her continued use of a TemPad suggests she may have chosen to remain with the TVA and use the chance Loki gave her by sacrificing himself. There is something to be said for her becoming the most active Loki variant for the next few years.
As the season focused more on Loki and Mobius – and Sylvie got what she wanted by killing He Who Remains in the season 1 finale – there wasn’t really an opportunity for her to state a new objective or even really want one beyond working at McDonald’s. But her regard for Mobius at the end suggests she also internalized some of the empathy Loki obtained along the journey. Will it lead to her taking up the sword again to stop other Kang variants?
That certainly has an appeal to it.
(Photo by Gareth Gatrell/©Marvel Studios)
Is Loki over? We expect there will be more clarity on that front in the days ahead, but there is a good argument to suggest this is the desired conclusion Marvel, Hiddleston, and the creative team were reaching for all along. Loki ultimately got what he wanted, but not in the manner he expected or for the exact purpose he espoused. He continues to live, true, and could find a way to make his presence known, but the show offers him a satisfying end point. And thanks to the Multiverse he established, it is always possible for another Loki variant to show up and cause a little mischief.
For now, though, we’ll accept Loki alone on a modest throne and burdened by a truly glorious purpose as the ending he was always destined to find.
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Loki: Season 2
(2023)
is currently streaming on Disney+
Thumbnail image by ©Marvel Studios
