Summary

• Season 2 of Loki retroactively brings meaning to many scenes in the MCU, revealing Loki’s ultimate destiny as the God of Stories.
• Loki’s journey in the MCU references his future as the God of Stories, such as Odin’s prophecy, his fall off the Bifröst Bridge, and his attempt to leverage Thor’s love for Jane.
• Loki’s desperate need for acceptance and struggles with loneliness culminate in his isolation as the God of Stories, fulfilling Mobius’ ominous question about his fate.

Season 2 of Loki has put into context much of the character’s journey through the MCU, with many scenes over the course of the series retroactively becoming much more meaningful in the wake of the climactic finale. Continuing where the Loki variant who escaped with the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame left off, Season 2 sees Loki grappling with the fallout of Sylvie’s murder of He Who Remains, the Kang variant who wearily controlled the TVA. The climactic finale of Loki not only rounded out the saga of the series itself, but the God of Mischief’s entire journey through the MCU.

After deducing that the only way to keep time from breaking was to become the physical manifestation of it, Loki ascends to become the God of Stories, acting as a living Temporal Loom. Looking back on the character’s over a decade-long history in the MCU, a surprising number of scenes have alluded to this final fate. Many of the themes and struggles surrounding Loki’s character have finally reached a breaking point with the series finale, retroactively unearthing the hidden meaning woven within his many appearances.

10 Odin’s Prophecy That Both His Sons Would Be Kings

Thor

The series finale of Loki has paid off some long-standing mysteries harbored by the MCU for many years now, not the least of which being Odin’s prophecy. As far back as the first Thor film, audiences were shown a younger Odin giving his sons a prophecy, telling them that “only one of you can ascend to the throne, but you were both born to be kings.” While the throne to Asgard was the only thing the brothers could relate this prophecy to, it’s become clear that Thor’s brief stint as king will be nothing compared to Loki’s ultimate position on the throne at the end of time.

9 Loki Falls Off The Bifröst Bridge

Thor

Another payoff to a scene from Loki’s very first appearance, the end of Thor finds Loki dangling from a damaged Bifröst Bridge after Thor willingly destroys it to stop his brother’s plans. Lamenting over his failure, Loki attempts to get his father to see the error in his ways, asserting that he only did it “For you. For all of us.“, before allowing himself to fall off the bridge into nothingness. In the season 2 finale, Loki tells his friends the same line as he resigns himself to a fate, this time ascending to become the God of Stories.

8 Loki Tries To Leverage Thor’s Love For Jane To Stop Him

Thor

Right before Thor destroys the Bifröst Bridge, Loki makes a last-ditch effort to stop him, telling him that if he follows through, he’ll never be able to see Jane again. Though this would turn out to not be true, his sense of logic turns out to be a painfully ironic sentiment considering that Loki would eventually give up ever seeing his love interest, Sylvie, ever again in the act of destroying the Temporal Loom. The parallels between Thor destroying the Bifröst at the cost of never seeing Jane and Loki destroying the Loom at the cost of never seeing Sylvie make this one of the most poignant ways the Loki finale referenced Thor.

7 He Who Remains Tells Loki He’ll See Him Soon

Loki Season 1

At the end of Loki‘s first season, He Who Remains cryptically tells Sylvie “See you soon” before being killed by Sylvie. Not just a chilling final goodbye to get under Sylvie’s skin, this farewell turns out to be a promise as season 2 sees Loki hurtling through time, revisiting the climactic moment over and over again in vain hopes of finding some angle that made everything work out how he wanted. He Who Remains’ knowledge of this gave him a sick sense of satisfaction in taunting Loki even at the moment of his death.

6 Loki’s Introduces Himself As Having A “Glorious Purpose”

The Avengers

Serving as a powerful enough threat to bring the original Avengers team together, Loki arrives on Earth with The Scepter, using its power to aid his tyrannical ambitions. Ever the arrogant villain at this point in his career, Loki introduces himself as “burdened with glorious purpose“. The episode title of the season 2 finale echoes these words, as Loki’s words are made manifest, glorious purpose being given to him not in the rule of Earth, but in the fundamental creation of a new chronological paradigm.

5 Loki Stabs Thor After Using His Feelings Against Him

The Avengers

Cornering his brother in the midst of the Battle for New York, Thor appeals to Loki’s empathy in one last attempt to talk him out of his invasion. Loki, for his part, takes advantage of the moment, letting Thor think his efforts are working just long enough to get him to lower his guard before stabbing him with a hidden shiv, spitting out the word “Sentiment” as he does so. What’s easy to miss is that Loki sheds a small tear in this moment, and the finale of Loki proved just how far this version of the character was willing to go for the same sentiment he mocked Thor for having.

4 Thor Double-Crosses Loki Before He Can Do It First

Thor: Ragnarok

A recurring theme in season 2 of Loki is the cyclical nature of the character. From constant visual language surrounding Loki with circles to his new friend being a literal Ouroboros, Loki’s quest for self-actualization has been fraught with recursive thinking, following his old habits as he uses his time powers to try the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. Thor tells his brother as much after getting the better of him in Thor: Ragnarok, telling him “You just seem to just want to stay the same“. It’s only when Loki is able to break out of this pattern that he can realize his true destiny at the center of time.

3 Mobius Asks Loki If He Thinks He Deserves To Be Alone

Loki Season 1

Loki’s desperate need for acceptance is at the heart of his past evil actions, craving validation through forced respect in lieu of getting it elsewhere after struggling in his brother’s shadow as an adopted child. This has caused much of his arc throughout the MCU to revolve around his struggles with loneliness, brought to a bitter close with his ultimate isolation as the God of Stories. Mobius directly asks Loki if he thinks he deserves such a fate in season 1, episode 4 “The Nexus Event“, an ominous portent of things to come.

2 Classic Loki Tells His Story

Loki Season 1

When Loki meets up with more of his variants in the Void at the end of time, Classic Loki stands out as having a particularly tragic backstory. Loki learns that this version of himself succeeded in faking his death, evading even the TVA, but the years of isolation broke him. In the end, he was discovered after taking steps to reach out to his brother, whom he missed, stating that he “wondered if he missed me“. In this version of himself, Loki sees a sad reflection of his own future — alone at the end of time, despite having accomplished his goals.

1 Loki Resigns Himself To Loneliness Visiting Thor In Prison

Thor: Ragnarok

In the midst of the tumultuous events of Thor: Ragnarok, Loki confronts his imprisoned brother via illusion, offering Thor a spot at his side ruling Sakaar, as he plans to dispose of the Grandmaster. Refusing to back away from the fight for Asgard to join Loki in his political maneuvering, Thor rejects the offer, causing Loki to sigh to himself “I guess I’ll just have to go it alone…like I’ve always done“. No line better surmises Loki‘s ultimate fate, sacrificing his relationships in pursuit of power, albeit for a more noble cause as the living Temporal Loom.

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