This article contains spoilers for Loki.
Well… we expected the Loki finale to be exciting but it’s safe to say that it left our jaws on the floor.
Not only did it conclude season one of the hit show in a glorious fashion, but it has also completely shaken up the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
There was a lot to take in that’s for sure with plenty of questions being raised in regards to what it all means for the MCU, so let’s break it down.
Who Was In The Mysterious Castle?
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In many ways our predictions were right as actor Jonathan Majors stepped out revealing that he was playing the man behind the curtain, but the character wasn’t exactly Kang The Conqueror.
Introduced to us by Miss Minutes as ‘He Who Remains’, Majors’ character explains why he created the TVA, the Time-Keepers and the sacred timeline.
In his speech to Loki and Sylvie, He Who Remains delivered a lot of exposition which we shall try and condense down here. Take a deep breath for this one…
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The long story cut short is that eons ago He Who Remains was a scientist who discovered the existence of other universes, using that to meet variants of himself, with these versions then sharing their knowledge with each other.
The trouble is though several evil variants then attempted to conquer the world which caused a multiversal war. He Who Remains decided to put an end to that by harnessing the power of the Alioth (which we met in episode five) and isolating the sacred timeline.
He keeps all things in check on this timeline using the TVA, and claims that without him doing so the other versions will be allowed to interact leading to war and all sorts of chaos.
Okay you got all that so far? Unfortunately for the sacred timeline and the MCU, Sylvie kills He Who Remains despite his warnings (oops) and well, the impact is instantly felt.
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The timelines branch out and it seems that the multiverse has been let loose as we find Loki talking to a Mobius who doesn’t recognise him.
What’s important to note is that although the show never refers to He Who Remains as a variant of Kang The Conqueror, that’s exactly who he is, something we know thanks to the character’s backstory and the fact Majors is playing that character in the upcoming movie Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania.
Loki therefore diverts away from the comics as according to those He Who Remains is simply the creator of the Time-Keepers and the final director of the TVA at the end of time. In the show He Who Remains is that, but also a Kang variant.
What Happened To Loki And Sylvie?
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During the climax Sylvie sent Loki away to what we assumed was the TVA we have seen all season. However, as revealed at the end of the episode it isn’t that at all.
As we just mentioned, at this TVA Loki finds himself talking to a Mobius that doesn’t recognise him, and lurking in the background is a giant statue of none other than supervillain Kang The Conqueror (oh dear).
We don’t know if Loki has been thrust into an alternative universe or whether his timeline has been altered, but what we can be certain of is that this isn’t the TVA we are familiar with, and it’s definitely not a good sign a statue of Kang has replaced that of the Time-Keepers.
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Things don’t look good for Loki then given that he is now speaking to a different Mobius, one that is under the villainous Kang’s rule.
Our God Of Mischief will have to work hard to convince those from this alternative TVA that things aren’t exactly rosy, especially since he is the only one there with knowledge of He Who Remains.
Of course Sylvie is also aware of events, but since she unleashed Kang The Conqueror, let loose the multiverse, and betrayed Loki, we can’t see the two getting on anytime soon.
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Having killed He Who Remains we guess Sylvie is still at the Citadel (the mysterious castle at the end of time), probably thinking about where she goes from here, which currently remains a mystery for us and maybe even her.
Her goal was to find out who was behind the TVA and now that has been accomplished, what is next?
The good news though is that this surely won’t be the last we see of Sylvie.
Where Did Ravonna Renslayer Go?
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Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ravonna Renslayer has been an interesting character throughout Loki, and during episode five she revealed that she wants to find out who is behind the TVA.
In the finale we see her continue on this path, taking some documents from Miss Minutes and stepping into a portal “in search of free will”.
We don’t know where she is going, but since Renslayer has important ties to Kang as his on-and-off partner in the comics, she will likely appear alongside him at some point in the future.
She is definitely one to keep an eye on…
What Does The Finale Mean For The Future Of The MCU?
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Talking of the future, everything seemed to go to pot for the MCU in the final few minutes of Loki as timelines branched out implying that the multiverse has been released.
Entering new territory, it will be hard to predict where exactly the MCU goes next given that it now has a multiverse to explore, but some things are hinted at.
For example, it seems that Kang The Conqueror has arrived in the form of a variant of He Who Remains who is now ruling the TVA, which explains why we haven’t seen the popular comic book villain so far in the franchise.
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In the comics, Kang is quite the force of nature and so it seems that he is being set up as the MCU’s next big bad, a new Thanos-level threat for our heroes to battle.
And since Kang’s mission is to conquer universes and rule all of time, he makes Thanos looks pretty harmless and friendly in comparison.
Although the Kang we see a statue of at the TVA may be the one appearing in Quantumania, the show tells us that there are infinite versions of him so there may be plenty of evil variants running around the MCU (Majors will have a lot of fun with that if it’s the case).
He Who Remains could indeed be back too given he tells Sylvie just before he dies that she will see him soon, but this could simply be a reference to the fact other versions of himself are about to arrive.
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Whilst we don’t know how exactly the MCU will dive into the multiverse, we know that it is on the cards given that the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel is titled Multiverse Of Madness.
And who could forget Spider-Man: No Way Home is rumoured to feature both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning as the web-slinger, in addition to villains from the non-MCU film series.
It’s likely these films will follow on from the events of Loki which will have a huge knock-on effect on the MCU. We can’t imagine Doctor Strange is happy with the mess that has been created.
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There’s also WandaVision to consider too. That post-credits sequence saw an astral projection of the Scarlet Witch reading Agatha Harkness’ Darkhold book whilst listening to the screams of her children.
Wanda is probably searching for a way to be reunited with her boys and now that Loki has opened up the multiverse, that could be an option for her.
That’s all without us getting to the fact the multiverse could be how we are introduced to the MCU’s version of the X-Men and Fantastic Four too! Seriously though, the doors have been blown wide open!
Will There Be A Loki Season Two?
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There will indeed be a season two of Loki with the show confirming the news in a mid-credits scene during the final episode.
The questions therefore left are when will it air and what story will it follow? As we just discussed, season one’s finale has lined up a new chapter for the whole of the MCU to explore, so it will be interesting to see how events progress before Loki season two hits our screens – whenever that may be.
Given that season one focused on the TVA, it’s likely that the second season will do the same, perhaps following Loki as he tries to restore order within the organisation and the universe as a whole.
Although it wasn’t Loki himself who unleashed Kang The Conqueror and the multiverse, we reckon he will also try to resolve Sylvie’s mistake.
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Characters introduced during season one such as Renslayer and Mobius may pop up in other MCU projects, but since they debuted in Loki it’s likely they will be back for season two.
As mentioned earlier, Marvel has set up future storylines for these characters which are likely to be explored in the second season.
What’s for certain though is an intriguing chapter lies ahead for both the MCU and Loki.
Loki airs weekly on Disney+.
