Screenshot via Marvel Studios/Disney Plus
With the heartfelt conclusion of Loki season two still playing in our minds, it's time we look at the impact Loki has had on the MCU since his introduction in 2011's Thor. When we first met our god of mischief, he was plotting the demise of his brother, Thor. We see Loki as a truly twisted individual whose hunger for a throne fueled his every action. From this desire to rule we see his character commit atrocious acts and coincidentally bring together the Avengers in the process. Although he was a villain hellbent on ruling earth, audiences couldn't help but fall in love with this character. What was the cause of an infatuation with a clearly evil character like Loki? Did we see the potential of this lost soul? Did we relate with his shortcomings and the shadow cast over him by his brother? Whatever your reason is for loving Loki, we have seen some of the best character development and a redemption arc rivaling Prince Zuko's from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
To clarify, the Loki we see in this series is not the same character that we have seen slowly learn from his mistakes and change his ways throughout his many appearances in the MCU. The first episode has TVA agents steal this variant Loki away right after he is defeated in 2012's The Avengers. To say that he is at his worst would be an understatement. From the second he gets to the TVA we can see his mischievous mind already plotting his way to overthrow and take over. With the introduction of the analyst, Mobius, we see that Loki is a necessary evil in tracking down a variant of himself that is wreaking havoc on the timelines.
By the end of season 1 Loki is a changed man who fears what the death of He Who Remains will do to the timelines. Will there be a multiverse war? Was this all orchestrated by He Who Remains? Is He Who Remains lying about all of this to save himself? Loki is hesitant to kill the man who claims he is keeping his own variants from starting another war. At the end of it all his love for Sylvie gets in the way and she pushes him through a doorway back to the TVA. Sylvie kills He Who Remains and finally gets retribution for the course of her life as a variant on the run.
Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Owen Wilson as Mobius in Season 2 of "Loki." By Courtesy of Gareth Gatrell/Disney+
When Season 2 starts, we see Loki hellbent on saving the TVA and the branched timelines that are in jeopardy after the death of He Who Remains. Now his friends don't remember who he is, Sylvie is nowhere to be found and Loki is time slipping through different timelines. With all of this happening Loki is also trying to optimize the temporal loom to adjust for the extra branches without pruning them. From the start of season 2 we can see a Loki who is genuinely scared for the fate of all the lives on the infinitely branching timelines. This is a stark (no pun intended) difference from his throne obsessed past self. Speaking of thrones, Loki is very adamant about not desiring a throne and just wanting his friends back. As the season comes to a close we see loki's drive to protect his friends and make sacrifices rival that of Tony Stark's selflessness.
Loki starts his journey as a selfish, self-absorbed and power hungry god and transforms into the most selfless, caring and humble character we have yet to see. Loki spent centuries teaching himself how to fix the temporal loom to account for the extra branches. Loki goes through countless iterations of this moment after controlling his new time slipping ability. With all of his new abilities and seemingly perfecting his time slipping he still can't fix the loom and ends up going on a journey back in time to try and figure out how to save the multiverse. The only clear answer seems to be killing Sylvie and preventing the death of He Who Remains.
After wise words from past versions of Sylvie and Mobius, he comes to the conclusion that he finally has his "glorious purpose" and can save everybody. With one final look, Loki walks away and starts using his powers to save all of the branches. He grabs at them and brings them back to life. With all the branches in hand Loki takes a seat on his new throne for all of eternity. The way that Tom Hiddleston conveys joy, pain, sadness and purpose during his final moments onscreen cements the idea that Loki has made the best redemption and biggest sacrifice in all of the MCU. Loki has willingly placed himself in that throne for all eternity to protect all the timelines and his friends. When given the easy choice of killing Sylvie or being stuck watching over the timelines for all eternity, Loki didn't hesitate. That's the kind of character the Loki tv show created. A god of mischief turned god of time who would sacrifice his eternal life for the chance to save the multiverse.
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