Review: Marvel's Loki Season Finale

Marvel’s Loki was an unquestioned hit for Disney+ and really got the fanbase to a fever pitch in terms of speculation and anticipation, and while the season finale was excellent in a lot of ways, especially in terms of the broader MCU, it was also a little vexing regarding the fate and utilization of its main character.

For a show titled “Loki”, the titular character seemed sidelined a little too much in the season finale. There was far more importance placed on revealing “He Who Remains” and Sylvie getting to come face to face with him. Now, the reveal that the big bad was actually Kang the Conqueror, or, at least, one of the many multiverse versions of him, was bold, if easily telegraphed, given the trajectory of the MCU as a whole. But even so, the moment Jonathan Majors appeared on screen was electric. It was the kind of moment that only the MCU can build to and deliver on.

And hearing the big bad wax philosophical about the nature of existence in the MCU was not only thoroughly entertaining, but it set the groundwork for the future of the franchise. Everything, at least as far as the current phase, from the Ant-Man sequel to Spider-Man potentially exploding the Spider-Verse, is going to rely on Loki, and as such, it’s going to be essential for the MCU. Even if the scene did drag on a little, it was an important moment for both the series and the franchise, as a whole.

Moreover, from a character perspective, it really provided a complete arc for Sylvie. She fulfilled her purpose, of bringing the person who ruined her life at such a young age to justice. What makes it all the more interesting, and ultimately ironic, though, is that she did exactly what the villain wanted. From the beginning, all she wanted was a chance at free will, to be able live her life as she saw fit. A theme running through the show is that Loki’s don’t change. They are always conniving, deceitful, and supremely destructive. And when Sylvie had a chance to choose her own path, to make a choice that would prove the TVA wrong, she didn’t. She allowed her anger to cloud her judgment and proved that Loki’s, with very few exceptions, are what they are believed to be.

And this is doubly tragic, because Loki, throughout the course of the series, and perhaps more than any other MCU character, underwent a stark transformation. He realized, through his friendship with Owen Wilson’s Agent Mobius, to his interactions with other variant versions of himself, especially Sylvie, that he’s more than what people think of him. He is what he chooses to be, and he has incredible power that can fulfill his evil wants or be a force of good. And when Sylvie betrays him, apparently sending him to an alternate dimension TVA, all so she can murder He Who Remains, it’s an incredibly emotional moment, because Loki had his epiphany and wanted so desperately to share it.

The general idea is that every person deserves a second chance and that proved to be the real driving force of the first season. Every character in the series was looking for a chance to make good on a mistake or correct their errant ways, and that is something audiences can easily relate to. All things considered, Loki proved to be wildly entertaining and thought provoking at the same time. It was a little more fast-paced and ethereal than both The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision, but it never lost the sense of fun that it started with.