"Loki Season 2 has one of the best endings for an MCU project that I've ever seen, culminating 14 years of Loki appearances and encapsulates an amazing character arc with a titular character that takes him from being a villain into a hero. You realize how big a sacrifice it is when you see he's holding on at the Mobius timeline, and he gave it all up in order to carry the burden of his glorious purpose. Throughout this article, we'll talk about why the show gives him the perfect ending and everything in the MCU that built up to this moment, including his history, the lines in which he desired a throne, and all our thoughts on that final shot. Now, let's get into the ending of Loki.

The Evolution of Loki
Now Loki was a character that was first introduced showcasing all the negative sides that humanity has. Some villains are just power-mad and want to take over the world for the sake of taking over it. You'll get a guy with giant freaking lasers that want to hold us to ransom or someone that just wants to destroy society for money, power. Loki, on the other hand, though he wanted to become the ruler of Asgard, had something far more personal about it than what you get with most villains.

Unraveling the Frost Giant's Deception
Discovering that he was a frost giant and had been lied to his entire life, he decided to destroy the family that had raised him in order to get his throne. It was in this movie that we also got our first bit of dialogue that would play off in the Loki Season 2 finale. 'For you, for all of us. For all of us.' No lie, no hug shout to Too on Twitter for that. And it was also on this bridge that things changed for him in both the film and show.

Bonds and Realizations
Loki realized that he was always going to be somewhat of an outcast but that he did have people who, in the end, cared for him. Whether it was his brother (sorry, adoptive brother) Thor, Mobius, or Sylvie, Loki had made friends that really, really cared for him. And both, he left them to go onto a higher purpose, which then takes us into the Avengers introduced, saying, 'I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose.' This line about burdensome purpose will become something major later on. Here, though, he had a misconception about what it was to rule and thought that that place a person above all else.

A Misconception Shattered
'I now think yourself above them.' 'Oh, yes, and you miss the truth of ruling, brother.' He believed that leadership meant that his subjects knelt in servitude, wanted to actually take away everyone's free will.

Contrasting Ideals: Loki's Evolution Continues
The Paradox of Freedom and Control
'I come with glad tidings of a world made free. Free from what?' 'Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie.' This is so important because it's the exact opposite of where he ends up, with him holding together the Multiverse so people are allowed to have it before him. He who remains had stripped away free will and had everyone on a predetermined path. Anyone who walked away from this was pruned out of existence, and thus he destroyed trillions and trillions of lives. Loki, on the other hand, had decided that free will was a good thing, and he'd allowed others to have it by giving up his own life. Sat on a throne at the end of time, he was now holding everything together so people could continue to live.

Symbolism in Attire: Loki's Changing Mentality
It's also important to pay attention to how Loki's clothes appear in both scenes as they truly highlight the character's mentality. In Avengers, he wears a giant golden crown and his fancy robes and clothes are adorned upon him. He really gives the idea of the kind of leader that he'd be because those below him would end up suffering.

Societal Critique Through Royal Imagery
There was a big debate in the UK last year because we had multiple royal family events that cost the public purse a hell of a lot of money. This was all in a time where people were struggling because of the cost of living crisis, and leaderships are often brought into questioning when people are doing badly. That's something that's often led to revolutions, with the Russian and French ones especially being based around class.

Loki R: A Glimpse into an Alternate Reality
We've even been hinted into what Loki R would be like, as in what if we saw reality in which he took over, everyone was under the thumb, no one was hitting the thumbs up, and all in all, it seemed like it was horrendous. Here, though, L is the exact opposite, and this is highlighted in the character's clothes. His robes are shabby, his crown's made of Citadel Rock, and the man looks far more broken than what we'd seen before. Once more, he's on a bridge changing his perspective, and we see as he then ascends to the throne.

The Persistence of Desire: Loki's Throne Quest
The next project that Loki appeared in was "The Dark World," in which he hammered home that it was his birthright to rule. All this because Loki desires a throne.

The Quest for the Throne: Loki's Ever-Changing Desire
The Dark World and the Birthright
"It is my Birthright." We closed out with him taking over Asgard, and with seeing Ragnarok, what this had led to, going to that he was posing as Odin and had let the Nine Realms fall into chaos. Lounging around and watching plays and being fed grapes, it showed what this version of Loki's idea of leadership was. Even on Sakaar, he was still fixated on getting a throne, which we saw when he said, 'What are you doing here? What do you mean am I doing? I'm stuck in this stupid chair. Where's your chair? I didn't get a chair. Get me out of this.' One man just wanted a chair, but it wasn't too long after this that this version would be killed.

Regression and Character Flourish: Loki's Development
This set things even further back character development-wise, as we're now dealing with a version of Loki that hadn't changed his perspective. From a meta point of view, though, I love what this gave Tom Hiddleston, as he could dial back the character to a time in which Loki was still a villain, let him flourish, and bring out the more fun side of his personality instead of the one questioning whether he was doing the right thing. He still believed he should be king, though, which was demonstrated in his conversation with Mobius at the time theater.

A Defining Moment: Loki's Shift in Perspective
This was where the characters first really talked, and this was definitely a defining moment for him. Seeing the pain that his actions would bring, he then decided to go and help the TVA. This led to him coming across his variant who lived a much more difficult life than Loki had. Through their actions, they got to He Who Remains, and Loki was sent back in time by Sylvie, which kick-started the season. Everything in it had been built around saving the Loom so that the new timeline branches can exist and be handled by it.

The Inescapable Infinite: Loki's Dilemma
However, no matter what, it just keeps exploding because, in the end, you can't scale for the infinite. Stuck over what it is that he should do, Loki goes back to the time theater, and at this point, has another character-defining moment. "First and most impressive lie ever uttered was the song of freedom. Finish what I started, which is claim my Throne. You want to be king? I don't want to be. I was born to be. No, there's no comfort. You just choose your burden." This really flips Loki's perspective on his head and makes him realize the burden he thought would be a glorious purpose isn't exactly that. Burden is, of course, something that he must carry, whereas in the past, he believed himself above all, so he was the one who was right to lead.

Loki's Ascension: A Sacrificial Love
Replacing the Loom: Loki's Ultimate Sacrifice
Throughout the season, there's been constant talk of getting rid of the TVA and replacing it with something better, which, in many ways, this ending signifies. Rather than the TVA, though, he destroys the Loom and replaces it with himself to hold the Multiverse in place. A huge H to the Canadian land for pointing out what's going on here. And it's important to point this out as we see Loki, who remains grabbing a branch, and we see that this heals it. Whereas when he lets it go, this then withers and dies. Thus, he has to hold on to them, and this is so he can keep them in place and teeming with life.

The Throne of Branches: A New Sacred Timeline
Opening a portal to the end of time, we then see him ascend to the throne, with his cape turning into branches itself. At this point, he sits and creates a new sacred timeline that represented well throughout time and space. This is a tree that comes from Norse mythology and was dotted throughout Phase One of the MCU, appearing in "Captain America: The First Avenger."

The Tesseract Connection: A Loop of Perfect Connection
It was in a mural of that fake Tesseract that the fake Tesseract was hidden. Loki would, of course, end up getting the Tesseract in The Avengers, showing that it's all connected. The Tesseract allowed him to escape his fate in The Avengers, and this, in the end, led to the TVA, where he'd eventually create the tree. Everything loops together perfectly, and in the end, we see him sacrificing it all to take his seat on the throne.

Love Beyond Romance: Loki's Heroic Sacrifice
One of the big criticisms about Season 2 I've seen is that Season 1 was very much set up as a love story, centered around Loki's self-love, who, in the form of Sylvie, seemed like the pair were going to come together and fix each other's problems. They've said that the love story was cast aside for Season 2, which, on a surface level, is a fair point. However, what Loki is doing here is still in the name of love, and it's actually above a simple hookup with himself from all over the universe. The man is giving up his entire life to protect the people he loves and cares about, and he's now doomed himself to an eternity of servitude. But helping everyone is seen as a worthy burden. I really thought that, in order to save things, he'd have to kill Sylvie, but this curveball is just way more heroic.

Loki's Transformation: From Selfish to Selfless
Atlas: A Fitting Comparison
Rob from Comics Explained has done a brilliant video talking about how the character is more in line with Atlas from the comics. In my breakdowns, I theorized he's a mix between the god of stories and Dr. Doom, but I think Rob probably has it spot on. Atlas is someone who's been charged with guarding the Multiverse and can revive and protect timelines as he deems fit. The name "Atlas" comes from Greek myths, and he was punished and forced to hold the world up on his shoulders to keep everyone on the planet alive. The name also applies to Loki's role here. In the beginning, he was a self-centered brat desperate to lead but didn't fully understand what it really meant to rule.

Glorious Purpose: A Journey of Understanding
Now he's someone who understands the burden but also sees the glorious purpose within this. To him, it's now an honor to protect the timelines, and one that he feels strong enough to do. The man has gone from selfish to selfless, giving up all to protect everything and everyone. It's a perfect culmination of the character's journey and shows how good Marvel can take their stories when given the time.

Loki's Arc vs. Tony Stark's
I used to think that Tony Stark had the best arc, but seeing this now, I have changed my mind. Loki, someone who, when introduced in Thor, just seemed like a solid but not an amazing villain. However, what they've done since then, both Tom Hiddleston and the studio, have taken him on an incredible journey, and this has happened throughout the entire saga. I think by far, he's one of the best villains in comic books, and this show just encapsulates why he's so good.

Loki vs. Thanos: The True Phase One Villain
When you think about it, Thanos is often praised as being that major Marvel big bad that kind of kickstarted it all. But looking back at the phases, Loki was very much the Phase One villain. He was the villain throughout Thor and in The Avengers. He was there too, though he was kind of overshadowed by Thanos in that post-credit scene. A lot of the credit has to be given to Loki and Tom Hiddleston's performance.

A Perfect Send-off
In the end, Loki Season 2 has the perfect send-off for the character, and now I'm sure he'll be back. Yeah, I hope it's for a couple of years. In the end, I also hope that you've enjoyed this breakdown, and I'd, of course, love to hear your thoughts on the show as well. Also, let me know your theories and if you think Luis from Ant-Man is now going to become the god of stories, as that's what I think is going to happen in the MCU.

https://xautobothub.com/loki-season-2-ending-breakdown-is-the-greatest-thing-i-watched/

I like the fact that Loki was treated with respect
by the writers,
I wish the same could be said of Thor.