After multiple fake-outs, the God of Mischief’s ultimate end in the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be his death in Loki season 2, but also the potential for more from the God of Mischief. That means more of the twisty time-traveling adventures that allow Hiddleston to get up to his old tricks. But perhaps it’s finally time for those tricks to end.

Over the years, Loki has had a number of death scenes immediately erased in the MCU. In 2011’s Avengers: Endgame allows an older version of the character, the Loki who attacked New York in Avengers, to return once more. Even Loki has its own fakeout death, but it's time to stop it.

Related: Every Time Loki Has 'Died' In The MCU

There's a big reason Loki's death should be his MCU end, and that's because it already worked. Ahead of Loki, Hiddleston's character went through a lengthy arc in the MCU. After growing closer to Thor in take down Thanos in Infinity War. Despite betraying his brother numerous times in the MCU, the act redeems Loki in Thor's eyes. It's an honorable death and a fitting end to a character in search of redemption. And it's totally erased in Endgame. The Loki presented in Disney's Loki hasn't gone through any of that growth. In fact, he's fresh off the back of committing multiple atrocities, and while the final episode does seem to suggest that Loki is ready to become the hero to save the timeline from Kang the Conqueror, he still has red in his ledger. In fact, he now has even more.

Loki Timeline Multiverse

If it wasn't for Loki, Sylvie would never have been able to make it to the citadel at the end of time to kill He Who Remains and thus allow Kang to run amock on the timeline. As such, Loki has added yet another crime to his rap sheet. And while Loki shows personal growth by turning his back on power, an honorable death is still his best shot at total redemption. While the MCU's original Loki, who died in Infinity War, sacrificed himself to save others, this Loki variant still recently tried to destroy the entire civilization of the Frost Giants in Thor and killed dozens of people in his attack on New York in Avengers. Showing remorse doesn't quite cut it, and turning his motivation away from personal gain to a more altruistic approach isn't enough either: as Falcon told Bucky, you have to truly atone for your crimes.

There aren’t many options for the God of Mischief in the MCU. Getting back to his own original timeline looks beyond complex now and the revived TVA will presumably take the same hardline as He Who Remains' version. So leaving the events of Loki season 2 to slot back into the Sacred Timeline somewhere before Thor: Love and Thunder is unlikely. At the same time, the character needs to be held able for the multiple atrocities he's committed in the MCU. In the first episode of Loki, Owen Wilson's Mobius tells the God of Mischief that he doesn't see him as a villain. He's not entirely wrong, but it would be too simplistic for Loki to walk away from what he'd done without paying a major price. And losing his first real love isn't quite enough either.

Next: Where Loki Season 2 Will Fit Into The MCU Timeline

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