WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the Loki season 2 finale, "Glorious Purpose."
Summary
- Loki season 2 finale leaves Loki's future in the MCU uncertain. Although he's alive, there's no confirmation of a Loki season 3 or his return in future Avengers movies.
- Marvel has not confirmed when or if Loki will return. While there might be potential for a variant of Loki in a future project, it remains unclear.
- Loki's ending makes sense as a final one. It reflects his desire for love and his growth as a character, sacrificing his own happiness for the sake of his friends.
At the end of Marvel Cinematic Universe in doubt. Much of the Loki season 2 finale sees the character trying to fix the TVA's Temporal Loom, but he's eventually told by He Who Remains that there's no way to do so, because it was built only to protect the Sacred Timeline. Wanting to give his friends a shot at living, Loki destroys the loom, and wrangles the branches under control, taking his place on the throne at the center of the multiverse.
The final shot of the Loki season 3.
What Is The Multiverse Tree At The End Of Loki? Huge MCU Meaning Explained
Loki season 2, episode 6’s ending turned the TVA into a multiversal tree. What does this mean and how does it connect to the titular God of Stories?
Marvel Has Not Confirmed If Loki Will Return
The Loki season 1 ending confirmed Loki season 2, but the latter has no such confirmation so it's unclear of Loki season 3 will happen. Although it's possible that Loki might return in one of the Avengers movies, either Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: Secret Wars, that's not yet known for certain. There is, perhaps, a way for a variant of Loki to return in a future MCU project — such as young Loki ing the Young Avengers — but the season 2 finale may be Hiddleston's final outing as Loki. That said, anything's possible in the world of superheroes and comic books, so Marvel may have yet another trick up their sleeve as a way to bring Loki back. But, for now, Marvel has not confirmed when or if Loki will return.
Why It Makes Sense For Loki's Ending To Be Final
Loki has cheated death numerous times in the MCU — between faking his death in Thor: The Dark World, to using the Tesseract to escape capture and eventual death in Avengers: Infinity War — so it makes sense for his ending to be not death, but an endless lifetime as a god. Not only an endless lifetime, but one spent alone. All Loki wanted, from the time he was introduced in the very first Thor movie, was to be loved, and he believed the way to gain that love was to be a ruler. The Loki season 2 finale gives him what he always dreamed of, a throne, but not necessarily the love he desired.
Instead, Loki's sacrifice in dooming himself to be the keeper of the multiverse demonstrates the love he has for his friends. In Loki season 2, episode 5, Loki says that what he wants are his friends and to not be alone, but in the finale he realizes that he can't have his friends and save them too, so he decides to save them. This proves how far Loki has come as a character, evolving from the selfish Asgardian prince into the god who sacrificed his happiness for the love of his friends. It's not unlike Iron Man's sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, except that Loki doesn't die. So, while Loki is still alive and could technically return in the MCU, the Loki season 2 finale does give him a fitting sendoff if it's his final appearance.
