Loki S01E06 is the sixth and final instalment of the first season of a scifi superhero action-adventure drama set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The series stars Tom Hiddleston reprising his role as the God of Mischief, Loki Laufeyson which Hiddleston had previously portrayed in the MCU, most notably as the main antagonist in The Avengers.
S P O I L E R S
Entitled “For All Time. Always.”, Loki S01E06 takes the viewer behind the curtain as Loki and Sophie finally discover who is actually behind the Time Variance Authority (TVA) and responsible for turning their lives upside down for the crime of being variants. As with most season finales, it is impossible not to revel spoilers when discussing the plot goes in this episode.
Frankly, at the very end of this first season, Loki has proven itself to be a colossal waste of time. The entire series seems like a six-episode long set up for Phase 4 of the MCU. That is the only reason for the Loki series’ existence. And what is the underlying theme of Phase 4 – the multiverse. Yes, the multiverse is created in this series and that’s about all really happens in this mundane season finale. Ho hum.
There were several online theories circulating that it was either Kang the Conqueror or He Who Remains. Well, it seems that the truth is that that person is probably a bit of both? He Who Remains (played very campily by Jonathan Majors) is actually a variant of Nathaniel Richards, a scientist who first discovered the multiverse in the 31st century and whose actions sparked a multiversal war among the various alternate versions of himself – including Kang (who is not named in the episode).
READ OUR REVIEWS OF LOKI SEASON 1.
This variant (i.e. He Who Remains) managed to stop the war, ‘prune’ all the other timelines, and created the so-called Sacred Timeline, which the TVA is tasked to protect. Be warned, there’s quite a bit of exposition here as He Who Remains explains at length his backstory and the history of the multiversal war and the setting up of the TVA.
As mentioned earlier, at the end of the series, the multiverse returns with a vengeance but the implications of which are only hinted at – Mobius does not recognise Loki, for example – and Marvel drops hardly any clues about what would happen next. Disappointingly, there are no mid or post-credits scenes to whet our appetite. What a boring finale!
Loki S01E06 confirms our worst fears about the quality of these MCU Disney+ series not being able to match up to the movies. Presumably, the What If? animated series dovetails into this series perfectly, eh? Better than nothing, huh? Sigh.
Now streaming on Disney+.
… still there’s more …