Loki head writer Eric Martin confirmed a fan theory about the MCU show's Season 2 ending on Disney+.
Tom Hiddleston's titular antihero made the biggest sacrifice of his 12-year MCU tenure in the Loki Season 2 finale, taking on the duty of guarding the Sacred Timeline to keep He Who Remains at bay.
Hiddleston even admitted that his character's moment in the finale "was wholly appropriate and... very moving," with Loki now holding a place as one of the most important figures across the entire Multiverse with this new job.
Loki Writer Confirms Season 2 Ending Idea
Loki Season 2 head writer Eric Martin compared the conclusion of Loki's story in the latest season of his Disney+ show to that of the mythological Greek figure, Atlas.
Martin told Esquire that the idea for Season 2 was to have Loki evolve "from a lowercase-g god, to a capital-G God," powering up his "wisdom and knowledge" while giving him a new responsibility that allows the Multiverse's inhabitants to live:
"The big idea was taking Loki from a lowercase-g god, to a capital-G God, powering him up to that place where he gets his throne—but it’s not a throne he wants anymore. This is a duty. He’s doing this so everyone else can have their lives. He’s giving up the thing that he wants most so that everyone else can have their free will… We wanted to power up his abilities, but also his wisdom and knowledge."
Martin also made it clear that the last shot of Loki sitting on his new throne is "meant to be ambiguous" about him possibly suffering, comparing him to the Greek Titan Atlas for those familiar with mythology and legends:
"I leave that up to interpretation. That final image is meant to be ambiguous. So I’ll let people make up their own minds there. If you look into mythology, someone like Atlas is an interesting person to look at with that."
In Greek mythology, Atlas was condemned to hold up the heavens for all eternity after a decade-long battle between the Titans and the Olympians - two separate generations of gods living on Mount Olympus. He, at one point, turned Perseus into stone, and another legend saw him attempt to get Hercules to take over his punishment of holding the universe up.
His adventures show some clear parallels to Loki's story at the end of Season 2, with the former God of Mischief now burdened with the responsibility of holding endless timelines together and replacing He Who Remains at the end of time.
Will Loki continue to mirror the myth of Atlas and attempt to coerce someone else into taking over his role? Perhaps a future appearance from the newly deemed God of Stories will allow for this to be explored.
Where Will Loki Return After Season 2 Ending?
The ending of Loki Season 2 seemingly put Loki into a position that he can't easily vacate as he takes on his "God of Stories" persona from the comics. However, his MCU journey may not be over just yet.
Due to his place as the keeper of the Multiverse, Hiddleston's MCU veteran will surely be an important resource to visit once timelines collide and mash into one another with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon.
Particularly since he knows more about multiple Variants of Kang the Conqueror than anybody else, it would be somewhat shocking if some meet-up between Loki and the Avengers didn't come to be.
The prominence of Loki in the MCU's storytelling as of late also paves the way for him to reunite with his brother, Thor, something which Loki producer Kevin Wright hopes will happen.
And although Loki Season 2 was prepared with the mindset that Season 3 wasn't happening, considering this series' popularity, more stories for the fan-favorite Asgardian could be on the table.
Loki Season 1 and Season 2 are now streaming in full on Disney+.
