‘Loki’ Season 2 Episode 6 Review
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The season finale of Loki, titled “Glorious Purpose,” is the epitome of the Ouroboros mythology. Not only does episode one of the first season share the title, but it also shows how Loki’s character arc has gone full circle. Loki returns to the moments leading up to Victor Timely heading out to repair the loom. He does this just shy of a dozen times when he learns the team needs to be earlier rather than faster. Loki asks O.B. what they could do differently and how long it might take for him to teach the fast-learning god the mechanics, engineering, and physics it would require to repair the loom successfully. The audience is spared from witnessing more Time Slipping, but the answer is centuries. Audiences may grow weary throughout the episode, as does our hero at the numerous failures and glitches. They are all, however, worth the anguish.
The repairs to the loom at this stage are triumphant, but the glory is short-lived. Initially, it appears that the system is integrating correctly. Then the readings take a turn, and the same issue as before resumes. Timelines begin dying. In Groundhog Day fashion, the audience now sees the final moments of season one on repeat: Sylvie killing Kang. Each time, Loki attempts to stop her more assertively than the time before. Kang seems to enjoy the folly. Finally, he demonstrates to Loki how to stop time, pauses, and backs Sylvie up in time and space. This is where Loki learns the reality of the loom. It is nothing more than a failsafe to protect the sacred timeline only. When the branches overload, the loom begins the deletion process. Kang presents Loki with his options: kill Sylvie so that she cannot kill He Who Remains in the first place or watch all his friends die.
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Loki returns to the scene in season one, episode one, where Mobius interviews him, seeking to discover what makes a Loki a Loki. He asks Mobius, “How do you choose who lives and dies.” He tells Loki a story about his days hunting as Renslayer’s partner. One mission was to prune a variant who went on to kill many people; however, they went back to before the variant committed his crimes. Mobius speaks of his hesitation to prune an eight-year-old boy and the repercussions of his mistake. Renslayer did what needed to be done when Mobius couldn’t. Mobius comments on the lesson of more burden than glory in purpose. Loki asks him how one lives with such a burden. Mobius replies, “scar tissue,” warning once again that there is no comfort in the work; one must choose their burden.
Loki Time Slips from there to the first moment the team is reunited in episode five, seconds before the timeline dies and all his friends fade away. He stops time before it can consume Sylvie and explains that he has learned to control his Time Slipping and brings them to a place outside of space and time. He explains the situation to her. She doubles down on her point of the entire series thus far, further demonstrating the integrity of her character. She suggests that the options as they stand do nothing more than “replace one nightmare for another.” Loki contemplates the idea of replacing the nightmare with something better. He Time Slips back to the temporal loom room one last time and looks briefly at his friends before making the sacrifice play.
After closing the doors and locking them, Loki tells Sylvie and Mobius, “I know what I want. I know what kind of god I need to be…for you, for all of us.” He destroys the loom and uses his enchantment powers to bring new life to all the branches. His cape becomes an extension of the limbs as he carries all the branches toward the end of time. He reanimates the loom into a tree as he becomes He Who Remains at its very heart. The time branches are reminiscent of Yggdrasil, the tree that unifies the nine worlds in Norse Mythology. The season checks all the boxes in every episode (writing, directing, casting, acting, cinematography, etc.). Loki’s character arc in this final episode is the chef’s kiss as he grows into who he is destined to be from the beginning. Frigga would be proud.
All six episodes of Loki are available for streaming on Disney+!
Rating: 10/10
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