Loki’s Tragic Ending Makes An MCU Phase 5 Decision Look Even More Heartless

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Loki, Secret Invasion, and The Marvels.

The Loki season 2 finale seems even more tragic for Loki and the MCU considering the implications of Secret Invasion‘s ending. Despite his knowledge about He Who Remains’ plans and his newfound Time-Slipping abilities, Loki could only save the TVA and the multiverse by giving order to every existing timeline all by himself in the Loki season 2 finale’s ending. This decision means that the TVA no longer needs a Temporal Loom to keep timelines from branching out uncontrollably, but it also means that Loki has sacrificed his freedom in order to stay at the end of time, seemingly forever.

Inside one of the universes Loki holds in his hands, the MCU’s chronological timeline continues to develop, with the events of Secret Invasion‘s finale and The Marvels presenting the latest changes to the franchise. On Earth, Nick Fury failed to fully contain the Skrull threat, which led to the creation of one of the most powerful characters in the universe, as well as a bigger enmity between the Skrulls and other species. Although hostages like James Rhodes and Everett Ross were liberated, the aftermath of the Skrulls’ attempt to invade the planet silently may be even worse than the invasion itself.

Loki’s Season 2 Sacrifice Makes The Impending Human & Asgardian War Way Worse

Secret Invasion reveals that the Skrulls were manipulating President Ritson to incite a global nuclear war. After the Skrulls’ plan is uncovered, and after a failed assassination attempt, Ritson is now more than certain that aliens are a threat to humanity, which motivates him to declare war on all foreign species living on Earth. President Ritson’s threat cements the Skrulls as enemies, but it also creates a rift between humans and Asgardians, who currently live in New Asgard, Scotland. Given that the Asgardians will likely be unfairly targeted, Loki’s selfless decision to protect the free will of everybody in the multiverse seems even more tragic.

If the U.S. persecutes all aliens living on Earth, Loki’s people will likely have to either defend themselves or escape once again, and there’s nothing Loki can do to prevent that, as the potential war between humans and Asgardians is a consequence of their free will. Unlike He Who Remains, Loki doesn’t influence the events of any timeline. Whether humans destroy New Asgard or the Asgardians attack humans in self-defense is out of Loki’s control. Besides, the same events can end in countless different ways across different timelines. It’s possible that the Asgardians are wiped out in many of them, while in others, the Asgardians actually take over Earth.

Why Loki Season 2’s Secret Invasion Change Is Perfect

Loki and Secret Invasion‘s parallels may have been unintentional, but the fact that the Asgardians are threatened gives Loki’s faith in free will another layer of meaning. By the time the God of Time and Stories Loki sits on his throne, he has already left behind everyone and everything he loves, including his original timeline, the Asgardians, and his friends at the TVA. Loki’s new glorious purpose is all he needs to protect now. Meanwhile, tension rises in the MCU’s main timeline. Valkyrie offers to protect more alien life forms, as seen in The Marvels, while President Ritson gets ready to exile any potential threat to humans through radical methods.