Finding Loki’s glorious purpose finally came full circle at the end of Loki season two in ways perhaps the God of Mischief turned God of Stories couldn’t have imagined. Tom Hiddleston discussed his 14-year journey as Loki on a recent Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance, during which Kimmel asked if it’s really the last we’re seeing of the iconic Marvel anti-hero.
Hiddleston has said goodbye to Loki before with deaths that didn’t quite stick—including Avengers: Infinity War, which turned out to be a variant death. But the Avengers-era Loki who made a break for it in Avengers: Endgame ended up being the Loki we followed in the Loki series. So, is this the end for Loki? “I don’t know, I really don’t know,” Hiddleston told the host, who asked if he was contractually lying (I don’t count him out for Deadpool & Wolverine, to be honest). He added, somewhat cryptically, “I know that we’ve reached some sort of narrative conclusion with season two, which feels very satisfying to me.”
Loki’s redemption as the glue that literally holds the multiverse together as the God of Stories might mean he can only exist outside of the timeline, sure—but is that proof that Loki is a full-fledged hero now, considering the villainous start of his journey? (I mean, is the Battle of New York still hard to give him a pass for?) Hiddleston thinks so. “I’m aware that he’s made some interesting choices, which could be accumulated into a picture that looks like he’s a villain, and once upon a time, he was making some misguided choices,” he shared. Anyone who has followed Loki on the Disney+ series knows he went through a huge multiversal ass-kicking and ego breakdown, what with having to learn how to fix time and everything in the multiverse over the course of hundreds of years and the loss of everyone he knows—ultimately saving many more people than he carelessly unalived in Avengers.
Hiddleston continued. “You know, trying to take over New York and the Avengers having to assemble to stop him, that was a bad day in the office,” he said, comparing it to the grand scheme of his destiny weighted by more burden than glory. “I’d like to think that, you know, 14 years later, he’s making some slightly more generous, loving, and heroic choices.”
Do you think Loki’s sacrifice to save everyone in the end has earned him a place in the pantheon of Marvel heroes? Let us know in the comments below.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.