Warning: This article contains spoilers for the “Loki” Season 1 finale.
The final episode of “Loki” was packed with answers for the first season, while also providing a number of questions to consider for the future. But now a greater question exists than what that ending means for the future of Loki and the universe at large.
What happened in the ‘Loki’ Season 1 finale?
The final episode — titled “For All Time. Always” — starts with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) arriving at the Citadel at the End of Time, where they finally meet with He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), who unveils his plan for the future. He offers Loki and Sylvie the chance to take over as rulers of the TVA, or to kill him and let the multiverse run free (and, thus, unleash variants of He Who Remains who will be worse than him).
Naturally, Loki and Sylvie have different perspectives on the issue. Loki wants to keep the universe together on one timeline, fearing a greater evil to come. But Sylvie wants to tear the whole thing down. So the two battle and, long story short, the multiverse is unleashed (after He Who Remains is killed, of course).
Ending of ‘Loki’ Season 1 finale, explained
Loki finds himself at the Time Variance Authority office again. Confused about what to do next, he rushes through the offices to find Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson). We last saw Agent Mobius and Hunter B-15 talking together about the creation of the multiverse.
After running through the library, Loki stumbles upon Mobius and Hunter B-15. He confesses what happened to him, Sylvie and He Who Remains at the end of time and urges them to prepare for a coming war.
But Agent Mobius and Hunter B-15 have no clue who Loki is. They don’t know who he is or what he’s talking about. They urge him to calm down.
Then, Loki turns toward the center of the library and sees a huge statue of He Who Remains, which has replaced the statue of the Time Keepers.
What does ‘Loki’ season finale ending mean?
It’s a clear indication that Loki has shown up in a different timeline than where he had been before. He’s now in a timeline where He Who Remains rules the entire TVA by himself without the illusion of the Time Keepers. It’s also a timeline where Mobius never met Loki.
This is quite a way for a show to end its first season, essentially restarting the show from square one — but with a character who is very much aware of what happened before.