Before giving out the review of this highly anticipated finale of loki, first things first:
The first thing that struck me with this episode was: did we see a sudden end of this season?
We were almost sure about the second season, but the ending was abrupt. Performance wise, as Kang(the name "kang" is not yet revealed) Jonathan Majors did fantastic. The way he explained the origins of TVA and the motive behind his actions is exquisite. Most of the episode revolved around the conversation between kang, loki and sylvie which is interspersed with the argument happening parallelly between Renslayer and Mobius.
As for the mid-credits, there isnt much except the announcement about second season, which was kind of expected.
Reveal of the antagonist
Stepping into the Citadel at the End of Time, Loki and Sylvie meet He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), who appears to be a primary version of time-hopping comic villain Kang the Conqueror. We already knew this guy was meant to make his MCU debut in February 2023 movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Since he's never referred to as Kang in this episode, it seems like the Kang has yet to appear. He Who Remains claims to be the last survivor of a multiversal war that broke out when multiple versions of him made contact after the multiverse was discovered in the 31st century.
He tamed and weaponized Alioth, using the trans-temporal being to end the war (probably by gobbling up the other timelines). To stop it happening again, he created the TVA to manage the Sacred Timeline.
In the comics, Kang is a baddy from the 31st century who's faced off against the Avengers many times since his '60s debut.
Kang statue in TVA
TVA also got a new statue that looks like below(revealed at the end).
Loki and Sylvie fight over He Who Remains' fate, with the latter coming out on top. She flings Loki back to the TVA and slays He Who Remains, which lets the timeline branch like crazy -- apparently letting many versions of Kang run amok across the multiverse.
Their influence is soon made apparent in the TVA, when Loki tries to warn best buddy Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) about the threat. They can't remember him, and Loki turns to see a statue of Kang wearing his comic costume towering over the TVA -- it seems the God of Mischief has been sent to a different timeline's version of the agency, one that Kang is openly controlling.
This presumably leads directly into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is due out March 2022, and ties into the WandaVision finale, where Wanda heard her lost sons calling out from some plain of reality -- her search is likely to continue in the Doctor Strange sequel.
It also mostly likely kicks open the doors for What If…? to slot into canon. The animated series, which kicks off on Disney Plus on Wednesday, Aug. 11, explores alternative realities based on events playing out differently in the MCU. And maybe, just maybe, it'll tear down the walls between realities for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The Future of MCU
Now that Loki Season 1 has triggered innumerable universes or realities, it is worth noting what it means for the upcoming MCU movies:
1. Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness: This is obviously the most important indication that this movie is closely linked to both Loki as well as the events of Wanda Vision. The latest update seems to be that Loki could have a cameo in this movie apart from Scarlett Witch who was already confirmed for a larger role.
2. Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania: This is another crazy movie heavily focussing on the quantum realm, even though details of its story is scarce. One possibility could be that somewhere in the quantum realm, the multiverse could connect in a way no one could have imagined. Or that the Scott-Lang that we saw in Avengers-Endgame could be termed a variant. Add to that the below screenshot which shows the helmet of Yellow Jacket(villain of the first antman):
The Yellowjacket helmet could have further MCU implications. Though Stoll's Yellowjacket seemingly dies in the 2015 movie, with his malfunctioning suit crushing him into subatomic size, the character is reportedly (via Vanity Fair's Still Watching) appearing in the upcoming Quantumania. If he did survive Ant-Man, the helmet could've belonged to the original Yellowjacket. It may hint a bit about where his story goes in the future. On the other hand, it could just be a meaningless Easter egg. Regardless, the villain was an afterthought in 2015, and this new Easter egg ensures he's not anymore.
3: Spiderman: No Way Home: The other spidermen(Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield) that we see in this upcoming movie could be variants who could have been created through some of these new branches of reality, alongwith their opponents(Doctor Octopus, Electro, etc.)
Keep watching this space for all upcoming projects of MCU.
