I saw in some comments on an article about the finale some were taking comments made at the end between Mobius, B-15, and Casey very differently from how I did. I was thinking they are aware of the council of Kangs seen at the end of Quantumania but the council is ignorant about the TVA so far, and they also are aware of Kang in the '616-adjacent realm' in Quantumania.
I kinda had an idea Loki would end up in power somehow, maybe not in a malevolent way, as it seemed to be set up for his journey being him earning that position rather than taking it by force like in Avengers. Also, they did have a promo with Odin saying he and Thor were both meant to be kings, which I took as foreshadowing.
But that ending was... just beautiful. I'll be perfectly fine without a season 3 as the series as a whole was just masterful. I know some didn't like the massive infodump with HWR in the season 1 finale but I loved every second of it, and this finale played off that and made it even better. Really great writing and I hope the people behind this are at least considered for Secret Wars.
And my prediction is Loki will be in both Kang Dynasty (where the Kangs all take him down) and Secret Wars (where Loki, of all people, gathers a multiversal team of Avengers). Nothing against Idris Elba but I wish they'd gone with the scene of Thor speaking with Loki in his Scarlet Witch-hallucination instead, just to have Loki in every Avengers film.
It probably never fit in anywhere, but part of me was hoping, in the dozen episodes, somewhere, Hiddleston would get to do just one line in his Owen Wilson impression. It's fine it didn't happen but oh well.
My thoughts...
I just loved that the resolution of the story was a heroic act that wasn't about beating someone in a fight, but out thinking, out working, out lasting the bad guy to do something unexpected. That Loki is someone that the audience can now admire/respect, and still feel a bit sad for, and also feel happy for because he is finally the Loki that won - its great as a a character arc. The only two characters that have had equally satisfying arcs are Tony and Steve, in my opinion.
Marvel needs to close a door more often like this, where if we never see Loki again, it is OK, even if we want to see him again.
I also took it as an homage to his Asgardian beliefs that he formed it as a tree.
Honestly, the best thing I can say is that I really don't care about speculating on the impact on the MCU too much at the moment, will see how it plays out, because this story just worked on it own.
When people (like me) say we want endings that are not just whose power level is stronger in a fight, this is what I will point to - the best part of Endgame for me was Steve choosing to have a happy life with Peggy, which he earned, and the saddest part was Tony making his sacrifice - and in some ways that was like the Loki ending, as it also meant Tony had grown to make that choice.
Besides that, I just loved the look of the show, thought they used the episodic nature well, the cast was good all-around.
For those keeping score, Deadpool 3 is the only MCU movie scheduled for 2024 right now, 7/26/24.
Brave New World (which THR is still calling New World Order for some reason) is 2/14/25. Very romantic.
Thunderbolts is 7/25/25
Blade is 11/7/25
Oof. 4 films in 2 years. Hard to keep momentum on the various overarching story plot points at that rate. They despeartely need Brave New World to establish the "new" main Avengers team I feel, and they need Thunderbolts to clean up whatever that whole thread with the Powerbroker and Fontaine and so on is leading to - and both better lead to a Kang or Kang associate or Kang plot...
Marvel's main problem, in my mind, is that I barely care if I see 3/4ths of that, at least based on the titles/characters. Doesn't mean it all won't be good, but my anticipation level is just about 0, with Deadpool maybe a 5 (out of 10).
Exactly - I don't care about following any of those threads (except for more Sharon Carter because of the actress), and I feel like Cap 4 is gonna be in for some major reshoots because it's not dealing with any of that.
And after what they just teed up last night at the end of The Marvels - I think THAT'S what the audience wants to see and where they should go next. Not Falcon. No offense, Mackie.
Ooooohhh, if we HAVE to have a Thunderbolts movie (I still think that should be scrapped or made for D+), maybe they can fight the potential assembled from the end. A bunch of scrappies all out trying to prove themselves for domination of the franchise. Meta but in a fun way, and able to utilize all the charisma of existing pieces.
EDIT: I am excited for Deadpool, but that's a separate thing. I think they know exactly what they're doing with that one.
Yeah, forming is like Yggdrasill was awesome. And I agree, this would be a great resolution for Loki, I just know... it's gotta tie back in. It would be amazing if they didn't, and I would respect the hell out of them if they left Loki here like this. the only way I see that happening is if they do indeed drop Kang as a foe and move on to Doom or someone for Secret Wars. As good as Majors was in this, I'd be okay either way anymore.
And like you, I loved that it wasn't about beating someone in a fight. You're right that it's a prime example. The biggest one for me before this was Doctor Strange. I would say that, for me anyway, Loki was always someone I felt for. Thor was the favorite and Loki didn't even understand why for a long time. What he did from there was his own choice but I did feel bad for him even in his final moments of the original Thor. but this show definitely built on that and a LOT.
I also agree that Marvel should do more endings like this, where it's okay to leave a character here rather than always 'but wait, here's a hint at what's next!' It's why I've come to appreciate breaks from the strenuous continuity (which I also still do enjoy) with little stand alones like Moon Knight etc.
And yeah, moments like Steve choosing to go with Peggy was just awesome. One of my favorite sequences in AOU is the party. if I really like and enjoy these characters, I don't just want to see them fighting villains, or even each other. I enjoy their interactions and connections too.
I was talking with my son about it after, and how it could be seen that Loki wasted a lot of time trying over and over again (and apparently mastering physics over several centuries), but I pointed out that as arduous and taxing as it may have been, he HAD to go through all of it to be able to make that decision in the end. And he had to make that decision.
Also, those dates I posted are just the ones that changed. Fantastic Four is holding that 5/2/25 date and Spider-Man 4 may be 2025 as well, which means one in 2024 and 4 or 5 in 2025. Of course that may change.
They still have only one film officially announced for 2026 (Kang Dynasty) with at least three other release dates reserved, but that doesn't mean something is definitely coming out on those dates. And only one movie for 2027, Secret Wars.
And I've gotten really ruined for theaters in the last few years. I've been over the experience since even before the pandemic. Now I really loathe it, so I may not see any of them in the theater anymore. My kids are into seeing Marvels so maybe that. Deadpool is the one I'm most excited for but I'd see it on my own, which is a disincentive. So I may not go to the theater again until 2026, heh.
@schizm You're apparently completely right on the Cap 4 reshoots, which are already under way. They apparently did a test screening of a rough cut and it went over pretty poorly. They have an Israeli character who is apparently going to get changed up in rewrites, and sounds like most of the action sequences are getting reshot as well. (Sidenote, between this and the pandemic affecting F&WS's plot... what the hell is up with this?!)
And right, no offense to Mackie, but I totally agree with the Marvels ending (both of them, for me) being where they should go.
Everyone wants mutants already! Just do it, Feige!
And with Deadpool... it sounds like it's gonna be one of the most important films of the phase, which is funny since it's their first R rated film too.
Now it's time to get into the obvious stuff.
Loved The Marvels! Tons of fun. Love the three lead heroines. The action was very cool.
I have mentioned a few times that the one thing I wanted to have happened differently in Captain Marvel 1 was I wished we got to see Ronan fight Carol. This movie gave me just what I wanted with Dar-Ben getting some great action scenes in a fighting style that I had wanted to see from Ronan, so I really enjoyed that!
The finale scenes were very cool.
So, some speculation...
We learned in Episode 4 that Loki pruned himself, in what might make some sense, but I am not sure how it didn't create a paradox, but time-slipping and whatever.
Question is, does that Loki exist in the timeless realm where the pruned go, as a very-similar variant of our Loki? Where Renslayer ended up? And given the reveal that was the location in the future of where the TVA was housed, can Renslayer access any TVA stuff, like maybe Miss Minutes...
So could we see pruned Loki again...?
I hope to rewatch the entire series very soon, but right now I can't remember exactly where the pruned Loki in season 2 episode 1 went. But did Mobius going out to the Loom in the big suit bring Loki back?
Or are you saying the pruned Loki is his own variant?
Okay just watched the end of that episode again
In episode 1, Loki keeps time slipping in the TVA and Ouroboros has Mobius go out to the Loom to extract Loki from the time stream at the same time as Loki prunes himself. It's supposed to stop the time slipping. Instead, Loki is distracted by Sylvie in the elevator, who then says "There you are!" and gets pruned by an unseen person from behind, who turned out to be himself from episode 4.
So if he went to the void, we didn't see it as Mobius pulled him back out with the extractor doo-dad.
Elsewhere, I probably won't see The Marvels for a few days, not a fan of weekend movie theater crowds anymore (Stop talking, stay in your seat, get off my lawn...). But I saw a link for a "review" subtitled "Fire Kevin Feige" which was a screed about how terrible it was, mainly because of, you know, all the diversity and stuff. I generally have been lucky to avoid the part of the internet where these people reside, I guess, so the absurdity and underlying venom was surprising to me. I long ago came to the conclusion that most of these sort were folks who 35 years ago would have spewed this stupidity in their dorm in college, or at lunch break at work, or at the local bar, and everyone else would have ripped them to shreds for being an idiot, and they either would move on people would move on from them. Now these idiots can find each other on the internet and get a false sense their beliefs are mainstream. (Kind of like sites for adults who collect toys, without the venom and irrational complaints...???)
Anyway, I now want the all-female, all-young Avengers film more than ever before...
@fac I am lucky in the same way, but I left social media and such a few years ago. REALLY had a massively positive impact on my mental health. But just hearing the tame summation from you makes me also want the all female, all young, and hardly Caucasian Avengers even harder too. But I'm with you on the weekend crowds etc. Probably an age thing (not that I'm even that old) because I loved the theater when I was young. Now I'm way too comfortable at home with a large TV, great sound, and pause control
You're right about Renslayer. In fact, I had assumed it was Alioth she saw coming for her but what if it's actually Kang?
Who says Renslayer wasn't the one to tame or train Alioth as HWR's right-hand woman? Its more the reveal of the seal for me, most pruned people would not know what to with the TVA ruins, but she would...
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