Tom Hiddleston Says Goodbye to Loki After 14-Year-Long Marvel Journey

After 14 years in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Hiddleston’s time as Loki seems to have reached its end. For years, the actor has played Loki, The God of Mischief, in the MCU.

The final episode of Loki Season 2, titled “Glorious Purpose,” aired this past Thursday, November 9, 2023, likely marking Hiddleston’s final feature in the MCU. If you haven’t watched episode six yet, beware of spoilers from this point forward. The complete first and second seasons of Loki are now available to stream on Disney+.

Hiddleston’s journey with Marvel began with his debut as Loki alongside Chris Hemsworth in Thor (2011). In this first film, he is introduced as Thor’s adopted brother, but we soon learn that he is also the God of Mischief, “burdened with glorious purpose.” Soon after this debut, he returned as the main antagonist in The Avengers (2012).

As the franchise continued, Hiddleston returned as Loki throughout many feature films, including Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017). In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Loki returns for what we thought to be his last scene in the MCU. In this film, he met his untimely demise at the hand of Thanos. However, Hiddleston did return to the screen during Avengers: Endgame (2019) featured as the heroes revisit in New York, showcasing 2012 Loki, who, in a turn of events, ends up with the tesseract.

Loki Comes Full Circle

Season one, episode one of the Disney+ series, Loki, begins immediately following this New York scene. Loki, thrilled at his retrieval of the tesseract, quickly relocates at the hands of the TVA or Time Variance Authority. This first episode is titled “Glorious Purpose,” and the title “Glorious Purpose” seemed very fitting for the final episode of season two, providing a full circle moment to the series.

Recently, Hiddleston appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, to discuss the season two finale of Loki and how he feels the character has come full circle. In season one of Loki, we see him tackle joining the TVA to help track down another Loki, and in season two, he wrestles with understanding and preserving The Sacred Timeline.

Hiddleston told Fallon, “And I think, without spoiling, the episode is called ‘Glorious Purpose.’ If you remember in the first Avengers film, Loki comes down to Earth. Look straight at Sam Jackson. There’s Nick Fury and I say ‘I’m Loki of Asgard. I’m burdened with glorious purpose.’ And he’s arrogant and he’s hubristic and he’s entitled and is puffed up and he’s going to take over the world.”

He continued explaining, “At the beginning of season one, Mobius, played by Owen Wilson, the best ever, he basically shows Loki that the glorious purpose was a fallacy and he gets kind of a second chance. And that I think was the most exciting thing about this show was seeing Loki try to rethink and rediscover that sense of purpose, which we can all relate to.”

The End of the Journey

Although it was never directly confirmed, Hiddleston talks about the ending of his journey as Loki, and how this season felt like it completed the character’s story. While talking with Fallon, he described how not only the series, but his journey with the MCU is concluding.

“If you haven’t seen it, I will not spoil it for you but I will say this, it all comes full circle,” he said. “It’s the conclusion of season two. It’s also the conclusion to seasons one and two. It’s also the conclusion to six films and 12 episodes and 14 years of my life. I was 29 when I was cast, I’m 42 now. It’s been a journey.”

At season two’s conclusion, we see Loki master his understanding of time as he tries to maintain the sacred timeline. After exploring all of his options, he accepts the burden of maintaining the timeline himself, destroying the Temporal Loom. After destroying the Loom, he takes the strands of time into his own hands. Twisting them into a tree, he finally takes his throne, understanding and fulfilling his own glorious purpose.

Will you miss Tom Hiddleston in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!

This post originally appeared on Disney Dining.