The penultimate episode of Loki was the best yet, giving us a tour of the chaotic future of the ‘Void.’ This is the last stop at the end of time where the TVA sends everything they’ve pruned. As such, it’s home to a lot of Lokis, coming in Kid, Croc, Boastful, and President flavors (among many others). But standing head and shoulders above the rest was Richard E. Grant’s incredible ‘Classic Loki’.
Dressed in a dead-on 1960s comic-book suit, he’s one of the few Lokis who found some kind of redemption. After avoiding being killed by Thanos in Avengers: Endgame he concluded that his existence only causes others pain, so became a hermit on some distant world. But after growing lonely, he decided to leave and reunite with Thor, only to be immediately pruned by the TVA and sent to the Void.
This left him cynical and depressed, though he went out on a high when he summoned a vast replica of Asgard to distract the gigantic cloud beast Alioth. As the beast bore down upon him, he laughed and yelled “Glorious purpose!” before being eaten. So what do those final words mean?
Well, after a lifetime of regret, pain, and hurting others, this particular Loki seems to have actually learned his lesson and tried to be better. Isolating himself does at least keep him out of trouble, though it’s clear that those long years in isolation affected his personality.
Beyond that, there’s the visible frustration at being imprisoned in the Void, where the only thing that matters is survival. So, the “purpose” he’s so happy about finding is that his life finally means something and that the guilt vanishes in his last moment of heroic sacrifice.
Judging by the incredibly positive fan reaction to Classic Loki I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a comeback at some point. After all, we already heard about how he’s an expert illusionist capable of fooling even Thanos, so a giant cloud monster shouldn’t be too hard to put one past. I’d also love to see some more of his ‘Classic’ universe, especially if, as hinted, it’s a 1960s-styled timeline full of goofy costumes.
Season 1 of Loki will wrap up next Wednesday on Disney Plus
