Loki season 2 has come and gone and with it came pain, especially with the last line in the show. And surprisingly, the person who brought us home at the end of the season was Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson). In season 2, episode 6, “Glorious Purpose,” Mobius looks into the distance and says one of the most devastating lines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet.
***Spoilers for Loki season 2 lie ahead, read on at your own will.***
The episode as a whole was upsetting for a number of reasons, as Loki (Tom Hiddleston) goes back in time repeatedly to try and fix the Temporal Loom so that the branching timelines can exist all on their own. What he learns is that the Sacred Timeline is always going to be protected first and foremost, something that He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) set in motion. His way of fixing it is to become the literal God of Stories and become the center of the timelines, the being holding them all together at the center of the throne.
It means that all of Loki’s friends have to say goodbye to Loki as they know him, so when the Time Variance Authority goes back to work they can all decide what works best for them. For Mobius and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), it isn’t with the TVA. Mobius goes back to the timeline when he has kids, but he realizes that a version of himself is still in that life. He just sort of watches the life he could have, observing before Sylvie talks with him about how it feels not having Loki there. “It’s weird Loki isn’t here, isn’t it?” she says but it’s Mobius’s line that really just … hurts.
A line that will always destroy me.
Mobius stands staring at a house that doesn’t quite belong to him. Sylvie asks him where he will go, even though she’s not quite sure where she’s going either. She at least isn’t watching another version of herself have a “happy” life. When she asks Mobius, he says the final line in Loki season 2 (and maybe in Loki forever), as we don’t know if we’ll get a season 3 yet.
“I might just wait here for a bit. Let time pass.” Loki is trapped holding together all of time on his throne while Mobius is left looking at a man that’s not him with sons that aren’t his. Sylvie leaves, presumably to find happiness on her own. They’re all three separated, alone, and not bound by a common goal. It’s tragic, in its own way. It’s three people who needed each other so deeply, now scattered without anything holding them together. Without Loki’s presence tethering them to one another.
For Sylvie and Mobius, Loki really was what brought them together, and without him, there is no reason to stay together. And maybe they all three would have if Loki was there. But he’s gone, trapped on a throne he doesn’t want but always sought. Everything about this last sequence hurts and makes me hope for a future where we do see these characters again. Because while it’s perfect and fits with each of them, it does hurt to know that all three are left sacrificing aspects of themselves to protect the worlds around them.
(featured image: Disney+)
