Time bandit Let’s cut to the chase. KANG! Sorry, He Who Remains, as played by Jonathan Majors. It was announced some time ago that the actor, best known for appearing in Lovecraft Country, would be playing the character in the forthcoming third Ant-Man film, and while there have been some hefty hints about his existence in this series, I didn’t think we’d see him debut in the finale. I, like many others, thought Mephisto was going to appear in WandaVision. Having been burned before, I was beginning to think I’d once again let the internet hype train get the better of me. So it was a thrill to see Kang sitting behind that lift door in the Citadel Beyond Time. A major character in the comics, debuting in 1963, Kang’s most commonly seen fighting the Avengers. I fully expect him to survive any encounter with Scott Lang and Hope Pym and go on to become the next Thanos-level villain in whatever Avengers film comes in the MCU’s fifth phase. We’ll have to wait some time for that, though: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania won’t be released until 2023, and there’s no Avengers film currently on Marvel’s roster. If it hadn’t been him sitting behind the door, who could it have plausibly been? Many commenters suggested it would be another Loki variant, while Miss Minutes has become more sinister by the episode. Her going all HAL 9000 here wouldn’t have been much of a stretch. Kang’s arrival, however, made more sense – if a scientist from the 31st century discovering multiple versions of existence, winning a multiversal war and establishing the TVA to control all of time is what you call sense. I thought Majors was magnificent: playful and skittish one moment, chilling the next, shot through with infinite knowledge and acceptance. Nice threads, too. In a series not short on references to The Wizard of Oz (episode five saw Classic Loki create an actual emerald version of Asgard), it was only right that one man was behind the curtain, although where Oz hid to appear powerful, Kang is drastically more dangerous than he seems. “If you think I’m evil, just wait until you meet my variants.” ‘A couple of Lokis’ Once upon a time, Loki being offered victory in New York, the Infinity Gauntlet and the throne of Asgard would’ve been enough to make him betray anyone. We have seen him on Odin’s throne, possess a couple of Infinity Stones and, as the President Loki variant in episode five, defeat the Avengers in New York, so maybe he turned down Miss Minutes’ offer because he knows how getting those things pans out. Or perhaps he really has changed and does love Sylvie. “We write our own destiny now,” he says, using the royal we. “Sure you do,” says Miss Minutes, before disappearing to taunt Ravonna in her office. It was understandable given the work needed to properly introduce a character like He Who Remains, but I couldn’t help feeling Loki and Sylvie were sidelined in this finale, demoted to bystanders as others around them had more fun. They did at least get to kiss for the first time, which, on the surface, was where this was always heading, but when you think about it – they are effectively the same person – is ever so slightly disturbing. There’s narcissism, and then there’s this. In killing He Who Remains, creating timeline anarchy and paving the way for the return of any number of Kang variants, Sylvie has caused untold chaos. It will no doubt involve all Marvel heroes, and Phase 4 thanks her for it. More Mobius Owen Wilson wasn’t given a great deal to do here, and confronting Ravonna, a fearsome former Hunter, was always going to end with him on the floor, clutching his chest. But it was a pleasure to see him on screen, safe and ready for season two. B-15, meanwhile, has begun her mission to expose her colleagues to the truth that they’re all variants, showing one of them the real version of Renslayer, a teacher in Fremont, Ohio, in 2018, and not a judge at the TVA. Finale thoughts Overall, I found Loki a hugely enjoyable series, with room for improvement. Initially, I feared giving a relatively minor MCU character a spin-off was going to be a damp squib, but it afforded so much more space for manoeuvre than one featuring a more well-established hero. As with WandaVision, it was pleasing to see Marvel push the boundaries thematically with high-concept stories not reliant on the CG displays detractors believe define the genre. For season two, I would like to see Loki evolve into something more episodic, not unlike The Mandalorian, which manages to successfully have a story of the week with a tapestry of new characters still serve a broader narrative arc. Further minutes I liked the new Marvel sting at the beginning of the episode, and enjoyed piecing together all the snippets of dialogue. Nice to hear Korg in there alongside T’Challa, Captain Marvel, Vision and a blast of Steve and Peggy’s dance music. I couldn’t place the fighter jet that flew across the screen, though. Any thoughts? The pens on the real Ravonna’s desk said Franklin D Roosevelt High School on them, just like the one Judge Ravonna prized so dearly. How did she get that pen? The final scene, after it became clear Mobius and B-15 no longer recognised Loki, reminded me of Planet of the Apes, when George Taylor discovers the Statue of Liberty, or even Tim Burton’s 2001 version, which ends with Leo Davidson discovering the Lincoln Memorial has become a monument to General Thade. What did you think? Did you enjoy the series? Were you expecting Kang to appear? What is Ravonna going to do when she gets to the citadel? Will you be back for series two? 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