Spoiler warning ahead for Loki Season 2, Episode 5
The ending of Loki season 2, episode 5, was punctuated with a particularly unique post-credits scene. Now, you may have stuck around until the end of all the fun graphics expecting to see some middle credits scene, but if you didn’t wait all the way to the end of the full credits, then you were never rashly insulted by a low-quality Atari-like video game voice.
Marvel did this before, when, at the end of Avengers: Endgame, fans could hear the sound of Tony Stark forging the very first Iron Man armor as a tribute to his deceased character. But this is the first time Marvel has ever played a vocal recording for a post-credits stinger. It works as a special easter egg to cap off the end of the episode, but it also calls back to one of the series’ deep-cut Marvel cameos. Some say that it even predicts the end of the series.
This little post-credits audio cut from episode 5 of Loki works on a few different levels, and it ties into our explanation of the end of the episode. We all saw Loki use his brand-new power to return to that moment right before the Temporal Loom exploded. But how does it all tie together? We will explain the ending and the secret post-credits scene of Loki season 2, episode 5.
Loki Episode 5 Ending, Explained
At the end of the last episode, we were on the brink of destruction as Loki and the rest of the TVA were about to be engulfed in the explosion of the Temporal Loom. And in a way, episode 5 ended in the exact same place.
This entire episode, Loki had been time-slipping around the universe. We got to see where all the TVA employees had come from before joining the Kafka-esque time-traveling organization. Casey was cooler than anyone thought when he snuck out of Alcatraz. B-15 was a lovable, empathetic doctor in New York. OB was a science fiction writer. And yes, we finally saw Mobius with his beloved jet skis.
When Loki tries to explain to them exactly what’s going on, none of them seem to have any memory of the TVA. But OB believes everything Loki says like he was drinking a glass of water. And just like OB solved all the TVA’s problems mechanically, here he solves Loki’s time-slipping problem philosophically, explaining that there must be a way to control it. But Loki only manages to do this right at the very end of the episode.
After he gathers all the TVA employees in one place, he’s still missing Sylvie. When he time-slips into her branched timeline, he explains what’s going on, and obviously, she thinks everyone should just be left alone. She takes Loki to a bar to buy him a drink, but at that bar is a very particular arcade game: Zaniac!
Episode 5 Post-Credits Scene Explained
As we said, the post-credits scene is just an aggressive sound bite from the Zaniac arcade game in the bar. It is a big call back to Brad Wolfe’s movie premiere in episode 2. And Zaniac is a deep-cut Marvel reference to a Thor villain from a long time ago. When Brad Wolfe starred in his branched timeline movie, Loki used it as an easter egg to slip in an easter egg for a radioactive swarm of human-possessing demon insects from the dark dimension. If you’d like to know more, you can read our article on the easter eggs from episode 2.
The voice at the end of the credits shouts, “You died. Insert a coin, Loser.”
When Loki is in the midst of all reality turning into existential spaghetti, he hears his own voice saying that Loki’s are destined to lose. And when he is finally able to control his time-slipping ability, he goes back to the moment right before the Temporal Loom exploded. He says, “It’s not about why, it’s about who.” Naturally, a lot of fans think that Loki took himself back to that moment in time so he could prevent Victor Timely’s death. But because of the post-credits stinger, a lot of them also believe that Loki is going to die in his place.
A sound bite played at the end of a credits sequence is known as a stinger. And though the first time Marvel did it was at the end of Avengers: Endgame with the sound of Tony Stark building the first Iron Man armor. But using a vocal sample for a stinger is something that Marvel has never done before. It’s made Loki a truly unique show. Given that it’s the most popular show on Disney+, it’s only fair that it lands itself in the Marvel Hall of Fame.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
