“They Would Be Kind Of Hollow”

Warning: SPOILERS for Loki season 2

Loki season 2 has been widely regarded as one of the best entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially in recent years. The season capitalized on over a decade of character development for Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, allowing the God of Mischief to finally find his purpose and save the multiverse. Loki season 2 also brought resolution to the stories of (most of) its supporting characters, all of whom made it out of the six episodes alive.

Although it’s unclear if Loki will return to the MCU after Loki season 2, there is plenty of story potential for his peers and companions considering that all survived the events of the season. It’s something of a surprise given the high-stakes nature of the show’s story, but the largely glowing reviews and reactions to the season suggest that audiences are happy with the choice. Loki producer Kevin Wright spoke on the choice not to kill off any primary characters during a recent interview; here’s what he had to say:

Kevin Wright: If I’m having to think this hard, I want to say no. Sometimes, you talk about things in the writers room, but even this, I don’t think we ever talked about anyone actually being killed, mainly because I know all of us just want to keep telling stories with these characters. And, I think having those stakes really just let us tell deeper, emotional stories, and I think there are things where it’s like, you could do certain things for shock factor, but ultimately, I think they would be kind of hollow. What’s more engaging is, “Is Mobius going to look at his life? Why isn’t he going? Why doesn’t he want to? What is that going to feel like when he actually does get a glimpse of it?” That is always going to be more engaging than, “Who are we killing?” [Laughs] Because, also, fans know how this works, it’s comic book stuff, you could do it, but we could always bring somebody back and it just has diminishing returns. So, it’s really about getting the deeper character complex.

Loki Season 2 Was Right Not To Kill Anyone Off

Kevin Wright’s statement on the decision not to kill off any major Loki characters makes perfect sense and details a smart decision by the writers’ room. Wright explains Mobius’ happy ending as an attempt not to close his story forever, but instead to bring his multi-season arc to a strong conclusion. Whatever happens to Mobius and whether or not he appears in future MCU projects, the story thread of Mobius and his relation to his life before the TVA has been neatly tied up at the end of Loki season 2, making for a much more satisfactory ending to his story.

The fact that people like Ouroboros, Mobius, Hunter B-15, and other TVA employees were ripped from their own timelines would also make it more difficult for character deaths to be as emotionally effective. TVA employees are in a certain kind of purgatory; if Mobius had died in Loki season 2 with the idea of his past life still hanging over him, it would likely feel—as Wright put it—like a decision made for shock factor. It is a much more rewarding conclusion for Mobius to see what he left behind, for Ouroboros to find a community, or for B-15 to feel ethical in their work.

One exception to the way Loki character stories have been wrapped up is the story of Ravonna Renslayer. Many viewers were left asking what happened to Ravonna Renslayer at the end of Loki season 2, and though it seems as though she is set to face the cloud monster Alioth from the first season, her exact future is unclear. In any case, the fact that Renslayer didn’t die in the Loki season 2 finale suggests that she may also return in future stories.