Loki season 2 episode 5 post-credits scene explained

Loki season 2 episode 5 dropped to cause simultaneous delight and confusion among fans. A lot is riding on the penultimate episode of the second season, particularly because the season finale is expected to tie up to the future of the MCU. The Asgardian’s image has taken a different turn over the years of his journey with MCU fans, from naughty to sinister, to soft-at-heart, to confused. Fans have found the well-rounded depiction of the character quite relatable.

In a surprising flight from the usual, Loki season 2 episode 5 landed a post-credits scene, which was last included in the very first episode of the series. The stinger also had a twist where a disembodied voice calls out the word “loser” to the audience. The catchy event has managed to rightfully ascribe the Asgardian to his deserved place in the MCU timeline.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for episode 5.

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What makes the post-credits scene of Loki season 2 episode 5 special?

Episode 5 has massive timeline movements (Image via Disney+)

While the last three episodes did not present any end-credit scenes, popular in the MCU shows and movies, Loki season 2 episode 5 comes up with a post-credits scene with a unique twist befitting the God of Mischief.

After the end of Loki season 2 episode 5, the credits roll in, at the end of which a voice shouts, “You died, insert a coin, LOSER!” Taken independently, this voice message might appear meaningless, but when put in perspective of all the past events, it is loaded with meaning.

The “game over” voice heard in this audio-only gag is from the Zaniac! arcade game shown previously in the episode. The arcade machine was in a bar where Sylvie had taken Loki to explore why he wanted to save the TVA. The arcade machine shown in the bar was from one of Brad Wolfe’s movies in which he acted after returning to the timeline in episode 2.

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Loki season 2 episode 5 post-credits gag is loaded with multiple contexts

The episode 5 ending gives Loki his deserved place in the MCU timeline (Image via Disney+)

An audio-only end-credits scene is not new in the MCU. It was effectively used at the end of Avengers: Endgame as a tribute to Iron Man after his death, with the sound of his forging the Mark 1 armor. However, in Loki season 2 episode 5, the sound is not a tribute to any hero but delivered in a playful manner to the audience. It also connects to multiple contexts.

On one hand, it alludes to the videogame-crazy culture with the “Game over” message, and on the other hand, it pokes fun at the audience waiting after the credits by calling them “loser”.

Another context comes in Loki season 2 episode 5, where Loki repeats a mantra about all Lokis destined to be losers. This is an inspiring message since death and multiple near-death experiences did not drive him to give up. For Loki, the “Game over” message is an opportunity to start anew.

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A short recap of Loki season 2 episode 5

Loki's allies were ready to cooperate with him (Image via Disney+)

The explosion at the end of the previous episode resulted in the disintegration of the TVA agents. Loki time-slipped to many of the branches while his allies, Mobius, Casey, Ouroborus and Hunter B-15 were reset to their previous lives as Don, Frank Morris, Dr A D Doug and Dr Willis.

Since Loki’s time-slipping continued, Dr Doug recommended that Loki needed to time-travel to the point before the explosion. He suggested that all their temporal aura and the TVA handbook that Loki had on him would help him achieve this.

While all the rest of his friends agreed, Sylvie refused and questioned his intentions behind saving the TVA. Eventually, Loki realized that he needed to concentrate on a person rather than an event to control his time-slipping.

He focused on O.B. and managed to travel back to the time before the explosion. While doing so, he declared he would “rewrite the story”, making the God of Mischief a master storyteller.

Loki season 2 episode 5, which was released on November 2, 2023, is available for streaming on Disney +. The season finale will drop on November 9, 2023.