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Loki season 2 ended with the titular character taking over the task of repairing and protecting the TVA. The protagonist used his godly magic to solve this not-so-simple task.
In a bid to find the solution to the uncontrollable TVA presented in the show, Loki made the difficult choice of giving up his freedom and protecting the branching timelines by restructuring the TVA into a multiversal tree-like structure shown at the end of the season. The multiversal tree represented here also connects to the World Tree referred to in 2011’s Thor.
The fifth and the sixth episodes of Loki season 2 displayed the protagonist controlling his time-slipping. The purpose of existence of the Asgardian saw a change as he went about in the quest to save the TVA from collapsing completely. In the process, the former God of Mischief acquired a new title, the God of Stories for the future MCU.
Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers for the show.
The World Tree in Loki season 2 explored
Viewers who have been following Loki in his journey through the two seasons would remember that He Who Remains was the protector of the Sacred Timeline till Sylvie, a Loki variant, killed him. While this caused multiple branching of the timeline, Loki proceeded to control the branching timelines without destroying them as Sylvie wanted to.
The season finale episode of Loki season 2 showed the Asgardian hero realizing that someone needed to keep all the branches safe, marched towards the Temporal Loom. He managed to open the Loom using his hands and grappled to control all the branches inside the device.
After taking all the branches of the timeline literally in his hands, Loki strode to the End of Time and took to the throne. The branching timelines bound in his hands manifested into a tree-like structure connecting to the Norse mythology of the Yggdrasil, the World Tree.
Why is the Yggdrasil in Loki season 2 significant?
This event of Loki season 2, where the protagonist formed the Yggdrasil holding the branches of time, can be explained as achieving a few leads at the same time. Since Loki rewrote the multiversal timeline and formed the World Tree or Yggdrasil to hold the multiverse, he officially became the God of Stories.
The second significance is that his forming the Yggdrasil reaffirmed his own Norse origins turning him into a powerful God. Finally, it explained an MCU Phase 1 easter egg where Thor had explained to Jane how the World Tree holds the cosmos together.
Moreover, Loki rewrote the role of Yggdrasil and his connection to it. Now, rather than the World Tree or the Life Tree holding the nine realms of the universe in the MCU, Loki is at the center of the ever-expanding multiverse holding the branches together.
Unlike what Thor believed, The World Tree is not just a map of the infrastructure of the cosmos. It is in fact, the entire structure of the multiverse holding all the storylines and events in the MCU in the future.
Comparing the Norse version of Yggdrasil with the Loki season 2 version
As per Norse mythology, the nine realms represent all forms of life and death as is known on Earth. Going by the explanation given in Thor: The Dark World, the nine realms are arranged on top of each other like the branches of a tree moving up. This was the World Tree or the Life Tree according to Norse mythology.
The nine realms are Asgard, Midgard (Earth), Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Vanaheim, Nidavellir, Niflheim, Musspelheim and Alfheim. Except for Niflheim and Alfheim, the others were referenced in the movies Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity Wars.
The Norse beliefs explain the realms as separate planets connected to a common tree trunk making the complete structure an Yggdrasil. Compared to this, the World Tree of Loki season 2 looks more like a tree that has branches growing and extending.
Loki’s role in the new version of the timeline explored
As Loki season 2 presented, the Asgardian had taken it upon himself to fix the timeline after the death of He Who Remains. As mentioned in episode 5, “it is not why, it is who”, and the “who” was Loki himself.
He used both his Norse origins of Frostgiants and his superior magic to stride up to the energy-radiating Temporal Loom and break it open using bare hands. Even wrestling and balancing the entire timeline with its ever-growing branches is something a God, not a mortal, can do.
However, the God of Mischief made a supreme sacrifice to give up his freedom and mobility, and even his friends that he valued so much, to take control of the situation and reign in the branches of the timeline.
While creating the Yggdrasil to hold the branches together Loki rewrote a new title of the God of Stories for himself, it has also put him in the center of all action in the MCU going forward.
Catch all the episodes of Loki season 2, particularly the season finale, currently streaming on Disney+.
