At the very tail end of the credits for the penultimate episode of Loki Season 2 – after Disney+ automatically minimizes the credits screen and just before the red Marvel Studios logo appears – a distinct audio line can be heard.
A robotic version of Bradley Wolfe’s voice cuts in at the tail end of the credits and says “You died! Insert your coin, loser!”
In-universe, the sound bite would most certainly come from the Zaniac arcade game, seen when Loki and Sylvie visit a bar on her branched timeline.
Zaniac is of course the movie in which TVA Agent-turned-actor Brad Wolfe stars, with Loki and Mobius crashing the movie’s premiere in Episode 2.
While there’s certainly a lot that could be read into the sound clip, it’s likely included as a treat for eagle-eyed (or eared) fans that references the events of the episode.
The turning point of Episode 5 came when Loki gained control over his timeslipping abilities and announced that he intended to “rewrite the story.”
Loki then slipped back to just before Victor Timely’s obliteration in Episode 4, giving him the chance to change the flow of events.
The post-credits audio was a fun way for Marvel Studios to concisely summarize the events of the episode. Like a player in an arcade game making a mistake and losing, Loki and the gang failed, but his new mastery of time slipping allowed him to “insert a coin” so to speak and get another chance.
Exactly what he’ll do with that chance and what struggles he’ll face along the way remain to be seen when the final episode of Loki Season 2 debuts at 9 p.m. EST on Thursday, November 9.