Summary

  • Sylvie's decision to kill He Who Remains allows Kang to take control of the TVA and sets up multiversal conflict in the MCU Phase 4.
  • Mobius doesn't remember Loki because he landed in a different timeline where they never met, and changes caused by Kang leading the TVA may have altered their history.
  • The statue of He Who Remains in the TVA reveals that Kang is now the overseer, ruling by fear, and this will present problems for the MCU's heroes going forward.

Loki episode 6 brought about a suitably grand ending for the Marvel Cinematic Universe series - but also masterfully set up for Loki season 2 and the franchise's wider future. Through season 1's six episodes, audiences witnessed the new "main" Loki variant learn about the nature of the multiverse, the Sacred Timeline, and the Time Variance Authority, with the show slowly making clear that the TVA wasn't quite what it initially appeared to be.

In the Loki season 1 ending, the answer to this puzzle is provided, as Loki and the Lady Loki variant Sylvie meet He Who Remains; the creator of the TVA and crafter of the Sacred Timeline, who quickly explains that he made both in order to stop a multiverse wide war. Despite telling the protagonist duo that killing him will leave another of his variants in his place, Sylvie murders He Who Remains - a decision that, as the show's ending reveals, places Marvel villain Kang in charge of the TVA and thus the MCU timeline, seemingly.

Related: Loki Season 2 Cast Guide: Every New & Returning Marvel Character

Why Sylvie Kills Kang

Loki-Sylvie-He-Who-Remains-Dead

Sylvie's decision to kill the Kang variant He Who Remains is perhaps the single most important event that takes place in Loki episode 6 - as it allows the iconic Marvel villain to replace him in the timeline, and results in the multiverse once again forming in the MCU. It is, however, also a decision that many may regard as a strange one, given that Sylvie knows killing He Who Remains could have a potentially catastrophic effect and create another multiverse war.

However, what little has been made clear about Sylvie's backstory explains this decision effectively. Sylvie was taken from her timeline as a young child, and was raised her entire life to believe she was defective as a result of being a variant. She also spends that entire time - which could be as much as 2000 years, given she confirms she's older than Loki - being hunted.

Discovering that this wasn't true, and that she was merely a different version of the "Sacred" version of Loki - a version who was taken from her home and threatened with death solely because He Who Remains believed other timelines were a threat - is no doubt a devastating reveal. With this in mind, her decision to kill him is likely partly done for revenge, and in part to allow others the chance to have the life she wishes she had.

Related: 10 Burning Questions Loki Season 2 Can Finally Answer

Why Mobius Doesn't Remember Loki

Loki-Mobius-Memory-Wipe

Loki and Mobius' relationship was an integral part of Loki season 1, and so it came as something of an unexpected blow to discover that, after Sylvie betrayed Loki and sent him through the time door, he landed in a different timeline and that version of Mobius didn't recognize his former ally and friend. This makes sense when the changed statue in the TVA offices is taken into account, though, as it appears that this may be a timeline Loki technically never even met Mobius in - as Kang leading the TVA means many other changes may have also taken place unbeknownst to viewers.

On top of this, there's also the intriguing suggestion that the changes to this timeline meant that Loki never became the TVA's most-pruned individual, as was established earlier in the season. If Mobius doesn't recognize him, he's never encountered any of his variants, suggesting a very different history for Loki. And in more symbolic terms, removing Loki's second greatest ally - after Sylvie's betrayal - leaves him isolated and alone: hauntingly bringing Lady Sif's prophecy full circle.

Kang Statue In The TVA Replacing The Time-Keepers Explained

A Kang statue looming over the TVA in the Loki finale

Loki episode 6 ends by showing that the Time-Keeper statues in the TVA headquarters have been replaced with a version of He Who Remains dressed in a costume familiar to comic readers. Though minus the helmet, the statue is immediately recognizable as wearing Kang's outfit, revealing he is one of the variants He Who Remains was warning Sylvie and Loki about. His replacement of the Time-Keeper statues - which He Who Remains appeared to use in order to hide the fact that he was leading the TVA - shows that Kang is now the overseer of the TVA, which will no doubt present many problems for the MCU's heroes going forward.

There's also an element of the statue suggesting a more tyrannical approach with Kang, where the overlord is celebrated rather than shrouded in mystery. This variant wants an audience and accolades, and from the small hint in what Mobius said about him, there's already an element of him ruling by fear in much the same way Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania's Kang does.

Related: Every Version Of Kang In The MCU Ahead Of Avengers 5

What Loki Season 2's Story Will Be About

Loki in a shirt and tie

Loki episode 6's mid-credits scene revealed that there will be a Loki season 2, which naturally raises questions on where this season's story will go. The Loki season 2 trailer appears to confirm Loki and Morbius will hunt down Sylvie and explore the new multiverse in the wake of the first season's ending, seemingly with the aid of new allies. Oddly enough, a Kang variant may well be within that roster, as the MCU Victor Timely is theorized to be a prospective ally to the God of Mischief and his goals. The official Loki season 2 synopsis also sheds even more light on this, stating: "'Loki' Season 2 picks up in the aftermath of the shocking season finale when Loki finds himself in a battle for the soul of the Time Variance Authority. Along with Mobius, Hunter B-15 and a team of new and returning characters, Loki navigates an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous multiverse in search of Sylvie, Judge Renslayer, Miss Minutes and the truth of what it means to possess free will and glorious purpose."

What Loki Was Really Saying About Free Will

Loki Episode 6 Loki and Sylvie Fighting

Given Loki's final episode revolves around the idea that countless timelines were neutered based on whether He Who Remains deemed them dangerous or "not true" to the Sacred Timeline, it was perhaps inevitable that the discussion in the finale would turn to the nature of free will. He Who Remains and Judge Renslayer have relatively straightforward perspectives on this matter, both believing that sacrificing others and preventing their free will is ultimately a good choice if it potentially prevents further chaos.

Loki, Sylvie, and Mobius all believe very much the opposite - that the chaos of life is a worthy price for being able to live authentically. Importantly, the show itself has a relatively different message, as it makes a point of establishing that while much of Loki and Sylvie's actions were ultimately controlled by He Who Remains, the one true act of free will is Loki choosing to let Sylvie kill Kang's variant because he wants her to be happy - showing that choosing to care for others is the one act that is always born out of free will.

Somewhat ironically, of course, Sylvie's attempt to stop He Who Remains from controlling the timeline simply led to another variant repeating the same history and taking over the TVA. So the message isn't exactly firm on whether the results of free will are great: just that the right itself is important.

Kang's Death Starts A New Multiversal War For MCU Phase 4

Variants of Marvel characters fight each other in Secret Wars comic.

The death of the Kang variant He Who Remains isn't just important in that it appears to change the MCU timeline - it's also important in that it allows the multiverse to reform, as it was only He Who Remains' efforts that were preventing this. Though this is in many ways a good thing, it also sets up for a multiverse war in MCU Phase 4, as He Who Remains actively mentions that a multiverse war is inevitable without one party or universe actively controlling the others. And since Marvel comics have a slew of titles and events involving different universes battling one another, it makes sense that the MCU would seek to adapt these iconic comic moments onto the big screens.

Related: Why Loki Calls The Variants Monsters

Loki Sets Up Multiple New MCU Villains

Loki episode 5 Kang hints Ravonna Renslayer Qeng Tower Alioth

The conclusion of Loki season 1 sets up a healthy collection of villains to be added to the MCU's roster. First and most obvious is Kang, but it's also worth note that Ravonna Renslayer made a quick escape while claiming to be off to find "free will" - which is fairly ominous given the episode released in the wake of Black Widow's plot about a serum that removes all free will from those it is given to. Similarly, Sylvie's arc ending on the grim note of her breaking ties with Loki may suggest she too becomes a villainous entity later down the MCU's proverbial road despite her humble season 2 reintroduction in a McDonalds, as her moral compass and Loki's are vastly different.

And then, of course, there are the other Kang variants, who are all the more important after Kang The Conqueror's defeat in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. He Who Remains promised "infinite versions" of himself, which means the MCU could bring in every comics iteration of Nathaniel Richards - including the Warlord, Iron Lad, and even the imposter Doctor Doom he became at one point. It seems likely, no matter which characters appear, that Jonathan Majors' villain is being set up as the MCU's next Thanos, even if Victor Timely ends up being a more heroic character.

Loki has reinstating the multiverse opened the gates for an endless assortment of Marvel villains to appear in the MCU. Many have worried figures like Magneto or Doctor Doom can't logically be introduced this late, as they're too powerful and notable to have simply fallen off the radar of MCU's heroes for so long - a concern that can now be entirely avoided by merely having these figures enter from other universes, in the same manner Spider-Man: No Way Home introduced villains from previous non-MCU films. On an even more exciting note, this allows the franchise to use villainous versions of its heroes from alternate universes, which would be the perfect way to up the stakes from Phase 4 and onwards.

Loki season 2 premieres Thursday, Oct. 5 at 9pm ET/6pm PT on Disney+.

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