The clock hasn’t run out on the God of Mischief’s adventures through time just yet. Loki is coming back for a second season. But things will be very different when the show returns. Sylvie set off another Multiversal War, and a much more terrifying Variant of He Who Remains has won. What does that mean for the series, the MCU, the TVA, and both Lokis? Here’s everything we know, think we know, and still need answers to.
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A New Timeline and a New TVA
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The death of He Who Remains did not result in his return to the TVA, as he thought it might. Season one’s final scene revealed a Variant of his triumphed in the latest iteration of the Multiversal War. But the TVA still exists in this new timeline. It also has the same people working for it. The new ruler’s approach to maintaining a Sacred Timeline is not completely different than the old one’s. But just how much is the same remains to be seen.
As is the actual identity of the Variant who now controls the TVA. If it’s who we think it is, He Who Remains warning to Loki and Sylvie was well-founded. The new head of the TVA is much worse.
Kang the Conqueror
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Jonathan Majors will play Kang the Conqueror in the MCU. The character is set to appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The time-controlling baddie is one of the Avengers’ most memorable, most dangerous villains in Marvel Comics. But that’s not exactly who we met on Loki.
He Who Remains was one of the character’s many Variants. Majors might end up playing multiple versions of that 31st century scientist. But Kang is the current best bet to be the new head of the TVA. And if that wasn’t his statue Loki saw at the end of the season finale, Kang will do everything he can to usurp whomever it belongs to.
Kang might already be here, ready to battle the Avengers. If he’s not, he’s coming soon. The only good news is that maybe one of his Variants will also come along to help fight him.
An Altered Timeline
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The new timeline’s Mobius didn’t recognize Loki. That doesn’t portend well for the God of Mischief. Beyond Mobius not remembering the timeline we witnessed, it suggests that Lokis might be a rare breed in this new reality. They might also be a doomed one. It’s less clear if a new timeline will mean a new past for the MCU. The TVA exists outside of time. Will things within time be slightly altered too? Dramatically different? Or exactly the same as before?
We wouldn’t bet on wholesale changes to Marvel‘s MCU past. But we wouldn’t be surprised by small changes. And we definitely think an altered timeline has huge implications for the future.
Loki and Sylvie
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As mentioned above, Mobius and Hunter B-15 don’t remember the old timeline. However, Loki definitely does, likely because he met He Who Remains. If that’s why, Sylvie will remember him too, making the pair the Multiverse’s best bet to do anything about this new Variant in charge. The old Sacred Timeline either broke or never existed. (Just because He Who Remains said time was a loop doesn’t mean it is.)
The problem (one of many) for Loki and Sylvie is that even if they can work together, they might be alone in this battle. It won’t be easy for a god renowned for lying to get anyone to believe the outrageous story they will tell. And two Lokis telling such a tale is twice as likely to be ignored. Even worse for them, one potential ally is someone neither can trust. And the other is a hologram.
Judge Ravonna Renslayer
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Judge Renslayer still believes in the agency’s mission. This despite learning that the Time Keepers never existed, and not knowing who controlled the old TVA. He Who Remains sent her files that strengthened her resolve to stop the destruction he claimed would follow the collapse of the Time Variance Authority. But those mystery files also made Renslayer seek power herself. She’s on a quest to find free will. And she thinks the only being who has free will is the person in charge.
Renslayer might have been He Who Remains’ failsafe. At the very least, she is a threat to the new leader of the TVA. Possibly as her comic book time-defying space-pirate persona Terminatrix. More importantly, she might also be the only other person besides Loki and Sylvie in all existence who knows about the old timeline. But can three known liars with an ugly past work together?
Miss Minutes
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If knowing the identity of He Who Remains helped Loki and Sylvie keep their memories, the old TVA’s trusted sentient hologram might also remember him. Miss Minutes was more than just a projection. She was capable of lying and emotion. She was angry at Loki and Sylvie for not accepting an offer to be reinserted into the timeline. Is Miss Minutes also capable of feeling loyalty? Will she serve the new TVA ruler the same way? Or work against him to restore the Variant who created her?
The fate of time and reality, across infinite universes, might depend on three conniving Variants and a sassy orange hologram with a Southern accent. Not great!
Season Two’s Release Date
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When Loki season two comes to Disney+ might be the most important question of all. Will it air before or after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which comes to theaters in March 2022? Will we see it before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which premieres in February 2023 and will feature Kang? As we know, time in the MCU isn’t always linear. The events in one movie or TV show can greatly change what happens in the next MCU installment. An entirely new timeline doesn’t make predicting what will happen next any easier either.
Knowing Loki‘s second season release date would still provide a lot more context for what to expect from both the show and the MCU. Each might have a different Kang Variant as its primary enemy. Or the Conqueror could appear across many installments of the franchise. As soon as Disney announces the placement of Loki season two in its release order schedule, we can really ramp up the speculation. Right now we’re only at a 10 out of 10.
Other Connections to the MCU
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Between the introduction of Variants, the multiverse, and Jonathan Majors, Loki has plenty of connections to other upcoming MCU projects. But those obvious ones aren’t the end of them. The upcoming animated series What If…?, which will explore alternate versions of the franchise, might be way more important than anyone expected. And Loki also had a potential musical connection to Marvel’s upcoming Eternals. Why was that there?
And those are just the ones we know about. Other foreshadowing, clues, and relevant plot points to the MCU at large might only become apparent in future films.
All Our Remaining Questions
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Before Loki‘s first season finale we had nine major questions we hoped would be answered. Some were, but not all. While—as you can see—many new ones were raised. But these are the outstanding season one issues we’d still like to like to learn more about:
“Where” Does the Place Beyond the Void Exist?
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“Past the end of time” isn’t definitive. Especially now that we know that time isn’t one single loop and it might never actually end. With Kang’s upcoming battle with Ant-Man and the Wasp in a movie called Quantumania, we’re not ruling out the possibility the Citadel resides in the Quantum Realm. But we’re not ruling out any other possibility either.
What Was Sylvie’s Nexus Event?
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Maybe this will always remain a mystery. But the moment in the elevator, when Sylvie asked Renslayer about her nexus event, had major Checkhov’s Origin Story vibes. The answer might end up being more important than anyone realizes yet.
What Will Happen to All the Variants If the TVA Is Destroyed?
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The TVA still exists in the new timeline. What would actually happen without the agency though? And what will happen to the Variants who work there? Hopefully something less awful than the death and chaos that He Who Remains promised.
Will Mobius Get to Ride His Jet Ski?
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Kang. Time. Existence. Multiversal War. Variants. The past, present, and future of the MCU. Not a single one those things matters as much as our favorite analyst finally—FINALLY—getting to ride his beloved jet ski once again. How sacred can any timeline be if that doesn’t happen?
