Sylvie Was Right To Unleash The Multiverse In Loki. Here's Why
Season 1 Episode 6 of "Loki" unleashed the multiverse on the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and it's all thanks to Sylvie.
Played by Sophia Di Martino, Sylvie was a fresh and interesting addition to the Disney+ series' cast, as she led the TVA on a wild goose chase across the Sacred Timeline. The character's chemistry with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has made them one of Marvel's most endearing couples, and Episode 6 "For All Time. Always." was the culmination of their quest to bring down the TVA and avenge Sylvie's traumatic past. But everything changed when He Who Remains — the real power behind the TVA, played by actor Johnathan Majors — revealed the truth about what was really at stake should the multiverse break free.
Sylvie and Loki were left with a stark decision to make, one with implications that threatened the very fabric of existence: Kill He Who Remains like they originally intended, or accept his offer and rule the TVA to prevent variants like Kang the Conqueror from taking over the multiverse? It seems like a no brainer. The Avengers struggled to defeat Thanos, and Kang surpasses the Mad Titan's power exponentially. An inter-dimensional tyrant is the last thing Earth's Mightiest Heroes need.
However, that doesn't mean that Sylvie made the wrong choice by killing He Who Remains and unleashing the multiverse. The enchanting Loki variant might have done the universe a favor by freeing it from the restraints of a Sacred Timeline. Fans only have He Who Remains' word that the timeline was necessary, and he didn't exactly seem trustworthy. Sylvie's choice was the right decision in "Loki" — here's why.
He Who Remains was a tyrant
A tyrant is a tyrant, and He Who Remains was most definitely that. As benevolent as he might seem in comparison to some of his variants, He Who Remains led a cruel bureaucratic regime that pruned entire realities to fit his Sacred Timeline. People suffered because of him; whether they were sent to The Void, or forced to work for the TVA with their memories erased (like Mobius), innocent people had their lives and homes stripped away for straying from He Who Remains' timeline script and daring to flex their free will.
He Who Remains tells Sylvie: "You may hate the dictator, but something far worse is gonna fill that void if you dispose of him." That's easy to say, if you're the dictator.
As the ruler of the TVA, He Who Remains was the only person in the universe who could truly exercise free will. Everyone else unknowingly lived their lives according to his wishes, lest the TVA show up and erase them from reality. He Who Remains might not be the worst Kang variant, but that doesn't erase how terrible he really was.
The universe wants to break free
In Episode 4 "The Nexus Event," Sylvie tells Loki: "The universe wants to break free, so it manifests chaos. Like me being born the Goddess of Mischief." Sylvie might be more right than she knows. The universe is too powerful to be beaten into submission indefinitely. A little chaos can be a good thing, especially in this instance. He Who Remains tamed the timeline into strict and rigid order, but that doesn't mean the timeline should have been tamed. Manifesting chaos can be seen as the universe yearning to break free of the TVA's control.
Consider Wanda Maximoff. "WandaVision" includes a similar all-or-nothing choice for Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) — to be the Scarlet Witch, or not to be? Should she embrace her chaos magic, or give it away to the dastardly Agatha Harkness? In the end, Wanda chooses not to be afraid of her power. The Avenger accepts her destiny as the Scarlet Witch, just as she comes to accept Vision's (Paul Bettany) death after working through her grief. Some fan theories have speculated that Wanda's transformation at the end of "WandaVision" is what causes He Who Remains to lose sight of the future, as they "cross the threshold."
If so, this could be another example of the universe manifesting chaos to break free from the Sacred Timeline. The Disney+ series hints that Wanda is a Nexus being, while Loki and Sylvie's budding romance causes a Nexus event on Lamentis. The universe could be responsible for creating these Nexus beings/events as a manifestation of chaos, rebelling against the TVA's rule.
Enforcing a Sacred Timeline is unnatural
The Sacred Timeline could be considered a perversion of the natural order. The multiverse existed prior to the TVA — malevolent, conquering variants of He Who Remains were responsible for the war and chaos, before He Who Remains established the TVA to preserve a singular timeline. The universe-manifesting Nexus chaos with Loki, Sylvie and the Scarlet Witch suggests that nature wants to correct itself. Binding the multiverse isn't the answer; it will only lead to more madness.
Everything about the Sacred Timeline, and the TVA's role in its protection, seems dubious. Containing the multiverse by suppressing it could be a disaster waiting to happen. Instead of enforcing the Sacred Timeline, the TVA could have dedicated their resources to stopping He Who Remains' evil variants, or allying with the Avengers to defend the universe. Both options have their risks, but at least the TVA could be working with the universe and not against it.
Marvel fans will have more content than ever
No matter what chaos the characters might face, Marvel fans now have more content on the horizon than ever before thanks to Sylvie. Unleashing the multiverse creates a plethora of possibilities for future MCU installments. Movies and Disney+ shows that take place in an alternate reality from the MCU's main continuity are undoubtedly in the cards. Separate film franchises — like "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" — could crossover, popping up in cameo appearances. Disney could also take advantage of the multiverse platform to introduce R-rated content to the MCU, likely via Deadpool.
The multiverse story will continue in 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home," 2022's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," and 2023's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," in which Johnathan Majors will likely play a variant of He Who Remains called Kang the Conqueror. The head writer of "Loki," Michael Waldron, has confirmed that Kang is "the next big cross-movie villain," taking Thanos' place as the MCU's Big Bad.
Sylvie deserved closure
The TVA did terrible things to Sylvie. During "The Nexus Event," viewers learn that they quite literally showed up out of the blue on Asgard and stole a young Sylvie from her home. Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) reminisces about Sylvie's capture, revealing her own involvement in apprehending the child from Asgard and erasing her reality. If Sylvie hadn't escaped, she likely would have been pruned and sent to the Void. Luckily, she managed to escape from the TVA with Renslayer's TemPad, but that only led to a lifetime of hiding in apocalyptic events to evade an omniscient, time-traveling bureaucracy.
Regardless of his reasons, He Who Remains was responsible for all the trauma that Sylvie suffered. He instructed the TVA to maintain the timeline, and, according to the Season 1 finale, knew everything that was going to happen pre-threshold crossing. Sylvie is justified in her quest for vengeance. At the least, she deserved some semblance of closure for the life the TVA stole from her.
The TVA did nothing about Thanos
He Who Remains was consumed with preserving the Sacred Timeline, but he didn't seem too bothered about the conditions of that timeline. The TVA did nothing about Thanos, even when the Mad Titan threatened to take over an entire galaxy. Maybe He Who Remains felt justified knowing that the Avengers would eventually defeat Thanos. But that doesn't excuse the TVA allowing Thanos to slaughter innocent people for years without intervening.
Loki wonders whether the TVA is "the greatest power in the universe" during Episode 1 "Glorious Purpose." The God of Mischief has met Thanos at this point — the Mad Titan gives Loki the Mind Stone, as well as command of a Chitauri army to invade Earth in "The Avengers" — but Loki's reaction seems to cement the hierarchy: the TVA is far more powerful than Thanos. While Thanos searched years for Infinity Stones, the TVA had Infinity Stones collecting dust in a drawer. There's no way the TVA couldn't have beat Thanos, ending his reign of terror across the galaxy before it began. Yet, they chose not to — which feels even more evil than what Thanos did.
He Who Remains did evil things — like tearing children away from their homes
Sylvie can't have been the only child to be torn from the timeline. Kid Loki's appearance in Episode 5 "The Void" proves that (though, in fairness, Kid Loki did kill Thor). The TVA must have pruned countless children and innocent people since their creation, snatching them up and forcing them to stand trial for their "crimes." Sounds pretty evil, right? Whether they were sent to The Void or forced to work for the TVA with their memories wiped, innumerable people were ripped away from everything they knew, often purely for existing.
Erasing realities to preserve the Sacred Timeline puts the TVA in a powerful position where they are — essentially, dictating free will. This reinforces how wrong the organization really is. He Who Remains made himself into a godly figure with all the knowledge, power and resources at his disposal — and he used it facilitate awful crimes, like sending children to the Void. Not a great guy, all things considered.
Mobius' story proves that the TVA can't be trusted
The TVA is a very evil establishment; just look at how they treat their employees, and you can just imagine their Glassdoor reviews would be a disaster.
Mobius (Owen Wilson), for example, is lied to by the people he trusts, including Renslayer. Like Loki, he initially believes — to an extent — that he has "glorious purpose:" The TVA is, supposedly, a righteous organization preventing multiversal chaos and working for the greater good. Believing he is part of something greater than himself motivates Mobius — until Loki tells him the truth about what he's actually part of.
Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) provides another example of the TVA's negligent employment. Sylvie shows Hunter B-15 the truth about who she is by using her enchantment to restore the hunter's memories. Hunter B-15 later tries to spread the news to the other Minutemen, though it's unknown if she will succeed in Season 2, now that Kang is apparently running the show.
Mobius, B-15 and the rest of the TVA's staff were convinced they, too, were created for "glorious purpose." Instead, they were taken from their homes and fed lies to make them productive to the work force. Two things are clear: The TVA are awful employers, and Mobius deserves his jet ski.
The TVA could be too corrupt to salvage
He Who Remains tempts Loki and Sylvie with an enticing offer: take his place, and become the new rulers of the TVA to preserve the Sacred Timeline. As far as curveballs go, it's a doozy. Despite entering the Citadel at the End of Time as allies, Sylvie and Loki come to blows as their opposing views force them apart. Loki, fearing a multiversal war, urges her to accept He Who Remains' offer, but Sylvie makes it clear that she's here to complete her mission.
To be fair to Sylvie here, He Who Remains' offer isn't as tempting as it initially seems. Running the TVA sounds like a lot of work. Plus, the TVA is likely too corrupt to salvage. How can two people correct the mistakes of an organization that prunes children and erases realities? The TVA could be put to better uses, for defense instead of dictatorship. That takes time, however (pun intended). Reconstructing the TVA is a complex task, one that could easily go awry if any TVA employees instigate rebellion.
The Goddess of Mischief suspects Loki's change of heart when it comes to destroying the TVA has more to do with wanting power. It's hard to blame her reasoning. In Episode 2, Loki wants nothing more than to take control of the TVA. Falling in love with Sylvie changes him. Still, Loki has a long way to go before he can be considered trustworthy again.
Loki can't be trusted with power
The God of Mischief underwent speed-of-light character development in his titular Disney+ series. Episode 1 sees Loki fresh from "The Avengers," before his reconciliation with Thor in "Thor: The Dark World" and "Thor: Ragnarok," as well as his death during "Avengers: Infinity War." Loki is still in conqueror mode when Hunter B-15 and her team apprehend him in the Gobi desert. He's quickly humbled by the TVA's power, but it's not long before he's hatching schemes in Episodes 2 and 3 with Sylvie. His feelings for Sylvie transform him from Thor's villainous brother to a sympathetic hero in his own right. But how much has Loki really changed?
Given control of the TVA, Loki would almost certainly become corrupted by the power of overseeing the flow of time. At the very least, he could become desensitized — more than he already is — to the pain and suffering of other people while the TVA continues to prune the timeline. He Who Remains claimed to be "old" and "tired;" not necessarily a selling point for the job description. If Loki didn't become corrupt with power, then he could still have ended up like He Who Remains, echoing Lady Sif's warning in Episode 4: "You deserve to be alone and you always will be."
Renslayer would have ousted Sylvie and Loki
Renslayer and Sylvie have unfinished business. Episode 4 reveals that it was Renslayer who took Sylvie from her home in Asgard with a team of Minutemen, something the enchantress hasn't forgotten — or forgiven. The two briefly fight when the TVA apprehend Sylvie and Loki on Lamentis and bring them before the Time-Keepers, but their brief battle is more of a prelude to the inevitable showdown that needs to happen with these two characters. There's bad blood between Sylvie and Renslayer. It's pretty unlikely Renslayer would ever have accepted working for Sylvie and Loki.
Viewers already see Renslayer betray Sylvie in Episode 5, when she and Miss Minutes (Tara Strong) stall the Goddess of Mischief so a team of Minutemen can arrive. A similar scenario could have played out if Loki and Sylvie had accepted He Who Remains' offer to rule the TVA. Renslayer had no qualms about sending her friend Mobius to The Void. Ousting Sylvie and Loki sounds like a task she would relish. Not to mention that Miss Minutes relayed some important information from He Who Remains to Renslayer before his death. Could he have been telling her to betray Sylvie and Loki had they accepted his offer?
He Who Remains could have been bluffing
Even if Sylvie had agreed with Loki, and both of them had opted to preserve the Sacred Timeline and rule the TVA, there's no guarantee that He Who Remains was telling the truth to begin with. Miss Minutes suggests something similar when Loki and Sylvie arrive at the Citadel, offering to rewrite the timeline so they can both return and live the lives they've always wanted: Loki could beat the Avengers, and Sylvie could go home.
He Who Remains ups the ante, likely out of desperation. Instead of giving them a place in the timeline, he offers to give them complete control of the timeline and the TVA. But there's every chance he was lying. He could have been trying to set up a mighty fall for the variants, sending them to a snake's nest in the form of the TVA led by Renslayer. The enigmatic entity was full of secrets, that's for sure. Sylvie puts an end to his lies and sets the universe free... or potentially damn the universe. For the answers to those and so many other questions, we might have to wait until the teased-by-the-last-episode "Loki" Season 2.