Loki brought the God of Mischief back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and also introduced the Multiverse via a six-episode arc on Disney+ in 2021. Loki not only saw the return of fan-favorite Tom Hiddleston once again taking the reins as the mercurial Asgardian/Frost Giant, but it also revealed that there is much more to the MCU than fans realized with the concept of variants (different versions of Marvel characters from alternate realities). Sometimes the differences between variants are subtle while other times, not as much. This became clear with the reveal of one particularly dangerous -- and unexpected -- variant of Loki: the Goddess of Mischief, Sylvie.
Sylvie has been on a lifelong quest seeking revenge on the Time Variance Authority -- a realm existing between space and time responsible for managing the flow of one singular Sacred Timeline, by eliminating any variants that disrupt it from countless other realities. Sylvie being born female on Asgard in her reality instantly made her a variant according to the Timekeepers, those responsible for creating the Sacred Timeline. Thus, she was pruned from her reality as a child. However, Sylvie escaped the TVA and has been hiding in alternate timelines while plotting to take down the Timekeepers ever since.
A Quest for Revenge That's Lasted a Lifetime
Upon meeting Loki, he agrees to help her take down the TVA, both agreeing that it's unfair for three beings to dictate all of space and reality. The two Lokis team up to stop them, though they quickly realize the TVA is not as it seems. Much to their surprise, the Timekeepers aren't real, revealing that somebody else is responsible for the creation of the Sacred Timeline and the TVA. After overcoming countless obstacles to reach the man behind the curtain, Loki and Sylvie come face to face with He Who Remains: a variant of nefarious Marvel Comics villain Kang the Conqueror. He Who Remains explains he created the Sacred Timeline after an all-out multiversal war between his variants threatened to rip apart the universe.
He presents the Lokis with a choice: they can either peacefully take over control of the Sacred Timeline, managing the flow of time and reality just as he had, or they could kill him and create another multiversal war with more Kang variants -- ones much more threatening. Loki and Sylvie battle it out over which choice is right; Loki understands that the weight of their decision will have countless consequences either way, but Sylvie is so blinded by rage that she can't see any other solution than killing He Who Remains, and after sending Loki back to the TVA, she slays him on the spot.
Sylvie's Actions Have Rippling Effects Across the MCU
By killing He Who Remains, Sylvie shattered the Sacred Timeline, sending her reality -- and countless others -- into peril. Without anyone to manage the flow of reality and prune any variants, all alternate realities began to branch away from the Sacred Timeline, creating a Multiverse. While this result will no doubt shake up the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for countless titles to come, as hinted at in trailers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it's unclear where Sylvie will go from here in Loki's now-confirmed second season.
Sylvie's entire journey throughout Loki was fueled by grief and revenge. She feels cheated out of the life she could have had since she was pruned as a child, and has spent countless years on the run hiding from the TVA. She knows nothing other than her quest for revenge, and now that she's completed what she's set out to do, what's next for her? Yes, she achieved her only goal since being pruned from her reality, but it also came at the cost of losing the person closest to her -- Loki.
Sylvie is an interesting foil to the usually self-serving Loki that Marvel fans have come to love over the past decade. While it's impossible to ignore the similarities between the two -- their wittiness, self-preserving nature and feeling that they don't quite fit in anywhere -- Sylvie also poses a few qualities that differ from Loki's characteristic impishness. Now grappling with this new, different version of grief after betraying him, it will be interesting to see how this drives Sylvie's actions in the new season.
Now that the Multiverse has been created, it's possible Sylvie can just continue on her quest, finding alternate Kang variants and slaying them just as she did He Who Remains in the now-confirmed second season. Since this is the only path Sylvie knows, it could continue to be a constant routine in her life, which would be more comfortable than facing the consequences of what she did to Loki head-on. Sylvie as a character has proven to be unpredictable over the course of Loki's first season, and the palpable chemistry between her and Loki made her betrayal all the more heartbreaking in the season finale.
Fans are obviously clamoring for Loki and Sylvie to reunite, but what would that reunion look like in light of Sylvie's recent actions? It took so long for the two to feel comfortable opening up to each other -- despite being variants of each other -- it will obviously take work to rebuild any kind of relationship between them given the broken trust. Another thing to consider is where both of them are in reality at the end of Loki Season 1. Are they in the same timeline, or did Sylvie somehow send him to an alternate TVA? Whatever the case, there are several paths for Sylvie to take in Loki's upcoming second season, and fans will be clamoring to find out which she chooses.