Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Loki season 2, episode 2The ending of Loki season 2, episode 2 featured a key reunion as well as some surprise twists for the MCU show. Starring Tom Hiddleston as the titular God of Mischief himself, Loki is trying to prevent the destruction of Marvel's Sacred Timeline and the TVA, the first line of defense against the imminent danger of He Who Remains' variants (like Kang the Conqueror). To that end, Loki season 2, episode 2 presents some brand-new challenges as the TVA ticks ever closer to its own demise.

In Loki season 2, episode 2, Loki and Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) manage to track down Hunter X-5 (Rafael Casal) who defied orders from General Dox (Kate Dickie), choosing instead to become a movie star on the Sacred Timeline. After some significant interrogation, Loki and Mobius were able to locate Loki's variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) whom X-5 found on a branched timeline before he went rogue. As such, the ending of Loki season 2, episode 2 features a dynamic reunion along with a dramatic shift in the status quo for the multiverse and all its newly branched timelines.

What Sylvie Is Holding The End of Loki Season 2, Episode 2

Starting at the end, Sylvie's last shot in the final moments of Loki season 2 episode 2 reveals her holding something and admiring it while sitting on the hood of her car outside her Broxton branch of McDonald's. Refusing to join Loki, Sylvie returned to her life and branched timeline, but the moment reveals that she kept a keepsake from killing He Who Remains during Loki's season 1 ending. Sylvie is holding He Who Remains' TempPad, effectively a super advanced version of the TVA's standard-issue versions, presumably with more significant powers.

As such, it's clear that Sylvie will have a much bigger role to play as Loki season 2 continues (particularly as we know she comes back to the TVA again to meet the future version of Loki from episode 1). As much as she might like to continue working at McDonald's and keep enjoying her newfound freedom, Loki saw Sylvie when he time-slipped into the future. As such, it stands to reason that Sylvie will find herself back at the TVA sooner rather than later and when she does, she'll have a very handy weapn to help her.

Why Sylvie is Mad At Loki

As seen at the end of Loki season 2, episode 2, Loki is the last person Sylvie wants to see or even talk to. This is because he didn't side with her in the finale of Loki season 1. Rather than agreeing to kill He Who Remains like Sylvie wanted, Loki was far more cautious in his concern over the imminent threat of He Who Remains' variants. However, Sylvie doesn't share in Loki's belief that the TVA is necessary for the safety of the multiverse (and for good reason).

After all, Sylvie had spent her entire life running from the TVA and hiding in apocalypses, always in danger of being pruned from existence. Now, she finally has freedom and a life where she can do what she wants. As such, the rift between Loki and Sylvie has become quite evident following this new episode.

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

Where Are Ravonna Renslayer and Miss Minutes?

Loki season 2, episode 2 confirms that Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is still missing and TVA is now actively searching for her. Having likely become a partner of He Who Remains after Loki discovered a past recording of the two of them together, finding Renslayer will likely help explain what's been going on with the multiverse and what the TVA should expect when it comes to the threat of He Who Remains' variants. Furthermore, the episode also confirms that the TVA's advanced AI Miss Minutes is working with Renslayer as well, having left many TVA operations unmanned in her absence.

Thanks to the Loki season 2 trailers, their whereabouts is already known: they're in the past. Renslayer is dressed in Victorian costume and is seen in a crow in one sequence, while Miss Minutes is seen attacking a crowd with the same Ferris Wheel in the background as is earlier revealed as part of the Chicago World's Fair location. Crucially, that's where Victor Timely is also shown in Loki's trailers, suggesting what their mission could actually be.

How Loki S2 Episode 2's Ending Sets Up A Fix For OB's Temporal Loom

Although O.B. had a plan to retrofit the TVA's Temporal Loom to handle all the new branched timelines that had emerged, he discovers in Loki season 2, episode 2 that the sealed blast doors can only be opened by the man who made them: He Who Remains. The episode explains that the only way to override the system - other than Miss Minutes helping - is to match He Who Remains' temporal aura. As such, this is likely how Victor Timely will enter Loki season 2's narrative, a confirmed variant of He Who Remains who's been seen in the show's trailers and was also teased in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's post-credits scene.

In the original comics, Victor Timely was a variant of Kang who went back in time to create an entire town and factory in the 1900s, establishing a power base in the past that came to fruition in the present era. As such, it seems as though the MCU's Victor Timely will be similar, appearing to be giving lectures about time travel in the 20th Century. As such, it's likely that Timely will have the same temporal aura needed to open the blast doors, what with He Who Remains having been killed by Sylvie in Loki season 1's finale. That would deliver on He Who Remains' final words to Syvlie of "see you soon."

General Dox and the Hunters’ Plan Explained

Eventually, X-5 reveals the secret plan in the works from General Dox and the Hunters who remained loyal to her command when Sylvie enchants him. Having raided the armories of the TVA, General Dox refused to believe anything had changed in the core mission of the TVA. According to Dox, branches from the Sacred Timeline still need to be pruned. As such, the TVA general came up with a devastating plan to blow up all the branches in one single campaign, giving the rest of the TVA very little time to stop her.

Related: Forget Thanos, MCU Phase 5's Multiverse Villains Just Made The Snap Look Insignificant

How Dox's Hunters Can Blow Up Whole Timelines

Using multiple temporal charges (essentially time bombs) from the TVA armories, Hunters were sent out to multiple branch timelines to detonate and prune as many realities as they could which had sprung out from the Sacred Timeline after Sylvie killed He Who Remains. While the pruning of a branched timeline was standard protocol and was featured in Loki season 1, the pruning of several timelines simultaneously has likely never been done before and will likely have devastating consequences.

What Happened To All The Destroyed Branches

As Hunter B-15 looked in horror at the TVA monitors, she confirmed that Dox and her soldiers were decimating billions of lives with every timeline they destroyed. This is particularly devastating for the new multiverse that had been forming in the wake of Loki season 1. While it follows that new branches will likely form over time, it cannot be overstated that all of those lives and realities have been tragically lost and erased to the Void.

New episodes of Loki release every Thursday at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Disney+.