Episode 6 of "Loki", "For All Time, Always," has introduced Kang the Conqueror, and will probably
change the face of the MCU forever. Here's the ending of "Loki" Episode 6 explained.
The Citadel at the end of time is a truly bizarre place, filled with ruined statues of
the Time Keepers and ominous looking details. The creepy design of the building looks more
like something out of "Harry Potter" than the MCU, which makes it even weirder when
Miss Minutes appears out of nowhere. She's not the overarching villain of the series,
but she's certainly not good either. As it turns out, the animated clock is the
direct line to a mysterious individual she refers to as "He Who Remains."
Once again, the MCU has taken something from the comics and repurposed it for the ongoing
franchise. He Who Remains is in charge of the Time Variance Authority in the source material,
even meeting Thor and Jane Foster in "Thor #245" back in 1976. However,
when he arrives on screen in "Loki," it's instantly clear that He Who Remains in the MCU
is actually a variant of Kang the Conqueror, played by none other than Jonathan Majors,
who recently broke out as the star of "Lovecraft Country."
Majors' casting as Kang was previously revealed by Deadline in September 2020 in a report claiming
he'll be the villain in "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania" — although how he'll go up against
the MCU's tiniest hero remains to be seen. If you're up on your MCU casting news it's
instantly clear who this mysterious, purple-robed individual is once Majors' character steps out of
an elevator to meet Sylvie and Loki. Majors clearly has a lot of fun with the role,
and he has a pretty chaotic presence which rivals the God of Mischief himself.
However, in yet another twist, he's not exactly
the version of Kang the Conqueror that fans might be familiar with.
While other MCU Disney+ shows like "WandaVision" and "The Falcon and
The Winter Soldier" featured action-packed finales, "Loki" takes a quieter approach.
It mainly revolves around the universe-breaking conversation between this Kang Variant, Loki,
and Sylvie about the true nature of the TVA, the Sacred Timeline, and the Multiverse War.
Essentially, it prepares audiences for Jonathan Majors' ongoing role
within the MCU as Kang the Conqueror, because as He Who Remains explains,
he's but one of the countless variants of the villain that exist throughout the multiverse.
Essentially, He Who Remains is using the TVA and Alioth to keep the Sacred Timeline flowing as he
thinks it should, which ensures that the universe doesn't fall into yet another Multiverse War.
The war itself was, once upon a time, waged by different Kang variants, who originally
united for the good of every universe only to ultimately betray one another and fight
for one timeline's supremacy. In the comics, this alliance was called the Council of Kangs,
and they've been around for centuries. He Who Remains even alludes to this in the episode,
saying that he's been called many names over time:
"A ruler, a conqueror, He Who Remains, a jerk."
Interestingly, the Kang we see in "Loki" bears more of a resemblance to Immortus,
the older, somewhat wiser Kang variant who pops up in the comics as sort of a cosmic
gardener of the Marvel time stream. Regardless, where do Loki and Sylvie fit into all of this?
He Who Remains says he's been pulling the strings on them from the very start, dictating their lives
so that they both arrive at this meeting. However, the seemingly all-knowing villain
doesn't actually, well, know it all. His knowledge of the timeline only goes up to a certain point,
stating that once they cross that threshold, anything Loki and Sylvie do is out of his control.
That's when the sacred timeline begins splintering all around the Citadel. Coincidence? Surely not.
This revelation forces Loki and Sylvie into a fight as they grapple with the choice of
killing He Who Remains for creating the TVA and snatching free-will away from the timeline...or
taking over the TVA themselves. Sylvie is all for killing him straight away,
because her goal from the start of the show has been to tear down the TVA and those who run it.
So it's understandable that she wants revenge for the life that was snatched away from her.
However, Loki clearly recognizes the bigger potential danger of another Multiverse War
and the other Kang variants that are out there — leading to a brief duel. But the
romantic tension between these two is palpable, especially when Sylvie passionately kisses Loki.
In fact, Loki has clearly pushed aside his own goals of domination for her.
"I just want you to be okay!"
Unfortunately, the kiss was self-serving for Sylvie, who uses it to distract
Loki in order to hurl him through a time-door. She may call herself Sylvie,
but she's still a Loki — and that means manipulation.
From the very beginning, Sylvie's been on a journey of her own and will not compromise
for anything or anyone. Ultimately, she stabs He Who Remains, and he dies in his chair. Of course,
this isn't even close to the end for Jonathan Majors. Before he dies, the villain whispers,
"See you soon."
Basically, get ready to see a whole ton of different Kangs in the MCU.
And that's the last we see of Sylvie...for now.
The TVA took a bit of a backseat in this episode, but clearly the agency will never be the same
again, as Hunter B-15 finds the original Ravonna Renslayer in a school in 2018 Ohio to convince the
rest of her fellow hunters that everyone in the TVA is actually a variant. It's a pretty shocking
revelation, but clearly the TVA hasn't torn itself apart because they're all still watching
the Sacred Timeline splinter beyond repair by the end of the episode. Meanwhile the TVA's version
of Ravonna disappeared early in the episode to search for "free-will" — whatever that means.
When Loki crashes back through the time door, he frantically tries to warn Mobius about He
Who Remains, and the threat of an impending Multiverse War. But when he finally tracks
his friend down and begins talking, Mobius stops him and asks him what his name is.
"Who are you? What's your name?"
Wow. Clearly, Loki has ended up in an alternate version of the TVA,
and a Variant Kang has already messed with the timeline, changing events in the past to
change the status quo in Loki's present. That's confirmed by the towering statue of the villain
in a pretty comic book-accurate version of his costume at the center of the TVA complex.
As fans may already know, Kang's reach spans across millennia, so changing the past to
put himself in a supreme position of power isn't much of a surprise. Luckily, with "Loki" Season 2
already greenlit, we'll have plenty of time to see how the God of Mischief tackles this new timeline.
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