We Finally Know the Truth About Ravonna Renslayer in 'Loki' Season 2

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Loki Season 2 Episode 4.

The Big Picture

• Loki has been hinting at a mysterious past connection between He Who Remains and Ravonna, but Season 2 Episode 4 changed everything.
• Ravonna discovers her role in helping He Who Remains gain powe and create the TVA but he kept it for himself.
• At the end of the episode, Ravonna is pruned out of existence, but her story is far from over.

“Ravonna Renslayer, you are quite a marvel, I will be proud to lead with you.” He Who Remains’ (Jonathan Majors) has had us questioning his cryptic words for weeks – until now. Episode 4 of Loki Season 2 entitled, “Heart of the TVA”, is reminiscent of Season 1’s fourth episode: a mid-season cliffhanger that changes everything. But before things go haywire for everyone across time, we get to see the juicy secret Miss Minutes (Tara Strong) promised to share with Ravonna at the end of last week’s episode. And just as Miss Minutes promised – Ravonna (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) did not like it.

Loki

Loki, the God of Mischief, steps out of his brother's shadow to embark on an adventure that takes place after the events of "Avengers: Endgame."

Release Date June 9, 2021 Cast Tom Hiddleston , Owen Wilson , Gugu Mbatha-Raw , Richard E. Grant Seasons 2 Studio Disney+

Did He Who Remains Create the TVA With Ravonna Renslayer?

During the premiere episode of Season 2, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) stumbles upon an ominous recording of a conversation between He Who Remains and Ravonna. The tape is fleeting as is the context, creating a massive well of questions as the very notion of He Who Remains and Ravonna knowing each other changes everything as we know it. It doesn’t add up at first due to the fact that up until the Season 1 finale, Ravonna along with everyone else at the TVA believed the Time Keepers, three god-like entities, ran the TVA and created the Sacred Timeline. They were not aware in the slightest that He Who Remains was the one pulling the strings or that he even existed.

So when did this conversation occur? Time is sketchy at the TVA but to put things in a linear perspective, the conversation is from the past. As Miss Minutes reveals to Ravonna via a hologram playback of a past event, He Who Remains and Ravonna used to know each other. We see Ravonna before she became Judge Renslayer, outfitted in the TVA Hunters uniform. She’s standing side by side with He Who Remains at The End of Time as they look out the window. He Who Remains remarks that “it” is almost ready, to which Ravonna replies, “A utopia at the end of time.” It is clear that they have collaborated closely together for some substantial amount of time, and if their comic counterparts are any indication, may have formed a relationship with one another as well. Their conversation leads into the line we hear on the tape about He Who Remains being proud to rule side by side with Ravonna, and we finally get to see what happens next.

Ravonna opens a Time Door and asks if He Who Remains is ready to go back to the TVA. This is a huge revelation in its own right as it confirms that He Who Remains actually frequented the TVA in the past (explaining the statues/busts we see at the TVA) and likely collaborated with the analysts and hunters. He Who Remains tells Ravonna that he’ll catch up with her only to summon Miss Minutes and have her wipe the TVA’s mind, including Ravonna’s.

When He Who Remains summons Miss Minutes he tells her to activate something called “Protocol 42”. We don’t get any direct explanation of Protocol 42 but much like Order 66 from Star Wars, the implications are pretty evident. It turns out Miss Minutes can mind-wipe anyone at the TVA and following her master’s orders, it’s exactly what she does. Although he says a silent, “I’m Sorry” after executing the protocol, it doesn’t seem like He Who Remains will be losing any sleep over his unilateral decision for total control over all of time.

'Loki' Season 2 Reveals Ravonna Did All the Work for He Who Remains

The video leaves Ravonna in shock, but Miss Minutes isn’t finished with the truth bombs yet. She proceeds to tell Ravonna that she is the one who commanded the army in the war against the Kang Variants. It’s thanks to her that He Who Remains, well, remained. After dangling the promise of ruling together, he wiped the entire TVA’s mind to keep the power to himself. With no recollection of her leadership role in the war, Ravonna continued to carry out He Who Remains’s bidding – all while he sat on his throne at The End of Time.

The major revelation about Ravonna’s role in He Who Remains’ empire takes a bit of the panache out of the story He Who Remains told Loki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) about his rise to power and further highlights the deviousness of this Kang Variant. Just as conniving as He Who Remains, it is of course a possibility that Miss Minutes is spinning a yarn or at least conflating the backstory in order to rile Ravonna, but his name is “He Who Remains” so it seems pretty believable, all things considered.

Following the timeline, it’s safe to assume that Ravonna earned the rank of Judge directly after He Who Remains executed Protocol 42, likely as some pity gift leaving her little scraps of power. Now believing they exist to serve the Time Keepers, there would never be any suspicion of He Who Remains resting on the laurels of Ravonna and the TVA’s work until two gods of mischief arrived on the scene.

What Happened to Ravonna in Season 2 Episode 4 of 'Loki'?

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Sequestered away in the war room with Victor Timely (Jonathan Majors) and Miss Minutes, who has just been shut down (but most likely not dead) by O.B. (Ke Huy Quan) and company, things aren’t looking good for anyone. As the lights continue to flicker on and off, Ravonna sends her new minion, X-5 (Rafael Casal), out to inspect things. X-5, instead of solving the electrical problems, winds up under the enchantment of a vengeful Sylvie. He returns to the room waving his Time Stick about recklessly as he beckons Ravonna over. Through X-5 as a proxy, Sylvie gets her long-awaited revenge on Ravonna by pruning her out of existence.

We aren’t giving any further elaboration on Ravonna’s demise, but considering the amount of times pruned victims have returned, there’s a strong chance we’ll see Ravonna again. Though Ravonna has been around since the very beginning of Loki Season 1, her ambition has increased exponentially this season and she has gotten quite comfortable in villain territory on a quest to claim the power she’s entitled to. And after learning that He Who Remains has her to thank for winning his war, her motive is understandable. Ravonna’s mission just became all that more personal and her story feels far from over. Ravonna is resourceful and knows the ins and outs of the TVA and its systems better than anyone else. She’s out of the picture for now, but she’ll find her way out of it and be back to seek revenge in no time, for all time. Always.

Loki Season 2 is available to stream now on Disney+.

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