After the shock mass extinction of multiple timelines at the end of episode 2, episode 3 of Loki kept the action moving, with Mobius and Loki tasked with hunting down either Miss Minutes or Renslayer. However, their journey to Chicago brings them face to face with an unlikely find that tasks the show on an eerie twist. Judging from the final scene, there are plenty more twists to come. Here’s a breakdown of what the final moments of season 2, episode 3 could mean.
Warning: spoilers ahead for episode 3 of Loki.
After spending an episode chasing him down, Loki and Mobius finally got Victor Timely, a He Who Remains variant, back to the TVA, without Sylvie killing him. Seemingly making the decision that he would need to offer someone up to Sylvie, Mobius doesn’t object when Sylvie stays behind and implies she wants to kill Ravonna Renslayer.
However, Sylvie has other plans for Renslayer. Knowing that she wants power most, she forces Renslayer through a time door into the End of Time, where she can take her seat next to He Who Remains. Of course, He Who Remains is now dead, leaving Renslayer with very little power to claim—or so Sylvie thinks.
When Renslayer realizes where she is (He Who Remains’ rotting corpse is kind of a hint), she summons Miss Minutes. At first, Miss Minutes is angry that Victor Timely didn’t trust her (although her creepy pleading for a real body wouldn’t inspire trust in most people), before she and Renslayer strike a begrudging truce, despite the AI betraying the former TVA leader. After all, they don’t have much of a choice, being stuck at the End of Time with only each other for company.
Miss Minutes, now ready for revenge on Victor Timely, closes the episode by saying that not all is lost. In fact, she knows a secret that connects He Who Remains and Renslayer, one that will make Ravonna “real angry.”
What is Miss Minutes’ secret?
It’s likely that Miss Mintes knows a secret about Renslayer’s past, either before the TVA or perhaps early in its creation. We know TVA agents are routinely mindwiped, but we’ve also heard He Who Remains thanking Renslayer for her service. This suggests that she played a crucial role in forming the TVA. Whether that’s already been fulfilled, with her bringing the TVA handbook to Victor Timely as a child, or she has some other part to play that she has forgotten, this could be related to Miss Minutes’ secret.
Another possibility lies in the backstory of Renslayer in the comics. Her on-page counterpart was the daughter of King Carelius, a ruler in 40th century Earth. She eventually met Kang the Conqueror and fell in love with him. In one timeline, she even stayed at his side as his princess.
Within Loki, Renslayer’s agent code, Hunter A-23, is a reference to Avengers #23 (1965), where Renslayer made her first comic book appearance. Perhaps Miss Minutes is going to reveal that Renslayer is He Who Remains’ partner in more ways than one but was abandoned or slighted in another way that might make her angry. We’ve already seen how little Victor Timely likes partners.
For now, we don’t know for sure what Miss Minutes’ secret is but that’s the nature of cliffhangers. We’ll just have to keep watching to find out for sure…
(featured image: Disney)
