The series Loki begins its story in 2012 when Loki executes a Time Heist using the Tesseract, as depicted in the film Avengers: Endgame (2019). This event causes a branching of the timeline, known as a Nexus Event, disrupting the proper course of history. Loki is subsequently captured by the Time Variance Authority (TVA), an organization operating outside space and time. The TVA unit known as the Minutemen, led by Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku), apprehends Loki. Upon arriving at the TVA headquarters, Loki is introduced to the organization’s history by its artificial intelligence and mascot, Miss Minutes. She explains that the TVA was established after a Multiversal War to maintain the main timeline, referred to as the Sacred Timeline, by resetting or pruning any divergent branches.
Loki is tried by Judge Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) under the identity Variant L1130. Ravonna finds Loki guilty, sentencing him to be pruned. However, Loki narrowly avoids this punishment when a TVA agent named Mobius (Owen Wilson) argues that Variant L1130 might be essential for an ongoing mission. Mobius is investigating a mysterious figure attacking Minutemen and stealing their Tempads across various Nexus Events. During their meeting, Mobius probes Loki about his feelings regarding his malicious deeds while showing him visual clips of pivotal moments from Loki’s life in the Sacred Timeline. Mobius reveals how events should have unfolded had Loki not taken the Tesseract and performed the Time Heist.
The visuals show that if Loki had not disrupted the timeline, he would have been captured and imprisoned in Asgard, where he could reunite with his mother, Frigga (Rene Russo). Loki, Thor, and the Asgardian warriors are later seen battling the Dark Elves, leading to Frigga’s death. Mobius explains that all these events, including Frigga’s demise, are integral to the Sacred Timeline, safeguarded by the Time Keepers. During the discussion, Hunter B-15 summons Mobius, informing him of another Minutemen attack. Seizing the opportunity, Loki escapes using the TVA’s Time Twister device. He heads to the office of a TVA staff member named Casey (Eugene Cordero) and threatens him to retrieve the Tesseract, which is stored there.
As Casey prepares to return the Tesseract, Loki notices several Infinity Stones lying casually in a drawer, even used as paperweights, rendered seemingly worthless within the TVA. This revelation makes Loki realize that the TVA is the most powerful force in the universe. Hunter B-15 and her team arrive and attempt to reset Loki, but he evades capture again using the Time Twister. Loki returns to the interrogation room to continue watching footage of his life as it would have unfolded without the Time Heist. He witnesses Odin expressing his love for both Thor and Loki before passing away, and moments of Loki and Thor collaborating to save Asgard. The most harrowing scene for Loki is watching his own death at the hands of Thanos.
After watching the visual story of his life in Mobius’s room, Loki begins to realize that he doesn’t truly enjoy hurting others. He starts to understand and accept that his past malicious actions were merely a facade to hide his fear and vulnerability. Ultimately, Loki agrees to cooperate with Mobius to resolve the case. Mobius then reveals the real reason he needs Loki’s help: the TVA is currently hunting another Loki variant. In the Wisconsin timeline of 1985, the Variant Loki strikes again, attacking Minutemen during their search. In this attack, the Variant Loki abducts Hunter C20 (Sasha Lane) and steals a Tempad, the device used by the TVA to traverse various timelines.
Loki and Mobius investigate the incident in the Wisconsin 1985 timeline. Loki conducts research in the TVA library and concludes that the Variant they’re hunting is likely hiding in an apocalyptic timeline. Loki’s deduction stems from his understanding that in such timelines, no one survives, making it impossible for a Nexus Event to branch the timeline. To test his theory, Loki and Mobius visit Pompeii before the city is destroyed by Mount Vesuvius’s eruption in 79 AD. Loki attempts to create a Nexus Event by warning the residents of their impending doom. Despite Loki’s dramatic warning, no Nexus Event is detected, proving his theory correct.
With Loki’s theory confirmed, the two set out to locate the Variant Loki in another apocalyptic timeline. A piece of evidence in Mobius’s investigation files—a piece of gum called Kablooie—provides their first clue. The gum was given to Mobius by a child during one of his investigations into the Variant Loki. They trace the production timeframe of Kablooie to Alabama in 2050, during a timeline experiencing catastrophic flooding and severe storms. At a disaster relief supermarket in this timeline, they finally encounter the Variant Loki they’ve been searching for. This Loki turns out to be a woman named Sylvie Laufeydottir (Sophia Di Martino). Sylvie subtly invites Loki to join her in destroying the TVA, but he declines, as she has her own agenda and methods for dismantling the TVA.
Since childhood, Sylvie had been captured by the TVA for being deemed a threat to the Sacred Timeline. However, she managed to escape by biting Ravonna, who was still a Hunter at the time. Armed with Ravonna’s stolen Tempad, Sylvie traveled through various apocalyptic timelines to evade detection by the TVA. She patiently waited for the right moment to exact revenge on the TVA, which she believed had ruined her life. As an adult, Sylvie launched attacks on the Sacred Timeline using Reset Charges, deploying them through Timedoors across multiple timelines to create numerous Nexus Events. This strategy was designed to overwhelm the TVA, keeping them preoccupied while she infiltrated their headquarters to confront the organization’s leaders, the Time-Keepers.
Sylvie’s plan was thwarted when Loki intervened just before she could reach the Time-Keepers’ chamber. Ravonna then attacked them, but Sylvie and Loki managed to escape using the Tempad. They fled to Lamentis-1, a moon doomed to destruction in 2077 due to the fragmentation of the planet Lamentis. Sylvie and Loki quarreled over the Tempad, which had already run out of power. Sylvie attempted to use her magical abilities to manipulate Loki into surrendering the Tempad, but her efforts failed. Realizing they had no other choice, Sylvie reluctantly agreed to work with Loki to recharge the Tempad. Together, they infiltrated an evacuation spaceship (the Ark), intending to use its power source to recharge the device.
During their journey, Loki became drunk, causing them to lose focus and be exposed as stowaways. A fight broke out with the guards, during which Loki fell, damaging the Tempad beyond repair. With no way to recharge it, their only remaining option was to use the Ark to escape Lamentis. However, before they could board the rescue ship, it was destroyed by debris from the collapsing planet. Stranded and with no means of escape, Loki and Sylvie faced the inevitability of Lamentis’s destruction together. In their final moments, Sylvie shared the story of her childhood and her experiences of being hunted by the TVA. Meanwhile, Mobius, still searching for Loki and Sylvie, detected an unusually strong branch on the TVA monitors. This anomaly led him and the TVA to locate the duo.
Loki and Sylvie, resigned to their fate on Lamentis-1, are shocked when a Timedoor from the TVA appears. Both are recaptured by Minutemen who emerge through the Timedoor. Back at the TVA headquarters, Loki and Sylvie reveal a shocking truth: the TVA employees are all actually Variants. This revelation prompts Mobius to investigate further, focusing on Hunter C-20, who had previously been rescued from Sylvie. Mobius discovers that Hunter C-20 was killed by the TVA after she began experiencing mental distress. Hunter B-15, growing suspicious, directly confronts Sylvie. Using her unique powers, Sylvie shows B-15 a vision of her happy life in the Sacred Timeline before she became a Minuteman. This vision makes B-15 realize that she has been deceived by the TVA.
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Mobius interrogates Loki about the creation of a new branch on Lamentis-1, something that should have been impossible. He deduces that the nexus event occurred because Loki had fallen in love with Sylvie—and Sylvie with Loki. The mutual affection between two Variants created the nexus event. Mobius then uncovers footage of Hunter C-20, revealing more details about how Variants were stripped of their normal, happy lives to become TVA members. Realizing the depth of the TVA’s lies, Mobius decides to team up with Loki to destroy the organization. However, Ravonna discovers their plan, leading to a confrontation where Mobius is pruned. Ravonna then brings Loki and Sylvie to stand trial before the Time-Keepers.
In front of the Time-Keepers, Loki and Sylvie see three beings seated on thrones. Suddenly, Hunter B-15 bursts into the chamber to assist them, handing them weapons. A fierce battle ensues, pitting Ravonna and the TVA guards against Loki, Sylvie, and B-15. During the fight, Sylvie manages to decapitate one of the Time-Keepers, revealing a startling truth: the three figures revered as the TVA’s creators are merely androids. The revelation leaves everyone stunned. Seizing the moment, Ravonna attacks Loki from behind, pruning him. Sylvie, however, overpowers Ravonna and threatens her, demanding answers about the true mastermind behind the TVA. Ravonna claims that she, too, wants to uncover the truth about who controls the TVA.
Loki, despite being pruned by Ravonna, does not die. Instead, he is transported to a desolate and strange realm called The Void. This place lies at the end of the Sacred Timeline, also known as the End of Time. The Void serves as a dumping ground where the TVA disposes of Variants and everything they prune from the Sacred Timeline. The area is guarded by a powerful, cloud-like entity named Alioth, which annihilates anything that enters The Void. Loki is rescued by a group of other Loki Variants who inhabit the realm.The first is Kid Loki, considered the leader among the Lokis in The Void because his Nexus Event involved killing Thor. Another is Boastful Loki, who claims his Nexus Event occurred when he obtained all the Infinity Stones after defeating Captain America and Iron Man.
There’s also Loki Alligator, a crocodilian Variant whose Nexus Event was eating his neighbor’s cat. Lastly, there’s Classic Loki, an older version of Loki with a life story nearly identical to the main Loki’s—except he survived Thanos’s attack and faked his death by living in isolation on an uninhabited planet. Classic Loki takes the group to their hideout to evade Alioth. Soon after, Boastful Loki betrays the group, leading a band of other Loki Variants, including President Loki, in an attempt to overthrow Kid Loki as their leader. However, the coup descends into chaos when all the Lokis turn on each other, revealing their deceptive natures. Amid the pandemonium, Classic Loki, Loki Alligator, Kid Loki, and the main Loki escape.
Meanwhile, back at the TVA, Sylvie demands answers from Ravonna about the true mastermind behind the TVA. Ravonna is equally perplexed, as she has only just discovered that the Time-Keepers, whom she believed to be the TVA’s founders and supreme leaders, are merely androids. Stalling for time until the Minutemen arrive, Ravonna and Miss Minutes try to deceive Sylvie by promising to help her reach The Void. Realizing the ruse and knowing she cannot fend off the Minutemen alone, Sylvie seizes Ravonna’s Tempad and uses it to prune herself, sending her to The Void to reunite with Loki. Upon arriving in The Void, Sylvie is saved by Mobius, who has also managed to survive in the desolate realm.
They finally meet Loki and other Loki variants and plan to enchant Alioth to uncover what it is guarding. Mobius then returns to the TVA using the TemPad stolen by Sylvie from Ravonna, intending to destroy the TVA by exposing all its secrets. Meanwhile, Sylvie and Loki join forces to enchant Alioth. A fierce battle ensues between the Lokis and Alioth. Classic Loki sacrifices himself to distract Alioth, allowing Sylvie and Loki to prepare their final attack together. After defeating Alioth, Sylvie and Loki enter a grand castle called the Citadel at the End of Time, which turns out to be the residence of the TVA’s creator, Nathaniel Richards, also known as He Who Remains (played by Jonathan Majors).
Loki and Sylvie finally come face-to-face with He Who Remains, who explains much about his identity and the origins of the TVA. Nathaniel reveals that he is a scientist from the 31st century who discovered the existence of the multiverse and created a device to meet his variants in other universes. The variants shared knowledge and technology to benefit their respective universes. Unfortunately, not all variants of Nathaniel had good intentions. Some, driven by malice, saw the ability to access other universes as an opportunity to conquer them. One of the most notorious evil variants of Nathaniel is Kang the Conqueror. The Multiversal War that occurred in the past was triggered by Kang the Conqueror’s attempts to dominate various universes.
Luckily, He Who Remains managed to end the Multiversal War with the help of Alioth, which he used as a weapon to defeat his evil variants. After stopping the war, Nathaniel isolated one universe with a single timeline, later known as the Sacred Timeline. He then established the TVA, recruiting variants from branching timelines created by the Sacred Timeline. These variants were brainwashed to ensure the Sacred Timeline remained intact and did not branch again. He Who Remains explains that he is the architect of all events within the Sacred Timeline, intentionally orchestrating Loki and Sylvie’s journey to meet him at the Citadel at the End of Time. He offers them the chance to replace him at the TVA as guardians of the Sacred Timeline.
Feeling old and weary of managing the Sacred Timeline, He Who Remains seeks a younger generation to continue his work. He gives Loki and Sylvie two options. First, if they kill him and destroy the Sacred Timeline, it will trigger another Multiversal War and unleash new evil variants of Nathaniel. The second option is to maintain the Sacred Timeline by taking over his role at the TVA as its new leaders. He Who Remains leaves the choice entirely to Loki and Sylvie, granting them the freedom to lead the TVA in any way they see fit, without being bound by his methods.
Loki considers accepting the offer to lead the TVA, but Sylvie, fueled by her deep-seated hatred for He Who Remains, is skeptical. She believes the offer is nothing but another lie. Their opposing views leave Nathaniel bewildered, as this divergence of opinion is something he could not foresee. In other words, the two choices previously presented by He Who Remains become invalid. As the Sacred Timeline begins to fracture, countless new timelines emerge, further confounding He Who Remains. Meanwhile, at the TVA, Mobius frees Hunter B-15 from Ravonna’s custody. Hunter B-15 proves to the TVA workers that they are all variants by revealing a variant of Ravonna who is a school principal in Ohio, named Rebecca Tourminet.
Mobius confronts Ravonna in her office, attempting to convince her that the TVA is built on lies and that she should no longer protect it. Despite Mobius’s efforts, Ravonna continues to place her faith in the TVA, believing there must be a purpose behind its creation. Ravonna then leaves the TVA headquarters to seek the truth and her own free will, armed with information provided by Miss Minutes. Back at the Citadel, Sylvie, distrustful of He Who Remains, is determined to kill him. Loki tries to stop her, fearing that eliminating him will unleash something far worse upon the world. Loki attempts to sway Sylvie by confessing his feelings for her and sealing it with a kiss. While Loki believes he has succeeded, Sylvie betrays him by pushing him through a Timedoor, sending him back to the TVA.
With Loki out of the way, Sylvie is left alone with He Who Remains in The Void. She fulfills her goal by killing him, which causes the Sacred Timeline to branch uncontrollably. The TVA descends into chaos as its members panic over the proliferation of new timelines. In the Sacred Timeline, Loki warns Mobius and Hunter B-15 about the potential arrival of an evil variant of He Who Remains. To Loki’s shock, the Mobius and B-15 he encounters do not recognize him—they are not the same Mobius and B-15 he knew.Adding to Loki’s confusion, he discovers that the statues of the Time-Keepers in the TVA have been replaced with an imposing figure resembling Kang the Conqueror. This moment confirms that the TVA has fallen entirely under Kang’s control, marking the conclusion of the first season of Loki.