The Shocking Demise in 'Loki' Season 2 Surpasses All MCU Deaths

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Loki Season 2.

The Big Picture

In the second season of Loki, the Time Variance Authority showcases a darker and more savage aspect, featuring the most horrifying demise ever witnessed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ravonna Renslayer, driven by her pursuit of power and dominance, resorts to merciless and twisted tactics. This includes ensnaring and annihilating TVA agents within a diminutive confinement known as the Time Cube.

Loki and Mobius are on a mission to halt Ravonna's perilous quest, safeguard their loved ones, and prevent Kang's variants from wreaking havoc on the main timeline. In the second season of Loki, Tom Hiddleston's protagonist embarks on yet another adventure, navigating through alternate realities and encountering fresh perils. Unlike his initial encounter with the Time Variance Authority in 2021, these dangers are unprecedented. Throughout the centuries, the TVA has devised various methods to eliminate insignificant variants, but nothing compares to the brutality witnessed in the fourth episode of the current season. The violence depicted in this latest installment can easily be deemed the most gruesome death in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Loki

Ravonna Uses the Time Cube as a Torture Device in 'Loki' Season 2

Image via Disney+

When Loki premiered on Disney+ a couple of years ago, it introduced the TVA as a formidable agency responsible for maintaining a single timeline within the entire MCU. Their authority was upheld through their advanced technology, which encompassed a range of devices enabling them to navigate alternate realities and confront formidable adversaries. However, in previous episodes of the show, the technology observed in the TVA was primarily utilized for travel and research, with limited evidence of its application in combat situations.

In the second installment, the Time Variance Authority challenges viewers' preconceptions, introducing new characters who explore uncharted territory within the Marvel franchise. Ravonna Renslayer, having extensively researched the TVA's origins, returns with a newfound desire to rule the multiverse independently. To bring her vision to life, she recruits loyal followers who share her beliefs.

However, when her former agents label Ravonna a villain, she callously dismisses them, consigning all dissenters into a Time Cube, a device comprised of temporal energy that opens portals within the TVA. With a mere press of a button, Ravonna progressively shrinks the Time Cube, ultimately crushing those trapped inside. The brutality of this act goes beyond on-screen depiction, hinting at a level of violence more chilling than anything witnessed in the MCU's fifteen-year history.

Renslayer Wants to Come out on Top in 'Loki' Season 2

Image via Disney+

Mobius always admired Ravonna's leadership at the TVA, as she worked closely with the supposed Time-Keepers mentioned in the company's propaganda. Despite being his superior, they maintained a close friendship, sharing stories over drinks. However, everything changed when Loki, the variant leading the storyline, arrived. The TVA leaders, including Mobius and Ravonna, were greatly affected by the God of Mischief.

Loki uncovered the truth that everyone at the TVA was a variant abducted from the Sacred Timeline, causing a significant shift within the organization. Even Hunter B-15, who once had high regard for their superiors, realized that important information was being withheld. When Ravonna could no longer deny the reality, she left the TVA in search of the person responsible for disrupting her life, unsure of what she would discover.

He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) had been striving to manipulate the Sacred Timeline in order to prevent the emergence of an alternate multiverse. Allowing multiple realities to coexist simultaneously would result in different versions of himself engaging in a devastating battle for dominance, leading to the loss of countless lives. However, instead of seeking to reclaim her own life from the timeline, Ravonna firmly believed that she could single-handedly exert control over the Time Variance Authority. If her destiny entailed safeguarding the timeline for centuries to come, she was determined to do so on her own terms.

Loki and Mobius Must Track Down Renslayer and Save the TVA in Season 2

Image via Marvel Studios

Demonstrating her determination, Ravonna's willingness to confine an entire crew of TVA agents in a cramped enclosure exhibits her resolve to swiftly achieve her goals. Assisted by Miss Minutes (Tara Strong), the former judge possesses a vast reserve of knowledge, enabling her to explore numerous corners of the multiverse in pursuit of her mission – locating the individual responsible for founding the organization that would ultimately shape her destiny. Regrettably for her, her unorthodox methods have placed her squarely in the crosshairs of a highly skilled and targeted team.

Loki has experienced his fair share of violence, including the event in The Avengers where he permanently damaged someone's eye. However, because he knows firsthand how vengeance can consume Renslayer, he understands the urgency of finding her in order to prevent further harm to their loved ones and the fate of the multiverse. Despite existing in a realm outside of time and space, the TVA is running out of time and the courageous heroes fighting to save it are running out of options.

For over fifteen years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has showcased action sequences tailored to a younger audience, often involving violence. However, the second season of Loki ventures into new territory as it explores Ravonna's brutal methods, proving that there are no limits to where the God of Mischief's adventures will take him. As one of the franchise's most beloved characters, Loki strives to prevent Kang's variants from infiltrating the main timeline.

Loki Season 2 is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.

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