Loki Theory: Who Is Really Running the TVA?

Last week, the fourth episode of Marvel Studios‘ Loki changed everything. After the revelation in Episode 3 that all of the TVA agents were actually variants and not creations of the Time Keepers as those agents had been told, Episode 4 doubled down with the revelation that Time Keepers weren’t even real, with Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) cutting off the head of a Time Keeper only for it to turn out that they’re nothing more than robots or androids putting on a show. With the Time Keepers not actually being real, that leaves a big question mark as to who is really running the TVA. So, who is it?

There are quite a few theories about who is actually running the TVA since it’s clearly not the Time Keepers. A popular and very prevalent theory is one that many fans feel is the most likely as it seems like the most obvious. Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is running the TVA, likely for Kang the Conqueror. Since we already know that Kang is going to show up in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (played by Jonathan Majors), the idea that the TVA is connected to him through Renslayer (her history has always been tied to his in comics,) Renslayer actually being in charge of things, either for her own purposes or working for Kang, makes good bit of sense.

Another theory is that there is another Loki variant who is actually running things, which might be why Renslayer has it out for Sylvie and, generally, all Loki variants if she’s working for a major Loki variant herself. This one also would sort of fit with comics in a sense when one considers the Agent of Asgard storyline (think King Loki) and the series has done a bit of work to sort of at least tonally set up for that. Loki, at its core, is an exploration of self and the idea of Loki as a character. It would be the ultimate sort of statement to have an evil version of Loki be behind all of this, a seemingly “Superior Loki” who has duped entire timelines to his purpose with the Loki we know having to confront that aspect of himself. It gets a little into some sort of big ideas, but it could work.

There are other theories out there as well, including the always popular and very unlikely Mephisto theory (because, well, after WandaVision, we have to), but one that seems to be flying a little under the radar and would make for a heck of a twist is that of Miss Minutes being the figure truly running the TVA. Yes, Miss Minutes could be behind the TVA. First, as she’s been presented, Miss Minutes is just an adorable and knowledgeable little AI which would imply that she wasn’t always in charge but there are a number of ways she could now be the puppeteer. Perhaps the Time Keepers were, at some point real and they created everything initially, then left Miss Minutes to sort of run things until we get to the point where the series is now. It could put Miss Minutes in a situation where there is still someone that she reports to, but she’s actually in charge of the day-to-day. Or, maybe, she’s even gone rogue.

And it is worth noting that Miss Minutes voice actor Tara Strong has previously teased that there is more to expect from Miss Minutes.

“Well, I can cryptically tease that you’ll see her again,” Strong revealed with a laugh. “There’s much more to be revealed, and it’s fun to watch that unfold. When you see the first episode, you think perhaps that she’s just a recording on a screen, but in episode two, we see that she can become a holographic form and interact with Loki. He even responded to her and asked, ‘Are you a recording, or are you alive?’ And we still don’t know. The beautiful thing about this character is you don’t really know who she is, where she’s from, what her origin story is, how sentient she is if she has a horse in this race at all, and what her intentions are if any. Like any good, exciting adventure, TV or film, you are left wondering that all the time. So she’s an intriguing character, and that will continue.”

And Loki director Kate Herron has also said something similar, teasing that the character will go on an “interesting” journey. With only two episodes left, that journey could very well be the revelation that she’s in charge at the TVA.

New episodes of Loki will drop on Disney+ on Wednesdays. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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