The season 1 finale of Loki introduced the "Man at the End of Time" that had been pulling the strings of the TVA all along, and he turned out to be a Kang Variant known as He Who Remains.
When confronted by the God of Mischief and Sylvie, HWR told them that he was all that was keeping his far more malevolent Variants from being unleashed upon the Multiverse, and killing him would only lead to disaster. He also indicated that he wanted Loki or Sylvie (or both) to take his place as guardian/controller of the Sacred Timeline.
It's generally assumed that HWR, or more specially, Kang the Conqueror's motivations stem from a need to assert his dominance over every reality (the clue is in the name), but what if his megalomaniacal ways can be traced back to a more base human desire?
In the season 2 premiere, Loki listens to a conversation between Kang and Judge Revona Renslayer which suggests that the two have, or had, a very close relationship (they were lovers in the comics), and a popular theory doing the rounds online speculates that Kang is basically attempting to preserve the one timeline in which Renslayer loved him back.
Here's how the theorizer breaks it down on Reddit.
"But if that's true, you're asking, why is He Who Remains alone at the end, basically wishing for death, while Renslayer is apparently oblivious? Well, maybe because when Kang revealed what he had done for her, she couldn't take it. She lost all love for him. Heartbroken, Kang wiped her memory but kept her around. He preserved some part of her personality in Miss Minutes, to help him run the TVA and tinker with the timeline for a way to get her back. But after failing for so long, he's tired and ready to give up, let another pair of lovers give it a try."
"Yet, he knows, he knows, the other Kangs aren't driven by love like he was," he continues. "And as bad as his actions may have been, it can get worse. All of existence will hinge on their love, and whether Kang can accept that he may not get to keep her."
What do you make of this theory? Be sure to share your own with us in the comments down below. p>Loki season 2 "promises new excitement as it thrusts the infamous God of Mischief into a new set of adventures with the TVA."
The series stars Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Eugene Cordero, Rafael Casal, Tara Strong, Kate Dickie, Liz Carr, Neil Ellice, with Jonathan Majors, Ke Huy Quan and Owen Wilson.
Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, Dan Deleeuw and Kasra Farahani will direct all six episodes.
The head writer is Eric Martin. Kevin Feige, Stephen Broussard, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Kevin R. Wright, Tom Hiddleston, Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, Eric Martin and Michael Waldron are the executive producers, with Trevor Waterson serving as co-executive producer.