Sylvie"s MCU Origin Creates A Huge Kang Plot Hole Nobody"s Talking About

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Summary

Sylvie's origin story and her role in Loki becomes more confusing when considering He Who Remains' plan and the consequences of her actions on the MCU's multiverse.
He Who Remains orchestrated the events of Loki season 1, knowing that Sylvie would eventually kill him and unleash the multiverse. However, he didn't anticipate the change in Loki's character and his willingness to protect the multiverse.
He Who Remains' plan to have Sylvie kill him and maintain his position was flawed, as Loki chose to become the guardian of the multiverse and protect the timeline, transforming the TVA into an organization for good, and eliminating the Kang variant completely.

Sylvie's origin story in the MCU becomes even more confusing when considering He Who Remains' plan throughout Loki seasons 1 and 2. Sophia Di Martino debuted as Sylvie in Phase 4's Loki season 1, introduced as a female variant of Tom Hiddleston's God of Mischief who had been on the run from the Time Variance Authority for most of her life. Many Loki variants debuted in Loki on Disney+, but Sylvie was by far the most prominent and significant, as it was her murdering Jonathan Majors' He Who Remains in Loki season 1's finale that destroyed the Sacred Timeline and unleashed the power of the multiverse on subsequent MCU projects.
Despite being the most prevalent variant of Loki in the MCU's Multiverse Saga, aside from Tom Hiddleston's original version of the God of Mischief, Sylvie's origin story in the MCU is still something of a mystery. As a child, she was removed from her branching timeline by the TVA, though escaped before being pruned and sent to the Void. Sylvie devoted her life to bringing down the TVA and its enigmatic creators, the Time Keepers, though set her sights on He Who Remains after they were revealed to be a fiction. Even though Sylvie's Loki storyline was certainly emotional, the reveals in Loki season 2's finale confused the entire plot.
Sylvie is only one Loki variant introduced in the Disney+ series, others include Richard E. Grant's Classic Loki, DeObia Oparei's Boastful Loki, Jack Veal's Kid Loki, Tom Hiddleston's President Loki, and an alligator version of the God of Mischief.
How Sylvie's Pruning Was Part Of He Who Remains' Plan

Sylvie's original arrest by then-TVA Hunter Ravonna Renslayer was detailed in the opening moments of Loki season 1, episode 4, "The Nexus Event," providing a little insight into Sylvie's childhood on Asgard, and explaining exactly how long she had been running from the TVA. However, the question of Sylvie's nexus event still hasn't been answered, with Renslayer herself claiming not to remember, but this is perhaps explained by He Who Remains in Loki season 1's finale. Jonathan Majors' debut as the variant of Kang the Conqueror was powerful, and suggested that Sylvie's timeline may have led to the emergence of another Kang variant, which could lead to another Multiversal War.
He Who Remains suggested that the events of Loki - and the MCU as a whole - were part of his grand plan, which implies that he ordered the TVA to take Sylvie from her timeline with the knowledge that she would one day kill him. He did this knowing that Loki would return using his time-slipping ability, and potentially kill Sylvie in order to reinforce He Who Remains' position as the guardian of the Sacred Timeline. He Who Remains' plan to have himself killed time and again was confusing, and extremely unethical as he fashioned Sylvie into his own murder weapon, but he didn't account for one major factor.
Problem: Sylvie Made Loki Change Irreversibly Close He Who Remains' plan probably relied on the idea that Loki would only look out for himself, and would eventually find dispatching of Sylvie very easy, allowing the Kang the Conqueror variant to remain in his prominent position overseeing the Sacred Timeline. However, Loki began to change significantly once he met Sylvie at the end of Loki season 1, episode 2, "The Variant." Sylvie's existence and motivation to take down the TVA begins to make Loki analyze exactly why he might want to actually save the TVA and protect the Sacred Timeline, which leads to a spar between the pair in Loki season 1's finale.
While Sylvie initially won this fight and killed He Who Remains, the Kang variant knew that Loki's time-slipping would bring him back to this period in time, and thought that Loki realizing the truth of the Temporal Loom and the dangers of the multiverse would convince him to undo his death. The development of the relationship between Sylvie and Loki, however, meant that the latter had been set on a path of heroism, leading to his realization that He Who Remains didn't have to oversee the Sacred Timeline, as he himself could watch over the infinite branches of the multiverse, if he was only willing to sacrifice his own freedom.
While He Who Remains expected Loki to kill Sylvie and allow him to continue his work, Loki instead decided to forget He Who Remains, and take matters into his own hands. Loki season 2's finale saw the titular Loki become a new god in the MCU, gathering the branches of the multiverse and standing watch over them from his new position in the wreckage of the Citadel at the End of Time. Loki's magic keeps them alive, and the TVA, now not having to erase any branching timelines or prune any variants, has been transformed into an organization for good, which all leads back to Loki's first meeting with Sylvie.
He Who Remains' Ending In Loki Doesn't Make Sense

If it's true that Loki was changed so much that he managed to break free of He Who Remains' plan, then it's also the case that He Who Remains was in fact responsible for his own death, and for his death not being undone. All of these events lead back to the TVA originally taking a young Sylvie from her timeline. If this had never happened, He Who Remains' life would never have been put at risk. Sylvie remaining on her timeline would have meant that the Sacred Timeline was never destroyed, and Loki never would have become the guardian of the multiverse at the end of Loki season 2.
However, Sylvie remaining on her original timeline could have culminated in the emergence of a new variant of Kang the Conqueror and another Multiversal War, but the TVA could have even solved this issue by simply erasing Sylvie's original timeline, avoiding ever bringing her to the TVA. He Who Remains' entire plan was put in place so he could preserve his power, killing Sylvie outright would have ensured this, and would have negated any of the complexities of his extravagant plan. The TVA didn't have much of a moral code before Loki's appearance, so erasing a timeline to eliminate a dangerous child variant surely wouldn't have been an issue.
It seems as though He Who Remains underestimated Loki throughout his eponymous Disney+ series, as he put all his faith on the idea that Loki would turn on Sylvie with ease. In fact, Loki ended up sacrificing everything he had ever known in order to ensure his friends' survival, as he condemned himself to an eternity of isolation so that his friends, including Sylvie, Mobius, Hunter B-15, Casey, Ouroboros, and even Kang the Conqueror variant Victor Timely, could live free and happy lives on any timeline they please. He Who Remains' confusing plan may have ensured the protection of the Sacred Timeline, but Loki is now protecting the entire multiverse.
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