"Vengeance is Mine,"
Sayeth The Lord;
And if that ain't reason enough
to convince you that
God is a Woman,
then I can't see any way
in which anything else
ever COULD --
HE WHO REMAINS:
No.
(CHUCKLES)
No. Nope, this is where we diverge from The Dogma.
That first variant encountered a creature
created from all the tears in Reality,
capable of consuming Time and Space Itself.
A Creature… You both know.
LOKI:
Alioth.
HE WHO REMAINS:
Bingo! I harnessed The Beast’s Power
and began experimenting on it.
I weaponized Alioth and I ended…
I ended The Multiversal War.
Once I isolated Our timeline, all I had to do was manage the flow of time and prevent any further branches.
Hence, The TVA.
Hence, the Time-Keepers and a highly efficient bureaucracy. Hence, ages…
(GRUNTS)
…and ages of cosmic harmony.
Hence… You’re Welcome.
… You came to Kill The Devil, right?
(CHUCKLES)
Well, guess what?
I keep you safe.
And if you think I’m evil, well,
just wait till you meet my variants. … And that’s the gambit! Stifling order or cataclysmic chaos. (CHUCKLES) You may hate the dictator, but something… (EXHALES DEEPLY) …far worse is gonna fill that void if you depose of him. I’ve lived a million lifetimes. I’ve gone through every scenario. This is the only way. The TVA, it works.
SYLVIE: Or you’re a liar.
HE WHO REMAINS: Or I’m a liar.
LOKI: So you just… continue to prune innocent timelines?
HE WHO REMAINS: Mmm-mmm. You two would. There’s two options! One… you kill me and destroy all this, so you don’t just have one devil, you have an infinite amount. Or… you two. You two run the thing.
LOKI: You’re lying. Why would you give up being in control?
HE WHO REMAINS: (SIGHS) Buddy… I’m tired. And I’m older. I’m older than I look. This game is for the young, the hungry. I’ve gone through a lot of scenarios… trying to find the right person to take this spot. It turns out that person came in two. (EXHALES) But it’s definitely you two. So, no more lies. You kill me and the Sacred Timeline is completely exposed. Multiversal War. Or you take over and return to the TVA as its benevolent rulers. Tell the workforce who they are and why they do what they do.
SYLVIE: You treated real people’s lives like some kind of game.
HE WHO REMAINS: It’s not personal, it’s practical.
SYLVIE: It was personal to me.
HE WHO REMAINS: (GROANS) Grow up! Grow up, Sylvie! Murderer! Hypocrite! We’re all villains here. (CHUCKLES) We’ve all done horrible, terrible, horrific things. But now, we, you… have a chance to do them for a good reason.
(DISTANT RUMBLING)
HE WHO REMAINS: We just crossed… the threshold. (CHUCKLES)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
HE WHO REMAINS: Oh. So, I fibbed. I fibbed earlier when I said I know how everything’s going to go. I… I know… I knew… (CHUCKLES) …everything up to a certain point, and that point was about… seven, eight, nine, ten seconds ago. But now I have no idea. No idea how the rest of this is going to go. I’m being candid.
(HE WHO REMAINS EXHALES DEEPLY)
LOKI: So, that’s it? That’s it? This is what happens at the end of time? And now you’re just gonna sit there with all that freedom and… let us decide your fate?
HE WHO REMAINS: Yes! Yes! Yes! What’s the worst that can happen? You either… take over and my life’s work continues or you plunge a blade in my chest and an infinite amount of me… start another Multiversal War. And I just… end up right back here anyways. (CHUCKLES) Reincarnation, baby.
SYLVIE: No, it’s just another lie. Another manipulation.
HE WHO REMAINS: Oh. No lie. No manipulation.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(HE WHO REMAINS SIGHS)
HE WHO REMAINS: Wow. (CHUCKLES) I love this. I love… all this honesty. … Feels like a fresh start. … Oh, holy…
(LOKI GRUNTS)
SYLVIE: What’re you doing?
LOKI: Hang on a moment. Let’s just talk about it.
SYLVIE: Well, how about we finish what we started and kill him?
(GRUNTS)
(BOTH GRUNTING)
LOKI: What if he’s telling the truth?
SYLVIE: So what?
LOKI: I believe him.
SYLVIE: Believe what? That a bazillion boogeymen will turn up just because we give people free will? He’s a liar, Loki.
LOKI: So am I. (PANTING) And I don’t think he was lying. Not about that. Insane? Yes. But maybe he was telling the truth.
HE WHO REMAINS: Better hurry. Timeline’s already branching.
SYLVIE: So, what are you suggesting?
LOKI: That we think about it.
SYLVIE: And what precisely is there to think about?
LOKI: Weren’t you listening to what he was saying? That’s the gambit. Remove the dictator and what fills the void?
SYLVIE: Ah. You want the throne?
LOKI: No, that’s not it. No.
SYLVIE: I don’t believe you.
LOKI: Sylvie, the universe is in the balance, everything we know to be true. Everything. I know the TVA has hurt us both. But what if by taking him out, we risk unleashing something even worse? All I’m suggesting is we just take a minute to think about it. I promise you from my heart this isn’t about a throne.
SYLVIE: What was I thinking trusting you? Has this whole thing been a con?
LOKI: Really? That’s what you think of me… after all this time? Sure. Why not? Evil Loki’s master plan comes together. Well, you never trusted me, did you? What was the point? Can’t you see? This is bigger than our experience.
SYLVIE: Why aren’t we seeing this the same way?
LOKI: Because you can’t trust… and I can’t be trusted.
SYLVIE: Then I guess we’re in a pickle.
LOKI: Sylvie, wait. (PANTING) Wait.
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(GRUNTS AND GROANS)
LOKI: Sylvie. Sylvie.
(SYLVIE GRUNTS)
LOKI: Maybe he’s lying! Maybe he’s not. The cost of getting this wrong is too great.
SYLVIE:
Fine. Do it. Kill Me.
Take your throne.
LOKI: No.
(SYLVIE GRUNTING)
(GRUNTS)
LOKI: Sylvie, stop. Stop.
(SWORD CLANKS)
(BOTH PANTING)
LOKI: Stop.
(SYLVIE BREATHING HEAVILY)
LOKI:
Stop.
(SYLVIE SNIFFLES)
LOKI:
I’ve been where you are.
I’ve felt what you feel.
Don’t ask me how I know.
All I know… is
I don’t wanna hurt you.
I don’t want a throne.
I just… (SIGHS)
I just want you to be okay.
(SYLVIE SNIFFLING)
(SIGHS)
(SWORD CLANKS)
SYLVIE: But I’m not you.
(GRUNTS)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
HE WHO REMAINS: Incredible. (LAUGHING)
SYLVIE: Aren’t you gonna beg for your life?
HE WHO REMAINS: Um, could, could. (CHUCKLES) … (GRUNTS) I’ll see you soon. (CHUCKLES)
(SOMBER MUSIC CONTINUES)
(SYLVIE CRYING)
(CRACKLING)
(RAPID BEEPING)
MOBIUS: No turning back now.
Who said anything about turning back?
“For all time.”
“Always.”
(LOKI SIGHS)
MAN: Copy. Reporting to the armory, sir.
That’s, what, 63 new branches in this unit alone?
Does he want us to just let them all branch?
At this point, how are we gonna stop it?
LOKI: We can’t!
What? What’d you say?
LOKI: It’s done, Mobius. We made a terrible mistake.
What’s done?
(MOUTHING) What?
LOKI: We freed the Timeline. We found him beyond the storm. A Citadel at the End of Time. He’s terrifying. He planned everything. He’s seen everything. He knows everything. It’s complicated. Okay?
Right.
LOKI: But someone is coming. Countless different versions of a very dangerous person. And they’re all set on war. We need to prepare.
Take it easy. You’re an analyst, right? What division are you from?
LOKI: What? What are you talking about?
Who are you? What’s your name?
Boots on the ground now. Archives.
Who are you?
(LOKI BREATHING HEAVILY)
(SHUDDERS)
