Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ravonna Rensalyer just made her Loki Season 2 debut in the show’s third episode, where her true sinister motivations are finally revealed!
Ravonna was first introduced last season where audiences discovered Judge Renslayer was originally the hunter who captured Sylvie, as well as a Variant of Rebecca Tourminet, a high school vice principal.
However, Loki‘s latest season suggests there may be more to Judge Ravonna Renslayer’s backstory than what even she knew in Season 1.
Loki Reveals Renslayer’s Backstory
Update: Season 2, episode 3 of Loki said a good bit more about Judge Renslayer. Namely, that she appears very devoted to He Who Remains’ cause. It’s revealed in the episode that Ravonna is working alongside Miss Minutes to restore the Sacred Timeline under the orders of the dangerous, but dead Kang Variant.
Renslayer spends much of the episode trying to gain the trust of Victor Timely in the year 1893, but he ultimately betrays him only to have her turn a time stick on him. “All that matters is order versus chaos. I’m order.” she says, indicating her strong desire to gain some control.
Of course, shortly afterward, she comes face to face with He Who Remains’ dead body after being kicked through a time door by Sylvie. It’s then that Miss Minutes teases that she knows something about Renslayer that will make her very angry.
The last audiences saw of the TVA’s Judge Ravonna Renslayer she was leaving through a time door in pursuit of free will, otherwise known as He Who Remains.
But despite her absence throughout Season 2 thus far, Episodes 1 and 2 contained hints of her unknown backstory.
For instance, in Loki‘s latest episode titled “Breaking Brad,” Loki shared new details about an old recording he heard in Episode 1 involving Renslayer and He Who Remains, saying, “It sounded like they were partners.”
“Hang on… When I was in the past, I heard something. An old… a conversation between Renslayer and He Who Remains. It sounded like they were partners.”
The fact Loki heard this recording when he timeslipped into the past is a bit of a twist.
It suggests that Renslayer and He Who Remain’s partnership happened before the events of Season 1 or, at least, a past point in time.
The content of that recording also teases Ravonna Renslayer’s participation in a prior “war.” The transcript reads as follows:
He Who Remains: “For us. For All Time”
Renslayer: “Always.”
He Who Remains: “Ravonna Renslayer, you are quite a marvel. I will be proud to lead with you. You made a difference in this war. Thank you for being on my team.”
Interestingly enough, Ravonna Renslayer’s comic book story was also complex.
In print, Ravonna was a princess, not a TVA judge. But she was Kang the Conqueror’s romantic interest who was both for him and against him at different times.
Speaking of two different times, her comic book narrative resulted in two different Ravonnas with two different stories.
Whether that’s what Loki has in store for the MCU’s Renslayer remains to be seen.
More Renslayer History To Be Revealed?
While fans don’t know when Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ravonna Renslayer will make her Season 2 debut, series producer Kevin Wright already hinted at her important role, revealing audiences will “get a real understanding” of her perspective of her purpose:
“Sylvie wants to burn it down because the apple is rotten, as she says… Mobius and B-15, they’ve dedicated their whole life to it. They’re not quite ready to give it up. Renslayer feels like she’s been keeping it together, and you get a real understanding of why she thinks she should be the one to get this thing back on track.
However, since the TVA currently views her as a villain, it will be interesting to see if and how she returns to her role.
As for being “partners” with He Who Remains, like the recording itself, that answer may lie in the past.
Loki‘s marketing has already shown her in that historical era from Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania‘s post-credits scene featuring Kang Variant Victor Timely.
Just how that involves a war – and potentially the Multiversal War – is still a mystery and likely more of Renslayer’s backstory fans have yet to see.
New episodes of Loki drop on Thursdays on Disney+.
