The first episode of Loki Season 2 introduced some new members of the Time Variance Authority, including the abrasive Hunter X-5. After disappearing on a mission to find Sylvie, seen in the post-credits scene, Loki and Mobius track him down at a 1970s movie premiere. Going by Brad, the TVA agent abandoned his mission and ended up getting arrested. During an interrogation scene, Hunter X-5 tells Loki he's only ever been good at being a villain. He's wrong.

Brad Wolfe, and his cinematic vehicle Zainiac, is a Marvel Comics deep-cut and more of a villain than Loki could ever be. The Hunter, formerly known as X-5, will likely not turn green and become a misogynistic serial killer. Brad just wants to live on the Sacred Timeline as the rest of the multiverse is pruned by General Dox. While Loki and Mobius interrogate him, looking for Sylvie, the practiced TVA agent plays mind games with his colleague and Asgardian "pet." This is why he reminds Loki of his villainous past because the God of Mischief has grown so much. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a world of heroes and villains, but Loki has never fit in either category so tidily. As much as he cares for Sylvie, the TVA has given Loki something he never even knew he needed.

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Why Hunter X-5 Calls Loki a 'Villain' During the Interrogation

While Brad is a new character for Season 2, the series implies that he and General Dox were off-screen during Loki Season 1. Mobius gets along with everyone at the TVA, but even he calls Hunter X-5 "an asshole." Yet, he's more than that. As one of the hunters, he is well-versed in their tactics and strategies. Similarly, he's a high-ranking agent who seems to have a close bond with General Dox.

In "Ouroboros," Dox and Hunter X-5 touch foreheads with emotional intensity. Hunter X-5 probably didn't defect. Dox likely let him go. Hunter X-5 saves his harshest words for Loki, telling him that every variant of the Norse God makes the timeline worse. He brings up Loki's mother, perhaps not knowing Loki subtly directed the killer to her. Still, it doesn't work. Instead, Loki is able to use Brad's assumptions about him later to get the information he needs.

Yet, instead of losing his cool, Mobius is the one who "loses" it. Brad Wolfe did what Mobius did not: he dared to dream of a life outside the TVA. Hunter X-5's words may have stung, but Loki's been hearing some version of that speech his entire life. Through his relationships with Sylvie and Mobius, Loki found what he never did with his brother or anyone else. He understands he wasn't a villain; he was just angry.

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Loki Isn't a Hero or a Villian, He's a Victim

After Mobius storms out of the interrogation, he and Loki sit down in an automat that only seems to serve key lime pie. In the first season, Mobius was typically the one talking Loki through some big feelings. Their roles are reversed, and Loki is able to speak about his past with remarkable self-awareness. With no shortage of understatement, Loki reminds Mobius about his actions during Thor and Avengers. He described trying to whammy Tony Stark with the Mind Stone and throwing him out the window as "not tactical" but rather that he "lost it."

He also mentions the Chitauri invasion and working for Thanos as being driven by his anger after failing to take over Asgard in Thor. In that film, he learned his parents lied about who he was, another instance of his emotion superseding strategy. Loki isn't saying that he was a pawn of everyone from his biological father, Laufey, to the Grand Master in Thor: Ragnarok. He did villainous things, but he was never a villain himself.

Sylvie and Mobius were the first people to ever willingly give him their trust. He already feels like he let Sylvie down by trying to prevent her from killing He Who Remains. In this moment, he can be exactly who Mobius needs him to be, partly because of how Mobius helped Loki in the past. It's an emotional ouroboros. Loki has picked a side, not for glory or ideology. Rather, he's staying at the TVA for its people.

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Loki Is the Only Person Who Can Convince Sylvie She's No Villain Either

The excoriation from Hunter X-5 sets up how Loki and Mobius are able to make the tactical choice and outsmart him. It's also an important moment in Loki's growth as a character and the hero of his series. While Loki is looking for a place to belong, Sylvie is looking for a place to get lost. Sylvie works at McDonald's because she's been running her entire life. She's still hiding out and trying to live rather than merely survive. To everyone but Loki, Sylvie is the villain who murdered He Who Remains.

Sylvie is important to Loki, but perhaps not as important to him as the TVA and its mission. While pleading with her not to kill He Who Remains in the Season 1 finale, he tells her he only wants her "to be okay." Slinging cheeseburgers in 1980s Oklahoma is, for now, her version of that. If she makes a life for herself in that branch timeline, it's all the more reason for Loki to fight to protect it. He no longer wants to hurt people or connive his way to power. He may want to "rule" the TVA, but all that means is protecting people from a nice chair.

Yet, if Sylvie and Loki are meant to have a future together, he must convince her she isn't a villain either. She was brutal in her quest to kill He Who Remains and did it for good reason. But she's still "a Loki," and they are no strangers to guilt. If she's ever going to stop hiding and join the continued fight for a free multiverse, she has to forgive herself. Loki can help her do that.

Loki debuts new episodes Thursdays at 9 PM on Disney+.