Loki: What Sylvie’s One Good Memory Is

Warning: SPOILERS for Loki episode 5.

Loki episode 5, “Journey Into Mystery,” revealed that from all her years on the run Sylvie has just one good memory. While it might seem strange for a character to have only a single good memory to call to mind, the show has outlined an extremely stark existence for Sylvie. Many of her memories would be of simply surviving in terrible circumstances, so what was her one positive light?

Sylvie has been on the run from the TVA since she was a very young child snatched out of Asgard by Ravonna Renslayer without ever being told why. Following on from Loki being pruned and sent to The Void, Loki episode 5 brings Sylvie and Ravonna back to the very same courtroom that Sylvie was first brought to. After backup arrives and gives Ravonna the upper hand she gives Sylvie the option of being put into a time loop to live out her days in a happy memory asking “do you have any good memories?”. Sylvie mutters “just one, really” and then self-prunes, sending herself to find Loki in The Void.

Sylvie notes in episode 3, “Lamentis,” that she barely remembers her mother and that those memories are “just blips of a dream at this point.” That rules out the possibility that Sylvie’s good memory is tied to her nexus event or her childhood before the TVA. Given that her existence since then has consisted of running for her life and hiding in apocalypses, it seems unlikely that she is referencing a memory from this time. Therefore, the one good memory must be her moment of connection with Loki on Lamentis-1.

The moment between Loki and Sylvie in episode 4 finally told her that she wasn’t truly alone after all. In all her time on the run, it appears that Sylvie never really made any sort of friendships with anyone on the timeline. Allowing someone to get close to her gave her a new outlook on her life and that this was her “one good memory” lends credence to Mobius’ assertion that Loki and Sylvie’s connection was what created the biggest nexus event he had ever seen.

Sylvie’s faith in Loki and this memory is immediately tested. She trusts her connection with the other variant enough to assume that Ravonna was telling her the truth about The Void and to risk self-pruning to be able to follow after Loki. The event on Lamentis-1 being her happy memory is most substantiated when she finds Loki again. The two call back to the moment from Loki episode 4 as they awkwardly try to dismiss Mobius’ theory about the nexus event, attempting to claim it was just a nice “moment,” as they huddle together under a conjured blanket.

Loki releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.