I know we’re all freaking out right now about episode 4 but am I the only one who thinks that the Sylvie and Loki thing is not so much about self-love as it is about self-acceptance?
Because during their scene on Lamentis-1 they are talking about Lokis being destined to lose, and Loki denies that. He calls them survivors and then goes on to talk about all the things Sylvie has achieved, as a child even, and makes it very clear that he admires her for that. He literally tells her that she is amazing - a word I’m sure neither of them would ever use to describe themselves, at least not seriously. Yet here Loki is, validating her, telling her that she did good, no matter if she still lost in the end.
She then touches his arm and the nexus event starts, and I feel like Sylvie, for the first time in her life perhaps, feels seen. This is the moment they truly form a connection and start to understand each other. There are no more lies, no more masks, no more games - it’s just the two of them at the end of the world accepting their fate, and each other, and realizing they are no longer alone - a theme that gets picked up again later in the scenes with Lady Sif and Mobius.
There’s nothing romantic about this scene to me. When Sylvie touches Loki’s arm, she simply reaches out to him, silently telling him that she sees him too. And when they hold hands after that, there is fear in their eyes and so much regret because they just found something good and know it won’t last. It’s their only way to offer each other comfort and support before they die.
And then there is their final scene. They have just lost, again. Their big triumphant moment turned out to be just another lie, and Sylvie is crushed. “Not another pep talk, please.”
But it’s not a pep talk that Loki wants to offer her. Mobius told him that their connection created a nexus event, that their love for each other (something he has seen no prove of, by the way - he’s simply goading Loki in the interrogation scene when he brings it up) is strong enough to take down the TVA. And I believe that’s what Loki was going to tell Sylvie. Him saying, “We’ll figure this out,” is immediately followed by her asking him how he knows that. And he starts to explain but can’t find the words, so he says instead, “This is new for me.”
And I don’t think he’s talking about romantic feelings here.
There’s something terrifying in being known, in believing in yourself, in making yourself vulnerable and deliberately giving other people the power to hurt you. Loki’s MO has always been to stab others first; betray them before they can betray you. But with Sylvie (and Mobius, to an extent) it’s different. The walls have come down until the only thing left is the bare truth, and that’s what’s new.
The lighting in this scene also reflects that. Look how blue he looks in the screenshot. The glamour’s gone, all his masks have been stripped away. He almost looks Jotun here - his truest form, a part of him he’s always rejected. This whole scene, this whole episode, is not about love, not in the romantic sense. It’s about accepting yourself, and about letting others in and hoping they will stay even after they’ve seen the real you.
In the end, it’s about learning how to love the person you have always been, and realizing that a good person doesn’t always need to be a hero.
jbbartram-illu
blakekathryn
baratheonpilled
stormborns
janainaart
annaxmalina
yousharknotpass
