I don't agree when people say Loki was sidelined in his own show, because it implies that none of the other main characters nor the main events impacted him directly or indirectly, and that he was just there as a witness who engaged in the action but wasn't truly affected by it, which I don't think it's true.
Sylvie's character arc serves Loki's own character development as much as it serves hers. For the first time, Loki is being confronted with a version of himself that is as ruthless as he is, but who doesn't seek power, doesn't seek worship. He sees in her a possibility to be someone different, someone who does their own thing without fulfilling some role that is often ascribed to Lokis. Sylvie spent her entire life suffering, with no one to support her, she learned how to defend herself and how to attack entirely on her own. And yet, she's motivated by her own sense of justice instead of a quest for power over all like Loki. I think that what makes her so fascinating to Loki is the fact that he can relate to some of her struggles, while also seeing that she's a version of him with motivations that are completely different from his. That's why he takes the role of the soother to Sylvie's wild and impulsive nature. Because while Loki can be quite ruthless, he has also seen that his destructive behavior caused harm to his loved ones and himself, and he doesn't wish to see Sylvie, someone he deeply cares for, go down the same destructive path as he did until she looses herself.
Many jokes have been made about the self-love thing between Loki and Sylvie, but I think it's very interesting how their relationship is a central part of their own individual character development. Sylvie is experiencing love and companionship probably for the first time in her very long and arduous life, she still can't fully get used to idea that it doesn't have to be her alone against the world anymore. Loki on the other hand has experienced love before, albeit not romantic love, but he had a brother and a mother that deeply cared for him, that often forgave his transgressions and believed he could be saved, that he could be better. The difference now with Sylvie is that Loki, for the first time in his life, takes the role of the carer, the one that has to support and help a misguided loved one like his mother and his brother did for him in the past. And is that approach that makes him rethink himself, rethink his choices, his life and his purpose. Sylvie is a version of him that is fundamentally different from him in many aspects, so by loving her and being reciprocated, Loki learns to love himself(haa!) while understanding that he can be something more, more than a trickster that serves as a device for the heroes to reach their full potential by lashing out their powers against him.
One may get the impression that the show revolves around Sylvie since she's always at the heart of the action, while Loki takes a supporting role by assisting her. But to me, her character arc also becomes his precisely because, by choosing to assist her in her quest, he's also confronted with his own sense of identity, the traits that define his character and his role in the universe, and also the possibilities of everything he could be. In a way, he's the one who actually goes through character development throughout the season because he's the one who actually changes some of his worldviews after the experiences with Sylvie, while Sylvie herself by the end of the season is still uncapable of seeing things beyond her need for revenge.
The 1st season of the show wasn't about a version of Loki taking down some sketchy organization. It was about Loki learning to be someone who goes beyond the trickster façade that was ascribed to him and becoming someone who can be trusted, someone capable of prioritazing his loved one's needs. Someone who is open to the possibility of love and companionship with both Sylvie and Mobius. I think the way Loki behaves with Sylvie in the future after her betrayal will be crucial for our understanding of the person he's becoming, and I'm really curious to see that.
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