Why She Did It (And Why It’s A Good Thing)
Sylvie was not distracting Loki.
Antis want to depreciate the romance of this moment by making it out to be some sort of calculated ruse, but it really wasn’t. I have no doubt in my mind that Loki and Sylvie are stronger because of what happened, and I’ll tell you why.
I don’t think she decided to send him away until the kiss ended. Because she knows then, after consummating her feelings for him, there’s no greater threat to her mission than Loki.
She’s at an impasse— if he stayed, there’s a chance she could have to hurt him to get to Kang, but also, there’s a chance he could talk her out of it. And she doesn’t want either option.
Sylvie’s so fueled by vengeance and pain and rage that she can’t see the bigger picture. She just wants the gratification of killing the person responsible for all of her pain, even as the man she loves is telling her to stop, that she’s not alone, that she’s not this person.
Loki knows her. He’s seen who she is, truly. They’ve bonded on a level no one ever has. He was able to calm her storm with just a few words. So, for Sylvie, it was either stand down, or harm him. She couldn’t do either.
So she picked a third option. He needed to leave, in her mind, because her whole life’s mission was in jeopardy.
Sylvie only decided to send Loki away as a last resort.
He wouldn’t stop her in combat, he would stop her by reminding her of the consequences of her actions, of what’s right, not what’s immediately gratifying. Loki represents the voice of reason, but she wants revenge, and she’s totally blinded by it. In her fury, she even starts doubting his intentions.
Loki made the comment: “You can’t trust, and I can’t be trusted.” We know the latter half to be untrue, that he can be trusted. that he’s changed because of his time at the TVA, because of his time with her.
But she hasn’t changed. Not entirely. As soon as he asks her to stop and consider Kang’s gambit, she immediately accuses him of conning her, even when Loki is being extremely heartfelt and levelheaded.
Why does this matter? Because it proves how alike they are, and if Loki can change, so can Sylvie.
She says “I’m not you.” and I think she means that she doesn’t see herself as worthy of redemption. She isn’t in the frame of mind that he is, and why should she be?
Our Loki has seen his own death, and all his other failures. That shocked him out of continuing down his path. He’s a changed man.
Sylvie didn’t get that opportunity, so she’s essentially a 2012 Battle of NY!Loki that sees her glorious purpose right there in front of her (killing Kang), and being conflicted as it’s threatened by another glorious purpose (being with Loki).
She makes a mistake. She’s a Loki. It’s in her nature to be like this, because even Our Loki grew into a murderous despot after finding out he was adopted. He’s made many mistakes. He’s betrayed so many people in his own right. But, and this is important, he only betrayed one person out of love. He betrayed Thanos to save his brother.
Sylvie did it out of love, too. She sent him away, “betraying” him, because she had no other choice in her mind. She would not harm him, and she would not give up her mission.
We saw that she was even willing to demand that he kill her, putting his blade to her throat, just so she didn’t have to do the same to him.
That in itself is progress on the road to selflessness, and proof that Loki has changed her for the better, just not all the way yet.
And as for Loki, I think he’s heartbroken at first. Until he has this same realization, that this is just who she is at this moment. He realizes he can’t fault her for that, because he’s the same. Or at least, he was.
Think of them like the same person, except one is from ten years into the future. One has so much more insight than the other, and they’re trying to help, but the “younger” of the two can’t fully grasp the wisdom they’re being offered. Their experiences are fundamentally different. They’re bound to make the same mistakes the “older” one did. Loki understands this then, albeit painfully.
And what does he do? He immediately scours the TVA to find a way back to her. He says “We’ve made a terrible mistake. We freed the Timeline.” Not “She”.
He’s already forgiven her, because he loves her.
And she loves him. Sylvie lets him know that by kissing him goodbye.
She lets herself have one moment of happiness, of belonging, then sends him away so that she doesn’t have to make an impossible choice, and he doesn’t have to see her fall from grace.
And when it’s over and done with, she doesn’t celebrate. She weeps, because it doesn’t make a difference. It’s a hollow victory.
I think in that moment, after she kills Kang, she’s having that realization of the futility of her mission, just like Loki did. That he was right all along. She’s once again a scared child, shivering in the cold (as Mobius once put it).
But now, she’s on a better path. She needs Loki more than ever. And he’s going to stop at nothing to reunite with her.
