So maybe I’m a grade A clown (I definitely am), but I kind of feel like they’re not actually going the Loki/Sylvie romantic route?? The way that Mobius talked about it, called it out for being weird and uncomfortable, would be a really odd dialogue choice if they ended up ACTUALLY doing it in canon. Like why include that scene, especially when Mobius is the moral compass of the whole show, if they were trying to make it out to be an endgame “self-cest” thing?
I DO think it’s kind of weird that this ep focused so much on Loki’s fear of being alone, and then put so much emphasis on a possible romantic relationship as the thing to fulfill that. But that doesn’t mean it’s where the show ends up going.
For one thing, Loki never actually admits to any romantic feelings. In fact, he denies it throughout the whole episode. It’s possible that he just didn’t want to admit it. But what seems more likely to me is that Loki isn’t entirely sure what his feelings for Sylvie actually are.
He clearly felt a connection with her, which triggered a Nexus event. Mobius assumes that this connection was romantic. But I think it’s far more likely that Loki recognized himself in Sylvie as they were talking, and saw how alone she was. He felt empathy for her, and for the first time in his life he was able to turn some of that same empathy back on himself. He started to realize that neither of them deserve to be alone. And since this is the first time he’s ever felt this way, he may not know what to make of those feelings.
This also ties in to my theory about young Sylvie’s initial Nexus event. We know she was told about her adoption, unlike our Loki. That secret being kept from Loki was a HUGE factor in him eventually becoming a villain. So when Sylvie was told about it at such a young age, a Nexus event was created because that knowledge would have probably kept her from becoming the villain Loki is “supposed” to be. She was able to accept herself from the beginning, until the TVA stepped in.
And once again, the Nexus event between Sylvie and Loki in this ep was caused by self-acceptance. Loki realizes that Sylvie deserves better, and therefore so does he. Neither of them have to be the villain that always loses, and neither of them have to be alone. This Nexus event is the official start of our Loki going down a different path than what the TVA set for him, one where he doesn’t have to be the lone villain.
Maybe I’m reaching, but it seems likely to me that this will end up playing out with Loki realizing that his feelings towards Sylvie are a manifestation of his new self-acceptance and desire for connection, and not a genuine romantic interest. Mobius poked at him, saying that his feelings for Sylvie made him a narcissist. But if those feelings are transitive self-love, rather than romance, the whole thing makes a lot more sense.
After all, the whole show so far has been about Loki challenging his perception of himself. Mobius was a big part of that, but so was Sylvie. By forming connections with these two characters, and by accepting Sylvie (giving up the whole “superior Loki” thing), he’s slowly but surely learning to accept himself as well. He just might not have figured out what that means for him yet.
