The following contains spoilers for the first season of Loki.
The season finale of Loki brought fans big reveals and huge twists. Besides the reveal of He Who Remains — the real creator of the TVA and rumored to be Kang the Conquerer from upcoming Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania — a big part of the episode was the answers it finally gave to the question of Loki’s relationship with Sylvie, a variant of himself. Throughout the season, Loki and Sylvie have formed a bond, something strong enough to create a Nexus Event in the fourth episode. The two have been teetering around their feelings and their meeting with He Who Remains forced it to finally be confronted.
When the creator of the TVA gives Loki and Sylvie a choice — either rule the TVA themselves or kill him and deal with the fallout of the Multiverse — they don’t see eye to eye. The two end up fighting, Sylvie trying to get through Loki to kill He Who Remains and Loki begging her to stop. Sylvie is ready to slice through Loki when he admits that he doesn’t want to hurt her, or even have the throne he’s always coveted — he just wants her to be okay. With tears in their eyes, the two share a kiss before Sylvie reminds Loki that she isn’t like him, opening a portal and pushing him back into the TVA without another word. It’s a powerful scene to watch. While fans may be shocked by Sylvie’s actions, they’re a beautifully heartbreaking showcase of her character and perhaps the smartest writing choice Loki has made so far.
Loki is a complex character with his own arc to go through and while Sylvie is a variation of him, her journey is completely different. Sylvie’s entire existence has been plagued by the TVA. They robbed her of a childhood because of a Nexus Event she doesn’t fully understand and have been hunting her down ever since. Her goal is to find out who leads the organization and kill them in the name of revenge, and that goal doesn’t falter when Loki collides with her life.
If anything, with another version of herself ready to form an alliance, it grows stronger. Her goal, her glorious purpose, is at the forefront of her mind. Her relationship with Loki comes second. So when the man she has been searching for is finally in front of her and Loki doubts her choice to kill, she has to push him aside and complete her mission. If not, what would the years of running from the TVA be for?
That’s not to say that Sylvie doesn’t care about Loki or that their moment is just another illusion, especially after what they’ve been through together. While he may be capable of opening up to Sylvie and trusting her during the finale, she isn’t at that point yet. It’s important that she learns to trust at her own pace, and not just for the sake of narrative. Her actions shouldn't be seen as a betrayal to Loki, sending him away after showing her feelings for him is a sad but necessary action so she can see her mission through. It may not be what fans wanted and it may lead to consequences in the next season, but the choice lets Sylvie make her own decisions and have amazing character moments on her own, like the realization on her face after she kills He Who Remains.
Sylvie is another name to add to the list of interesting female characters in the MCU, and it’s refreshing to see a character as powerful as her have agency over her own story. She isn’t here to just advance Loki’s plot or be villainized. While she is a major component of Loki’s arc in accepting others and turning away from the villain portrayed in The Avengers, she hasn’t been included in the plot just to be swooned over by the God Of Mischief. Her needs and wants are separate from all other characters and are messy, extremely human desires, similar to the very human themes of the show.
Sylvie’s character could be signs of a major and wonderful shift coming from Marvel, where female characters are given bigger plot points and allowed to make their own unique decisions. It will be important for future writers of Marvel characters to consider Sylvie’s treatment on Loki when they tell the stories of their female characters, making sure to give them plenty of opportunities to stand on their own among the countless other faces.
There’s no doubt the next season of Loki will explore more about the fallout of Sylvie’s actions on the Citadel at the End of Time, especially with the reveals the final few moments of the finale gave. Here’s hoping that the writers extend that analysis to Sylvie herself and continue the amazing character work they’ve done for her in the first season.