WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Loki episode 5.
Lady Loki isn't your average God of Mischief variant, and some specific moments in Loki reveal exactly why. When she was a young girl, the Time Variance Authority kidnapped Sophia Di Martino's Lady Loki, saying she caused a nexus event and stepped off the Sacred Timeline. After arriving at the TVA, Lady Loki manages to swipe a TemPad off of Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Ravonna Renslayer, escaping and going on the run for years. Over that time, Lady Loki has developed a deep hatred for the TVA and its Sacred Timeline. She wants nothing more than to bring down the whole organization.
No two Loki variants are exactly the same. In Loki episode 2, Owen Wilson's Mobius explains that the TVA has pruned a lot of different versions of Loki. "Almost more than any other variant," Mobius says. These variants all have different looks, sizes, and powers. Showing the range of possible Loki variants, the series includes Kid Loki (Jack Veal), a young version of the God of Mischief; Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant), a Marvel comics throwback version; and Boastful Loki (DeObia Oparei), a Loki version that's mixed with Thor. There's even an Alligator Loki, showing Loki variants can be an entirely different species.
Despite all the differences, Lady Loki is more unique than any Loki variant. From the start of Loki, it's clear Lady Loki isn't a normal God of Mischief. Yes, Lady Loki is obviously a woman, and she takes the name Sylvie to distance herself from being a Loki, but it's more than that. She's got a certain je ne sais quoi, and other Loki variants don't. Even Tom Hiddleston's Loki picks up on it. In Loki episode 2, Hiddleston's Loki fights a character that's been enchanted by Sylvie and says, "I would never treat me like this." The key to what makes Di Martino's character so different is in Sylvie's complex background.
Sylvie's motivation is different from regular Loki variants. No matter how different the Loki variants are, they all want one thing: power. Since 2011's Thor, Loki has been after glory. He wants to rule on a throne, and he's willing to do anything to get there. In Loki, the TVA appears to be the most powerful organization in the universe, so the God of Mischief quickly sets his sights on ruling it. But Lady Loki doesn't want that. In Loki episode 5, Hiddleston's Loki breaks it down. "She's not trying to take over the TVA, she's trying to take it down." Sylvie doesn't want power. She wants vengeance. She wants to bomb the Sacred Timeline and destroy the place that took her life away. She's taking down the villain behind the TVA no matter what. As Wunmi Mosaku's Hunter B-15 says in episode 5, "She needs it."
Besides her motivation, Sylvie is just wired differently than other Loki variants. Before being apprehended as a child, Sylvie plays with toys, pretending a Valkyrie is saving Asgard from a dragon. Later at the TVA, she screams that someone should help a person struggling in TVA custody. Sylvie isn't a selfish, conniving trickster like other Loki variants. She's heroic, she puts others before herself, and she isn't seeking personal glory. These core components could be the reason Sylvie doesn't conjure things like Hiddleston's Loki. It's too much trickery. She's more direct. Sylvie is out to be the hero that destroys the TVA. It's not because she wants power. It's because it's the right thing to do.
Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.
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July 13, 2021 at 12:34AM
