The following article contains spoilers for episode 3 of Loki.

Episode 3 of Loki premiered on Wednesday and brought forward an important theme that has been a part of the character’s life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the focus of the episode shifted to the unique dynamic between Loki and Lady Loki, who prefers to be referred to as Sylvie. But, throughout the episode, the topic of love and families is brought up several times, which is an important factor as Loki’s story so far has always touched upon them in one way or another.

Throughout his journey in the MCU so far, love has been a running theme in Loki’s life. While he has failed to retain any of his relationships, it has been obvious to fans that he craves the attention (and love) of those closest to him. Disney Plus’ Loki is finally pushing the character to think about the emotion, and maybe even define what it means to him. 

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Even though the Loki that fans came to love over time died in Avengers: Infinity War, an alternate version of the trickster appeared in Avengers: Endgame and used the Tesseract to escape captivity. Picking up after the events of the film, fans expected the show to be a time-traveling adventure that follows the journey of this new Loki as he gets arrested by the Time Variance Authority and has to pay for his crime of breaking the sacred timeline. But, in just three episodes, Loki has proven that it is so much more.

Episode 2, “The Variant,” already explored some of the more existential themes in the series. Loki and Mobius delve into a serious conversation about one’s free will and whether humans are truly good or evil. That scene was sure to get audiences to reflect upon the reality that they live in. Seeing Loki deal with the concept of destiny and morality was an interesting take for a series about superheroes and villains. 

Loki’s episode 3, “Lamentis,” is all about Loki and Sylvie and their journey of going from two strangers on a train to trusting each other. Love and family seem to be the most important themes reflected upon, in an episode, which in a nutshell, is about two people being stuck in an unfamiliar surrounding with no possible way out. Between all the action, the two characters find moments to talk about their pasts and families, which once again proves that the show is a lot more than just an action-packed superhero gig. 

As the two journey across Lamentis-1, they begin to develop a bond, which of course isn’t the most perfect one considering they are possibly two Loki variants. There’s constant bickering between the two, with both trying to prove that they’re smarter than the other. But, as the episode progresses, and the two are forced to stick together, fans get to dive deeper into both their personalities. There’s even a meaningful conversation about their childhoods and relationships with their parents. 

It all finally leads to a discussion about love. Loki’s sexuality is something that fans have been theorizing over since the show was announced, and the episode finally confirms him to be the first bisexual character in the MCU. But, Loki and Sylvie's philosophies about love seem to be quite different. At first, Sylvie seems to think “love is hate,” a concept that Loki cannot wrap his head around. After a little bit of back and forth, she then concludes that it is actually mischief. But, the God of Mischief is still not convinced.

After having a few drinks, it suddenly hits him - “love is a dagger.” He launches into a detailed explanation, which he obviously believes to be extremely profound. Comparing the emotion to a weapon, Loki explains how love is “beautiful until it makes you bleed” and if one tries to reach out for it, it isn’t even real. It may seem like a ridiculous comparison, something even Sylvie expresses by referring to it as a “terrible metaphor,” but seeing Loki’s journey in the MCU so far, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched.

The conversation proves that the trickster is quite unsure of what the emotion means to him. The “imaginary dagger” that he compares love with seems to be quite accurate in his storyline. After finding out he is adopted, his character goes through a major arc, and has been evasive about his feelings. It is quite obvious that he loves his mother, seeing as she is the person who teaches him all he knows about magic. But, he is never truly expressive of these feelings until he finds out about her death. 

All their interactions in the MCU have also proven that Frigga truly cared about Loki. Even after discovering that she wasn’t his real mother, Loki keeps the memories of her close to his heart. While refusing to associate his pranks with his feelings, he creates bits of magic (specifically fireworks) to remember her. But, it seems like amid entertaining himself and being his mischievous self, Loki lets his pain drive him onto a path of destruction. 

Loki’s latest episode proves that love is an emotion that the God of Mischief cannot trust and treats it like an illusion, probably because he has been let down by those he loved in the past. His relationship with his brother Thor is the perfect example of that. Growing up, he felt like an outsider, and after discovering that his brother was to be king, his feelings turned into resentment. But, there are several moments of sibling rivalry that audiences can relate to, which only goes to show that Loki did love his brother, but was never able to show it.

In many of their interactions across the five films that Thor and Loki have appeared in together, the siblings are constantly seen hurling childish insults at each other, something that brothers normally do. The escape scene in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World is one such display, with Loki’s running commentary on everything that Thor does wrong proving to be a memorable moment between the two brothers. 

Another moment for the books is the “Get help!” scene from 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. It clearly seems like a game the two used to play growing up, and even though Loki finds it “humiliating”, he humors his brother. Before the hilarious scene plays out, the two brothers have a heart-to-heart talk in the elevator, with Thor revealing that he always hoped that they would “fight side-by-side forever, something fans would also love to see. The conversation clearly leaves Loki feeling emotional, but unfortunately, his brother doesn’t seem to notice. This scene defines their entire relationship and was definitely heartbreaking for fans to see at the time.

Episode 3 of Loki seems to have planted a seed in the trickster’s mind, which could work towards him contemplating over his relationship moving forward. This could work wonders for his character development in the season, and perhaps even further into his future in the MCU, especially considering he is the alternate version of the character who has not reached any form of redemption. 

Loki is now streaming on Disney Plus.

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