Anyone watching the 3rd episode of Marvel's Disney Plus series Loki could be forgiven for not noticing when Loki himself was officially confirmed as bisexual. Relegating the reveal to a quick line that's easily missed is par for the course when it comes to Disney's approach to inclusivity and the LGBTQ+ community. But it was still an important step forward, and series director Kate Herron was pleased with the big confirmation.
Shortly after the latest episode of Loki premiered, Herron took to Twitter to voice her personal satisfaction with the now confirmed detail about Tom Hiddleston's title character. Not only did she appreciate how the moment came across in the episode, but as a bisexual woman herself, she said it felt like the fulfillment of a goal she long strove for ever since joining the series' team. It just goes to show, representation matters not just for the audience, but for the people directly involved as well.
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"From the moment I joined @LokiOfficial it was very important to me, and my goal, to acknowledge Loki was bisexual," Herron tweeted alongside shots from the episode featuring the reveal. "It is a part of who he is and who I am too. I know this is a small step but I'm happy, and heart is so full, to say that this is now Canon in #mcu." The scene itself involves Sylvie, another version of Loki played by Sophia Di Martino, inquiring about Loki's past life, including his experiences with love. As she casually suggests the idea that he'd been with many women and men in the past, he just as casually confirms the notion with "a bit of both." Again, it's rather easily missed by any viewers who might have blinked, but it's still official, and that means something. Heck, it may even be more overt than The Owl House concerning its bisexual protagonist.
Di Martino herself added her own comment to Herron's tweet, subtly pointing out the use of lighting in the scene. Fans quickly realized that she was talking about "bisexual lighting," which refers to the act of coloring a shot pink, purple, and blue (or different shades of the 3 colors) to represent a bisexual character in various forms of media. Various films from Atomic Blonde to Birds of Prey have employed this technique, originally meant to hint at a character's sexuality but now quickly becoming more of a foghorn shouting it from the rooftops.
Many had already been expecting such a reveal after Loki's personnel file revealed him as genderfluid before the series even began. Plus, the character had already seen plenty of LGBTQ+ representation in the comics before this point. But it's entirely different to have something hinted and to have it confirmed on-screen like this. As subdued as the moment was, it's still a big step forward to see a major Marvel Cinematic Universe character come out as bisexual in front of millions of viewers.
It's heartwarming to not only see Herron enjoy this long-awaited revelation, but also to know that bisexual fans have just received a new mainstream role model (well, aside from all the killing Loki does, but nobody's perfect). Here's hoping that this milestone isn't just a fluke, and that the LGBTQ+ community has plenty more to look forward to in the MCU.
Loki episodes 1-3 are now available on Disney Plus.
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Source: Kate Herron/Twitter