Loki's Love Quote Accidentally Mocks WandaVision's Perfect Grief Line

Warning: SPOILERS for Loki episode 3

The God of Mischief talks about love in Loki episode 3, accidentally mocking WandaVision's great grief quote. Marvel Studios' latest Disney+ show continues to focus on Tom Hiddleston's fan-favorite Asgardian Prince, making him the first solo headlining character for its Disney+ projects. But while all three series have been mostly separated from each other, the latest outing for Loki indirectly references an iconic piece of dialog from the Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany-led series.

Kicking off MCU Phase 4, WandaVision is still the most unique Marvel Studios project thus far. Mining inspiration from classic sitcoms, the star-crossed lovers lived in Westview in an attempt to live the ideal suburbia life. But, it was eventually revealed that it's nothing but a fantasy world, accidentally created by Scarlet Witch through Chaos Magic as she suffered a total emotional breakdown from her suppressed trauma. During its penultimate episode, Wanda was forced by Agatha Harkness to revisit each tragedy that shaped her life. As Vision tried to console her for the death of Pietro Maximoff, the synthezoid beautifully framed Scarlet Witch's sorrow with the quote: "what is grief, if not live persevering.”

Instantly, the WandaVision line resonated with a lot of people. Aside from birthing countless memes, it also captured many people's feelings following the difficult year that was shaped by the coronavirus pandemic. But as poignant as the anecdote is, the God of Mischief inadvertently makes fun of it in Loki episode 3 titled "Lamentis." In the outing, Loki and his variant, named Sylvie, found themselves trapped in Lamentis-1 which is on the brink of being decimated. In their quest for survival, the adversaries develop an unlikely alliance and started honestly talked about their feelings. While aboard the train to find a power source for their TemPad, Loki decided to relax and drink, resulting in his groggy but seemingly genuine explanation of what love is. "Love is a dagger, it’s a weapon to be wielded far away or up close. You can see yourself in it. It’s beautiful until it makes you bleed. But ultimately, when you reach for it..." Loki said; Sylvie finished it up with "it isn’t real. Love is an imaginary dagger." While it's not the most elegant way to put it, love, from Loki's perspective, can be a lie and an illusion. As Sylvie reached for the physical dagger he's holding in front of her, it suddenly disappeared.

Comparing it to Vision's line about love persevering in WandaVision, Loki's idea is that love doesn't really exist, and can potentially be dangerous in certain situations. Looking at the God of Thunder's life in the MCU up until this point, it's understandable why he has such a pessimistic outlook about it. Before he embarked on a mission to take over Earth, he learned that he, apparently, isn't truly an Odinson — a detail about his life that was difficult for him to accept. Given the reality of his situation, he started doubting whether or not the love and care that his family showed him was genuine. Granted that he's inclined to believe that Frigga truly loved him as if he's her own son, but it was still no doubt troubling to think that all the good times that he spent with Odin and Thor were built on lies. Hence, why he also started doubting if they cared for him like a real family member.

The Loki show's cynical interpretation of love also has to do with the Asgardian Prince's insecurities. It didn't help that Odin actively pitted him against Thor growing up, and every single time, he always lost to his brother, forcing him to live in the God of Thunder’s shadow. It made the revelation that he's not an Odinson much worse. Meanwhile, Wanda was genuinely cared for by her family and Vision, resulting in the synthezoid's attempt to explain her grief in WandaVision. Nonetheless, despite the very different situations between Scarlet Witch and Loki, both characters’

More: Why Loki Episode 3 Was So Short

Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+