Loki's Sophia Di Martino Knew Sylvie Love Story Would Be Divisive

Loki star Sophia Di Martino shares she was already aware that Marvel fans would be divided over Sylvie and Loki’s love story. The Disney+ series introduces Sophia Di Martino as a Loki variant hunted by the Time Variance Authority since she was a child. After a brief period of animosity, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie start sharing a connection between them. Their bond strengthens and ends up causing a Nexus event significant enough to alert the TVA. Loki and Sylvie’s relationship grows more substantial across the episodes as they beat the TVA, the Void, and Alioth to reach Jonathan Major’s He Who Remains.

The romance between the two peaks when Loki and Sylvie share a kiss in the season finale, and even though Sylvie betrays him, it has been confirmed that her love for Loki is genuine. However, reactions to their romance have been mixed. While some fans welcomed Marvel finally having a passionate love story for a character, many labeled the relationship as a form of incest since Sylvie is technically an alternate version of Loki. But Sophia Di Martino is not the least bit perturbed by the mixed response.

In a chat with The Wrap, Di Martino shared that she was expecting people to be divisive in the face of Loki and Sylvie’s romance. For her, even though Sylvie is a Loki variant, she is an altogether different character who is not like the God of Mischief, whether in terms of behavior or how she reacts to things. According to Martino, when it comes to the bigger picture, Loki and Sylvie’s story is not focused on two people falling in love but is mainly “an exploration of self-love.”

I kind of expected it to be pretty split and some people to be really into it and just going along with it for the fact that it's a sort of love story. And then I knew there would be some skeptical people who weren't sure. For me, it's kind of an exploration of self-love. It's not as straightforward as just two people falling for each other, who are versions of the same thing. It was important to us that she was a different character, and that she had her own way of talking and fighting and reacting.

Loki director Kate Herron holds a similar opinion about the Loki/Sylvie romance. Even though they are both Lokis, “they aren’t the same person.” Herron thinks both characters are worlds apart as they have different backgrounds and make different decisions even though their roles in the universe are similar.

In terms of Loki’s storyline, Sylvie is very different from the other Loki variants. While every Loki has lived a similar story- growing up jealous of his brother, Thor, and attempting to get Asgard’s throne- Sylvie’s life has been the complete opposite. Sylvie dreamt of growing up to be a hero as a child, which prompted the TVA to apprehend her, and she has been on the run since. She has not lived the life led by the countless other Loki variants, nor has she made the choices they did.

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Source: The Wrap