In Ragnarok, after Loki betrays Thor & he just chuckles, because heās two steps ahead of Loki this time, heās figured out his game. āNever much for sentiment, were you?ā Thor says (or something similar). Lokiās reply is such good and telling wordingāāEasier to let it burn.ā
Easier, not better, which is an important distinction to me.
Better would indicate that Loki doesnāt care for sentiment at all. But Loki is all raw emotion and sentiment, actually (Iļø mean heās always crying)āhe isnāt evil, heās a well-loved prince who was dealt with an uncomfortable truth, who, after having the worldās worst tantrum, is dealing with it by not dealing with it at all. He capitalizes on lazy, easy tricks and deceit because he finally got what he wanted and realized he actually doesnāt care that much (I mean his entire betrayal of Thor was about the least amount of effort heās ever put into something, he probably spends more time on his hair). All he wants is Odinās affection. All he wants is Thorās affection. He loves Asgard and he loves his family and itās easier to betray it than to sink into how unbearably much it all actually means to him. And I think that line āEasier to let it burn,ā captures that cognitive dissonance and Lokiās actual potential for good remarkably well.
Itās a turning point that is highlighted by Thor moments later, when he offers Loki a different way to process that loyalty and affection. Loki has tried to burn everything to the ground because itās expected of him at this point, but Thor tells him he can be more than, his legacy can be more than just the family fuck up. And I think this one line really captures that potential, that despite everything, there is good (and love) in Loki, if he so chooses to take it.
Anyway, tl;dr āEasier to let it burnā is some great wording that speaks volumes about Lokiās character and that volume is that he has all the feelings and probably cries a lot.
