I’m a defeatist but I don’t have to be

Loki, The God of Mischief, has played many roles within Marvel’s Cinematic Universe; from trickster to villain, a harbinger of chaos and of order, antagonist and hero… However, beneath all the illusions and masks, Loki is a character that at his core is far more mortal than some, even himself, may realise. Despite being a God, Loki is far closer to the humans he sought to rule with his vulnerabilities, sharing in similar conflicts like identity and his sense of self, insecurity, trauma, his need for acceptance, power and the search for purpose in his life. Loki is beloved by many, appealing to those in the audience who have in their own ways faced similar struggles; there’s a humanity to him that draws viewers in, a sense of recognition and reflection. However, this isn’t only present outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it also exists within said universe, despite the characters insistence that he is above such sentimentality, mortality and weakness.

In this paper, I will explore this subject by analysing Loki’s actions, traits and his words. Using his infamous ‘kneel before me’ speech from ‘The Avengers (2012)’, I will demonstrate how his words directed towards the mortals are actually a reflection of his own feelings and experiences; diving into the ways in which Loki has a kindredness with mortals and how his desire to rule over them was an attempt to bring some order to his own chaotic existence. I will be using and referencing the cinematic releases from Marvel featuring Loki along with the Disney+ series ‘Loki’, exploring his origin, his relationship with powerful figures and how it has affected him, the self-sabotaging cycles he finds himself stuck in, why he makes the choices he does, how he views himself and how he is often paralleled by mortal characters like ‘He Who Remains’.

I believe that this is what happens to Loki, over and over. His own self admitted fear of ‘being alone’ and insecurities regarding his identity and sense of self exasperates his need for something familiar - even if it is toxic or unhealthy. Loki’s whole life is rooted in lies and deception, half-truths and uncertainty, and all he knows is his ‘own role’ (so to speak) amongst his adoptive family. On Asgard, as an Odinson, he perceived himself (and was likely perceived by others) as the ‘lesser son’, ‘the outsider’, ‘a shadow living in the shade of Thor’s greatness’. He was seen as ‘the silver tongue’, ‘the prince of lies’, ‘the God of Mischief’, so all he had was these perceptions to go off, he couldn’t trust himself when it came to his own identity - especially not after he found out his true heritage.

Loki finds himself falling into similar/adjacent dynamics that he had on Asgard with Odin and Thor. With Thanos, Loki is once again being used as a pawn in a wider (arguably political) game, just as Odin had originally planned for him as a baby. However, there is no love or affection from Thanos, the dynamic is different at its core, but it shares the same ideology. I don’t doubt Odin did love Loki and come to see him as his own, however, he was still a bad father and caused a lot of deep rooted issues for Loki.

Then Loki finds himself on Sakaar with the Grandmaster, and whilst the film does a bit of a naff job showing it, he is dangerous. He is the ‘all powerful ruler’, and Loki is immediately drawn to him, under the guise of overthrowing him. Perhaps in a way, Loki sees this as a way to prove his own capability, to show that he makes his own choices etc - but it also traps him in the other cycle he finds himself in of ‘betraying’ others and acting selfishly/in a self-sabotaging manner.

Even in the series, Loki bonds with Mobius. Now, whilst this dynamic is different and more genuine, Mobius is still technically the one with all the power (especially in S1/within the TVA walls). Mobius literally could have Loki reset at any moment, and yet, Loki sort of finds himself drawn to him in spite of that. Obviously, as I said, they do form a more genuine bond, but once again it is born from a place of imbalance and bargaining.

I think Loki is drawn to these types of relationships and people because of two reasons: 1). He strives to be the one to outwit them, to turn the tables and end up being the one who holds the power and 2). Because he subconsciously finds it familiar territory and in a ‘comfortable’, twisted way. (Now, don’t get my use of ‘comfortable’ confused, I use it loosely. I use it in terms of ‘I know this dynamic, I’ve been here before, it’s familiar’ not that he is content with it).

It’s a similar premise as someone who has been in a toxic relationship/situation/home. Unfortunately, these psychological cycles can be common amongst victims - and that isn’t their fault at all (been there bestie). It’s something manipulators are able to detect in them and use to their advantage. This is something Loki even does himself because he too is a manipulator. Loki is equipped with everything from what he has been through. His traits were learnt/honed over centuries of observing, enduring, analysing and internalising.

Loki mirrors people that have influenced him in some way, which I also think is a survival instinct. Hela said to Loki in regard to Odin: “You sound like him.” Whilst it could’ve been a jab, which I think is unlikely considering Hela had no clue who Loki was, I see this as an astute observation. Even in Thor 1, Loki declares that Thor isn’t ready to be King, stating the same issues Odin has with his son: “He’s arrogant, he’s reckless, he’s dangerous! Is that what Asgard needs from its King?” The way he speaks here sounds incredibly wise and knowledgeable, even when he himself isn’t exactly ‘ready’ to be King either - although, I would argue that he was the better choice even at this stage of his arc if he hadn’t had found out the truth about his heritage and had guidance from Frigga. Loki knows diplomacy, strategy and logic are important when being a ruler. How? Because of what he has seen from Odin.

In ‘Avengers’, Loki sounds more like a dictator, more like Thanos (and arguable perhaps how Odin sounded once upon a time too). He sounds like he believes what he says is right, that his word is law - just as Thanos did. However, it is far more nuanced and ‘royal’, still showcasing those traits he took from Odin. He sees his attempt to rule over Midgard as a kindness, a way to give mortals a purpose - maybe in turn attempting to find his own too. His whole speech in Germany, to me, is a reflection of his character and his story. It’s projection at its finest.

Loki both detests and looks up to these figures. They are what he believes he should be for whatever reasons he has - insecurity, identity, the need for power and control. I’m not saying that I think he actively wants to be like Odin or Thanos or The Grandmaster, but I think he knows how much control people like them have, and he feels if he achieves that same level of power, he can find some semblance of control in a life where he has quite often felt like he didn’t have much of it.

Loki is both simultaneously trying to break the cycle whilst finding himself continuously trapped in it. There’s a constant tug of war within him with his desires and his needs. He unintentionally sets himself up to fail, because he knows deep down he doesn’t want to be like them. In the series, we see this far more clearly with He Who Remains. HWR, to me, is Loki looking at a mirror of what he could’ve become: older than he looks, tired, alone, thinking he was the good guy but also knowing he was the villain in others stories…

It hit me specifically with this quote from He Who Remains: “Oh, I’ve been dubbed many names by many people… A ruler, a conquerer, He Who Remains… a jerk. But it’s not as simple as a name.”

On the sacred timeline, Loki had been many of those things - successfully or not. Even in S1 EP2 Miss Minutes specifically called Loki ‘a jerk’. Seeing HWR is what truly made TVA Loki change his trajectory, it was the last nail in the coffin from everything he had felt and learnt from Sylvie, Mobius and the experience with the TVA.

By the end of Thor Ragnarok, Loki chose to break the cycle, just as he broke the cycle in the series. However, on the scared timeline, that Loki didn’t get the chance to fully embrace this newfound ‘freedom’. And even in the series, Loki’s freedom ended up trapping him once again regardless, but this time for good - for something far greater than himself.

Loki’s story is very reflective of those who have gone through traumatic events, his traits can be seen through the lens of survival instincts and, of course, self-preservation: “I don’t enjoy hurting people. I do it because I have to- because I’ve had to.” Loki is very self-aware, but I don’t think even he fully understands just how deep the issues and trauma he carries goes. He had a very ‘get them before they get you’ mentality for most of the movies arc.

“They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had. And add some extra, just for you.”

The TVA uses surveillance as a form of control, monitoring its agents, the timelines and variants to maintain power. It encourages the agents to ‘stay in line’ and self-police themselves, also creating an environment in which people are less likely to question the system/the Time Keepers. There are many forms of surveillance, from literal CCTV and data to the concepts of religion.

The TVA uses both.

The Time Keepers are seen as these ‘all-seeing’ Gods, saviours of the multiverse and looked up to by the agents — Ravonna Renslayer is an example of this belief, and even when the truth of the Time Keepers is revealed, she still remains staunch in the mission the represented. Renslayer reminds Mobius that the Time Keepers are ‘always watching’. Knowing you are being watched is not an inherently comfortable feeling for most people, so when Renslayer says this, it isn’t a comfort, it’s a warning — a reminder to Mobius of his place in the system. The agents even believe that the Time Keepers created them! The Time Keepers are their ‘God’/‘Creator’. Even calling the main timeline ‘The Sacred Timeline’ is a religious allegory. The story told to the agents (and variants) about why the TVA was created is there to instil fear and cooperation. But also, the TVA/Time Keepers make the agents feel special, like they are saving and protecting the Sacred Timeline — they give the agents a God Complex.

The TVA treats variants as criminals. It mirrors how the real world treats prisoners/criminals (innocent or guilty). When Loki is arrested for his “crimes against the Sacred Timeline”, B-15 even says something that is reminiscent of what a police officer would say to a detainee: “On behalf of the Time Variance Authority, I hereby arrest you for crimes against the Sacred Timeline. Hands up. You’re coming with us.” When Loki questions them, B-15 tells him: “Last chance variant.” As soon as the Minutemen step through the time door, they have their weapons raised, and when Loki tries to evade, he is immediately met with violence and collared like an animal.

In Season 2, we are introduced to the fact that the TVA has literal torture devices… We learn in Season 1 about the Void and how it’s essentially just a giant, free-roaming, (mostly) inescapable prison that banks on a giant cloud monster called ‘Alioth’, that is described as a ‘guard-dog’, to eat them… (Or that the variants will likely kill each other.)

Variants are just living their lives, unaware of the system and its influence, yet they are treated like criminals/problems that need to be dealt with — by erasure from existence.

Loki is then brought in, no one answers his questions, offers him any personable explanation… They simply log him, strip him (removing any visual evidence of his identity and to give him a lack of autonomy) and process him. Once he is processed, he is given a trial. He has a chance to ‘plead his case’, despite no one telling him what exactly his crime was. Judge Renslayer ‘hears him out’ and rules to reset him. It had nothing to do with the fact Loki’s defence was weak or unprepared, it has everything to do with the fact that this is how they operate at the TVA. Everyone is ‘verified through deletion’, the trial is set up so every variant that comes through those halls is ruled ‘guilty’. The trial is a farce, smoke and mirrors, to give the illusion to the agents that what they are doing is just and ‘protecting society’ — a mock court. The justice system within the TVA is set up to fail the variants. It’s similar to how the automat is filled with only keylime pie. It gives the illusion of choice to the agents.

Mobius ‘saves’ Loki from being reset, wanting to ‘recruit’ him to track down one of his variants (which we later find out is Sylvie). Mobius interrogates Loki, his goal is to break him down and get him to a point where he agrees to help the TVA — it’s a similar fashion to police interrogations that last hours to try and get a confession out of suspects, except Mobius here is using Loki’s file and role on the Sacred Timeline (according to the Time Keepers) to strip him down and make him more agreeable. (Since I began writing this, another blog has made a post that goes into more detail about this scene, so I’ll save my breath and encourage you to read @khapikat222’s own analysis of this scene!)

Mobius holds Loki’s life in his hands, he can have him reset at any moment… Of course Loki is going to agree to help them — and, of course, use the situation to his advantage by trying to gain the upper hand against his captors… But that’s another topic that I’ve discussed here and here!

“The first and most oppressive lie ever uttered was the song of freedom. For nearly every living thing, choice breeds shame and uncertainty and regret.” - Loki

Then we have Sylvie. Sylvie is a character who is rooted in anti-establishment politics and believes everyone should have free will. Sylvie is another victim of the system. After being captured and taken by the TVA as a child, she decided then she would make it her mission to destroy the organisation that stole her life.

Sylvie isn’t a hero, she isn’t a villain, she’s a revolutionary.

Sylvie grew up in apocalypses, having to raise, protect and teach herself. She grew up surrounded by death, only ever able to see the destruction of things and that shaped her own belief system. Sylvie believes that the only way to fight violence is with violence, because that’s what she’s had to live through and do to survive.

The TVA committed an act of violence on Sylvie’s life when they stole her from her timeline as a child. It wasn’t personal. It wasn’t targeted. It was systemic. And Sylvie, from her own experience, quickly understood that the only way to defeat violence is with violence.

Loki stated himself that he ‘doesn’t enjoy hurting people’ and does it ‘because he has to’, to maintain the ‘illusion’. This quote can be used as a heavy bit of foreshadowing for the plot and characters of the show. Mobius doesn’t enjoy hurting people, but he does it because he has to because that’s what the Time Keepers (He Who Remains) has demanded of him. Sylvie doesn’t enjoy hurting people but does it because she has to, to survive and fight back against a system that was designed to oppress her. We know Sylvie doesn’t enjoy hurting people as during Season 2 Episode 3, whilst attempting to kill Victor Timely, Sylvie says: “Do you think I want to do this? Any of this?” And then later says that she “can’t let him live”. In the end, Sylvie spares Victor. It’s clearly a difficult decision for her, going against everything that she believes, but she does it. She holds back.

Loki has used violence in the past as a way to assert control (both over his own life and others around him). For example, trying to destroy Jotunheim, bringing an army to Earth and trying to subjugate its people. Loki is certainly not a ‘peaceful protest’ kind of guy. However, Loki has learnt from his past that violence only seems to breed more violence, continuing the cycle. He has heard the (sanitised/biased) stories of Asgard and the wars across the Nine Realms and how the war may have been over, but the effects of it still remain. He has witnessed his own actions and the destruction it caused for a city, himself and his family. Loki was also stuck in a system on the Sacred Timeline, he understands it.

By the time Loki and Sylvie reach He Who Remains, Loki starts having doubts. Loki is willing to believe He Who Remains and factor in his reasoning for the TVA’s creation because Loki has always had to factor in everyone else’s moves on the chessboard. Sylvie, whilst she did spend years on her plan, is more impulsive when it comes to situations. Now, that isn’t to say Loki doesn’t have impulses — for example, his attempt to destroy Jotunheim felt more impulsive than planned due to the fact his emotions were erratic after finding out the truth of his heritage. However, Sylvie has such a strong belief that the system must be completely destroyed, and the dictator must be removed, that she is not willing to factor in the consequences. She is headstrong, independent and doesn’t trust anyone else but herself. I’d argue that Loki, whilst claiming to be independent, is very dependant on others, especially when it comes to his sense of self and his identity.

Plus, Loki has tried to be in the role of the dictator, he had ruled Asgard for a short time in ‘Thor’, and his attempt to subjugate Earth under the guise of liberation during ‘The Avengers’, whereas Sylvie has never had the chance to have the power to be in that position. Loki benefitted from hierarchical rule as a Prince of Asgard with his upbringing being in a palace and the title of ‘God of Mischief’, and he has been in a position that let him believe he was ‘above’ other beings — like mortals. Unlike Sylvie, Loki has experienced both sides of the coin with privilege and oppression. He benefited from the system, whilst also becoming a victim to it. This contributes as to why Loki can see how the system could be changed rather than simply torn down.

He Who Remains even tells Sylvie and Loki: “You may hate the dictator, but something... far worse is gonna fill that void if you depose of him.” He frames himself and the TVA as the ‘lesser of two evils’, which is typically something you’ll hear a lot when it comes to politics/governments and their leaders. This sort of rhetoric is essentially telling people not to hope or want for more, for something better. It is phrased as an ultimatum, yet, doesn’t leave the decider with much choice. Once again, it’s control via fear: fear of the unknown, of something worse, of something new. He Who Remains even tries to tempt the pair into taking over the system, using power as a means of persuasion.

Upon seeing the vastness of the multiverse and the potential consequences that could arise if he or Sylvie make the ‘wrong’ choice, Loki is hesitant to finish the mission. He entered the TVA as a prisoner, but also an opportunist as he planned to attempt to ‘overthrow the Time Keepers’, and by the end of S1, Loki evolves and takes in the scale of it all — “it isn’t about you”, as Sylvie told him in their first meeting. Sylvie, on the other hand, remained the same and held fast to her own mission. It was about her, yes, but it was also about the billions of people whose lives had been stolen or dictated by the TVA.

Loki is a reformist and Sylvie is a revolutionary. Both share the same goal of change, but want to reach said goal by different means.

Loki would prefer to transform the existing system, and in Season 2 opts for dismantling and rebuilding the TVA, because that’s what he’s witnessed from Asgard and Odin (or at least, that’s how it was framed to Asgard’s people in their history). Loki knows how it feels to have been lied to, to have your whole life be a lie, so he can sympathise with the TVA agents in a way that Sylvie struggles with. Sylvie knows the agents were variants, and whilst she can understand that they are victims themselves, she struggles to get past the mental barrier of how she views them being the enemy.

Sylvie told Loki: “it would be easier to burn this place down and start from scratch.” That’s revolutionary thinking. This is Sylvie stating her stance on what she thinks should happen to the structure that He Who Remains built. Again later on, she also told Loki “that sometimes it's okay to destroy something.” Sylvie didn’t want to simply ‘replace one nightmare with another’, she wanted to do a complete overhaul rather than just swap leaders — she rejects the existing system.

However, Loki tells Sylvie: “Sure. Burn it down. Easy. Annihilating is easy. Razing things to the ground is easy. Trying to fix what's broken is hard. Hope is hard.” This falls more in line with reformist ideology. Loki wants to change what already exists, something slower and more gradual with, ideally, little to no violence. Loki has tried using force and violence in the past to achieve his goal and it hasn’t worked for him. He even makes a dry comment to Sylvie about her machete, the weapon that killed He Who Remains: “Well, your machete hasn't solved any problems thus far.”

Loki doesn’t think violence is the answer. Sylvie does. However, both characters are eventually willing to try and understand each other and form a middle ground. Sylvie is willing to let Loki try and fix the Loom with the help of Victor Timely, and she is willing to put aside her own views for the sake of others. It isn’t easy nor is it smooth or without its clashes, but she tries. However, ultimately, she still believes that the TVA is “rotten” and “broken”, and that it needs to be dismantled.

To Sylvie, Loki is compromising with the system. She met Loki when he was dressed in TVA uniform, and then after the Citadel when he finds her on her branch, he is still wearing the uniform — just no longer with the ‘variant’ label on his jacket. Sylvie sees Loki as part of the problem, she sees him as a sympathiser/enabler. Loki is still playing He Who Remains’ game, existing within the rules of the system he set up, even after Sylvie freed the timelines. Sylvie sees trying to reform the TVA as repackaging the same product and selling it as something brand new and better.

However, by the end of Season 2, Loki’s stance and approach has shifted. At the start of the series, Loki states he believes that ‘freedom is a lie’, and that ‘choice breeds uncertainty’, but his actions in the shows finale represents his change in perspective. It can be debated whether Loki originally even truly believed that sentiment or not, but either way, his actions regarding freedom have changed. Loki realises that trying to fix a system that was always set up to fail its victims, a system that exists under He Who Remains’ rules and logic… It’s never going to work. There’s no room for anything other than ‘right or wrong’ in the system, and that isn’t true free will. So… Loki does what Sylvie had been telling him from the start… He dismantled the system by destroying the Loom.

The TVA was created to keep the ‘Sacred Timeline’ in check, to prune branches, to prevent true choice and free will. The Loom was the last part of He Who Remains’ structure/system that could lead to the TVA, as an entire organisation, reverting back to their old ways. Loki removed that possibility from the equation. Rogue agents who believed in the original mission may still remain (as shown in Deadpool & Wolverine), but the organisation as a whole cannot revert back so easily to their old practices because the whole reason they were pruning branches to begin with (keeping the Sacred Timeline/Temporal Loom stable) has been taken away.

Whilst the new TVA has changed their mission and now keep the branches safe, allowing people free will and choice, it is still a system that can be weaponised — like any system. However, now it has a better chance at being something better, with the dictator and his rules gone, it can now function as something closer to a true democratic society, not like the illusion He Who Remains created. The people of the TVA are the protectors of the multiverse, taking on the role that they believed the Time Keepers had, focusing on finding actually dangerous variants who threaten it all and appropriately dealing with them — instead of any old variant who created an innocent, tiny deviation unknowingly and treating them like a criminal.

Loki and Sylvie are both complex, nuanced characters that are capable of making wrong and right decisions. They are both capable of doing better and taking time to understand the other, to see both the small and big picture. Their dynamic was never going to be smooth sailing, they are both intrinsically different when it comes to power and control. Loki originally wanted to overthrow the Time Keepers and take their place, whereas Sylvie wanted to kill them and burn down their system. Loki wears his God status with pride, whilst Sylvie denounces her own. Loki accepts the hierarchy and has used it to his advantage in the past, whilst Sylvie challenges it and defies it…

Sylvie: “Sounds like, whatever we do, we’re playing God.”

Loki: “We are Gods.”

In the end, the show isn’t asking the audience to pick a side, to choose between reformism or revolutionism, it’s asking the audience to understand the arguments and explore the tension between the two characters — ‘why’ and ‘how’ these two characters got to where they are in their respective beliefs. It’s about change and how no-one is ‘truly good’ or ‘truly bad’, but it makes us question the morality and ethics of people and the systems they are a part of. It gives the hope that we can wish for better, and not settle for a system that ultimately harms us.