Why Loki and Sylvie’s Romance Was Not a Focus in Season 2 Revealed (Exclusive)

Loki Season 2 thrilled a lot of Marvel fans at a time when the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t exactly at its peak. The Loki Season 2 Finale is being called one of the best pieces of MCU content ever by some fans – but even with all that praise, there are a few spots of criticism to be addressed. One of the biggest disappointments for fans in Loki Season 2? The arc (or lack thereof) of Loki variant Sylvie.

The (weird) relationship between Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) was very much the emotional focal point of Season 1, serving as both the romantic intrigue and a poignant metaphor for Loki’s conflicted feelings about his own identity and choices. However, while Sylvie appeared in Loki Season 2 at key points to continue forcing Loki down a path of deep self-reflection, she clearly was not as much of a focus as in Season 1. 

More importantly, a bunch of Loki fans who have spent years championing a Loki/Sylvie romance in the MCU got disappointed by a seasonal arc that didn’t really feed into that story angle. While speaking with ComicBook.com, Loki executive producer Kevin Wright broke down why, exactly, the show chose to treat Loki and Sylvie’s relationship differently in Season 2: 

“I think ultimately the stakes were so high. It’s hard to slow down and have smoochie-smooch romantic time together, but everything that’s happening is because they do deeply care about each other,” Wright explained. “

The EP also pointed out that while Loki and Sylvie’s romance was built on the novelty of discovering one another in the first season, It does need to be considered where they left things, and how it started an emotional ‘wave’ that would crest in the Season 2 finale: 

“They essentially broke up at the end of Season 1 and then you run into your ex again and they’re constantly at odds. And I think the tensions and stress is so high because they care about each other. And I think that [the] through line from Season 1 is Sylvie saying, ‘Why aren’t we seeing this the same way?’ And that ripples; that ripple at the start there just turns into a tidal wave this season because it all comes down to that: it’s two people who deeply care about each other, not being able to get on the same page.”

Finally, Wright points out that fans should consider Loki’s endless time loops and epic sacrifice at the end of Season 2 as a very real representation of the “love” he feels for Sylvie, and friends like Mobius (Owen Wilson): 

“Loki would only do what he does at the end because he cares about her because he cares about Mobius more than anyone he’s ever cared about,” Wright said. “So I don’t think it’s about pulling back on anything. I think it would feel forced and unnatural to slow down and give them romantic time together. You get to do that on [Loki Season 1 episode] “Lamentis” because they’re stuck on a train!”

Loki Season 2 is streaming on Disney+.