Loki star, Sophia Di Martino, says the finale’s fight between Sylvie and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was inspired by Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest Disney+ series aired its season finale last week; answering many questions surrounding the Time Variance Authority (TVA) and variants. Throughout its six-episode run, Loki deconstructed its titular trickster thanks in large part to his relationship with, well, himself. Or, rather Sylvie—a variant of Loki who dedicated her entire life to taking down the not-so-benevolent, variant-staffed TVA.
Loki followed the version of Hiddleston’s character who escaped with the Tesseract during Avengers: Endgame’s time heist. Predictably, this Loki initially wanted to take over the TVA and fulfill his “glorious purpose.” Then, Mobius (Owen Wilson) recruited Loki to catch Sylvie, and, in a vaguely narcissistic and controversial twist, he falls for his female variant—which led to Loki adopting Sylvie’s singular goal. When they finally met He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), the man behind the curtain revealed the TVA’s true purpose: to stave off multiple Kang variants and prevent multiversal war. Heeding the warning of “infinite devils,” Loki attempted to stop Sylvie from killing He Who Remains: resulting in an action-packed showdown between she who can’t trust and he who can’t be trusted.
Talking with Vanity Fair’s Still Watching podcast, Di Martino described Sylvie's fixation on killing He Who Remains in Loki’s sixth episode. She explained her character being ready to strike in He Who Remains’ office and the then surprising battle with Loki— who cautioned Sylvie to think. Di Martino said their fight was inspired by the house brawl between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Read what she had to say below:
“I’m casting myself as Angelina, obviously,” said Di Martino. When Brad and Angelina did it, the punches were actually foreplay for what was to come—but this being the much chaster MCU, Loki and Sylvie’s fight ends, simply, with a kiss. This being a Loki story, though, that kiss came with a side of betrayal..I see it sort of like, ‘it’s been fun but see you later,’ goodbye kiss. It also helps her spin him around so she can get [the temp pad]. But I don’t think it’s a totally cold move. Maybe pushing him through the time door is a way to get him out of the way, but also to keep him safe.”
He Who Remains gives Loki and Sylvie two options: take over the TVA or kill him, liberate the Sacred Timeline, and unleash multiversal madness—which will just lead to another Kang taking over the TVA. At first, Sylvie believed Loki was eyeing the TVA’s throne but comes to realize he actually “just wants [her] to be okay.” As Di Martino mentioned, Sylvie took advantage of Loki’s unwillingness to hurt her and, while she may have felt the same passion, she ultimately isn’t him. Therefore, she removed Loki from the equation and plunges her knife into He Who Remains—the man responsible for her years on the run and pruning of her world. Di Martino went on to compare Sylvie’s decision to Eve’s in the Garden of Eden.
As is the case with most vengeance-driven narratives, Sylvie doesn’t feel any relief/release after killing He Who Remains but Loki witnessed the consequences almost immediately. The season's final shot sees a shocked Loki staring at a statue of Kang the Conqueror in a very different TVA. Presumably, Loki will tie into the events of What If…?, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania (in which Kang is confirmed to appear). That said, the stakes of Loki and Sylvie’s fight have proven much direr and less desirable than that of the Smiths. In both scenarios, love truly is a dagger...or at least a weapon.
Source: Vanity Fair
