With Loki Season 2 past its midpoint, it's time to clear up a common fan question about Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie.
From the moment Sylvie emerged in the show's first season, the character sparked debate about the nature of her unique powerset and how it relates to Tom Hiddleston's God of Mischief.
While plenty of Lokis in all shapes and sizes appeared in Season 1, fans continue to wonder if Sylvie is truly a Loki Variant given how much she seems to differ from the MCU's most loveable anti-hero.
Is Sylvie a Loki Variant?
Since she first appeared in Loki Season 1, Sylvie has been a perplexing figure to many. She's referred to consistently by the TVA as a Loki but is quick to reject the title for herself.
When Loki caught up to her in the doomed world of Lamentis, Sylvie was quick to reject the name Loki, stating, "...that's not who I am anymore. I'm Sylvie now."
In the season finale, when the pair came to blows over how to handle He Who Remains, Sylvie reaffirmed that the reason they didn't see eye to eye was because she wasn't Loki.
That said, just because Sylvie isn't the Loki, that doesn't mean she isn't a Loki, i.e. a Loki Variant. Sure, she's plenty different from the grinning trickster fans know and love, but there's good reason for that.
Most Lokis spent their lives in the palaces of Asgard, where they tussled with Thor (and, seemingly, Balder) but ultimately were treated as a prince. Sylvie on the other hand, was abducted from her home at a young age, according to her, for no crime greater than being born the Goddess of Mischief.
Her unique form of the classic Loki magic is a product of her life on the run where she was forced to figure out her powers on her own rather than being tutored by Frigga. Her fiercely independent streak comes from her desire for the one thing she was constantly denied: a chance to live her own life.
Ultimately, yes, Sylvie is a Loki Variant, but she's her own person, too. It's for that reason that she spared Victor Timely; she knows all too well that a person shouldn't be defined by what other versions of themselves choose to be.
What's in Store for the Goddess of Mischief?
After Season 2, Episode 4 of Loki, it's clear that the remainder of the season could go anywhere. What that means for Sylvie specifically is hard to pin down.
She's clearly an evolving character, as evidenced by her decision to spare Victor. One has to imagine she saw in him a piece of herself, with his plea that she didn't know him striking a chord with how she believes herself to not be defined by how other Loki Variants have lived.
Her motivations seem to be rooted in the protection of the alternate timelines and the prevention of any more pruning. Whether she comes around to Loki's plan to use the TVA for good remains to be seen, specifically because there's plenty of reason to believe there may not even be a TVA anymore.
With just two episodes left to go and a storyline for the MCU widely defined by the multiverse she helped birth, it's clear that Sylvie will be a big player going forward regardless of the outcome of this series.
New episodes of Loki stream on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET, only on Disney+.
