The Mary Sue

Loki Episode 3 Just Gave Us the Best Gift for Pride Month

June 23, 2021

Tom Hiddleston as Loki in episode 3

***LOUD RINGING ALARM YOU CAN’T TURN OFF Major spoilers for episode 3 of Loki***

When I tell you I kicked my feet into the air with delight and gasped out loud during episode 3 of Loki, that’s not hyperbole. “Lamentis-1” is a gorgeous episode for many reasons—the script, acting, character growth, action, direction, and cinematography are all on point. What’s currently setting the Internet on fire, however, is a scene that confirms Loki’s queerness in the MCU.

This is a watershed moment for Marvel Studios, and it’s something Marvel and Loki fans have long hoped for. That it’s done beautifully and acted exquisitely by Tom Hiddleston and Sophia Di Martino made the confirmation even more poignant.

In a rich scene struck through with comedy, pathos, and pure character development, Loki and Sylvie share memories and exchange personal philosophies. When Loki asks Sylvie about her past romantic life, she turns that back around on him, noting, “You’re a prince. Must’ve been would-princesses, or perhaps, another prince.” She raises a subtly knowing eyebrow. Loki, just as calm and coy, responds, “A bit of both. I suspect the same as you.”

To understand why a brief exchange of dialogue made me shout at the television in glee, and is currently the subject of thousands of tweets, we have to acknowledge why this is so huge. While Marvel comics have taken leaps ahead with LGBTQ+ representation—especially concerning Loki—the MCU has not so much lagged behind as fallen flat on its face. To date, there has been almost zero onscreen acknowledgment of queerness in the major movies or Disney+ series, and none involving main characters.

Again and again, we’ve heard about cut scenes or possibly axed relationships, or been teased a queer character and received a Joe Russo cameo. We’re promised future queer representation with Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie in Thor: Love and Thunder and Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos in Eternals, but those movies are still months and years away. And while there were rumors that Loki would acknowledge the character’s bisexuality, fans have learned not to trust Marvel Studios here. So the fact of this scene’s existence feels massive.

It’s lovely that this happened during Pride Month. But I also adore that the scene was carried off without fanfare or back-patting or advance press releases. That it came in the course of a getting-to-know-you conversation that flowed into a rumination about love and then on to other topics was even better. Loki’s queer—both Loki and Sylvie, it’s implied—and it’s not a big deal to them, just who they are. It’s a big deal for us because we’ve waited for this for so long.

To judge by the reactions on Twitter, many fans were as thrilled and appreciative of the moment. Several also noted that much of the episode, including that scene, featured “bisexual lighting,” that is, pinks, purples, and blues used to light bisexual characters. Whether the Loki creatives had this technique in mind or not, we did see a whole lot of pinks, purples, and blues in the gorgeous color palette of “Lamentis-1.”

I know I’ll have a lot more to say about this fantastic episode. The depth and vulnerability we see in both Loki and Sylvie was a wonderful thing to watch build, as was their slow-burn camaraderie. Moments like Loki singing in Asgardian or emulating Thor’s “Another!” seemed like a checklist of a Loki fan’s fever-dream wishes.

The same can be said for Loki’s touching memories of his mother Frigga and how he learned magic. Drunk Loki is already iconic. And Sylvie proved to be an ever-more fascinating character by the second, by turns formidable and brilliant and mysterious. Sophia Di Martino was incredible here, a perfect foil for Tom Hiddleston. She could more than go toe-to-toe with him, and I’ll be counting down the days until I get to see how the relationship plays out.

But for right now, I have to stay in this moment that has kept me awake and writing this long, long past my bedtime. I’ll turn it over now to some of the fans who are feeling the same way.

(image: Marvel Studios)

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The post Loki Episode 3 Just Gave Us the Best Gift for Pride Month first appeared on The Mary Sue.

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