After rewatching 'Loki' like everybody else on the planet Earth, I can't help but feel like something was off about Sylvie's and Loki's relationship. It could be that they are both just narcissistic enough to fall in love with themselves -- a phenomenon critics have called "selfcest" -- or that their connection felt so forced by the show writers that their final kiss made me uncomfortable and confused.
I think the real problem I had with 'Loki' was that Loki and Sylvia didn't have to be in a romantic relationship.
'Loki' rests on the running joke that Loki is a selfish and narcissistic person, and so are all of the variant versions of him. The series head writer Michael Waldron told Marvel.com that the love story of 'Loki' exists because the show is "ultimately about self-love, self-reflection, and forgiving yourself." While Loki and Sylvie are not the same person, they are a reflection of every part they love and hate about themselves. Accepting each other meant that they could accept themselves.
The show alluded to a budding romance between the two characters since the end of episode three. As the end of the world threats to kill them, Loki and Sylvie stare longingly into each other's eyes which causes a nexus event unlike any other seen by the TVA. While the audience is supposed to believe the nexus even was caused by Loki and Sylvie "falling in love" with each other, the nexus event happened because Loki and Sylvie were not supposed to die. Their potential death created the nexus even that allowed TVA to come and find them.
At the end of the series finale, the two kiss just before Sylvie betrays Loki and sending the MCU into the multiverse. While I don't think it is strange that they kissed even though they are versions of each other, I think it was incredible weird that they were forced to fall in love by the show writers.
It's the tired Hollywood convention that I can't get behind. Sure, Loki and Sylvie understandably don't trust each other and eventually learn that they can only trust each other through the power of friendship, but why couldn't they just be friends? The message of self-acceptance that Waldron wanted 'Loki' to tell would have more of an impact if Loki and Sylvie were able to find acceptance in themselves by finding a way to forgive their cruelty by saving the world.
The show does brush on this idea of forgiving oneself self in the first episode when Loki watches his life play out. Through all of the pain Loki has caused in his life and other's, he finds satisfaction in knowing that his brother, Thor, recognizes Loki as his brother. Thor's declaration of love for his brother is the reassurance Loki needed to start loving himself.
While Sylvie is a version of a Loki, she is her own person with her own issues. The show doesn't give the character enough time to evolve and realize that her mission is a selfish endeavor. It's clear that Loki and Sylvie want to take down the Big Bad just like all the other heroes in Marvel do, but they have different reasons for their wants. Loki wants to save humanity and make sure that whatever happens will keep the universe in order much like Kang the Conqueror wants, while Sylvie wants to destroy the being that declared her a variant. One wants peace and the other wants revenge, yet 'Loki' wants the audience to focus on their budding romance.
Many shows use romances like Loki's and Sylvie's to push a narrative even further for the sake of letting the audience in on the theme or to please the shippers. What kills me is the lack of focus on how the relationship serves the characters. Loki and Sylvie didn't need to kiss to find self-acceptance or self-love. They can go on the journey together as friends and still end up in the same place the writers wanted them to. Characters shouldn't be forced into a romance when friendships still exist. A great example of friendships serving as self-acceptance is every shipper's favorite duo, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
Steve and Bucky have been best friends since the Caps introduction into the MCU, and their friendship is what breaks Bucky away from the programming HYDRA brainwashed him with. Bucky's "death" drives Steve forward in his mission to eliminate Hydra. Steve's faith in Bucky is what drives Bucky to be more than a weapon for HYDRA. Their friendship ultimately serves as a tool for the both of them to find acceptance in who they are as characters in a larger picture. It's Steve's friendship with Bucky that carries 'Captain America: Winter Soldier’ and 'Captain America: Civil War' forward, forever changing the MCU. While friendship is the base of Caps storyline in the MCU, the franchise prefers to wrap his stories up with him getting the girl. Even though Steve is hellbent on saving Bucky, his reward will always be Peggy.
That is one of Hollywood's many problems with male leading films: the hero gets the girl in the end. Steve ends up with Peggy while Bucky is forced to lose his best friends and doesn't get a chance to mourn the loss of Steve like Steve mourned Bucky, and Loki falls in love with Sylvie rather than the two of them finding who they need to be for themselves. A hero's reward does not always have to be one of romantic value. While romance can be touching, a friendship can be just as touching and more impactful for the character's development.