Narcissism and self-love were two central themes of the Loki series. But... Is it fair to say thatLoki "loves himself too much"? Is his relationship with Sylvie truly an expression of "narcissism"? And if not, how can it be considered as a representation of "self-love"?

Here I try to break down Loki's growth through these two concepts, and his two most important relationships in the series: Mobius and Sylvie. As I'm not a therapist (and analyses with this kind of approach have been done before), I look at the way the series developed these themes, in particular through visual and textual references to the myth of Narcissus and the idea of the mirror/reflection.

This video essay took me 5 weeks to make... I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think in the comments!

And if you like this video and want more Loki analysis, SUBSCRIBE here:    / @lottietalkie3142  

TIME CODES:
00:00 Introduction
01:12 Loki & his apparent narcissistic traits
06:39 Is Narcissus “in love with himself”… and is Loki?
12:37 Why I was skeptical of the Loki/Sylvie relationship at first
14:57 Why I was wrong – and so was Mobius
15:00 Loki initially sees Sylvie as a mirror…
18:00 … but then changes his attitude
21:50 But… what about the self-love dimension, then?
26:45 Sylvie’s own emotional journey
31:30 Conclusion

Other videos I referred to in the first part of this video (about "narcissistic personality disorder" as a psychological issue and whether it applies to Loki):
“Villain Therapy : Loki”, by Cinema Therapy:    • Villain Therapy: LOKI  

“Loki, the MCU and narcissism”, by Lindsay Ellis:    • Loki, the MCU, and Narcissism  

Link to the Kate Herron interview on the Sylvie/Loki relationship: https://www.polygon.com/interviews/22...


On the myth of Narcissus (sorry, it's in French!) : https://unsouffledhistoires.com/2018/...


Music:
- “Strange the Dreamer”, Original music by Savfk (   / savfkmusic   www.facebook.com/savfkmusic)

Video clips from:
- Kate HERRON (Dir.), Loki (season 1, 2021), Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios.
- Kevin FEIGE (Producer), Kenneth BRANAGH (Director), Thor (2011), Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
- Kevin FEIGE (Producer), Joss WHEDON (Director), The Avengers (2012), Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
- Kevin FEIGE (Producer), Alan TAYLOR (Director), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
- Kevin FEIGE (Producer), Taika WAITITI, Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.