Loki Episode 2: Sophia Di Martino’s Loki Variant, Explained

Is she Lady Loki? Or the Enchantress?

By Akhil Arora | Updated: 17 June 2021 12:45 IST

Loki Episode 2: Sophia Di Martino’s Loki Variant, Explained

Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Sophia Di Martino as The Variant in Loki episode 2

Highlights

Loki episode 2 available on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar
Di Martino’s new MCU character might be an amalgamation
Loki episode 4 will likely give us a full background, it seems

Loki episode 2 finally gave us a proper look at the other Loki variant that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) had been chasing all episode, but it stopped short of telling us which Marvel character is the variant. We're in store for an exciting Loki episode 3 (as well as an intriguing Loki episode 4 sequence, but more on that in a minute). But the extended credits of Loki episode 2 have hinted at the direction that Marvel Studios might be taking with this new time variant character. More details will include spoilers for Loki episode 2, so please watch the episode if you don't want to have any twists revealed beforehand.

Spoilers ahead for Loki episode 2 “The Variant”.

Loki episode 2: Is Sophia Di Martino Lady Loki, Sylvie, Enchantress, or something else?

Close to the very end of Loki episode 2, after hiding themselves in three other bodies, the other Loki variant finally reveals what they look like. Turns into it is Sophia Di Martino sporting (tiny) devil horns as an accessory — just as Hiddleston's Loki has in the past, famously in The Avengers. That, in combination with the fact that Mobius, and everyone at the Time Variance Authority has been referring to her as a Loki variant, seems to suggest that Di Martino is playing Lady Loki. She might be called something else though, given Natalie Portman is set to be Mighty Thor, not Lady Thor, in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Loki Episode 2 Recap: Say Hello to the Other Loki

But Marvel Studios might actually be making a bigger modification. While Di Martino is credited simply as “The Variant” in Loki episode 2's main credits to avoid any spoilers, it seems like the Spanish translators didn't get that memo. The Castilian Spanish credits for Loki episode 2 list a character called “Sylvie”, which is interesting because that name has ties to Loki in the comics. In the Marvel comics, Sylvie Lushton was a regular Oklahoman girl — Loki episode 1 ends in 1858 Oklahoma if you're looking for an Easter egg connect — before she woke up one fine morning with superpowers.

That was thanks to Loki, who gave Sylvie powers for reasons unknown, shortly after Asgard moved to Oklahoma. Sylvie would go on to join the Young Avengers and adopt the alter ego Amora the Enchantress, but soon turned into an anti-hero and a villain after being dismissed from the superhero team. Sylvie Lushton has a long list of powers in the comics, even more so than Loki himself, including sorcery, telepathy, flight, teleportation, telekinesis, and transmutation. Di Martino's The Variant / Sylvie doesn't display any of these though, with her powers appearing to be very similar to Loki.

Amora the Enchantress in the comics
Photo Credit: Marvel

This wouldn't be the first time that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has altered characteristics. If Di Martino is playing Sylvie Lushton, it seems like Loki is merging two separate aspects: she is somehow a Loki time variant, shares his powers, but not his name. That would also explain why Di Martino reacts in disgust when Hiddleston calls her Loki in Loki episode 2. It is also possible that The Variant/ Sylvie has figured out a way to disguise herself as Loki's signature, which is fooling Mobius and the TVA to believe her as a “Loki time variant”.

Further proof of Sylvie's inclusion on Loki comes from the IMDb credits, where Cailey Fleming is listed to be playing Young Sylvie on Loki episode 4. That also suggests we will get Sylvie's backstory — what happened to her that led her to become The Variant and wreak havoc on the sacred timeline — in Loki episode 4, out June 30. It's a bit curious to me that the upcoming Loki episode 3, releasing June 23, won't deal with that as it flows more naturally with the narrative. We will just have to wait a couple of weeks to discover what Marvel has planned with Di Martino.

Loki episode 1 and 2 are now streaming on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar. New episodes release every Wednesday until season finale on July 14.

Is Mi 11X the best phone under Rs. 35,000? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Later (starting at 23:50), we jump over to the Marvel series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Loki, Loki episode 2, Lady Loki, Sylvie Lushton, Enchantress, Sophia Di Martino, Marvel, MCU, Disney, Disney Plus, Disney Plus Hotstar, Young Avengers