Loki's official Instagram uploaded a new poster referencing the "terrible" metaphor from Episode 3, "Lamentis."
"Love is a dagger" is suggested by Loki when he and Loki Variant Sylvie discuss their understandings of love. When Sylvie states, "Love is hate," Loki finishes another drink and explains his idea. "Love is a dagger," he says. "It's a weapon to be wielded far away or up close. You can see yourself in it. It's beautiful until it makes you bleed. But ultimately when you reach for it..." Sylvie cuts him off, finishing the statement. "It isn't real," she says, calling it a "terrible" metaphor.
Even the show's star, Tom Hiddleston, found it to be a pretty bad comparison. "It's one of those things that Loki comes up with spontaneously," he said in an interview with Marvel.com. "They were having a talk about love and trusting other people, and not being able to either love or trust for whatever reason, and Loki thinks he's come up with something profound."
Michael Waldron, head writer for Loki, also spoke on the quote, and why it's something Loki would say. "I wrote that really, really quick," he said. "I remember I was revising Episode 3 in the two weeks leading up to my wedding. It's interesting because that's probably the most romantic episode. At that point, Loki is a little bit drunk. That freed me up, where it was just like, 'Don't think too hard about it,' which is sort of my first thought that Loki would think here. I just ran with it, 'Love is a dagger,' and fortunately, like many of Loki's metaphors, it almost works."
While the metaphor itself might not be that poetic (which Loki's official Instagram seems to agree with) the scene it took place in was an important one for Loki and Sylvie. It saw the two discussing their bisexuality, even referring to past partners, in a calmer moment in the midst of the episode's action. Their conversation on love and sexuality sparked some positive reactions in fans, many of whom have been waiting for Loki's fuller identity to be portrayed in the series.
Loki stars Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Sophia Di Martino, Richard E. Grant, Sasha Lane, and Eugene Cordero. New episodes air Wednesdays on Disney+.
Source: Instagram, Marvel.com