Psychology of a Hero: LOKI

How does insecurity hurt others?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are revisiting Loki, not as a villain but as a hero. They’re taking a look at his heroic arc in the Loki TV series and how the god of mischief goes on a very human journey. Jonathan explains how Loki’s insecurity and self-loathing hurts others, and he raves about Mobius, who’s basically a therapist! Alan gives high praise to the production design of the show as well as Tom Hiddleston’s complex performances as his character evolves.

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, Alan Seawright, and Corinne Demyanovich
Edited by: David Sant
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis

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Music ID: 34GKRMWXUMAJJMBP

[bulletproofwhale]

The only thing I want from Marvel with Loki is for Thor to give him a hug while he's on his throne

[paigewebster]

I love that Loki has featured on Villain therapy AND psychology of a hero... truly showing the whole journey

[kconn]

I love how during the faceoff of the Lokis, you can see our Loki shaking his head and looking completely exasperated, like "Oh, Gods, was I really this insufferable?" 🤣

[matthewbohne]

I've argued with friends that this was the single best ending for any Marvel property. Sometimes the best endings aren't the happy ones, and the twist that Loki finally achieved his "glorious purpose", but only through giving up everything he thought he wanted... And making the audience *care* about it? So good.
Thank you for doing this one.

[MagiusDel]

An absolutely brilliant series that is one of THE best showcases of character development ever. But you missed my favorite line in the series: "I am not a child, for I realize something that no child does. That there is no one who is good who is entirely good, and no one who is evil who is entirely evil..."

[NomiNexus]

A small little detail I love about Loki is how he always talks about how he’s “BURDENED with glorious purpose”, not blessed by it, even before he had realized that purpose. When you think about it, being burdened with purpose is quite similar to “With great power comes great responsibility.”

[joaomarcosjunqueira]

One thing I'd like to add is that I loved Classic Loki and Kid Loki too. They too are different. The pain and regret Kid Loki shows when he said he killed his Thor showed the Main Loki what could have been for him. And the Classic Loki's sacrifice shouting "GLORIOUS PURPOSE" while creating an illusion of none other than Asgard in its full glory shows that even if thousands of years had passed, he still missed his home. And I'm crying just writing about it.

[Bonesaw-Bushmaster]

Tom Hiddleston is such a fan-fkn-tastic actor. The scene where Loki asks "Without them, where do I belong" had me physically hurting in my chest.

As a long term abuse survivor, I'm very comfortable with keeping people out of my life. But once I got married, and after my daughter was born, I finally learned what it means to be a part of loving relationships. It is so much better than safety of isolation.

[orangehokage]

I do love the fact that Loki is the only one who can fix this problem. Him being a Loki, someone who always loses, makes him the only person who can possibly fix an impossible problem. Any other superhero would fail, because they don't have the dedication to repeat the same loss for thousands of years. The Avengers lost once in End Game and pretty much gave up. Hell, Thor lost and he nearly ate himself to death. A superhero would try and find a different solution, but the sacred timeline is a problem that has no alternate solution. The instant the Loom is destroyed, all of the timelines instantly start to die. Only a supervillain that always loses, would be crazy enough to dedicate thousands of years repeating the same doomed situation to find a solution.

[kinosaga]

every time Loki sits on down and essentially becomes Yggdrasil, i get chills, because one of his more iconic likes is " i an burdened with glorious purpose" and that scene solidified that statement, because he came to understand it.

all hail, god of stories, Loki odinson.

[ashleynessel]

Tom Hiddleston is so good at playing a complex character. Loki’s arc is so underrated.

[DeathByMCuts]

I truly think the fan's love for Loki is justified. He's not a villian, more of an antihero. So caring and deep and actually quite powerful.

[noobsybot]

Loki seeing all the variants betraying each other he totally has a look like. “Man, I’ve got issues.”

[maria.hamandi]

Maaan I wish you guys talked about his thousands of years repeating and retrying everything and learning everything there is to learn about physics… the sacrifices he made are so remarkable. The dedication and the sheer amount of perseverance he demonstrates is absolutely shattering

[TheSpoegefugl]

"We are gods" with the tone and everything really was the shortest version of "With great power comes great responsibility"

[mariahevans]

When the first episode of Loki came out, and Loki said he only hurt people because he had to, and that it was a cruel trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear, I saw little me explaining why she spent her childhood angry and lashing out at her siblings and at last I understood why: not only was I trying to control the situation but I lashed out before they could do it to me, and I was trying to protect myself. And I no longer saw myself as the villain problem child.

[sergioaccioly]

I didn't think of Loki's fate to be a reward, so to speak. I thought it was the version of his punishment for killing Balder in norse mythology, chained to a rock and in pain for eternity. A destiny that, in this version, he chose for himself to save the multiverse.

[Neveia]

One of the moments that stood out to me was when he found all the infinity stones in a desk drawer. Then told they are used as paper weights with how many there are.
Just his face realizing all those choices he made to get what was supposed to be these all powerful items actually mean nothing in the bigger outside picture.

[ericthompson]

I LOVED this show. One of my very favorite uses of Owen Wilson of all time. He's so low-key (heh) and genuine. And Tom Hiddelston takes his journey *so* beautifully.

[richardchisenhall]

13:03 I have a theory as to why Sylvie was pruned. She was a hero at heart from the beginning. That's why Kang picked her, bc he knew she would be determined enough to get the main Loki variant to him. If you look at the tiny bit we see of young Sylvie, she's playing with Valkyrie toys at the start and we also hear that Thor wanted to be a Valkyrie growing up bc of their status as honored warriors. The next thing is when she's being brought through the tva line, she doesn't fight until she sees someone else being roughed up by the tva then she starts to struggle and call for someone to help Him. Kang took the best Loki and corrupted her in order to get her to lead another Loki to him. Kang didn't stop knowing what was going to happen until after Loki and Sylvie reached the end of time.