I Can’t Get Enough of Loki Crying

Disney+ has released a new trailer for Loki season 2, and Loki is at it again! No, I don’t mean that he’s causing mischief or sowing chaos (although I bet he does plenty of both). I mean he’s crying.

In fact, Disney is leaning so hard into the allure of Loki crying that it’s the cover image of this new promo video!

Overall, the new trailer looks even more exciting than the first one. There are so many intriguing clips! Victor Timely seems to be talking to O.B. as O.B. explains how he’s going to send Mobius out in a spacesuit. Ravonna and Timely seem to have fully teamed up, with Ravonna toting a huge Time Variance Authority-issued weapon. Loki, back in his prison uniform, seems to be unraveling along with the rest of the TVA. There’s a lightning-fast shot of Loki sitting in what looks like an early version of O.B.’s workshop, with Mobius in civilian clothes. And Sylvie is her usual salty self, complaining that “Everything is going to sh*t.”

And then there’s the crying. Oh, I love it when Loki cries. He cries in the very first shot, staring at a bright light. We see him crying in the prisoner uniform, presumably before he unravels. Why is he crying? I can’t wait to find out.

A brief history of teary-eyed Loki

Loki’s always been a crier, and that’s part of why he’s gained such a huge fan base over the years.

Remember Thor, when Loki breaks down after he finds out he’s adopted? And the climax of the movie, when he’s screaming and crying at Thor on the Bifrost? Loki’s emoting immediately established him as more than just a mustache-twirling supervillain. This guy had pathos. He had depth.

Then there are the crying scenes in Loki season 1. The way he quietly tears up when he finds out about Ragnarok, and then pretends not to care when Mobius gives his condolences! And his final scene with Sylvie, when he tells her he wants her to be okay and a single tear falls! Sylvie had to have nerves of steel not to melt into a puddle.

My favorite crying scene, though, is in the first episode, when Loki watches his life play out on the TVA film reel. After all his posturing in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War, it’s startling to see him drop the act and express such deep sadness and regret. Tom Hiddleston’s tear ducts deserve their own Emmy.

Why do we love crying heroes so much?

It isn’t just strength that makes a hero memorable—it’s vulnerability. Characters who never show any weakness are boring. However, characters who hit rock bottom and pick themselves up again are deeply relatable.

Loki himself expresses why we love him so much when he and Sylvie are contemplating their fate on Lamentis. “We may lose, sometimes painfully,” he says. “But we don’t die. We survive.” There’s no protagonist more irresistible than an underdog (even one who’s, uh, killed a whole lot of people).

Maybe this makes me a little goblin, but I can’t wait to see all those tears in season 2. More than that, though, I’m excited to see what happens after Loki dries his eyes, dusts himself off, and keeps going.

(featured image: Disney+)