Loki & All Those Redeemable

A friend of mine recently said he just didn't understand the appeal for the bad guys.  Why are women so crazy about villains or guys that are obviously super damaged or the bad boys?  What's with the sudden obsession with every woman, it seems, over Loki?  It does seem like it should be weird, but it took me less than a minute to figure it out.

They're redeemable.

I've mentioned before that I firmly believe every woman wants to be someone's exception, and this is simply an extension of that same truth.  I, like many women, see someone who is hurting, and my immediate instinct is to fix it.  Now, granted, I may have an overly developed sense of empathy, but I think many of us feel that way.

Loki makes this easy to see.  Sure he's gorgeous (he's played by Tom Hiddleston, it's unavoidable) and clearly powerful, but I honestly think what draws many of us to him is that we see his vulnerability.  Gorgeous and powerful, but unsure of who he is or how he can be loved because he's damaged.  Kid finds out he's adopted from an enemy tribe, and snaps because he suddenly realizes his world is upside down and can no longer separate actual affection and true concern for his well being from the jealousy and pain he feels.  He's damaged, but we look at him and see how broken he is and think, I'd love him.  I want to be the one to warm his cold heart and help him see the good he is capable of.  Clearly he could to a great deal to help and protect the world and his people if he choose that path.  Most of us wish we could help him see that.

This particular way of seeing people is something I have always carried with me.  Maybe most people are more adjusted and emotionally together, so they don't do this, but I'm always trying to find a way to redeem what's broken and find the good buried within the pain.

Every relationship I have ever had was, in one way or another, filled with me trying to bring out the very best in another person or heal something I could sense was broken.  Whether I have succeeded in any of these endeavors or not is hard to say.

The older I get the more I can see that part of the appeal of doing this is the selfish desire that maybe someone will be able to do the same for me.  Maybe one of these days, I will have fallen for someone who, though broken, sees the good in me, the potential, and just like me, they'll love me enough to want to bring that out in me.

I want to redeem the broken.  I want to be redeemed.