My prevailing thought right now is: “wow, Arcane could have been one of my favorite three seasons of TV ever.” As it is, this season finds moments of transcendence between all the shortcuts. Did you miss my thoughts on Act 1 of Season 2 of Arcane? Catch up here first.
Narrative Props
I can’t believe they had Jinx just say “you remind me of Powder” out loud
Okay, let’s get The Big Problem out of the way – Isha, the kid following Jinx around, never ascends beyond the level of Prop with a Personality and sacrifices herself in a big suicide explosion at the very end of episode 6 to be another trauma to add onto Jinx’s stack. This sucks.
Now, it’s totally possible that Ekko will come in with the steel chair called Time Travel (more on this later) and rectify the situation somewhat. There was a strange freeze frame with the explosion that perhaps implies as much. But I feel like the damage to Isha’s character is done. I can’t imagine there’s enough time to give her much of her own story or history beyond what she means to Jinx, and I don’t think that her existence let the show say much more about parenthood than it already had. It just feels like a cheap trick – cry as the cute, spunky child sacrifices herself for her big sis.
There is a similar problem with Maddie. She seems to be there just as a rebound for Caitlyn, and a voice of conscience that it turns out Caitlyn doesn’t really need. She exists as a weird nothing in the narrative. Of this set, she only even appears in episode 4! Then, I assume they broke it off? Maybe? I guess it could come back as a plot in Act 3, but how is Act 3 going to have the time for that?
Basically, none of the newly introduced characters have been given anything to do that feels interesting or necessary, anything that allows for them to stand on their own feet as characters. They’re all just there for the benefit of the plot or to make someone sad. Their impact feels unneeded at best and actively annoying at worst.
Daddy Issues
Okay, that’s the Big Bad Stuff out of the way. Let’s talk about some of the stuff I liked. Even if the stuff I liked needed like another episode or two each. I can’t believe we don’t see Sevika at all in episodes 5 or 6 while the Vander storyline is happening, it’s so mean to me specifically.
Anyway, let’s get into the Warwick stuff. I totally called that his appearance would be the catalyst to bring Vi and Jinx back together. I am working with some knowledge of League lore that has wedged itself in my head against my will, so I can’t be too smug about predicting some of plot points. But it really works in practice with Arcane. The scene where they all hug in episode 5 did make me teary-eyed, I admit it. The sequence with Remember Me in episode 6 was beautiful.
…
Okay, listen, have you heard about the whole Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood thing? Some light spoilers for a plot point that is extremely spoiled about these shows upcoming. I’m not here to litigate which is good, but it’s undeniable that Brotherhood rushes through some of the early content that 2003 already covered, assuming a level of viewer familiarity and not wanting them to get bored. The tragedy and horror of Sho Tucker and his daughter is done and dusted in a single episode of Brotherhood. And it’s not that that episode isn’t good and shocking! It’s iconic, of course. But I truly think the reveal is so much more impactful in 2003, where the brothers have been living and studying with this family for weeks with seemingly nothing amiss. Because that betrayal feels more real.
Anyway, that’s how I feel about Vander. Both in that he needed more time as a beast, and that he needed more time as a man before everything went to hell. It still worked. I just couldn’t forget in the back of my mind that it could have worked better.
Cosmic Wonder, Cosmic Horror
They should give the next Resident Evil protagonist the most evil hammer imaginable
Agh, oops, I was going to talk about stuff I liked. Okay, we can do this. I am holding The Boys(tm) in each of my hands. Ah, this is true Emma-core.
I knew the Jayce stocks were rising for me. If there’s one thing I want in a (fictional) man, it’s that he needs to have seen the Horrors. But even without knowing the specifics of what happened to him, what really works is what a contrast he now forms with Viktor. On one side of the gear, beauty. A loving community. A healthy body, stripped of its imperfections. The man who is your savior. On the other side of the gear, terror. Empty, gaping heads. People, twisted into bodies that aren’t theirs. The betrayer here to destroy him. Oh, it’s yummy.
Jayce, my king! I will defend you in the thread of your truly disturbing AITA post!
I think this is one plotline that will almost certainly see expansion in Act 3 of Arcane, so the thinness of it so far just adds to the mystery rather than being frustrating. We can revisit and see the results of it next week.
The Looming Inevitability
So, we didn’t check in with Ekko and Heimer at all this act. What’s going on there? Jayce, you need to add another paragraph to your AITA post, please! We’re missing essential information.
Anyway, here’s another area where my unwitting knowledge of League lore plays in – I know Ekko does time travel. He’s a guy who travels through time. So that leaves the question: time travel? What’s Arcane going to do with the time travel? My cursed knowledge is hanging over the narrative. Time travel is such a dangerous mechanic to add to your story if it’s not built around it to begin with, and it’s especially dangerous to add with three whole episodes left to go in your entire series.
I’m hoping whatever impact there is from this reveal, it’s relatively minimal. I don’t see how this story could hold together with anything more.
So, What’s the Wrap-Up?
Who’s this? Oh, she’s a whole plot I didn’t even talk about in this post, of course!
I don’t know! I genuinely don’t know how Arcane is going to pull all its threads together. The next-on preview implies that stuff’s continuing on with Viktor, and trailers have shown there will be fights with the Noxians too. That all seems logical. But I can’t see how the Black Rose stuff gets tied up. And, meanwhile, Ekko is standing menacingly in the corner thinking, “they don’t know I can do time travel.”
I do, Ekko. I know.
Maybe some of this stuff is just set-up for potential spin-offs, but I’m more doubtful of that than most people. My guess is they’ll try to make a clean break from Arcane in whatever comes next. We’ll see if I’m right on that either this weekend or in several years, either/or.