Arcane Season 2 Act 3 Thoughts: The Last Bite

Well, it’s over! It did, indeed, end. I feel like I need to keep in mind that it’s easier to be disappointed by something you generally think is really good. Because I do generally think Arcane Season 2 is pretty good. It is also just pretty disappointing.

Happy Thanksgiving by the way!

Episode 7

Let’s talk about the good. For me, Episode 7 lands as the clear winner for best episode of the season, because it’s the only one that’s allowed to really take its time. We focus on three existing characters, plus one that’s half existing/half not. That means we really have time to dig deep into what’s going through each of their minds. None of the “plot” that happens in this episode really matters in the grand scheme of things. Technically, you could call it “filler” if you’re annoying person. But it is important. It tells the viewer a lot about Ekko, Jayce, Heimerdinger, and just a little bit about Jinx too.

The greatest failure of this round of episodes is that it doesn’t really follow up on Ekko’s experience here when he returns to his world beyond him using the Z-Drive to temporarily keep Jinx from killing herself. Why do they not give the best character in the show more to do?

I’ll just wrap up by saying, that I think this is the episode that makes best use of needle drops too. It doesn’t feel like they’re being used to skip things or because there should be a song there. They use the song to enhance the emotion, to provide contrast, to surprise. Plus, some great use of the regular score too.

Missing Pieces

The biggest issue for me this season is that it feels like a lot of character arcs are missing important pieces. Almost all of my issues probably would have likely been fixed with an extra episode per arc. Of course, that’s a lot of work I’m asking for. So, many of my issues probably would have also been fixed with an extra two to three minutes tacked on to several episodes.

We are totally robbed of much of a Dark!Caitlyn arc. She puts Singed in solitary for like two seconds, she lets Ambessa do torture, but that’s about it. It feels like her Jinx obsession just kind of peters off screen. I’m not going to take away anyone’s joy or validation at the sex scene between her and Vi, but to me it feels like she gets off (ha) extremely easy for her actions.

We don’t see Ekko and Jinx talk in episode 9, which is a complete missed opportunity. This could have been time to reckon with Isha’s death, show Jinx temporarily accepting her role as a symbol, allow Ekko to form a connection that must be painfully, inevitably different than the one he had with alternate universe Powder.

I feel like I can’t quite follow the logic behind either Jayce and Viktor’s actions. They make sense in theory, but in practice, I lose track of the turns. And, as for poor Mel, she’s clearly just being set up for the next series.

And that’s just the big players. Sevika does not get another line after Episode 4! She should have had a romance subplot with Batdad from the Firelights. Don’t get me started on Maddie who feels like she’s made to be a lightning rod for fan hate for no clear internal reason. And Isha! Consigned to one last look in Vi’s dream. The show scrambled to pull things together, but there just wasn’t time.

Self-Sacrifice

So, we had a few nothing characters to add to the body count, but the deaths of main characters (even including Isha in this tangentially – for all that she’s barely a character, she’s at least more sketched out than Loris or Maddie) all come down to self-sacrifice. Heimerdinger sacrifices himself so that Ekko can go home and keep working towards the future. Viktor and Jayce sacrifice themselves as a way to atone for the horror they unintentionally (and then intentionally) introduced to the world. Jinx sacrifices herself so that her and Vi can both finally detach themselves from the past.

All these “deaths” are up to debate – I think it’s likely Jinx faked it, and who’s to say what really happened to the other three – but they’re all connected to that same theme, the beauty of giving your life for someone or something.

I can’t say I’m a huge fan of that theme.

There’s a show where this could have worked. I can theoretically see the seeds of Viktor and Jayce as representative of Zaun and Piltover and their joined souls showing the possibility of understanding there. But that plot got so lost this season that it doesn’t really carry through. Heimerdinger gets the short end of the stick this season in general. As for Jinx, that lack of transition from actively trying to kill herself to riding in as a big, fat hero is totally missing. It sort of ends up reading as “well, if you kill yourself in a good way…” I admit, I’m not being charitable there.

I think this one is something I need to reflect on more to come to a satisfying conclusion for my thoughts.

The Most Beautiful Outline

So, shall we sum it up? Arcane is beautifully and creatively made. These are animators at the peak of their craft. There are so many gorgeous, jaw-dropping sequences in this season of Arcane. If they were firing on even one less cylinder, I think the whole show would fall apart.

The story in the end lets it down – maybe that’s the chains of it still being a video game adaptation. Although, they were free to “kill” champions off, so it seems like they could have made changes as they liked. The Piltover/Zaun conflict got lost in the sauce of a world-ending threat that wasn’t particularly well-defined. Even before that, the plots I was looking forward to from the first three episodes – dictator Caitlyn, symbol of resistance Jinx – ended up mostly being footnotes to the Vander situation.  

So, overall for the season? If we have to put a meaningless numerical score on it? Probably a 7/10 with some very high highs. Overall for the show? I’ll knock that up a point to 8/10. That sounds high for all the criticism I leveled at it but, in the end, I did still have fun.

So, What’s Next?

Well, they announced it! The next show will go to Noxus (and some other places where my back-of-head League knowledge hasn’t helped me), so I imagine we’re at least going to be seeing Mel again. I was wrong, they aren’t making a clean break. Points off for me. Oh well, Mel is probably the best character they could have chosen if they had to choose anyone.

I’ll almost certainly check out whatever project comes next. Considering how much time there is between projects, I won’t exactly be burned out. And I’m always happy to see Fortiche stretch their artistry.

A few final roundups!

Favorite Songs in S2:

• The Line
• Ma Meilleure Ennemie
• To Ashes and Blood
• Remember Me (wish there was a version that combined the intro with the main song)

(Some) Favorite Characters:

• Ekko (this guy rules)
• Sevika (why’d they silence you, queen)
• Jayce (in S2 mainly)
• Jinx (in S1 mainly)
• Honorable mention to Singed, who gets in, revives his daughter, gets out. What a king.

Favorite Episodes:

• Season 1 Episode 3 (predictable, I know)
• Season 2 Episode 7 (remaining predictable)
• Season 1 Episode 9 (no kidding!)
• Season 2 Episode 4 (in isolation, not in the season’s context)