*This review contains spoilers for “Arcane” season 1 and season 2.
“Arcane” has come to a Shakespearean ending with its second and final season.
The first time someone told me to watch Netflix’s Emmy winning “Arcane,” I brushed it off since I wasn’t familiar with Riot Games’ “League of Legends” — the show’s source material. But now, I could not be more absorbed by a piece of media. Animated by French animation studio Fortiche, “Arcane” is truly a powerhouse of story and animation, fueled by passionate artists and equally passionate fans.
Let's lay some groundwork for this show and this review:
This season of “Arcane” has drifted more toward an ensemble cast as we get snippets of how Vi, Caitlyn, Jinx, Mel, Jayce, Victor and Ekko are dealing with Jinx’s attack on the council. A new enemy, Ambessa, tests these characters strengths and weaknesses as they fight and struggle against themselves and the ever changing, delicate world around them.
The main themes I’ve identified throughout the two seasons are sin begets sin, cycles and duality. The show elevates these classic, shakespearean themes, as they concentrate on the messiness and nuance of emotion.
The double-edged sword of bringing emotion into a show that deals with politicking and war is a tricky one, which we will discuss. A problem reminiscent of the show’s bigger question: How is conflict resolved and how is it seen throughout history? Let’s look at some quotes from season 2 that I think encompass the essence of “Arcane” season 2.
“Promise me you won’t change.” - Vi, episode 3
Change is a natural part of life. It can be equally beautiful as it is painful. It’s a theme we have seen since the first season, where an unknown shift in Vander and Silco’s brotherly relationship sparks a major conflict. This then leads to the death of Vi and Jinx’s mother, then to the botched heist, then to the discovery of hextech, then to the death of Vander, then to the attack at counselor meeting and so on and so forth.
Vi said this line while discussing morality with Caitlyn — right before they share a kiss. A right, well meaning action for the wrong reason. Caitlyn abandons Vi later that episode, her anger and emotions taking over her. It’s a powerful parallel to Vi leaving Jinx in season 1, episode 3.
“Arcane” loves a parallel. They love parallels so much — it’s the show’s main shtick. It’s their way of showing change. The shows dares to leave long silences and stillnesses between characters as they let the audience realize the subtext of situations. How are these characters changing in these pockets of silence amidst louder, more dynamic sequences?
Going back to season one, Cait and Vi’s relationship exemplifies the importance of microexpressions and showing over telling. It culminates in a beautiful scene in season 2, episode 8 — a parallel to their first meeting — where Cait ultimately shows Vi that she can trust her by letting Jinx escape.
The “Sin begets sin” problem is solved by the very presence and focus on change. Characters find out that it is pointless to blame any one person or event. Caitlyn can of course be furious at Jinx for killing her mother, but what about the pain inflicted unto Jinx by Piltover? It is truly a lost cause to pin anything on anyone, something Caitlyn had been literally obsessed with — her many maps and boards. The same logic can apply to Jayce and Victor and their conflict around hextech. Jayce discovered it and Victor tampered with it, as is the nature of his character. Both characters have changed along with hextech, and it would be futile to want to locate or solve problems with the logic they had started out with. Hence, we see Jayce try to destroy the very invention that gave him his power and influence in Piltover.
“For love…” - Singed, episode 5
Singed telling Cait why he has committed the acts that he has is finally the moment Cait realizes the damage and the weight of her situation. She has been consumed by the very system she initially was skeptical of, because she has lost a loved one, like Singed has before. It elevates and explains why a lot of people do what they do in Arcane’s world. It’s a messy conundrum that season two has really latched onto; actions clouded by emotions. And through these actions, it can lead to a cycle of violence and hate that seemingly no one can escape.
Of course, episode 8 is called “Killing is a cycle” where the ensemble cast is fueled by various drives — love, anger, revenge — to get ready for war. The show culminates in what was destined to happen … violence, in an incredible animated war sequence. While it always seems ironic when the message of a show or video game is that “violence is bad” but is cinematic on screen, I would argue that it is just the nature of entertainment. But, the writers did their best to show the uselessness of war as it brings pointless death which is a through line of a lot of anti-war movies, such as “Saving Private Ryan,” “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “1917.”
In an interview with IndieWire, Amanda Overton — a lead writer and executive producer on “Arcane” — talks about how she creates these “for love” moments in Arcane.
“Characters need to be doing the right things for the wrong reasons, or the wrong things for the right reasons,” Overton said. “If they’re just doing the right things for the right reasons, they are boring; and if they’re doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons, you don’t identify with them.”
This is truly at the heart of Arcane’s writing as the audience is constantly holding their heads in their hands, questioning, “Why would they do that!?” To me, it's all in the name of duality.
“Two sides of the same coin.” - Victor, episode 6
When Victor said this line, my jaw dropped. I too, understand Victor, that duality is the main driving force for Arcane’s themes. It lines directly up with my love of Shakespeare and his love of stories of ones and twos in his earlier plays. It also takes part in one of Arcane’s signature moves: a monologue over a montage at the end of an episode. Caitlyn has a similar moment in the finale, but instead of reiterating on previous themes, she creates a sort of call to action for both the show and its viewers. But more on that later.
I think I could write a dissertation on the parallels in Arcane. Pairs of siblings, parent and child, two cities, control and chaos, oil and water, the list goes on. In what the internet has dubbed the best episode of “Arcane,” season 2 episode 7 beautifully brings together all sorts of parallels in a sort of multiverse one off.
Ekko and Jayce are team captains for what hextech can become. The organized side with Ekko where the undercity coexists with Piltover and where hextech is never discovered. What could have been. Or, Jayce and his nightmarish crawl through a post-hextech apocalyptic wasteland that has overthrown Piltover and Zaun. It simultaneously sets up the real villain to be an unknown fate, rather than the conflict between the two cities.
My favorite part of this episode is Ekko and Powder’s dance. It’s animated at 4 frames per second, which is how long Ekko can rewind time. And the scene takes place at the same time as Jinx and Ekko’s bridge fight in 107.
It caught my attention that Victor was the one to say this line, the implication being that if Victor is in the wrong about hextech, wouldn’t his dual assessment mean he can’t be trusted? But that truly is the point, isn't it? Arcane wants us to know that there is no wrong or right, no black and white, no 1 side of the coin, but both.
It is both scientific that multiple worlds mirror each other as well as emotional that characters are always confined to choosing one thing over the other. Ekko shows us that that sentiment can indeed be broken and molded.
Internet Critique
A main concern of the show that has appeared online is the critique that the show abandoned the all too familiar stories of class struggle and oppression that drew a lot of people to season 1. “Arcane” is a series ripe for poststructuralist critique and review, that of which I have seen a lot of on X, formerly known as Twitter. I recently talked with Elon alum Marina McDow, a graduated cinema and television arts student who is no stranger to storytelling.
“It was easier to tell that there was some intentionality and understanding of how oppressive systems come to be and are harmful,” McDow said. “With the discard of that in the second half of season two, it leaves me wondering why it was ever included. If this show was always meant to take after its title, if the focus was always going to be how magic consumes, creates, and destroys, why include the plight of Zaun?”
It is truly fascinating to me how a show about duality provides similar problems and arguments in real life. On one hand, I love and am very familiar with this sort of Shakespearean, circular writing and theming, but it also struggles to be effective in a show where the content is topical. I want so badly to flow with the story, but the historical use of thinning the line of duality doesn’t quite lend itself well to current situations.
Let’s use Shakespeare’s “Troilus and Cressida” to try and explain the narrative dissonance further. The rivalry between Rome and Greece can mirror Piltover and Zaun as parties historically at conflict with each other. A key takeaway from the play is that it is purposefully hard to know whether a scene is happening in Rome or in Greece, to further show how similar and how absurd their conflict is. In “Arcane” a similar route is taken in season 2, to try and show both the anger and humanity of both sides, thinning the line that separates the two cities.
It’s a beautiful and idealistic sentiment, but it ultimately left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths, including me and Mcdow, considering the oppressive nature Piltover has over Zaun,shown more in season 1 than 2. This same sentiment can also be applied to the otherwise well written foils and parallels between lets say, Jinx and Cait. It is imperative that one must recognize the power Piltover has had over Zaun, just as we would recognize similar conflicts in real life. Shakespeare wrote about an ancient conflict, while “Arcane” is dealing with a modern one.
The parallels are interesting, but it might come to the detriment of the show for many people. They are a fun, powerful technique to show change, but can ultimately restrict story telling.
Altogether, Arcane has left a massive impact on fans, animation and storytelling — especially the queer community. While bittersweet, the ending was a refreshing sight to see as the main couple of the show, Vi and Caitlyn, end up together, battle scars and all. Finally, a show that breaks the “bury your gays” trend in television. We get our denouement in a classically “Arcane” montage, as Cait lays the series to rest before the show closes out with the pair, discussing the work to come after the war in Piltover.
“Our only consultation, that with every loss, we found some good, some light. Worth gaining. Worth fighting for.” - Caitlyn, episode 9
And indeed, that is the essence of life, isn't it? We try, try, try again until something sticks and comes out the way we always wanted it to.
Season 2 of “Arcane” began and ended with a funeral, deepened our understanding of our favorite characters, and kept this strong line of animated story telling going forward.
Christian Linke, the showrunner for “Arcane” at Riot Games has confidently hinted that “Arcane” is only the tip of the iceberg.
Begs the question, Riot Games … what are you shooting for?