themorikelife

Arcane Season 2 was released on Netflix in November 2024 and it's consumed a lot of my thoughts since. I fell in love with Arcane's first season, which is dramatic and rich and filled with lovable characters moving around in a world that felt lived in as much as it was fantastical. Thanks to the magic of Twitter, I heard of the artistic freedoms given to the animators and designers behind the visual aesthetic of Arcane, which only elevated my respect for the show. The more I re-watched season 1, the more I fell in love with it.

Unfortunately, the magic dissipates in Season 2. For as rich and vivacious Season 1 was, Season 2 falls flat for multiple reasons: the theme of socio-economic injustice is dropped entirely, characters lose their motivation and forward momentum, new characters aren't given any backstory or motivation, and the creators attempted to connect the show with the wider world of Runeterra, and thus League of Legends.

One of the ways to become a better storyteller is to break down why a story doesn't work for you. In this post, I'm breaking down the four reasons why, six months and multiple re-watches out, Arcane Season 2 fails to connect with me.

(As you can surmise, spoilers for the entirety of Arcane abound)
( Arcane Season 2 Breakdown )

In Conclusion:

Despite the mastery of Arcane Season 1, Arcane Season 2 fails to live up to the expectations it establishes. Do you agree? Do you disagree? I am open to having discussions in my comments so long as things are kept civil.

Thank you for reading my very long thoughts about Arcane. I am very glad to finally get them out somewhere.