Final Thoughts on Arcane Season 2
Apr. 28th, 2025 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
themorikelifeArcane 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)
Almost as soon as Season 2 starts, a person's socio-economic position fails to have any significance. Vi is able to join the enforcers without much issue from her co-workers and herself. Viktor returns to the undercity where he grew up but doesn't acknowledge any family or location that might have held significance in his youth. The only hint that the established Season 1 ways are still around is Jinx's feelings of betrayal when she recognizes Vi among the strike team. The conflict between the two cities evolved into opposing sides of a war, but any nuance that Season 1 might have brought to the table is null.
A theme that Season 2 tried and failed to bring to the table is the idea of the cycle of violence and how to break it. We watch it in motion during Season 1, but our characters aren't given the opportunity to see how the cycle repeats itself until Season 2. In Season 2 Episode 7, the Silco in the alternate universe mentions that there's little more powerful in this universe than the power of forgiveness. In the next episode, Silco's ghost tells Jinx that the way to break the cycle is to remove yourself from it. I will refrain from commenting on how this theme is coming from essentially a ghost.
And yet, we see people attempt to remove themselves from it. If the cycle of violence is the violence of socio-economic injustice, then several main characters attempt to remove themselves during the events of Season 2. After her final confrontation with her sister, Jinx refuses to engage with acts of resistance. Vi self-destructs in the bottom of a fighting pit. Viktor founds a commune in the fissures. This is a theme that would have paired beautifully with the themes established in Season 1. But in order to truly engage with it, each and every character has to interact with this theme in some way. How can they, as individuals, contribute to the breaking of the cycle of violence?
Unfortunately, that question is not answered anywhere in Season 2. Vi eventually becomes the thing she hates (living amongst the Piltover elite), Jayce and Viktor find themselves against each other in the biggest fight of their lives. Mel inherits her mother's legacy. The only character that really engages with the theme is Jinx, who breaks her own cycle by physically removing herself from Piltover and Zaun entirely.
If Season 1 focused on violence, Season 2 should have focused on how peace can at least become an attainable goal. These are complimentary themes that would have paired nicely. Instead, I'm not understanding what Season 2 is trying to say overall. This is evident in how it treats the characters.
Tumblr username lesbianherald already wrote a nice essay about Viktor's arc in Season 2. You can read it at this fine and elegantly-crafted link.
The other character I want to talk about is Vi. The creators asked themselves what Vi would do if she didn't have to protect anybody, and their answer was that she would fall in love. If that were the case, why didn't she fall in love after the big split with Caitlyn? If falling in love was so easy for Vi to do, why didn't she do it as a teenager in Season 1?
No, Vi in Season 1 is established as a leader with a stubborn streak and a likeable affect. She's a fighter, she's charismatic, and she learned how to deal with people under the tutelage of Vander, whose influence in the undercity is felt eight years after his fiery death. Vander was a pillar of his community, and Vi capitalized on that legacy when she first returned. After the strike team, there is no hint of how Vi fell into her fighting pit. Does she try to set up a connection with someone, only to be turned away at the door for her work on the strike team? Does she try to do anything in the community she supposedly loves so much?
It would have been meaningful if we saw Vi turn to the fighting pits because no one wanted to associate with her. It would have been meaningful if we see Vi approach Babette, Jericho, or another of Vander's associates for a job only to be denied. Vi is not a lover. If she were, she would not be self-destructing in the bottom of a fighting pit. Vi is one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with Season 1, but Season 2 does not give my girl justice.
The thing about Mel's arc, however, is that it has nothing to do with Piltover and Zaun. The character she's paired against is essentially an Easter egg for people who have played League of Legends. What the fuck is Le Blanc's connection to Piltover and Zaun? What do Mel's origins have to do with the heated conflict at the center of her beloved city? As far as I am concerned, Mel's arc exists solely to connect Arcane the show with future installments about the greater League of Legends lore.
I do not know Le Blanc, and I do not care to. Season 1 did not require any homework to understand or enjoy. Season 2, however, does, and that's one of the most annoying things about it.
Steb --> I love how he's nonverbal. I think there could have been so many creative uses with that. Maybe he teaches the strike team sign language that they use to communicate across distances. Maybe he's one of the best communication technicians in Piltover. The biggest questions I have regarding Steb is his motivation for joining the enforcers and his relationship with Maddie. Were they just beat cops assigned together, or did they have an established friendship before their introduction?
Loris --> In my personal opinion (headcanon), Vi is a good influence on Loris because she inspires him to better himself, but Loris is a bad influence on Vi because he introduces her to alcoholism. I don't mind the lack of background information on Loris because he gets an established rapport with Vi. Loris represents Vi's ability to re-build a community around herself. His death is most likely meant to represent that no one is safe in war. My interpretation of his death is that Vi cannot have the thing she seeks most ardently (community). This is another point where Vi is failed by Season 2.
Lest --> Lest is Best Girl. What I needed from Lest the most is more screen time. She's a well-written character because I know what she's about the moment she comes on screen. However, she fails to contribute anything to the overall plot.
Maddie --> Maddie represents storytelling that is simply not clear. Her betrayal does not make any sense. The show does not answer if she is Noxian from the get-go, or if she was enticed to do what she does through some other means. Fans have been arguing themselves in circles with very little evidence. Maddie's motivations are never revealed to the audience, we don't even get a hint of what they might be, and that is a failure of the writers.
Isha --> I can tie myself in knots wondering what Isha's contribution to the overall plot is. The most I can come up with is Isha represents Jinx's inner child. Through caring for Isha, Jinx is able to find the skills to care for herself. But then what does it mean that Jinx's inner child sacrifices herself to save her big sister? To come at this from another angle, how did Isha become self-sacrificial? Isha is a good example of how, if a character is supposed to represent a theme or idea, then the character's entire arc has to be in service to that theme or idea.
Thank you for reading my very long thoughts about Arcane. I am very glad to finally get them out somewhere.
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)
Failure to Live up to Established Themes
One of Season 1's biggest themes is the injustice and violence behind socio-economic class. Where a character grew up taints every single interaction they have with other characters. Jayce and Viktor develop Hextech as partners, but Jayce, who is from Piltover, is the one sought-after by The Council and other influential powers in Piltover. Caitlyn, a councilor's daughter, uses her privilege to break an inmate (Vi) out of prison to further an investigation that no one supports. Vi, the prisoner, has spent her entire lifetime under the boot of Piltover's enforcers, and harbors a deep and justified hatred for the Piltover elite. And these are just a couple of examples.Almost as soon as Season 2 starts, a person's socio-economic position fails to have any significance. Vi is able to join the enforcers without much issue from her co-workers and herself. Viktor returns to the undercity where he grew up but doesn't acknowledge any family or location that might have held significance in his youth. The only hint that the established Season 1 ways are still around is Jinx's feelings of betrayal when she recognizes Vi among the strike team. The conflict between the two cities evolved into opposing sides of a war, but any nuance that Season 1 might have brought to the table is null.
A theme that Season 2 tried and failed to bring to the table is the idea of the cycle of violence and how to break it. We watch it in motion during Season 1, but our characters aren't given the opportunity to see how the cycle repeats itself until Season 2. In Season 2 Episode 7, the Silco in the alternate universe mentions that there's little more powerful in this universe than the power of forgiveness. In the next episode, Silco's ghost tells Jinx that the way to break the cycle is to remove yourself from it. I will refrain from commenting on how this theme is coming from essentially a ghost.
And yet, we see people attempt to remove themselves from it. If the cycle of violence is the violence of socio-economic injustice, then several main characters attempt to remove themselves during the events of Season 2. After her final confrontation with her sister, Jinx refuses to engage with acts of resistance. Vi self-destructs in the bottom of a fighting pit. Viktor founds a commune in the fissures. This is a theme that would have paired beautifully with the themes established in Season 1. But in order to truly engage with it, each and every character has to interact with this theme in some way. How can they, as individuals, contribute to the breaking of the cycle of violence?
Unfortunately, that question is not answered anywhere in Season 2. Vi eventually becomes the thing she hates (living amongst the Piltover elite), Jayce and Viktor find themselves against each other in the biggest fight of their lives. Mel inherits her mother's legacy. The only character that really engages with the theme is Jinx, who breaks her own cycle by physically removing herself from Piltover and Zaun entirely.
If Season 1 focused on violence, Season 2 should have focused on how peace can at least become an attainable goal. These are complimentary themes that would have paired nicely. Instead, I'm not understanding what Season 2 is trying to say overall. This is evident in how it treats the characters.
Failure of Characters' Forward Momentum
In Season 1, Jayce is adamant that he will not be using Hextech to build weapons, despite his hypocrisy since his hammer and Vi's gloves are used as weapons in Season 1. In Season 2, Jayce completely caves to this demand, folding like an aluminum chair. It calls to mind stories where characters perform motions without the proper setup for why a character would do what they do. We can assume that Jayce caves because he's still reeling from the attack on the Council chamber and Caitlyn pushes him in his vulnerability to build a rad-as-hell rifle. Except we don't see that scene. We can only assume it was Caitlyn that requested a Hextech gun, but it might have been someone else. Including that scene would have been a pivotal moment for both Jayce and Caitlyn -- Jayce because he finally gives in to the demands to intentionally make a weapon, and Caitlyn because it would be the first instance where she uses her mother's legacy and name to get what she wants. But that scene doesn't exist.Tumblr username lesbianherald already wrote a nice essay about Viktor's arc in Season 2. You can read it at this fine and elegantly-crafted link.
The other character I want to talk about is Vi. The creators asked themselves what Vi would do if she didn't have to protect anybody, and their answer was that she would fall in love. If that were the case, why didn't she fall in love after the big split with Caitlyn? If falling in love was so easy for Vi to do, why didn't she do it as a teenager in Season 1?
No, Vi in Season 1 is established as a leader with a stubborn streak and a likeable affect. She's a fighter, she's charismatic, and she learned how to deal with people under the tutelage of Vander, whose influence in the undercity is felt eight years after his fiery death. Vander was a pillar of his community, and Vi capitalized on that legacy when she first returned. After the strike team, there is no hint of how Vi fell into her fighting pit. Does she try to set up a connection with someone, only to be turned away at the door for her work on the strike team? Does she try to do anything in the community she supposedly loves so much?
It would have been meaningful if we saw Vi turn to the fighting pits because no one wanted to associate with her. It would have been meaningful if we see Vi approach Babette, Jericho, or another of Vander's associates for a job only to be denied. Vi is not a lover. If she were, she would not be self-destructing in the bottom of a fighting pit. Vi is one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with Season 1, but Season 2 does not give my girl justice.
Failure to Make me Care about Runeterra
I am certainly interested in the wider world of Runeterra, but I frankly do not care. I care about Zaun and the people in it. I care about Piltover and its misguided politics. If there is a character arc that needed a desperate change, it was Mel's. I like Mel as a character. She's suave and alluring and makes manipulating an entire political kabal look easy.The thing about Mel's arc, however, is that it has nothing to do with Piltover and Zaun. The character she's paired against is essentially an Easter egg for people who have played League of Legends. What the fuck is Le Blanc's connection to Piltover and Zaun? What do Mel's origins have to do with the heated conflict at the center of her beloved city? As far as I am concerned, Mel's arc exists solely to connect Arcane the show with future installments about the greater League of Legends lore.
I do not know Le Blanc, and I do not care to. Season 1 did not require any homework to understand or enjoy. Season 2, however, does, and that's one of the most annoying things about it.
Failure to Establish New Characters
There are a handful of new characters Season 2 introduces, and they are all given as much injustice as their main character counterparts. Here is my breakdown of who and why.Steb --> I love how he's nonverbal. I think there could have been so many creative uses with that. Maybe he teaches the strike team sign language that they use to communicate across distances. Maybe he's one of the best communication technicians in Piltover. The biggest questions I have regarding Steb is his motivation for joining the enforcers and his relationship with Maddie. Were they just beat cops assigned together, or did they have an established friendship before their introduction?
Loris --> In my personal opinion (headcanon), Vi is a good influence on Loris because she inspires him to better himself, but Loris is a bad influence on Vi because he introduces her to alcoholism. I don't mind the lack of background information on Loris because he gets an established rapport with Vi. Loris represents Vi's ability to re-build a community around herself. His death is most likely meant to represent that no one is safe in war. My interpretation of his death is that Vi cannot have the thing she seeks most ardently (community). This is another point where Vi is failed by Season 2.
Lest --> Lest is Best Girl. What I needed from Lest the most is more screen time. She's a well-written character because I know what she's about the moment she comes on screen. However, she fails to contribute anything to the overall plot.
Maddie --> Maddie represents storytelling that is simply not clear. Her betrayal does not make any sense. The show does not answer if she is Noxian from the get-go, or if she was enticed to do what she does through some other means. Fans have been arguing themselves in circles with very little evidence. Maddie's motivations are never revealed to the audience, we don't even get a hint of what they might be, and that is a failure of the writers.
Isha --> I can tie myself in knots wondering what Isha's contribution to the overall plot is. The most I can come up with is Isha represents Jinx's inner child. Through caring for Isha, Jinx is able to find the skills to care for herself. But then what does it mean that Jinx's inner child sacrifices herself to save her big sister? To come at this from another angle, how did Isha become self-sacrificial? Isha is a good example of how, if a character is supposed to represent a theme or idea, then the character's entire arc has to be in service to that theme or idea.
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.
