Netflix, Fortiche and Riot Games return for the second and final season of the worldwide hit-animated series Arcane. The story picked up right where fans left off back in 2021, where Vi’s sister Jinx (formerly known as Powder) fired a rocket at the Piltover council chamber while the council people were all gathered. This cliffhanger left fans (and myself) breathless, and eager to see the consequences of Jinx’s decision now in Arcane season 2.
The second season of Arcane, Act I, begins from Jayce’s perspective as he scrambles to help whomever he can from the blasted council chamber wreckage—after Mel Medarda’s armour inexplicably seems to protect both of them. Viktor falls into a coma after taking a major hit from the blast, and Jayce decides to place his body in the Hexcore, the rune codex that Viktor developed last season. This stabilizes Viktor’s condition, but at a certain cost.
Several council members die, including Cassandra Kirammen, Caitlyn’s mother. With Caitlyn’s father distraught, Caitlyn steps up as the head of the Kirammen house and leads a strike force to hunt down Jinx. Caitlyn tries to balance her romantic feelings for Vi while encouraging her to become an Enforcer as well.
“The second season of Arcane, Act I, begins from Jayce’s perspective as he scrambles to help whomever he can from the blasted council chamber wreckage.”
Tension and politics rise in Piltover while different power plays unfold down in the Lanes/Zaun. With Silco dead and the gangs fighting one another, Jinx forms an unlikely partnership with Silco’s former enforcer, Sevika, to make their own power move. Meanwhile, Heimerdinger and Ekko bond over their shared scientific curiosity, hoping to uncover the mysteries of the corrupting goop plaguing Zaun citizens—similar to the goop seeping from the Hexcore seen last season.
While most of the writing for Arcane Season 2, Act I, is emotionally driven, the main gripe with this season’s writing is partly with the romantic aspects. Last season’s romance between Jayce and Mel felt wittier and more fleshed out. This season faced the significant task of depicting a queer, lesbian romantic relationship between Vi and Caitlyn, but it comes across as though it was written by young teens—the characters are far too hot and cold with each other.
Vi and Caitlyn are adults, yet there is rarely a conversation that feels like two typical human beings trying to figure out a way out of the messy situation of capturing or taking down Jinx. However, this strained relationship could be a direct result of Vi’s traumatic childhood and Caitlyn’s sheltered upbringing. Hopefully, the next two acts build on this potential conflict. Recent portrayals of lesbian and strong, female-driven relationships in films such as Love Lies Bleeding, Drive-Away Dolls and Bottoms have set a high standard.
For a show filled with strong female characters, there is a lot to delve into here. Last season, the sibling relationship was profoundly compelling, illustrating the heartbreaking dissolution of Vi and Powder’s once unbreakable sisterly bond. The best writing of Act I between the two was when they are reacquainted as Vi and Jinx, and their relationship is somewhat similar to that of Batman and Joker now—a cat-and-mouse chase where one cannot kill the other.
From an artistic perspective, this first act of Arcane Season 2 is both beautifully and gloomily drawn, with a clear goal. The way certain scenes dealing with grief are conveyed through the soundtrack and colour palette reminds me why I loved the animation and storytelling of the first season. In one of the montage sequences in Episode 3 of Season 2, the drawings tell a story using only music—showing a passage of time in a comic book-style animation.
Animation is a medium that can tell a story without words, and this first act proves that. The use of black and white, with selective highlights of certain characters’ reactions in colour at Cassandra’s funeral, was a stylistic choice that immediately gripped my attention and emphasized the grief in the scene.
“…Arcane Season 2 appears to be continuing its exploration of how people from different walks of life cope with grief and loss.”
The writing redeemed itself in these first three episodes by building up the pressure Caitlyn faces. She is forced to move past her mother’s death faster than the rest of her family, represent House Kirammen on the council, create a retaliation plan against Jinx, and figure out how to love someone from a place she grew up detesting. It seems her story is leading to a point where her naivety will be her downfall.
Overall, Arcane Season 2 appears to be continuing its exploration of how people from different walks of life cope with grief and loss. Jinx and Sevika deal with grief together, forming an unlikely bond. More specifically for Jinx, she meets a young Zaunite girl, Isha, who is almost becoming like a little sister to her—a potentially dangerous development! Meanwhile, Vi is doing something similar with one of the Piltover junior officers, Maddie Nolen—showing that sibling dynamics never change.
For Ekko and Vi, they have lost much of their innocence as kids, as well as a dear friend and sibling, respectively. Heimerdinger has lost his faith in Piltover’s council, while Jayce has lost his adopted mother and had his belief in Hextech shattered, finally seeing how Hextech is leading to Piltover’s downfall.
Singed and the highly-anticipated story of Vander being resurrected from the dead as the iconic League of Legendswerewolf character Warwick is still yet to be seen. While it did keep dropping crumbs throughout season 2 Act I, Act II is expected to unveil this storyline. Regardless of some of the spotty dialogue and character development choices, Arcane season 2 Act I continues to push the boundaries of animated storytelling for the better, and does not introduce too many new elements to bog down the narrative.
At the show’s core, the voice acting and characters remain at the forefront. Fans who enjoyed the emotional beats, music, score and expanded lore of the first season will be in for a treat with this first act, which kicks off the three-week release schedule. With new characters shaking things up, the fate of Piltover and Zaun has yet to be determined in this second and final season of Arcane.
