Feature photo courtesy of Netflix
Story by Alyssa Williams
There’s really only one way to react to “Arcane” season two, and that is to sit in bed and stare at the ceiling while contemplating existence.
“Arcane” is an adult animated series based on the video game League of Legends, produced by Fortiche with supervision from Riot Games. It follows two sisters, Vi and Jinx, who are torn apart by two sides of the same city: Piltover and Zaun.
Fortiche spent a record-breaking $250 million for both seasons. The series has a 100 percent critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The animation is absolutely stunning, with beautiful portrayals of queernormative relationships, divided families, mental health and the cycle of violence and abuse. It is animated in a similar style as ‘Into the Spider-Verse,” with smooth, intertwining transitions between storylines.
The design of the characters and setting in “Arcane” sets it apart. It contains a vastly complicated animation style, and the color schemes work so well. There is symbolism and foreshadowing worked into every small detail of the show. New details reveal themselves through every rewatch. The parallels drawn through the different character arcs are a masterpiece. Without watching the show itself, the best illustration is within the promotional posters.
“Arcane” focuses on the main themes of family, class divide and the effects of a fascist government on the oppressed. The characters exist on opposite sides of Piltover and Zaun, until they must come together in order to defeat a common enemy. The same is said of Jinx and Vi, who find themselves on opposite sides of the war.
The last season ended on a cliffhanger, with Jinx sending a flying bomb into the council member’s board room just after they negotiated peace between the two cities. In doing so, Jinx killed Caitlyn’s mother.
It just so happens that Caitlyn and Vi are love interests, who have a kiss and an adult scene in the series. That’s right. There’s lesbians.
Season two of “Arcane” delves deeper into the fallout from the events of season one, exploring the escalating conflict between the two sides. The show retains its focus on the emotional rivalry between Vi and Jinx while introducing new characters and expanding the lore surrounding Hextech and the mysterious arcane energy.
The season blends intense political intrigue with personal struggles as key players, like Caitlyn and Jayce, rise to prominence. Its stunning animation and storytelling cement it as a remarkable series.
The worst part about “Arcane,” would be the ending. The show already was fast paced, but after the final battle, there were about three minutes of the show left. Viewers didn’t get to see Vi mourn the loss of her father and sister (again), and there were no mentions of impactful characters from the earlier acts that died, such as Isha.
Despite being the main character, Vi had the smallest character development this season. She experiences the immense trauma of losing her sister the first time after the rest of her family died in an explosion. She was placed in prison for 10 years without a trial. When she was released from prison, she found out the person who killed her father adopted her little sister, and he was running a drug ring in Zaun.
Vi tries time and time again to reconnect with Jinx, battles alcoholism and goes through two messy breakups with the same girl. Little to none of it is addressed.
Despite that, “Arcane” does a good job fleshing out the characters. Even though Vi punches through her feelings instead of talking about them, it is incredibly easy to understand her character motivations, and the motivations of all of the other characters as well. Their storylines overlap seamlessly, and it is incredibly easy to get attached to even minor characters.
Overall, “Arcane” is a beautifully devastating show with so much love and care packed into every detail. The creators crafted a masterpiece that is worth the watch time and time again in order to pick out tiny details of how everything connects together.
Alyssa Williams is the Managing Editor for MTSU Sidelines.
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