Tom Walker, Junior Editor
At its worst, “Arcane’s” second season is great television. But, there are moments where it is something more: where it becomes perfect television. So, you’d probably be surprised to hear that I was somewhat disappointed when “Arcane” Season Two finally dropped. To understand how someone could be disappointed in something so good, we’ve got to travel back to the premier season of “Arcane.”
It’s not a stretch to call “Arcane’s” first season some of the best TV to ever grace our screens. Between the gorgeous animation, excellent soundtrack, and stellar writing the first season never fails to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat.
The overall plot is good, but where the show really excels is in the details. In one scene, Silco, the first season’s antagonist and a crime boss in control of the undercity, considers a deal offered to him by Jayce, an inventor and wide eyed optimist. The scene plays like something straight out of Hamlet or Ophello. Silco considers giving up his adopted daughter, Jinx, in exchange for his nation’s independence while sitting under a statue erected in honor of his late brother.
This minute long scene pulls on almost every detail of the plot to function. Silco’s goal, independence for the nation of Zaun, is one he and his brother, Vander, worked towards together: ultimately planning a march for freedom that resulted in the murder of many of his nation’s people. Sitting under the statue, Silco monologues to the statue of his late brother about the conditions of the bargain while remarking that “there is nothing so undoing as a daughter.” The line works on two levels. Silco would’ve given anything in exchange for the independence of his nation except his daughter. When the offer finally came, he was so close to getting the thing he had worked for his whole life but couldn’t because of his love for Jinx. Thus, his love for Jinx undid his life’s work because he loved his daughter. But, Silco is also talking to Vander, metaphysically through his statue, who was Jinx’s adoptive father before him. Vander was killed by Jinx’s attempt to save him. He was literally undone by her.
On top of this, there’s another layer to the whole scene. When the camera spins around the statue, none other than Jinx is hiding and listening to Silco’s conversation. While the audience knows that Silco would’ve never betrayed Jinx, Jinx takes the conversation to mean that he is betraying her. While the scene moves the plot, there’s so much to deconstruct and consider. There’s painstaking care put into every little aspect of the scene, and what one example can’t capture is how common scenes like this are in Season One. These kinds of details are what I often found missing from Season Two.
“Arcane” Season Two takes bigger swings. Its plot covers months, maybe even years, of time instead of the few days covered in the show’s first season. It follows more characters, more factions, and even some alternate universes. It’s not even fair to say the show stumbles; it doesn’t. It just doesn’t hit outside of the park homeruns as consistently as the first season does. Instead, it hits inside of the park homeruns. The season starts right where the first season left off with a full sprint. Immediately, we learn Caitlyn’s mom is dead, Viktor is in critical condition, and all hands are on deck to catch the one behind the attack: Jinx. Each moment has a kind of style that’s hard to find in most shows. Caitlyn’s grief transforms the art style from its typical 3D models with painted backgrounds to digital charcoal drawings. The music swells, and the grief is palpable. It’s easy to understand how Caitlyn, and Piltover at large, can fall under the authoritarian rule of Noxus in the wake of the tragedy. In a single episode, Caitlyn and Vi are split apart, Jinx adopts a new sister, Piltover prepares for war, and Caitlyn takes Ambessa as an advisor. The breakneck pace never stops, but where Season Two loses out is the details. In the first six episodes, there isn’t a single moment that’s been thought out to the extent Season One so often was. It sacrifices breadth for depth.
Season Two hits its stride in episode seven: “Pretend Like It’s the First Time.” It follows Ekko and Jayce as they travel through the anomaly into an alternate universe and the future respectively. The little details that I praised return and they add so much to the experience. In the first few seconds of the episode, the spinning record that usually features pictures of Jinx and Vi is replaced by images of Ekko and Powder to represent the episode’s change in focus. In the show’s opening song, Vi’s face is crossed out to match her death in the alternate universe. Changing the recurring parts of the opening makes the episode feel very different than the ones that come before it. The show’s plot follows Ekko learning to enjoy the changes from his own universe while he simultaneously tries to find a way back home. At the same time, Jayce has to survive the harsh apocalyptic landscape of the future. By switching back and forth between these two storylines, the episode balances the delight of its highs with the gut punches that come from its lows.
While he is apprehensive at first, Ekko quickly learns that the alternate universe, where Hextech was never invented, is much better than the world he’s from. Ekko replaces the alternate universe version of himself and finds that his childhood crush, Powder, has become his girlfriend. There’s clear chemistry between them from the start of the episode, but Ekko slowly realizes that he’s found himself in the relationship he’s always wanted. The moment Ekko finally understands the depth of his relationship with Powder, who is the alternate universe version of Jinx, is during a musical sequence set to Stromae and Pomme’s “Ma Meilleure Ennemie.” The song itself calls on a long lyrical tradition by positioning the lover as a “sweet enemy” that goes back at least as far as the 14th century song “Douce Dame Jolie.” Typically, referring to a lover as an enemy represents the pain a singer feels when a love interest won’t return his or her feelings. In “Ma Meilleure Ennemie,” it refers to Ekko’s split feelings on Jinx and Powder. Jinx literally was his enemy. The seventh episode takes time to flash back to the seventh episode of Season One, “The Boy Savior,” where Ekko and Jinx’s brutal clash almost kills both of them. During the musical sequence, Ekko is navigating both his love for Powder and his hatred for Jinx. Ekko sees his enemy in Powder, but he loves her. The song allows a natural progression of Ekko’s feelings that releases him from his hatred and allows him to love Powder. Despite this, Ekko’s responsibility as a leader of the rebel group Firelights means that he can’t abandon his quest to return to his own universe. While it’s relatively understated, Ekko’s choice to leave Powder to return to his own universe is one of the biggest sacrifices any character makes in the show.
Going forward from episode seven, “Arcane” pays off almost all of its plotlines. Jinx escapes the cycle of violence that Silco never could, Sevika takes Vander’s place as the protector of Zaun and secures a seat on Piltover’s council, Jayce and Viktor reignite their bonds while reversing the damage Viktor caused, Caitlyn and Vi find stability in their relationship, and Mel becomes the wolf her mother always wanted her to be. Obviously, tying together so many plotlines in a single season caused some rushing that may explain why Season Two didn’t capitalize on the detailed storytelling that the first season was known for, at least for the first six episodes. But, while the first six episodes lack the finesse of the first season, “Arcane” Season Two’s final act cemented it as an incredible piece of television that will stand the test of time.