Arcane (Season 2)

Three years after the first season Arcane was back, and in a bit of a weird position in some ways. It was announced ahead of time that season 2 would be the final season of Arcane but that other things in the universe would be coming. This really meant that Arcane had to wrap up the plot threads set up in the first season, which I rewatched to remind myself of where things left off. I have to say season 1 works pretty nicely on its own, even with its cliffhanger ending, so I was curious to see how things would unfold.

Part 1 picks up right in the aftermath of the ending of season 1, and in some ways it feels like it concludes the more immediate stories with some overarching narratives still going on, but its concluding moments largely set up new stories for everyone we’ve been following. Part 2 gives us a deeper look into Jinx, who seems to be more on the lucid side following her fight with Vi. We see Vander return sort of in the form of Warwick, a werewolf like creature that has his memories buried deep within. Things are looking happy for a little bit, but the other events remind us that this show is generally pretty depressing and dark in its overall tone.

Part 3 then is left with resolving not just new plot threads originating in part 2, but also with anything originated in season 1. At 3 episodes, this is a difficult task, and while I’m overall very happy with the second season and the third part starts off with a very good episode, the pacing issue of the show becomes very apparent. Things feel very rushed throughout the whole second season, and it’s unclear on what sort of timescale everything takes place, especially with an undefined timeskip thrown in. Certain characters don’t get the screentime they should relative to their importance, and it seems like there’s a good amount of offscreen action that occurs. So again, I really like the second season and the third part, but episode 8 and 9 in particular seem in many ways more concerned with getting to a conclusion than showing all the steps to get there.

Overall, the second season does finish what has been started, but it’s hard to say it stands on its own as its conclusion is very clearly setting up more, so much so that they might as well have had the Marvel Studios., “Character will return in next big project” pop up. However, it is unclear who we would follow, but if they’re not continuing under the “Arcane” title I imagine the next project will narrow its focus.

Bonus: Rambling about Season 2 Episode 7. Lots of spoilers!

I loved this episode. Some may be thrown off by the tone shift as we switch between worlds, but as a thematic balance I think it works well. Ekko and Heimerdinger find themselves in a world where the events of the very first episode of the show went differently. Vi died in the heist as a result of the crystals exploding, and as a result hextech was never invented. The undercity and Piltover are shown to be more equal and united, with Zaun not suffering from poverty or poor living conditions. We see a grown up Powder who is putting her mind to work on projects with Ekko, and their relationship is cute. It’s all very bittersweet, best highlighted in a scene that cuts between a conversation and them dancing, all set to an original song by French artists Stromae and Pomme that really captures that melancholic feel of the key phrase, “Sometimes taking a leap forward means leaving a few things behind”. Seeing the world that could have been reignites Ekko’s hope for a better future and setting wrongs right. While “what could have been” drives Ekko’s story in this episode, “what cannot be” instead drives Jayce and reveals to us viewers why he turned so against his own invention. There’s less to say about Jayce’s part beyond that, but it’s such a great way to set up what’s coming in the final episodes.