#I JUST WANT VI AND JINX TO BE SISTERS AGAIN

[a-witches-riddle]

But… that’s not in character??? Why the hell would Vi EVER give up on her sister if she knew she could be saved? The reason why she gave up on Jinx at the start it pretty cut and dry and reasonable. After cementing herself as Jinx, threatening to kill Caitlyn, and making the choice to nuke the council, I get Vi giving up on Jinx and even making the decision to kill her, with the asterisk of her being the one to do it. Which yeah, is in character and going good for the first three episodes. I won’t comment on the several out of character choices because that would detract from this discussion. But anyways, flash forward to episode 6, Vi and Jinx had made up, bonded over the fact that Vander is alive (if you want to call what Warwick is alive), and everything is going well. When she learns that Jinx was thrown in a cell, she’s furious, angry, and breaks her out, seeing how mentally devastated and broken Jinx is. She was self harming, refusing to eat, had entirely mentally given up due to the death of Isha being the catalyst.

Once Jinx leaves, and mentions how she’s going to break the cycle, and HEAVILY IMPLYING to Vi that she’s going to kill herself, which lo and behold she was, of fucking course Vi is going to break and want to try saving her sister again. Old habits die hard with her. What WOULD HAVE been in character, is have Vi still have the breakdown to Caitlyn, but have Caitlyn encourage Vi to get her sister back, to be there for her considering Caitlyn seems to have had a change of heart about Jinx. The sex scene was too soon, and should have happened later. These characters still had so much emotional baggage to work through, both with each other and themselves over what happened in the past 6 episodes that there is no way what she did being a “selfish decision” was at all an in character decision. Once again, this was the result of bad pacing, an overstuffed plot, and expediting character arcs for the sake of having a rushed finale, because we needed Caitlyn and Vi together so we could do our epic finale battle.

Would I believe that Vi would give up on Jinx EVENTUALLY? Maybe, but literally 5 seconds after Jinx leaves, she accepts the fact that she doesn’t want to bother saving her sister and fucks Caitlyn, which by the way, there still feels like we need a larger conversation between those two over everything that happened between episodes 3-6. We just… didn’t get that. Just like how they cut out any conversation between Ekko and Jinx, and instead do a surprise reveal of the two at the final battle for the “omg wow” shock factor, when we SHOULD HAVE had that conversation. They could have made all of this work, but they NEEDED to pace it well, which they absolutely did not.

good for them but lmfao ???

[thesecondhandwoman]

A SISTER’S SACRIFICE

Vi x f!reader

Summary: Vi had watched Jinx’s death, loosing her again despite finally getting her back. As you look for her after the battle, you find her on her knees and shattered by her sister’s sacrifice, rushing in to comfort her.

Request: @hallowed-hauntings

The battle was over, but Piltover was in shambles. Smoke rose into the dim, grey sky, casting a suffocating haze over the city. The streets were littered with the wreckage of both man and machine, the aftershocks of Viktor’s twisted Arcane creations still reverberating through the earth beneath your feet. The fight between Noxus and Zaun’s reluctant defenders had left the city broken.

And yet, nothing felt as broken as the woman you had finally found.

Vi was on her knees in the heart of the destruction, at the edge of the Hexcore’s wreckage, right where it all happened. You slowed as you approached, your chest tightening at the sight of her. Her broad shoulders trembled, her hands clenched into bloody fists against the ground. Her gauntlets—those indomitable weapons that had always seemed like extensions of her fiery will—were discarded nearby, cracked and useless.

But Vi herself looked even more fractured.

“Vi,” you called gently, your voice soft but unsteady as you stepped closer. She didn’t respond, her head hanging low, her pink hair tangled and streaked the black dye at her roots. Her back heaved as though she was trying to catch her breath, but there was no relief in sight.

You glanced down and saw it—the remains of Jinx’s signature monkey bomb. Its grinning face was barely intact, the edges scorched and jagged from the explosion. Your stomach turned. You didn’t need to piece together the rest.

Jinx was gone.

The memory came back in flashes. You hadn’t seen it directly but had heard both the bomb and the sudden murmurs while people recovered as you searched for Vi in the chaos. Vi had been cornered, battling Warwick—the monstrous, Arcane-corrupted beast that Viktor’s creation had unleashed. He had been too strong, too fast, it had thrown Vi completely off guard, especially since she thought Warwick was dead. But when his large form jerked up, Jinx didn’t hesitate. Not at the slightest.

She had saved Vi. Pushed her out of harm’s way. Forced her sister to let go. And then detonated her final monkey bomb, taking Warwick with her into the abyss.

You crouched beside Vi, hesitant at first. Her knuckles were raw, bleeding from where she’d slammed them into the metal again and again. Her entire body shook, each shudder a silent scream that didn’t make it past her lips. You reached out, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, but she flinched violently at the touch.

“Don’t—” Her voice was raw, ragged, and trembling with grief. She finally lifted her head to glare at you, but her expression crumbled almost instantly. Her bloodshot eyes, rimmed with tears, searched your face as though she was begging you for answers you couldn’t give. “Don’t… touch me. I let her fall, I let her fall before even realizing she took out the fucking Crystal.”

Her words hit you like a blade to the chest, the shock hitting first, followed by an aching pain.

“No, Vi,” you said firmly, your own voice breaking under the weight of your emotions. “You didn’t let her fall. She—she made her choice.”

Vi shook her head furiously, a choked sob tearing from her throat. “She didn’t give me a choice!” she yelled, though her voice wavered, more plea than accusation. “She just… she just shoved me away and smiled. She smiled at me. Like it was nothing.” Her hands clenched at her sides as she let out another anguished cry. “I should have saved her! I could’ve saved her, but—”

“But she saved you,” you interrupted, your tone soft but unwavering. You couldn’t bear to see her like this, drowning in guilt that wasn’t hers to carry. “She saved you, Vi. She knew what she was doing. She wanted to protect you.”

“She was my little sister,” Vi whispered, her voice breaking completely as tears streamed down her face. “I was supposed to protect her. Not the other way around.”

And before you could say something to retort against her statement, her hands moved to cover her face as her sobs finally broke free. They were raw, guttural sounds, ripped straight from her soul. You didn’t hesitate this time. You wrapped your arms around her, pulling her close despite the way her body shook violently against you. She resisted for a brief moment, her muscles tensing like she was about to push you away, but then she collapsed into your embrace.

Her fingers clawed at your back as if holding onto you was the only thing keeping her together. You buried your face in her hair, pressing soft, soothing kisses against her temple as tears stung your own eyes.

“I’m here,” you murmured over and over, your voice trembling but steady enough to ground her. “I’m here, Vi. You’re not alone. I’ve got you.”

She clung to you like a lifeline, her sobs shaking both of you. You could feel her grief pouring out of her, raw and unrelenting. For so long, Vi had forced herself to be the unbreakable one—the fighter, the protector, the one who always got back up no matter how hard she was hit. But now? Now she was just a woman who had lost the last piece of her family, and it was more than anyone could bear.

“I wanted to bring her back,” Vi choked out between sobs. “I thought—I thought maybe we could fix things. That we could be sisters again. But now she’s gone, and—and it’s my fault.”

“No,” you said firmly, pulling back just enough to cup her tear-streaked face in your hands. You made her look at you, made her see the truth in your eyes. “It’s not your fault, Vi. Jinx… Powder… she loved you. She chose to save you because you meant everything to her. Don’t take that away from her. Don’t let her sacrifice mean nothing.”

Vi’s face crumpled again, and you pulled her back into your arms. The two of you stayed there for what felt like hours, kneeling in the ruins of Piltover as the world slowly moved on around you. You didn’t let go, not even as your legs began to ache and your heart weighed heavy with your own grief.

Eventually, Vi’s sobs quieted, though her breathing remained uneven. Her voice was hoarse when she finally spoke again. “She’s really gone, isn’t she?”

You swallowed hard, your throat tightening. “Yeah,” you whispered. “She’s gone,Vi.”

Vi remained still before slowly nodding against your shoulder, her arms still wrapped tightly around you. “I don’t know how to do this without her,” she admitted, her voice barely audible.

“You don’t have to do it alone,” you promised, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. “I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere.”

Vi didn’t say anything, but the way she held onto you spoke volumes. The weight of her grief was unbearable, but you would carry it with her. Whatever it took, you would help her through this.

Even if it meant piecing together the fragments of her heart one jagged shard at a time.

[sweettoothy]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃𝐒 𝐄𝐍𝐃

╰ SHOW ﹕ ARCANE !

︵ WARNING(S) ﹕╰ swearing ⸝ violence ﹕ sex

︵ relationship ﹕ Vi x fem!fragile!reader x Caitlyn

NOTE: here we areeee, I was very excited to do this chapter since we can get into what kinda powers (name) has ^^ omg first kisses?!?!? I hope y’all don’t mind the change.

⟣・S2・FINALLY GOT THE NAME RIGHT︰

THE MAN IN FRONT of you sneezes, you handed him one of your extra masks and looked around with curiosity— you knew not to wander off far since caitlyn was focused on finding jinx. Though you knew exactly why she wanted to find her, she was starting to act a little different towards both you and vi— which was…understandable of her since her mother had died but it wasn’t a good change, though.

“Thanks.” The man tells you thankfully. “I thought I was a goner.”

“You’re smeech’s man.” Vi spoke.

“Was.” The man corrects. “I--“ he sneezes again, covering his mouth. “Oh. I decided it was time for me to retire.”

“Looks more like someone decided to retire you.” Caitlyn retorts.

The man chuckles. “Yeah, well, timing was never my strong--“ he sneezes again. “Sorry. Sorry, it’s…it’s the grey. It gives me the--“ he sneezes again.

Caitlyn stepped forward threateningly. “Tell us how you wound up here.” she demanded, aiming her gun at him.

“Hey, wait, wait.” Heenot pleads. “Jinx is off the rails, even for her. She’s got a real fire lit up under her ass. she’s planning something big, right here in the pipe works.”

You moved the gun away from the man carefully, eyeing caitlyn with slight surprise.

��It is a pretty big place down here to do that.” You added.

Heenot grunts. “She was headed towards the old tunnels. Something about rerouting the vents.”

Caitlyn moved her finger away from the trigger, her face upturned into a scowl. “this is it, then. Cuff him.”

“Hey! I told you everything I know.” Heenot protests.

“You’re a confessed criminal. You’ll spend your retirement in a cell.” Caitlyn tells him, cocking her gun and tilting her head. “Check your gear. This is what we’ve trained for.”

Vi sighs, slowly walking near caitlyn, “can I get a minute? with you?” she asks you.

Caitlyn slowly turns around, seeing you and vi standing there with unsure looks. Avoiding caitlyn’s gaze you nodded and followed vi.

YOU SET YOUR WEAPON aside as you leaned against the railing inside the tunnel, tucking some of your (h/c) hair behind your ear as you gazed at a saddened but determined vi, her head lowered as she shifted her feet.

“We should cut the others loose.” Vi tells you, her eyes landing on yours as she sees you gasp quietly before speaking.

“Listen..if that heenot man is telling the truth, we may need all the help we can get, vi.” You whisper to her softly, only loud enough for her to hear.

Vi shakes her head. “She’ll smell their nerves a mile away and find a way to use them against us.” she informs you, “tell me I’m wrong.”

You were think about it, blinking a few times. maybe she was right— and she was. jinx probably wouldn’t hesitate to kill you, and as many times as vi told you to stay away from the blue haired girl it was like you would get caught in the crossfire every time.

“You know cait,” You spoke. “She won’t let jinx get away again without a doubt. she’s dead set on getting her. are you sure you’re even ready to--?”

Vi interrupts you. “(Name) she almost killed you. and it’s like everyone I care about either ends up dying or changing-- I can’t let that happen. my sister is gone. there’s only jinx now. It has to end.”

You knew this was hurting her, having to do this. but it was only now or later— because ending it all later would be too late.

Vi looks at your bandaged arm, “I am so sorry about your arm. I’m sorry I can’t fix it-- but please just…everyone in my life has changed. promise me you won’t change, you or caitlyn.”

Tears escape and cascade down her eyes as a gentle sob racked her throat.

Walking towards her you reached out your hand and cupped her cheek, going onto your tippy toes to kiss the tear away. Vi took a glance down at your lips before she began to lean in, you doing the same.

Vi fully leaned in and pressed her lips against yours, your lips molding against hers in a perfect melody. Vi then feels you pull away, your (e/c) eyes looking into hers again.

“I promise.” You whisper softly, nuzzling your nose against hers. “I won’t.”

Vi drops her gauntlets and suddenly her hands are wrapping around the small of your waist as she lifts you up into her arms with ease, her hands finding their way to your ass as she gives it a gentle squeeze, the kiss deepening from there as the two of you continued kissing.

This felt nice.

When vi pulls away, she sets you down. “Not bad for your first kiss, huh?”

“Hey! you did it first! I just finished it.” You winked before your watch started beeping, “huh…Jayce wants me to meet up with him. can you and cait do this alone?” you ask.

Vi nods in reply. “Yeah, yeah. I’d rather you be somewhere safe other than here.”

HEADING INSIDE JAYCE’S office, you see a younger male sitting with him, making you tilt your head in curiosity, “this is ekko?” You asked with a warm smile. Ekko seemed unsure whether to trust you but the smile made him ease a bit.

“What’s the topic?” You asked while sitting down, crossing your leg over the other as you leaned your cheek against your palm.

“Hextech.” Jayce replies. “Viktor hypothesized that there may be something he called ‘wild runes’. patterns that occur naturally where the border between our world and the arcane is thin.”

“Runes like the ones you use in hextech.” Ekko replies, leaning his head against his hand. “What’s the difference between those and wild runes?”

“Pass me a tome.” Jayce tells him.

Ekko slides the book over to him.

“So I used words you understood in order to elicit your action.” Jayce explains. “This is what hextech runs are.”

“Pass me a tome.” Jayce tells you this time.

You grabbed the book and handed it to him.

“Pass me a tome.” He says once more.

You let out a frustrated sigh, throwing the book his way.

“There! you sighed. still a kind of language.” Jayce says. “A sound, but not words. something raw. natural. that’s wild runes. most places, the arcane is dormant, but here and there, it’s more active. and wild runes are--“

“Sort of like its fingerprints.” Ekko finishes.

“Exactly.” Jayce nods in agreement.

Your brows furrowed. “Wait wait-- you mean to tell me you-- by using so much of the hextech you’re basically pissing off the arcane?”

“That’s-- that’s not what I--“ Jayce stammered as he avoided your gaze.

“Ooh, she may be onto something. every action sparks a reaction.” Heimerdinger says, accidentally dropping something on the ground. “Oh, ball sockets.”

Ekko chuckles when he sees this.

“Do you think this could actually be a result of overuse of hextech?” Jayce asks you, maybe it was true…using way too much hextech always made you wonder what would happen.

“That’s the only reason.” You answer, leaning back in your seat as you pondered the idea of what could happen. “I mean..I don’t use it, but if I did I probably would overuse it and not even know. everything has its limits.”

“We tested our hextech under every conceivable condition for years.” Jayce says. “If there’s some reaction taking place, how come we’ve never seen any sign of it until now? and why would it appear on a tree, deep underground?”

You and Jayce share a look.

“WHAT IS THIS PLACE?” YOU ASKED with curiosity as you sat down your bag, walking next to heimerdinger who looked around.

“I thought the gemstone mesh was installed above ground.” Ekko says.

“Me too..” you added with narrowed eyes.

“The mesh is above ground, but we weren’t sure what would happen if the gate overloaded, so we installed a failsafe at the base.” Jayce explains, you crossed your arms over your chest, still unsure about the whole thing.

“So instead of it exploding in your neighborhood, it would blow up in ours.” Ekko retorts.

Jayce turns to him. “We’re miles from the main fissures.”

“These are the same utility ducts that carry our water,” Ekko tells him. “And facilitate our ventilation. and that would explain it affecting the tree.”

“Inconceivable.” You hear heimerdinger say.

“That..that doesn’t explain--“ You paused, wondering if becoming an enforcer was really what you wanted in the first place.

“You know, you say we should feel like we’re all one people.” Ekko continues. “But whenever it rains, we’re the ones that get wet--“

His voice echoed as the scenery in the room changed to something completely different, you blinked a few times, eyes landing on what was in front of you.

“What the…” Jayce trails off confusedly, looking around himself.

The entire room was white, dull, like it was full of nothing.

“Is that..a wild rune?” Ekko questioned, your gazed landed on the wild rune in front of you.

“I have no idea what that is.” Jayce added.

All four of you stood in front of whatever the glowing ball was in front of you, you stepped back, eyes widening a bit. “No way.”

Weirdly enough the rune starts affecting your hair, the edge of the strands beginning to change colors. Jayce reaches forward begins to touch it.

“Ow!” You flinched away from the rune, whatever you just felt rush into your skin made it hurt a thousand times worse than your hair.

“Jayce, stop touching it!” You shouted at him.

But Jayce doesn’t hear you.

The world felt like it was spinning before you turned towards him, a chill runs down your spine as your bottom lip trembled. “Hello..?”

You felt yourself collapse, the air in your lungs beginning to fade. Jayce touches the rune, you clutched your head, starting to hear whispers from every side of you. “Stop, stop, stop!”

Whatever you were hearing didn’t want to stop, it’s like they enjoyed antagonizing you.

The world around you was starting to look different.

“Ekko! Jayce!” You shout again. “Anyone?!”

Silence.

Something blasts you in your chest, knocking you back as blood falls down your nose.

Then it fades to black.

END OF CHAPTER THREE

[sapphiresaphics]

I don’t know how people keep coming up with the worst takes on things, but here we are.

You wanna be logical about this? Okay fine.

Jinx locked her in the cell. She can’t get out. Even if she thinks she’s going to commit suicide, there’s nothing she can do about it. She’s locked in the cell. We don’t know how long it is before Caitlyn shows up. Could’ve been hours. There’s a war about to happen. No amount of hunting for Jinx is going to stop that. She doesn’t know where Jinx’s hideout is anyway. The chances of her FINDING her sister is slim to none now. Also, this is a prison. There are guards everywhere. Even if Jinx tries to leave, she’s likely going to get caught again and just thrown back into another cell. And even if she escapes, the possibilities are extremely low Vi will ever be able to find her and… need I remind you… a war is on the way. She’s got maybe a few hours at best before it gets here and kills everyone. She’s betrayed Caitlyn’s trust and lost her sister and she’s stuck in the cell. There’s nothing left for her.

So when Caitlyn comes in and tells her she expected to find her there and informs her that no, actually, she let her sister go and didn’t try to kill her or lock her back up and is letting go of the anger Jinx has had on her mind and that it’s okay that she tried to free her sister, Vi snaps. Because in that moment the ONLY person she has left is Caitlyn. And Caitlyn, the woman who’s been trying to kill her sister and broke up with her because Vi wouldn’t kill her sister, just informed her that she’s letting her sister go free. Which at the end of the day is all Vi really wanted.

And frankly I don’t think Vi really understands how devastated Jinx is. She comes in begging her sister to join up and fight and using her explosive potential to help out in the upcoming battle. She’s thinking of how this fight is going to get hundreds of people killed and she’s trying to build her sister up. From her point of view Jinx just needs a hug and to be told she’s special, because no matter how hard vi tries she’s always going to see Jinx as Powder. And while she has good intentions, this is NOT what Jinx needs to hear right now. Jinx is grieving and Vi is begging her to blow more shit up.

I am SO FUCKING DONE with people like you going “oh logically why wouldn’t she be trying to stop her sister from committing suicide? Why would she just fuck in a cell?! It’s such awkward timing! What bad writing!” Because you guys never stop and think about the character’s motivations.

YOU know jinx is suicidal. YOU know she is not doing well. But Vi doesn’t. Vi is blinded by Powder. She still doesn’t see Jinx or understand what Jinx has gone through. The idea that her sister is suicidal doesn’t even cross her mind. That fight in the tomb? Just her being crazy again. Jinx being theatrical again. Nothing new.

Fucking hell… that’s WHY Jinx locks her in the cell. Because even after everything they’ve gone through, she still sees her as powder. The “you’re never going to give up on me are you?” line is Jinx realizing that Vi will never truly see her as Jinx. That’s WHY she locks Vi in the cell. Because Jinx needs to leave this endless cycle and let Vi be able to move on. That’s why she tells her she doesn’t need to worry about her anymore or feel guilty and that she deserves to be happy with Caitlyn.

So yeah, they fuck in the cell because in that moment, Vi has lost everything. She doesn’t know if Jinx is alive or dead, she doesn’t know if she can find her before the war hits and potentially kills everyone and herself, and she’s gone behind Caitlyn’s back to release Jinx. She’s at her lowest point, with no time to do anything productive, and the girl of her dreams just informed her that it’s okay she betrayed her because she’s so god damn predictable and that’s something she loves about Vi, and that she’s letting her hatred of Jinx go. This is Caitlyn confirming to Vi that is was okay for her to love her sister that much. The one thing Vi has been repeatedly told by everyone around her she can’t do.

So this is VI’s emotions EXPLODING at the thought she still has one thing good left in her life. And she is going to take it NOW because this tension has been building and building for such a long time it NEEDS RELEASE. In that moment there’s no logic. No thought to the real world or what could be. It is pure emotional INSTINCT. Caitlyn has offered herself up on a silver platter and she is going to EAT.

The amount of effort you guys put into trying to misunderstand the characters, the scenes, and the intention behind the dialogue is ASTOUNDING. You should be awarded a medal for being so mind numbingly REDUCTIVE in your “criticisms.”

saw these comments on an edit on tt and they really made me stop and rethink for a second, especially the second comment ...

[vi-arcanes-left-bicep]

Spoilers for Arcane S2 Finale❗❗

So, i keep thinking about Arcane's last pieces of dialogue and though they sounded kinda funny when I watched the end at the first time (in a 'really? This took 27h to write?' way), the more I think about it, the more I like it.

I think it has a ton of layers to interpret and I'm still missing a few of them.

Please forgive my multiple tangents while I try to gather my thoughts.

First, how Caitlyn finds Vi: no bandages, a glass of alcohol in her hands.

No bandages means many things for Vi: she's vulnerable -both because of what she's going through and beacuse she can allow herself to be vulnerable for the first time in the show, with Caitlyn-, and her fight is over, she doesn't have to fight anymore (Re: Ep7 Powder saying Vi fights because she's scared of losing everyone, and she has lost everyone). (Everyone but Ekko and Caitlyn, who have repeatedly proven they can fend for themselves and are leaders on their own right, I'd love to say Vi is in a point where she's able not to feel responsible for them too, though this is something I'm not so sure about). Bandages were also an important part of her character design, of herself, so this gives a sensation that she's lost a part of her identity too. Who is she, if not the big sister, the protector, the brawler?

Alcohol is another small details that just says she's not okay. We've seen her drink herself senseless for, presumably, months, in Act II, to cope with all that happened in S1 and particularly S2 Act I: accepting the loss of her sister after the attack on the council, becoming an enforcer even though she was completely against it because she still feels responsible for ending Jinx, recognising her sister again for just a glimpse and gaining faith that Powder is still there (with the realisation that she almost killed her sister -not the monster she convinced herself jinx was, her sister) falling in love with Cait and seeing her become a completely different person out of grief.... So after everything that just happened in Act III, where she saw that many people die, either strangers or friends, and where she lost her sister and father AGAIN, of course she's considering getting back to drinking. So much happened to her in the span of few months that she's considering drowning the pain away again.

Caitlyn's question: "Are you still in this fight, Violet?"

The line delivery is incredibly soft and intimate, and Cait calling her Violet is the cherry on top. She's knows Vi is not okay. She's knows she's going through a lot right now.

Caitlyn's question seeing this is really, at least, three questions:

First and clearest is a check-in: "How are you?" "Will you be okay?" "Do you want to talk about this?"

Second is "Are you staying?" Vi could leave to be alone as she did at the beginning of Act II, could go with Ekko to Zaun... I can also see an "Are you staying with me?" After everything that happens, after the little time that they've had to be together and to solve the many things between them, her asking "Are you still in this fight" can mean both "hey, are you holding up" and "Are we still together in this?"

Third would be "So, are you up to face this, solving things between Piltover and Zaun?". I know some people have criticized the lack of resolution in the Zaun/Piltover conflict. I'd argue, as much as I'd love for the class conflict to be expanded, it is not the core of the series, and both the writers and the characters know that a conflict like this cannot be solved in such little time. The series was not going to solve it. What it does is solve it's main plot and character arcs, and leave a space for this theme to have the start of a resolution. Piltover an Zaun joined against Ambessa's army, and the ending gives us a glimpse of the will to change the relationship between topside and bottom (e.g. having Zaunites in the council). It's not a perfect ending nor it is a resolution for Zaun's class struggle -I'm pretty sure that was never the intent, though I would have liked for both cities' relationship to be more comented upon in this season-, it's the opportunity to advance towards a resolution. So Cait is asking Vi if she is willing to deal with that too. "Are you still in this fight?" can also have an implication to mean fighting to make things better. This also means fighting for them to be together.

Then, Vi's answer: "I am the dirt underneath your fingernails, Cupcake. Nothing's gonna clean me out".

Now, I like this because it sums up to Vi saying "I'm not going anywhere" but the line itself and the delivery gives it a few more layers of meaning.

First of all, Vi is clearly not okay. She's very emotionaly scarred and considering an unhealthy coping mechanism. She looks incredibly sad. And she's deflecting with humour to the question because she's probably not ready to talk about it. So her delivery here, plus the strange joke/comparison and calling Caitlyn "Cupcake" (which she's only done when she's teasing her in a flirty or funny way or deflecting the conversation by doing so) is telling Caitlyn that she's not okay right now, but that she isn't going to leave. "

I interpret "Nothing's gonna clean me out" as her basically saying "I'm tough, I'll get through this" to Caitlyn's "How are you?" and saying "You're not getting rid of me" to Caitlyn's "Are you going to stay?"

Furthermore, calling herself "The dirt underneath your fingernails" has an obvious implication about her being a Zaunite and Caitlyn being from Pilotover. I've seen some people saying this is insulting to Vi's character and to Zaun's storyline.... I don't think so at all. Yeah, I can get to see a layer of self-depreciating humor, but for me this is Vi using her humour as well to reinforce herself and her identity as a Zaunite (which arguably she left aside/lost sight of during Act I) while also teasing Caitlyn for being a topsider. I like to interpret this as Vi saying "Yeah, Piltie, I'm sticking with you and I will keep bothering you". The tone and calling Cait "Cupcake" reinforces this as a tease as well. Reinstating her identity as a Zaunite also gives insight on Vi's position on the Zaun-Piltover new relationship: yes, she's willing to help out manage this, always from the position of a kid from the Lanes.

Zaun and Piltover are also stuck together after the ending - they've fought together against a common enemy and that has also forced Piltover's elite to sit and listen to Zaun's demands. For sure Piltover's aristocracy still has to get their heads out of their asses but this is how I like to read the phrase in regards to Zaun-Piltover, layered upon what Vi is saying: I am the dirt underneath you = I (Zaun's state and problems) am a consequence of your (Piltover's) actions and I am not going anywhere. (You will have to listen).

Anyways, lots of rambling and I'll still be missing stuff!

Another thing is, native spanish speakers as I am use the phrase "Nail and flesh" to say that two people are inseparable, and this has enough similarity to that for it to feel like Vi is also saying they are inseparable. So yeah

[youcanautogeneratethese]

Arcane is a tragedy, but S2 isn't a very good one.

So, I've seen people dismissing criticism on the idea of Arcane being a tragedy, the assumption being that the people who criticize S2 just wanted everything to be sunshine and rainbows. This doesn't make a lot of sense since the same people liked S1 which was also a tragedy.

But here's the thing...

The tragedies in a tragedy should have a narrative purpose. It shouldn't just be done for the sake of it. This is a story after all.

Let's compare the big tragedy of S1 to the big tragedy (Vander and Isha dying) of S2.

Season 1,

Powder's bomb causes more damage than she expected and instead of saving her friends, ends up killing them as well as Vander. This tragedy informs the character of everyone involved going forward.

-Vi lashes out at Powder in anger, calling her a jinx, which traumatizes Powder to the point she internalizes the identity and takes the name Jinx, permanently altering her character.

-Powder is found by Silco, the tragedy of the situation reminds him of being betrayed by Vander which stirs some compassion and prompts him to take her in. This kickstarts his entire character arc.

-This informs us as to why Vi wants to save Jinx so badly, beyond her being her sister. Because she feels guilty for what she said and blames herself for Powder turning into Jinx because of it.

-When we get peeks into Jinx's mind we see that she's haunted by images of her dead friends as well as Vi, so the tragedy continues to make her suffer for years going forward.

In other words, the tragedy was brutal but necessary for the plot.

Season 2,

Vander is lost to the monster inside, Warwick, and Isha randomly decides on a heroic sacrifice that gets her killed. The impact?

-Jinx is depressed and goes to blow herself up, then doesn't. Going right back to how she was before the tragedy occurred.

That's it, Vi doesn't seem to care about Vander or Isha. She's not even that invested in Jinx's obvious depression. Instead, she's portrayed as being dumber than a pile of rocks, failing to even pick on what happened.

-Isha is never mentioned again and the depression that Jinx feels could just as easily be because of Vander. It's like she never even existed.

-Jayce, who started it all by smashing Viktor to pieces isn't all that bothered, and no one is upset with him for causing the tragedy through his actions.

So, what was the point of this tragedy? I guess the Warwick thing could still work because he comes back and has a fight with them, but neither of the sisters even speak of it until the actual fight scene in act 3 commences.

Conclusion

Just because something is a tragedy doesn't mean there shouldn't be narrative importance to the tragedies that occur. If you don't have the time or will to tackle a new tragedy, then don't include and stay focused on the aftermath of the old one.

[hauntingofhouses]

arcane rant. spoilers for all of season 2 #caitlyn-critical

yeah okay i was scared to say this which is SILLY but ALAS. anyway yeah seeing that im not the only one i feel like i have to get this off my chest as well.

i wanted to give caitlyn a chance in season 2, especially in the beginning of this season during her """corruption""" arc wherein she was turning into a tyrant and a bad guy. because see, to me that was caitlyn at her best. not as a person but as a character. before this she was just so uninteresting and downright annoying to me, but starting with s2e1 i started really enjoying where the writers were taking her journey. i would've loved to see her continue down that path and caitvi evolving from reluctant allies to lovers and then perhaps to enemies-WHILE-lovers. i wouldve loved seeing caitvi hatefucking, and i thought that was where this arc was taking her. but no, instead she's still the good one, while maddie turned out to be the bad guy all along. plot twist! but it made me feel nothing but more annoyance not only at caitlyn but also at the way the narrative seems to baby caitlyn and excuse her for everything despite the supposed anti-cop messaging intrinsic to the way vi was written throughout season 1.

i understand that caitlyn's whole thing in season 1 is that she's a naive rich girl just trying her best in the ways she knows how, and that's by being a cop. like yes i get that, which is why i didnt mind her very much and gave her a chance to grow, and even though i didn't care for her as a character at all because she's boring AND a cop, i did like that she was in the story as vi's love interest, and primarily served the story in that role.

but when season 2 decides to give her a bigger role and allow her to shine on her own, they do a good job! until... they don't. because caitlyn still has to be a good guy, because she's SO loyal to vi. and why? the two barely know each other, they're attracted to each other but I don't understand why and how caitlyn could so easily put aside all her rage and grief and desire for vengeance and retribution, to be loyal to vi. to betray ambessa and work with jinx?

like i think my biggest problem is how little conflict there is for vi and cait to end up fucking in that prison cell. like if it was angry hate fucking, that would be perfect and honestly a natural followup if you really do wanna implement a sex scene right there and then. but it wasn't. instead it felt more like "okay my suicidal sister gave me her blessing to fuck you so i can finally do it now yippeee" meanwhile jinx literally went to kill herself over and over again while ekko had to keep trying to talk her down.

like the thing is i'm here for the drama and im here for a rollercoaster ride of emotions and i'm here for character development. but more than anything else i'm here for the drama where vi and jinx's story as sisters, as family, is ultimately the driving force of the story. so for them to just push that aside SO quickly, felt JARRING. like "okay sister MOVE i wanna fuck this cute cop who was acting like a tyrant in the city for the past few months (?), and btw the cute cop works for an institution that killed my parents and destroyed our whole lives ❤️ #lovewins"

like okay. i dont mind if the final ending finds both jinx and vi distanced and estranged because they both need to heal and move on from the past (and each other) in order to grow and invest love in their own new found families. but for it to have been done just like that, for caitvi to get together in the same prison cell where vi's suicidal sister had just been suffering in mental agony and grief... I don't know. i don't like it.

[srslylini]

The way season 1 ended she was at a point so low she was ready to blow up a city (and like she did, she blew up the council). The start of season 2 showing her cathartic wasn't actually bad I liked that direction. It felt like they wanted to show her in a "nothing state" which depression also feels like.

they showed her as not caring about anything anymore (literally just walking through every scene in the music video sucker while everything just HAPPENS around her). The meeting with Isha, while still being a little bit odd since it felt like well they randomly put them together but that's something you can overlook, was amazing. She still just didn't care, played with her life.

Her reaction to seeing her sister being an enforcer? Gut punching. Extremely painful. The fight with her STILL being more in a nothing like state, just shooting the dude with her back turned to him felt very s1 which is good because again, Jinx in the end was like??? done.

and then.... act 2 happened. Suddenly they used Jinx's mental state as a Plot device. In season 1 it would ruin missions and her freaking out would happen no matter if "the plot needed it or not" if you get what I mean? The first mission we see on screen? fucked up because Jinx lost control. This happens throughout the first season, it doesn't just come when ever the writers need it to happen.

In season 2 it does. Suddenly in situations that should freak her out she doesn't. Suddenly they use it as a plot device. Why was she very calm and relaxed upon meeting Vander as warwick with Vi? Why did she not freak out when Vi and her fought in the mines?

Do we all remember what happened in season 1 episode 3? And how Jinx immediately lashed out as soon as a fight occured? What happened? Also why was she suddenly so very chill with Enforcers in act 2 and beyond? The joke with the Enforcer and her god damn fucking pants was so out of place I cannot even handle to think about it anymore. The fight with Warwick was good and I liked that in the end they again showed that she is ready to kill herself, at least there is continuity here but that is also never addressed and also... happens for Plot and plot only

it happens so warwick can see the bomb and so they can have him recognize her, like okay arcane writers? And then after that she is simply fine with her second father figure showing up again? You are telling me the girl who had such a mental break down last season over her sister returning would be absolutely fine and 🥺family🥺 upon seeing Vander? Where was the sense? Where was her having to deal with Silco and Vander in her mind? i don't WANT to see her tortured, duh, but they set that up and showed this happening to her in season 1, so this is just, I dont know, a plothole? You are telling me the same girl who blew up the council in s1, and like LOOK AT HER in that scene, is all cuddle cuddle with her past family whose death she always blamed herself for and was scared off?

Then Isha dying, and god do I have my problems with that but that's another thing, and THEN having Jinx never mention her again? Are you KIDDING ME? like it's not even just not mentioning her as much as it is just also Isha not appearing in her nightmares etc. That is NOT how they set Jinx up as a character. While the scene with Jinx in the prison with Silco turning up was chillingly heartbreaking it also didn't make sense if you take into account how they wrote her seeing things this season. In the one scene where she talked to Silco's chair she says he doesn't show up and then when she is in pain over Isha being caught suddenly he stands behind her? I mean maybe I missed something here but I literally sat there like huh.

In season 1 it happened not because it was needed but because it wasn't. As it should be. In this season it only happened when the Plot needed to move and that's just so incredibly weird to me. Especially cause I already saw people misinterpreting the Silco and Jinx prison scene. It was her subconscious telling her to kill herself not Silco trying to be "a positive influence".

And then or course, we have this tragic character Jinx. Who was shown to have a wish of death all throughout season 1 with how careless she was with her life (for example when she threw around the bombs in her hide out) and then throughout season 2 as well. Who saw a breath of life for a bit, taken from her.

To have a character like this ACTUALLY die by killing herself and then to paint it as a GOOD thing? This isn't a tragedy. This is straight up suicide glorification. I did not cry when I watched this scene, I did not feel sadness and grief. I was beyond mad and disgusted and might be for a long time to come.

I need more ppl to talk abt how awfully Jinx was treated this season. I am soooo angry and upset

[brionysea]

Is it just me or did Vi really not get an arc this season 😭? She doesn’t resolve the fact that she places all her worth on protecting those she loves. A lot of her big emotional beats (joining the enforcers, becoming a pit fighter, finding Vander, freeing Jinx and getting imprisoned for all her efforts) happened as a result of Caitlyn or Jinx’s intervention. She has so much oldest sister syndrome she infected the narrative 😇

yes! I think it's an issue of flawed ideas and poor execution. in classic me fashion, I'll go through the whole thing to show you what I mean:

vi joining the enforcers despite everything they've done to her (killing her parents, roughing up her family as kids, chasing them down, coming into the last drop to arrest them and intimidating everyone and almost taking powder, imprisoning and abusing and starving vi for her entire adolescence) because caitlyn asked her to and caitlyn is the Most Important Person in her life right now is the exact kind of thing vi would do. I personally love how temporary the enforcer gig is, despite that going against the lore (I honestly couldn't care less), because vi's CHARACTER in this show goes against the lore. I don't care that she's supposed to be an enforcer in the game. I'm not playing a game. I'm watching a show. the vi I know wouldn't do that, it makes no sense for her character, and it really feels like that's the point. she's losing herself for the sake of what caitlyn wants in a very clever way to address whoever demanded the show be more accurate to the game (which, again, I AM NOT PLAYING. BECAUSE THIS IS A SHOW THAT'S MORE THAN CAPABLE OF STANDING ON ITS OWN) without betraying the characters. this is the kind of freedom that would have made for a truly stellar season: going where the story is led naturally by its characters rather than being trapped by a pre-determined narrative

then in vi's fight with jinx (which, fine, I guess vi *would* decide that 'jinx isn't powder anymore' means 'my sister is dead'; she's single minded like that, even if it felt rushed), there's suddenly a random child in the crossfire and vi's like oh. okay. I can't actually hurt innocent children the way I was hurt. I do, in fact, have principles, and they dictate that I intervene rather than allow this to play out. and it turns out that when the chips are down caitlyn doesn't actually care about the undercity because she risked killing an innocent child and wants to kill jinx knowing she's vi's sister (and said that jinx, a young mentally ill girl from the undercity, killing caitlyn's mother, one of the richest and most powerful women in piltover, is the same as vi's parents being killed by enforcers while fighting to end the oppressive social order they enforce. it's not.) and basically says that she thought vi was 'one of the good ones' but she's exactly like all those other animals (again, because vi refused to let cait open fire on a child), before literally gut-punching her and leaving her there. vi was right before, they're oil and water, they're too different. and now vi's lost her sister; lost cait; the rest of her family is still dead. she has no money. no power. nowhere to go. nobody to protect. what's even the point of her?

and then we reach the second act. vi has no purpose so she's like well I'm just gonna fight people for money. because she'll win. obviously. she's a mess, she's drinking all the time, she's seeing jinx and caitlyn everywhere (people really breeze over how vi sees things too - definitely to a lesser degree than jinx, but when she hits rock bottom, it's there). I love this set up for vi. it makes so much sense that putting all her energy into caring for others would end up here. like a message from the universe that she needs to learn to do things for herself or she'll always end up back in this hole. you could argue that vi not having a lot of agency and just following jinx or caitlyn around until she ends up stuck in that cell (her ✨️ prison of the mind ✨️ or whatever jinx's imaginary, out of character, ghost silco was talking about), while boring (so boring), is more of vi being stubborn and stuck in her ways and refusing to learn her lesson until she's forced to. which she was also like in season 1, except there, it was more like vi repeatedly trying to solve problems that were much too big to be punched away by punching them (vi thought jinx could brute force her way out of being traumatised), and even then, I didn't get the impression that vi cared enough about the council to actually give up on jinx because of what she did to them. vi's a brick wall of a woman. sometimes, in this bitch of a world, stubbornness is a virtue

the problem, like a lot of things that had potential in season 2, is that it's not actually followed through on. there's no self actualisation for vi. she just cares about jinx until she doesn't and then she has sex with cait (who does not actually atone for any of the shit she did btw) in the prison cell where vi's sister was just planning suicide and is currently going through with it elsewhere, as far as vi knows

I think the intention was for vi having sex with cait instead of chasing after jinx to be the first selfish thing in her life (which jinx basically told her to do, because no one hates piltover anymore even though they haven't changed at all or done anything to earn this 'meet us halfway' demand of feeling entitled to zaun's bodies for their war after poisoning those same bodies for who knows how long. jinx never called vi an idiot for dating an enforcer. in fact, she feels bad for nuking the council :( which means she's good now! 👍 because GOOD characters are NICE to piltover and only BIG MEANIES care about zaun's independence. even silco's ghost thinks it's a waste of time! apparently he was just bitter and unloved, like a child throwing a tantrum! sure. sure! why not!), but it falls apart immediately because 1) jinx told vi she's going to kill herself (vi knew what jinx was planning before she asked, you can hear the fear in her voice), which obviously takes priority - never in a million years would vi let jinx disappear like that without doing anything about it, no matter how self actualised she is, because STOPPING YOUR SISTER FROM COMMITTING SUICIDE IS A NORMAL THING TO DO. well, maybe not normal, but you know what I mean. it's not exclusively a vi-ism. it's common sense. if someone you love tells you they're going to commit suicide, you do everything in your power to prevent it. and 2) CAIT IS NOT ACTUALLY REDEEMED FROM ALL THE SHIT SHE DID TO THE UNDERCITY. yes, cait letting jinx escape was symbolic of her letting go of the obsession that drove her to that point, but she didn't actually hurt jinx (except now jinx is free to off herself because of cait, which vi would be angry about if she hadn't spontaneously forgotten what she learned in the previous scene). despite her personal vendetta, cait couldn't catch jinx to even attempt to hurt her. who she DID hurt was the undercity at large, and she has no way of making up for that. they dropped the zaun plotline like a hot potato so there's no narrative opportunity for cait to prove to vi (and to the audience) that she gets it now. that she's done being a fascist and vi isn't just blinded by her hotness (which would be a strange angle to take but that's honestly what it seems like. it's so shallow and out of place with everything going on). none of this is earned enough for vi to choose a quickie in a cell over stopping her suicidal sister from blowing herself up

TLDR; there was an attempt at an arc, which was foiled by tying it so closely to caitvi, which was tied to the politics of the piltover-zaun conflict, which was never resolved and thus made vi's arc feel unsatisfying

[space-1z-cool]

spoilers ahead for s1 and 2 of arcane

jinx centered Arcane rambleeee :3

i feel that jinx is the embodiment of getting so close to happiness but having it constantly torn away from her. Usually somewhat by her own doing, but Vi also had a lot to do with her losses when u think abt it.

Ekko Jinx Vi Claggor and. the guy i forget his name. Were all starting to be happy and live a life with Vander and the chill guy who was like ekkos dad. Yea sure they did get involved with shady shit, and crime and all of that. But They didnt have much of a choice while living in Zaun. But then they go on a mission, which the outcome of has a chain reaction to the rest of the series.

(as clearly shown in the AU where vi is dead and everyone else is thriving and hextech doesnt exist bc jayce probably succeeded in his attempt on his life after the explosion killed Vi. And Theres a buncha stuff that could have happened w viktor. maybe his disease progressed too far, or he didnt gain interest because of the outcome of its accidental use killing a young girl frkm the undercity. which could give him moral cause to not support jayce. but anyways back to the main topic)

That mission led to powder/jinx really really needing to feel helpful. So what happens? She gets her bombs to work. But she accidentally "kills" vander in the process. As well as actually killing claggor and the other guy. Therefore getting si close to feeling happy and useful. But it being taken away by her own actions and Vi's influence (imo vi's reaction is what leads her to be taken in by silco. bc silco feels safer now than Vi, who just hit her in the face and called her a jinx after previously reassuring her she wasnt.)

Later on when Jinx is with silco. Silco loves jinx. He's a decent father figure, horrible person (product of environment and never finding the letter) but an ok father. He loves Jinx and wouldn't give her to Piltover even though thats what the council wanted to 'allow' zaun to be its own sovereign state. He trusts her to an extent. She has her fun with her gadgets and explosives and Silco scolds her when needed. etc. I'd argue that Even though it wasn't perfect, and jinx was struggling with untreated mental illness, She was starting to get kinda happy and comfortable.

But what happens next? She kidnaps Vi and Caitlyn, Vi accidentally triggers her into an episode, and jinx accidentally kills silco while she's disoriented and hallucinating. And even after that?? Silco didnt get upset because he Knew that she didnt mean to. ( which EUGH.. their fucked up father daughter duo makes me so emotional) Happiness ripped away p2.

Okay! Maybe third time is the charm. She has Isha! And She's done with the Jinx persona but knows she isnt really powder either. She does her best to be a good older sister and shows isha the ropes of zaun-living kinda. They genuinely have a nice bond and Jinx stops getting involved with as much violence. Also if you notice, most of her hallucinations have stopped (at least on screen).

And Then they meet up w Vi and find Warwick/Vander. They make it to Viktor's Cult and happiness looks so fucking close. They could be a real Family.

And WHAT HAPPENS????? Ambitcha and her army barge in, wanting Warwick for a weapon, Jayce drops in to try to kill his boyfriend who isnt himself fully anymore, and it all goes ti shit! Jinx loses Isha and Vander (again) And its all fucked. That was her last fucking straw. After losing all of that she goes tk prison.

And after EVERYTHING she's endured. All of that kind of finalizes in her brain that she is a Jinx.

In the end, If you look at jinx's facial expressions as she saves Vi and (probably) dooms herself, she's content. She's content dying this way. After losing Everything. After feeling like she was the cause of everything bad. She could do One thing to give her remaining family member happiness. And doing that one thing seemed to give her relief or possibly even her own happiness. And if she died, that final emotion, finally reaching a semblance of being content, couldnt be taken away.

and i dont blame her for choosing to go out like that. was i happy? FUCK NO i was sobbing. but it made sense. ik there's a theory she's probably alive. esp cus she's like a main character in league. but from what ive seen/heard? arcane is based on lol lore but not quite. And Jinx is a far more nuanced character in arcane.

i think thats all for now. prepare for more long ass posts bc this show is pure art. and i loved it.

[thenationofzaun]

This is so fucking funny. So many of these came true but in the dumbest possible way that completely failed to build up the proper context and development to make it believable. I should've kept my damn mouth shut. The monkey's paw really curled.

They did end up making her disown Jinx, but instead of it being motivated by feeling betrayed by her and loyalty to Vander's memory, it's out of sympathy for Councilors (how dare that evil bitch kill my tyrannical oppressors grrrr she's crazy😡). They did make her say "Powder's gone and only Jinx remains" but instead of it being a hollow mantra to desperately steal herself for a fight, she actually believes that shit and lets Caitlyn take kill shots at Jinx. Instead of Vi being unable to deliver the killing blow out of love for her sister that, as much as she wishes she could stamp it out, will always remain? Nah, she was actually going to kill her and only stopped when a random child intervened.

The pitfighter depression arc? Lasts for 3 fucking minutes and is never brought up again. Zaun's reaction to her becoming an enforcer? Never once shown. Ekko's reaction? Nothing. In fact she and Ekko don't have a SINGLE CONVERSATION in the entire season. Rather than Vi slowly uncovering the past and realizing the Vander vs Silco fallout wasn't as black and white as she assumed? They just retconned that shit and made it so she always knew the backstory and doesn't show any surprise or curiosity when she finds that dumbass letter. Rather than Warwick making Vi do some self reflection and realizing she doesn't want to become the violent rage-filled monster Vander used to be, killing Warwick to free Vander then letting go of her rage? Nah, let's have some Disney channel family reunion group hug before some magic bullshit makes Vander go crazy again. Then have Jinx kill Warwick in a really contrived unnecessary "sacrifice" while Vi accomplishes absolutely nothing this entire season nor has any interesting arc.

I actually believed their BS when they said Season 2 would be Vi's season. I had so much faith when I heard of the "Dark Vi" and pitfighter arc news, thinking the show was actually about to cook and do something interesting with Vi. But nope. She remained the same shallow paper thin character who only exists to be pussy-whipped for Caitlyn.

A Dark Vi in Season 2:

I'm hoping for a darker take on Vi in season 2. Imagine if Vi takes up a bitter attitude towards Jinx that's similar to Ekko's before the bridge fight - "Powder's gone, all that's left is Jinx." I say before the bridge fight because I think Ekko had a moment of growth there in his view of Jinx, where he was forced to confront the truth that Powder and Jinx are the same person, no matter how much he tries to divorce them to make it easier to kill Jinx.

Back to Vi, it's possible that in response to Jinx's rebuff of her, she bitterly disowns Jinx right back. Not immediately, no. I think Vi in the immediate aftermath of the finale would still be self-blaming, devastated, and confused. But after a while, when Jinx continues to demonstrate her disinterest in reconciling with Vi and her zeal in warring with Piltover of her own accord, even in the absence of Silco, Vi's view of her sister would have to change. I could see anger and resentment creeping in after a while. Vi would have to accept that her sister willingly rebuffed her and chose Silco, willingly ditched Vander's side. Vi might give in to that petty, indignant anger of a child upset with her sibling - "she left me, she is not my sister anymore!"

I can imagine her taking up an attitude like "I don't have a sister. My sister died a long time ago." Kind of like Ekko including Powder on his "wall of the dead" mural. It'd be growth for Vi, just not a positive one. She'd finally accept that there's no "bringing the old Powder back", but she'd pivot all the way to the other end of the spectrum with "you know what, fuck Jinx, the Powder I loved is dead and gone." This would be doubly sad and ironic considering her words in episode 9 - "Are we still sisters?" "Nothing is ever going to change that."

Imagine her telling Ekko "you were right" as she finally agrees with what he said to her in episode 7, but Ekko just has mixed feelings because he himself has since realized he was wrong in saying that. The Powder they loved is not dead, has never been dead. She's still here. She just made choices they disagreed with. She chose to join their enemy. And that's a much harder truth to live with than simply insisting she died and calling it a day.

Vi's view of her sister perfectly parallels her view of the undercity. In season 1 it was horror to find that the old version, the one under Vander, has changed so much in the time she was locked up. It was a refusal to accept this change, an insistence that the old home/sister can still be brought back, all she had to do was remove Silco's rule/influence and she'd restore her home/sister to the way it used to be.

They could continue this parallel in season 2. Vi could give in to anger and disown them both. Begin grieving Vander's undercity and Powder in tandem, while scorning Silco's Zaun and Jinx. She could fall out with Ekko due to this. Where he still wants to live in and help heal the undercity, Vi wants to leave it and turn against it. Vi could blame the undercity for allowing Silco's takeover and "not lifting a finger to stop him". She could take on a harsh view of her people, the Lanes in particular - "They betrayed Vander, they allowed the rise of Chembarons, did nothing to avenge my family in my absence. They're weak." She'd butt heads with Ekko over this, straining their relationship.

It would push her further into the arms of Caitlyn (and Piltover). She'd bury her pain in rage against all of "Silco's ilk". She'd want to wipe out all his loyalists and the Chembarons, since she couldn't fulfill her vengeance on him specifically. She'd think the best way to accomplish this goal is through tougher enforcement and punitive measures from the enforcers/Council. Basically the same thing she did in episode 8 but on steroids, eventually leading to her joining the enforcers. Imagine Ekko's reaction. He has spent the last 7-8 years feeling betrayed by Jinx for joining his enemy. Now Vi returns to him from the dead, and even she betrays him by joining another of his enemies? While the sisters are so preoccupied with feeling abandoned by each other, Ekko feels abandoned by them both. The game has Ekko admonishing Vi as a traitor so I'm excited to see it in the show.

But of course, Vi's elaborate talk of "Powder is dead and only Jinx remains" would just be her way of coping and rationalizing her sister's betrayal. Just like Ekko, it'd be her way of convincing herself she can fight and kill Jinx. But when it comes down to it, she wouldn't actually want Jinx dead. The conflict this would cause with Caitlyn and Piltover... imagine Vi is fighting Jinx and at the last moment, she can't bring herself to deliver the final blow. Jinx gets away and now Vi is disgraced by topsiders, who question her loyalty to them. "Of course we shouldn't have trusted a trencher on the force." Now she is rejected by both cities. Hated by Piltover for bigoted reasons and for her relation to Jinx, hated by Zaunites for being a class traitor.

She'd be a complete outcast, and from here, there could be a lot of character growth. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before finding your way back up. Maybe she could dig into Vander's past and find out about his falling out with Silco. Uncovering the past of her beloved mentor whom she idolized, she'd begin to see him for the flawed man he actually was. Realize that he'd have never wanted her to give in to rage. Never wanted her to help bring Piltover's wrath down on Zaun. She'd begin to understand not just Vander, but Silco too, and Jinx's love for him. Not be happy with it of course, just understanding. That's what I'm hoping for in the end - not a reconciliation between the sisters, just a bittersweet understanding. Accepting of each others' choices even if they disagree with them. Anyway, I'm interested to see what they do with Vi's character in Season 2, since I found her to be underwritten in Season 1.

TLDR: A darker, angrier take on Vi in Season 2 could lead to some very interesting places.

[stellarremnant]

all i want is for vi and jinx and viktor and ekko and sevika and caitlyn and everyone to be happy. is that too much to ask

[daughter-lilith]

Can we talk about how Vi & Jinx went from fighting like true enemies: truly enraged, hurting each other, drawing blood without holding back.

To fighting like fed up sisters: a surprise bitch slap, hair pulling, Vi trying to make Jinx surrender but not genuinely hurting her.

It's still rough, but it's not I really hate you and want to see you bleed and possibly die rough.

[maxdibert]

Honestly, I’m not as angry with Jayce for taking his post-breakup depression in the most toxic way possible, realizing his ex had ascended to messiah nirvana, as I am for destroying Vi and Jinx's happiness again. They were finally becoming a family with their redeemed Frankenstein father and their new adopted daughter/niece i mean even even Caitlyn was in "I’m done being a puppet of the system" mode, like, I’m going to help my ex-girlfriend/situationship and her psychopath sister that I hate, even though it repulses me and I detest her, and I’m going to throw all this gaslighting they’ve been doing to me for half the season out the window. I'm masking this with sarcastic humor, but really, I’ve been crying for half an hour, just wanting someone to punch that man in the face because THEY WERE FINALLY HAPPY AND A FAMILY, AND I HOPE YOU SINK, JAYCE TALIS, AND SUFFER TERRIBLY, AND MEL LEAVES YOU TOO. I HATE YOU.

[thewistlingbadger]

To me it's like, why even introduce new characters? There's so much shit going on in S2 we LITERALLY don't have the time for any of this. It's no surprise why we couldn't get invested in new characters there was already so much happening, I can only focus on so much at a time. And the cast from season 1 is large. They should have spent more time fleshing them all out instead of giving side characters WHO ALL DIED in the season. Sevika deserved the exploration, as did Sky and Ekko. They're all a part of S2 but they don't really feel like it. Season two was the opportunity to bring side characters into the spotlight and they said "naw. Stay backstage." It's silly that Jayce, Mel, Heimerdinger, and ekko are basically MIA for almost the entirety of the series. Like these were central characters last time around why are they barely here??

No. I just can't with the characters because I don't think I can genuinely say I enjoyed and understood the development of any of the characters fully. Like yeah characters developed but do I know why? No not really.

Mel gets introduced as a Mage but the black rose is never explained and it was just very confusing to me.

Jayce has the best development in the season imo most of what he did and went through made sense. My only thing is that I still don't understand why he shot at Viktor.

Viktor completely changes in S2 and we're never told why. He's completely cold and unfeeling and suddenly has an ideology that wasn't really hinted at in s1. We assume it's bc of the hexcore but we shouldn't have to assume we just know from what the show shows us

Vi literally doesn't change at all. She never has to reflect on her sister or Caitlyn or herself or the current circumstances. Nothing. She's the exact same imo. Isn't it weird how anti jinx she was in act 1? She was Literally about to kill Jinx had Isha not stepped in, even though that confrontation was like. In the same week Vi said they would always be sisters. And the only reason Vi starts liking Jinx again is because she's acting more like "powder". She never actually has to accept the fact her sister is changed bc her sister low-key reverts into who she used to be

Ekko didn't get shit this season let's be serious. No exploration of his character or his views.

Jinx's change comes from left field and this is because of how the show treats her relationship with silco and Isha. Isha basically pacifies Jinx and the show can't decide what it wants to do with Jinx's relationship with silco. Why does she decide to come back and save the day? Idk they didn't show us the scene where ekko and her reconciled.

Caitlyn. What a shit show. What thoughts are there to even express that haven't already been expressed? She becomes a fascist and that's not explored. She decides fascism bad but we don't see how or why she comes to that conclusion. She's treated like a hero when she acts like a villain. She never has to take accountability for her actions.

Poor Sevika she got nothing.

Singed has the best development out of everyone here ngl and I don't know how to feel about that lol sksks

Despite being the season's main antagonist, we sure don't learn anything additional to Ambessa. Probably bc they put her backstory in a music video and not the show.

I don't feel any sympathy for anyone that cried for Isha. Be so serious, the moment I saw Isha's music video before act one came out, it was obvious she was gonna die. Isha wasn't a character, she was a plot device used to further Jinx's narrative and I personally didn't like the way she changed her. Not to mention her sacrifice makes no sense bc she's shooting at Vander and jinx wasn't in any trouble. AND her death isn't mentioned in act 3. It's like she never existed.

Maddie is just confusing bc I heard the creators say she was manipulated by Ambessa but the show didn't show that. They didn't show anything of Maddie, she was just a side character. Was her betrayal surprising? Absolutely not.

the way Arcane wasted character in season 2 is actually insane. They gave us good character design but no good character. Especially the new ones. Is there honestly ONE, one you genuinely cried over?

I cried over Mylo and Claggor. I cried over Vander in season 1. I cried over Powder screaming and sobbing after Vi in act 1 of season 1. I felt deep emotional pain over all of this because they gave me character and an understanding of the world we are in. And they did all of that in 3, THREE, episodes.

What did they do with Isha? Well I sure didn't cry when she died. Her character, while interesting just wasn't fleshed out at all. What I felt when they killed her was how idiotic the writers were for that because okay? like huh. They had 5 episodes with Isha and somehow managed to not make me care enough to cry. Not because Isha's potential wasn't there but because killing her was stupid and pointless, just to further another characters pain which could happen way more naturally without introducing a character to die.

What did they do with Loris? They tried to make him Vander (which okay weird why do that? especially if you want to bring Vander back anyway like uhm? what was the sense of introducing Loris as a Vander stand in and then bringing Vander back??). But he WASN'T Vander because they never showed him to be. They just told me he was. Which doesn't work. okay, he died. Did not care. The only thing I felt was rage again because it was so unnecessary and dumb, they could have made a lot with this character.

Maddie. Well Maddie is a whole other thing, isn't she? She was introduced in a way that already raised a lot of eyebrows. But in a "she is a cop" way and not she is on Ambessas side way. There is so much questions coming up with that. Had she been on Ambessa's side from the very start? Even when we first saw her on screen? Did she come with Ambessa? But how was she an enforcer then? Did she always live in Piltover but how did she then turn towards Ambessa? When she made that fist sign, was the plot between Ambessa and her already going, or did it happen after that? Why were we not shown any of this? this is NECESSARY to understand her character and why the end happened. We should have been able to feel betrayed as well but like? I did not feel betrayed I was just like "okay well, that happened off screen I guess."

Steb had not one talking line, like why was he here, was I meant to feel bad when he ran into The Grey, I can't even tell, help.

And then the side characters of Zaun, especially the Jinxers. The one woman who then died with Vi's hand in hers while wearing the uniforms of Piltover. Did not feel sad. Felt absolute huge amount of unfiltered rage. Her character should have MEANT something. I feel they tried to make her mean something but they failed there too.

Lest?? LIKE LEST COULD HAVE ALSO BEEN USED IN SUCH AN INTERESTING WAY. She just never came back. Okay. Great, at least she didn't die but like? Was I meant to get invested? Was I meant to care? Usually I should be able to tell if I should care about a character in a show or not but in Arcane s2 they tried to make me care and failed or if I cared well then they failed, too

anyways just the side characters especially were a huge disappointment this time around.

[bumblydumbly]

Already said this but since everybody is too busy on the failmance happening im gonna say it again: Vi starting their confrontation by saying “never thought [my sister] would orphan kids” only to be stopped from killing jinx. By an orphan kid.