#I like jinx and I like mel and I really like the fucked up shit jinx silco and sevika all had. but that's an even worse sorry lesbians

[hauntingblue]

ARCANE DAY

Episode 4 and 5 in the tags and:

SALO BEING A VIKTOS FOLLOWER??? CRAZY. ALSO BOTH VIKTOR MISSING JAYCE AJDHSKSJ also cait has kinda calmed down... and I am sure she misses vi so I KNOW this is going to happen to her soon.... we aren't getting much of her feelings yet... she's still too onto Jinx to catch up on where ambessa is going...

DID JAYCE JUST KILL SALO??? WHAT HAPPENED IN THERE

Also vander not recognizing vi at first until she gives up fighting.... incredible ALSO vander and silco being miners and vi wearing her gauntlets that were initially thought out for miners.... damn

This is my favourite episode so far....

Episode 6 here:

Sky really being there..... of course she is....

Ambessa training caitlyn.... of course thats her new daughter akdjskms Tunnels in your eyes.... GIRL!!!!!!! THAT'S WHAT YOU DON'T NEED RIGHT NOW also the guy outside is a mage... ambessa is such a hypocrite

Vi and Jinx vs ambessa and cait.... this was always about class war don't get it twisted SINGED!!! TRAITOR!!!!

ARE THEY GOING TO SEE VIKTOR???? I looove how viktors touch on their faces leave "scars" so recognizable

Did isha just take the gem from vi's gauntlets??? Omg I wasn't expecting viktor to build a hippie commune to be honest omg he looks so good.... with the blonde underhairs.... and I do believe that's the same blanket....

And of course viktor knows who vander is.... nvm he diesnt know omg viktor asking for Powder.....

We are getting viktor horsegirl montage.... omg the vander momtage I can't..... omg they wanna stay.... singed is gonna fuck all this up NOOOOO 😭😭😭 they are already there I am going to kms

CAITLYN STOP THIS MADESSS!!! ✋️ CAITLYN!!!!! VI KILL THIS MAN!!! OMG CAITLYN...... mongoose... yeah.... and fuck you too.... CUPCAKE!!!! ABOUT TIME!!!! CAITLYN I SAID STOP THIS MADNESS WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!! And jayce too 😭😭😭 we're never making it out of the fissures

It's such a shame the spit on here won't work like on challengers.... one can only pray I guess

Jinx experiencing the "there's nothing more undoing as a daughter" moment.... incredible

"Your absence provided a vacuum I was able to fill" TO VI???? I KNEW THAT HAND HOLDING IN THE COMMANDER SCENE WAS SUS AKDHKASJ maddie exists and ambessa knows that and still.... it was not filling her mother's void...

YES CAITLYN!!! YES!!!!! VI is so hot I am distracted... ambessa was right.... now what the fuck will jayce fuck up??? Thats the question... NOT ANOTHER CHILD!!! jayce is a menace... the guys smiling at jayce are viktor... maybe the child even....

JINX KILL THAT MAN!!! NVM VANDER KILL THAT MAN!!! JAYCE YOU FUCKING MORON!!!!! JAYCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE WHEN I GET YOU JAAAYCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Isha what are you going to do omg 😭😭 did she kill vander... another powder... my god another week...

That was such a good fucking episode too.... and caitlyn didn't go insane when finding Jinx that is a step forwards but viktor can't be dead... no fucking way... he was giving himself away for the people and he was going to finally die by saving vander and look at what we got... no wonder viktor hates his guts. Jayce you were so good in act one.... what happened..... alright. Christ.... another week....

[envolvenuances]

haven't started arcane season 2 yet but hate to admit in the first my fav was the boy saviour. sorry women

[guiltycorp]

Even though I loved the writing of LoL Jayvik I really appreciate that Arcane is going for a different approach so far, makes things feel less predictable! Instead of ideological differences driving the divide between them it is more so that they are just... out of sync so far?? I mean, during last season Viktor even before his diagnosis was eagerly meddling with the Hexcore with little regard to safety, then straight up went for the illicit and damaging drug to facilitate the transformation process, then when he ran out of that drug he proceeded to try using Hexcore without it (when he already TESTED that on plants and should have known it would backfire) which killed Sky... At which point he went oh shit, ok, I should stop meddling with this thing and just die peacefully maybe. It's not very clear how much of that he told Jayce aside from making him promise to destroy the Hexcore, but Jayce's surprised reaction in s2 when hearing about Sky makes me think it wasn't much at all...? So Jayce doesn't feel as much of an asshole for, once again, going against Viktor's explicit wishes. He pretty much never has the full picture before being forced to make a decision! Idk it makes him very sympathetic to me ngl, just feeling more and more guilt but continuing to fuck up due to lack of knowledge and experience, is that not relatable? And aside from being entirely unprepared for Viktor's death even after s1 I think it's like Jinx says in this Act too, it was something he could fix for once... Perhaps this is why he agrees to the use of Hextech weapons, too, feeling like it's the only thing he can do to 'help' the people he cares about and protect himself too (I guess killing just 1 defenseless child wasn't enough of a learning moment for him lmao). Despite again, this going very much against Viktor's wishes (and Mel's!! we didn't get her with Jayce after this but I imagine she's not very happy with him either... Viktor&Mel team up when). This time Jayce is the one just going for it and hoping for the best despite knowing very little of how it works. I also love how a lot of us in the fandom and also Singed in the series assumed Jayce would be appalled by Viktor's experiments but instead... he immediately goes even further :D And when Viktor wakes up and goes bye Jayce is like ?? but then by the end of the next episode he starts to realise that ohh alright so maybe yeah they should have stopped... Who'd have thunk. I'm not super up to date with League lore but is it really that difficult to find a sane mage for consultation purposes? ...Also I really doubt that hitting that thing (wild rune?) with his hextech-powered hammer was a good move lmao and yet even in this it seems similar to what Viktor is currently doing. Both continue to use the arcane to try and fix things, Jayce through violence and Viktor through transmutation, but it kind of seems like the same kind of mistake. (they are just pretty bad scientists and always have been and i love that for them lmao)

[hextechmadelesbians]

Caitlyns path to destruction is really intresting in how it shows how people get pushed in to extremist thinking via grief and fear.

Historically speaking, the way fascist movements gain followers is by preying on those who have suffered recent tragedy or trauma (often as a result to social injustices or soical unrest) and basically use it to create a common false enemy. They take complex problems and emotions and say "all your problems can go away if we just get rid of those guys." This is particularly effective against dominate social groups who have almost always already been socially conditioned to think lesser of marginalised groups, whether or not they consciously realize it or not.

Caitlyn was learning the inherit injustices done by piltover and was trying to fix things by using her connections to the council. And even then when everything went to shit cause of jinx she still defended the people of Zaun. She even admitted to jayce that she understands why people are so quick to hate them all cause she was starting to feel that way, and at that point she was able to acknowledge and address it.

But then the attack at the memorial seems to confirm those negeative beliefs. For as much as caitlyn was sympathetic to the zaunites she seems to have had this idea that if you get rid of silco and jinx then suddenly all their problems will dissappear. But with an attack that had nothing to do with either of them, and with her preexsisting implicit bias, shes left with no one to blame but the collective.

Theres also the whole thing regarding the whole "i had the shot" issue. Caitlyn feels personally responsible for her mothers death because she didn't take out Jinx when she had the chance, all because Vi asked her not to. This mixed with her implicit bias becoming exceedingly more explicit, makes for a dangerous concoction for someone very open for extremist messaging.

(Sidenote: This isnt the first we've seen this in the show, back in act 3 Jayce did something very similar with the whole "you didnt tell me they were from the undercity" "im from the undercity" conversation with viktor)

This is also the thing that causes her to ultimately betray Vi, because once again she stopped her from taking the shot that she believes would of solved everything. Not only that but while Vi isnt necessarily wrong by comparing Caitlyn's actions to Jinx, saying it that way outloud was not the correct move qnd i think its what ultimately led Caitlyn to hitting her. Comparing Caitlyn to the person who murdered her mother, regardless of how true it is, was never gonna get a level headed response. Mixed with her growing fear of Zaunites now effecting how she sees Vi, it was inevitable she was going to do something impulsive shes gonna regret.

Cutting ties with Vi is also in itself going to bite her later because Vi was both her only remaining emotional rock and the one whos willing to openly criticise her. Vi will tell Caitlyn when she thinks shes wrong or doing something stupid which helps keep Caitlyn grounded. With her gone theres not really anyone who she trusts to stop her from doing something apprehensive.

This has all primed her to be the perfect target for Ambessa Maddarda, because shes emotionally impulsive enough to take rash action and vulnerable enough to manipulate, She now has access to the most powerful vassel she could hope to get (especially since Mel told her to fuck off). Ambessa has the power to manipulate the situation to make Caitlyn feel more and more justified in her paranoia of Zaunites and Ambessa can act like a yes man to all her worst impulses. Shes already fed into Caitlyns sense of personal responsibility for the council blowing up, immediately telling her that her mother will be avenged.

If im honest im not sure how Caitlyn is gonna come back from this one, i absolutely think shes gonna back out sooner than later much like jayce did. (Honestly she parallels S1 Jayce a lot which is why its kind of surprising to see people react to her going down this route with so much more vitriol than with Jayce.) Its definitely going happen but the question is if Ambessa will ever coerce her into staying in the hot seat or if she'll straight up try to kill her.

Either way this is going to be an extremely entertaining train wreck to watch.

[constantfragmentation]

It's bugging me...

The inconsistencies and a lack of detail and continuity in S2. S1 was all about the tiniest details.

Don't get me wrong, the animation is gorgeous, BUT --

The underwater scene is where Jinx lets Silco go.

He was RIDDLED with bullets. Yet, not a mark on him?

Why is his damaged eye closed? I thought he didn't have an eyelid. Artistically, I think having his lifeless eyes glazed over would have been more dramatic, considering it's Silco. Nah, he just sinks like Jack to the depths of the Titanic.

How deep IS the Pilt River?? I'm assuming that's where she 'buried' him.

The whole first act is so damn rushed.

No one seems to wonder what happened to Silco? He was only the main person holding the Underground together by the strands of his pomade hair. His death is a BIG deal, yet it's glossed over. No one questioned any of it???

Sevika is just, okay, let's move on like it's another day (granted, Zaunites are probably predisposed to be like that, but that doesn't make for good storytelling if you're not letting the audience in on anything), and chatting it up with Jinx as if they just bonded. I didn't feel that happen. I like that they low-key ripped into him post mortem, because that feels natural but what got them in that room together DOESN'T.

I want to know how these characters FEEL. You got that in spades during S1. But S2 is just expecting you to assume or they would attempt to take the time to use what would be great writing and evolving these characters.

Caitlin is hurting, I get it. But she went full Commando Psycho mode. Girl, everyone has lost parents, siblings, etc... She doesn't even flinch when Vi tells her Enforcers killed BOTH her parents. She's lost a beloved sister... but Cait is affronted when Vi shirks from becoming an Enforcer. Let's just forget what PIltover did to Zaun for generations and to LOADS of people.

Vi? Oh girl. What happened to you?

Jinx is a bit better but not much. I don't buy Silco's death was a zap to the brain to chill her out a bit. She's still my Chaos Queen but unless there is something to explain some shit in the following episodes, I'm going to be really ticked at the lack of care in characterizations with who are the supposed leads in this story.

Jesus Viktor. That's it. That's all I got.

Well, I did LOL when he woke up and gave Jayce the "bye Felicia" in 2.2 seconds.

We don't get to know what Ekko is thinking since all this shit went down? As far as he knows, Jinx is dead and to learn to she bombed Piltover?

The music videos substituting for the plot are REALLY bugging me. It's lazy writing. The music was used well in S1 to ENHANCE the scene (well, except for giving Imagine Dragons an animated cameo). Here, it's used as exposition, but it's not nearly good enough.

Useless characters and side-characters. Poorly executed plot devices. Uninteresting plot devices and trying to use the S1 parallels for characterizations.

S1 took time to introduce and flesh out these characters, even the side-characters.

We only had Vander for 3 episodes but he was a HUGE character. Marcus, Mylo, Claggor, Benzo, Grayson, Finn.... all were interesting and played an important part.

Jayce continues to be blah. So I'm not bothered.

Ambessa looks to be the new villain but it's not hitting with me. Plus, there's zero foreshadowing on some stuff in her arc that would have been useful last season.

I like Mel but I'm waiting to see what happens with her.

Hermydingding going all Mission Impossible. Just stop. Does he not give two furry fucks about what happened to his fellow councilmembers and Piltover?

I feel like RIot is trying to shove way too much into one season and sacrificing good story-telling to do it.

I miss the details.

So far, I'm really underwhelmed with this season.

[imjustavenuxwithaboomerang]

watched the s1 finale with my sister two days ago (but it was like semi-late when we finished watching and then some shit happened the next day so i didn't post her thoughts until now):

"vander would go on my hear me out cake"

"she has the fighting equivalent to blue balls. she's all revved up and no one to punch" (about vi when jayce left her with the gauntlets)

"i think you're just talking out of your ass" (about silco after renni's son died)

"i would've had your son killed for this" "i would've punch him in the face cause who the fuck does he think he is"

"you could go back to noxus if you like to talk about it so much" (about ambessa)

"with respect, i don't give a shit what any of you think of me anymore" "period, kind of attractive of him to say, just that though. i don't forgive how you've neglected viktor"

"this is a dinner party from hell"

"i was hating him but now i feel bad for him" (about heimerdinger)

i jokingly called the show a masterpiece sometime after we finished watching and she went "i wouldn't say that" so do with that what you will

"kay but the thing is, nothing he said was wrong" (about finn after he died)

"are they flirting?" (about jayvik when they were on the ledge)

"i feel bad for her but i'm not sad that he's dead" (about jinx and silco)

the credits rolled and she went "i'm sorry what" which is so me-watching-arcane-for-the-first-time-coded of her to do

"there's too much moral greyness for me"

okay and then i had her list her top 5 and bottom 5 characters (she struggled to find three more top characters after the first two, probably tells you a lot about her viewing experience)

top 5:

vander: "he has clear morals and he's just trying to protect his people and he's a good father figure"

ekko: "he's the little guy, when we first meet him that is, he's like a tech wiz. and for him to build this place, i'm proud of him"

caitlyn: "she's an actual good enforcer like she's actually trying to listen to the people"

viktor: "he just wants to help people and he's looked over a lot and downgraded so he tries not to do the same"

claggor: "he's just a homie, he's a ride or die, literally, i don't know, he just has a special place in my heart" (that "literally" was UNNECESSARY)

bottom 5:

silco: "he is the archenemy. he is persona non grata. he. killed. vander. so- he's also a crime lord who doesn't care about his own people. silco doesn't have a code. silco has no scruples"

sevika: "sevika is just annoying. why she tryna kill vi all the time? i mean vi's tryna kill her but-"

marcus: "i hate a crooked cop"

jinx: "the crimes. like the killing of those six cops, and the almost killing of caitlyn, and the kidnapping of cailtyn. like she's obviously a pawn of silco's so that's why she's lower than silco but she did some crime independently"

ambessa: "ambessa's a bad mother"

special mention: deckard: "he is bad, he was really creepy and a predator" and any of silco's goons (reason is obvious i guess)

and these are her thoughts on some of the characters who aren't in either of those lists (no ranked order, just the order she spoke about them):

jayce: "i don't care about [him], you're a bad friend and i hate when people are bad friends"

mel: "you're kind of two-faced but i do feel bad about the situation with your mom"

vi: "i'm still upset with what you said to powder but i like that you're trying to make up for it but unfortunately words stick"

cassandra: "booo *thumbs down*" (that's it i guess i don't-)

mylo: "booo *thumbs down* i feel bad that he died but he was really mean to powder"

heimerdinger: "i judged him quickly cause he was a bit annoying but by the end, he had a warm place in my heart and i always go back to him in the orchestra" (the scene with ray chen's insert)

sky: "i feel so bad for her. it's also kind of a commentary. even without meaning to, the man destroyed her to save himself"

tobias: "he cares about his daughter and what she wants and realizes there's a time and place for chastising"

episodes 1 and 2

episode 3

episode 4

episodes 5 and 6

episodes 7 and 8

[kacievvbbbb]

Okay my thoughts on Arcane cour 2;

Fuck you! You didnt have to rip my heart out and then stomp on it that was a little excessive dont you think?!?!?!

Thoughts

Arcane knows how to do build up so fucking well I love it

No but seriously god. Just what. I love seeing the little hints int he opening start to unravel and reveal themselves

Vander oh god no oh god 😭

Fucking love sevika

Where did my boy ekko go kind of curious where he fits into everything

I lowkey fuck with Jayce's new look and boy I told you to stop touching that shit now look what you've gone and done.

Forces beyond their power are literally pushing them towards war (obviously most of it is exactly in the piltovers power) but just the timing of shit be crazy. They are an unstoppable object on a lighting fast collision with an immovable wall and the course is rigged against them.

God the fucking animation in this i fucking cant

I still dont understand the Jayce hate like I dont necessarily like him but I dont see what makes him so bad. Like something very fucked up was happened to him and I didn't rust want was happening to viktor either. But god my boy done come back and fucked it all up for everyone.

I really like Ambessa's right hand sad to see him go

ISHA no no noooooo we had our difference but god why do you keep testing your strongest soldier 😭. (te sequence of her memories with Jinx and the song choice where immaculate)

Vander ph god no oh god

the music this season has been so good my god

I'm scared they arent going to be able to wrap this up neatly I just feel like with how many doors they closed we need at least 2 more course or another season. Like it feels too soon to be going into the final arc (or atleast some stories feel like they havent yet reached maturity like the black rose sub plot,and Mel and Jason's arc while others are ready for their finale like the Ambessa - Caitlyn plotline and Vi&Jinx) but here's to hopping for a nice round up.

[sevikas-biceps]

[TLDR: me rationalising and then ranting about why Caitlyn and Cassandra are both in the wrong]

Y'all. We love Cait, and we do stan Cassandra in some regards—but be fucking for real. Think of them as real people, in the real world, doing real things. Y'all would hate them. I'm putting Cait's gay love and Cass' gay support aside—because I really do feel like a lot of people gloss over their flaws just because of the queer rep and allying.

Think of it. The Kiramman's ventilation system was the bare fucking minimum being done for the people of Zaun. Caitlyn weaponising it is literally a violation of human rights practices. We know how privileged Topside is, we know there are at least sympathetic characters out there—and both of these are true for the Kirammans. What does this imply? That the Kirammans were essentially one of those at the top of the hierarchy, and this put them in a complete position of ability to help.

But they didn't. That's the issue, people.

One of the previous matriarchs putting the vent system into place was to solve the matter of the air pollution, yes—but arguably, the people of the Undercity shouldn't have had to deal with that problem to begin with. Cassandra might've been aware it existed; she gave her daughter the key, after all. However, that does not mean she actively came to the aid of the people of Zaun. Hell, do you think she was even aware of Silco, for instance? At the beginning? Maybe she'd've heard whispers from informants, about some old peacekeeper people called the Hound, and then about some mysterious tycoon taking his place. Maybe Grayson said something about the Undercity's concerns in the past, during the time of the first insurrection, but the Council took no note of it. Maybe Cassandra had someone else in place to make her dealings, if ever she dabbled in that black market shit.

Whatever else you can think of with that line of thinking; at the end of the day, it just proves that Cassandra herself was only another person stuck in the cycle—she did her job, she was cunning and selfish, she played the game. It's just business. It's just politics. No more, no less. The original line-up on the Council had members that were either ignorant, negligent, or corrupt (and yes; that includes Heimerdinger, Mel, and Jayce you guys)—and Cassandra was no better. Again, they all were part of the same damn cycle to begin with.

What makes Cassandra remarkable as a character—to us, the audience—is that she's remembered as someone redeemable because of her love for her family, for Caitlyn; that she was willing to try for her daughter's sake and happiness. Caitlyn. Not the city, not her kid's new girlfriend, and most certainly not Zaun. Above all else, it boils down to her little girl. Her only child. Cassandra being on the Council meant that she could give that child the best life that she could; Cassandra being on the Council meant that the child has a future. It implies that peripherally, she was aware of the Undercity's issues—hence the little frustrations exchanged about Caitlyn becoming an officer and venturing into the Undercity in Season 1.

That's her redeeming quality. Duty for family.

[If you want a visualisation of her actual nature, I'd honestly recommend using Olenna Tyrell, Tywin Lannister, and Jon Arryn from ASoIaF/GoT as points of reference.]

Now, onto Caitlyn herself. Credit where credit is due; the girl is in the middle of grieving, and she's being denied the chance to have even that. She doesn't deserve that. No one does. It would be unfair to deal her an amount of resentment for going unstable, when we'd all been rooting for Jinx for half of the same reasons in Season 1. But that's the issue: half of the same reasons.

Let's be honest for a quick second here. Do we really think Caitlyn would've ever gone down to the Undercity had Jinx never attacked on Progress Day? With someone like Marcus hot on her trails, if he lives in this hypothetical alternate reality, I imagine she wouldn't even be placed near the bridge(s) to begin with. And if, in canon, he'd survived the explosion, I can also see Caitlyn being put on house arrest—because if Marcus himself is outed as working with Silco (similar to how Grayson did with Vander), then that's all the more reason to keep the Kiramman heiress away from danger, or worse, death. If things are so bad that the Sheriff, symbolically a paragon of justice and protection, resorted to consorting with the enemy...well, what then? What does that say about the system? What does that say about Piltovan society?

Back to Caitlyn. I'm a firm supporter of the idea that she never would've been put into a potential line of fire had life gone on normally. If Jinx never stole the hexcrystals, then Caitlyn would have no reason to snoop around; Vi is still in Stillwater, Silco is at large, and so on and so forth. Caitlyn remains largely ignorant of the world she lives in. It's noble that she genuinely wanted to help people. But in a place like Piltover? She'd be worse than Jayce when Season 1 began. I'm sure she'd no doubt notice the surrounding manipulations in her life, or how flawed their reality could be—but the point is, at the end of the day, it's still a privileged life that she leads.

Let that word sink in. Privileged. This isn't to disparage her original desire to make her society a better place—I do think that Caitlyn has the potential to do so if she exerted her efforts into long-term developments that could fulfil that vision. But this is where it gets tricky—especially in the context of Season 2. She had all of those resources at her disposal. She was aware of the consequences in using them—how it might affect civilians, innocents. And she still did so anyway. Strike one.

For all that she was a decorated officer, it's really the personal vendetta against Jinx that made her unfit to lead the strike team to begin with. I imagine Vi refused the enforcer position at first not just because of her and her people's history with the authority, but because it's so blatant that doing so enabled Caitlyn to act in her anger. By accepting the badge, Vi validated Caitlyn's need for vengeance. Not that Caitlyn is unreasonable in wanting such a thing, mind, but what is unreasonable was how tone-deaf she'd become in the process of grieving, forgetting that it's not just her own interests on the line, but others' too. Strike two.

There's nothing wrong with Caitlyn at the beginning—the girl just wanted so solve a crime. But then circumstances came up. And then, all of a sudden, she has to choose between duty or self-interest. What the show does is that it gives a convenient solution for Caitlyn to be able to serve both her duty and her own self-interest(s): invade/scour Zaun, she catches a criminal and delivers justice for the Council; find Jinx, Cassandra is avenged and Vi may find closure. The fight at Janna's temple is where it all indeed goes to shit, as we can see, and that's where Caitlyn really slips off in my opinion. She'd toed the line when she asked Vi to wear the badge—but it's really when Isha (a child) got involved and later on when she struck Vi herself (a betrayal), that her motives get warped. Strike three.

My main argument is that Cassandra and Caitlyn were both in the wrong, in one way or another, albeit for different and varied reasons. The former didn't do enough for the situation at hand, and the latter seems to be doing too much at once. Cassandra herself seemed to have enabled her daughter's worse traits, too, whether directly or indirectly; and this is what makes up much of the character that we see Caitlyn evolving into.

There are many aspects of both mother and daughter that have always been there, or, at least, have had the potential to be there, such as: the ruthlessness, the narrow focus, the determination, the strictness—and, most of all (and I have a feeling this is going to be controversial), the hypocrisy. We know, for a fact, that Caitlyn and Cassandra are at least self-aware. To merely label them as naïve or inexperienced (to life) is a gross disservice to their characters. On some level, they're cognisant of their status and ability in society (evidenced by baby!Cait's scepticism regarding Grayson's trophy, and Cass' agreement to support their case at the Council meeting)—and they both have exacted measures in the face of what is demanded of them.

This is the reason that Caitlyn weaponising the Grey, using the Kiramman's ventilation system, is more or less unforgivable. Just because it had Vi's hesitant approval, it didn't make it right. Vi counts as an unreliable narrator in this case—when we know that she, in multiple instances, easily caves when someone she's attached to doubles down on her.

We, as the audience, can at least agree on the moralities regarding the authorisation of the strike team; and that means that we, as people analysing the show, can also agree that the effects of an act such as using the Grey can be devastating. We see this in Viktor's chronic illness, we see this with Silco's asphyxiation trick on the Chembarons, we see this when Jinx knocks out Sevika, we see this in Cassandra's notes. Stop trying to downplay the Grey. Stop trying to justify a fucking war crime. 'Oh, but it's just knock-out gas'—baby, no it's not. It's really not. Smeech explicitly says this: factory smoke trapped underground. Smoke. It's still gas. There's no safe way of administering it in high doses. That's like smoking Marlboro Reds taken beyond the extreme, and fuelled by gasoline of all things.

I'm not villainising Caitlyn, but some of y'all also need to stop excusing what she did—and I'm saying this because a lot of you also did the same with Jinx in Season 1. For the lack of a better example; it's very much like excusing what serial killers of the past had done because they were 'interesting' or 'charming' or hell, relatable. Be Gay, Do Crime is most definitely not applicable here, you guys. Seriously.

That is literally the reason Vi snaps at Caitlyn after the fight with Jinx. Why are you the one acting like her? It's not just a comparison between Caitlyn and Jinx, it's not just vendetta against vendetta; in a broader context, Vi is asking: Why are you resorting to the same acts of terrorism? Why are you enforcing the same tactics your predecessors used? Why are you turning into what you once swore not to become? Why are you doing this? What are you turning into?

Vi asked Caitlyn to promise her not to change. But she did.

Why are you betraying yourself?

[beaniiekidd]

since i have no one to talk with about Arcane here’s my rant for Act 2, it’s very long and it definitely contains spoilers, it also contains shitty grammar (:

* I don’t wanna talk about Maddie and Caitlyn

* I do however want to talk about how attractive caitlyn is this act because goddamn

* WHY IS ISHA SO CUTE IN THE SCENE WITH HER, JINX AND THE BUGS MY HEART CSNT TAKE IT

* Jinx trying to flip Sevika off but getting frustrated cause it’s the finger she lost was adorable

* Jinxers.. that’s it.. that’s the comment

* I just keep thinking about how much it affected Jinx when Isha was taken in.. And now.. I can’t imagine how Jinx is going to react or what it’s going to do to her

* “What’s wrong with my pants?”

* Poor Jinx just needs a good ol pat on the back, or a fucking hug bro. her reaction to everyone grabbing her shoulder hurt

* ISHA’s LITTLE (what sounds like)“mama” WHEN SEVIKA IS TAKING HER AWAY ALSO TORE MY HEART INTO PIECES

* VANDERRR HIM SEEING JINX AS POWDER )):

* THIS ACT JUST HURTS ALL AROUND

* The fact that it’s the same dude that Vi fought last season is so fucking funny, he just can’t escape her

* AHHH THE SISTERS ARE BACK TOGETHER THIS IS ALL IVE WANTED

* Jinx writing her name under her cheek like her sister )))))): but also her doing it backwards is so funny

* I SAID IT BEFORE AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN CAITLYN LOOKS DAMN GOOD THIS ACT, the middle part really works for her

* Jinx please don’t pick up random shit in mines and eat it

* THE SLAP THE LIGHTS A MASTERPIECE

* I was so glad to see Mel but where tf are Ekko and Heimerdinger?

* Vi wanting to comfort Jinx, hesitating and then not doing it just cidjrnicfk wtf netflix?

* JAJDKEK VI PROTECTING JINX AND ISHA

* THE HUG AKFKKEKR I HAVE NO WORDS

* JINX’S CUP THEIR MOM VANDER NAMING VI SO MUCH HAPPENED AT ONCE

* “He’s your dad too.” IM IN TEARS

* ISHA JOINING THEFAMILY HUG I CANT DO THIS SHIT

* Jayce looks like he’s seen some shit

* gay jesus that you?

* BACK TO MY EARLIER QUESTION WHERE TF ARE EKKO AND HEIMERDINGER ?

* Isha being protective of Vander and taking care of him is so cute ahhhhh Im not ready for this

* “I have one condition” “looks like you’ve got a couple” akkdkdkd jinx you can’t say shit like that

* this show is just so beautifully done, the art, the soundtrack, the story it’s all just beautiful

* AHHH “what if WE stayed?” WHILE SHR LOOKs OVER AT ISHA AND TALKS TO JINX

* “Mongoose”

* CUPCAKE I MISSED THEM CAITLYNS EYES WHEN VI SAYS IT

* “ever since you dropped into my life, it’s like i put on glasses. except i can’t trll whether everything’s blurry or clear.” What the actual fuck netflix?

* FINALLY THEYRE ALL WORKING TOGETHER ITS ABOUT TIME

* “the one who captured caitlyn’s heart” bitch akcjrkrkf

* the fact that they still trust each other kills me a little

* “Don’t touch my daughter” okay im gonna cry now

* ahhhh their little family

* jayce wtf bro

* we finally get the band back together and you pull this shit? kskfkrk

* I can’t even be happy about caitlyn running to vi’s side

* Jinx is going to blame herself, she’s going to spiral

* i cried again

* Vi protecting Jinx from the blast )):

[daily-sapphic-song]

Arcane S2 A2 live thoughts:

Episode 4:

WHAT THE FUVK

the theories were right

I mean SAME MADDIE BUT DAMN

STINK MAWWWW

SCUTTLE BUTT

I think this is ishas imagination, no? Surely

LMAO knew it

So cute wtf holy shit

Signing??

CUTEEEE HOLY SHIT. OH MY GOD THEYRE SO CUTEE

Stillwater? How long have they been at this?

Oh hextech. Oh nice. Oh. Not nice. Uh oh

Oh shit

CHAOSSSS. HAHAHAHAH ISHA

I still cant believe maddie and cait are fucking LMAO

Tell her cait!!!

Hahahha Salo OMG HE LOOKS LIKE MY BROTHER NOW

Oh, singed?

Awww isha!

HAHAHHAHAH HER FINGER

Hahha sevika i love her

Oh jinx

How long has it been?? Oh no the tree

VANDER STATUE HE SAID OH NO

Jinxxers LMAO

Isha you little revolutionary

NO NOT THE GAMBA ARM

LMAO ISHA

Oh no isha

Singed??? Warwick, surely?

Oh my god

JINX??? GO GET UR KID

OH NO THE VISIONS ARE BACK

Singed LMAO

OH SHIT WARWICK this is really cool

LEFTIE HAHHA

Goofy ahh enforcer

LMAOOOOOOOO THIS ENFORCER IS SO FUNNY WTFFFF

EWWWWW Dont look at her like that

Ambessa. That was tense

Oh shit hextech

I got a bad feeling about this

Jinxxers

WHERES ISHA

Ambessa????

OH WARWICK OHHH SHIT

AWWWWW I LOVE THEM

Singed,,, BRO WHAT ARE U DOING

Oh shit. Wow this is cool

LMAO THEIR PANIC dude i would be panicking too that shits terrifying

Oh. A massacre

VANDER LOOK AT HER

YESSSSSSS AHHAHAHHA OH SHIT HE SPEAKS

OH SHIT NICE ENDING

Episode 5:

NICE VI

POOR VI

I hope jinx actually did visit her at some point that would be nice

OH SHIT SHE DID LETS GO

OH SHIT LETS GOOOO TELL HER

YESSSSSSSSSS YEAHHHHHHHJ LETS GOOO

Im gonna need to go on twitter or smth later to see all these easter eggs in these intros

I really want to know how vi will react to maddie and cait

Commander !

Why did singed stay there???? BRO

Cait???? Seriously???? RELAX

Ew. MEL? LETS GOOOO

NOOOOO MEL

HER BROTHER HUH?? SURELY. YESSS

I love vi and jinx teamup AND ISHA

TELL HER JINX HAHAHAHAHAHA

LMAOOO SLAP oh

This must be cathartic oh

Oh

Oh

VI YOU yeah wake up vi

YESSSSS

Wtf mel

Wtf ambessa

MEL IS NOT BEATING THE PREGNANT ALLEGATIONS

Oh i love cait

For love

Oh is his daughter still alive??? Wtf

Surely shes a league character

Wtf? Is he fake OH LMAO

EW

OH SHIT

Lets go vander

OH IS HE GOING TO ATTACK ISHA

OH

Horror movie

LMAO ISHA

YESSSSSSS

Silco <3

Is that not like, the woman that was dead on the bridge in the opening in act one??? Am i wrong

FUCKING KNEW IT

SO THEYRE VANDERS BIO KIDS???? Oh

Are they hugging YEAHHHHHH

YESSSSSS LETS GOOOOOOO

WTF ?

Jayce??

WHAT THE FUCK

EWWWW

LMAO IM SORRY YOU FEEL THAT WAY

WTF JAYCE EWWW

Episode 6:

Viktor??? Sky? Wtf

Oh shit i like this

I do like that shes getting some hand to hand training

SHUT UP AMBESSA

LMAOOO VANDER

Huck??

Hope nobody steals those gloves

NO ISHA BAD ISHA I SAW THAT

No way they heal him right? Probably just heal his mind or smth

Oh cool

LMAO JINX

LMAOOOOO

Oh cool

NOOOO THIS IS SO SAD

oh. Sibling bonding

"We?"

This isnt good

CAIT IS HEREEEEE

Viktor???

Can he read minds or something tf

HE SAID IT HE SAID THE THING

WHERES MY CAITVI LETS GOOOO

LMAO oh shit

Come on vi

Oh. CAIT????

JAYCE????????

CAIT ISTG

Ambessa LMAO

Surely cait is helping vi

LETS GOOOOOOO

HAHAHAHHAHA LETS GOOOOOO

LMAOOOO

oh jayce

EW

NOOO CAIT

HAH VANDER

LMAOO

is he fixed??

CAIT WHAT ARE U GONNA DO

JAYCE WTF

VIKTOR

OH SHIT

NOOOOOOOOO

Ishas song??? Oh no oh no oh no

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHAT ARE U DOING ISHA

NONONONONONONONONO

ISHA ISHA NONONO

NO WAY

[randomnessofthehighestorder]

Arcane season 2…

Act 2 was incredible! I have never cried so much for this show before the new eps came out…

(Spoilers below the cut)

Viktor’s fully embraced the Machine Herald title, but I never thought he’d create a commune/cult… also, he said it! He said “glorious evolution!” That’s all I wanted from him!

Warwick is Vander! We were right! I cried when he hugged the girls, the family is back together!

Flashbacks galore for Vander, our first look at Jinx and Vi’s mom and the return of Silco (younger him technically), they were so happy before the bridge assault… it’s so cute that Vander gave Vi her name.

Jayce must’ve gotten real messed up while in the Anomaly, how could he kill Viktor?! RIP Machine Herald… Jayce fucked up big time. Hopefully, he doesn’t mess things up further…

Vi took the breakup hard… alcohol and violence don’t really help… but on the bright side, the Emo look is working for her!

Isha and Jinx were so cute together! They must’ve really bonded between Act 1 and 2. I cried when she did her big hero sacrifice for Warwick/Vander. RIP Isha, you will be avenged…

I had no idea that Singed’s real name was Dr Reveck, I knew he lost his daughter, but the extent he went to save her? I’m conflicted…

Still no Ekko and Heimerdinger? Are they still lost in the Anomaly? Hopefully they come back in Act 3…

Caitlyn is really embracing her Commander role. I’m glad she defected and helped take down Ambessa. But also she hooked up with Maddie? We need another CaitVi kiss to heal the heartbreak…

We now know where Mel went when she was taken by the Black Rose. She also had a brief reunion with Kino, who apparently isn’t dead… but then that turned out to be not real (man…). Whoever took her is apparently Mel’s half sister, Ambessa had an affair and this is the repercussions that came of it. But what was that glow? Was that her gold plating? Is it magic? Is that the reason she survived Jinx’s missile in the season 1 finale?

Vision, might, guile, (and to Ambessa) sacrifice. Those are the principles that define strength according to Noxus. Ambessa had a vision of martial law, she had the might to enforce it, the guile to make it seem like it’s for the good of Piltover. All I need to see now is the sacrifice…

The music never fails to disappoint, it got me hyped, it got me crying, and dropped my jaw to the floor!

Overall, shit is getting real, I can’t tell what’s gonna happen next. All I know is that there’s gonna be a battle to end all battles in Act 3 and the Arcane will change the world forever. See you in a week…

[oodlyenough]

arcane s2 act 1

alright might as well collect my thoughts for posterity

first and foremost: obviously the triumphant cackle i was doing the entire hexcore scene. huge W for me, personally. did it always feel like the most logical and narratively satisfying extension from s1? sure. do i trust television to do the most narratively satisfying thing? no. especially not after fandom spent years of the hiatus trying to convince me otherwise

really all the jayvik scenes were, more or less, exactly what i expected/wanted and very satisfying lmaooo. i knew jayce wouldn't give a fuck about the shimmer or unethical experiments. i win!

other stuff i liked:

in the hiatus i've now seen all of yellowjackets and it has made me fonder of ella purnell and by extension jinx, lol. i love sevika and i think their grudging alliance in the wake of silco's death is a fun direction. jinx finding a random dumpster baby and adopting them immediately, silco would be so proud lmfao

i love caitlyn's dictator arc. i have to be honest i found her disney princess schtick in s1 pretty boring, so this is finally something more flawed and dynamic for me to invest in. yes girl get worse

ambessa rules. i was a little rolling my eyes at the "wow she was pulling the strings all along" reveal, bc it was so obvious and i was sort of hoping they'd do something more interesting with her. but this show has never been subtle. either way it still seems ambessa believes she's protecting mel? so i AM curious about how that plays out

i don't know shit about the league lore around the black rose stuff and don't want to <3 knowing league lore has never improved my arcane experience. but those sequences were very cool and took me by surprise. some good body horror with elora. good luck in the nightmare labyrinth mel!

stuff i liked less:

i think the stylized music video sequences are being a little overused. maybe s1 did them as frequently and I forget? anyhow, the police brutality one really worked for me, because it's the kind of info that def needs to be montaged, and the style was cool and engaging. cassandra's funeral ... i understand why they did it but i didn't like the regular arcane models mixed with the charcoal bgs, i found it distracted me from what was meant to be the emotion of the moment. and the jinx montage i found kind of mid.

i do think the pacing feels as breakneck as ever, to its detriment. i said above the jayvik stuff all played out basically as i wanted, which is more-or-less true, but viktor just be like I Have To Go Now was a bit abrupt. i can excuse a lot of that on the basis that i don't think viktor is really himself anymore because of the hexcore -- very flat emotionally, etc. and i assume we'll see them butt heads again later in the season. but still, the hextech weapons, the nonconsensual hexcoring, etc, would've expected something a little more explosive lol

plus, then we shift from that scene to the Furby Comedy Hour and jayce and heimerdinger having like a nonreaction to each other despite how acrimoniously they parted or how emotionally charged jayce must be sleeping next to viktor's empty cocoon etc... felt whiplash-y to me. but i hate heimerdinger and ekko teaming up to begin with lmao (and ofc ekko directs his frustrations with piltover to jayce, and not the 300 year president furby he has no beef with for some reason)

this extends to vi's decision to pick up the badge, etc. stuff just happens really quick and the fact that the passage of time in the show isn't very clear doesn't really help. i can understand why riot didn't want to spend two decades making five seasons of this show, but 2 seasons will probably feel too short imo.

[justanerddummie]

Pt2 of my rant

Ok so, I think Vi has been handed the shittiest hand of cards of all time.

Stuck between Cait and Jinx, still tied to the chair at the mad tea party forced to choose between her crazy sister and the kind enforcer, except this time it's Cait asking her to choose between a full blown war between Piltover and Zaun and putting on an enforcer uniform so Vi has chooses the lesser evil. She sacrifices her entire identity, her heart to save her people and I think that if she hadn't agreed to Cait's offer in the end Jayce would have armed the enforcers with hextech weapons, she managed to stall long enough to avoid it.

So, I really do think that Vi was the only person who so far has managed to make all the right choices. They might have not been the best choices but those were the ones she was handed and she had to work with it.

As for Cait, well, fuck.

Same as Vi, mentally she's stuck at the mad tea party, needing, craving the control Jinx took away from her knowing full well that behind Jinx and Silco there's a whole criminal organization that cheered when Jinx blew up her mother, that if invited to the party they would have loved to play with a councilor's daughter same as Jinx, so to be honest I'd say Caitlyn's need to be in control is pretty understandable, same as her rage.

Is it justifiable? Hell no, but understandable, yes.

Also, for a young woman who is incredibly traumatized she managed to keep her cool way better than anyone has ever given her credit to.

After the attack from Renni, not just Vi but also Cait managed to stop a full blown attack on Zaun by coming up with the idea of the strike team. Mel was getting cornered by both the other councilors and I honestly doubt she could find a way not to be out voted if Caitlyn hadn't barged in.

Anyway, back to the topic.

Yes, Caitlyn sacrificed a big chunk of her morality and legacy using the Grey, but strategically it made sense to use it. It kept them unseen so that the last two chembarons could not protect themselves from the attacks (btw it's left unclear if they were arrested or killed but I unfortunately think it's the latter, which is another extremely fucked up thing to add to the shit Cait's done in only three episodes so far) and also did in fact clear the streets of civilians as Vi claimed, like honestly if I would see a fucking nasty cloud of smoke coming my way I would make a run for my life.

As for the people they interrogated the only logical conclusion for me is that they were the people working in the shimmer factories we see them burn, who also have a much higher chance of knowing where the fuck Jinx is considering they were part of Silco's organization.

As for Heenot, Smeech's man, we can all see how Cait is already barely holding on to her sanity, she's way more aggressive than when we last left her and Vi is caught up to pace, she jumps in front of the guy as soon as Cait activates the rifle as if to protect him with her own body and Cait obviously clocks it and deflates quickly after, powering down the rifle.

Tension was already high.

The kiss was perfect in my opinion, both Cait and Vi were at their softest, and I know a lot of people might not agree with me but I really do feel like Cait was fighting the changes herself, that was all her talk with Jayce was about, how Cait is trying and unfortunately failing not to turn into this.

I also don't think Cait has tried to manipulate Vi in any way, honestly I don't think she had the emotional capacity, to deal with her Jinx trauma, the loss of her mother, her internal fight not to become a bigot and also manipulate the only person she felt comfortable enough to cry around.

Like, I think Caitlyn is smart but that is giving her too much credit she's not a master mind.

I think this also ties pretty well with the way she stopped Vi before going into the temple, I really do think she was about say something on the line of let's turn around, we don't have to do this, you don't have to do this but lost the fight with herself.

As for the fight at the temple, it was obviously full of armor plot, but I applaud the writers for working around it well enough to make it all seem quite believable. I loved it and I also loved Cait's insanity, the way she simply started shooting without aiming as soon as she felt Jinx slipping through her fingers once again and the way Vi had to catch the bullets with the gauntlets was pure madness considering how Cait refused to stop. It was a full blown panic attack at the shooting range happening and Sevika was the only one smart enough or maybe close enough to pull the fire alarm lever.

As for the last part. Well, Vi technically stopped her and Cait technically changed, there is no going back, the trust they once held in each other is completely gone and even though Vi tries to make Cait reason one more time, she can't, Cait is too far gone, in her mind there are no more good Zaunites only judgment and punishment to lash out and the first one who gets it is Vi.

I'm not going to lie, the only thing Cait got right in that episode is leaving after she hits Vi with the butt of her gun. I really think it would have been way worse if she apologized and Vi forgave her out of guilt.

I honestly have no more hope for CaitVi to happen, the things Cait did in only ep3 are enough to make me think that she should not be allowed within a mile of Vi's person. They had something special but it was broken and unless the writers pulled a miracle or reversed time there is no putting the pieces back together.

With that being said, I still enjoy Cait's character, I know it's weird but I really think that she is battling with a fear born from the deepest parts of her heart and hides behind every thought and emotion poisoning her entire being. I really do hope that she overcomes it, however if she doesn't she'd still be an amazing villain, and I support women's wrong, mostly almost all of them.

Bonus

I forgot about Singed in the last post but I think what we see are flashback of him right after the shimmer factory burned in s1.

That's it, I'm done.

[miadearden]

Arcane Season 2 Act 2 thoughts!

I think there’s something to say about this show’s willingness to kill off kids that every time Isha was on screen in this act I was saying “is it now? Is this where they’re going to kill her? I know this kid is getting offed at some point the only question is when”

That said, I do like the death they chose for her - how it ties back to Powder use of the hextech gems all the way back in 103. Lot of parallels in general between Isha and Power, and it was pretty clear Jinx (and Vi) saw that.

While we’re mentioning Jinx and Vi - holy shit episode 5. Not that we have the last three episodes yet, but ep05 is definitely my favourite of the season so far, if not my favourite of the entire show. Jinx immediately going to Vi when she finds out about Vander, the parallels between their conflict and the conflict between Silco and Vander.

Also the bit of history we get of Silco, Vander and Felicia, Vi and Powder’s mum, being this trio of friends who were all envisioning a better life and wanting it specifically for these two little girls. Just adds that bit of extra tragedy to Felicia’s death, Vander and Silco’s rift, and everything that happened after.

And then we get Vi at the end of the episode trusting Jinx’s conviction that Warwick is Vander and because of that they’re able to reach that bit of consciousness left in him together. Yeah episode 5 had me feeling all the feels.

I don’t have too much to say about the other storylines lmao I’m mostly still thinking about Jinx and Vi but hey I’ll try.

Confirmation that Mel has magic! And somehow it ties to the black rose which is interesting. I liked that the rose was trying to use her brother’s image to get her to figure out her powers (paralleled nicely to the sibling theme with Jinx and Vi too) and that Mel realised that. Not much else happening there, no doubt it’s going to come into play more in the last act with the things that will be happening there.

I think the ball was dropped a bit on Caitlyn in this act? Like we see her push back a bit against Ambessa in the starts of the act, but generally she felt pretty passive up until ep06 when she decided to team back up with Vi. I might have to rewatch these three eps again (and closer to the last three eps) to get a better idea, but yeah generally I think Cait fell a bit flat.

Not much to say on Jayce, as I’m sure we’re going to learn what happened with him at the start of ep07 (and Ekko and Heimerdinger too - THERE WAS NO EKKO THIS ACT I’M SAD) - however it was very funny in our watch party as we were all screaming JAYCE NO YOU’RE GONNA FUCK EVERYTHING UP during his actions in ep06. And well, yeah lmao

All of Viktor’s cult members screaming in unison and bluescreening when Jayce killed him was fucking haunting.

I was getting kinda worried partway through this act that we’re doing to much that we’re not really going to be able to wrap up properly. I’m still a little concerned, however with the way the last episode ended I think we’ve cleared a few things off the board that will make the final act tidier.

Predictions - I think the Piltover v Zaun is going to be put into an uneasy truce at this point, as the main conflict will now be fending off Ambessa and the Noxians. Secondary conflict - whatever Jayce found out about hextech and the arcane. Also now that Jayce is back on the map and in the same area as Ambessa, its possible she’ll finally get her hands on the scientist she wants to make hextech work for her, so that’s how those two plots will converge.

I think for the most part, the Vander subplot will be classed as over now, and probably most of the Viktor subplot too (though I’d say there might be a few more effects on that part). And we’ll get a lot more Mel and Black Rose stuff going on as it relates to Ambessa. I wanna hope we’ll get a lot more Ekko too? (he’s in the opening twice, I wanna believe he’ll have a big part) Though at this stage, apart from him also going on the hextech trip with Jayce and possibly learning what Jayce did, I don’t see where too much more of him will fit in.

As for Jinx and Vi, I wouldn’t be surprised if Isha’s death and Vander’s going beyond the point of being saved might put a rift back between Jinx and Vi. Particularly with Vi reconnecting with Caitlyn and likely wanting to help her against the Noxians too. I wanna hope that won’t be the case, but I don’t really expect this show to be a happy ending type show.

Anyway, yeah! I think that’s all the thoughts I have. Until next time!

[rachadoodz]

ACT 2 HOLY SHIT

Well I get to scratch some things off my bingo card lol lol

Holy THEMES batman. If anyone is missing the message of this show, like, there is no hope. They are being way more obvious about it than I had expected, but all the better maybe.

I spent hours of my life yesterday pondering over the story design of this show and its really amazing to see it playing out. I might still have to write about it. It's a fantastic system for building characters and it works so fucking well. Lmao Caitlyn and Maddie. I guess she's not a spy?...Be just have another gay ass enforcer on our hands. What a miss matched couple, but she seems nice I guess? A counter to Ambessa whispering in her ear...? Caitlyn was way less wrathful than I thought she'd be. She was really just depressed, turned colder. I'm still a little underwhelmed with her story tho. Thought we'd get an important "stepping back from the brink" moment. I wanted that honestly. But perhaps that will come later and be specific to Jinx. Also I thought we'd spend more time seeing her weaponize her pain and see much more up close and personal dictatorial ugliness. The oppression and class tension was there, but we didn't get to dig into it? Kind of...mmm about that. I'm sure tumblr.com will have plenty of thoughts like "The show glossed over it to keep her likeable!!!!" But I'm guessing its more due to the limited run time of the show in general. The story as a whole doesn't get the time it really deserves to breathe. But that's the cost of LOTS of story with limited time. Just the realities of a really, really expensive tv show.

MAGICAL MEL, MAGICAL MEL. DOOMED TO CURSE HER FUTURE CHILD. AHHHH. Again, it's a curse this show is so short. Goddamn it, I want more time with this story.

I cried, ep 6 made me shed tears. Its a new favorite episode. God damn. Also also the mixed media memory montages are so, so touching and brilliant. Just so beautiful.

Not beast man vander in a trench coat!!!!!! loooool Also holy symbol bat man. Vander is the loved one we can never change for the better, even with all the love and support in the world. Doomed to harm you, even though they still love you deep down. Some things can never be repaired.🥲

The dying scream of the Arcane is the stuff of nightmares. The sound team deserves all the awards. ALSO i love that windchimes are a universal hippy co-op SFX. I laughed. Fucking hippies and their windchimes.

Sort of sad tho, that Caitlyn and Ambessa legit bonding. Cait hurt her feelings! Lol! On top of just political betrayal. You can tell Ambessa had wished for this relationship with Mel, much like how Jinx enjoyed being girly with Isha, something that just wouldn't happen with Vi. Thats fuckin juicy. That fucking ending. I was literally aghast. OH so the old jinx will flare up. And paired with the still grieving Caitlyn...OKAY there we go. Maybe I'll get more of what I wanted to see then.

Also if Caitlyn doesn't build a memorial on the bridge by then end of ACT 3 I'll eat my shoe. It's a symbolism. The cutting between the makeshift undercity memorials and the one to the council. LIKE COME ON. Reconciliation BRO. THEMES

Less sure about a Cait/Vi love scene now tho. Because they just worked together like instantly. Caitlyn didn't have to do much to win back her trust..but maybe I'm wrong, maybe Vi will be extremely romantically guarded and that tension will be payed off with a love scene... but mmm. Less angst between them than I thought.

[frogtender]

HI I WATCHED S2 ACT ONE

and i'm going to be rewatching it multiple times before the next arc comes out bc omg mama we have been fed so fucking good i am REELING I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH

i want to interact with the arcane fandom on here more!!! but please keep in mind my takes are silly and surface-level bc my knowledge of lore is not that good and i'm not that smart <3

my thoughts and feelings below the cut. 100% spoilers livetweeted to my girlfriend so it speaks to her directly in some places but i'm not about to type out any other thinkpiece about this omg

- vi come to our reality bc u would love King for a Day by Pierce the Veil and Kellin Quinn (2012)

- jayce was saying to mel "how is viktor like basically fucking Dead and i wasn't hurt at all??? it should be ME in there (the hex core bacta tank)" and mel was like "there's no sense in things like this it's pointless to speculate" which would be a true and meaningful statement EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT people speculate her shining gold metal back and arm appliqués stuff is a Solarian shield (idk jack shit about Solaris but it's a thing i guess idk) so there is SUCH a chance that jayce was shielded by it but not viktor... which like... would be a dramatic reveal if mel was like "yeah i actually didn't want him to survive so i chose to only shield you" but why the fuck would she do that??? but in the very first shot which is of jayce coming back to awareness he is already Standing Up and mel is standing right next to him while everyone else has been blown tf around so. i am pretty confident that she shielded just the two of them... i hope jayce finds out and resents mel for it while still resenting viktor's machine herald shit omfg what if he blames mel for viktor becoming robot king... like viktor told jayce "i was supposed to die u promised to destroy the hex core" so viktor blames jayce but what if jayce blames mel WHY CANT EVERYONE KISS AND MAKE UP COME TF ON....TOXIC THROUPLE TOXIC THROUPLE

- the important character development of s2e1 was cait being really scared and intimidated about filling her mom's shoes but then by the end she is Girlbossified and has a hextech rifle... with three sights on it??? like regular glass sights but there are three of them? i have no idea how that would be more effective than just a single sight with a really clear lens but i also don't know shit about guns LOL. anyway she marched into the council meeting at the end like "YES I AM A GIRLBOSS AND HERE IS MY PLAN" and ambessa was looking at her a bit concerned... if there ends up being a power showdown between ambessa and cait it will be so fucking wild bc tbh cait is NOT very scary lololol like she's angry and she's got a gun but imo she's still the kind of person who would hesitate before kicking someones teeth in

- ok episode 2 zaun is going full mad max AND steampunk w half people wearing bondage gear and the other half being top hat bespectacled steampunk gentlemen.. its like a chem baron fight for power thing except they all fucking suck and i'm excited for jinx to kill them all (she kills 1/3 of the remaining ones in s2e2)

- VIKTOR IS MACHINE BOYYYYYYYYYYYYY "WHAT AM I" YOU ARE MY PERFECT BEAUTIFUL BOY SON!!!!

- i am so sorry and so delighted to announce that viktor in this form has somehow reached PEAK PATHETIC WET MEOW MEOW HE LOOKS SO GOOD

- i can't believe VIKTOR is being the lead toxic in the yaoi WHAT DO U MEAN U HAVE TO GO... THE ONLY THING KEEPING U TOGETHER WAS AFFECTION.... BRO MARCH UR NEWLY METAL ASS BACK IN THERE AND SMOOCH UR BOYFRIEND HE SAVED YOUR LIFE‼️‼️ augh okay i guess viktor will be an emo cult leader now

- sevika is TOTALLY becoming a new champion she HAS to jinx gave her a really cool new arm... its very silly but very cool i think u will like its concept.. but sevika and jinx team-up goes crazy actually i am a Big Fan‼️‼️

- VIKTOR IS MAKING ALL THE SHIMMER ADDICTS INTO MACHINE PEOPLE..... and it completely heals them and makes them young??????? broski WHAT like that is cool as hell!!! they look super badass after The Transformation even if i wasnt a shimmer addict i'd want him to do that shit to me... no wonder he becomes a cult leader he's earned it

- another episode ending with a vander werewolf tease SHOW ME THE WOLF ‼️‼️‼️ SHOW ME THE WOLFFFF i know at the end of episode 3 these bitches are gonna release da vander and then i will have to wait a week to see him forreal augh

- okay its 1:52pm im terrified to watch this tbh but this is the last minute i can start before hockey game

- EXTREMELY COOL ANIMATIC OMFG AND THE SONG RULES HELLO.... babe u HAVE to see this you'd LOVE IT OMFGGGG ITS SO GOOD

- ooh the dead son is a real dead son and also that old lady with the too young voice (amara i guess) was in fact related to the scary goddess thingy people were hypothesizing??? i think??? but thats who the medarda family has blood feud with ig we don't know much else yet

- YURI KISS OMG CAITVI KISS YURI CONFIRMED YAAAAY THEY GOT THEIR LITTLE DRAMATIC FIRST KISS SCENE WOOOOOO YEAH i was worried they were gonna make us wait for that but hell ya

- omfg there is a CRAAAAZY furry design in this bitch hello... who is she and why is she such a queen

- okay maybe ur right jayce does look unnervingly human LOL there was a scene between him and ekko where he looked WAY too good

- TOXIC YURI TOXIC YURI vi stopped cait from shooting jinx and also btw cait has been on a Being A Bitch arc omfg they were making out 10 minutes ago now they are BROKEN UPPP!!! because a random child has trauma-bonded to jinx as an older sister figure HOW THE TURN TABLES and she shielded jinx w herself and seeing that a child cared that much for jinx made vi falter about killing jinx. who is reckless to an apathetically suicidal degree now

- also um. jayce and da scientists seem to have touched the arcane a little too close bc?? they got transported into a Nothing Dimension and then the very nature of reality started glitching in a CRAZY acid trip sequence while jinx vs vi and cait vs sevika fight was happening... it seemed very much like an Into the Spiderverse kind of thing... very interested to see how this will continue to manifest in the remaining two arcs

- mel was just kidnapped by the black rose (??? cult???) which are the ones ambessa is beefing with.. they better not kill her i love mel i want her back safe she's too beautiful to die

- ambessa is in War Mode and she looks extremely badass even if i think she's at least 70% evil

- also cait shot off jinx's middle finger

- in an EXTREMELY bold move, ambessa appointed CAIT AS GENERAL IN PILTOVER WHICH IS NOW UNDER MARTIAL LAW????? bruh cait is getting an insane arc this season.. she went from naive to vengeance-driven and impulsively violent in 3 episodes

- oh my christ cait is fucking queen of cops now... this is so unfortunate for her character arc and so unfortunate for lesbianism

- ANOTHER VANDER TEASE ARE U FUCKING KIDDING MEEEEEEEE I SAID SHOW ME THE GODDAMN WOLF BRO

- okay so it seems like ambessa has realized that she can use cait as a militant pawn using her grief over her mother's death, bc she sees a ruthless quality in her... srsly cait's arc is insane rn