#Zaun vs piltover

[thezerotry]

Thank you! Yeah I was feeling quite... Idk, confused, when everything started going too cosmic/realm of the heebie jeebies, and completely left behind everything that s1 set up

Like, sure Sevika is now in the council, great, cool, but who tf is in charge in zaun?

If we go with lol lore, Renata glask is just around the corner, which means zaun will still be a drug infested, crime ridden shithole

Also, we all know the council will fight tooth and nail to keep the status quo

Now, another thing, the whole "jinx will be an icon, a revolution will happen!" lasted what... A couple of episodes? It was so fucking hyped up, and I was like, ddamn yeah! Gimme zaunites fighting back!

And... It never happened.... It was all a plot device to show ww in the end, and for singed and Ambessa to meet

Also Vi and Ekko never interacted, like at all... I feel like he would have quite a few choice words for vi being an enforcer...

It felt more like a succession of plots, than characters going through plots, I honestly felt little emotions towards the end, like, stuff just happened that was it

Idk...

And yeah, fuck jayce for the whole "your imperfections make you beautiful"... Like, no mate, he was fucking dying of something that looked like tuberculosis, that's not an imperfection!

Do I hate it? No, I think it's really good still, animation was top notch, some plots and parts were beautiful, and it indeed took me places, veeery unexpected places, and that's awesome on one hand, but on the other... I feel like they forgot what made s1 so fucking amazing

Are we gonna talk about how that finale entirely erased any conversation about class divisions or are we too focused on ships?

Are we gonna talk about how Caitlyn for a good chunk of the season willingly enforces violence and opression against the lowest class, no doubt directly causing more deaths and suffering, and she is forgiven by the narrative without any meaningful reflecting?

Her great moment getting together with Vi is right after she JUST had a conversation with Jinx where we see she STILL doesn't recognize any class bias she clearly has, insted making it about HER.

Her and the other enforcers are treated like noble heroes in the final battle, all the blame put on Ambesa. Vi's happy ending is getting into a relationship with the exact type of person who perpetuated all the suffering she endured as a child.

Are we gonna talk about how Jayce never leaves his privilege pedestal, never actually reflects on how he was also enforcing violence to the people of the undercity and living on his bliss of progress at THEIR expense?

Jayce, who got help on every step of the way to get to where he is, who wasn't disabled, who never lived the kind of poverty or class obstacles Viktor did, who never recognized the harm he enabled and was complicit to, HE was the one to tell Viktor "People build their own destiny." and "There is beauty in imperfection" ?????

Not to mention the whole bit where he implies Viktor did all that because he wanted to "eradicate what he thought was weakness"??? Didn't we stablished Viktor wanted to HELP THE PEOPLE FROM THE UNDERCITY TO HAVE BETTER LIFE CONDITIONS?? don't try to gaslight me.

I know this is just a TV show, but I need to remind everyone that what perpetuates opressive, discriminatory and violent systems as long and as deeply as they do is indiference. Is turning your head and enabling others to stay ignorant.

Edit: You guys are misunderstanding me. And I admit it is probably my fault, I wrote this high with emotion I wasn't as eloquent.

Jayce's exact choice of words or his time living in the alternate world is nowhere near my point.

My point is, that the narrative is establishing that the privileged character, is the one that has to show (and is quite literally, textually, always the one to show) the underprivileged character that "he was looking at life the wrong way." Forgetting that Viktor's journey of feeling powerless was greatly influenced by the fact he was poor and from the undercity.

That's what I meant by it erasing the part of the plot about class systems. In the end, the story only requires Jayce to understand Viktor's struggle on a superficial level, but the text never recognizes that it as the product of a deeply rooted SYSTEMIC ISSUE. One Jayce and even Viktor on some level, benefited from and perpetuated.

Understanding Viktor still doesn't give him any moral ground, and nobody ever challenges him on that because the story isn't interested in that anymore.

And the same with Caitlyn. She knows what she did what's wrong, fine, she feels bad. Like I said, she still has a class bias, and no character challenges her on it again because the story derails to magic and fighting and whatnot.

The plot just forgets (or ignores) that layer of the story despite it being so prominent up until now.

And ignoring the class discussion does a disservice to every single character because they were initially built on it. You can see it in how they lose the essence they had on s1.

I know y'all love the characters and want to empathize with all their motivations, okay? But the fundamental issue is that characters also represent things, and more so in a story as political as this one. We also have the right to point out that the show told us they represented something and then abandoned that narrative.

What do I think they could have done differently? If I tell you scene by scene we could be here for an entire year. The gist of it is: I think they should have stuck to the character themes they already had established.

Vi as someone fiercely loyal to the undercity beyond her relationship with Powder/Jinx, and being "cursed" by the role of the older sister. Jayce as someone with good intentions but who is ultimately limited by his blind idealism. Mel as a cunning politician who thinks she is on the right path because she isn't violent like her mother, not realizing she is still perpetuating it. Caitlyn as someone kind and compassionate who realizes the institutions she believed in are fundamentally flawed, and because of the way they are built will never be on the side of kindness. Etc, etc.

None of that gets any meaningful resolution.

I am glad if you liked it, or got something from it, you are entitled to your opinion.

I wanted to say this because I was angry, and still am. Because there was so much incredible potential, and honestly, to me, it feels like the writers chickened out on actually saying something in the end.

That's all I have to say about that.

[pocketgalaxies]

JUST MAKE IT DIE, OR YOU WILL TURN IT ALL TO ASHES AND BLOOD

[needanaccount2readarcaneposts]

They did Sevika so, so, so dirty this act. SHE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A FUCKING SPEAKING LINE PAST EPISODE 4. But I want everyone to know that this magnificent bitch turned up to negotiate for independence (or whatever the fuck that stupid montage scene was) wearing Silco's colours, with an eye motif on her serape.

[brown-bear-64]

Honestly the best way I can describe the 2nd season of Arcane is written by extremely competend writers who bit off way more than they could chew. Especially in that short of a timeframe.

It's possible that it was a higher up decision for future League shows, but the focus on the Black Rose & magic worldbuilding took away focus from the core cast and the narrative of 2 cities/sisters opposed to one another. They desperately needed at least 3 more episodes

The writers are competent, but they made some deliberate choices I don't like and pulled focus from things I believe they should've left in focus. It feels like the entire narrative of the show got changed between seasons, and maybe it was always the intention and I should rewatch the entire show front-to-back without a massive hiatus in-between them for me to get it, but from my current standing... It could've been more, and the things that they did focus on and give time to were really good. It's just that the show lost its priorities and primary narrative along the way

[vitrall]

I don't think Jayce and Viktor literally died. They were kind of pulled into another dimension/astral plane/whatever you call it. We see older Viktor, and while it could be another Viktor, I think it would be more meaningful if it was our Viktor, finally free from the arcane, going through the universe with Jayce, fixing timelines together. Kind of like a cosmic mission.

[evie-writes-sometimes]

Jayce hate is so stupid and annoying but I don’t think the other extreme is right (though more bearable as a take), I don’t think we’re supposed to root for Jayce, we’re supposed to first see as his actions as shocking and horrific and we will probably get a flashback where everything becomes understandable but still Jayce is in the wrong (also Viktor is… I wouldn’t say wrong exactly, but a little misguided probably, we’re supposed to be a little apprehensive of the cult and hivemind as a concept).

[cesarescabinet]

Honestly imagine if they incorporate 'Dear Friend Across the River' into the score during the low-point of Viktor and Jayce's storyline.

Catch me like this if the violins kick in when Jayce abandons Viktor or vice-versa;

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

so i think that Arcane season 2 is going to be just as tragic as season 1 and they're showing us so much of the Vi - Jinx - Caitlyn - Ekko plot and giving us a glimmer of hope that these characters will heal their broken relationships becauseeee

the Jayce - Mel - Viktor plot is going to cause even more devastating tragedy and widespread destruction than season 1 that changes or ruins everything

[moonssugar]

arcane season 2 definitely has some faults for example i don't like the independence day (1996) ass plot for the finale

[mollysunder]

Wouldn't it be absolutely wild if it turned out that Viktor was younger than Jayce. Not anything too significant of course, maybe just 4-5 years younger. The only reason Viktor seemed older to the audience and the same age as Jayce would be because he carried himself with such authority in his introduction. But it would make sense that not only Viktor's deteriorating health and the stress of his job prior to meeting Jayce would make him age faster in appearance compared to his Piltovan peers.

Before hextech, Viktor was the assistant to the Dean of a major university. Assistant to the Dean is not a research assistant position, it's a massive responsibility in administrative duties, and it sounds like that was Viktor's position for years. Obviously, Viktor had to work harder than his counterparts from Piltover for the bare minimum of recognition, and the more he succeeds with less, the more responsibility he's given to further "prove" that it wasn'ta fluke.

It would be an interesting layer to add in the way children from Zaun are treated compared to children from Piltover. No matter how high you climb, you're still put to work like the rest of the Zaunites.

[mukuberry]

as heartbreaking and fun as act 2 was, im not sure if i actually like the direction theyre going in

[crystalitar]

Playing League of Legends is so funny right now.

You are just playing and losing and the usual flaming starts and then. One person suddenly pipes in with a "they did Heimer dirty" and the flaming evaporates and everyone agrees and begins saying who they wanna fuck and who they want to punch in the face from the show.

[magneticflower]

The main thing s2 managed to do was inspire me to want to pick up this AU idea I had again and actually write it this time

[skeletons-in-ur-closet]

not the blog for this ik but i finished arcane s2 and i have Thoughts

[tskumoyuuma]

god damn was the ending of arcane good. I didnt blink for like the whole last episode

[lwieserce]

I LOVE HAVING OPINIONS..... BEHOLD, MY ARCANE TIERLIST.... the criteria: how much i enjoy seeing them on my screen