#also. HOW IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT ISHA HERE

[lipstickchainsaw]

Things I would've liked to see in Arcane S2, in no particular order:

Caitlyn doing some more heinous shit after becoming dictator. Let her be evil, damnit! Let her fuck up the Firelights' sanctuary to achieve whatever goal! Make some people mad!

More of a sense of the power struggle between Ambessa and Caitlyn. Let Caitlyn look into the disappearances as well, or at least give us a sense of what she thinks is going on. Maybe give Shoola something to do after even Salo left. Make the upper class of Piltover feel more alive.

Give Caitlyn the initiative in her turn away from Ambessa, mirror Vi choosing to trust Jinx while facing to Warwick here, and have it take a little more to get them on the same page.

Let Ekko and Jinx actually rally Zaun in the final act. The way they're seen by their people was a pretty big deal, and I would've liked to see that go somewhere in the climax.

Actually, have Zaun actually discuss what to do in the Noxus/Piltover war. Both sides oppressed Zaun pretty badly, so maybe there's some people who want to support Noxus (a very small group), or who figure they're happy to let their enemies fight it out. Let Sevika, Scar and the Jinxers about this.

Hell, let Sevika show up at all after episode 4! Isha was important to her too! Have her and Jinx suggest building a statue for her, like Silco did for Vander, as another notch to help Jinx stand upright.

When Jayce and Mel come back, have them reckon with what Caitlyn did to their city, and have them take some time to forge the place back together.

Let Zaun negotiate with Piltover for their aid! Give them more than just one seat on the council amongst people who already look down on them (although I think Sevika is canny enough to get the most out of it, it's a real consolation price for a group of people willing to abandon their own homies to rally to the defense of yours), and make Ekko a prominent voice here.

Warwick in episode 9 didn't really do much for me. Any of the emotional beats there were already covered in episode 6. Not sure what to do with him instead, though. Maybe make Vi and Jinx protect others from him more explicitly?

By emphasising the Piltover/Zaun conflict more, you can have Vi be more conflicted about where she falls on that divide.

Ambessa also lobbies to get Zaun on board, maybe pulls some Renni shenanigans again. Actually get me invested in that grand climax.

Same goes for Viktor, honestly. Maybe give his conversation with Mel and Jayce a bit more weight. His turn to Ambessa and Singed's side is a bit abrupt (and also very much caused by Jayce killing him, so his moral high ground in that conversation is a bit weird).

Don't make Jayce talk shit about Viktor's terminal illness, goddamnit. Heimerdinger's whole arc was about how corrosive that attitude was, and the conclusion of it was that you can't sit down on your laurels because change will keep happening with or without you. I think that makes for a much more compelling argument against Viktor's philosophy at this point.

No notes on Singed. What a ledge.

Overall, I think the show needed a bit more breathing room to build up to the level the climax was operating on. It left a bit too much of what I cared about behind to get there, and adding an act could've been a way to alleviate some of that.

[fortunxa]

I gave myself some time to think after watching act III, and I can finally share my thoughts. Let me break it down episode by episode so it’s more coherent because I’m itching to talk about it. Buckle up because this won’t be short.

cw: mentions of sh, depression, borderline personality disorder, suicidal tendencies

episode 7 — Pretend Like It’s the First Time

This whole episode felt like pure fanfiction and fan service, and I genuinely can’t believe how Timebomb shippers are still standing after this. Throughout this whole episode, it’s been clearly shown how Ekko will only accept one version of Jinx—the easy to digest one. The one that hasn’t been traumatized. How can someone call it love? Love isn’t picking and choosing what you accept, you either love the whole person or you don’t. Alternate universe Powder is the epitome of the manic pixie dream girl archetype for the current timeline Ekko. Would Timebomb work in that alternate universe? Sure, but that’s because it’s their reality. They don’t know anything else—Powder doesn’t become the Jinx we know now. Alternate universe Ekko isn’t faced with Jinx’s mental health problems—he has nothing to pick and choose from.

Do I hate Ekko? No, I actually like his character, but he’s torn between reality and fantasy. Can I blame him? Also no, because we’ve seen his childhood. We can only imagine what damage losing everyone he loved and cared about at such a young age (and so suddenly) did to him mentally. I can’t fault him for holding onto the past (even if he denies doing so), but it is an issue that stands in the way of current timeline Timebomb.

To him, there’s only Powder or Jinx, but she’s so much more complex than that. It’s been shown repeatedly how Jinx is a part of Powder (the whole act I of season 1), and how Powder is still a part of Jinx (until the very end, no matter how hard she tried to get rid of her).

BONUS: The necklace Powder has speaks for itself. A blue rose represents, and I quote, “Unrequited love, a longing for the impossible. A yearning for someone out of reach or a relationship that cannot be fully realized.” Both Ekko’s and Powder’s side profiles aren’t on the same side of the necklace to begin with. They only merge once she spins it.

BONUS 2: Other than “Ma meilleure ennemie” by Stromae & Pomme being an absolute bop, some of you simply didn’t translate it, and it shows. Here are some highlights, specifically Pomme’s lyrics (clearly depicting Jinx):

episode 8 — Killing Is a Cycle

The episode that started to break me. We see Jinx, absolutely drained, sitting in that cell because Isha’s death was her breaking point. No one and I mean no one, showed that girl the love and acceptance she needed and deserved other than Isha. Not Silco, not Vi, not Ekko. Building that beautiful storyline for two acts straight just to rip it away from her in such a traumatizing way—a parallel to the explosion at the warehouse, too? Wow. They were setting the stage for Jinx’s breakdown since the very beginning of this season. Making us watch the hope in her bloom, find something (or someone in this case) worth living for again, be loved and accepted for who she is just to watch it all burn and leave her with nothing again—pure evil.

“I didn’t know your mom was there.” Can you hear my heart breaking even further? That brings me to my next point: Jinx in relation to Caitvi.

After watching all of what Caitlyn did this season, not only to the city but to Vi, and then still believing Caitvi is healthy? Are we watching the same show? Season 1 Caitvi stood a chance, but this? So shallow and underdeveloped. Cait became a whole dictator. She was Vi’s breaking point, too, and the reason why she hit rock bottom in the first place. Jinx saw that firsthand, and she still thinks she’s the one standing in the way of Vi’s happiness? The only person standing in the way of that is Caitlyn herself, who isn’t even being held accountable for her actions whatsoever at any point. “We can’t erase our mistakes.” but we clearly can pretend they never happened, right?

“She’s being held in the bunker while I decide what to do.” What exactly did Cait expect from that? Telling Vi, her apparent love interest—who knows what it’s like to suffer in prison, not even physically but straight up mentally—that she’s keeping her mentally ill little sister in a cell while she decides what to do? What’s there to decide? And who are you to decide?

“I’m giving you this one chance to account for your actions, all the pain you’ve caused.” Is this projecting I hear from Cait? Can’t even tell since she never did what she’s expecting from Jinx, having done far worse things than her by that point. She let martial law take place for fuck’s sake. She used the grey to gas the Undercity (which still boggles me that Vi agreed to it). She was ready to risk Isha’s safety (a CHILD) just to get to Jinx.

BONUS (while I’m at it): Caitlyn would’ve missed the final shot, no matter how much she believed that she wouldn’t. She missed the shot twice right before that: first, when she shot Jinx’s finger off, and second, when she accidentally shot at Vi. They gave us this shot of Cait looking crazed out for a reason. She was losing her mind.

She was blinded by grief, yes, but I was waiting for the moment where she finally admits to her wrongdoings (other than screaming “I know!” while tossing a boat figurine, that is). “No amount of good deeds can undo our crimes.” Sure, and a lousy sex scene can?

Let’s talk about it.

When Jinx leaves Vi in the cell, she’s clearly suicidal and mentally unwell—even more than what we’ve seen from her so far. The dialogue they gave her, again, making her believe that she was the issue all along was just heartbreaking to hear. Yes, it’s Jinx’s perception of herself, going back to her believing she’s a jinx and how everyone close to her dies, but that perception of herself shifted when Isha came into the picture. And like I said, they took that away, so going back to the topic at hand.

Vi just being ready to hear another ‘I told you so’ from Caitlyn when she finds her, and then they just end up having “sex” (or actually, just giving Cait the pleasure Vi deserved instead after everything she put her through). We’ve seen crumbs of unsatisfying communication between them about what happened, and that sex scene in the cell was the last straw for me at this point. What do you mean Vi saw her suicidal sister sitting in that very same cell (starving and self-harming herself, may I add) and instead of running after her, she pounces on Cait?

“But the parallel to their first meeting back in s1!” I don’t care. That’s just fucked up to witness. In what world would Vi—who swears to care about her family—do that? We see her as this family-oriented person, who doesn’t give up on Jinx despite it all, and this was just so out of character in the name of fan service.

episode 9 — The Dirt Under Your Nails

Starting off strong, we see depressed and suicidal Jinx right off the bat. How did Ekko manage to get through to her? Well, it’s not like he would’ve stopped either way. He would’ve kept using his z-drive over and over again until he finally got it right.

What do we gain from that? Hopeful Jinx again, yippee! Wrong. She’s back for her sister, and it’s beautiful to witness. “I’m always with you. Even when we’re worlds apart.” Fighting with and for her, ready to die for her—we saw time and time again how Jinx was never the true jinx she believed she was. She managed to fix things with Vi—and even Ekko at this point—and managed to find and bring joy. That was the true ending both sisters deserved.

What do we get instead? Implying that Jinx sacrifices herself for Vi. Other than the pure rollercoaster of emotions they put Jinx through, making a suicidal character kill themselves (or even implying so) is just plain insensitive. What message does that send? As I said in a comment section, the writers aren’t blind, and they’re not dumb either. They know how many mentally ill fans Jinx herself has. As someone who struggles with bpd too, I related to her character in so many ways. More than I’m willing to share in this post, so that finale just left a bitter taste in my mouth. Speaking with other people who are struggling with their mental health helped me see that I wasn’t the only one affected by it. Quoting my friend: “We need to normalize considering the effects of the narrative on the fans.” And this isn’t to say that every suicidal character should magically get better, this isn’t how the real world works. But Jinx’s storyline had no reason to end on that note by that point. Forced and rushed.

Dead or runaway, leaving her with the “everybody’s better off without me” narrative was just the wrong way to go about it. Plain and simple. It was rubbing salt into the wound, spitting in the face of her development. They decided to end the show with an underdeveloped Caitvi “endgame” when they spent all this time developing Jinx’s arc. And all of this for what? Such a disappointing way to wrap things up, with literal crumbs as hints that maybe she’s still alive.

And the bitter cherry on top of Caitvi’s messy relationship this season, other than the complete lack of communication—Vi comparing herself to the dirt under Cait’s nails. What a cute (not really) way to remind us of their differences and Piltover’s stance on Zaun for the majority of the show—seen as nothing more than dirt. When Sevika joins the Council after the war, she’s still being looked down on. This just makes me sick.

BONUS: No mentions of Isha in Act III was pure evil (no, the paint on Jinx’s new outfit, the bunny ears on the balloon or even Isha’s doll were not enough. I wanted her death to be properly acknowledged. No, I don’t think it was too much to ask for). We got this beautiful found family arc between her, Jinx, and Sevika, only for it to be completely forgotten the moment Jinx reconciles with Vi.

BONUS 2: Jayce and Viktor were the perfect example of bromance. A friendship between two men can be gentle, affectionate, and loving without them being gay. No need for the ship, but I guess that’s the least of my worries.

BONUS 3: If anyone brings up the “beauty in imperfections” monologue to defend the ending, know that I’m not listening. They had such a beautiful show going for so long. Imperfections aren’t the problem here, it’s the plain disappointment.

EDIT BONUS 4: Singed out of all people getting a happy ending was so disrespectful. What a cockroach that man is. Nothing and no one can get rid of him.

Media literacy is important. Thanks for coming to my rant.

disclaimer: this isn’t me saying that the entire season was bad. But damn, do better.

[theclownghoul]

Arcane Season 2 has me messed up and not in a good way

It’s actually breaking my heart that I don’t love this show anymore.

I don’t want to hate it, there’s pieces I love but there’s also pieces I hate. Act l had me in such high hopes and then it stuttered then crashed and burned.

I just feel so disappointed with so many parts of it. Actively angry at others.

There are some moments that I loved that had me feeling the same high as the first season but every time I thought things would develop better they didn’t.

I think I’m only really happy with Ekko and I was worried about him for much of the season. As an Ekko and Jinx shipper I was pleased with most of their story but the way they ended Jinx’s story undermined the importance of their talk so…

Honestly I would trade all the ship stuff for a proper story arc for Vi, Jinx, Cait and the rest

I saw the signs for Vi as soon as her pit fighter arc didn’t extend passed the promo clips. I kept waiting to delve into her issues but that never came.

Jinx was done so dirty. And this was something I prayed wouldn’t happen. She’s so personal to me in ways that would take too long to go into here. I had high hopes for her, especially after Isha and her starting to move forward, I knew it wouldn’t last but I knew (hoped) it would be interesting. I fully expected Isha to die but the way it happened was so weird?? The scene itself felt like it was manipulating me which is something I hate with a passion.

Likewise I expected her to relapse into suicidality after that and I had suspected that the scene with Ekko would happen. Her scene with Vi beforehand hurt in a good way and I wanted to watch as she hit rock bottom then clawed her way back as she started to mend the broken relationships in her life.

The thing that finally set me off was her hair. I thought she would cut it after she decided to live, as a show a change but before was just so cliché (it did look cute but don’t go trying to distract me)

I really didn’t want people blaming Vi for Jinx running off to try to end herself again. And I didn’t, even though I knew something was wrong about the way the scene played out and lead into the sex scene. I knew something was wrong I was just hoping that I was wrong.

I was so looking forward to the CaitVi sex scene, since King Princess was revealed for the soundtrack. Hoping her and Cait would have a real ass conversation, a hard conversation and then get that moment together but it just felt wrong. I wanted to love it but I didn’t. As a King Princess fan I was so excited but all I feel now is at best apathy and at worst anger. The more I read from lesbians in the fandom and those that care for Vi how I care for Jinx the worse I feel.

Briefly let’s talk about Cait. I was interested in her arc after Act l. Messy it would be and a long road back for sure but I had hope. She was done dirty too.

Back to Jinx…. What the fuck was that ending? Her “sacrifice” felt so similar to her fights with Vi (Act l) and Ekko (S1) where she was going to let herself die. No growth from the rest of the season, that’s how they left us, that’s what they did to a character that they did so beautifully in S1. I don’t care if she’s alive, that’s not a fucking ending.

(Apologies for continuing to bring up my predictions. I just think it’s funny how my thoughts make more sense than what we got)

I didn’t mind the idea of her sacrificing herself for Vi, Arcane is a tragedy after all. Her being the one to protect her sister in the end not because she thought Vi was better off without her but because Vi protects everyone and her sister can help now would have been great.

But that ending rubbed me wrong in every way.

The story of these sisters meant everything to me and what a fool we all were to think it was in competent hands. Like seriously I can’t believe this is the same writing team.

All of us went in with high hopes and then had those hopes crushed.

I’ve seen so many people who were excited to react and analyze go radio silent after Act ll and I hope they stay that way. I’d love to change my mind but I don’t think I can. I don’t think there’s any coming back.

I wanted to take the good moments and leave it alone but I keep feeling the disappointment because the show’s first season left a mark on me that I’ll treasure forever and I can’t let go. I still have so many feelings about this. Piltover and Zaun, Victor and Jayce, Mel and Ambessa, admittedly not my area of expertise but safe to say they all deserved better and we deserved better.

I would say it felt like a fanfic but I know fans have more grace and respect for this story.

This is not the tragedy I signed up for.

[jai-graphics]

Rant: Jinx and her ability to love so unconditionally

I feel like it isn't so talked about how Powder and Jinx are both in the same with their unconditional love especially to characters like Vi, Silco, Isha and Ekko... (SPOILERS FOR ARCANE ACT 3)

Most of the times, people talks about how different Powder and Jinx are but forget they're technically the same person and acts the same especially with loving someone...

- Vi, I have no hate for her but she is very much so focused on trying to fuck up enforcers (figuratively and literally *winks*) and fight to get back at Piltover. While I don't blame Vi with her priorities and that Vi should let go of the guilt about Jinx, Vi is more focused on being a warrior, being strong, preparing to fight.

Here comes Powder where this focus of Vi also causes Powder to wish to be better, build bombs (Where I did wish Vi decided to stop and look and encouraged her to build other things, but ig that's where Ekko comes in), tools to aid said fights, she also follows along on wanting to fight with Vi. Where Powder had underlying wishes to simply play and bond with Vi as implied with Jinx and Isha, she didn't think about that but then Powder is very insistent to join in which sadly causes mayhem or 'Jinx'es.

-Silco. As much as I love this Father-Daughter pair, Silco is a real bad influence for her. Silco saw the broken down girl like he's looking into a mirror and turns her into a child soldier/terrorist. While Silco did love Jinx and cared for her and they had their moments, it is still so twisted because he still enabled Jinx's destructive behavior because it does him good ("I thought you (Vi) were the price of your second-hand family, but Jinx, She's more than I ever imagined..."), he tries to drill into Jinx that there's no other family besides him... It's true that Silco would rather let his dream die than give away Jinx, but it is also true that when it comes to manipulating and making sure Jinx is still under his thumb, nothing stops him from that.

Jinx, back when she is young and first met Silco, She is so so quick to cling to Silco at the bit of small, very tiny affection he showed her and she decided to follow him like a loss puppy. It never occured to her that maybe this person is a bad person or out to hurt her, Nah, that's all just brushed away. Jinx is very similar with Vi and with Silco with her way to love is to mold herself based on the person she clings to. Powder trying to invent bombs and Jinx being Jinx. It's more shown with Silco that Jinx will never stop and look if her actions to please the person, is atrocious and awful, all that matters to her is the person she tried to please, she also never thinks about what she wants because all she wants in life of to please said person and Silco dropdead weaponized that...

-Isha is a breath of fresh air for her. Jinx didn't feel commanded or pressured into a job or role like with Vi and Silco. Jinx was able to just live, play, enjoy life, do things that she wishes with Vi (If Vi isn't more into 'hitting stuff') with Isha, she didn't have to be Powder or Jinx to live. Jinx let go of the baggage as Jinx and aims to be a good role model for Isha, Jinx looks into how she felt with Vi like feeling useless by being stood back in a job and with Silco being commanded to do things, she uses those to make better memories for Isha.

Though, Isha does want her to be a simbol, a hero, wants 'to be Jinx' which Jinx didn't want at first, but Isha didn't force her into it like Silco drills her as Jinx or Vi drills her as nine year old Powder. Isha accepts Jinx's choice and goes along with it and just ends up hoping and waiting for Jinx to do it in her own will... And Jinx did, despite her reservations, Jinx decided to be Jinx to save Isha.

Arcane season 2 had pacing problems but this isn't one of the reasons...

Which is why I didn't get that some people say Isha is a pointless character, She is, this is why and it's why losing her is the biggest blow after Silco's death...

Arcane Act 3 Spoilers

-Powder and Jinx are very similar, So I think why Ekko's view of Jinx changed when he met Powder in the alternative universe. Before meeting Alternative Powder, Ekko knew that whatever atrocities Jinx did is because she wants to, that's true, Jinx does want to do it to please Silco and Ekko hates her for it and believes Powder and Jinx being two separate beings like Vi.

But I believe being in this Alternative universe, Ekko found out and felt being the receiving end Powder/Jinx's unwavering love and support. Ekko realized that even if Powder isn't Jinx here, Jinx and Powder is one and the same. (i.e. using monkeys for the timeloop and wacky doodles during their episode nine fight)

Episode seven hammered down why Jinx X Ekko makes sense... Ekko had great ideas and his go-to person for help to do said idea is Powder. This opens up the possibilities for Powder to embrace her intelligence and hope to live more (as shown that Powder loving her life as compared to the carelessness of Jinx). This is where Powder and Jinx are very similar: it was shown Powder is contented in the bar to standing back and watch and support in the sidelines while Ekko thrives, taking every bit of opportunity because that's what makes her happy. Like Jinx with Isha, Silco and Vi.

Though, I did notice the difference of Ekko between the four, Powder's self confidence is at the fullest with Ekko, which honestly, causes her to be mature. All the positives of her relationship with Isha, Silco and Vi all appears with Ekko. With Ekko, Powder is so comfortable with her own skin and abilities, Powder allows herself to feel angry and bitter towards Ekko without being destructive (i.e. asking for space), and Powder does recognize that Ekko needs her for projects but Ekko (albeit being an alternative universe version) very much aims to know Powder for who she was and see her and doesn't want her to change at all...

And that's why when he came back, even Jinx being her destructive self, He doesn't just run away from the bomb but chose to save Jinx repeatedly...

She's not dead shut up

[sowearecleariamhere]

When I looked at the soundtrack before, pre act 2, I saw "Isha's song". I thought, why would Isha get a song? And a song that sounds like that? There had to be something I was missing or that was to come.

Now, post act 2:

[xremus-is-deadx]

Let's talk about Sevika for a minute...

S2 talk ahead:

Okay so Sevika is a powerhouse of a character, we can all see that, we all have eyes, we all know her gorgeous ass can fight.

But like, it's always under someone, and S2 Act 1 has made that so much more evident.

She's a natural follower, jumps of the train of whoever holds power. First with Vander, then with Silco, and now Silco is gone, she has no one...

In a scene in S2 Ep2, when discussing who would take over Silco's position, Sevika is immediately excluded from the picture. Not because she isn't strong, everyone knows she's physically strong, she just isn't a leader. She still has a very powerful voice at the table, but she just doesn't take control, and honestly I'm debating whether that's because she can't bring herself to, or because she doesn't.

Realistically, if you take a position of leadership down in the undercity, you paint and immediate target on your head with a sign saying "take me down" written in neon above you. It's a risky position, and everyone we've seen take such a position, or even try to, has either died (Vander, Silco, Finn, and now kind of Renni), or landed flat on their ass in pursuit (specifically Smeech in act 1). She has to know that it's probably safer to play follow the leader, but she also seems somewhat incapable of taking on a leadership role in trying times. She doesnt really knowing what to do without Silco around now, and she's fallen in line with Jinx, someone she never worked alongside, even under Silco, because they opposed eachother so much (Sevika have a "tackle what I'm given the way I'm given it, no other way" tactic, Jinx having a "shooty shooty bomb explosion" tactic, not exactly besties...)

And yet here they are, teamed?

Realistically, I think Sevika likely won't take a sole leadership status, I don't think she has it in her, though it would be beneficial considering how little anyone on topside knows/ talks about her, and also, she's a badass, she can fight. I do think though that she may take on some more control alongside Jinx, well, I hope she does, that a power duo I'd love to see.

Sevika is looking for someone to follow, Jinx is looking for someone to shelter her, I think it'll be interesting to see what becomes of the two of them

ALSO SHOUTOUT TO ISHA I ALREADY ADORE HER SO MUCH, SHES SO FUCKING WONDERFUL, IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HER IM KILLING EVERYONE THEN MYSELF

[starlostlix]

ARCANE S2 ACT 1 SPOILERS BELOW as I analyse the scene between Vi, Jinx, Caitlyn and Isha, what it means for them, and the link to Caitlyn's 3-point plan for the strike team.

I don't usually post about Arcane here but I need a place to talk about it without word limits so here we are. Also my comparison between MTP's telling of A scandal in Bohemia and the og will be done at some point I have just been very distracted.

So the scene I'm focusing on starts here when Isha runs up to where Jinx and Vi are fighting, lying between them a pointing a gun at Vi to protect Jinx.

Now Isha is a kid that has accidentally wandered into Jinx's life and gotten attached to her enough to wish to try and save her from danger - a new found family for Jinx alongside Sevika (who gives aunt vibes to me). But not just any kid is going to run into the line of fire like this. If we know anything about Isha now it's that she's brave - really brave - but also shouldn't have to be in this position.

Taking at look at her face, Isha's expressions seem to flick between anger and fear quite quickly. There's the facial muscles around her nose often flaring for that anger, but also a deep fear you can see too.

I think it's how she maintains focus on Jinx whilst the gun is turned away to Vi that's interesting. It's clear that she's afraid of what Vi is doing and is focused mostly on protecting Jinx - so that gun isn't something she necessarily wants to fire. She occasionally kept trying to press the trigger, but her hesitation isn't necessarily that she can't, but that she doesn't want to. She had ample time to take a very clear shot but she doesn't (this is interesting when we think about Caitlyn nearby who is desperate to take a shot even if it's not completely clear - Isha's motive is protection whereas Caitlyn's is revengeful action). And once she is unarmed all she can do is cling to Jinx. Perhaps both for her protection of Jinx or for Jinx to protect her. Like how a child would cling to a mother or father or even a bigger sister. Isha is supposed to play the role of a younger sibling to, in my eyes, mimic that of Vi and Powder that Jinx is desperate to protect.

I wanted to move on to Vi because I think her reactions/expressions are the most interesting. You get to see her face a lot, and once Isha has the gun to her face the main expression is one of fear. Not fear for her own safety, but a fear for Isha's safety, AND a fear of what she's been doing as an enforcer.

When Isha has the gun, all Vi can focus on is this mystery child - who she's never seen before might I add- suddenly appearing to protect Jinx. Even if Isha is scared she's still trying to protect her, trying to help even. Perhaps Vi sees herself here, a kid just trying to protect her loved ones from the enforcers that oppressed them. Perhaps she sees Powder, a kid throwing themselves in harms way just to try to help. Either way, she sees an innocent kid putting themselves in the line of fire to protect their loved ones. Except this time Vi is the dangerous one, rather than the protector role she used to fill.

When the gun is knocked away we see Vi again, frozen in place as she stares at Isha clinging to Jinx. This one feels so much more like a face of realisation - that Jinx still has loved ones left and that Vi has become the problem she swore to destroy. She's become the enforcer who enters Zaun to 'clear stuff up' with no regard for how it affects the people of Zaun. Instead of a protecter, she has become an aggressor.

If you will, remember Caitlyn's 3 goals - 'Locate Jinx, Dismantle Shimmer, and neutralise any agents still loyal to Silco'. I feel that this is where Vi realises that those goals only truly help the people of Piltover rather than anyone in Zaun.

1 - 'Locate Jinx' - this is basically corporate speak for Caitlyn wanting to k!ll Jinx. Originally, Vi was fine with this, seeing Jinx as a 'monster she created' and who 'taints the memory of her sister' Powder. But in doing so, she now realises that she will leave people behind who care for Jinx - Isha in particular. She's seen in her life so many kids left behind after enforcers k!lled their parents/families who then turn to rebellion (INCLUDING HERSELF AND POWDER!!) that she knows if she k!lls Jinx here with Isha as witness that the cycle will only continue - more kids who turn to violence as a result of trauma. If she were to go through with it she'd have become a direct parallel to those enforcers who killed her own parents, and she's already become a parallel to the ones who terrorised her and her family in her childhood with her activities in the Zaun strike team (especially with their usage of the Grey).

2 - 'Dismantle Shimmer' - whilst the removal of this drug is a good thing for pretty much anyone, the way the team go about it creates huge problems. The team are specifically shown to simply burn large quantities of the stuff (in the opening montage to 'Hellfire') - not only does this add more dangerous gasses to the underground areas (which they've already been releasing the Grey into), but it also creates issues for addicts. With access to it simply cut off, a decent portion of the population who are addicted to it will experience pretty dangerous withdrawal symptoms which could even lead to d3ath. With no system in place, addicts are left entirely on their own, so the destruction of Shimmer like this only helps those in Piltover remove a threat to them without actually helping the people. Meanwhile higher-ups in Piltover like Salo can use it recreationally (for his tattoos, even if frowned upon as implied by Mel's conversation with Lest).

3 - 'Neutralise any agents still loyal to Silco' - I'm pretty sure the Chembarons are considered Silco loyalists due to the Zaun strike team's attack on one of Margot's brothels in episode 2. The Chembarons, now down to 3 of them, were heralded as the only leadership of Zaun besides Silco. Their infighting has caused major issues in Zaun, but their elimination will not necessarily help Zaun in the long run. The removal of the Chembarons will leave a power vacuum, much like the one already left by Silco, that others will only step into over time. The removal of leadership in Zaun will only cause more issues as up-and-comers will try to fill the power vacuum and build their own forces, eventually becoming a new threat but not without a long period of chaos as people try to build resources to fill the vacuum. Piltover needs the removal of those with current power and forces to remove any possible threats of attack like the attack on the councillor memorial. It is, again, only for the benefit of Piltover.

Vi had seen becoming an Enforcer as the only way to bring down Jinx (reinforced by Caitlyn's insistence of doing things together and also partly by Maddie talking about what Caitlyn did to get her the job) AND as a way of protecting Caitlyn, but now I feel that she has been able to see the negative affect she's been having on the people of Zaun - her own people. I think this is why Vi switches into doing anything she can to protect Isha and Jinx, her protective side for Powder kicking back in specifically.

Looking back at Jinx, she was so ready to d!e at Vi's hands until Isha appears. Her expression here is the clearest look at her emotions we really see in the sequence - concern and fear. We know she's not afraid of dying or k!lling (especially when she said earlier before the fight that she's not remorseful of orphaning kids as she's 'done it to herself enough'), but she's so visibly afraid of Isha being hurt, and afraid that Vi would be the one to k!ll Isha. She's grown attached to Isha more than she'd like to admit, perhaps even seeing similarities to her and Powder (especially in their desire to help their family).

Once Isha's gun is shot away she clings to Jinx. Jinx at first is trying to claw her off - get her away from the danger, telling her to 'scram', referring to her simply by 'kid' so she leaves and doesn't get hurt. But when Vi is just sitting there looking rather than attacking she brings Isha in closer as a form of protection and looks at Vi. The way she looks at Vi. That's fear. She's afraid of her own sister again. She's afraid her sister will hurt an innocent kid, who's just trying to help, with a punch again. All her face says is 'Don't hurt this kid'.

And it's devastating. Devastating for both Jinx and Vi. Jinx sees her sister as a threat, whereas Vi begins to see a bit of Powder in Jinx again. She sees herself about to repeat a mistake that previously cost her everything - leaving a child alone with no support. This is also part of what turns Vi to protect Jinx and Isha from Caitlyn.

Last but not least, Caitlyn.

Caitlyn's effect on this scene can sometimes be forgotten (I almost didn't include her in this analysis at all) but it's actually bigger than one may think. I mentioned before how her desperation to k!ll Jinx causes her to shoot even when her shot is not clear (and how it contrasts Isha's reluctance to shoot even with a clear shot), but there's also so much more. For one, she shoots at the gun Isha is holding almost without a second thought. She tries to shoot Jinx whilst Isha is clinging on to her almost without a second thought. She shoots Vi's gauntlets when she tries to stop her. She frankly is unhinged at this point, tunnel vision on k!lling Jinx with no regard for anyone else in this situation, not just Isha but Vi also.

Grief is a strange thing. It can create many reactions from people depending on their situation. In Caitlyn's case, her grief has morphed into a desire for revenge and a thirst for violence, strengthening her pre-established prejudices towards Zaunites that she was so adamant in reversing in season 1. In her grief there is one constant - blame for Jinx - that morphs into further prejudices towards Zaunites as a whole to justify her actions in her own mind. She similarly justified her tunnel vision in this fight with the idea that 'she wasn't going to miss' despite missing her shot multiple times already (specifically when she shoots to k!ll Jinx and only hits her middle finger).

Her actions here are what happens when grief takes control and her usual logic and reasoning is not able to intervene as much as usual. Her insistence on not harming innocents (seen early in episode one), her understanding of how Zaunites were treated unfairly (s1 episode 7) - it's all overshadowed by her grief. However, her grief doesn't excuse her actions - she's still making decisions based on her own internalised prejudices that with her grief are projected outwards and drive her actions.

This has all culminated here, where her tunnel vision has led to her hurting Vi and almost caused her to hurt an innocent child. She's this looming threat to the scene, her hextech rifle being probably the most powerful weapon here - and it's in the hands of someone who is vengeful and seemingly trigger-happy and in a position of power she was not ready for. If Vi was a big danger in Jinx and Isha's eyes at first, there's a bigger danger in Caitlyn, one that even Vi notices. And she's only going to get worse next arc.

[There could be more to say but I think this is a great place to end it! I may make more arcane posts as s2 releases but i'll have to see, I just really wanted to talk about this scene in particular it's just so interesting.]

[deiastormborn]

Arcane Act 3 Theories (and my take on Caitlyn so far)

Just finished watching the Act 2 and, good Lord, this was... something. I've been talking with my friend a lot about it and possible future of the show, so I thought to share it here for people to discuss it with me.

OBVIOUSLY, SPOILER WARNINGS! If you didn't watch the act 2 yet, do NOT read.

A few things I want to focus on here:

Vander

Cait & Vi & Jinx trio

Viktor

Let's start with Vander. Man, this whole thing broke me. I wasn't expecting a good outcome considering we know now that he is Warwick, and the current state of Warwick is no longer human. I assume he is not completely dead, I'm sure Singed had some fucked up idea on how to transfer the mind of Vander to another beast. I do imagine, however, that either Viktor's death, or the blast done by Isha, might have removed anything human that was left of him. Singed has spoken about Vander's strong resilience and will to live, so some part of him was still alive - after that explosion, my theory is, the Vander we know is gone now. I suppose next act we will see Warwick in it's pure beast form.

Next point: have you guys noticed anything about the scene between Silco, Vander and Vi/Jinx's mom?

Silco is an obvious representation of Jinx, it was obvious from the first season, even his hairstyle is somewhat similar to hers.

Vander is Vi, in its purest form, he even ironically gave her name.

Their mother, Felicia, is... oddly so similar to Caitlyn.

We know that Silco and Vander haven't been getting along too much, even before the betrayal we know of in season 1. Felicia even happens to scold them a bit before the scene starts. However, they all seem united together, in peace and harmony, especially with the news that Felicia was pregnant. You can see that Silco came closer when he heard the news, and the whole 'Blisters and Bedrock'... I might start using that one. My theory is, what if Caitlyn somehow plays a part in bringing Jinx and Vi closer? While I know that in League of Legends, Vi and Jinx are not allies at all, however, it's not the first story line that was different in Arcane to the lore of League. They were already getting along in order to help Vander, and you can see how much Vi started to soften up when she saw the interactions between Isha and Jinx. Now that Isha is dead, and I think we don't need to argue that she is most definitely dead, Jinx will need Vi. Question is, of course, whether Caitlyn will be able to get over her grief and hatred towards Jinx due to her mother's death, but she did manage to control herself when she met her (yes, she was angry at first, cut her some slack though, you don't just get over stuff like that).

Something tells me, due to the trailer of Act 3, that Jinx might help protect both Zaun and Piltover from Ambessa and Viktor. What if Caitlyn plays the same role as Felicia played for Silco and Vander before she died? Who knows, if she was still alive, maybe Silco and Vander wouldn't get into the mess they got.

(I also want to take a moment and defend Caitlyn here: while you guys were angry at her, please take a moment and transfer that anger on Ambessa instead. Caitlyn was in a grief, blaming herself for everything that went down with Jinx, because she could have stopped her and she didn't, leading to many deaths, including her mom's. She also was thrown into being a head of her family, having to accept the legacy. AND she didn't have a moment to sit down and work with her grief, due to the whole Enforcer role she is playing. While what she said to Vi, about her being 'just as bad' as Jinx, wasn't good, but it was also justified from her eyes. In her eyes, Vi wasn't defending Isha from being shot, she was defending Jinx, and i'm pretty sure we all saw, including Caitlyn, that Vi hesitated killing Jinx even before Isha jumped in to save her. Ambessa used Caitlyn in an unstable position, but AS SOON as Caitlyn saw Vi, and Caitlyn told her about Vander, she SNAPPED BACK. Caitlyn was never evil. She was broken. And her romance with Maddie - please remember there is an obvious time skip between act 1 and act 2, and act 3 also seems to be happening after some time passed. She was allowed for a new relationship, considering that her relationship with Vi lasted... 1 episode anyway.)

Now for my biggest theory with everything that happened to Viktor. I think we can all agree that Viktor is not dead. And while everyone is hating Jayce now, let me just say this: did you see in what state he was? All of the PTSD flashbacks and hallucinations? He has seen something TERRIBLE. While you like Viktor, so do I, please understand that Jayce wasn't acting like this for nothing. My theory is, since Jayce is either from the future, or some alternative reality he travelled to, and, before he killed Viktor, we heard a flashback of him talking to someone and 'I promise I won't fail this time', I assume that this is all Ekko's doing. Since Ekko and Heimer are not in the picture yet, something tells me that Ekko finally became stronger and learned to craft his trinkets for time travel better than before. I think he sent Jayce back to stop Viktor, either from the future or from that alternative reality. Additionally, I think this is all a big mistake on Ekko's part, too. Viktor talked to Singed about fate, and if we know of fate, Jayce and Ekko did not stop the events they were trying to stop. By killing Viktor, and him coming back to life somehow, this sort of betrayal probably removed his last hope in humanity, which will lead to the 'glorious evolution' and Viktor becoming a full cult leader with machine-like ideology. While Viktor seems to be good, he did still start a cult, and shreded people he healed from actual humanity. They were acting in the way Viktor wanted them to act, he could connect his mind to theirs like puppets. His intentions were pure, but the outcome was already bad. We can only imagine how bad it got in the future or that reality. And with Jayce hurting Viktor's 'human body', Viktor will completely loose his mind and turn to metal as he did in the League of Legends lore. I assume he will be the reason Piltover is getting attacked as well. And, since we all saw Oriana's picture, but not her in her current state, something tells me that Viktor will help Singed create Oriana the way we know her - a full robot with some resemblance to her real self.

Here's a thing though:

I think Jayce saw the future, but not how it happened. I think him, and possibly Ekko, decided that, by killing Viktor, they can stop this future from happening, but I actually think they made it worse. I think the whole reason Viktor went insane is because of this event. It's a Greek Tragedy. While they thought killing Viktor will stop him, they actually created a monster instead.

I'll be sad to see Viktor be evil, but, in a way, it all makes sense. In a very tragic way, but it does.

What if the Hextech is actually something from the Void? It's purple.

Alternative theory would be that, while Jayce and Heimer and Ekko were trapped in the core, and while Viktor was actively messing around with it, Jayce witnessed what it does to people that Viktor has been 'fixing'. He does hallucinate some kind of zombies when he looks at the people that Viktor interracted with. Though, then I would not know how Jayce was the only person who got out. Maybe that rune in Jayce's wrist will explain all of it.

This was all of my theories for now.

[eponymous-rose]

Some (many) thoughts on Arcane s2 while it's still fresh in my mind:

(tw: discussion of fictional depictions of suicide)

I'm gonna do some nitpicking here, but only because I really did like it overall - I think for me s1 was a solid 10/10 and this season was an 8.5/10, so I'm certainly looking forward to rewatching it! The animation was a big step up from s1's incredible work, the music was great, the performances were fantastic. I do think the overall writing/story fell down a bit, though.

It's weird, because my go-to when character arcs feel rushed is to want more episodes, but I don't think that necessarily would have solved my issues with this season.

Cait turned on Ambessa on a dime - we love to see it, but I think we maybe needed a few more overt hints of her discomfort with her position, maybe a sense of wrongness in their adoptive relationship and some parallels with Jinx & Silco given what Vi says early on ("why are you the one acting like her?"). Ambessa believes her daughter to be lost, and Cait has lost a mother - they were certainly playing on that substitution, but the eventual turn, while fun, felt a bit quick and unearned. I saw someone joke about the word "Cupcake" flipping Cait back like a sleeper agent, but that's kinda how abrupt things felt.

I think Mel's plot largely hung together okay, although it was pretty disconnected from everyone except Ambessa - would've loved to have seen some acknowledgement that Cait was filling her shoes as Daughter for a while there.

Isha was sweet and I liked the parallels with the Powder-Vi relationship (LOVED Jinx running with the pink chalk and Isha with the blue), but I think the sacrifice metaphor got a little muddled. The parallels with Powder charging in and killing everyone around her, versus Isha charging in and saving everyone but herself felt a little forced and I struggled to see how they served the greater narrative. The whole point of Powder's failure was a messy combination of bad luck, overcompensating for what she perceived as a lack of confidence in her, etc. Isha had Jinx's confidence on her side, I guess, and now of course we have the foreshadowing of Jinx dying to save someone else, which she's been trying to do since Act II.

Suicide was a pretty heavy concept throughout the first season. We had the parallels of Jayce and Viktor, we had the little-remarked-upon moment where Viktor hesitates before cutting the wire on Jinx's bomb. I actually think this season did pretty well with those two (although I'll talk about a couple things that irked me below), but the concept that we can't escape the things that we've done and we instead have to find salvation in those around us felt kind of contrary to Jinx's finally finding a way to die for her sister. I don't know that Jinx's story was necessarily supposed to feel satisfying or complete, but without another season there's not much to dig through there.

And that brings up the main reason I don't think more episodes would have resolved my quibbles with this season: it was pretty prone to overexplaining. To me, one of the most exceptional things about that first season was how little it explained. You had these gorgeous, evocative flashes of Vander trying to kill Silco, Silco stabbing him and fleeing into the night, and that's all we needed! That's it! We didn't need to know the specifics, we didn't need more backstory than that - the whole point of the season was that these kids are trying to make their own stories, and these guys have set the stage and are in the process of bowing out. Much as I loved the glimpses this season into the past generation's adventures, it felt like it was pinning something down that was more effectively left to the imagination.

There were also some weird fumbles with discussions of disability, especially in that last episode. I loved so much of what season one did with it - the older generation of Zaunites almost all had some form of disability due to the way they'd been systematically poisoned and their constant exposure to danger, and that was a really in-your-face way to challenge the early "why can't we all get along" stuff. And so much of Viktor's and Jayce's arcs are tied in with the sense of time running out and how Heimerdinger's long-term goals are incompatible with helping the people suffering right now. But instead we get this weird "you didn't like your imperfections so you tried to eliminate all imperfections", which doesn't quite ring true.

We just fundamentally didn't get to a resolution that I think was heavily implied, especially in Act II. "No one in power is innocent" is a great, raw line, but we didn't really see it play out. Instead, we have everyone stopping from othering each other in order to band together against an even bigger Other. As a side note, I don't think that Sevika's ending is meant to be a positive thing - we see from the skeptical looks of others that she's got a long road ahead. The revolution we saw coming just sort of fizzled out, and I think it's still on the horizon, which makes things feel incomplete.

There were also a lot of notes that repeated instead of echoing or harmonizing. We had variations on the theme of Vander dying three different times. We had Vi being unable to kill her sister several times. The repetition felt a bit like it was filling time instead of moving things forward the way s1's plot kept pushing.

This season is also the first time I felt the hand of League of Legends Canon shoving the plot into place. We knew Vi was heading for that enforcer uniform, but after the initial conflict it sometimes felt more like we just unlocked a new skin for the character. The Vander-as-Warwick stuff was kind of silly and out of left field, although it was executed pretty well and certainly pulled at the ol' heartstrings. Ekko getting his time abilities was fun and impacted the final fight, but I feel like we were missing something there as well that I'm having a harder time putting my finger on. Some of Viktor's lines felt designed to make the League players in the audience go "HE SAID THE THING". And I hate the feeling of setting up the Next Installment in the Cinematic Universe, probably just because I'm exhausted with Marvel stuff - I'd love for an adaptation like this to be able to really and truly stand on its own.

Overall, it just felt less like the characters were driving the story and more like they were ticking off boxes, which is just something that any good finale has to contend with one way or another.

Anyway, that's a lot of nitpicking. Fundamentally, this felt almost like it was a really strong fic that did a surprisingly good job of wrapping everything up and was stunningly put together in places... but still lacked the spark of the original.

Stuff I loved: Vi/Cait getting a pretty strong arc and certainly the first lesbian sex scene I've ever seen in a TV-14 cartoon. Animation and score was stunning. I did love the what-if of episode 7 - something I've been waiting for them to acknowledge is that literally everything that happens in the show follows from that one break-in during episode one. I actually think Vi and Jinx's reunion and reconciliation felt earned.

I'm curious how I'll feel on subsequent rewatches - the first time I watched s1, I remember being blown away but not in a "this is the best thing ever" way, and it wasn't until the second time that it really clicked for me.

[fyeahnix]

Ok lemme talk about this season of Arcane, the ending, and most importantly, Sevika. If you don't want spoilers, back away now but I'm leaving this open because people have a tendency to not open or read my posts with read more cuts after them 🙃

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First off, I will say that I like Arcane a lot. Like a LOT. I've watched the first season 4 times (rarely do I watch anything more than once) and I think it's a masterclass in adult animation. Fortiche really put everything into this series.

That being said...

While I did like season 2, I don't think it was enough. Animation wise it was phenomenal, writing wise...I think it could have been better. As I've learned through doing research for my Sevika fics, the League of Legends universe, lore, and worldbuilding is fucking MASSIVE and even if I don't give two shits about that community or game, I have to give it props in that department because they really put a ton of work into it to make it feel alive. Maps? Short stories? Timelines? Race and culture? Apex could never...

That ofc is why it's hard for me to say that the writing is amazing. We had far too many characters to keep track of in season 2 with far too many plot threads to finish in two seasons. I think ideally, this series should have been 3 seasons instead of 2. Acts 1 and 2 could have been its own season, and Act 3 could have been its own season. If not that, then at least one more episode per act would have helped a lot. Things just progressed and wrapped up far too quickly for my liking.

Also not a huge fan of how quickly video game related media tends to dip into the whole timeline and multidimensional business. It def works well for some games but here? Idk I guess it was bound to happen given some League character's abilities, but the stakes just elevated far too quickly for me. Not a fan of Viktor becoming one of the main antagonists at all, and DEFINITELY not a fan of the conflict between Piltover and Zaun being sidelined for an "enemy of my enemy is my friend" thing with the war against the Noxians. It makes sense, I just wish "war with the Noxians" came at a later date so we could focus on the twin cities.

And speaking of the generational conflict between Piltover and Zaun, let's talk about Sevika.

As I said before, Sevika is the most qualified person to become the leader of Zaun and I stand by that even after the ending. But first....what about her found family? Isha sacrificed herself and Sevika gets no on-screen reaction? The last two episodes just progressed SOOOO FAST that we and some of the characters didn't even have time to breathe. Did Sevika even get time to mourn for Isha? What about Jinx, who is now gone? Sevika barely even encountered Vander! I would have loved to see some of the aftermath there because I think season 1 did a better job of allowing characters time to process their emotions and grief, even if the pacing was still kinda fast. It was acceptable!

I am sad af she didn't get more lines, but remember, Sevika has always been a side character in this series. An important side character but a side character no less. The promo shot of her now feels like...what was the point? (more on that in a sec) but considering how many characters and plot points and plot threads they had to account for, I am not surprised she didn't get more screen time. Hell, Vi and Caitlyn didn't even get a chance to have a full conversation on eveything that happened and Caitlyn didn't even apologize on screen. The fuck bro.

Now about Sevika's ending....I am very happy she isn't dead. Like dawg, you have no fucking idea how happy I am about it. SHE FUCKING LIVED. But....

I am seeing some people saying they're not happy or they're confused or that her ending doesn't make sense. And I just disagree with those points. Let me explain why.

I posted something earlier today about it, but again, as people don't open my read mores, I'll repost it here:

We absolutely do not know how much time passed between the war and the final few shots of the season. So Sevika joins the council. I DO NOT THINK she would do this unless there's a good reason for it, and that's why I'm guessing she will be Zaun's ambassador on the council. That war probably significantly changed the relationship between Piltover and Zaun and while old wounds will take more than a fucking war to heal, her being on the council now means she directly has a say in Zaun's future. Remember, the council was literally about to hand Zaun their independence before Jinx blew it up, and Mel was in support of it. As I said before, Sevika is respected down there at a bare minimum with all the factions. She would know better than anyone how to lead Zaun at this point. So yeah I get the hesitation, but it makes sense in my eyes. And it makes it likely that Sevika could show up again in a future League animation, if not become a whole champion.

I like her ending. I am sorry but it just makes fucking sense. Sevika is extremely loyal to her home and her people of Zaun. We've seen that time and time again. She was willing to go to war and die for those people not just against Piltover but also the Noxians, so why on fucking earth would anyone believe she's making a bad choice here?

She is now in the best possible position anyone in Zaun could be to advocate for their independence and support their growth. She knows the chem barons and brought them to peace, she gained the respect of the Firelights with Scar leading them in Ekko's absence, and she even got the Jinxers together with them before the Noxian attack on Zaun. Sevika has experience, she has the ear of the people, she knows what it's like down there, she is made to lead and help advocate for them!!!!

Believe me I get that whole "changing things from the inside" angle doesn't work more often than not, but this doesn't feel like "changing from the inside," it feels like "let me advocate for my people's actual independence so we have a starting point to become self sufficient." Again, Piltover was literally about to let Zaun gain their independence, and while none of the previous council members that agreed to it are there, Mel is/was. Who's to say she didn't help negotiate for Sevika to sit on the council and start (or complete!) the Zaun independence process before she left for Noxus? I can't imagine Sevika would just show up to the table and sit there if she didn't have a damn good reason. Like come on now. This woman has seen first-hand what Piltover is capable of and does not like them nor looks like she wants to be there. But she's seen what Piltover has done to her people first-hand, and after learning from both Vander and Silco, this is how she feels she can best protect her people.

She IS the new leader of Zaun and their ambassador at the council.

And lastly, we've been told that some characters will be returning in future League animations. Mel seems like an absolute given, but what about Sevika? Zaun's story is only just beginning, and yeah they said they'd like to branch out to other regions, that doesn't mean a cameo or maybe another medium can't be used to continue that story (a book, perhaps??).

Anyway yeah those are my thoughts...

[oopsie0503]

so first of all fuck all the Jayce haters hop on outta here

ramblings after watching the finale cuz I saw somebody talking Abt Vi never getting to choose and it made me think a little

SPOILERS FOR ARCANE SEASON 2 ALL ACTS

So I was thinking about Jayce, Viktor, Vi, and Jinx and like. a few parallels came to mind.

Jayce and Vi both make so many decisions but none of them ever seem to pan out how they expected. One of Jayce's biggest, kindhearted actions was making hextech, and using the hexcore on Viktor in order to save him two things that nearly cause the end of the world. He never intended for that, though.

With Vi she does things like sneak into the jail and then get locked in, or tries to save Jinx but nope, she forces the orb out of the gauntlet.

Specifically with that last part, Jinx making Vi let her go, that's what Viktor and Jinx have in common. People do not want them to die.

In season 1, Jayce stops Viktor from jumping. In Season 1, Silco and Singe use shimmer to keep Jinx alive.

In s2 Jayce uses the hexcore on Viktor to stop him from dying. In s2 Isha won't let Cait shoot Jinx. Jayce shoots Viktor, and Singe doesn't let him die. Jinx tries to blow herself up or jump, but Echo rewinds time to stop her. Finally Viktor and Jayce uhmm . Kill themselves? Move onto the next timeline? I think? And Jinx forces Vi to let her go.

I find this connection/parallel so interesting!!!

Also in S1 Jayce and Viktor both stop one another from jumping and this parallels how in every timeline Viktor will save Jayce to ensure that Jayce will save Viktor from himself. It's beautiful. So well written. Dying.

[vanilla-lip-stick]

Silco's Last Words

In light if the second season, especially what we see of Jinx, I have thought again about Silco’s “You’re perfect.” I haven’t stumbled upon someone talking about it, though most reactors I’ve seen took Silco’s last words as a clear statement of his love for Jinx. That may be true but is not what I want to focus on.

The thing is: the writers of Arcane did a fantastic job of making each line of dialogue count. So what else could “You’re perfect” mean? Well, words were always Silco’s sharpest sword. And that’s exactly what I think they are here as well: a weapon. He uses words to forcefully embed his will onto the world, and in this case, he directs them at Jinx and no one else. To me, his sentence is not tender but cruel.

Let me explain. Look at the word “perfect.” If you take it seriously and attach it to something, it means you can’t imagine any way this something could be better. This, I assume, usually goes hand in hand with you wanting this something to stay the same. So his message to Jinx is: you are the way I want you to be. Don’t change. Don’t apologise. Go on like this.

But Jinx doesn’t think of herself as perfect. She’s torn. I’ve read somewhere: “Powder killed Silco, so Jinx killed Powder,” and in season two’s third episode, Vi explicitly blames Jinx for killing Powder. I think, however, that Powder is still in there. The ghosts of her family are still in there. To overcome her failures and the guilt of her repeatedly killing her family, Jinx leans into the chaos, into doing “evil” things. It is what Silco would have wanted were he still alive.

That’s the power of “perfect.” Jinx can’t heal, can’t repent, can’t regret. She can’t change. The only path is forward. That much, I believe, was already visible in the first season, and the second season’s first act reinforces me in this regard. In episode two, she says:

“Yep, that’s me. You ever need to curse a sibling or a family or a society: my card.”

She says that as an introduction, but also, in my opinion, as a self-affirmation. She is this “monster” that, in her eyes, Vi created (which I think is wrong, but that’s not the point here), the monster Silco came to love, the monster she chooses to keep alive because it’s the only thing left that ties her to the only person who embraced this side of her.

I believe she hates this side of her because it took Vander and the others from her. It is also the most influential side of her, offers her the most potent tools to make the world bend to her will instead of the other way round. This powerlessness was the overarching experience of her childhood until everything fell apart, and why would she want to repeat that? Before Silco, she received love despite what she was. With and from Silco, she received love because of what she was. After Silco, she receives maybe not love but affection from Sevika and Isha.

Sevika is a little lost, like Jinx, after Silco’s death, and Jinx means familiarity (maybe even family). Jinx is also a tool for her, though, useful because of her havoc-wreaking traits and abilities. Isha is grateful to Jinx for rescuing her by virtue of, again, her havoc-wreaking traits and abilities. Of course Jinx leans further into the monster side.

But Jinx wants to die. She could hardly be any clearer when she tells Vi, “Then stop me. ‘Cause no matter what I do, I just can’t seem to die.” She wants Vi to kill her, to end her suffering, to – that’s how I read it – restore some balance, some justice, wants Vi to finally punish her for killing her family which she knew was wrong since the very moment it dawned on her what she did in first season’s third episode. She can’t do it herself because Silco told her she was perfect.

When Jinx taunts Vi with the barely veiled innuendo about Vi wanting to have sex with Caitlyn, it shows, in my opinion, that Jinx is jealous and that she approves. She wants Vi to go on. Because she still loves Vi. That shows when she aims a pistol at an unsuspecting Vi in episode two and cries. But Jinx also cries because she can’t give Silco what he wants, because neither Silco nor Vi will love her back ever again. She cries because she knows the monster is just a patch to her broken self.

This single tear made me think about why she cried when she fired at the council at the very end of season one. I have no definite answer to that question, but perhaps she already knew back then that she could never fully become Jinx. After all, nothing but herself prevented her from killing Vi and Caitlyn right then, right there.

Perhaps she cried for Silco, too, out of grief, out of wrath. Perhaps she knew this action would put her on a path where, eventually, someone would end her suffering and let her rest, and she cried for herself, for the unfortunate girl that couldn’t safe herself, for the girl she could have been.

In the state Jinx is now – at the time of writing after season two’s second act – she reminds me of a golem: a lifeless tool, animated by magic. If we opened her head, we’d find a slip of paper inside that bears the magical words:

“You’re perfect.”

How cruel.

[oddp1ant]

A handful of loose reflections I wanna put down before time moves on, things change etc

One, Viktor. The biggest thing I'm feeling right now is grief. We knew he was doomed from the start, to lose parts or all of himself, but seeing it happen still hurts. I was unsettled during act 1, feeling so much of him was already lost with little fanfare - would the narrative just move on? I'm actually mollified by this second death, seeing it delivered with narrative and emotional weight, even if we haven't gotten the (Jayce's) reasoning for it yet. Plus, I'm fairly confident we've yet to see his final evolution. So again, he was already (mostly) gone, but now it's like the narrative has acknowledged it, too. Even less will be left off him in his final form, but by god, I hope it's his wrath. If he's truly left an empty shell for the arcane I think I'll cry.

Second, Jayce. What the hell man. Explain yourself. Ngl I love him so much, seeing him get cut up with a chainsaw and apparently run through the arcane autoclave was oddly satisfying. Both him and Mel felt a bit, idk, like they'd gotten a PR treatment in arc 1? Like I love the "my place is here in the lab with you" and "Viktor will return to us" as much as the next guy but both of these characters have been very shitty to Viktor very recently and erasing that feels too cheap. I'm glad to see Jayce return to making Big Swings in the worst possible direction. I only wish he'd said something to Viktor before. Well. Y'know.

Speaking of Mel, I absolutely love the arc she's getting. Even just the fact that she's getting an independent arc, tbh. Most beautiful woman in the world is also magic? Gays stay winning.

And it feels almost redundant to mention but. The sister arc. Suffice to say I'm chewing drywall. The scene in the glow mushroom tunnel. Vander. Possible Vi Jinx Cait teamup in act 3. Love me some natural character/relationship development!!!!!!

Side note: love the ambiguity whether Vander is actually at least Vi's bio dad. Get it, you dog.

I'm not ready to talk about Isha.

Finally, I'm feeling a peculiar kind of melancholy for the diverse but largely congruent Divorce Era fanon that sprung up in between seasons - the visions of Machine Herald and Defender of Tomorrow built from an amalgamation of League and Arcane, making a shared space for creators to play in that has birthed some of my very favorite stories. It's been so, so much fun and I'm floored by how much of it was really founded in shared fandom interpretation and imagination. Now that Arcane canon has set out its own, unique direction, I wonder if this nebulous genre and its characters - a Machine Herald that is neither of League nor Arcane but all our own, the meeting and friction points between Jayces Giopara and Talis - will fade into the past, a weird limbo between the solid pillars of canon, or if its grounding in league lore will keep it alive.

- Honorable mention to the fics where arcane-adjacent and league-ish versions of jayvik meet and fuck absolutely nasty about it. You're the real ones. I could (and have, thank you to my very patient, non-fic reading friend) talk for hours about the complexity and depth of character explored in robotfucking timetravel porn. And none of it, not just the stories but the shared framework and subtext they're based upon, would exist without the beautiful minds of fans! Thank you ily.

[funnyscienceman]

ok so umm thoughts

Dont like that ori didnt get to do her 'going down to help despite dad's orders', unless somehow she did that as the, like what, twelve year old she's stuck as in that coccoon? So there's hers AND viktor's agency down the drain lmao

Singed actually being, if not corin, A reveck is still cool. Though idk why corin would be a separate person at this rate. I guess it's not impossible. In any case the locket has the initials C.R. on it in fancy writing so take that how you will

I love singed being goofy doing his own thing hes so funny

'No one in power is innocent' and also 'Patience is a virtue that comes with age, both of which I have in abundance' and like everything else in that scene. singed ily

I just love singed getting to be emotional. Getting to talk more and do more besides the baseline stuff in s1. Believe me i love those too bits too but i love singed BECAUSE he can have all this depth and is still somehow extremely silly lmfao

'Chin up, little one.' HE KNOWS HOW TO TALK TO CHILDREN. like we already knew that from his scene with viktor but it's just cool getting to see more of it. He knows how to talk to kids, how to interact with them, because he was ACTUALLY HALFWAY DECENT AT THE DAD THING. granted we dont get to see much of him being a dad with ori alive and walking around but im honesty willing to bet on it, because

Doesnt that make him MORE fucked up? That he would know how to be gentle, how to talk to kids, "Don't be afraid. You built this? Why aren't you playing with the others?" "Chin up, little one. We won't be in there for long." THE TONE OF VOICE. He CAN be decent, he CAN be kind, and he CHOOSES to experiment on and torture people and hurt people and let them get hurt for his own ends. Even his own PUPIL, he's willing to sabotage, just to get to warwick, for orianna. I have no doubts that he gives A shit about viktor, but he also loves Ori and he's put her in a coccoon and did she want that?

Besides the fact that he also could just see how the whole thing was some measure of fucked up and was like nah yeah thats not gonna last lmao heres ur warning kid, take it or leave it

In the moment i had thought that the instant cut from isha to singed at the rally was singed seeing that a kid was getting hurt and choosing that moment to act, but that could've also just been a cut to his reaction to cutting himself to draw warwick out, idk. This is just a footnote it doesnt matter much in the grand scheme of things lmao

Singed in a public space. Never thought i would see the day

THE BEDTIME STORY LITERALLY BEING THEIR SITUATION FFS

I will never recover from all this singed material. What's that? Viktor's started a cult? Jayce has a beard? Caitlyn's flip-flopping allegiances? Dude i dont care, im just here for singed. Look at him being goofy how could you not love him

Though to be real i am going to mourn the massive change to Ori's lore. What was so cool about the idea to me was how Orianna took her own life into her hands, first from dad, then death, and then dad again. I was baffled by it before, but upon rereading it i realize now why Ori left after giving dad her heart — he couldnt stop her from leaving anymore. It's framed as 'oh she's not human anymore so she has to find her place in this world' but it's really the root of her going down to Zaun in the first place: not the part where she's kind and giving, but the wanderlust. She wanted to go out and see the world, and Corin was always like no, it's too dangerous, you're staying here; and he was even pretty sucky about it by making the mechanical lungs require a key for winding, which he kept on his person up until he got sick. After the surgery, Ori took the key and left.

I'd thought myself that it was because she couldnt face him afterwards — i mean, she DID drug her dad and then perform heart surgery on him, using herself as the donor, all without his knowledge or consent; loving a gesture as it was it's still pretty fucked up LMAO — but i guess there's no reason for it to not be multiple things at once. And not like it matters much given s2 act2

One thing i find funny is how ori's image in the locket keeps changing. In s1 she looked like a lil baby, a preschooler maybe. In singed's arcane skin she looked like a teenager or even a young adult. Here in act 2 she looks like a tween lmao pick one rito

My thoughts are all over the place. Im no good at organizing. It's 12am and im brimming with energy.

Honestly no matter what happens, i think it'll be fine. Whatever riot declares as canon, you dont have to keep it. The thing about creative stuff like stories and characters is that once they're out there, they're not just the creators' anymore. That's the fun part about fanfic, we can just do our own thing and ignore whatever mess is going on in 'canon' lmfao

I like the idea of Ori's story being intact, and singed being corin reveck, and ori still going fullmetal and doing the heart surgery and leaving all before arcane even starts. I like the idea of s1 leading directly to all the fun fun fun stuff of league and LoR lore. Also i think singed doing all this unhinged science stuff and keeping himself alive just to preserve the last piece of his daughter, which she had given to him to save him, is pretty neat, so. I'm gonna stick with all that unless something absolutely drastic changes my mind

(Also i think it'd be funny if the worst man to ever walk Runeterra only came to exist/didnt die when nature said he should simply because his daughter, piltover's best most moral champion, loved him so much she gave him the last of her humanity to save him. Like congrats ori, your dad is still alive and kickin! Bad news is he has now aided and abetted imperialism/colonialism, chemical warfare, drug trafficking, and up to a thousand and maybe more awful awful human experiments and other crimes against humanity. Like can you imagine her coming back to piltover and finding all that out? That could mess her up. And wouldnt that be a neat character conflict to work out! Maybe with viktor who's also trying to find a balance between helping people and cold hard machinery! I love this little bubble and i will never leave thanks hahaha)

[eerna]

Just finished episode three of Arcane's arc two and yeah I'm feeling a lot of what's been talked about here. That last scene with Isha's sacrifice with all the flashbacks I was like...this is nice and all but I'm not feeling like anything lol. It really did feel like her and Jinx's relationship just happened and didn't really grow to what those flashbacks wanted it to be. Also tiny nitpick but why was she the one bringing food and water to Vander while Victor was helping him?? Like why weren't his two literal daughters who were also there doing that?? It just felt like it was trying to force a bond between the two right before they both went out. So yeah it's very true that a lot of emotional beats and resolutions just kind of happened?? Because the plot needed them to??

On a more vague but interesting note, I've been watching this show with my family and when we all were watching season one, we literally couldn't stop talking about it. My brother and I could go on and on about the character relations and the themes and all the deeper meanings going on but with season two that just...hasn't happened. The most we usually say at the end of an episode is "wow that was crazy" and I literally can't think of anything else to talk about. Which is really sad to me. But there's just not much to talk about when things are just kind of happening or being established off screen or in a montage. Idk man the show still looks incredible and I have had some emotional reactions but it's just been interesting to see the differences even in just the reactions of the people around me

Welcome :((( Yeah, when Isha's song started up my reaction was like "Oh there she goes, finally dying, what a shocker that the boring kid was only written into the show to traumatize one of the main characters". And I am a crybaby!!!! I cried at ep 5 ending despite my complicated feelings!!!!! If they gave me anything properly written to hold onto, I would have cried like a river!!!!!!! And yeah good catch on the Warwick-Isha thing.

Your note about the lack of comments while watching is so so so true! I see the same thing happening in the fandom. People discussed arc 1 it in detail bc it was payoff for s1 and there was a ton of parallels and analysis to be made. But the only things people are saying about arc 2 is that the deaths were sad and surprising, how hot characters are, and a bunch of memes. Because there's nothing more there! No proper payoffs, no new setups!! They wrote such a straightforward story with only surface level meaning! The show is visually insane, so of course you still have reactions, I do too, but yeah it is sad that it used to have its cake and eat it too and now it no longer does :(

[anywizzlee]

Having and Taking care of Isha made Jinx sane. You can just tell that she was trying to be a good big sister to her.

Personally, I think Ishas song being in a different language ties into her being mute, that no one understands her, up until she met Jinx.

Jinx gets her like no one else could, she looks up to Jinx and would do anything to help her. A small detail I noticed while watching the new episodes, is when Vi takes off the gloves and they drop to the ground.

Now why is that important to talking about Isha? Because we get a close up of the gloves specifically the compartment where the Hextech is stored to power them.

The next scene we see Isha run ahead of them putting something in her pocket.

We already know that Jinx took the one she had in her gun out. So how did Isha end up with three? Do you see what I'm getting at here?

Isha TOOK the Hextech out of the powered gloves (for some unknown reason that I'm trying to figure out).

Which later on leads her to putting all three Hextech balls into Jinx's gun.

Isha changed Jinx. And probably for the better too. She made Jinx realize that maybe Powder is still in there somewhere.

Jinx also made sure that her lair was a bright and safe place for Isha.

I love these two so much and I will NEVER shut up about them🫶🫶

A little side note: I find it absolutely INSANE that Caitlyn was a dictator being manipulated by Mel's mother, and did things her way, but the MOMENT, not even kidding, the MOMENT Vi called her 'Cupcake" she FOLDED and was willing to help Vi again, chat the bar is not that high..