#aside from caitvi being a given

[scratxhed-cd]

I was shocked to see Caitlyn has entered some sort of relationship/situationship (whatever is going on) with Maddie and with only three episodes left of the season, I’m doubtful we will get to explore an explanation much further. So much intention in character dynamics have gone into this show though so I’ve been trying to make sense of it.

When we meet Maddie in Arc 1 of season two, she gives off a very young, naive, and optimistic personality. This is the same characteristics we get from her in the last episode as she gives Caitlyn a look of hope and delight as she joins the room in encouraging her to take on Ambessa’s request of rising up as a leader to gain control over Zaun.

Moving on to Caitlyn for a moment, all throughout the first three episodes she is dealing with an immense amount of grief and rage. She becomes increasingly tunnel visioned and is behaving with much more violence and much less empathy than she ever before. When she accepts her new role at the end of the third episode, her emotions were likely still running very high from her last encounter with Jinx and her fight with Vi.

That fight with Vi is especially revealing in showing us Caitlyn currently feels she can only fully trust someone who sees things the way she does. There is no room for second guessing, otherwise she wouldn’t have been so determined to shoot Jinx while Isha held on to her. Despite how calmly Vi tried to approach this at first, Caitlyn was unable to understand, leading to an escalation and their separation.

So, the perfect person to fill the void Vi has left is someone who looks up to her and doesn’t come in between her grief and anger towards Jinx and other Zaunites. Maddie is the exact kind of person to fit this role. This is emphasized in episode 5 when she and Caitlyn are discussing Piltover’s presence within Zaun as well as Noxus’s involvement. Maddie demonstrates how she looks up to Caitlyn and trusts her judgement by telling her that she can change this if she wants, that Piltover followers her. And most importantly, that she follows her.

[iphijaania]

guys is this a safe space. can i admit that i do not like how caitvi panned out.

[a-confused-spoon]

So about Caitvi...

I'm no one to judge whether or not caitvi is good representation. As far as I'm concerned, I'm happy if the lesbians watching the show are happy.

...you know what does piss me off though? A teeny tiny bit more than just "a little"?

Seeing some people defend the absence of a conversation between Caitlyn and Vi with "actions matter more than words".

Like...okay, first thing first, season 2 makes it pretty clear that's bullshit given how every other pairing previously at odds resolved things through the almighty power of talking things out: Vander wrote a letter to Silco and they became gay dads in the au, Ekko went through all possible combinations of words to convince Jinx not to blow herself up, and whatever the fuck Viktor and Jayce had going on in the finale... So yeah, crazy thing to say about this season;

Secondly, when we say "actions matter more than words", are we just not counting the verbal promise of not changing followed by abuse/ pain caused by the very much action of hitting a victim of police brutality who has utterly betrayed herself and her people for the sake of helping the same exact person who hit her because she pointed out "hey, maybe don't risk shooting a child"?

GRANTED this and most of what I'll say next is applicable to most of season 2 imo- we barely get to sit with the seriousness of a situation we just have to skip to the next one, so I wouldn't say it's a caitvi thing alone... nevertheless it's present there too, so back to the main conversation-

We know Caitlyn regrets it, but does she ever understand why it's so fucked up that she did that? Vi has a rush of emotions after realizing what Cait has done and is happy to stay with her, but once they... finish in that prison, does Vi really respect herself as an individual who has gone through some tough shit or is it a passive "fuck it we ball" attitude all the way to the finale where she wears once again the enforcer badge?

Caitlyn's personal character development (one that has to do with seemingly grief alone and nothing to do with classism and power dynamics which are a massive part of the problem both on a micro and macro level) shouldn't be something that "makes up" for what she did to Vi in episode 3, and because Vi's character was criminally neglected we never really get to see her actually give a shit about herself beyond, allegedly, her relationship with Cait- which is fucked, considering Vi always ever only sees herself in relation to others (Cait or Jinx for the most part) and never as a stand alone person.

That's why that conversation was pretty much needed here.

Aside from the fact that having a conversation with a partner isn't just saying "sorry", it's about being vulnerable, letting them know you see them, telling them where you stand, being just openly honest with one another etc. (aka is an integral part of the relationship itself), it also would've been an excellent way to let all the development they couldn't show for a lack of time still shine through dialogue.

No, it's not a "wanting things spelled out", it's a "they quite literally did that a bunch of times already in this very season, so they might as well do it for the main romance too since a conversation would also be fitting for the current situation"; examples might include that one scene with Silco and Ekko in episode 7 about forgiveness, or that one scene of Isha and Jinx where Jinx literally spells out "hey you remind me of Powder, meaning myself when I was younger, the younger self I thought I left behind-" (insert that one clip of Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove).

And before anyone puts words in my mouth, this isn't coming from a place of hate for either Caitlyn and Vi or Caitvi as a ship; engaging in criticism isn't hate for what's being critiqued, so please don't assume that some conversations don't come from a place of love for the show and the characters just because they don't openly praise every bit of what we got.

edit: ...tell you what, the more I think about it the more it seems that the issues I have with how this ship comes to be aren't even super specific to these characters and their relationship, but are actually the same exact things I don't love about the general writing of season 2 on a bigger scale (lack of commentary on class oppression, character arcs that feel unfinished or cut short, the theme of love and forgiveness ending up undermining the seriousness of some situations- I'm not complaining about the theme itself nor I'm saying it comes out of nowhere, I'm saying that probably due to the pacing/lack of time we can't sit with how fucked up some stuff is before getting to the point of "love > anything else"... which isn't a wrong sentiment, I'm just talking about the journey to get there)

[indigosaffron]

Caitvi being endgame was the thing that ruined season 2.

I don't mean that in a homophobic way - I am literally a lesbian and in the first season, I rly liked Caitvi's dynamic. Vi was given a space to heal and a person who helped and cared for her. She didn't need to protect and lead Caitlyn like she did with Jinx, Mylo and Claggor, and as a result we got to see her heal and be vulnerable as she didn't have to be strong for the people she loved. Caitlyn, on the other hand, had grown up sheltered and privileged, and her relationship with Vi allowed her to see the people of Zaun more clearly and encouraged her to help them and set aside her prejudice. This dynamic was also reflected in how the show portrayed the people of Zaun. In the first season, it's very pro-Zaun, pro-revolutionary, anti-fascism, all that.

And then the second season, Caitlyn pulled a complete 180, started acting like a fascist and hating the people of Zaun, and in the end... Vi forgives her.

Is this in character for both of them? Yes, actually. Caitlyn has grown up sheltered and was raised to look down on the people of Zaun, it's very easy for her to just turn back to that way of thinking. Vi is also incredibly dependent and forgiving when it comes to those she loves. We see how hard it is for her to let go of anyone - Vander and Powder are obvious examples. So it isn't strange that she doesn't leave Caitlyn and forgives her in an instant.

Would it have been so much more interesting if Vi didn't forgive her? Yes. A million times yes. I would've loved to see that character growth for Vi, of her establishing that boundary and deciding that she had to leave Caitlyn behind. I'm honestly kind of mad that they gave Jinx so much development and growth throughout the story and Vi has barely changed. Her political beliefs seems to be the biggest thing that has changed, and even those are rooted in the same character traits - first she was fighting for powder, now she's fighting for Caitlyn.

It's not just that I'm mad that they never address how toxic this relationship becomes in season 2. I saw someone else mention how it went from "privileged + oppressed" in s1 to "oppressor + oppressed" in s2 and if that doesn't just sound like literal abuse to you idk what to say. They frame this in the show as a normal relationship - at best, it's both of their faults and their both in a bad place mentally. They never address how horrible Caitlyn acts throughout act 1.

As a result of this, they kind of lose the whole "Piltover is an oppressive force and the people of Zaun should revolt" plot line. Instead it becomes "both sides are bad and in the wrong", just like with Caitvi's relationship. After all, the show can't properly condemn Piltover and yet support Caitlyn at the same time. And if they want Caitlyn and Vi together in a relationship that looks healthy, they have two options - either they address the flaws in the relationship and take the time required to fix them, or they ignore the flaws and pretend it's not a big deal.

They don't have the time in 2 seasons to address those flaws, though, so they decide to ignore them, and in doing so ignore the flaws in Piltover's overall treatment of Zaunites. This creates a contradicting message between the first and second seasons. In the first season, it was obvious that the Zaunites were being mistreated and that they should rise up. In the second season, they suddenly ignore all of that, and instead make the nations unite to face the "bigger problem". I didn't really like the hex tech plot line to begin with because I felt like it distracted from the more important plot line, which was the whole Piltover v Zaun thing, which they completely brushed under the rug.

Maybe this would've been better if they'd had more time to properly flesh out Caitvi's relationship, but as it is, it would've been better if it wasn't endgame at all imo.

[looseinthecatroom]

Media literacy is dead ect. And not to give credit where it isn't particularly due; people ARE always up in arms about stories containing stakes, and relationships having a narrative arc, to an exhausting degree, honestly; but I did just remember that not everyone's seen the progress of the CaitVi train rolling on since back in 2013, and so hasn't had over a decade of "Caitlyn the Sheriff of Piltover", or Vi: "Come on, resist arrest already!" or Zeri: "A gun and a badge don't make you a hero, Caitlyn".

Going into the show knowing full well Cait is/would become a capital C Cop, (even if LoL itself at least started with a very unseriousness approach to her. I mean, cupcake bear traps and a top hat ffs), hits different. To folk who've never know the lore, she's a mid level privileged 20 something who's arc could have been about turning it around and learning from the point on the slippery slope shes on now. To folk who've known her and Vi for a decade, she's the Jinx obsessed Sheriff, and I'm just happy that in a setting and genre like Arcane, they're letting her and Vi's story pass through levels of fucked up and tragic that were always right under the surface if you wanted to think about it seriously.

They get that she's fucked up and they're going places with it. Which is both what I expected after season 1, and also the best possible outcome. (Also, as an aside? They're handling Vi's resentment towards being an enforcer, but still becoming one, better then I'd ever hoped they would, given the source material. Color me satisfied with that one so far.)

[mvmnbnv]

Do you know what’s annoying me in this fandom ?

The fact that despite everything the show has been doing with ‘caitvi’; despite the fucking abuse; the lack of acknowledgment of that; how sped up their fucking relationship has been; dumb ass caitvi fans are literally STILL frothing at the mouth for the crumbs they’ve been given. All the while thinking it’s actual hot shit. I’m so fucking annoyed. Nobody is recognizing how badly the show is taking Caitlyn and Violet’s stupid romance arc. I you loved a ship so much, I figured you’d want it to be respected??? Doesn’t seem like the fans give a shit. ESPECIALLY about fucking Violet.

They just keep talking about wanting Cait and Vi to have hatesex. Man, fuck this fandom fr…

Everytime I see people talking about them having sex after all this I die on the inside. And yeah...there's just no respect for vi...like at all. From fans or from the show. Either ppl are so desperate they'll take anything or have already romanticized these gross behaviors to the point of thinking its cute. And now you have ppl trying to go "see?? Take that caitlyn haters! She does love vi!" .....mf based on what??? Second hand accounts?? Her being more than ready to hit vi again?? Not even asking how she's been at all?? Hitting her to begin with, leaving her for a year and fucking someone else?? How does this scream she loves vi to anyone...and the way vi had more anger for jinx than she did her is so annoying to me....the way she apparently still trusts her bothers the shit out of me, especially after that trust was literally broken. I don't think fans or the writers respect vi at all. And I'm not about to be gaslit into thinking this shit is good. Hell I have jinx who despite having every right to drop vi and want her gone after what she'd done she still goes looking for her and wants a relationship...she still gives a shit about her sister and looks out for her at her lowest. And I'm supposed to settle with someone who aside from what other characters say I can't even tell if they give af or not...? I'm so tirrreed

[showsandstuff]

Am I the only one who is disappointed with Caitvi in season two? When I watched the first season I had the biggest caitvi brain rot because they actually gave me SUCH a fun dynamic with them. Buddy cop Caitvi was hilarious, I loved that so so much!

And season 2 started of strong imo but then it rushed through everything. I loved the scene in the cell, obviously, but it was misplaced. Your sister is about to kill herself girl what are you doing this is not the time!! And other than romantic and sexual tension there wasn't all that much left of their previous dynamic aside from the brief scene in episode six...

Idk, I think I'm just annoyed. Usually when I see a non canon gay ship get more traction than the Canon lesbian couple, I just assume it's misogyny or lesbophobia, and move on with my life. But I can't even do that here because Caitvi was WAY more popular in season 1 (as they should).

Jayvik isn't getting somewhat more popular in season 2 because people don't like lesbians, but because their arcs are connected so strongly to each other. (Also I'm not saying that Jayvik is now more popular than Caitvi, but it's like a graph where the super high stocks caitvi are still even while Jayvik is skyrocketing rn)

Wanna know why Jayvik wasn't all that popular in season 1? Because (after act 1) their arcs were mostly separate, safe for a couple of moments. Viktor worked on his body and Jayce was doing politics.

Caitlyn and Vis arcs intertwined more, they actually did shit together and it was beautiful, funny, romantic, EVERYTHING!

Also a fun opposites attract buddy cop dynamic is also just more fun than men who do science together (in my personal opinion)

Now let's look at Caitlyn and Vis relationship in season two.

It starts of strong. I momentarily thought that Caitlyn was uncharacteristically mean to Vi when she refused to become an enforcer, but she apologized for it later and I recognized the fact that Caitlyn was grieving. Then once we get to episode two and three I could already feel their relationship being a bit more odd. The kiss (though I cheered) didn't feel right. I felt like something was missing, and that was their chemistry from season one. Also I feel like we glossed over too many decisions that Caitlyn made, and I think Vi should've put a stop to it sooner. But overall I was okay with them in act 1.

Then we had a timeskip and the two were fully separated. Act 2 literally started with Caitlyn in bed with another woman, like we can see they're not together anymore. Caitlyn has obviously changed, there is not much of the sweet cupcake left that we had come to love in season 1, and Vi is boxing and getting drunk.

Then they meet and like... Vi calls Cait cupcake, and Cait switches sides IMMEDIATELY? GIRL WTF?!

I get that Caitlyn wasn't entirely on Ambessas side the entire time, but I had hoped for more drama first. So you're telling me the very next interaction the two have after their heart wrenching falling out is them making up again? Come on.

Then we had act 3 and overall it was better I think but the timing of their hot scene in the cell was just odd, like what about your sister about to kill herself? I was very happy and hyped in the moment but then I realized how rushed this was. Why? Why make em fuck right here? And in the final act, the two weren't together because again, their arcs were not as connected. And that's actually pretty cool to have a couple who do their own things! But it doesn't help their relationship when they, in turn, aren't given enough time to develop as a pair!

I feel like season 1 did this incredible job of setting these characters up, showing us why they work so well together and why they would fall for one another. And season 2 gave us pay off for it but with very little set up, which was needed because of how Cait changed throughout the season. I don't mention Vi here because she did not change. She had her drunk boxing phase, which we got nothing but a montage off, but everything else is basically season 1 Vi aside from very few things here and there. Like her becoming an enforcer wasn't a character change for Vi, her finally letting go of powder and calling her sister Jinx, wasn't a big character moment for Vi, they were pay off for a set up we didn't get enough of.

SO TO GET TO MY POINT:

S2 was rushed. We should've AT LEAST gotten 3 seasons, like minimum, because there was a whole lot of plot and very little moments in between for characterization. Especially for Caitlyn and Vi and their relationship to each other.

I still generally prefer Caitvi to Jayvik, but only because of season 1. Season 2 gave me the two things I wanted most (a sexy scene and a kiss) but forgot to give me the things that made me fall in love with this ship in the first place.

Which was the hilarious buddy cop dynamic of rich girl cop Cait, and broke butch prisoner Vi.

[whitestopper]

For me, I just don't buy Isha and Jinx's bond to the extent that I think Season 2 Act 1 wants me too. Like yeah, there's parallels I can draw between Isha-Jinx and Powder-Vi or Jinx-Silco, but this is a show that's kind of built on foils, so how is that special? Most of the bonds on this show span YEARS (the notable exception is CaitVi), I don't think these two have known each other for more than a week, so Isha being a human shield for Jinx just doesn't ring true.

And speaking of CaitVi, there are circumstances which make it convenient to stick together initially (Caitlyn needs Vi to help navigate the Undercity and locate Jinx, Vi needs Caitlyn to reunite with Powder). Looking at Jinx-Silco, Jinx clung to Silco as a child who thought she was abandoned by her last remaining family, but Silco has the layer of using Jinx as a weapon to liberate Zaun. The only reason I can think for Jinx keeping Isha around is sentiment which, okay, it's a valid reason, but it's not that compelling as an initial foundation of a relationship.

I like that Isha shields Jinx from Caitlyn and I like how that shred of empathy/protectiveness over her from Jinx is what fully snaps Vi out of the plan and makes her go against Caitlyn. But issues with the emotional build-up of Isha aside, I also don't buy the mechanics of the situation. Idk, I could kind of shut my brain off Vi getting Jayce's Hexhammer (don't ask me the actual name), but how the hell did Isha get there?

I see people cooing over Isha which is valid but also you know how in Hunger Games Rue can't go for the 'cute kid' angle to appeal to the Capitol audiences because all the contestants are kids? Yeah, that. Idk, we got decent build-up with Claggor and Mylo (as well as Ekko) so I was sad on their behalf when they died, but I would not have cared if Cait shot Isha for Isha-specific reason, just the repercussions on other characters.

ALSO, the scene would've been improved upon if we had Jinx saying Isha's name, given that the only reason we know it is because of the fucking subtitles.

[derschleierfallt]

ok i’ve had time to think on it and caitvi got dealt…. not the best hand i think… which is sad cus they were my fav LOL

the prison cell scene could’ve been better? set up better? a lot of people seem to have issue purely with the fact that they had sex in the cell, but i don’t think that’s the problem with it. others have said there needed to be a conversation, a full blown spoken apology from caitlyn, and i don’t think that’s the problem either. i think it’s simply just the mood that really breaks it.

the mood of it is overall just kind of cheeky, maybe? the way caitlyn reveals she let jinx go is so weirdly playful given literally everything that just happened. it didn’t need to be an apology speech, but i think it needed more vulnerability. that’s where it loses me, with it being played the way it was, it really is just so CRAY ZEE that they fuck in the cell. ofc sometimes ppl just do that when shit is out of control and they need comfort and connection, but… i did not get the vibe that shit was out of control! and the writers calling it VI RECLAIMING HER PRISON TRAUMA?!?!?! ijbol u can’t be serious

this is really my only problem Tbh. everything else i can chalk up to the season being cut and rushed for SOME reason. but this is coo coo bananas. that said i did cheer when it happened and im glad the series ended off with them in a good place.

i wish arcane got more time, at least some more episodes or even another season to expand upon things, but i dont think that was in the creatives control. caitvi wasn’t the only thing that got dealt a bad hand, the whole PLOT of zaunite oppression being shoved aside is literally crazy. coming together with The Power of Friendship and Hey There Are Things That Suck More Than Piltover is… say it again… COO COO BANANAS! out of place side tangent in a caitvi post but i got carried away after remembering the prison trauma comment. Bro ur crazy.

i still feel pretty positive about the season overall… i think…? but idk my opinion has changed abt 1000 times today. by tomorrow it’ll have changed 10000 times. even what was done well i wish got more episodes, because i love when arcane does shit well! UGH

[wutheringheightsfilm]

I would love to hear your opinion on Viktor Arcane's arc in season 2 because I have seen people praising it and people hating it but not many people discussing the ableism of [spoilers!!] basically killing him in the first episode and then having Jayce bring him back against his will in a way that strips his physical and mental autonomy away, after season 1 spent the majority of his arc hyping the evils of Messing With The Arcane But Only When The Zaunites Do It, so that Viktor can realize he is in the moral wrong for trying to not die from the disease he got from growing up in the underclass. And the show fridges his lab assistant (also implied from Zaun) to teach him this. Jayce who has so far primarily reaped the benefits of selling Hextech to Piltover, is the one to "learn" that it's bad to mess with the Arcane (this coincidentally happens the only time we see him physically in Zaun) and the solution is of course [spoilers!!] kill Viktor, who's magically curing addiction and disability and possessing people now. And if they bring Viktor back it will probably be because Singed pulled a Rio on him. On top of this, Ekko is just fucking gone during the occupation of Zaun and we don't see him again for the entire Act. Sorry for the rant in your inbox I'm just really happy to find someone else who thinks Arcane sucks aside from the dropped potential of the side characters. Fans of OG Lore were looking forward to Viktor's political radicalization against Piltover. Hilarious to think they would ever do that in hindsight

Okay hi anon I'm finally caught up and can answer you now LOL

yeah the politics of arcane are bad. like incredibly so. it's kind of shocking to say that the best arcane can pull is like, hamfisted liberalism.

i think jayce has literally always been ableist towards viktor as well as classist and not once has he ever had to grapple with that. jayce is my least favorite character and if he doesn't even get some sort of comeuppance for the absolute destruction he's caused i'm going to eat my shoe. though i will say this is the second time we've seen him in zaun, the first time was when he literally murdered one of silco's child laborers lol and had...right, zero repercussions for that because as it turns out of course it was ambessa's plan all along and everything has been somehow engineered by her. oh i was soooo eye rolling when that was revealed.

i also really didn't like sky's death either; i'm glad they kept her in some aspect (like being with viktor in the arcane-space or whatever it's called i don't know i don't go to league of legends) but imo her death was unnecessary and there would have been a better way of getting viktor entwined in the arcane than that.

it's crazy to me that you're absolutely right; viktor has to constantly pay the price for trying to not die of a disease he had no choice in getting (not that anyone ever has a choice in getting a disease, but you know what i mean) and he literally gets killed for trying to help heal other people. which i mean you could definitely argue the whole jesus arc for viktor is strange (it is) and this show definitely has negative attitudes towards both addiction and disability no matter what. i'm not disabled so really i don't have much space to speak here, but i absolutely do think this show is ableist.

THE FACT THAT EKKO IS GONE IS SO? like where's my man???? he was literally gone the whole fucking time and i find that so fucking nasty i'm sorry. both mel and ekko, two of the most fascinating characters, have been shoved aside this entire season in order to make way for jayce's constant bullshit and whatever problems poor cop caitlyn has. when i say i have never given less of a fuck about caitlyn i truly do mean that. it honestly upsets me that caitvi or whatever is as popular as it is because i thought we all collectively decided we don't fuck with cops. but i suppose not

and it's totally okay for the rant in my inbox!!! please feel free to discuss however much you want from me, i have had so many negative feelings about this show and i'm starting to feel like i'm going to get killed in the town square for it LOL

ETA: i didn't even know viktor was supposed to get radicalized against piltover. oh what we could've had

[invested-in-your-future]

It's almost like the Arcane was never used as a deus-ex-machina mcguffin that overshadows the main conflict in S1. To most people, the title refers to the change in status quo brought by the creation of the arcane and how its (over)use might play a role in a developing class conflict.

It's almost like lore concepts thematically tied to the nature of power can be used in ways OTHER than literal mcguffins empowering a character-turned-jrpg-villain.

The shift in focus from class conflict and exploration of the nature of violence to a magic zombie robot fight, evil secret other countries, and LOL Cameos is one of the most jarring aspects of the changeup between S1 and S2.

It's the show's biggest mistake.

Vi got zero proper focus, zero development screentime, zero growth, zero actual development of her and Caitlyn's relationship (which was the highlight of S1), and zero proper conclusions with her sister.

Jinx almost instantly abandons all the setup from S1 and, while she has arguably the strongest characterization out of the entire cast here, is relegated to a B plot and Sequel Tease.

Viktor and Jayce lose any complexity and nuance of character as Viktor turns into a generic villain whose motivations are way too rushed to make sense. Their whole subplot could have been done perfectly almost EXACTLY the same way without the magic robot messiah nonsense via just the escalation of class conflict and arcane use's role in that.

Caitlyn suffers some of the worst character assassinations ever, and then the subplot of her GASSING THE POOR gets no proper progression or resolution! This could have been THE Caitvi subplot of S2, with Vi actually growing as a person and getting Caitlyn to snap out of the lure of authoritarianism as the two pick love over power. Instead, the show's most prominent lesbian power couple is treated as an afterthought who gets a truncated, easily removable bunch of scenes that prevent the natural and well-paced growth the relationship deserves.

S2 is filled with nonsensical things that it did not need, like whatever the blackrose was, the entire separate evil country, the revival of characters who should have stayed dead (Vander), over-use of Deus Ex Machina to resolve core subplots over natural growth (ex: use of Vander to truncate Vi and Jinx subplot, use of hilariously-pointless-traitor-extra-girl to truncate the need for Caitvi scenes, use of Magic Robot JRPG Villain Viktor for final boss), and a bunch of extras who feel like pale imitations of extras in S1, which had gravitas and meaning to their roles. \

Oh and whatever the hell Mel's storyline ended up being, where a character whose strongest aspect is her intrigue and politicking and ability to navigate the power struggle is removed from the plot altogether so she can get MCU powers for the Big Finish. Yes, this deserved a separate bullet point altogether because it epitomizes the issues with Arcane S2—the focus on superficial and literal over the core conflict and characterization which were the show's strength, turning Arcane into "Please Play League of Legends: The Show".

"#nevermind that the finale is also all about class conflict and you just dont like that it wasnt totally fixed and wrapped up in a bow#like the class conflict is literally given a hopefully uncertain ending#it's not gonna be fixed dude it's called the cycle of violence for a reason"

This part is hilarious, though. Because it was. It literally was. The show pulled the ultimate MCU cliché: "Everyone puts aside their differences to face the giant laser in the sky."

The War of Two Cities plotline is "closed"—Jinx "somehow" broke the cycle of violence without ever getting a proper subplot for the role the end of S1 set for her (but don't worry, the showrunners broke the fundamental rule of narrative to have Silco rehash and TELL what the show had already SHOWN despite the limited screentime they had), and the two divided cities came together for magic zombies, so there's no need to resolve the plot threads and tension of pesky things like police brutality or Caitlyn literally GASSING THE POOR.

The "meat and bones of the show" is treated as a secondary subplot to, basically, the third act of an MCU movie where centrists pat themselves on the back because "look, unity because of zombies.".

Don't you just love it when the actual meat and bones of the narrative—the class conflict and the nature of privilege and wealth—get dropped because the show wants its MCU magic zombie fight?

[mvmnbnv]

the fact that lots of vis arc around losing her identity was set aside into implications well so much screentime was dedicated too side plots really irks me. Like I feel they could have even snuck in a few scenes of her into episode four but they just dont care too look into her trauma I suppose

there were so many things they could have addressed with her character but just dont...the pitfighter arc was underwhelming since it addresses nothing...hell there was even a moment where vi realizes that jinx doesnt actually need her help and that could have been part of character development for her, having her see that she can just be needed as a person and not just for how she can protect someone or what she can do for them, especially with all the stuff that happened in act 1. that arc was messy too and i guess was supposed to show how lost she is, but there's no point where she's given a chance to find herself outside of jinx or cait. she could have had plenty of her own development with loris, who couldve been like an older brother to her, who also could have been healing alongside her, but once again her arc is just brushed over...

its so crazy jinx got a better fulfilling arc actually worth watching and a whole different relationship with isha while vis potential new relationship just ends when she pushes him away for whatever reason. and the way they talk about caitvi this szn and the fact that we only have 3 eps left im not hopeful with where theyre going with her. just dissapointed. she deserved better, especially if it was supposed to be a season focused on her...she just seems like a tool to push other characters atp. the one who "captured caitlyns heart" (even tho i cant tell), and who ig softens her up and stops her from being a giant dick, and is just there for jinx to finally bring the family together before everything goes wrong. she has no arc outside of those two, if anything she's a plot device for them