#bad arcane criticism

[sapphiresaphics]

I am SO FUCKING SICK of this being used as an excuse. There’s this NASTY pervasive policing in media by some “fans” who believe that you can’t like or enjoy a character unless they’re completely morally PURE. They believe that any negative thing a character does MUST be met with equal retribution and/or punishment, or else that means the media in question is CONDONING or SUPPORTING the actions of said character.

Caitlyn, along with every other character in Arcane, is a morally grey character. Meaning they do good things and they do bad things and you’re supposed to have the capacity not to forgive the bad but to be able to understand the reasons behind their actions and see things from a perspective that is not purely black and white. Understanding Caitlyn’s actions doesn’t mean you condone/forgive them, but it also doesn’t mean you condemn her for them either.

Caitlyn does some bad things in her position of power, but she’s not a fascist. Fascism is a far right-wing authoritarian belief. But Caitlyn never show signs of being right-wing. She doesn’t believe in the ideology of fascism and she actively works against the system she’s been put in charge of when she can. She doesn’t use the deep dark prisons in Stillwater where Vi was held, she refuses to lock people up without cause, and she has no interest in amassing power. She has one goal: Get Jinx. That’s it. And she uses the power that was GIVEN TO HER BY THE GOVERNMENT to try and enact that goal. And importantly when that goal is met/exhausted, she RETURNS POWER BACK TO THE GOVERNMENT. Which is what a military leader IS SUPPOSED TO DO under Martial Law.

But these moral police “fans” just see that she did bad things and therefore she is bad too. Simple as that. And anyone who tries to bring CONTEXT and NUANCE into a show that heavily relies on CONTEXT and NUANCE gets blamed for approving of “war crimes” and defending “classism.” And no… that’s not how media literacy WORKS you pompous asshole!

It’s extraordinarily frustrating that fascism as a term has no clear definition, because that allows these moral police assholes to label anything they don’t like under the fascism umbrella. It makes trying to discuss Caitlyn and her arc really difficult because they just shut down all discussion with “she committed war crimes” and they never even bother to try and look into the story beyond that extremely surface level reading.

[sapphiresaphics]

All of these are gross and glib oversimplifications of what we actually got. If you have to abstract the plot to such an extent just so you can be angry about it, I think the problem lies with you, not with the writers.

And “Now we feel cheated” is definitely a YOU problem. Over the course of 3 years of waiting you built up these elaborate expectations and ideas for where YOU wanted the story to go, and when the story didn’t go in that direction you blame the writers for not utilizing your internalized headcanon ideas.

That is NOT on the writers to follow what YOU had in mind. Your job isn’t to bitch about what could have been, your job is to see what they gave us and where they wanted to go and judge if they were successful in their execution of that goal.

It seems like the writers were scared of the complexity that they set up in many of the relationships and themes in Arcane S1 so they tried to walk things back in various ways. Here’s some examples:

Cait is losing herself to her grief and is making questionable decisions that hurt Vi and the undercity? Do they contend with the tensions in their relationship and have Cait and Vi go through satisfying arcs and tackle the issues between them and the cities? No they tease each other a little and get to fuck so they’re def fine now.

The sister’s relationship is unrecognizable and they have both changed so much and borderline hate what the other has become? Do they have to build something new and work through all the problems… No they use Warwick to bring them together and basically “just get along” when he could have been a good catalyst to start building back.

Ekko and Jinx have been enemies for years but still harbour some feelings for each other? Are we going to see them grit their teeth and work together for the sake of Zaun and get to know each other again and build back their trust? No the AU shows “what the potential of this relationship could be” and our Ekko and Jinx get put in a dire and traumatic situation to bypass all their conflict.

They couldn’t handle the complicated ideas they set up. It would have been fun and devastating to see all of these dynamics play out. It was going to take drastic work or drastic measures for the characters to reconcile and the writers chose drastic measures because they were scared.

This thing is most of us were in it for these messy ideas and relationships and now we feel cheated.

[jjkyaoi]

by the way. people are allowed to complain about this season feeling rushed. i don’t know when it became a thing in this fandom to completely jump people who have valid complaints like YES arcane is a fantastically produced and beautifully animated show and nobody will be able to top it but they did start things with some characters only for it to never go anywhere so it can all be wrapped up in three episodes 😭

[q8qwertyuiop8p]

Something that has really bugged me about season two is Jinx's hallucinations and PTSD. It magically disappears when Silco dies, save for two scenes. I remember when people on reddit were literally making jokes about the writers going this route because it would be so stupid.

One of the things I loved about season one was the realistic depictions of mental illness that you just don't see often in media. I don't know what it is like to experience schizophrenia, but I have experienced PTSD and paranoia, and seeing how it was represented in Arcane was actually one of the things that helped me through it.

And then season 2 comes around and they just completely neglect this side of Jinx.

PTSD isn't a switch that can magically be flipped off. Recovery is a slow and gradual process. In absolutely no world would Jinx killing yet another family member cure her of her conditions, it would make them 10 times worse. Not to mention just before killing him she has an extremely severe psychotic episode, which would only make forgetting her trauma even more difficult since it was just brought up fresh in her mind.

And what even about the end of s1 was it that healed her? I genuinely have no idea, because she finally chooses Jinx only to once again go back and forth between Jinx and Powder in season two, because apparently all that buildup for her final decision was for nothing.

She does experience two hallucinations (I'm not going to count the jail silco thing in act three because what even was that?) when she sees enforcer Vi and when Sevika talks about the attack at Vander's statue, but suddenly that is all that triggers her?

In season one, just seeing Vi, or even someone who looks like Vi triggers her. But now when Vi is literally trying to capture and possibly kill her she is fine, it's only the mask that bothers her? Wasn't that her worst fear, that Silco and Sevika were right, that Vi only wanted to stop her? And she is constantly triggered by Cait in season 1 but not 2?

And then there was the insulting ending, where jail Silco tells Jinx to 'break the cycle' (something he would absolutely never do) and Jinx finally finds redemption by literally killing herself after Isha kills herself in what is framed as an act of heroism (and if Jinx actually didnt, than what even was the point of that scene?) What happened to Ekko trying to stop Jinx from doing that? What happened to Silco having Singed revive her to save her life after she attempts to take it? Or Jayce and Viktor talking each other out of it? Or Silco choosing to keep fighting rather than give into the "peace in water"?

On purpose or not season 2 frames suicide as a glorious, edgy, perhaps even necessary thing and it's disgusting.

[sunfyrisms]

of course the show that is fundamentally centered around two sisters and their tragedies becomes centered around men and said sisters are sidelined and their arcs are pushed to the sidelines and all the phenomenal care that went into their characters went down the drain. ​one’s arc is literally “the traumatized / mentally unwell character’s happy ending is committing suicide because they are simply too broken to heal and be happy” trope, and her mental instability is forgotten. the other is reduced to a mere plot device, has no agency of her own, and her trauma and anger is treated like a complete and utter joke for the sake of a shitty ship, and because the writers literally, point blank, were bored with her. it’s so sad because the tragedy of these sisters is so utterly devastating, so encompassing and so intricately woven into the narrative. but make it about two men i suppose?

[sapphiresaphics]

It really is quite amazing how many people are intentionally reading Arcane so poorly. I legitimately want to scream at people sometimes. I don’t understand it. Wtf happened in those 3 years to completely sour people this badly?

I knew we would eventually reach a point where masses of people would misinterpret Arcane, but I never imagined it would be this bad.

Yes, I absolutely agree that season 2 was rushed, especially Act 3, and it is undeniable that the series would have benefited from at least one more episode if not an entire act. However, the current discourse about the show is so superficial that it's impossible to have a conversation about anything deeper but a mere synopsis of the characters and story.

So many of you expected this series to hold your hand and dumb everything down so you can understand it. But when it wasn't the case, you all started rioting and calling the characters vague, the plot bad, and the ships underdeveloped.

The amount of people who value spoken text more than the actions of the characters is worrying. And more worrying than that is the amount of those who interpret the said actions so superficially. I can't believe it needs to be explained that it wasn't Vi's death that led to the "good" timeline, but the lack of hextech. The result would have been the same if either of them had died. It wasn't about Vi, but about the child that died because of dangerous technology and that therefore that technology must not be used. The mischaracterization of Vi in general is insane. Call me biased and unfair, but the moment I hear you don't like her I will assume you didn't understand the show.

Also, the whole discourse around Caitvi scene in episode 8 is giving brainsmooth. No, Vi didn't choose Cait over Jinx, quite the opposite. No, Cait didn't plan all of it to fuck Vi. No, Vi didn't do it because she felt forced or because she is a horny animal who doesn't care about her sister. No, them fucking in a cell is not about the class difference, but about the fact that Vi felt an insane rush of emotions after realizing that Cait would let go of her revenge and help Jinx escape, all for her. Yes, I do agree that it would be nice if we got a longer conversation between Vi and Caitlyn and it would feel great to hear Cait apologize, but I'll always value actions over words. Her talking to Jinx, recognizing that she is just as bad as her, and choosing to trust Vi that her sister can change, thus letting Jinx escape will always mean more than any verbal apology and I'll die on that hill.

Also, it was Jinx's decision to let go and walk away. It was not about Vi trying to get to Vander, but about Jinx being tired of everything. Even if that fight didn't happen, the result would be the same: Jinx would leave because she knows that Vi couldn't do that. She knew that the two of them couldn't have a normal life together and that Vi would never give up on her. Jinx didn't "die" because Vi pushed her or failed her, but because she loved her too much. Whether you believe that she is dead or that she escaped, it's her decision either way.

Again, I agree that too much happened too quickly, but stop confusing your stupidity and inability to read between the lines with the quality of the series.

Arcane is flawed but still brilliant.

[sapphiresaphics]

Hey, so all you Arcane critical idiots? You need to understand how the tumblr hashtags work.

First off… they’re broken. Beyond broken actually…

If you tag something “arcane critical” tumblr doesn’t care that this is meant to be separate from the “arcane” hashtag.

Both hashtags contain the same word “arcane,” so tumblr just includes the “arcane critical” posts in the same lineup as the regular “arcane” hashtag. This works for all the usual posts you guys make. If you tag something as “anti-Caitlyn” it’s going to show up in the “Caitlyn” hashtag anyway. Get it?

This is why people (like me) who just browse the “arcane” hashtag often stumble upon your shitty takes and anti-arcane posts. You’ve done a piss poor job at trying to keep your negative posts separate from the rest of us who just want to enjoy the arcane hashtag.

If you want to keep people (like me) from finding your dumbass hot takes, you need to use a hashtag that doesn’t include words that could accidentally get your post listed by tumblr with other normal posts. This is why people often misspell hashtags here.

[blorbologist]

Y'know, I think I figured out why the Hells still feel like a new low-level party to me, even though they're level 13 and almost 100 episodes in.

I don't quite think it's the lack of conversations, or the fact half the party's plot hooks are big ties to past campaigns - though that definitely plays a part.

... Bell's Hells still primarily rely on quest givers.

Most of their goals are given to them and do not feel organic to the party, and constantly remind us that the Hells are pretty much never the most powerful people in the room. Which is usually something you see with a low-level party.

NPCs offering jobs is not a bad thing; it's a very common plot hook. Matt has been extremely skilled with using NPC quest givers in those two campaigns. Not only do they provide an obvious plot thread, but they can put the party in the path of others (say, the Nein running into the Iron Shepherds while doing a job for the Gentleman and everything that came of that). And the Hells had a solid start with it too - Eshteross was an excellent quest giver!

The problem is that Bell's Hells have never really not had a quest giver.

Maybe it's a byproduct of the more plot-heavy structure of this campaign? But while prior parties have felt like they decided on their course of action and what they prioritized, Bell's Hells feels less like level 13 (13! Level 13!) experienced adventurers and more like an MMO group clicking on the exclamation point over an NPC's head. Where does the plot demand we go next? Who do we report back to?

They're level 13.

At level 13, Vox Machina had just defeated a necromantic city-state to clear their name and Percy's conscience. And, you know, the Conclave just destroyed Emon. No one was explicitly telling the group to gather Vestiges and save the world (though Matt guided them there), and they were usually among the most powerful people in the room. They chose which Vestiges to prioritize, which dragons to tackle when, even if the over-all plot was pretty clear.

At level 13, the Mighty Nein were celebrating Traveler Con (another PC goal, I'll note) after brokering peace between two nations, accidentally becoming pirates and heroes of the Dynasty. The Nein regularly chose what to do based on personal goals, not grand ones. Though definitely smaller fish than Vox Machina at this level, they were very independent and gaining solid political clout.

While we're at it: level 13 is one level lower than the Ring of Brass, who had a huge amount of sway over Avalir. They ended the world, and also saved it, while in the grand scheme of things being only a smidge more powerful than Bell's Hells are now.

Can you really see the Hells wielding that amount of influence, when they're constantly being told what to do next?

The god-eater might be unleashed, so Bell's Hells have no time to do anything but what is asked of them. No time for therapy unless stolen from Feywild time, no travel on foot and late-night watches. They haven't even had time to grieve FCG. Percy was grieved in the middle of the Conclave arc. Molly was grieved when half the party was still in irons.

Matt is in the very unfortunate spot of not being able to give the Hells the same agency as the other two parties. Not only because of the world-ending plot introduced so early on; they are surrounded by characters they know (and the cast knows) are stronger and wiser than them - the familiarity of the past PCs and NPCs is to their disadvantage.

Why would the party reasonably ignore Keyleth's task that will help save the world and go off on a romp? Why would the cast when they know well Keyleth has to be sensible and with the best intentions in mind? The stakes are just too high.

It means that the Hells still feel like they're running errands instead of pursuing their own destiny. Their accomplishments are diminished as just being parts of a to-do list, and any stakes feel padded by several level 20 PCs/NPCs standing 5 steps away ready to catch them.

This isn't Bell's Hell's fault, nor is it Matt's. It could be amended, I think, if the Hells are really left to their own devices for a long period of time without support and shortcuts (like during the party split)... which would be really tricky to pull off at this point in the campaign.

They're level 13. They're big fish, but they're stuck in a pond full of friendly sharks, so they don't feel big at all.

[cherrybomb107]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: forgiveness, or the way it’s often presented, is harmful. That’s one more gripe I have with season two. The way it frames “forgiveness”(the idea that you are obligated to forgive someone lest you be “just as bad as they are” is problematic.)

Because for one, having Jinx apologize for killing Caitlyn’s mom and vow to stop the “cycle of violence” doesn’t make any sense. One, that’s just not something Jinx would ever say. Two, the idea that Jinx killing some Councilors is anywhere near the same thing as Caitlyn becoming a dictator is laughable at best, and insulting to my intelligence at worst. Three, Caitlyn never apologizes or faces any meaningful consequences for her actions! Losing an eye was nothing! She should’ve lost a hand at least and we should’ve seen her reflect on her actions and pledge to do better for Zaun!!! Not just fuck off and ride off into the sunset after everything she did! And lastly, the “cycle of violence” literally isn’t a cycle, it’s just one city oppressing the other for centuries and the other city deciding to fight back! This “cycle” doesn’t begin and end with Jinx and her attack on the Council, so framing it like Jinx is the one who has to take sole responsibility for fixing everything is nonsense.

“But Arcane was never about heroes and villains, everything is morally gray!” You sound dumb. This is obviously a story with overt themes of oppression and revolution. I’m not here to critique morality, I’m here to critique its framing. Why are certain characters “justified” in their heinous actions but others don’t get that luxury? That’s what I’m talking about. Moving on, the problem with “forgiveness” implies that it’s necessary, and the way people conflate forgiveness with letting someone have access to you after everything they did is the problem. You don’t have to forgive someone if you don’t want to. That doesn’t make you “bitter” nor does it mean you’re “holding a grudge”. There is a difference between forgiving someone and just removing yourself from the situation and becoming detached, imo. That’s what should’ve been done with Caitlyn and Jinx. No one in Zaun should’ve been shown dying for their oppressors because “teamwork” nor should Sevika have been shoved on the Council to push this idea of “unity”. Why would Sevika, a Zaunite who has never had and never will have any love for Piltover, be forced to cozy up with the Council? Why is the onus on her, as an oppressed person, to make nice with her oppressors? Why does the institution of Piltover, and people like Caitlyn who uphold that institution and wreak havoc on the underclass of Zaun, never have to answer for their crimes?

Answer: Because they(the writers) want to convince us that Jinx and Caitlyn, and by extension, Piltover and Zaun are “just as bad” as each other, and that both sides need to work together to heal. Only problem with that is, the Piltover/Zaun conflict was not presented that way in season one. I’m sure the writers want us to think it’s one city vs another, when that’s not the case at all. In reality, it’s one city OVER the other, and now they’re trying to convince us “both sides are bad”. While it’s true that there ARE problems on both sides, the problems in Zaun literally wouldn’t be problems if Piltover wasn’t an oppressive institution. Why were the chem barons able to amass power? Because the systems Piltover set up left Zaun behind and allowed pier hungry people like Finn, Margo, Chross, and Smeech seize their opportunities for control. Why is there so much crime in Zaun? Again, because of Piltover. The class disparity that Piltover set up means the economic divide between the two cities is a chasm that grows wider and wider every day. People are forced to steal to eat. They join gangs out of necessity, not because they have to. Why did Jinx kill all those enforcers?

That shouldn’t be the question. The real question is: Why does “Jinx”(as in, the persona Powder adopted to feel strong) even exist? Answer, once again, because of Piltover! Jinx is an oppressed person with severe mental health and self esteem issues that have been exacerbated as a result of the crooked system of Piltover. She saw her parents get killed by enforcers(militarized police force that carries out the will of the powers that be and is responsible for harassing, brutalizing, and over policing Zaun) right in front of her before she was even in the double digits. She was then adopted by Vander, but she had to struggle her whole life. Zaun doesn’t even have air to BREATHE unless Piltover decides they deserve it. And thanks to Caitlyn, we get to see how even THAT gets weaponized when Zaun steps out of line. So if they don’t have access to clean air, it’s safe to say that they also don’t have access to the same quality food, water, shelter, clothing, economic, educational, or medical services that Piltovans do, just by virtue of living in Zaun. So you take a severely mentally ill little girl, systematically oppress her, and then clutch your pearls when she becomes violent and lashes out? Label her a “psycho” and a “monster” for killing cops, gang members, and politicians while Caitlyn gets a happily ever after after everything she did? I thought “both sides” were “just as bad”. So why is Jinx the only one who meaningfully suffers? Why does Zaun as a whole always have to pay the price?

Lack of commitment. “Terrorist” is a loaded word that’s been weaponized against marginalized people for ages now. It’s another one to add to the list: angry, crazy, mad, belligerent, monster, savage, animal, etc. All these dehumanizing words are leveled at folks who get tired of taking shit lying down. I’ve never thought that Jinx was a “monster” for killing cops, Councilors, or politicians. Never will. But the show clearly WANTS me to, as well as simultaneously wanting to see Caitlyn’s actions a certain way. I’ve already made a post about why comparing or trying to equalize Caitlyn’s actions and Jinx’s actions is disingenuous and intellectually dishonest imo. Think of it like a bully vs bullied type of thing. There’s this kid and his asshole friends who gets to bully you for weeks, months, or even years and face no repercussions. Then, one day you get fed up, and start fighting back. Whether that be with words, feet, fists, or what have you. If you go down, you go down swinging. When the dust settles, BOTH of y’all are getting disciplined(detention, suspended, expelled, not allowed to go on trips, etc) for “fighting”. And there’s a very good chance one of you will be punished much more harshly than the other. Even though you started fighting back. BACK being the operative word. Every single time this kid pushed, hit, kicked, punched, started rumors about, and isolated you, nothing was done. The one time you start fighting BACK, both of y’all get in trouble because the school has a “zero tolerance policy”.

But you know that’s not true. It can’t be. You’ve been telling the teachers, guidance counselors, and vice principal about what’s been going on. But nothing was done about it. Or if it was, you were the one who was told to move seats. Or switch to a different classroom. Or just ignore them. Or “maybe they’re lashing out cause they have problems going on at home.” It was nothing but excuses when you were getting pushed around. Now when you fight back it’s a problem. Now take that metaphor and apply it to Caitlyn and Jinx. Caitlyn is like that fat rich asshole with parents on the PTA who make hefty donations to the school. Jinx is like the scrawny little nobody who has no one to stick up for them. Piltover is the school system. Caitlyn’s privilege isolated her from any meaningful consequences, while Jinx’s lack of privilege guaranteed she’d face hefty consequences, much more than Caitlyn ever would.

Jinx has lost: her birth parents as a result of state sanctioned violence, her adoptive brothers, her sister, her best friend, her adoptive father, Silco, her sister again, her adoptive brother again, her new friend, her sense of self, her life(possibly) and she has to deal with being an oppressed person who struggles with mental health issues on top of all that. Caitlyn has lost: her mother, and her eye. That’s it. She’s never forced to give anything up. She never had to reckon with the reality of what it means to be not just a Piltie, but a Kiramman, and a dictator on top of that. We never see her be genuinely remorseful about her horrible actions in Zaun. Nor does she try to apologize to the people in Zaun or meaningfully make amends. No, Caitlyn gets to live in that big shiny house of hers with her father and girlfriend and the months she spent co-signing martial law will never be addressed. To bring it back to the bully vs bullied comparison, this means that Jinx would have been expelled for fighting back, while Caitlyn gets ISS(in school suspension). “Both sides are bad” yeah well you clearly believe one side is worse! And it’s not the correct one!

Piltover is an oppressive, classist, ableist, and brutal institution. Caitlyn was the head of this institution for months after she experienced a fraction of what Zaunites have experienced for centuries. At the end of the day, Caitlyn’s actions were brushed aside and she got her happy ending, though it wasn’t deserved whatsoever. Meanwhile Jinx, Sevika, Ekko, Isha, countless other Zaunites, and Zaun as a whole did nothing but suffer their whole lives and now they have nothing to show for it. “Both sides are bad” but the bad that the institution is responsible for is never called out, while the bad that the oppressed people did is blown out of proportion and they are severely punished for it.

And yes, I know I’m talking about a mainstream television show with white/non black people in the writers room. I knew I was never gonna get the pro revolution story I wanted to see, and I’ve made peace with that. But, if they wanted to have a “both sides” narrative so bad, then they should’ve stuck with it. BOTH SIDES should have equally suffered and had to reckon with their wrongdoings. The responsibility for doing so shouldn’t have solely been on the shoulders of the minority group. THAT’S the crux of the issue. I was always gonna think “forgiveness” was the coward’s way out. But they never show Piltover apologizing. Only Zaun does, and that’s not right.

[sapphiresaphics]

“Jinx sniffs Vander’s jacket means the writers sucked” is a WILD take to have.

Like you know why that jacket is there, right? They’re literally in the mines. The same mines Felicia, Silco, Vander, etc all worked in. This was like their home base where they’d hang up their work uniforms and go home. This is their WORK clothing. This isn’t the same clothes Silco wears later in the show. We see Felicia wearing a similar jacket in a flashback later on.

And yeah… she’s focusing on Vander’s clothing because they’re on a mission to find Vander. This whole segment is about Vander and his connection to the other characters. She’s trying to use Vander/Warwick to bridge the gap that was created between her and Vi. So naturally she’s feeling nostalgic for Vander.

She regularly goes to Silco’s hideout to talk with his chair. She doesn’t need to remember what he smelled like. But she’s been so far removed from Vander that sniffing his jacket is a way for her to reconnect with him.

ADDITIONALLY this season has shown that Jinx is taking in Vander’s role. She’s got a kid and doesn’t want to participate in the revolution despite Sevika wanting her to. She’s given up on her Jinx namesake and just wants there to be peace. So naturally and symbolically Vander’s jacket is the one she would sniff out of the two because that’s who she’s most like in this moment. Not Silco.

it’s a short scene, but this is very emblematic of how they’ve treated silco and jinx vs vander and jinx this season.

on first watch i didn’t catch this, but that’s not silco’s jacket she’s holding.

she sees the jackets, then pulls back vander’s to reveal silco’s underneath. when she notices silco’s jacket, there is a brief moment where she furrows her brow very slightly before turning away. she then, without ever touching it, quickly covers it back up and reaches for vander’s jacket. vander’s sleeve is the one that she holds to her face.

the jackets are something new introduced in s2, while in s1, silco was the one with a signature coat. a coat that he was wearing at the statue but not the dinner party, which means at some point during his kidnapping jinx took it from him, and we can reasonably assume she still has it. much like how they set up an association between jinx’s tattoos and her loved ones, only to not give her the pink bullets in s2, they set up an opportunity for her to have an emotional moment with silco’s clothing, only to do this.

[bixels]

The more I think about it, the more I question Arcane S2's politics and themes, which were so foundational to S1. Like, a tiny example [SPOILERS AHEAD]:

Singed wins. He gets exactly what he wants in the end. All his "efforts" are rewarded. What does that say about people who share his ideology of eugenics? He is the source of nearly every horrible thing and conflict that happened (Shimmer, the factory deaths, Jinx, Vander as Warwick, the corruption of Viktor), and he gets a happier ending than any other character. Not even a 'he got what he wanted but he has become completely unrecognizable/monstrous to his daughter' tag at the end. You can say they're setting him up and need to open his daughter to future shows, but the way you end a character's story says something about what you think about that character. What does it say when the eugenicist war criminal gets the happy ending he doesn't deserve?

[thenationofzaun]

It really is crazy how much they defanged Jinx this season. Season 1 Jinx went out of her way to murder enforcers. The kills were methodical, brutal, bloody, and Jinx showed no remorse for the violence she committed against Piltover's goons. Because why should she? Meanwhile, Season 2 Jinx only knocks them out and splatters their home with paint. Yes, I'm aware the paint was mixed with the Gray and she essentially blew their attack right back at them which is cool and definitely something Season 1 Jinx would do. But then that turns out not to be a big deal - one kid is shown with a mask and red eyes, no one else is shown with injuries, there are no casualties, and then the story moves on to other things and the Piltover vs Zaun war is forgotten. Fishbones is a much smaller deal than it should be too - only 3 minor characters get taken out and then Fishbones is destroyed before Jinx can do anything else with it. It's also likely the next Act will have her helping Piltover fight Noxus. All her hatred and brutality against Piltover has been toned down. They've made her completely toothless this season.

[eerna]

it might be my dislike for the "in every universe yadda yadda" trope speaking, but I just. don't see why Ekko had to go to an alt universe and see Powder grown up to figure out he could still share with Jinx what he'd shared with Powder. Like don't get me wrong I loved the dance and the cuteness and the pretending like it's the first time... but he already figured most of it out in s1. And it was a much better, more nuanced scene - of course seeing a physical reminder that she is Powder with the capacity to love him would change his mind, but it's much more powerful when it's shown through their shared memories and behaviors. The coexistence of gentleness and violence in the bridge scene is the heart and soul of why their dynamic is so interesting. She will play their childhood game, she will look at him softly, and then try to blow them both up. We could have had an episode that continues that story, that shows us how they would find their way back to each other now that the main obstacle, Silco, is removed... But instead, Ekko went through it with a separate person, while Jinx went through it offscreen, and nothing more was ever said about it. Man. I am sad.

[sapphiresaphics]

If your problem is that characters don’t take to each other, you better stop watching media entirely because that’s literally the #1 plot device in nearly all media across time and history.

If your only way to resolve a conflict is for characters to say that they’ve resolved the conflict then you’re a bad writer or a bad media consumer. Probably both.

Whenever say Caitlyn didn’t apologise or was held accountable to her actions everyone goes nuts and says

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS , she apologised by letting Vi fee Jinx ,,,, etc

ITS SHOW NOT TELL !!

Some things need to be both SHOWN and TOLD , some things need to be done both by ACTIONS and WORDS , these things are APOLOGIES AND LOVE CONFESSIONS … also others

Let me give an example, parents can show their children love yet the child still needs to hear the world I love you, it’s different.

Someone can help me do something as an apology but I still want to hear them say that they were wrong and they’re sorry and won’t do it again , so we can communicate and move forward.

Yet none of this happens in the show , Cait helps Vi and suddenly everything is okay between them like no there needs to be communication , there should be anger , resentment, betrayal , tension.

The problem in the Show that they Characters DON’T COMMUNICATE AT ALL , there isn’t a single long conversation between them.

Vi and Jinx don’t have a full conversation about their relationship to reconcile fully and understand each other and what happened.

Vi and Caitlyn don’t talk to know the status of their relationship and build the trust again after what happened in Act 1.

Ekko and jinx talk OFF-SCREEN to stop her suicidal intentions and fight in the war

The firelights don’t talk about or to Ekko and how they are now friends with their enemies ( Sevika and jinx )

That’s my biggest problem , the characters don’t talk to each other.

Thus none of the conflicts presented in Season 1 are solved in season 2 ( something I might make a separate post about)

[bi-dykes]

“Omg Caitlyn and Vi had sex in a jail cell! What a perfect way for them to get back together after they broke up/after Caitlyn hit Vi with her gun!” Oh no… oh, no, that’s not… oh…

If the writers were gonna somehow have Vi make the horrible and self endangering decision to get back together with Cait, could they… at least put her on a comfy mattress?

[alpaca-clouds]

I am kinda frustrated how some people talk about Arcane S2 as if the breakneck pacing was a good thing. Because, like... you get that it isn't, right?

I have really no idea what happened behind the scenes of that show, but something tells me that either Riot forced them to put in a whole lot more plot points than they wanted (like the entire LaBlanc/Black Rose stuff), or that they thought they would do 3 seasons and now are scramming two seasons worth of plot into a total of like 350 minutes of runtime.

But just stuff like: Vi and Cait kissing, then breaking up two scenes later, with Cait doing her face-heel-turn, before in the VERY NEXT SCENE that features both of them Cait is doing a heel-face-turn.

I am sorry, but simple rules of storytelling: If you put in a twist like a main character go bad/evil, you need to work with that. You cannot do something like that and then not work with the dramatic tension resulting from it. If you are unwilling to do something with that twist, don't do the twist. It is that simple.

If they had just wanted to seperate Cait and Vi so that Jinx could approach Vi, give Cait a depression arc, where she feels bad for not having succeeded in killing Jinx, and now she is hiding out in Zaun, and Ambessa uses the power vacuum to take over.

S2 right now watches like a darn recap episode highlighting the "best of" moments, rather than a coherent story.

And sure, there are three episodes left. But man... While I had criticisms of the writing in season 1, it was overall solid. But season 2 is a bloody mess. It is still obviously beautiful to watch. Like the animation is the best thing anyone has ever put into TV animation. But frankly, I would prefer animated stick figures, if instead I got a story that knew how to do plot twists and let them pay off.