#i do like that she can heal with cait and process her grief in a safe place

[sohosaturn]

Little Rant about Vi because I’m mad the more I think about her character

Okay, so I’ll post some art in a bit but I wanna rant about Vi’s character in arcane, specifically how the fact that she spent the rest of her childhood in PRISON is just sometimes mentioned. Like, we should’ve gotten some more reflection of that just like how Powder/Jinx’s trauma was explored. I’m not saying I wanted to see a child getting tortured, that’s not what I mean. But some flashbacks of her, like some montage or something of watching her grow up there in that dark cell would’ve been fine enough. And the fact that her wounds from the warehouse weren’t even healed, so she just healed in prison with no medical attention is horrifying. Not to mention that the guards apparently thought she was an addict cause she kept yelling about Powder, and then seemed to stop yelling eventually when she lost most of her hope. Like imagine if we got ONE flashback of that, it would’ve been more impactful.

I get she’s in a cop in league, I get that (and personally I think Arcane sunk itself by making its story canon but that’s just me), but her decision was just barely explored enough for it to be understood. If season two had more time, it would’ve been better. It’s obvious she did it for Cait, hoping that it could help with her grief and all that, but literally just one or two scenes of her and Cait talking it through and Vi contemplating it would’ve been enough for me. And she does not protest NEARLY enough when Cait’s using chemical fucking warfare on her people and sending a bunch of people to prison, something she criticized the council when she talked to Jayce in season one. Imagine if she and Jinx were the ones who helped the people who were wrongfully imprisoned for protesting in episode four. Vi could’ve seen and understood Jinx’s impact on Zaun and on Isha, they could’ve found Warwick together (or something idk i haven’t tuned that out yet lmao), and her and Sevika, her rival from season one could’ve had an interaction. Just one, make a truce or something.

And her convo with Cait after she sends that guy with the glasses, who was injured and poisoned with The Gray btw, wasn’t even about that, it was about HER changing and not her actions. I understand their time was limited, and they did great with that fact, but I can still be mad okay! I honestly would’ve preferred the ‘promise me you won’t change scene’ to have happened before Vi became an enforcer, and Cait promising her helped her make her decision. As much as I love Cait and Vi, and I even love their ending (controversial, I know), their relationship wasn’t built as well in season two as it was in season one. And the sex scene was fun, the song was a banger (pun not intended), but like…in a fucking jail cell? Really? A jail cell eerily similar to the jail cell she was starved and beaten in while she grew up in prison? That sounds fucking insane for any other show. Why does MADDIE, ginger bowl cut rebound Maddie, get a bed but Vi, Cait’s fucking soulmate gets a fucking dirty ass jail cell???

She deserved so much better, for her trauma to be fully explored and not just brushed off and only focusing on the first half of it with her family dying because of Powder’s mistake. Let me remind you, this innocent little girl was beaten and starved in jail by enforcers for seven-eight years, and still came out with a heart of gold. They can never make me hate you, Vi.

[hadleyr]

I appreciate the thought process in constructing this, but I fundamentally disagree with the conclusions, both In & Out of Universe. As far as I see it:

In both the main universe & the AU, Jayce is the one judged responsible for the magical explosion, given the gems were his illegal creations. However, he dies in the blast (presumably along with Caitlyn), so he never gets to meet Viktor - which also means that Viktor likely dies shortly after, given there's no Hexcore/Shimmer to sustain him. Evil Cosmic Horror God Viktor either doesn't need to remember, or doesn't even look at, the universes where he dies before the anomaly comes into existence.

Grayson, being a more pragmatic Sheriff than Marcus would have arrested the kids not for the explosion, but for the Breaking & Entering. They didn't leave with anything, so even charging them with burgulary is a bit of a big ask. Given that their ringleader died in the process of the crime, the remaining kids likely get little more than a caution - especially with Vander's deal with Grayson; they'd probably negotiate some kind of resolution that day, instead of the protracted mess that happens in the main universe. Part of the reason things play out so badly in the main universe is the effort to hide what happened & who was involved - that manhunt never happens in the AU because the kids never flee the scene.

There's no guarantee that Vander & Silco's reconciliation happens as a result of the blast - could have happened at any point between Vander's attempted murder and shortly before the "present". It's not unreasonable to think that the cycle could have been broken at any point, the lack of shimmer production in the AU suggests Silco never turned to that as a means for power/revenge. However, if it is as a result of the blast, Vander's grief makes him seek out that old connection, and it's not ridiculous that Silco would be more accepting of a clearly regretful, humbled Vander, especially if they both can forgive the original grievances. The fact that Vi & Powder are the only legacy left of Felicia, and one of those is now gone, the two likely bond over her memory, and that helps rebuild the bridges.

As for Powder, yes, she carries a lot of guilt for Vi's death, but she didn't have the experience of her worst fears being validated (Vi calling her a Jinx - hell, Milo only calls it her in the show as a result of her losing the stolen goods; that doesn't happen in the AU) and believing she was being abandoned before being raised by a man who didn't understand how (or want) to help her heal from her trauma. I'm sure Powder blames herself, and still has work to do to address/recover from her trauma, and yes, her underlying mental illness maybe still be there, but everyone in her life is much more supportive and would be able to help her heal as much as possible.

Powder never lashes out at the council, because there's: 1) No loss of support network for resolving her trauma 2) No rising escalation between Enforcers & The Lanes 3) Reconciliation between Silco & Vander 4) No Hextech for her to even weaponise 5) No paternal figure encouraging her to lash out at the council in response for his death

Also, Caitlyn is also presumed to have died in that explosion too, in which case, Cassandra Kirraman might have even been forced to step down from the council (Jayce was sponsored by her, there'd be some social consequence there). So Cassandra might not even have died even if Powder were to attack the council.

No Hextech means Ambessa looks somewhere else for a weapon to wield against the Black Rose, so she doesn't ever engineer the circumstances to push Piltover to declare Martial Law, so no Dictator Salo/Cait (even if she's not dead). No Dictator means no strike team, and no genocide.

So no, everybody would not die, and not just because of "The power of love and friendship", though Powder having a life full of those things (rather than basically devoid of them) would make a big difference to her wellbeing & development/behavours.

It's not the writers forgetting things, it's them reassessing a lot of the instigating events of the series and looking at what happens if they play out differently. There might be even more opportunities for things to play out differently that you could spot if you went back through Season 1 Episodes 1-3 in more detail!

The writing in the AU episode is so weird.

Enforcers don’t care about arresting children and innocents. So in the AU Timebomb episode, am i suppost to believe that Powder blew up a rich guy's house and they...let her go?

Piltover has killed a bunch of children, they are not going to care about this two kids who were stealing things from them.

Jayce would be arrested for tempering with magic, regardelss of Vi dying or not, he would meet Viktor and he would convince Jayce to make hextech. He would become obsessed with viktor and fuse him with the hextech.

Evil cosmic horror god Viktor told us that! He said "IN EVERY REALITY HE LOOKED".

Guess the writers just forgot about that detail.

- Powder would definitely be arrested and she would have gone crazy with grief and guilt.

- Vander and Silco would not become besties 4ever after a murder attempt.

- Silco would still go after power and revenge.

-And Powder would hate Piltover for killing her sister and for the arrest.

Powder would probably hate Jayce and try to kill the council. Caitlyn's mom would die and Caitlyn would become a shitty dictator and commit genocide. Because she has a massive ego and has to make everything about her and make everybody suffer just because she is sad.

And without Vi around, guess she would never get her weak ass "redemption arc".

Everybody would die.

But i guess everything just got better with the power of love and friendship!

[xlisaleinx]

“I want to see you” - 3x7 recap

Cait described episode 3x7 as „complicated, post coital and dangerous“. Turns out she was right.

It’s deeply complicated because it highlights the long road that lies before Jamie and Claire. The immediate outpouring of love and fulfillment  is replaced by insecurities, uncertainty of the future and also a certain strangeness or unfamiliarity between them. I think that’s what Caitriona meant by “post coital”. The line „I want to see you“ from the reunion episode is important here - they’re only beginning to see each other. Their souls may be linked to one another and immediately took up the old, strong bond, but Jamie and Claire are still in the process of getting to know each other again, the people they’ve become. 

While their fundamental character traits are still there, many layers have been added to their personalities over the years spent apart, due to many factors. Jamie has endured trauma, severe injuries both mentally and physically, loss, abandonment; he was used, abused, assaulted and ridiculed, stripped bare of his dignity many times over; he was gifted with and torn away from a child he had forged a bond with; and, maybe most importantly, he lost his identity, lived under many different names, struggling to keep a hold on who he really was. That obviously changes a person. Compared to Jamie, Claire has lived a relatively quiet lived, with her basic needs provided for. But she, too, was traumatized, filled with a grief too heavy to really deal with. And she was forced to shelve it for two decades, trying to raise her child in a happy environment. Built on lies and deceit. She lived under a roof with a man she didn’t love, constant accusation sitting with them at the dinner table and filling the empty space between their separate beds. So she dedicated her life to her job - to heal the sick. She made a vow. So there she is now, standing in Jamie’s room, feeling obliged to save the life of a man who just tried to rape and kill her. Jamie doesn’t understand, of course, but she needs him to understand. She begs him to understand. Because to value human life has become an integral part of who she is. He needs to understand in order to truly know her. (Side note: I listened to the ep 6 podcast last night, and if I remember correctly, Matt said there was a snippet of Claire telling Jamie what it means to be a surgeon - it’s supposed to be released as an „extended scene“ on the bluray). Claire doesn’t understand why Jamie is lying to his family; Jamie, in turn, can tell from her face that she is confused and angry, but doesn’t understand why. So, both of these people have changed a lot. They have been through their own personal purgatory. It will take some time to get to know each other and truly rediscover the feeling of belonging. And let’s not forget - the secret Jamie is still keeping from Claire is weighing on him and definitely preventing them from fully commit to one another. So 3x7 isn’t only dangerous for the obvious reasons - threats, the law, fires etc. - but also on a more personal level. Jamie needs to tell Claire about L, and soon. Or he is running the risk of losing her for good.

They also have to relearn a lot about togetherness - the most difficult part is probably to relearn the art of joint decision making. For 20 years they were used to dealing with all kinds of situations life threw at them on their own, each in their own way. Jamie could only rely on himself, forced to keep most of his thoughts to himself; Claire was alone, too, in a way. She and Frank were leading separate lives. Now, all of a sudden, they’ve become part of a unit again. A partnership is based on sharing, compromising, discussing, deciding - together. Neither of them is used to this. Claire wants to keep working as a doctor, Jamie isn’t sure about that. He’s not opposed to staying at the brothel, Claire wants to have a place of their own. Working it out together is a challenge.

Overcoming the fear of losing each other again is another task at hand. Especially Jamie constantly seeks reassurance. „Will you come with me?“, „Will you return?“ He can’t grasp the idea that the lonely times are over. But accepting reality is the first step towards the learning process described above. He needs to get there first.

Another aspect that adds to the complicated nature of this „post coital“/honeymoon phase certainly is their child - the knowledge that one of them got to raise their daughter, while the other one never got the chance to even meet her. This becomes obvious when Claire tells Jamie he had no idea what it’s like to be a worried parent. All the hurt and frustration breaks out of him then. He’s still not over the bikini picture, has obviously been brooding over the 1960s moral code that doesn’t match his own. Claire starts ranting about the „rigidness“ of the 18th century. So there’s obviously a lot of adjusting to do from both sides. When Claire mentions Frank and his „wonderful“ fatherly qualities, Jamie bites back by revealing his fears in terms of Claire and Frank’s marriage. His wife, his child, living with another man, while he was grieving over them for 20 years. The defensiveness that’s turning into a fight between Jamie and Claire shows how deep the gap still is and how difficult it will be to overcome it.

And I think this episode gives us a very distinct portrayal of the start of that process. I know I keep reiterating this point in my recaps, but I can’t help it, to me it’s just the essence of every single episode so far: the way they chose to adapt the story, including subtle and larger changes, makes it real and authentic. An episode full of sweet and lovey dovey moments, unconditional, mutual acceptance and understanding each other without words at this point would have destroyed the authenticity for me.