#i just wanted more ekko screentime!

[twinsarekeepers]

I love Timebomb, don’t get me wrong, and I think that they’re the best written dynamic, especially relating to Jinx, but it rubs me the wrong way how the narrative puts the entire deterioration of their relationship on Ekko. While I think Ekko blaming himself for giving up on Jinx makes sense for his character, the writers seem to agree with him even though it’s not true. It’s the same way I feel about how Jinx views herself as the problem, that no one could be happy with her and that everyone she loves is doomed to suffer. It makes sense for her to feel that way but the writers agreeing with her is the problem.

I’ve talked about Ekko’s feelings about Jinx in this post, but the gist of it is that Ekko (and the firelights) were honestly the only ones who justifiably viewed Jinx as a monster. She was his childhood best friend who was trying to kill and frame him and his people for no reason other than Silco telling her to. That’s what Ekko had to live with for almost a decade of his life after losing every one else in his life. Of course he’d given up on her: it was the only way to protect himself both physically and emotionally.

The issue with cutting all the timebomb scenes in the finale other than the one where he saves her is that it paints the picture that Ekko simply gave up on Jinx without trying in the past, when that isn’t true. He did try, on many occasions, despite her insistence on shooting him or blowing him up. Even when he’d given up trying to get her to come with him, he didn’t want to fight or kill her.

And when he got blasted into a whole other dimension, it would’ve been so easy to stay with a Powder that hadn’t tried to off him multiple times, but instead, he went back, because he realized his Jinx wasn’t much different from AU Powder. Even though it must've been so painful for him to admit. He’s the only one that really deserved an apology from her and while I don’t doubt she gave one to him, I wish we could’ve seen it.

I mean, she rolls up to the final battle with the Firelights in her lair, the Firelight symbol painted on her body, a new fit, looking healthy, so I’m pretty sure they’re on good terms and the reason she got to that place was because of Ekko and the Firelights giving her the support she needed, but, man, we really deserved to see that resolution.

Edit: If you’re seeing this post please go through the #mutual aid tag on my account and reblog/donate to the families there. Share their campaigns widely on other platforms if you can! Free Palestine!

[wishfulsketching]

Hey I couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of Isha in your AU. Please tell me she's OK

Ok, I'll share my unpopular opinion.

isha is unnecessary. They're there to make Jinx "nicer" and make her "stable". To give her "normalcy". Now, are these bad things? No. Not really. BUT.

Isha takes screentime from exploring how Jinx is dealing with Silco's death and that he is actually gone. Jinx now has to learn to survive on her own. Silco's lackeys did not like jinx. There is a whole storyline there to explore!!!

Isha takes screentime from Sevika. Sevika and Jinx bonded through act 1 but then was just forgotten (I mean Sevika was forgotten a lot in the end). I wanted them to finally join forces because they both mourn Silco.

Isha erases the whole s1 finale and Jinx deciding to be Jinx. I wanted Jinx to become the villain she could be. The loose canon. The chaos incarnate. But now she "finally has a friend" so she's just gonna sit around.

Why would Isha clutch onto Jinx? Because they're a weird kid like that? Weak character motivation. Because they want to fight for the revolution? Mmm okay. Did not lead to anything. They sacrifice themselves with a smile because they're perfect little child who has no faults, I guess. And to make Jinx even more sad because she couldn't be sad anough about Silco, apparently.

Talking about childen...Jinx is a child. Or well, acts like one. She was spoiled by Silco, able to stay immature because Silco would let her. And they give HER a child? And she suddenly CAN take care of them? Ok

The montage after Isha's death was insulting to me. It was unearned. I wanted to see Jinx deal with Vi. Bond with Sevika and Ekko. Deal with losing Silco and helping Vander. Becoming the chaos!!!

Now she is more paletable. More cute sad girl with a quirk, not a traumatized and overly violent ticking timebomb. She was supposed to become a villaaaainnnn or an antiheroooo

But they gave her a kid.

I don't hate Isha. I hate what including isha did to the story.

So, sorry. No Isha in the AU.

There will be a sacrifice in the AU, tho 💙

[yannisdesk]

Ekko is such a special character to me, because he's given the same reasons to go down the paths of Jinx or Vi, but he doesn't. He also brutally lost his surrogate father to Silco, and most of his friends the same day with the explosion and was pretty much left orphaned. However, he remembers how important it is to not just want to save your community from oppressors, but to fight to protect them as well. He has his own battles, demons, and flaws, but he never lets that interfere with his chosen purpose of a better future for his people. You have Jinx, disciple of Silco, who believes the ends will justify the means, no matter how harmful the means are. You have Vi, following in Vander's footsteps, who will go down the path of working for the oppressors in the hopes that will free her people, even when said oppressors do not have their best interest in heart. And then, you have Ekko, who had Benzo as mentor, in the shadow of Vander and Silco, but none-the-less important for teaching Ekko skills in makeshift and engineering; but even at that, Ekko has forged his own path and means of resistance, and doesn't just see Zaun in the context of how it relates to Piltover, but in an independent future. He helped to found the Firelights and remembers each fallen hero with a mural. He puts himself in harms way and is willing to sacrifice himself for his cause, and is proud that it took a village to accomplished what they've done so far, and that he didn't have to do it alone, but with community. He is not overzealously cruel, ruthless, or bitter, but is full of resilience and wishes to pass that same resilience on, and I just think that's beautiful.

Disclaimer: this is not an anti-Vi or anti-Jinx post. Vi is probably my favorite character from anything ever, and Jinx is my pookie, this is me being honest about how out of all three of their approaches, Ekko's is the most rooted in compassion, and that he is much more than what meats the eye (which is mostly due to limited screentime, but still).

[constantfragmentation]

Arcane S2 Thoughts

I've had a week to digest this season and well, I guess I have the unpopular opinion of being very disappointed. After the initial flash of gorgeous animation and some ooo's and awe's.... I was left with a bitter aftertaste. I can rewatch S1 loads of time. I don't think I can watch S2 again.

I'm happy for the fans that loved it and got what they wanted or the shippers that got what they wanted. I'm happy for you. Do your thing.

Me? Not so much. Even as a Silco fan (and I admit to squeeing for any footage of him at first), I'm not pleased. Yeah, my young Silco is a nerd, man-bun hottie, but that's where it ended for me. His entire characterization was nothing like the character I fell head over heels for in S1.

Vander's Flashback: I honestly don't find Felicia's inclusion necessary at all. In fact, I think it waters down everything between Silco and Vander. Their knowing her and the kids creates more questions, plotholes, and problems than it supposedly solves.

Why is Vander only in those memories with the kids? It's before the fallout with Silco. Why don't the kids know or remember nice Silco? Why do they only fear him (obv that's from Vander and Benzo, yes?)?

Why doesn't Silco seem to know Powder at Vander's dead body? Why would he kill Felicia's kids? None of it makes any fucking sense if he cared about Felicia. He hates Vander so much, he hates the kids too because he adopted them?

How the hell does S2 Young Silco turn into S1 Silco? Riot really messed this one up. Vander's attempted murder didn't change his entire personality.

It was a rebellion battle. People were going to get hurt and killed. They had to know this. So, whether Silco accidentally killed Felicia (as some fans are debating) or she died, is so damn dumb for Vander to solely blame Silco. Takes the kids, becomes a pacifist FIRST and then decides to (shave and grow younger) kill his brother for the greater good. Doesn't make one lick of sense narratively.

The narrative, characterization and animation inconsistencies don't help from S1 either. The drowning scene doesn't fit the S2 explanation. They're too young. Vander had a beard and appears much older on the bridge. Hell, S2 Young!Silco looks older than S1 Young!Silco. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. If people want to kiss Riot's ass, fine, but there was too much that was straight up lazy writing.

Silco's death is just glossed over considering how important he is. Silco did what Vander couldn't. Even without Shimmer, the Underground was thriving. Cait's mother's death/burial/statue gets more screen time and Silco gets dumped in the river. No one seems to question his death or what happened? Yeah, ok.

I'll use this moment to complain about the excessive music video montages this season too. I watched S1 again and the writing and use of music worked in unison and enhanced scenes. S2 felt like scenes in between music videos and it was irritating.

There was so much screentime wasted that could have been good dialogue heavy scenes that S1 was great at. Instead, time wasted on poorly executed plotlines that needed way more time to flesh out (Mel, Ekko and Viktor) and we have slowmo music videos and MCU fight scenes. Hermie's guitar song and Mission Impossible jokster crap was laughable and not in a good way.

Riot tried to pack too much into one season, and it was a mess. This season felt like watching a Marvel movie. Cool action sequences with little to no substance. All the nuance and grit from last season were gone in favor of the 'good vs. bad' trope. All the political-societal issues in S1 were abandoned that were far more fascinating to explore.

Mel has superpowers now? It feels all out of place. Her, Ambessa, and the Black Rose plot have zero time to make it interesting and plausible. She was introduced as this master manipulator/politician and her sage persona feels so forced.

Jesus Demigod Viktor was too much. I was excited for the Machine Herald and the psychedelic Arcane magical multiverse took me out. Making him to be the big baddie and timeloop it around to Jayce felt like a big cop out. Viktor deserved better. Hell, Jayce deserved better.

So much was sacrificed to make the whole Arcane magic THE point of the series when it was one of the least interesting aspects of the show. Hextech for weapons and the continuing problems between Piltover and Zaun was RIPE for storytelling. It seems each act needed several episodes to cover.

Ekko sure as fuck deserved better than that half assed time warp with Hermie. The AU really bothered me. Everything felt wrong. EVERYTHING. Nothing was explained well at all. It felt like complete fan service at the expense of the characters. Before people rip me saying "well duh! It was an AU!". You don't assassinate characters and plot to have a happy ending that insults your viewers.

They turned Zaun (its own cool character) into the bargain basement of Piltover. How is it sunny and pretty? Really? Mirror tricks? Everyone just forgave Piltover after years of oppression?

You're telling me Vi's death saved humanity? Fuck that shit right now. Piltover just stopped because a kid died? Suddenly everything became better? What happened to Jayce? Viktor? Hell, Hermie after decades didn't give two shits about Zaun, so what changed with the Council? Where's Singed? I don't buy it.

I don't buy Jinx/Powder being super normal smart girl. I LOVE JInx, but I believe she had mental issues prior breaking into Jayce's apartment. I don't think Vi's death made that go away (as I don't believe Silco's death did either). As someone who battles with mental health, this is insulting to me as a viewer.

I hated AU Silco. There. I said it. He just forgave Vander? Really? Bullshit. The reason Vander tried to kill him is stupid. A simple letter changed Silco? That fluffy-haired softy is not Silco. I can't imagine that Silco being the one who fought a rebellion. He probably would not have become a mob boss peddling drugs but this AU softboi dad feels so wrong. I never would have stanned AU Silco. Not in a million years.

S1 Silco's traits didn't magically appear because Vander betrayed him. The young S1 Silco had to be similar in many ways to older S1 Silco. Drive, ambition, ruthlessness, willing to die for a cause. I don't see Felicia's death changing that. I certainly don't see Vi's death changing that.

If Vander needed to kill Silco to stop the violence, etc, it's because he saw Silco as a threat to him or society as a whole. S1 Vander is known as The Hound. So, he seems to be violent as well. He takes credit for building the Underground when Felicia credits both 'bozos' for it. So Vander being upset she died and blaming Silco to the point of murder is a slap in the face to fans' intelligence.

I do hate that by Vi's death, everything is magically better. I can't express how much I hate that. AU Powder was irritating and was nothing like my Jinx that I love. Again so much wasted time that could have been better spent on good character driven scenes that actually advance the plot.

Pointless characters. Introduce Isha (who I adored). Make her seem important to Jinx. Kill her and never mention her again. So what was the point of her inclusion this season? Just to make Jinx suicidal? I hated that also. Again WASTED SCREENTIME.

Oh, and Caitvi was a disgrace. I think shippers deserved better here, too. Caitlyn goes crazy dictator because of guilt over her mom. Granted, Caitvi only knew each other for a week-ish? Not a lot of time to make their relationship serious past an infatuation. Cait turns from all her good points last season to Ambessa's padawan.

Don't get me started on that side piece Maddie. Really? Cait you were that hard up? And that long awaited sex scene was a big eye roll. Vi goes to her sister, and shit goes to hell, and a few minutes later, she's fucking Cait in the same cell. Vi was reduced to shit this season.

I mean, these characters just got shafted in every way for a high speed train wreck ending that we've seen a million times in Disneyfied stories. Action sequences were more important than actual character development and plot.

You can't make me believe that one speech from Jayce 'seeing a possible future' suddenly got Zaun to work with and dress up as Piltover soldiers? Really?

I had high hopes for Sevika, and the girl got shit nothing to do except in two episodes. Her seat on the Council feels like a last-minute decision and not worthy enough to expand on.

What made S1 so great was the class divide between Zaun and Piltover and how it affected the characters. S2 decided to scrap that and go with the easy good vs evil trope instead. Even the parallels didn't have the same hit as last season.

I did like Jinx talking to her 'ghost' Silco in the jail cell. He was calming to her in contrast to Milo/Claggor except the implication that she should die (that's what I got out of that).

We didn't even get much from Singed. Yeah, he got his daughter back (in some form) but his story was so blah. We didn't get nearly enough of him and Warwick and what made Warwick.

I guessed a few years ago it was going to be Vander but I didn't like how it was handled.

Too many plotlines all rushed together without getting any decent screentime and explanations that don't confuse or insult viewers intelligence. OR you have to be a LOL fan/player to understand. I never played LOL before S1 and wasn't confused as to the main plot.

I loved all the characters in S1 and felt they were pretty much watered down or assassinated in S2 for an apocalyptical Demigod villain vs humanity battle done to death finale.

The Zaun/Piltover political-societal problems, parallels, corruption, science going wrong, pathway to hell paved with good intentions themes from S1 was so much better in every single aspect.

I'm still a fan of S1 and the characters and frankly, I'm going to ignore 95% of S2.

[menofprogress]

Here are some of my hot (or maybe tepid) takes about arcane:

(Under the cut bc i got wordy lol)

-the show could have used another season or like at least 5 more eps per season. Thats not a dig at the creators bc we know they were already forced to cut stuff out, but imho it shows a little, esp in s2. I fully believe Sevika was one of the biggest victims here, i genuinely believe she had an arc in s2 act 3 that was fully cut. And her being one of the biggest defenders of zaunite independence also means that by cutting her they basically gutted that storyline.

-the sheer lack of time with some characters also means that i simply did not connect with some of them, which made their deaths kind of underwhelming. Like i gasped when loris, isha, elora and sky died, but i cant say i was actually sad. That might be a me problem, but i need a little more time and info on a character to feel literally anything about them.

-on the other hand: we need to accept that sometimes background or minor characters are just that. No they werent robbed, no they werent underwritten, theyre simply not that important and thats OK bc theyre characters, not real people. You dont need to give equal attention to all characters for it to be "fair". And i sometimes feel like ppl think they HAVE to bemoan this. esp when its a female character a lot of fans talk about "sidelining" or "theyre using them as a plot device!!" Buddy, sometimes characters are literally just there to move the plot along, thats not inherently a social justice issue. (Ive seen this the most with sky and lest and like.... sorry, they were never gonna be more important than this. They can still be your fave, but just bc you wanted to see more of them doesnt mean they were sidelined for nefarious reasons)

-however sometimes the problem isnt that a character got too little screentime. S2 is a perfect example to show you can do a lot of character work in less time (viktor, ekko) and little character work with a lot of screentime (vi, sorry). Viktor and ekko were missing for entire episodes and managed to have full character arcs and vi was kind of there the whole time, but stuff just happened to her? Like she does do a lot, she looks incredibly cool, i liked watching her scenes, but her motivations, her goals and her values are ALL over the place. I love caitvi, but it did kinda ruin vis integrity when she threw away core beliefs (she becomes an enforcer, she temporarily agrees to kill jinx, she participates in chem warfare against the undercity) for cait. Hmmmmm.....

-i wasnt that deep in the fandom in s1 so i might have simply missed it or i might just not be following assholes, but the "jayvik shippers hate mel" thing never made sense to me. NOT because i dont believe it, bc i sure as hell have seen enough mlm shippers be fully misogynistic or racist, but the way ppl (mainly meljay shippers lbr) talked about jayvik shippers being horrible to mel like it was this HUGE thing confused me bc i personally have seen like 2 fanfics where they horribly mischaracterise mel to be a viktor-hating bitch, but thats it? Like, was that an actual problem or was it ppl deliberately misunderstanding stuff? (One specific example: ive seen someone accuse jayvik shippers of being misogynists bc they accused mel of manipulating jayce and sidelining Viktor. Which is a canonical thing happening in the show. Like ofc you can word it in a way to make mel a horrid evil bitch, im sure there are ppl who DO hate mel and think she is an evil succubus, but this person in particular just seemed upset about the fact that ppl were talking about things that mel canonically did.) This is a genuine question, bc from my pov after s1 mel was one of the fan faves and jayvik wasnt THAT big of a deal until s2. I literally saw a hundred times more jayce hate than i did mel hate, but maybe thats not the universal arcane fandom experience? Like, again, i HAVE seen (for lack of a better term) fujoshis get wildly hateful towards female characters in the vicinity of their ship, i was just pleasantly surprised that the arcane fandom seemingly DIDNT. So the unrestrained resentment and bitterness of some fans after jayvik "went canon" caught me off guard.

-the reason i ask this: i saw a video where someone talked about some rando homophobic timebomb fans who apparently resented caitvi for getting a happy ending instead of jinx and ekko. So i commented "i s2g het-shippers act like theyre an oppressed group sometimes" to which another person responded "well jayvik fans were really shitty about mel, soo...." and i was so fucking confused bc what? The video wasnt even about mel or jayvik?? They just heard me make a snarky comment about het ships and immediately felt called out. But yeah thats what prompted my question.

-i dont get the thirst for the fish man. I get the salo thirst even less. I cheered when jayce bonked him.

-i actually dont want jayce or viktor to appear in future projects. While i love the idea of them being ~not dead~, i think any further canonical storylines about them would devalue the extremely emotional ending they had. Like, imagine if they only bring one of them back?? What then?? No, i actually prefer post-canon fix it fanfics in this case. (Cough cough esp bc this way i can still plausibly delude myself into them being actually canon and yall KNOW it probably would not stay this way if their story continues)

[purpleshimmer]

Music Videos in Season Two vs Season One

@thenationofzaun made a post about this too so I won’t talk too much about what they already said, but I wanted to talk a bit about why I feel the music videos in this season aren’t working the way they did in season 1

Spoilers below!

I love love love the music videos/sequences in season two, I really do! I think all the artists did an incredible job and the soundtrack is full of bangers so far. I love that Fortiche is branching out with different animation styles like the comic book sequence in episode 3 and the watercolor pictures in the flashback with vander. However, because they’re trying to fit so many plot points in 9 episodes they’re using these 2 minute music videos to tell stories and explain events that should’ve been given at least 15-20 minutes of screentime. The music videos are a great way to experiment with new animation styles and set up plots/events, which they did perfectly in season 1. 

S1E5 - “Enemy”

Enemy is played as Vi walks through the bar on her way to confront Sevika. However, we got plenty of context beforehand! We know why Vi is angry with Sevika, how she knew where to even find her, and got a really great fight scene between the two after the music played. The song showed Vi being badass and cool and set the mood for the fight, but wasn’t used to replace the Vi vs Sevika conflict. 

Compare this to something like the "Hellfire" music video in S2E3, where we don’t even see the task force enter Zaun. We should have seen Vi’s internal struggle with joining the Enforcers like she did in episode 1, but instead we can only assume that the event at the memorial service moved her enough for her to abandon her beliefs about the enforcers that she’s held since she was a small child and join them. We don’t get to see how Steb, Loris, Vi, Maddie, and Caitlyn work together and what their dynamics are like. We don’t see what Vi’s reaction is to releasing toxic gas on her own people, or them raiding the Vyx, we only see the aftermath of that and the scene in the arcade. The music video should have been used to set up the events, and then at least a few minutes of the episode should have shown the first raid on Zaun by the task force.

S1E6 - “Guns for Hire”

This is one of my favorite parts of season 1. The entire episode led up to the huge moment at the end where Jinx lit the flare to try and find her sister and for Piltover to block Zaun citizens out of Piltover. The end scene didn’t need to have dialogue or be drawn out because it was already explained for the entire episode. The music served its purpose by making us feel emotional and setting the next episodes. The same goes for “What Could Have Been” at the end of episode 9. I feel the same way about Woodkid’s other song, “To Ashes and Blood” in S2E3. The whole episode led up to that moment, so I think it was fine to have a music sequence as the final battle played out. 

S1E7 - “Misfit Toys”

This is the most “official” music video in season 1; the others are more so sequences with music played overtop of them instead of dialogue. The music video sets us up with information that we should know about the firelights BEFORE officially meeting them. We learn from the lyrics and the video that they are a group of Zaunites that are working to stop Silco and provide people a safe place to get away from Silco’s shimmer-ravaged city. It’s also just a great song and an incredible music video with a unique style. However, this isn’t ALL that we see of the Firelights. It’s used as a supplement, not a replacement, to their story. At least 1/3rd of episode 7 is about the Firelights, Ekko, and their relationship with Silco’s Zaun and Piltover, allowing for the audience to sympathize and connect with them further. 

This episode also features “Dynasties and Dystopia,” another great music video sequence. I love that it switches between Jinx and Ekko currently and as friends. It expands on their history and draws attention that these two used to be close friends, but are now trying to fight to the death. It works, in my opinion, because we already knew that they were friends, as this was established in the first three episodes of the show. The music video added to our knowledge, but wasn’t the first time we learned that they were friends. 

S2E1 - “I Can’t Hear It Now”

This one was so beautiful and made me sob the first time I watched it. The end of episode nine and the first parts of this episode prepared us for Cassandra’s death, and the funeral serves to show us Caitlyn’s reaction to it. It’s absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful; I wouldn’t change a single thing about this scene. 

S2E2 - “Sucker” 

I LOVE this song and I really like the music video that goes along with it. HOWEVER, the music video should have played at the beginning of the episode to remind the audience of the turf wars between the chem barons, and then at least half of the episode should have expanded on those conflicts. Instead we just got the two scenes with Smeech, who died almost immediately after. We never get to see Margot or Chross again, despite the fact that they are almost certainly still fighting. What was the result of that? We see the displaced people coming to Zauna and later Viktor’s camp, but why didn’t we get to see any of the political struggles between them (or any of the chem barons before their deaths)? We don’t get to learn about their organizations, we don’t see more of their personalities, we don’t see them fight outside of the music video, nothing. Maybe I’m just biased because I’ve loved the chem barons since their brief appearance in season 1, but the only reason I wasn’t upset about their small amount of screen time in season 1 was because I was expecting them to play a huge role in season 2. 

I loved the “Renegade” sequence, that was really fun and I don’t have anything negative to say about it other than that I wish my best friend Smeech didn’t get killed. 

S2E6 -"Remember Me"

I actually like this one! Putting aside the flaws with this plotpoint bc that’s not what this post is about, I actually think this one was well incorporated. We already knew some background about Vander and Silco’s relationship from season one, so this wasn’t sprung upon us randomly, and we even got a decently long flashback scene between the two. The music video was used to show a bit more information that could accurately be portrayed through the watercolor animation and without any dialogue, which I think it did successfully. 

S2E5 - “Cocktail Molotov” 

Again, I love this sequence, the song fits perfectly with the situation and it was exciting to watch. However, instead of playing at the beginning to set up Vi’s new living situation, it was the only part of her pitfighter life that we got to see. This was especially strange to me because of how much Riot hyped up pitfighter Vi before the season dropped; I really thought it would be a major part of the episode. We didn’t get to see a full fight between her and an opponent, we didn’t see any conversations between her and Loris, we didn’t even see how she ended up as a fighter in the first place. It was just “look at how cool she is! Also she’s drunk and sad” but we never got the chance to connect with her and feel what she was going through the way we did in season one when she was experiencing changes and struggles in her life.  

I didn’t cover all the songs bc this post is already really long, but that’s kind of how I’m feeling atm. I’d love to hear you guys’ opinions in the comments/tags!! Again I still love the music videos. I just think the ones in season 1 were better. I really hope I’m not sounding like I hate the show or something. I feel like a lot of my recent posts have been super negative 😭 I still love the show, I just have more criticisms with this season than I did for season 1, as I think a lot of people do.

[antispopausandstuff]

What do you think about people comparing catra to Caitlyn from arcane

ah, i had a feeling i'd be asked about something along these lines.

okay, so, just to get this out of the way:

i'm aware that Arcane s2 has very polarizing opinions, points of views, and thoughts from the community, and, provided it's nothing extreme, they're all valid. though my words are largely subjective, i want to apply as much objectivity as possible to create a better picture, rather than complete bias with no desire for discussion.

s2, in my opinion, wasn't as well-written as it could've been. i don't hate it, but i would've made different writing choices for the characters, their arcs, etc., and i feel the ending was lackluster as a result of lack of closure. this includes Jinx's own ending, Isha, Vi's cycle of self-destruct and complicated family, and how i feel there was not enough screentime for the plots and characters given, especially Ekko, Mel, Kino, and Ambessa. and i do feel like the writing choices negatively affected Caitlyn's character, as well, even if i do understand and sympathize with her as a person.

objectively speaking, Caitlyn's dictatorship ( i believe that's what it is, iirc ) was more on-screen than Catra's, but Catra's crimes was heavier, quantity wise, including universal genocide.

because of SPOP's disregard for "show, don't tell", amongst several other factors ( Catra being a creator's pet being the main one ), there is little to no actual weight to her actions, even with the main cast. if there is consequences, it's either more personal than it should be, her mental breakdowns or Horde Prime chipping her, or fleeting, the destruction of Salineas. this is likely why people don't care much for Catra's actions, because there's no legitimate consequences that aren't just her being sad // distressed.

but, while not the best, Arcane writers take into consideration the impact of and to the people. Caitlyn's decisions did have consequences, and it affected more than just her. it changed Zaun, and with Silco and Jinx's absence, the people were anxious and needing a beacon in order to feel safe and empowered.

however, i don't think it's as simple as comparing Caitlyn to Catra.

in the eyes of the people, it wouldn't matter, obviously. as a result of taking her grief and thirst for vengeance out on them, the people of Zaun felt even more unsafe when they were already suffering.

but to us, as the audience, we can empathize with grief blinding us and leading us to making poor decisions that end up being detrimental to our and everyone else's health. keyword: empathize.

Caitlyn still hurt people. there is no denying that. i am simply saying that we can understand where she was coming from and that her grief was taken advantage of by Ambessa.

to their world, it's black and white. people suffer and // or die at the hands of someone in power.

to us, it's more or less than that.

still wanting to remain as objective i can be, i will say Caitlyn's are far easier to remember and hold against her, and rightfully so. but i believe that Catra's are worse and should've been displayed as worse, rather than stated or turned around to be a way for us to feel bad for her own downfalls.

now, let's move onto Caitlyn and Vi // Catra and Adora.

like with the season, i prefer s1 CaitVi over s2.

for me, the divide and conflict felt too similar to how their relationship originally started out and was too repetitive. it felt like the writers wanted another reason for them to break apart, when there was a lot of time spent to them forming together.

but i think CaitVi has more room to grow than C // A ever really did.

for one, Caitlyn and Vi have cared for each other more than they've hurt each other. even when they were at odds in s1, there was no point in the story where they left one or the other to die. if something bad happened, it was by circumstance, not by choice.

but Catra had always hurt Adora more than she cared for her. from physically harming her to degrading her, engaging in extreme sadism, and nearly killing her, purposefully, on multiple occasions, there's no actual evidence that Catra deeply cares for Adora, or that she cared to begin with.

for another, Caitlyn had more reason than Catra. Catra was given multiple chances to make better choices, but she never did and it was intentional and out of spite.

what was Caitlyn going to do with the fact her mother was killed, that her girlfriend's sister was the murderer, and that her girlfriend stopped her from doing from killing the culprit because she thought she'd kill a kid instead?

of course, it was highly likely that she would've killed Isha. again, blinded by grief. but Caitlyn didn't think that way. in her mind, she has more evidence of being an excellent shot than not, so, obviously, the possibility of her killing the child was 0, right?

( and i don't think Caitlyn cheated on Vi with Maddie. i read the end of their argument as a break-up, especially because Vi disappeared. )

and, for one last thing, even when she knew Vi didn't trust her and kept fighting with her, Caitlyn still tried to help.

overall, i think CaitVi did have a... meh(?) ending, but i still prefer them over C // A. if nothing else, for the foundation.

i don't think Caitlyn and Catra are the same. i just think the Arcane writers had more respect for their audience than SPOP did.

[multifandom-nerds-blog]

Just watched Act 2.

I am not okay.

In episode 4 I was like: Man the fanfiction writers where right about Caitlyn and Maddie, lol. And again I'm confused by how much time exactly passed between act 1 and 2. A month? Two? JUST GIVE ME ONE LINE SAYING IT! Also Sevika trying to rally Jinxes and fireflights together with Jinx not wanting to, awesome. Generally Isha and Jinx together are just adorable.

Episode 5: EMO VI. Also the dude (Loris) being at her side until Vi pushes him away. Then Jinx picking up Vi to look for Vander AND THE FLASHBACK OF VANDER WITH SILCO AND THE MOM!!!! And then I was just like, ok, so in the unexplained timespan Salo went down all the way to Victor, got healed, and became his helper and went to get more Hexgems. Accidentally freeing Jayce from wherever he was inside the Arcane just to get smushed with his hammer. Like, okay he was an annoying councilor, but give him some rest he was just on a quest for your jesus boyfriend. (WHERE'S OUR BOY EKKO AND HEIMERDINGER????)

And then we got ep 6: VIKTOR WITH HIS LONG HAIR! AND HE'S EVEN MORE JESUS NOW!!! AND HE'S STILL WEARING THE BLANKET JAYCE GAVE HIM!!!! Also Jinx calling him a fortune cookie, lmao. And again I'm not sure how long they were down there, but it looked like they got quite comfortable. Having fresh water and an abundance of fruit must be great for them. Except Ambessa has to screw it up of course. Also Singed (his reaction to Viktor is just advising him on his cult, lol), but mostly Ambessa. And Cait still got (some) morals left! And she teams up with VI, yay!

JAYCE WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? What happened to you inside the Arcane??? And Omg, is the screw that Victor has with him the one from season 1 act 1 or is that just me?

NOT ISHA! NOT THE POWDER - ISHA PARALLELS. Let them live a peaceful live, eating fruits, healing Vanders mind and Jinx calling Viktor a fortune cookie.

Please tell me Viktors mind is still in the Arcane or some shit. I cannot deal with this. This was NOT enough screentime. I can not live with only two Viktor episodey.

Anyway. My new favorite boy Steb wasn't there. A shame. I'm dissapointed. Where's our fish boy.

[arcane-ish]

Arcane season 2 - Act 2 Review

through most of the act my feeling was that the pacing was off.

I just hate all the spacy, trippy stuff and it really ruins my enjoyment of the episodes.

Not really enjoying design for Warwick much, I want my fluffy furry Warwick. I also think the spooky horror stuff could be way spookier and more effective.

Ambessa isn't bad but she just isn't that interesting and effective. I think she just doesn't do enough interesting evil stuff compared to Silco.

However, enough meaningful emotional stuff happened in episode 6 to tide over a lot.

I don't buy that Warwick is dead. His whole point is that he has healing factor.

Caitlyn and Vi work really well together. After act 1 I was thinking about posting how the main thing that is missing for me between Vi and Caitlyn as a couple (at least compared to their League counterparts) is a sense of fun and raport. They got that back in episode 6.

Vi versus Ambessa was really fun.

I'm sorry Jayce and Viktor fans, I just like Jayce too little to be at all invested in this storyline. Good for Skye getting screentime I guess. Seriously, I would have gladly deleted that entire storyline fro the show. Just have Jayce, Viktor and Mel survive the explosion and then go off on a spa vaaction all season (sorry Mel fans). I would have gladly swapped all of that for Ekko and Heimer screentime.

Vikto and Singed got the most meaningful discussion on opposing philosophies.

It amuses me that they gave Caitlyn a dedicated training montage with Ambessa just to explain how Caitlyn could hold her own against Vi even though she's generally ranged.

I like Zaun going collectively "I am Spartacus" over Jinx.

I think Isha impersonating Jinx and doing an attack thing is kind of stupid. She is cute enough that she doesn't feel too excessively like a self insert and the way Jinx and Sevika react to her is gold. However, she still feels super contrived.

I'm kind of surprised by the relative friendliness of Singed vis a vis Vander and I was almost relieved when they went to him wanting to sacrifice Vander again in the Viktor camp. Ah, that's my unscupulous evil scientist, just the way I like him.

The Mylo and Claggor ereasure is really sad and I'm not even one of the people who particularly cares about them.

So... Vander and Silco flashbacks. One of the main things I wanted out of season 2. Am I satisfied.

1.) I'm glad that despite what is being said it didn't feel like a cheesy love triangle to me (my nightmare was that they would do Vander x Grayson).

2.) That said, my best case scenario, my biggest wish was actually for the fallout between Vander and Silco to actually be about politics and for us to get to actually let them voice their politics disagreements in an argument. (again more like the discussion between Singed and Viktor).

I like that it didn't violate my headcanons of them too much, however it didn't trigger my meaty thinky thoughts particularly about the political stuff either.

The thing that triggers my brain the most is actually their secret hideout, and it's about half !!!!!!!(/)§/$IHIUAHSIU!!!????"!! and half I'm not sure this makes sense.

How is that thing still preserved so pristinely? How come Silco never went there? I have to many questions!!!! And escaped Warwick went to that place and scratched on the door :( :( :( :(

I feel like I want to point out that Vander thought of Silco even before thinking of the girls (right after the monkey that was their undoing).

I wish we would have gotten to see the number on Silco's miner's badge just to see if his number is right after Vander's number to indicate that they joined at the same time if they are apart.

Can we get Ekko to do that particular time rewind that Jinx is talking about?

[kyruiz]

okay i need to talk about arcane season 2

a lot of thoughts and criticisms, mainly about the way stuff was written. i heard someone (i think it was tbskyen?) say that arcane is a 10/10 show, but with a few flaws that make it feel like a 7/10 because of the quality in all other areas, and i couldnt agree more, especially in regards to season 2

elaborations and my ramblings below the cut!

going to start with isha, because i have the most thoughts about her ;

i feel like she wasnt a character beyond her ties to jinx. the fact she doesn’t speak only exemplifies this. arcane usually does SUCH a good job of creating deep and compelling side characters ; marcus or grayson, for example. but isha lacks character or motivation without jinx. her life is defined by jinx and ultimately, i wasnt all that sad about her death, because, well… she felt like a tool for jinx’s development, and it didnt even feel satisfying? like… what came of isha’s death? there is nothing shown abt grieving her, either. shes not mentioned again, to my recollection. what was the point? what did isha fufill that say, sevika couldn’t have? it bothers me a lot, to have her there just to kill her off. iirc the only bits showing she was missed were decor jinx made on that air balloon device in ep 3

maddie’s character was the same for me ; i was so ready to be compelled by another marcus adjacent character, but… her motivations arent even shown, and she’s just kind of… flat? what did ambessa tempt her with? a lot left unanswered, and i feel she could have been a much better character, representing more of that acab theming. im insanely compelled by what bits we did get w her, but i wish there was more

im similarly bothered by the lack of vi development and screentime. for a character that was so prominent and a main character in season 1 she feels kind of sidelined. i wanted to see a bit more of her! it feels so awful she was sidelined, like, this whole season!

and on that same lacking screentime issue i feel the final episode needed more time. i feel like everything i have complains with stems from this issue, its such a glaring flaw. i feel like a lot was done with the time allowed but im left wanting so much more and not in a good way.

more that relates to the lack of time is how piltovers oppression of zaun isnt. acknowledged, or fixed. of course i wouldnt expect the issue to be dismantled fully in the show, but its hardly brushed on in act 3, it feels like? despite so much buildup over the rest of the show, ESPECIALLY with vi. vi is so set up to conquer this herself in season 2, and becoming an enforcer couldve been a great chance for that (for her to realize the DEPTHS of corruption, to renounce being an enforcer, to fight back herself) but. augh. i wish more was done with her. i wish she got to be more of a protector </3

and SEVIKA!!! she got NO LINES in act 3… sevika my girl :( her being on the council feels so… unsatisfying. she’s a character whos always backed the idea more than the person, always more of a follower than a leader, it does not feel… satisfying? for her to be in a position like that, to me. she executes orders and follows the idea, she is not “in charge” herself. she even followed jinx’s lead because jinx had actually stirred the uprising sevika wanted. if this was the intended route i wished we could’ve seen more about why

not to be totally negative; i love what was done with jayce and viktor, vander, and i loved ekkos moments in the show too. heimerdinger my beloved as well, and cait… cait had some real good moments, i am compelled by her. mel and ambessa, too; i’ve always loved mel, and i loved the direction with her and ambessa here, it felt satisfying and like a setup to see more of mel in the future, which im excited for on top of swain reference. and arcane is a masterful show all around ; the small references, the animation, the subtlety. gorgeous show, and i still love it, and these gripes wont stop my enjoyment, but… augh. all of this boils down to a lack of time in the final act, though specific issues like vi’s lack of screentime go a bit deeper i think

[space-blue]

What do you think about Arcane's politics in general? Do you feel like it pulled its punches in depicting the council's cruelty against the undercity? Or that there was an imbalance in how topsiders' cruelty vs zaunites' cruelty were portrayed? Like, on one hand, they do explicitly show enforcers massacring rebels and abusing undercity citizens on orders from the council. Silco also mentions that topside had zaunites working in toxic mines with unbreathable air that literally clogged their throats, and apparently they were explicitly restricted from using the hexgates (as Silco had to demand it in a deal with Jayce) which is another way to keep them down.

But then we also get these moments where it feels like they pulled back a bit, such as dialogue that portrays topside's crimes as just "neglect" and "ignorance" instead of like. Active and malicious steps taken to brutally oppress people and carefully maintain that oppression. Understandably more screentime was given to characters like Heimerdinger and Jayce compared to other councillors, as they are game champions. But then we have this imbalance where most major topside characters are those who just "didn't know" and "weren't aware about how bad the oppression was", they simply needed to go down there and open their eyes and now they're graciously trying to do good.

Which is all well and good, but... what of the councillors who KNEW of the horrible conditions of zaun as they themselves worked to create them? All the oppressive legislation had to come from somewhere and someone right? The horrible mines Vander and Silco's generation endured, laws restricting them from the same economic privileges topside gets, and of course the murder of zaunites by enforcers, ordered directly by councillors. The last one in particular is strangely brushed under the rug in pivotal moments, like Vi entering a Councillor's home and just? Laying in bed? No disgust or anger that she's in the home of the same people who ordered her parents to be killed? She IS aware that enforcers' violence is sanctioned by the council right? As well as Ekko inviting Heimerdinger, the ex-ruler of the city, into his secret safe haven, no animosity at all, even though there was plenty aimed at Caitlyn.

I can understand they wanted an approach of every main character having shades of gray, and giving attention to councillors who intentionally took action to oppress zaun would cut into valuable screentime, and those straight up evil people are simply not the type of characters Arcane is interested in exploring. But maybe they still could have had zaunites react a bit more realistically towards these councillors, so it doesn't suddenly feel like they pulled their punches.

What are your thoughts on this?

Thank you Anon! First off I must say this is a fantastic ask, and I think you and I see eye to eye on most of this. Sorry for the delayed response, I didn't often have enough spoons to finish the reply.

I'm going to answer this as someone who has read the wiki broadly and knows almost nothing about the game lore and other game-only characters.

I think everything is Piltover's fault.

You have it correct in your depiction of the Zaun/Piltover divide, but I think you can go even further. Arcane is a story of intergenerational trauma, how it gets passed down like a curse... But this trauma is born from the violence of their situation, and that is entirely created by Piltover's oppression of Zaun.

The furthest back we see for our characters is Vander drowning Silco in the Pilt, full of chemicals that leave him disabled and disfigured. We know from dialogue and the show events that they were oppressed then, that they fought for liberation, and that Vander betrayed Silco and ended up having some (rather vague) power in Zaun.

The city is poluted. The people are struggling to rebel and gain independence... And our desperate characters turn violently on each other, setting the stage for the decades to come, with more death, more violence, more desperation.

That entire set up is due to Zaun being under the boot of Piltover. If Zaun were an independent nation, they could blame themselves for (most) of it. But they are a pretty dire depiction of colonialism instead. If Zaun was doing as well as Piltover, Silco would be a fine businessman, friendly, driven, maybe smitten with the gentle barman Vander, who only punches in his boxing classes.

The entire show depends on Piltover being the worst, and keeping Zaunites' heads under water.

They have deals to keep Zaunites away from Piltover, with Vander enforcing it. They have a complete hold on commerce with the bridges as chokepoints. They export all their polluting industry there. Clearly they control the wages, and the very solid glass ceiling of social advancement. Viktor, after all, is terribly aware that he'll never go further unless he breaks the rules. His Zaunite origins are a shackle.

I personally was very impressed with the show for going that way. But You got it. I think they wanted to have their cake and eat it. They made Piltover's oppression real and awful... I mean that shot of them ordering the city be choked further? Despite the Sheriff's protests?

And sure, Heimerdinger isn't in that picture, but he can't always be absent from Council asshole moments, since he's been on the Council from its inception.

In my humble opinion Heimerdinger is the biggest asshole of Arcane. Sits on the Council while it destroys Zaun for profit, ignores the political situation in favour of being a clueless arts and science enjoyer, out of touch with 99% of his constituents as he fails to perceive they live drastically different lives from him (or fails to understand why that matters, leading to Viktor's radicalization and Jayce's takeover).

But worst of all he crosses the river, realises how bad things are (probably has no idea too, because a trip to the seedy part of town would not reveal the depth of destitution and systematic abuse rampant there), and thinks he's 'not welcome' because his attempt at "fixing things" aren't welcomed. BRO, the only thing you tried to fix was making a girl smile with a TOUPEE MAGIC TRICK.

He's detatched from reality. He IMMEDIATELY gives up. It made me incredibly mad that Ekko was stripped of his identity and class consciousness to suck on his furry cock for The Joy Of Science. Like hell no. Heimerdinger needs to be put in a burlap bag and drowned in the Pilt for centuries of crime against humanity.

So yeah, they wanted to show a place in deep trouble due to oppression, but they also wanted some of the oppressors to be UwU blorbos who don't deserve hate because they try so hard and they actually have a kind heart... Just like with Cait and Vi's relationship, I feel like it's due to rushing things. The show is nearly perfect, but it sure could have used an extra episode, or since it already has a second season greenlit, could have kept councillors as Antagonists for longer. We understand asshole rich people. We could understand Heimer with his head in the sand and disconection to mortals. We could forgive a lot if they went through a proper arc. But making toupees and gushing about science with Ekko isn't character development.

I feel like the Firelights were shoehorned not for complexity or to show a divided Zaun, but to give the viewers 'good Zaunites' to root for, so they could switch Silco into a villain.

Sadly anyone with critical thinking will realise that Silco is the one who obtained freedom for Zaun (no matter if he squanders it as he dies), and the one who has been working hard to make it a richer place. It's not just the chembarons. Like the episode after the timeskip literally shows us a montage of this new Zaun. And sure shimmer is a part of it, but shimmer is also shown to be a GOOD thing in places, a FUN one in others, and it's far from being the only weird/amoral thing Zaunites use or indulge in. Silco isn't a morally good guy, but his goals are good for the whole of Zaun, and he's the one who gets what he wants in the end and could have ended the oppression he dedicated his entire life to fighting.

Meanwhile the Firelights are a haven against shimmer, but they're a ONE tree house worth of people. They have no plan for Zaun. They actively attack and hinder the one guy who'll ultimately win THEIR OWN FREEDOM. Yeah, it's divided, and that's great! I love all of it, except for shimmer's vagueness. But where the show fails, I think, is in trying to tell us that this is Good. That the Firelights are the morally Good Zaunites. Waiting in a treehouse, being an insular group that fights another gang to the death, being differentiated only in that they don't partake in the local drug... Is Good.

While making sacrifices, bad deals, using drug money, is Bad. Even if it came with political unity, and was the group that got the results, it's Bad.

They made a perfectly grey and subtle setup, and then instead of going 'there are many grey, even dark ways to be a hero for your people' — looking at both Silco and Ekko — they went white/black and 'also the freedom fighter is a bad guy, not a complex guy'.

Ekko doesn't have plans to free Zaunites. He thinks killing Silco will kill Shimmer, which is the reasoning of a child. If Silco dies, if all of Silco's gang dies, someone else will step in and pick up shimmer production. It's like toothpaste, you don't get to put it back in the tube.

Even if Silco took shimmer with him to the grave, all that Ekko would have achieved would be to leave Zaun at the mercy of power hungry chembarons, ready to split up again and enter a power struggle that would harm thousands of Zaunites under their rule.

Would Ekko care? Yes, I guess he would, but he won't be able to put all these poor Zaunites into cute tree houses, so fuck them I guess.

More importantly, would Ekko ever come to realise that killing Silco was a mistake? I don't think so, because Ekko got his brains scooped out to love on Heimerdinger. He lets a Councillor's daughter lecture him about violence, a day after 5 of his people were killed by Jinx.

Ekko is one of those characters that looks cool if you don't scratch the surface, but didn't have a real arc or a real character consistency. Unless we're truly to believe he's politically dumb enough to think Silco is a bigger evil than Heimerdinger and that life in Zaun is miserable because of Silco and not because of hundreds of years of oppression overseen by Heimer.

And that's indeed what we see, so oopsies I guess.

If Zaunites reacted more realistically to Councillors, Heimer would get a dressing down at best, and Cait would have an incredibly better arc with Vi, but the show would need one more episode at best, and more uncertain Season 1 endings for the Pilties.

I've rambled a lot and not sure I've really made a coherent answer... But this is what you get x'D sorry

[yettofindaname]

This is a quick reflection on the state of animated shows, centered on arcane - spoilers for S2.

So when me and my gf finished Arcane S02E06, we saw Isha sacrificing herself to save her new found family, and the scene is cut throughout by scenes of her and Jinx having cool and loving moments, and really grounds how much the two matter to each other - and like everything arcane, is astoundingly rendered in a beautiful painterly style, that brings the child-like wonder of Isha's POV even harder on the viewer - 10/10 no notes.

But when the episode was over, I got this feeling: "Why didn't we viewers got to see these scenes on the show itself? Why see this only as a 'emotional gut punch'?" and sure, it's masterful storytelling, it's chekhovian in a 'no wasting screentime' way, but also - it would be nice to have some more Isha&Jinx goofing around. Actually it would be cooler to have more goofing around by everyone, imo.

And so my mind went to ATLA: a show that in my mind gave everyone plenty of time to goof around, there was at least one goofer-arounder per episode, if memory serves. So now a quick napkin math:

average ATLA episode length minus opening and credits ≈ 19 minutes, give or take

total ep number ≈ 61 episodes

avatar cast per season ≈ 7.5 (main cast + iroh and zuko + rotating background chars [eg suki, azula])

Giving an Average Character Development Time (ACDT, just made it up) by (ep length*ep total count)/cast we get an Avatar ACDT of 154 minutes/character.

Now lets do arcane:

arcane runtime minus opening and credits ≈ 658 minutes (total episode length sum [739] - 18*1.5 minute opening per ep - 18*3 minutes credits per ep)

arcane cast per season ≈ 9.5 (jinx, ekko, vi, cait, jayce, victor, mel, silco/vander/ambessa [counting as one, as they don't overlap much] + 1.5 rotating background chars [eg Heimerdinger, Singed, Isha])

Arcane's ACDT is ≈ 70 minutes/character- this is less than half the time ATLA spends with it's characters.

Anyway, i think the conclusion for all this math overview is not to bash on arcane, but more of a reflection of the 'evolutionary pressures' of animated shows along the way: Netflix these days seems unable to greenlight 90% of second seasons for their in-house shows, and the in-house shows themselves are - being unkind - stunted, with an allowance of 8 or 9 episodes.

And as a consumer, this sucks! I want my animations to be longer, the characters to have time to goof around! But as in nature, life finds a way. It is rare, but some shows survive those shitty restrictions, and some even begin to thrive, adapted to their environment. Arcane is one of those rare shows who made it alive.

This runtime restriction is a huge shot in the foot for netflix, long term. The current runtime + low chances of renewal for second seasons makes the potential audience not care for the show in general and the cast of the show specifically. You can't have 'the next ATLA' if you don't give the show it's time under the sun. Arcane breaks this barrier because of the amazing quality and refinement, but the pre-existing fanbase of the largest e-sport game in the world should not be understated, specially in a world were success is given by social media engagement and whatnot. Next iterations of the formula must be worldwide loved IPs, or they will crash and burn on netflix's ecosystem.

[theskyexists]

Arcane act 2

Just watched ep five of arcane if I'd been Vi and Jinx had said all that shit to me I would have tried to actually kill her again or simply walked away. And the best vi could come up with is: you're bad at close combat

Lol

Why does Vi always have to be the useless softie. Her sister ruined her life three times in a row and now she's even gonna take the sass? Couldn't have gone: Oh yeah, what a hero, ruining my life for the fucking third time. What a hero, killing people for fuckin Silco, for nothing, just cos you felt like it. Oh so you broke out half of Stillwater but never me??? Huh?? Never even thought I might be alive and rotting in some cell??

Vi has so many grievances but she never confronts jinx about them.

She even believed Jinx about the beast attacking her being Vander. It is clearly a deliberate character choice. I mean, she fell in love with A COP!!! After getting beat up by them half her life. But that was played very delicately and built up very carefully and realistically. But I don't find it a satisfying character choice when it comes to jinx. She's always just the punching bag. Always too little, too late, always just taking it, always made powerless and ineffective

Jinx (though jinx is dead?) just taking the choking and Vi not going through with it sets the stage for the rest of the episode (they don't want to kill each other), allows them to redo the high stakes for real fight as a slap fight between now three sisters. But damn. Like I said. If Jinx had mocked me for being depressed as fuck because I lost my girlfriend because SHE'D KILLED HER FUCKING MOTHER AND RUINED EVERYTHING yeah. It would not have gone that way

Anyway I hoped they'd just destroy Stillwater, that place obviously should be exploded.

The irony of Ambessa and Caitlyn throwing a whole bunch of peaceful protestors into prison (though, @ sevika, what the FUCK is 'taking a stand'? What is the plan here? Attack piltover, again??) without trial and Caitlyn specifically threatening Singed with prison conditions that are completely inhumane when Vi suffered a decade in that place.. no trial, no lawyer either

I quite liked Maddie in this. Why were people mad. She actually seems to be a voice of reason and peace in Caitlyn's ear

But also.

Did Jayce just freakin kill Salo? ?????????

I see that the whole Medarda family is stupidly hot. I don't understand what's going on with that family history though what's with the extra kid and the irrelevant puzzle. Wish Mel had more screentime

Where's ekko. .... :(

Gorgeous animation. Like Jinx mellowing out really. Still love the music video intro bits.

Loved Caitlyn's bits. The loose hair, the cape, how is she SO ATTRACTIVE. The incredible sharp investigative eye. The bit where she still seemed to care about there having to be a reason for arrest at the start of the episode.

Ambessa's lioness mask is so cool.

[fangirling-heart]

Hey! For the character ask game, how about Ekko?

Hello hello!!! :)

How I feel about this character

I. Love. This. Boy!!! Ekko is just so so great! I mean, he sees his whole world falling apart at like 10 years old and instantly tries to save anything and anyone he can, creating a whole community in the process. And he cares about this community and his city as a whole so much.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Timebomb! Their dynamic is so interesting and it's really a shame that they don't have that much screentime together (I wish we could've seen that flashback with Ekko trying to save Jinx). Hope that'll change in act 3.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Probably him and Heimerdinger. I love all their interactions, few as they were, and I think each of them is what the other needs in his life. For Ekko, Heimerdinger is a mentor and guide, so he doesn't have take on the leadership responsibility on his own. And for Heimerdinger, Ekko is someone he can connect with, similarly to how he did with Jayce and Viktor, but also a way to reconnect with humanity and the world around him.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I'm not sure I have one.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

For one, I would like him to have more screentime in general, by which I mean, he better be in all act 3 episodes. Also I want to see him have more interactions with other characters, namely Vi and (especially) Jinx. Also also, I'm not sure if it will happen, but I would like to see him have a moment of vulnerability and/or talk about his trauma and baggage because he has a lot of those as well.

[mollysunder]

There's a lot of unspoken history that ties most of these characters together in a way they're not aware of and so it feels practically intentional that there'd be something more substantive for these characters to explore together.

For me, it wasn't even about their intellect exactly, because Zaun and Piltover is filled with all kinds of geniuses. I was intrigued by how similar Jinx and Viktor were in terms of motivations, and insecurities, but they were just different enough to not be the exact same and in fact diverge in a way that made their personalities compatible.

At least Jinx could bring out Viktor's sass, which I want to believe could be plot relevant. It's kind of wild how so many other dynamics were given more screentime, like Jayce and Ekko, Ekko and Heimerdinger, Viktor and Warwick, and Ambessa and Salo.

I'm glad Viktor and Jinx met but I wish they would have met in their prime. Viktor's in his Jesus arc he's not having any fun or building anything and jinx is depressed so she's the same why. The reason people wanted these characters to interact was because of their shared genius. There's only three people who can crack hextech: Jayce, Viktor, and Jinx. Jinx is the only zaunite who's intellect is comparable to Viktor's. Viktor literally complimented her bomb design. Jinx is literally the reason why Viktor is part hexcore now.

[arcane-ish]

2 x 09

This is how I imagine the Ekko and Jinx scene continuing.

Jinx sees the Monkeys within the Z-Drive: okay, that's something weird.

Immediately deduces that the friend Ekko is talking about must be herself.

Jinx: Okay, Boy Savior spit it out, what happened?

Ekko tells her all About the parallel universe "Can you believe Vander and Silco were Dating?"

Jinx: "Pshaw! I Always knew."

They fall quiet

Jinx: So, you are saying I was nice in that universe?

*

Where the fuck does Ambessa have all these ships from? *

Sigh, they had to have Vi put on an enforcer uniform rather than have her fighting as a Zaunite. Like I get that it's kind of more appropriate and stuff, since she really belongs with them more at this point. But still, found the time to find the uniform.

* Piltover: Hextex is dangerous and the cause of all problems!

Also Piltover: Let's use a hextech cannon in battle! * Ambessa Looks cool in battle.

Hey Cait, if Ambessa has anti magic immunity, how About switching to a normal gun? Just an idea?

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Cait Looks cool fighting the Grey.

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I feel Nothing about Lorris dying and Maddie being a traitor.

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Squee, Mel to the rescue.

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Squee, Timebomb battle teamup * Sevika finally gets the fight she Always wanted, except against the wrong enemy.

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I love Mel, it's just so her that she still tries talking and negotiation. That said I don't care for her X-men style Outfit. * Fuck Viktor. Fuck Jayce. And every second on screentime that is wasted on them.

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In fact fuck everybody's super hero style end fight bullshit.

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The only good parts of the end fight were Cait and Mel versus Ambessa and Ekko's bit.

The whole Warwick stuff felt tacked on and pointless.

I'm sorry, I maintain my utter hate for the Viktor and Jayce storyline. They really should just have been deleted from Season 2 and it should just have been our gals and guys versus Ambessa. And no amount of sappy Music and visuals are gonna Sway me from thinking that the existance of their storyline is a mistake.