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crescentmoonrider · 2 months ago

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another rewrite, except longer

Well, Arcane season 2 was certainly. Something

You can really see that the team was under pressure to put out a lot of things, and fast. Like, without mentioning how crammed this season was or the themes that were dropped, there was a shocking amount of continuity and characterization errors that should and would have been caught during script editing if the team was allowed more time. For one single example : the timeline of Vander and Silco’s falling out was completely butchered to the point it makes zero sense if we take the information from season 1 and 2 together. This should have been fixed during editing, and the fact it wasn’t reveals some deep issues with production

(My guess is that Riot pushed a release date for commercial tie-in reasons, and the one place the team could really cut corners was during writing, since animation is a slow process and Fortiche would depend on the scripts (or a rough outline at first) to get to work, and the music collaborations also require time + supplementary animation that all depends on the script to just. Exist. And Riot can more easily pressure its in-house teams than music producers and artists independent from the company. But that’s just a personal guess, I don’t actually know anything about the behind the scenes here)

Honestly I’ve been kind of simmering in the disappointment and wasted potential this whole week, and it’s been somewhat of an issue to focus on other stuff, so here’s what I’m going to do : I’m going to explain how I would rewrite this season to try and make it, if not good, then at least coherent with itself and with the themes developed in season 1. And then I’m never going to write anything else about this show again

Deal ?

Alright, let’s do this. Some ground rules first :

we’re working with just the one three-act season 2. Riot wants to move on to greener pastures to introduce more champions and skins, and we’re not winning against the corporate overlords. No added episodes, no season 3 to help pace things better. Welcome to hell

most of the issues I have with season 2 come from the second and third acts, so that’s what I’m going to focus on for the most part

I’m not introducing new characters or locations. Helps that I don’t know anything about League lmao, but more broadly what I mean is like. I’m in the writers room moving post-its on the wall, not writing a 200k fanfiction over like 10 years (real thing I’m currently doing for an A:tlA canon divergence if anyone’s wondering), I don’t have the time, nor the energy honestly, to make sweeping changes and consider their ramifications. We’re keeping things simple, basically

related to the above point, we’re keeping major plot beats. That means Magic Robot Jesus Viktor still happens, as does the Ekko-Heimerdingdong-Jayce dimensional displacement, or the battle against Ambessa’s troops. What I’m going to do is try to make them happen in a more natural, thematically resonant manner. Because I’m convinced it’s possible

Now, having said that, the first order of business for this rewrite (and honestly just, to make this season like. Coherent) is to make space for the plot and the themes. Class warfare and the question of Zaun’s independence were introduced in season 1 and still echo through act 1 and (in one episode) 2 of the second season, and the ending scene makes an attempt to bring them back with Sevika’s seat at the Council, so clearly the goal wasn’t to give that up entirely. Meaning we need to expand on those themes specifically, since familial bonds (the other main Arcane ingredient) are still very much there in the plot with little need to add onto them

Anyway the Black Rose plotline has to go. “But Yumi, didn’t you say you were keeping major plot beats ?” yeah this is the one exception. Look, it just doesn’t cohere. It has no thematic resonance, takes place in a completely different space than the rest of the plot, and basically only involves one single character. It was also the least established plot thread from the first season. Kino died and Ambessa made enemies, and so she wants Hextech. There’s no real need to elaborate on any of this in Arcane specifically. We’re cutting it. Mel can say that she’s going to look into her mother’s enemies/the people who killed her brother in her epilogue or something, and Riot can make a whole spinoff about her quest to find out she’s a mage and still get a shiny new champion out of it, or whatever it is they’re doing with her

Like I said. Idk anything about League. Please don’t tell me anything about League

Cutting out the Black Rose plotline does two things for this rewrite :

it frees up important time that can be spent on elaborating on pre-established themes and plotlines, thus making up for what is in my opinion the weakest and most disappointing aspect of season 2, which is that they completely dropped the ball on class warfare

it frees up Mel’s character

We do need to quickly address the reason Mel survives Jinx’s missile at the start of the season, since she was right in the crosshairs, but that can be done very easily honestly – I may not know shit about League, but I remember the post-season 1 theories, and there were mentions of an in-game item that acts like a magic shield or something ? We’re gonna say she was wearing something of the like, just in case something ever happened. Because she’s been raised in Noxus, by Ambessa, and doesn’t trust that she won’t ever be attacked, even in Piltover. If Ambessa and her guard can have anti-magic runes, Mel can have a force-field

It’s single-use and she only took one of these shields when she was cast off, so no more easy out for her

There’s no need to explain why Jayce barely got a scratch in my opinion, sometimes people are just lucky. It’s not uncommon for survivors of like, car crashes or terror attacks, to just have a light concussion while the guy next to them died. Things happen. Survivor’s guilt is real, and random chance plays a role no matter how much we’d like to think it doesn’t

Anyway back to Mel

Since she isn’t a mage in this rewrite, we’re having her “be the fox” so to speak. She knows Ambessa, knows not to trust her, and does her best to oppose Noxian influence over Piltover as part of the council – however, as we’ve seen happen in episode 1, right now her influence has dwindled, and all she can do is try to limit the damage. This does not get any better when Ambessa gets Caitlyn propelled to the role of puppet dictator and Jayce vanishes

If Mel wants to counter Ambessa’s plans and preserve Piltover from becoming some sort of fucked up military experiment, she cannot do it alone. She needs allies. People she can trust would never agree with Ambessa’s ambitions, and who could both weaken Noxus’ influence and help Mel regain some of her counterbalancing weight – but also, and this is always key to negotiation and alliances, people who could benefit from what Mel has to offer

Her options are limited, but since Ambessa is using the conflict with Zaun as fuel for her campaign, well. If you can’t fight a fire directly, you need to starve it. Mel, through her Zaunite catgirl informant, gets in touch with what undercity “leaders” she can find. Namely Sevika and the Firelights’ lieutenant

We can find an echo of this decision in the discussion between Jayce and Silco in season 1, specifically this line : “I was reminded recently of what brought us together in the first place. The threats beyond our walls.”

Now, obviously her offer for parlay gets rejected at first. Neither Piltover nor Mel (as both a Council member and Noxian) have earned Zaun’s trust at this point

But the situation isn’t getting any better, Ambessa gathers troops to pick up Vanderwick at Viktor’s commune, and Jinx isn’t showing up anywhere to keep morale high and unite Zaun’s people under a strong symbol. Sevika thinks back to Silco leaving to go on a meeting with Jayce and negotiate their independence, and while she’s always preferred to serve the cause by following someone who actually has plans on how to get things done, right now there’s no one like that left. Ekko’s second looks at the tree’s leaves falling and realizes that they’ll have to make a new place if this one falls apart, and right now there’s nowhere in Zaun that is safe enough for that, no place that is safe for the children here

They already agreed to unite old enemies once before, leaderless goons and Firelights and Jinxers, all under the banner of Zaun. It didn’t work, sure, but they tried. They showed up at the meeting. Sevika called the meeting. The two agree to meet with Mel once, to see what she wants

Ideally we’d have a scene where we contrast the Firelights coming to a communal decision on what to do and their list of demands, with Sevika writing her list on her own while some knuckleheads roughhouse it in the background (maybe Sevika even pulls out the manifesto Silco was writing in the flashback for reference, again as contrast – and continuity – with the Firelights, with the past and present/future of Zaun’s independence movement all tying together here). We’re on a tight schedule though, so maybe part of that scene’s hitting the cutting room floor, idk

Anyway Mel makes a request for peace, to cut the grass under Ambessa’s foot so she has no standing anymore to justify her takeover of Piltover, and Sevika and the Firelight guy make their demands. Independence, amnesty for all Zaunite freedom-fighters rotting in Stillwater, access to trade routes, control over the ventilation system (it’s not independence if someone else controls the air you breathe. Or your water, or your electricity. Free Palestine) etc. We can add more clauses, but those would be the main ones

The meeting would be tense at first, since none of these people really trust each other, but they soon realize they’re all desperate to make things better in some way, so they do shake hands at the end even though no deal has been reached yet. They’re not going to become friends, but they can work together and honestly ? That’s already a lot

The sticking point would be Jinx, of course, but thankfully she’s letting herself get arrested by act 3 so we can leave that aside for now. Sevika and Firelights insist that they don’t give up their own, though. Loyalty is the only thing Zaunites can count on, after all

Now, before moving on to act 3, there’s still a little housekeeping to do

First, we need to fix the fuckiness of the Vander flashbacks and his letter to Silco. Like, the falling out between the two could not have happened after the tragedy at the bridge, for multiple reasons. For one, the Vander drowning Silco in season 1 was shaved clean, while the Vander at the bridge has his full beard on. For two, you’re telling me Vander dropped his gloves and picked up the girls and supposedly brought them home, shaved his beard, then went back up to the Pilt to drown his best friend, in what’s supposed to be horrible grief and anger and not premeditation ? It just doesn’t make sense. Doesn’t compel me either

Anyway, I’m not opposed to Vander writing the letter to Silco after the girls’ mom died, in a “I’ve just lost my other best friend and I’m now realizing I went about everything the wrong fucking way and I’m so sorry” kind of way. So that’s what the letter is now, an apology that’s much too late to fix anything, and an attempt at bridging a gap of many years between two people who used to be comrades

And obviously we’re getting rid of the bit of flashback where it’s implied Silco accidentally killed the girls’ mom with a Molotov because that’s just stupid. We don’t need to know what he and Vander broke up over, but it can’t be something that weakens the themes of police brutality and oppression. And don’t “cycle of violence is also a theme” me, they’re revolutionary leaders, they’ve made mistakes and got their people killed or arrested before. You don’t get called the Hound of the Underground without brutally killing a couple few dudes, and that shit has repercussions

Another point before we move on to act 3 is the question of what the hell Sky is supposed to be. In a show that has always been really good at making clear what is a hallucination and what isn’t, Sky’s existence in Viktor’s mind… perplexes me. I interpreted her presence as a manifestation of his guilt over her death and the wasted potential of her too-short life, and how he now wishes he had like, acknowledged her while she was still by his side and not dust. But other people think she’s been idk, absorbed into the arcane ? And that it was therefore the real Sky hanging out with Viktor

In short, it needs to be clearer what’s going on here, and given the fact that they don’t develop Sky’s character and that her whole tragedy is that her life was cut short so suddenly, I think leaning into the idea of her as a manifestation of guilt and Viktor’s isolation (he knows all of his followers, but is still separate from them both physically and in the fact that they do not know what he’s about, and also he’s just lost all two of his friends) would be interesting

Makes the later “I will miss our conversations” “No, you won’t” line more impactful too, as it would be Viktor’s conscience calling him out on the fact that, like, he never really talked to Sky while she was alive. He is missing the idea of her, and trying to make himself feel better about accidentally murdering her when he is now also actively trying to make himself incapable of feeling regret anymore, and thus incapable of learning from his mistakes the way he did when Sky died

With that said, on to act 3 !

Episode 7 is like, very good already, and the fact that it gets time travel right ? Beautiful. Love to see it. The main thing I would change is that there is no way Ekko would think Vi’s death is the only catalyst for change in this world. Like, the divergence is much older than that – and I’m not just talking about Silco finding the letter, I mean that Zaun is just, actively participating in Piltovian culture and events ? They’re part of the Inventors Contest ?? How the hell did that happen ???

I’m not saying we need a detailed timeline, but simply that someone (Ekko) should really remark on that

Also Silco’s eye should be fucked, maybe even gone, if he didn’t have access to Singed’s help to maintain it. Him becoming “good” should not mean that his disability is prettier to look at, and honestly I hate that ugly disabilities tend to be shorthand for evil characters in media. It’s not unique to Arcane, but it was especially disappointing to see it done to Silco of all characters, when his disability was dealt with so gracefully in season 1

We’ll come back to Jayce’s little dimensional trip later, for now it’s fine

Now, the preparations for the battle against Ambessa’s troops… I mean, first of all no one from Zaun is getting put in an enforcer uniform, like what the fuck ?! But also the plan and the way it’s explained changes – no we need your help to save Piltover, it’s “we need your help to save the world,” with an insistence that it doesn’t change the justified resentment Zaun holds for Piltover, but that this fight is also for the sake of their own survival, as Jayce very clearly saw that everything will be ruined if Viktor reaches his goal. Mel’s talks with Sevika and the Firelights also come into play here, as they can now more easily put conditions on their help, and Mel is more likely to agree to push for Zaun’s interests

Most of the city is still evacuated, no one wants a massacre of civilians, but focusing the fighting solely on the Hexgates is just. Look, Ambessa is an experienced military leader, she knows how to lay a siege and fight against conventional military techniques. So the defence now has two layers, proposed by Mel as she knows to use every advantage she can grab. She is the fox in this rewrite, remember

At the Hexgates, enforcers and Piltovan volunteers will man the cannons and more or less do what they did in canon. The other layer is built on the Mel/Zaun collaboration and guerrilla tactics. The goal is to disrupt Ambessa’s troops and their advance and prevent a frontal clash at the Hexgates as much as possible, as Mel anticipates it would be what Ambessa is expecting and would thus be prepared for. With the help of Mel and her knowledge of Piltover’s streets (and possibly Caitlyn’s map of the ventilation system, and whatever other cool tricks might be built into the city. Inventors made this place, there’s bound to be interesting things going on), Sevika, as well as gang members and Jinxers and the Firelights who agreed to/can fight (children were evacuated) lay traps and plan for ambushes and ways to make as much damage as possible without engaging frontally

Academy members help pitch the Firelights’ hoverboards so they can move about efficiently in Piltover’s lighter air. Weapons are greased and sharpened, explosives raided from Jinx’s place and passed around for the teams that need them. Ekko’s lieutenant passes a screwdriver to Sevika, who makes sure her arm is all ready for combat. Mel enters the room to ask how the preparations are going, and the two Zaunite leaders exchange a nod before Sevika hands Mel a dagger, just in case she finds herself in the line of fire. “Wouldn’t want to lose our one ally topside,” one of them says, and it’s pretty obvious that they agreed to this beforehand. When they all leave the room, Mel stands alone, looking down at the blade in her hands

Now, is a fight on multiple fronts hard to plan for and choreograph? Yes. Good thing I’m not animating any of this !

Notable moments would include Caitlyn leaving her post because she can’t see Maddie where she’s supposed to be, and that’s when she finds Maddie trying to do acts of sabotage. She hesitates, clearly still holding affection for her, but her presence has alerted the Firelights’s current leader, and he flies to take out Maddie right as Maddie notices Caitlyn and prepares to shoot her in turn. Caitlyn thanks him and apologizes for hesitating, he grunts and leaves to take care of more things a little farther away

Caitlyn now being down in the streets, where the guerrilla is going on, leads to her losing an eye while saving a Zaunite, not hesitating this time. Tempted to say she saves Sevika, as they have a conflict-filled history together and it would demonstrate Caitlyn’s growth and her ability to put grudges behind for the greater good (and not just for Vi’s sake as she’s already shown when letting her free Jinx) and mark the start of her efforts to make up for the suffering she’s inflicted on the people of Zaun. We’re not going to see much of these efforts because the series is ending soon, but it’s important to show that the seeds are there for reparations

In any case, Ambessa doesn’t get her cool one-on-two duel with Caitlyn and mage!Mel, since we’re not stopping the fighting this time, and also Mel isn’t a mage. Sevika and the Firelights’ lieutenant two-time her at some point, Sevika gets knocked to the ground, while his ride is destroyed and he is sent flying into a fountain or something. Ambessa prepares to deal the final blow on Sevika, who struggles with the handle of her arm’s wheel of fortune, when someone stabs her from behind. She turns around, striking her assailant with one fist, revealing Mel, who looks up at her mother in grief and pain and horror. Focus on Mel’s eyes (“[…] you weakened me ! I couldn’t stand the look in your eyes when I made the decisions, the necessary decisions to keep us safe !” is the idea) as Ambessa pauses for just a second, distracted. That’s a mistake she can’t take back, even as she raises her weapon again, and the maw of Sevika’s arm bites down on her neck like a wolf taking down a prey, the jackpot smile flashing on her shoulder

She helps Mel (still upset about having stabbed her mom, been hit by her in turn, then watched her die brutally, but trying to hide it) get back up and gives her a pat on the shoulder and a “thanks” while turning away

And that’s when the robots come in and everyone’s mind is slowly taken over

(The fight against Ambessa would have been intercut with Hexgate fighting as Viktor’s cocoon slowly approaches, with the empty cocoon reveal coming only after her defeat)

So now we reach the Jayce and Viktor face-off. And honestly ? I only have like, two changes to make here. I’m fine with it. I think I’ve said it before, but I’m fine with most of this season, just not the way it was executed

Anyway change the first ! Viktor actually corrects Jayce on his motivations as I already went over real quick in this post – it’s not about fixing what Viktor sees as imperfections, it’s about putting an end to all conflict, oppression, class warfare, and the environmental results of all that that made him slowly and painfully die. I also need him to go “My disease ? My disease was not beautiful, Jayce, it destroyed my body from the inside ! I was fine being a cripple* but this pain ? Dying before I could truly help anyone ? That’s not beautiful, that’s just, just… unfair, and cruel, and for what ? So Piltover never has to see its own sewage, or breathe the same air as we do ?” and then from there go on about how the Great Evolution is about changing humanity for the good of everyone, so no one has to suffer unnecessarily from the greed and selfish desires of other people, and to put an end to all inequalities

*Viktor self-identifies as a “poor cripple from the Undercity” in season 1 episode 2 I’m not calling him slurs I just genuinely think that’s how he sees himself

And then, once everything has come clean, Jayce can go like “well obviously society has to change to accommodate people in all their differences, look at all the people fighting to make that happen, look at us and our dreams to better everyone’s lives – making everyone the same will just make you alone and miserable” and show him what alternate!Viktor shared in the dimensional field trip

Which brings us to change the second : make it clear that Viktor is not mister magic man who gave Jayce the runes. Designs don’t match, hands don’t match (mister magic man has hand tattoos, alternate!Victor does not, for instance) – which makes Jayce being able to stop Viktor in his world the product of just dumb luck rather than an experiment from alternate!Viktor or something. The same dumb luck that saved his life in the first episode of the season, the same dumb luck that made it so he was born in Piltover rather than Zaun, the same dumb luck that got Sevika the jackpot in her fight with Ambessa. Jayce asks alternate!Viktor why he gave him the rune and a!Viktor says “it wasn’t me. But I did bring you here, because I saw a possibility for change I haven’t seen in any other world. I don’t know the cause – maybe there isn’t one. Maybe this is a wild rune, a ripple born from inconsequential actions long ago. Maybe it’s simply luck. [flash to the acceleration rune and Ekko and Sevika’s jackpot and Jayce surviving the explosion unscathed at the start and maybe a whole other slew of tiny lucky moments] But you’re the only one who can do it, Jayce. Only you.” And then have them be absorbed into the rune to become an arcane queer singularity together

I’m not necessarily opposed to Zaun having a place in the Council as a first step to independence in the epilogue, but it needs to be half of the Council. One single seat means nothing, we’ve seen loads of decisions be taken with a majority vote rather than unanimity, Zaun having only one seat is a spit in the face of everything they’ve been fighting for, and I can’t imagine any Zaunite actually agreeing to that. Anyway I’d like a big celebration of independence with everyone, but a first step is also okay, it’s not like all plot points all need to be resolved neatly so long as we keep the door open

Maybe have Caitlyn say “you’re not dirt” in the same light tone Vi said she’s the dirt under Caitlyn’s fingers, also. Just a small, loving reassurance during that scene

Also Ekko can not end the series on his own what the hell ? It’s fine if he grieves Jinx and Heimerdinger in quiet solitude, but the rest of the Firelights should come in at the end of the scene to comfort him, because he is the one character in this series who is entirely focused on community, and leaving him on a solitary note feels like a betrayal in my opinion

… and with that, I think we’ve reached the end of this rewrite !

I hope you enjoyed this small vision of what could have been, I’m completely winded now and I think my anger has run its course. I’m done writing about this show now. Might rewatch season 1 again soon though, I miss Silco

#arcane #arcane season 2 #arcane s2 #arcane spoilers #yumi writes #mel medarda #sevika #viktor arcane #jayce talis #okay hopefully now i can sleep well again #was thinking too much about lost potential #and it just. cooked my brain #anyway im done now so im gonna work lmao #stay silly yall :3 even if youre annoyed :3 #and dont let yourself stew in anger #its just gonna hurt you #take a deep breath and write it out #and then do something fun :]

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