#pour-des-raisons

[le-fruit-de-la-passion]

Does a bad ending ruin a good story? A comprehensive guide to my feelings on the Arcane finale

*Spoilers for Arcane season 2*

So. You just finished the show, and you're staring at the screen in bewilderment. Perhaps you’re even with some friends, shouting words of confusion to the rolling credits. Try as you might, you can barely hear them, because a single thought echoes in your mind and pushes away any other:

“What the fuck just happened?”

If this happened to you, then boy oh boy, we're on the same boat. If it didn't, well, I'm glad for you friend! We might not have been looking for the same things from this story. But this is my post, meaning I will give my opinions (which are objectively correct because this is my blog and I'm the mayor here) on everything that Arcane broke and failed to deliver in its last 2 episodes.

Let's start with characters, and why none of it mattered.

Jinx symbolized the fear we all have of not belonging somewhere, of not having anything to call home or anyone to call a family. Her anger stemmed from wanting to carve a place in a society and a world that had so harshly rejected her (i.e., Vi leaving her). Her existence was a huge middle finger to all that refused to let her live, a fight to build herself something wholeheartedly hers (hence her being an inventor). It was proof that despite the world telling her she was better off dead, she would never stop fighting to prove it wrong.

… and she died.

She died, and that means all the suffering she went through to exist simply amounted to nothing. She left nothing behind either, no trace of a legacy, something that would have left her mark on that world. Isha, the child she raised as a daughter, died. Silco, who she taught love and care to, died. Vander, who she brought back from years of trauma and torture, died. Jinx fought so hard to live, and in the end, it was as if she hadn't lived at all.

Viktor is most certainly the character that made me the angriest, because of how attached I am to the person he is in season 1 (and even the first two acts of season 2 to an extent). Everything that made him so beautifully complex… gone, in about 10 minutes. There was NO reason to make him the surprise ultimate villain. Viktor had always, always been a pacificist. That's why he was so adamant Hextech not be used as a weapon. That's why every time there were chances to test hextech to hurt, he tried to learn how it could heal. Yes, his fusion with the hexcore had changed him; but NOT into a man who didn't care for human life. He wanted to help all the hurt done to his people. People like him, living day to day in the undercity, but who had never gotten a chance to crawl out of their hell. His community was about HEALING, not controlling. The very IDEA that he would accept killing innocents and ally with Noxus, the warmongers, is so ridiculous I could genuinely laugh if it didn't make me so angry. The show needed an easy, black-and-white showdown to conclude a story that would have needed so much more time to tell. And they chose Viktor. Because it was the easy way out. It was the perfect foil to the return of the Golden Boy. And that PISSES me off.

There is this really shitty concept in popular media that the handicapped/chronically ill character is always in the pursuit of being “cured” and that they need outside help to realize “that their imperfections make them perfect”. Fuck. You. As someone with chronic illness and who just finished beating blood cancer, fuck you. That realization, that you're you with every part of your being, even the ‘bad’ ones, cannot come from outside. It's YOU who needs to learn it. It's you who needs to discover how your body and your mind are so much stronger than you previously thought them to be. Not your lover, your family, your friends, or God forbid your able-bodied lab partner. You. Others may tell you as many times as they want your illness doesn't define you; it won't matter until you, yourself, have understood why and have accepted it. Having someone swoop in and “fix” Viktor with a “you don't have to change uwu” is just….. so reductive I can barely find the words for it. That was VIKTOR’S path to find, and not Jayce’s role to find it for him.

Also… Viktor wasn't trying to ‘fix’ his leg; he was trying to find a cure to a deadly illness ravaging his body and no doubt the bodies of many in Zaun. The HELL is the message here??? That he should have just rolled with it because the deadly illness was part of him??? Again, as a cancer survivor. Fuck right off.

Of course, I can't just ignore the hideous get-up they put him in at the end. The man who laughed at Jayce's narcissism….you want me to believe… he would put on that fucking edge lord costume and not DIE of embarrassment??? The design makes no sense from a narrative standpoint either: if his cane has become the sceptre, why is he still keeping it? He doesn't need it anymore to walk, and it's a reminder of his weaknesses as a human that he apparently hated so much. Why the hell does he keep it then? And the hexclaw. Where did that bad boy come out from?? Did you all see a secret extra bonus scene where he steals it from the lab, because I sure didn't. It doesn't add anything to his sets of powers either it’s… it's a fucking laser gun. WHY. And oh sweet god that mask… there would have been so many ways of designing a mask more meaningful than the one from LoL. This one is just. A piece of metal he spawned in embryo. Get it? Because he's made of metal now and also hiding his face means no more humanity? Get it?? Of fucking course you do, because this was the easiest and worst possible way they could have integrated the mask.

Viktor and Jayce had a fantastic dynamic in that Viktor had started out as the loner, the underdog scientist from the slums; while Jayce was the leader figure, living in comfort that made him attachingly naive, his face plastered on posters stroking his ego. The shift is delightfully slow, as Viktor gains in confidence and determination to see his invention through no matter what, while Jayce is confronted with harsher and harsher truths about the world he so blissfully ignored. By Act 2, they have fully switched roles: Viktor is now the leader figure, a symbol of the future for the people, while Jayce is desperately alone, both physically in the hexcore anomaly, and mentally in being the only one who has seen the devastating future. Excellent stuff. What would be a great way to push these parallels further and to show the complexity of these characters, and perhaps how they can balance each other out? Well, Fortiche sure didn't know, now Viktor is the bad bad guy and Jayce is mister hero. Zaun bad, Piltover good. All nuance, gone. Proving that indeed, the man from poverty and inequality turns out evil, while the one from comfort and wealth turns out to be the hero of the story. The whole “giving a warm speech to the bad villain about how you care for them, somehow immediately changing their ways, and dying together to save the world” can work well in shounen anime where friendship is magic, or in the Ben 10 live-action movie (yes, that's the plot, I thought that wasn't deep when I was like 7 years old so imagine now), but not in a show like Arcane. Not with the ethical and moral nuances they have accustomed us to.

And now, let's explore...

Plotholes and incomplete storylines galore.

Ekko’s tree and the contamination of Zaun from Piltover? Fuck that. The huge showdown between the two opposite yet sister cities, like Jinx and Vi, that has been built up for two seasons? Fuck that. And for what?

For the Noxus sequel teaser.

Mel’s plotline about finding her mage origins had NOTHING to do with the main plot. Absolutely nothing. It added 0 twists or intrigues to the story, and served no purpose except making her a deus ex machina for a broken ending. All it was there for was to lay the base for a following show on Noxus and the Black Rose. Time that could have been spent either giving Mel a proper arc related to the plot, or giving all the other rushed character arcs more development.

Finally, and I deeply regret having to say this, but… the end of Vi and Cait's relationship was majorly disappointing to me. As an LGBTQ+ person myself, who feels attraction to women, it was a delight to have such a realistically portrayed w/w relationship on screen. Popular media tends to portray m/m relationships as these doomed, sinful feelings between two repressed guys, while w/w relationships are shown to just be all sunshine and rainbows and teddy bears, because two women together are a cute little accessory to have on screen. It’s non-threatening. But not Cait and Vi; their bond was raw, and rocky, with violent lows and passionate highs in a world that seemed to want to keep them apart. Their separation and the introduction of Maddie showed the reality of a w/w relationship, where fights and cheating ARE things that happen, because they're two adult women with different beliefs, objectives, an trauma. Putting them back together, as if nothing had happened, without giving us anything about how their relationship would have evolved from the breakup? I'd never thought I'd say this, but it's too easy. How about Caitlyn's literal descent into fascism??? We’ll just ignore that? Vi will just ignore that?

As with everything else, this last part of Arcane destroys all the complex emotions that exist between these characters, the resentment, the anger, the frustration, built upon years of different social conditioning… gone. Because they had 2 episodes left to wrap it up, and there was no way to make a coherent and natural transition to them getting back together with that kind of time. And can I just say. The decision to have Vi, symbol of Zaun, go down on Caitlyn, symbol of Piltover and enforcers, in a prison cell that has held innocent Zaunites and represents their complete lack of freedom as individuals by a cop state that oppresses them….. yeah, bad. So bad.

And… the multiverse. Yup, they went the multiverse route. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing: the concept of multiverses itself is interesting in a vacuum, and quite a few properties have managed to make it work coherently. But it has been terribly overused and bastardized in serialized content in the last few years, for the simple reason that it's extremely practical. Why make a new, original series when you already have worlds and characters that are developed, and come with built-in fans? It's a money-saving hack! Why dedicate yourself to an ending that is meaningful in its finality and wraps the story properly when you can just say “It's just one ending in the multiverse!”. It takes away any accountability to the fans, and leaves the door open to a potential other version of the story! The perfect combo!

…except in practice, it comes off as lazy in a medium where that trope is overly saturated (don't start me on Marvel), and like a cowardly way of escaping from the responsibility of really taking the time to craft a good, solid ending to end your story.

So, with all that said: does it ruin Arcane for me? No, absolutely not, and I don’t think it should be for you either. The intricate artistry and raw talent that went into making the first season (and I would say a majority of the two first acts of season 2) is undeniable, and will stay undeniable. Nothing can touch that story. It will forever be one of my favourite pieces of animated media, which is saying a lot because I'm currently getting my master's degree on that topic.

However, it does give Arcane, as a whole rather than two separate seasons/entities, a very bittersweet feeling that is hard to forget. Thinking of what could have been, just if a little more time had been given to the minds behind the masterpiece you so loved… it's its own form of heartbreak. Academics have even compared it to experiencing a form of death of a loved one, before they ever got to reach their fullest potential and live the life they deserved. It may sound dramatic, but the feelings you feel in this moment, watching the horrible end of a fiction you have so much love for, are real. No one can take those away from you. You're allowed to grieve the loss of something that meant a lot to you.

Tldr; No, Arcane is not a bad series because of its rushed and incomprehensible ending. As they say, it's all about the journey, not the destination, even if that's one of the parts we tend to remember the most. And I don't know about you, but this was one of the best journeys I've ever been on.

[thebusylilbee]

je fais le choix volontaire d'ignorer toute news qui concerne le nouveau gouvernement, je ne veux plus entendre parler de cette merde et du connard qui en est responsable

[meirimerens]

left-wing parties in this country love nothing more than to tell people to "faire bloc" against the rising far-right like the left is not fragmented across multiple parties who can't stand each other while any mfer right of center gullible/racist/misogynistic enough will directly go for the guy part of the party co-founded by an ex-Waffen-SS and not think twice

UNISSEZ-VOUS BORDEL DE MERDE DE CON LA CHIASSE VOUS CASSEZ LES COUILLES À TOUT LE MONDE ON VA SE FAIRE PÉTER LES DENTS

[this-is-a-name-dont-worry]

"Et qu'est-ce que vous allez faire de moi?"

"De vous? C'est-à-dire, comment ça? Mais je sais pas euh, rien... enfin si, comme d'habitude quoi! ... Oui, voilà, rien."

Ce moment il me butait déjà il y a 10 ans, il me bute toujours et plus encore maintenant. Putain ça fait mal.

[elmaxlys]

bon moi je dis ça comme ça, hein, mais on est le 14 juillet et il y a eu une tentative sur trump..... je pense que les français peuvent one-up

[echo-s-land]

Je sens que Macron va encore se prendre des manifs contre sa gueule

[crimson-veil-rpg]

Partage de petits moments dans la conception. (Une information capitale s'est glissée dans ces memes, saurez-vous la trouver ? wink wink 👀)

[toodrunktofindaurl]

🔞 N/S/F/W « sketch » reward: Short Comic (2/?) is up for all $5+ Patrons!

> Click here to read <

[kalincka]

LE VISITEUR DU FUTUR - LE FILM, réalisé par François DESCRAQUES

[flashbic]

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Cartouche: Prince des faubourgs | Cartouche: Prince of the Streets (Cartoon) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Cartouche/Isabelle d'Entraigues Characters: Cartouche - Character, Isabelle d'Entraigues, Le Lorrain, Nero Falconi Summary:

Une tempête de neige s'abat sur Paris. Deux oneshots se passant lors de la même journée d'hiver: le premier racontant la journée de Cartouche, et le second celle de Falconi.

[leseigneurdufeu]

French side of tumblr écoutez bien. Une série de fanfics avec un film de Louis de Funès mais tous les personnages sont d'un autre fandom. Genre Hibernatus x Avatar: the last airbender.

Je veux dire, vous pouvez pas m'arrêter de toute façon, je vais sans doute le faire. Mais vous en pensez quoi ?

[meirimerens]

i'm just one person but i feel like replying to "how is france/how does it feel living there" with "this country is so beautiful ♥ we should bring back the guillotine and use it a lil" is a pretty universally french experience

[ficuscircus]

Bon retour chez vous, Morgane. ☀️

[this-is-a-name-dont-worry]

donc Théodore

déjà, rien que le fait qu'il est un blind prophet mais poussé au point de incapable-de-bouger prophet. Il lui est arrivé un horrible accident, et maintenant il a perdu presque toute son autonomie, il est obligé de rester enfermé seul dans une pièce aseptisée (même si dans la saison 3 on dirait que ça va déjà mieux x) ), personne ne sait qu'il est là hormis quelques uns, et la seule personne avec qui il a un contact externe libre c'est Neil (=> il contacte Mary dans la saison 1 mais comme Neil est lui aussi au courant de l'existence et l'importance de John, c'est possible qu'il ait simplement demandé à être mis en contact avec elle. même s'il est aussi possible qu'il est une communiqué sans que Neil le sache. dans tous les cas hormis ce moment il est toujours uniquement en communication avec Neil). Il se fait chier et doit se sentir seul, et il sait qu'il n'y a rien qui peut être fait donc il est coincé comme ça à jamais, à la merci de tout ceux qui savent où il est.

Puis, le fait que The Lord c'est son frère. Déjà le côté "ça craint mon frère est un super-vilain", mais aussi. il a dû voir son frère glisser vers la haine. Ça doit faire quelque chose quand-même de voir la personne avec qui tu as grandi, avec qui tu t'entendais sûrement, devenir une mauvaise personne.

Et comme ils sont frères, la backstory que The Lord donne sur son père est aussi une backstory pour Théodore. Si le père d'Ethan a été enfermé car un super-héros l'a trahi et depuis Ethan ne l'a plus jamais revu, alors le père de Théodore a été enfermé car un super-héros l'a trahi et depuis Théodore ne l'a plus jamais revu. L'un s'est dirigé vers le mal et en a souffert, l'autre s'est dirigé vers le bien et en a souffert.

Et puis Théodore est mort, mais pas dans un combat épique. Les dernières nouvelles qu'il a dû avoir sur son frère sont soit qu'il est mort, soit qu'il serait en train de perdre la tête.

[minivirgo]

ce temps des fêtes me donne envie de me cacher en boule et de dire à tout le monde qu'on est malade pour ne pas aller aux événements en pleine vague de c*vid

[firstscn]

sharing a kiss in a heavy downpour of rain . - ( Henry ) @fatedtruths

It's Henry's birthday and they REALLY shouldn't be out here at all. Or well, it's going to be Henry's birthday in an hour or so, and this is supposed to be a fun party. Pez has rented some club, and they're a little bit tipsy, or Alex is at least, and he remembers dancing, feeling Henry's body against his own, the warmth radiating off of him making Alex' head spin. He'd been meaning to say something, and then their lips had brushed together and Alex had felt that jolt of electricity go up his spine, but before he's been able to do anything about it, Henry had slipped away.

And Alex had spent FAR TOO LONG figuring out where he had gone. Someone had pointed him outside with a shout over the music, and now he's standing on the streets of Paris, already drenched by the heavy downpour. He does see the other man though, unmoving on the side walk, just a few feet away, seemingly staring up into the sky. "Henry!" He thinks about all those days at the coffee shop, and the stupid romance novels from two centuries ago he loves to read and always brings to the coffee shop, even when he's there to write. And about the way Henry's laugh makes his stomach flip, and how the walks with David have become Alex' favorite part of the day.

There's a million things Alex wants to tell him, but instead he simply steps up to Henry, takes his face into his hands and closes his eyes against the raindrops falling onto his face, before KISSING him.