#the bigger deal is more that Zaun connection

[angelinthefire]

Duality and the bridge

Arcane is a show about duality.

It's present in everything. There's duality within characters, showing different sides to themselves; and between characters, with different matched pairs. Duality is referenced in the big monologues: Silco talking about drowing as a story of opposites, and everyone having a monstrous side; and Viktor explicitly talking about the duality of humanity. It's present in the the themes of order vs. chaos and science vs. magic. And in the structure of the show, two seasons with dramatic reversals between them. And of course, duality is reflected in the setting, the relationship between Piltover and Zaun.

What I really love about Arcane is that it really does justice to this theme, there's real depth to it. It's not just that everything is two-sided, it's that the two sides are deeply interconnected and interdependent. They're insprable, they come from the same source, one side cannot exist without the other, they condition each other and can transform into each other. And, as I mentioned, the theme exists at all levels of the story.

One thing that encapsulates this really well is the symbolism of the bridge, and how it's used. (The making-of documentary of season 1 is even called "bridging the rift", so we know that the concept of the bridge is important.)

Duality is a contradiction. It does not mean either total unity or total division, it means both at the same time, the unity of two things that are opposite from one another. And that's what a bridge is, it connects things that are apart from each other. A lesser show would have used the bridge as simply a symbol of connection, but Arcane uses it in a more complex way.

In a story about duality, the first image we get is not of two separate things. The first image *is* the bridge.

The scene is one of the worst conflicts between the cities. It's incredibly violent. The next image (after several more shots of the bridge) is an enforcer firing their gun, and then approaching the camera, with the monster-face scribbles.

So right away, this site of connection is also a site of deep division. And of course it is, where else is conflict going to take place, if not in the spot where two forces meet? The only way to avoid conflict is to avoid connection.

At the same time, the first lines we hear, in a scene that's otherwise without dialogue, are the lyrics of "Dear friend across the river".

Dear friend across the river My hands are cold and bare Dear friend across the river I'll take what you can spare I ask of you a penny My fortune, it will be I ask you without envy We raise no mighty towers Our homes are built of stone So come across the river And find [Powder is cut off, but the rest of the lyric is: "the world below"]

The lyrics establish the relationship between Piltover and Zaun, the haves and have-nots. But the song is not just asking help, it's also an invitation. It's addressed to a friend, to come across the river, to enter their world. The invitation is cut off by the violence around the characters. But the fact that the song includes an invitation implies not just the possibility for connection between the two cities, but the desireablity of it.

So right off the bat, the narrative already has this great contradiction to it. Because duality *is* a contradiction.

And then the scene ends with this shot of Vander carrying the kids, walking along the bridge.

They're small against this backdrop. This bigger problem that's located on the bridge, the problem of the bridge. And Vander is walking away from it. He's refusing to deal with it, and he's exiting screen left, he's retreating.

More under the cut:

It's not long before we see the bridge again. In the next scene, the kids escape across it, and it opens up.

This is the only time that we see the drawbridge raise. And I think it's significant that it happens at this point, after the time-skip. We're seeing what's happened since the time of the failed uprising. The drawbridge raising turns the bridge from a point of connection into an obstacle to connection. The implication being that Piltover and Zaun are farther apart than ever.

The fact that the bridge can act as a symbol of division just as much as symbol of connection, again, shows what a good grasp the creators have of this theme. For a bridge to exist there needs to be division in the first place. You can't have connection without division.

The bridge as a symbol of division is emphasized explicitly in episode 2, when Vander takes Vi there to talk with her.

He tells Vi, "I led us across this bridge, thinking things could change," with the implication that he now believes that change is impossible. He wants her to abide by the rule that "topside is off-limits". The bridge is there, but it's not for crossing. It's a borderline. Vander wants to avoid conflict, and he's talking about not provoking topside. But his approach also means preempting any possibility of connection. He's trying to eliminate the contradiction of duality by separating off the two sides.

Throughout the first season, the bridge continues to be a site of division and conflict, moreso than it's a site of connection.

It's the spot where Piltover cuts Zaun off, it's where there's resistance, and where there's violence.

Like Vander, Jayce tries to prevent conflict by enforcing a strict division, with his blockade. And as with Vander, the method doesn't work.

The bridge is used to signify similar themes with relationships as well.

It's where Jayce and Viktor have their falling out, where Jinx and Ekko fight. I'm also including Vander and Silco in this, because I think it's clearly deliberate that their final scenes take place on a catwalk, on a kind of bridge. (Also, I love how the suspension cables are used to direct the eye in these shots).

These sets of characters are all dualities in themselves. They share fundamental characteristics or experiences (Silco and Vander both fought for Zaun, Jayce and Viktor are partners and share similar dreams, Jinx and Ekko shared their childhood). But each set are also facing real differences (of philosophies, of priorities, of what they're fighting for). It's about tension, about unity and division pulling against each other.

The Ekko-Jinx fight is probably the best example of this. Of the three it's the scene that's the most self-contained story. And it's not a very straightforward one. The emotional punch of it comes from the fact that these are childhood friends who are now enemies. But it's not just a case of what was once united now being divided. Because in the end, that connection between them still exists, it still overcomes Ekko. Both tendencies are present at the same time, both coming together and pulling appart, both attraction and repulsion.

But then there's also instances of relationships coming together on the bridge.

Vi and Caitlyn's first hug, the first real acknowldegement of what they've come to mean to each other, happens on the bridge. That's a really significant moment, it's the first instance of a connection successfully taking place there, and it's one between characters from either side. I think to a large extent, Vi and Caitlyn's relationship itself represents the possibility of reconcilliation between Zaun and Piltover. By having this moment on the bridge, that symbolism is played up.

Later on, Heimerdinger and Ekko meet for the first time by the bridge, another connection between characters from two opposite sides, and one that turns out to be vitally important to the fates of the two cities.

Then, in act 3 of season 2, we start to see the bridge in quite a different way from season 1.

Starting with the AU world in episode 7. We see the connection between Piltover and Zaun fully realized. Not only is the bridge open, but it's full of activity and life. People are fully living in that connection.

And not only that, this is on the part of the bridge that opens up. But there's people just hanging out there. Heck, there's seemingly permanent businesses there. That means the bridge hasn't been raised in some time. Which sounds very inconvenient for maritime trade. But more importantly, it shows how well-established and stable the connection between Piltover and Zaun is.

The spot where two forces meet isn't just the place where they come into conflict, it's also where they begin to integrate. And of course, the division between Piltover and Zaun still exists in a literal sense, people are never going to not need the bridge to move between them. But it's being crossed over constantly as if it's nothing.

Then in the next episode, we start to see the bridge being used to connect rather than to divide in the main timeline.

Like in season one, enforcers are set up with their flood lights, but this time as an invitation rather than as a barrier. And there is a small number of Zaunites who come across, showing that first potential for a coming together.

And I want to go on a bit of a tangent here, because the show could have gotten quite simplistic at this point, to just be like, the two sides need to come together and sing kumbaya etc. But the show doesn't do that.

The characters who cross the bridge in this scene become subsumed into Piltover. They wear the same uniforms, and go through the same training. And the two characters that are highlighted the most, Gert and the nameless father, they die. And Piltover still loses to Noxus.

It's only when Zaunites show up under their own leadership, fighting with their own methods, that the battle turns around. A positive kind of unity does not mean one side being subsumed by the other. It doesn't mean submitting chaos to order. It doesn't mean eliminating the contradiction of duality (as Viktor tries to do). It is a unity of opposites.

We see this in the last scene on the bridge, the memorial.

The bridge is finally a true meeting place. There's still a certain two-sidedness to it, Sevika and Shoola are each representative of their two cities, and they're presented as being on opposite sides, with a strong line between them. But at the same time, when you look at the crowd, Zaunites and Piltovans are mixed together. Shoola and Sevika's colour palettes are very similar. Behind them, the two land masses look like they're tapering into each other. It's a unity of opposites.

I think the theme of duality carries over into the final scene with Cait and Vi as well. Like I mentioned above, I think Vi and Caitlyn's relationship is itself partially representative of the potential unity between their two cities. And even though the scene is not set on the bridge, bridge is still invoked by the song that Vi hums. The potential for connection that was first implied in the song has been fulfilled.

Of course, that doesn't mean the end of struggle, or the end of tension, or the end of the story. Caitlyn says as much, "our story isn't over." We see that there's still tensions when Sevika joins the council. Differences are not blended out, the duality remains, with all it's contradictions, which means that the relationship between the two sides will continue to be dynamic and evolve. And then there's the idea of "the dirt under your nails" which I think has layers of meaning, one of which is being a reminder of the past, a reminder that Caitlyn got her hands dirty, and in that sense, a reminder of what the history of Piltover and Zaun has been. There's no erasing the past or forgetting it, but there is forward movement, which is then communicated by the airship, carrying Jinx off to start a new story.

Point being, the relationship between the two sides, the duality of it, has changed its dynamic, but not its complexity.

I feel like there's not a lot of shows that can deal with such broad themes on so many levels, and do such a good job of it. And part of that is using symbols in complex and evolving ways.

[goddessofroyalty]

In your verse, Amaranthine is an alfa, beta or omega?

Im sure both her and Naph could get flack for being zaunite/half zaunite/adopted but how would react Jayvik if they were critizied for both being omegas?

Like, when people talk shit because you only had girls (happend to my dad btw)

Amy, Isha and Naph causing trouble together is my new favorite

I haven't really settled one the designations for the younger generation of kids (and probably never fully will) because in my head I'm mostly thinking about them as well... the pups of the family. And so haven't presented yet instead just being the general young children.

I think Jayce mostly gets comments about the adopted/half zaunite thing. Just because Piltover (and Zaun) doesn't seem to care all that much about gender in canon (nobody makes a bit deal about Cait being the only heir to the Kiramman's and the name clearly has come from her mother's side) and I tend to try and match canon gender discrimination levels in omegaverse discrimination levels (plus I have plenty to play with just from the Zaun stuff). Way back when we did discuss the idea of people assuming Naph was the adopted one because of how much more he takes after Viktor over Jayce (and fact that he does tend to have a more Zaunite bent in his style) and it driving Jayce crazy not because he thinks it matters whether his kids are adopted or not they're both his kids but because of the implications behind why they think Naph is the poor orphan he took in and not the more Piltover-looking Amaranthine.

Yeah I'm really enjoying the idea of the three of them getting into trouble. Although it's probably more Amaranthine and Isha leading Naph into trouble because he's a little bit (couple of years) younger than both girls (and more mild tempered). Their families reputation definitively proceeds them and means they can get away with a lot more things because people don't want to bring the wrath of their family down on them if they make these kids cry. But the flipside is also there is so many adults across both Piltover and Zaun who know who they are and will dob them in to their parents.

[localvillagecryptid]

Seeing as they clearly didn't know what the hell to do with Jinx/the political repercussions of her bombing the council in season 2, I'd like to explore the possibilities of how Zaun would've reacted to this that would've made way more sense than what we saw.

1. Jinx becomes an extremely controversial figure.

Few are neutral to her. This would be largely because, outside of knowing she blew up the council, no one actually knows WHY. What were her motives? Were they politically charged? Was she trying to start a war? What exactly was her goal? It was never really stated that she was infamous prior to this, but I recall in season 1 act 2 that when Vi went looking for her, people knew OF Jinx, and that she worked for Silco, but weren't really aware of any further details. So those that are aware of her connection to Silco- who objectively did make many of their lives worse with Shimmer- wouldn't be happy. They'd be scared of what will come next.

Those who don't know/don't care might fill in the blanks with their own guesses, maybe that she's some kind of activist- which would split them further into the subgroups of "Oh fuck the enforcers are gonna kill us and it's her fault" and "Finally, a war!" The second of which I'd argue would actually be a very small group. I could imagine the Jinxers being seen by the rest of Zaun as crazy radicals who don't know what they're getting themselves into/are gonna drag the rest of Zaun into danger. I think it would cause a LOT of infighting. Like a civil war inside another civil war.

How Jinx would handle this would be.... interesting. Especially if the Jinxers start making moves on their own. She never really shows much interest in activism- she works for Silco because he's her new dad, and while she doesn't seem to DISAGREE with his opinions, it doesn't seem she's all that invested in actually working to make it happen beyond just wanting to help her dad. His death seemed to take her interest with it.

Now, they could either lean into this, and make people question her motives/actions because of her clear disinterest, maybe increasing some of the controversy around her (no follow through on her action, letting Zaunites suffer the consequences, etc.), or they could make her actually take a genuine personal interest in it. But that, I think, would take a bigger arc that might be more work for arguably less payoff when considering you'd probably have to change a great deal of her character to do it, especially when you could probably achieve similar plot points/outcomes even without her intentionally becoming a political figurehead.

2. Zaun becomes fractured politically/other "symbols" of Zaun

This can be in tandem with idea 1, actually, but can still be it's own idea. Basically, after the fall of the council, and Silco's death, Zaunites are terrified. They've been run so far by Vander, Silco, and then some vague council-like oligarchy of Chem-Barons, who could be interpreted as functioning like very large gangs. The Chem-Barons have always been around, but with Silco's sudden death (and no one who was primed/expecting to replace him), this leaves a massive power vacuum that the Chem-Barons and smaller gangs are scrambling to come out on top of.

The fear of the unknown and the extreme instability would lead to people desperately throwing their lot in with whoever they think would be a better/less dangerous leader, and by extension, political symbol. Season 2 shows a bunch of new people joining the Firelights. In that case, I can imagine that before long, several new potential leaders surface, even if they didn't expect it. Namely, Ekko, Jinx, and Sevika.

Ekko because as I said, people were apparently coming to his base in droves. They don't tell us Jack shit about the Firelights besides the fact that A) Ekko leads them B) they don't fuck with Silco OR Piltover C) Piltover thinks they're terrorists and D) they look rad as fuck. That being said, considering Ekko's Everything, I think we can all gather a general picture of what the Firelights are about. Plus his cool tree would be a great symbol (@srslylini for the idea) of growth, healing, etc.

Sevika, because those that knew her as Silco's second might be hoping for some kind of stability with her. Even if they didn't like Silco, it's better the enemy you know and all that jazz. They'd feel safer with someone who at least seems to know what they're doing, even if Sevika herself has no interest in becoming a leader. I think some would just naturally gravitate towards who they see as "second in line". This could also be in connection to Jinx, as she could possibly been seen as someone who could "rein" Jinx in (again, most people don't actually KNOW Jinx, they just know OF her and that she worked for Silco and was volatile. Think how Finn referred to her as Silco's "attack dog").

Speaking of Jinx, she'd probably be treated similarly to idea 1. Extremely polarizing. Her followers would be seen as crazy, like she is. They'd be seen as warmongers and/or people who have no idea what they're getting themselves into. They'd basically be seen as the stereotypical "young rebels". The average Zaunite would see the average Jinxer as a young, angry, maybe idealistic radical who doesn't understand the cost of war. I'd argue that, again, they'd probably be the smallest and most controversial group just because most people don't necessarily WANT a war, even if they're willing to fight for it. And the suddenness of the bombing would've scared even some of the rebels who DO want war, because they weren't prepared. It wasn't a PLANNED attack, so both Zaun AND Piltover are basically caught with their pants down, which would also bring some ire from the other Zaunites.

There's another option for a faction I'd like to explore, also thanks to srslylini (thank you icon), but it takes a bit of setting up.

In a hypothetical situation in which Vi did NOT become an enforcer, I think it would happen like this: Vi hangs around in Piltover at first out of guilt/feeling like she has nowhere else to go. She's still not on board with being an enforcer, but she attends the memorial out of a sense of obligation. Her and Caitlyn have a falling out over Caitlyn calling Zaunites "animals", and here is where she storms off and goes back to Zaun, with the final words to Caitlyn that "You Pilties are all the fucking same" (or something to that effect). She's still feeling lost, and so maybe this is where she stumbles around, having maybe a similar pitfighting arc (just not as distraught, more like she's broke and angry and has to pay rent somehow so she might as well get paid to punch someone's face in). Because she's not in a massive spiral, there's unfortunately no emo arc (sad), but the bright side of this is that she's recognizable. I don't think she's FAMOUS, per say, but Babette and Ekko recognized her right off the bat in season 1 (yes you can say Ekko was really close to her, but Babette? C'mon), and considering she was older than Powder when she went off to prison, I don't think it's a stretch to assume her face was a little better-known than her sister's (especially considering she was already going on jobs, and in act 1 she gets into a fight with Deckard who I'm pretty sure knew her name, but not Powder's).

This is to say, I think a lot of the "old heads" knew who she was, especially those who liked Vander. It helps that she tattooed her name on her face LMAO. So I'd imagine she'd show up in the ring, no hair dye no makeup, and eventually after consistently knocking her opponents around and winning every time, she'd become a bit locally famous again- to the point that those same "old heads" who remember her make the connection and come looking. Maybe rumors start swirling, especially once they learn she was gone because she'd been in prison- not unheard of, and probably the first conclusion they drew when they realized she wasn't dead.

So eventually Vander's old followers/younger people who idolized him from their childhood start seeking her out. Sensationalizing her. Asking her what she's planning on doing. Is she taking back the Lanes? Will she get those Chem-Barons under control? What about Jinx? Could she hunt her down, rein her in? Hell, maybe even put her to use? Will you give us our relative safety, our security back?

And Vi, who just wanted to knock some heads around and maybe take a nap in her apartment and cry, is suddenly faced with being "Vander 2.0" and Jinx is the new "Silco 2.0" and all the weight of expectations and legacy and history and literal war and politics are being shoved in her face. She, like Jinx, is now faced with becoming a figurehead when she never wanted to be, which could lead into option 3:

3. A joint approach to Zaun

This would primarily be driven by Sevika even if she wasn't one of the possible leaders, because SOMEONE has to be the responsible adult here and it's certainly not any of these traumatized losers (affectionate). She'd be the glue to keep it all together, the reluctant team mom who WILL make this work because she WILL have Zaun even if she has to die to get it.

This could work with either Jinx and Vi, or Jinx, Vi, and Ekko (I genuinely can't imagine season 2 act 1 Ekko willingly teaming up with season 2 act 1 Jinx AND Sevika without some kind of buffer). Basically, once the other "leader candidates"/political symbols have been established, Sevika would round them up with the intention to use their influence to unite Zaun against Piltover. This would take a LOT of arguing, but ultimately I think she'd be able to get them to shut up and hear her out for a moment. Regardless of how different their beliefs are about what the "ideal Zaun" looks like, they can all agree that Piltover isn't in any of those pictures. She could convince them to set aside their own squabbling for the time being, for the greater good: aka, the independence of Zaun.

At the very least, I think she'd be able to get them to agree that Piltover coming down and hurting Zaunites in revenge shouldn't be ignored, and that they're currently a bigger threat than their fellow Zaunite. So eventually they'd reach some kind of truce: behave like a united front against Piltover, push them out of Zaun, stabilize Zaun, and then worry about tearing each other apart later. And because all of these characters- ALL of them- have shown (prior to season 2) anti-Piltover sentiments, they'd at least be able to agree that enforcers shouldn't be allowed to beat down on their people (especially in this version where Vi has better, more consistent writing lmao).

Of course, Rome wasn't built in a day, so maybe they don't reach a total agreement immediately- maybe they just agree to a ceasefire at first, but still refuse to work together. But once Caitlyn becomes a dictator? Once enforcers start gassing the streets, rounding people up, implementing martial law?

That's when the gloves would come off.

I'd imagine this could also be part of how Vi and Jinx slowly start to repair their relationship. They've got bigger fish to fry, but also, this time their enemy is connected to their own personal conflict with each other. Jinx might ask, "what happened to your enforcer girl? What happened to being a Piltie lapdog?" And Vi would essentially, in perhaps more emotionally constipated words, explain that it wasn't really about Caitlyn, it was about being needed. It was about trying to find Jinx, about trying to stop Silco, about trying to "fix" things, only realize that she couldn't. It was about trying to make things better, but that she realized the person she was trying to do that with didn't actually care. That all she wanted was to make sense of the destruction of her old life, and find meaning in a new one. And I think Jinx, too, in her own emotional constipation, would resonate with that, would understand that. It wouldn't fix things between them, but I think it'd be a start.

It could also help their relationship with Ekko. Since Vi isn't an enforcer this time, and season 1 (the One True Season) showed their sibling relationship, I think her and Ekko's bonding would be more like "reconnecting with an old friend", whereas Jinx and Ekko would have a lot of work to do, too. There'd probably be a bit of a cold war between them for a while, once Ekko agrees to help, because he knows actually talking to her would piss him off. But eventually, through Sevika's manhandling of these three, and being forced to make nice with reluctant-figurehead-Jinx, they'd connect again.

Perhaps part of a plan is for them to develop new technology for Zaun. Whether that's weapons against Piltover (unlikely on Ekko's part I think), or just safety gear/ safer city infrastructure ideas for the betterment of their people, I think eventually they'd figure themselves out, too. He'd see the Powder in her, the part he saw on that bridge, and maybe it would give him the ability to try and understand Jinx. And Jinx would realize that maybe these people in her life DO love her, DO care about her, more than just for what she used to be but for who she is now. And somewhere along the way, they'd be friends again (or they can date IDK or care man I just want them to stop trying to kill each other).

Whatever happens next is so wide in possibility that I can't possibly cover it here so this is where it ends, lol.

[guileheroine]

arcane s2 act 1 thoughts

getting my impressions down before act 2 so i can remember how things felt at this point in time before everything gets blasted open :)

aughghhhhjjjjjjjjhhhhj

above all: it’s exciting to watch a show that’s technically incredible also be so tight in terms of writing, where you trust it enough to really immerse yourself w/o reservation. and moreso it’s so nice to be trusted to do some work as a viewer, interpret the ambiguities instead of being force-fed all the beats. and to have something so detail rich, dense and deftly constructed that you can mine it endlessly (as someone who’s seen s1 10-ish times lol)

they are packing so much story into these episodes compared to s1 act 1 and i won't be able to imagine all this tied up in 6 more eps until i see it - i wonder how it would feel as a slower paced show

the loungewear and rose petals really give the new opening a boudoir vibe. grateful!

no scene scratched my id like viktor leaving jayce — his open acknowledgement of their divergence (in those words no less) and the fact of their partnership being dead from the beginning

^for me the core of the story has long been what i call the two JV divergence arcs

relatedly, viktor in the black hood has there ever been a lük more instantly iconic. he has a STAGGERING face card. i look forward to further jayvik divorce proceedings but want him to meet the other undercity protags so bad, he seems poised to take on a similar role in the Cause as jinx

i really loved the opening scene between mel and jayce. it seems mel shielded him. i got tingly at her drawing the line at weaponising hextech and reaffirming her commitment to jayce and viktor's vision. their hextech dream, #ot3, # heres how meljayvik can still win!!!

the fight choreo, music, stylistic choices and just the marriage of form and content still feel thrilling. fortiche i am once again kissing your feet, vive la france

i dig this caitlyn arc. in s1 she didn’t quite pass muster against the rest of the cast bc it felt like the degree of naïveté needed to keep her as pure as it seemed they wanted her, was a hard sell in an ostensibly smart and capable character, in an ensemble where everyone else felt like much more textured products of their circumstances. i always thought that instead of the noble oblivious thing it would’ve been more seamless and meaningful if she’d been conscious but ambivalent about all the gross injustice, only digging deeper once it became personal via vi

and now!! feeling gratified bc i think they’re doing that arc, just in reverse: as soon as it becomes personal in the other direction, you see that her grip on the bigger picture is conditional and easily blinkered. it emphasises her previous passion about justice for zaun as deriving partly from the self-righteousness that's also an underacknowledged effect of privilege, instead of simple empathy. (plus the fairweather allyship is… a very resonant theme lmao and quite cool to see it depicted how the correct nudge, a taste of what the system deals out to others, will make the most earnest of listeners-and-learners retreat to their worst biases about the 'other'. the protofascist seed in every member of a cozy ruling class. honestly one of their most excellent writing choices)

i think cait hit vi on that stab wound from sevika which surely cannot have fully healed yet. ouch

absolutely loving jinx and sevika in the post-silco world, they are getting to come into their own in terms of motivations. absolutely obsessed with the smeech fight heheee

i can’t tell if jinx is doing better or worse. something soothing about the suicidal clarity though i don’t think her passivity is new—in s1 she was incredibly perceptive about what she was to silco but sort of resigned to it, so it's kinda exciting where she could go without his tether even though i miss silco sooooo much. i wonder if being in her Older Sibling Era (and vi being in her Abandoned Era) will help jinx and vi connect (🚨wishful thinking🚨, but somebody should write it)

“im glad it’s you / had to be you” has made me ILL since hearing it in that one teaser and now that it’s in context i might just throw up i cannot believeee we get a sister dynamic like this

vi rock bottom🤗 i couldn’t decide if she legit felt jinx was beyond the pale or did a hard swerve putting all her eggs in cait's basket, trying to bifurcate powder and jinx for the sake of, i guess, emotional self-preservation, with the notion of powder that had sustained her fully extinguished. love a protag so earthy and intense while being an unmitigated flop before the fateful tide of the story, and in that way she’s still very dean winchester-coded. also in that i want to see her bloody and crying, though at this point one win might be a relief

ambessa fox mode let’s goooo! i am curious if/when she’ll slip which i think could come down to something explosive with mel (🤞) or caitlyn realising she manipulated her in her griefblind state

idk if it just needs time or if it’s the unfillable silco-shaped hole, but so far the dialogue this season isn’t as sticky ?? (compared with s1 where they didn’t waste a word). but at least everyone’s hotter

i like heimerdinger more now that he’s ekko’s pet. i like jayce and ekko meeting lifetimes after “he didn’t even haggle”: they are just drinking tea and investigating the arcane not even realising their semi-interaction precipitated the instigating tragedy of Arcane. the world would never be the same. i hope they survive what may or may not be the time warp intact D:

the “it’s not supposed to be like that” with sevika and jinx and the bombs what is going on??? 👀👀

i'm glad theyre releasing this right in time to carry me through the winter. seasonal depression out, seasonal hyperfixation in

[space-blue]

Did Caitlyn ever realize Grayson was murdered by Silco? This could be a bonding moment between her and Vi, both lost adult figures in their lives to Silco. Caitlyn sharing more about her relationship with Grayson and her philosophy of "i use this gun to protect people" could change Vi's outlook on enforcers. Vi remembering Grayson's deal with Vander could lead her to think "if Vander could work with enforcers, I can too".

Hopefully season 2 builds more on this.

Did Vi realise that her parents were murdered by the Kiramman on the Council at the time? Did she learn the lab she attacked was a Kiramman lab? Does she know that Cait's mom was there, pushing for a bigger crackdown that resulted in Vander, Claggor, and Mylo's death, and ultimately her imprisonment in Stillwater without trial (which the Council gave no shit about)?

Would sharing a death in that one moment... Matter?

Silco killed Cait's mentor, and Cait's mom killed Cait's entire family, twice over. Yeesh.

This isn't the sort of bonding I'd like to see, because then I'd be yelling at my screen about all the other deaths being addressed too.

Vi says once that Enforcers killed her parents, and that's because she's upset at Enforcer Cait being callous. But the fact she went and laid into the bed of Councilor's Daughter Cait instead of also connecting enforcers to their bosses is one of the reasons I feel like the show did Vi dirty for Caitvi's sake.

I want to see mad dog Vi. I want Vi to align with enforcers because she's alienated all of Zaun. She sees them as Silco lovers, people who forgot her and moved on and allied themselves with Vander's killer. She could see them as weak and needing her protection, and they don't seem to WANT her, then she'll give it against their will if she must, working with the other people who police Zaun against its will.

I want Zaun to hate Vi for being Jinx's sister and having made everything worse with her return. I want Zaun to hate her for running around with a Councillor and nattering to the Council and being a rat and a snitch.

Because there's no other way now that I can see, since we can't change season 1. Vi's done what she's done. I'd rather see the more twisted Vi I wanted for season 1 in season 2 than never.

I'd hate for Vi to become a cop because she bonds over death with her cop girlfriend. It'd be her not engaging critically with anything that happened in her life. Who makes such woeful decisions on emotions alone?

Well, Vi, apparently. So it'd probably be in character. But I hope not. Or I hope it's treated as dark and complex, and not an uwu girlies bonding moment.

[independentzaun]

My Silco, and where he comes from.

First things first: This is solely about my Silco, and concerns details I saw in Arcane and personally latched onto. This is by no means the only interpretation nor is it the “correct” interpretation, or any other such thing. People latch onto different things, and explore different concepts and themes and ways of forming their muses and I love that. Whatever I post below is purely for the purposes of explaining my personal thought process, and trying to show how I got to the point I did nothing more.

Second: This is solely about my Silco. Do not reblog. Do not copy, or steal from. Thank you.

TLDR: I take a lot of inspiration from the comments Silco makes about the mines, what Jayce says about making something to help with the mining colonies in the fissures, and Jayce’s comment about Viktor growing up in the fissures. My Silco’s backstory has a heavy connection with mining, and in turn I’ve used a lot of inspiration from real world stuff about company towns and labor wars/coal wars. He also had a younger brother who passed away from a wasting sickness caused by living too close to a mine while dealing with the dust and everything else that came from it, and yes Silco very much places the blame for his brothers death at the feet of Piltover’s greed. My Silco is a fanatic because he’s seen the worst of what Piltover has done to Zaun, and full believes that Zaun deserves better and that Piltover will fundamentally never listen.

Side note: This is not an attempt to excuse what Silco does. He’s not a healthy person, not a good person, is a villain (although I would argue not the villain), and does some very bad things. This is simply my personal thoughts as to how mine ended up in the place he does.

~~~Cut for length.~~~

I feel like I need to start this off with an observation. Wealth does not come from nowhere. At the end of the day if there’s a large gap such as between Piltover, and Zaun that came about (generally speaking) from one taking advantage of the other and more specifically the resources the other has. To be clear I’m not talking about a house with an extra room, or a bigger TV. I’m talking about Piltover being nicer in every way possible, and the Enforcer’s gear, and Piltover being the city of progress and their nice buildings and university and well fed people and everything else. If you disagree than fine, but that’s the view point I’m starting with. That Piltover fundamentally exploited Zaun in order to obtain the wealth it has, and than shoved Zaun into the darkness and blamed them for their condition ignoring the issues that were caused by Piltover. In essence I’m working with the idea that Piltover dug deep, and ripped a lot of minerals and stone and the like out of Zaun taking as much of it as possible for their benefit without sharing any of the benefits. You don’t see a whole lot mentioned about this, but you do see a bit. One of the first mentions of the mines is with Jayce who says he wants to help the mining colonies work faster and without fatigue.

Now another thing to note is Jayce also says that he thinks Viktor’s health concerns stem from growing up in the fissures.

So between Jayce talking about mining, and the fissures, and Viktor being from Zaun there’s a picture developing. Piltover had to get resources from somewhere, and the nearest place is Zaun. The mining colonies in the fissures. All of that is something that caught my attention. Partially because of my interests about certain things in real life. Another thing that stood out to me is the attitude of the Enforcers. Every time you see the Enforcers except for the ones you need to see the face of so they stand out as a character they in full face masks with armor when dealing with Zaun, but not in Piltover. The Enforcers are not there to keep order, or to help.

They are there to enforce control. For all intents and purposes they are guards similar how Company Towns had guards in real life. Company towns being in essence enclosed living areas for workers and their families that was assembled cheaply by whatever company or corporation owned the nearby mine or other area they needed workers for. There were any number of tactics used to control these company towns, but for now let’s just say they aren’t a good thing and at best are exploitative and controlling. So it could very easily be argued that Zaun is in essence at best a company town that’s largely abandoned to itself so long as they don’t attract attention, and at worst a mostly open air prison for the undesirables. My point being this is what Silco grew up in. An environment were he watched everything his family, and his people produce get taken away from them and moved topside for the benefit of people that looked down upon Zaunites for no good reason other than an accident of birth resulting in them being born on the “nice side” of things. Why do I say this is were he grew up? Simple.

“Have you forgotten where we came from? The mines they had us in?” To me that’s a very specific statement particularly when you combine it with the other mentions of mining, and also Silco’s dream of a Free Nation of Zaun. My head canon is that Silco grew up in a mining community/colony/company town ran by Piltie overseers and guards. That he knows exactly how bad those mines were because his father worked in one, because he worked in one, and because his younger brother died far younger than he should have due to the pollution and toxins and dust caused by the nearby mine. Why is all of that important? Because miners have a history of fighting back. As some easy examples you have Paint Creek–Cabin Creek strike of 1912, Ludlow Massacre in 1914 as part of the 1913-1914 Colorado Coal War, and the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921. All events in real life that are a part of what is called the Coal Wars that happened on, and off from 1890 to 1930. Side note that yes I understand this is American-centric, and I apologize for that. It’s what I know the most about however, and (although I should change this) I haven’t yet taken the time to look extensively at stuff in other countries. Regardless the point stands. Armed labor conflicts, strikes, and in a sense revolutions against the status quo or at least the oppression and exploitation of the companies that did their best to rule and control the miners happened multiple times through out history. Often with miners organizing into Unions to fight side by side, and to aid each other. For that matter they had to in order to push back against the companies while ensuring their wives and children stayed fed. Because a lot of those miners had full families living with them. Why is this important about them fighting side by side?

“Brothers and sisters back-to-back against whatever the world threw at us.”

Silco never really talks about himself. He talks about the mines. He talks about where “we came from”, brothers and sisters back-to-back, the sons and daughters of Zaun, loyalty, and with a consistency and fervor that I choose to believe indicates he is a true believer. His fault is not in that he wants to help his people his fault is in how far he goes. Of course I could write a whole post about current day media turning nearly every character that wants to change the status quo and challenge the system into a villain, but that’s another thing entirely. My point is that for me because of my personal interests, and because of the mentions of mines and Silco’s comments and my head going to the coal wars and everything else… my Silco is very heavily rooted in those concepts.

He grew up in a community of bleak poverty watching these guards, and “company people” ruling over everyone despite doing no real work. People speaking up got punished, and if they went too far they got arrested or worse. Attempts to organize were broken apart (see real life union busting) more often than not. Food wasn’t plentiful. There was no public schooling. He basically had to raise his younger brother himself because their parents despite doing their best were always working in one way or another. Not only that, but he got to go up to Piltover once or twice as a child and got a very good look at just how very different things are in each place as well as the fact that what Piltover has isn’t as far as the Piltie’s are concerned “for those dirty Zaunite’s” in essence. Everything around him taught him a couple of very important lessons.

Pilties see his people as fundamentally, literally, and metaphorically beneath them.

His people deserve better because they are literally dying around him.

Without violence nothing will change because Piltover will not listen.

You can argue about how correct or wrong any of those view points are, but Silco fully believes all three of them. He also believes the end justifies the means which is what allows him to do the things he does. Maybe he hurts Zaun a bit, but it’ll be for the best in the end. Now I could continue this for quite a bit longer talking about his feelings concerning what Zaun has become, the chem-barons, the full extent of how his younger brother dying effected him, and so on however that’s not really what this is about. This is about something much simpler. Where does my Silco come from?

My Silco comes from a small family in a company town surrounded by poverty, and miners. He comes from a life in which he’s never had someone else take care of him for any length of time, and he had to grow up too fast. He comes from a place that forced upon him over, and over, and over again the idea that people from Piltover would never care about nor understand Zaun. He grew up among hard men, violence, oppression, and death. The never ending belief that Zaun deserves better as well as his need to be able to control his own life forcing him forward down a road of blood and revolution.

Silco is a man that in another world might have been a Punk, a protester, someone well known in one leftist movement or another. He could have been arrested for being involved in riots, and telling cops to go fuck themselves, and cursing out TERFs and bigots and would punch a Nazi without a second thought. He’s a driven man with a hatred of those that think themselves better than others for no good reason. In another world he might have been a good man.

In Arcane? In Zaun? He’s not a good man. Even if there are good reasons behind his ideology, or at least understandable ones. He has been driven too far, and gone too deep into his obsession and fanaticism with nothing and no one to take the edges off. He's never chosen to take the time to rest, and take a breath, and heal from anything. He could have been someone else of course. Someone better, but he chose not to be. After all...

“The only way to defeat a superior enemy is to stop at nothing. To become what they fear.”

To put it another way, and to close this out for now if I might be excused the theft of a good line from another character. "In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good."

[sinclair-enterprises]

Kinda sucks that of all the established characters in season 1, the only person that might be remotely close to being on Jinx’s side going into season 2 is Ekko.

The Piltovans are probably going to want her dead or alive, I can see Sevika wanting to personally tear her apart for the death of Silco and his dream, and if Caitlyn’s Mom dies she is absolutely going to make dealing with Jinx her priority. She’s essentially persona non grata to both of the most powerful groups in Piltover and Zaun. There’s also the terrifying prospect of potential Noxian intervention if Ambessa decides to pursue retribution against the person who harmed (or killed) her daughter. Amidst all of this, her sister’s likely going to choose Caitlyn, and by extension Piltover, over Jinx. Everywhere she looks she has enemies. Except, potentially, for Ekko. The (amazing, showstopping, spectacular) bridge sequence in episode 7 proved that despite everything he’d said to Vi about being unable to get through to Jinx, in that moment he recognized his childhood friend and was unable to finish her. That moment completely shattered the black and white image of Powder and Jinx he’d built in his head for years. If the two of them come to an understanding and form a tentative alliance to help each other deal with the looming threats to Zaun, he might become her staunchest ally. Oil runs thicker than water, and ultimately Jinx is still a fellow Zaunite. If war does come to the undercity, and defending Zaun in turn becomes an extension of defending Jinx (or vice versa), I really don’t see him turning his back on her again. If Vi does become an enforcer, it’ll be all the easier for Ekko to see her as a traitor and more tightly close ranks with even the more unsavory elements of the underground including Sevika and the chembarons. In any case, potential new characters notwithstanding, I think the connection between Jinx and Ekko is going to play a much bigger role in the story going forward. It’s still a little early to tell what that might look like, but I genuinely hope that Ekko can become someone she can count on.