#you can like season 2 you can like the enforcers and piltover but just. acknowledge that the plot lines were a bit fucky

[discowingneckline]

if i'm correct, the timeskip from act 1 and act 2 was 3-6 months, but from my knowledge we don't know how long the timeskip between act 2 and 3 is. HOWEVER! it certainly wasn't a day, and here is my thoughts on why:

vi suffered from some sort of slash on her abdomen and protecting jinx's body in an explosion, yet she is able to fight just fine in the last episode. she even carried gert in episode 9, like she definitely wasn't as injured as she was from episode 6.

ambessa had the time to bury her dead, send for reinforcements to come by sea (and if she didn't send for more outside of piltover, she at the very least had to get communication to those docked, which at that...why wouldn't caitlyn take care of them pre-battle?), and do a bunch of shit with singed.

singed/viktor made the little bubble womb thing viktor is fermenting in, which is hooked up to a ton of pipes and like idk hose things. viktor has time to go and see mel and jayce and fight them, change into the machine herald, change ppl into metal things. singed had time to go and fix up vander. singed at some point leaves to go to his lab to save his daughter.

topsiders and zaunites both had time to train during the whole sequence thing, and i doubt they joined, trained, and then fought within like two days.

topside made more hextech related weapons (see the one loris and the pianist operate)

not necessarily counting these, but like still kinda point to it NOT being a day or even really a few days before the attack:

jinx had time after escaping jail to burn down the last drop, go to her hideout, and fail multiple times (technically) at killing herself

jinx and ekko at some point went to the firelight tree (if we are also going off of jinx fixes everything)

someone pierced ekko's ears

someone cut jinx's hair to look nicer

jinx and ekko both got new fits

jinx and ekko painted on each other (according to one of the writers)

jinx and ekko rally all the different gangs to go up topside to help

jinx configured her hideout into a hot air balloon that is completely redecorated (OR she found something similar to her hideout and decorated it)

so those are some of the big reasons i'm a little like mm no the time between act 2 and 3 isn't a day or even a few days. also caitlyn calls it a war...if this was the only battle (episode 9) with no other instances of fighting...that is a really shit word choice by the writers. like why wouldn't caitlyn just send out enforcers to go and fight ambessa while she's down in zaun with singed and viktor while she's at a huge disadvantage? why would zaunites just be fine with ambessa and her army being in their territory?

prev reblogs hit it on the "but it's armor" argument. like granted piltover is known for not having military and relying on enforcers to do all that stuff (which is it's own world building issue about the ins and outs of enforcers...) but like zaunites have literally built better armor and mechanical suits that protect them better. why wouldn't they use those or just go in their own clothes. you can't say it's so they can recognize friend from foe, because ambessa's army wears red and silver, and piltover is blue and gold. if anyone else wore other stuff, you could still easily identify the enemy.

and the argument over why zaunites shouldn't be wearing their oppressor's uniform has nothing to do with whether zaunites are valid or not. zaunites that end up wearing it for the battle are just as valid as those who don't because they are both fighting for their lives. ambessa was literally in their territory, viktor saved (killed) a good chunk of their community. what is being criticized is that the writers made that choice to show piltover enforcers being nice to some people, and zaunites deciding that they'll help because actually their oppressors are good people! it's a bad choice, end of.

on another note, sevika being on the council is a horrible decision like prevs said. it is NEVER said (and correct me if i'm wrong with some evidence from the writers) that caitlyn gave up her family's council seat for sevika specifically. mel left, leaving her seat empty. jayce resigned, leaving his seat empty. and heimerdinger was kicked off, leaving his seat empty. it is never really said who "replaced" who. all we know (from what the scene shows us) is that sevika has ONE seat. having one voice out of many who are the entire government

i.e piltover council seems to create and vote in laws, conduct trials, and when heimerdinger was on the council, have complete control over piltover education

gets you nowhere. especially when the other councilors seem to find your very presence to offensive. sure, sevika can advocate for changes in zaun, but if she wanted them to do anything, she'd likely have to bribe them. some votes on the council have to be unanimous, others simple majority. this part alone would need another separate post to really go into just how screwed she got. also! hate to be that person, but sevika has like little to no control over the undercity. she has silco's crew (unless some of them left after he died) and vaguely the jinxers by proxy. there are still 3 chembaron gangs (not including those from finn or renni, because idk what happened to their gangs) unaccounted for and the firelights. they have been shown to not really agree with each other on much of anything. you know who would be a better voice for zaun? ekko. he had ties to heimerdinger and doesn't completely hate topside. he, like caitlyn, worked to dismantle shimmer. logically, he would make the most sense. also, if it WAS caitlyn who gave up her seat for sevika, then it makes even less sense why she wouldn't pick ekko. she vaguely knows ekko, but her only real interactions with sevika were fighting her. also she was NOT the only one fighting for their rights and stayed true to her beliefs. we see this when she starts to understand vander's point on not giving up their own people, which she tells smeech. she has grown in her understanding and personal beliefs.

anyway, i saw the response and was like "what in the hell" so hope you enjoyed my ramblings on this topic.

so much interesting nuance regarding all out war between the two cities set up in s1 that is then completely not followed through in s2 cuz they just change the plot halfway through to something more confusing and less grounded and less interesting.

And then they try to pretend they had well developed and well explored themes regrading war and class and progress cuz a character who doesn’t do anything for half the season gets a seat on the council when we don’t even see the complex negotiations that would have led to that happening.

[astral-herald]

arcane's depiction vs. endorsement and why it flopped

~ i think i'm finally ready to complain ~

My general opinion of season 2 is potential squandered. My recent post about Viktor's storyline as an intentional tragedy lets ya'll know that I did, for the most part, enjoy his arc (hot take, I know, and I know lots of people disagree with me, and I fully understand). If he'd gotten the screen time necessary to pull it off, it would have been legendary in my book. But the lack of screen time, even in the case of the season's eventual BBEG, speaks to my greatest issue with Arcane: no commitment.

(Critical) Discussion of Jinx, Ekko, Sevika, Vi, and Viktor below!

Arcane, as a tragedy (I've said this word too many times to count smh), asks the plot, "what is the worst thing that could possibly happen to this character?" and answers in kind. This is why we get Viktor's lost agency until the very end (and like I've said in the past, I completely understand and hold space for those who dislike this route).

If we ask this same question of the following characters, the scope of loss and despair innate to Arcane's final narrative is made very clear:

Sevika: a revolutionary forever devoted to the cause, not the individual, is nominated as an individual to represent the masses in a governmental body that has no interest in her class-conscious ideal.

Ekko: the people's hero in every sense of the word who never sees the fruits of his labor/sacrifice and who goes without the acknowledgement he deserves (more than any other Arcane character).

Vi: the ultimate victim of Piltover police brutality coerced, through grief, trauma, and loss, into working for the system that oppressed her. Even Caitlyn, for all her good intentions, seems incapable of ever understanding this.

Viktor: a genius hellbent on ending the same suffering he endured at the hands of Piltover's oppression has his agency revoked, driving him to inflict the same choicelessness he endured on Zaunite innocents.

On paper, these arcs are devastatingly sensical. And we don't always need happy endings in our stories (I'd sure like them, more often than not, of course). We can and should witness the harsh realities of class oppression if we don't experience them ourselves. The writing team painstakingly crafted and foreshadowed these worst-case scenarios throughout season 1. For example, in 1x07, Ekko being immediately shot at by Marcus at the bridge confirms our suspicions that Piltover Enforcers are a lost cause, not just full of bad apples but internally broken beyond repair. It felt that, despite all the hope, this struggle was doomed, and we were careening toward something dark - "In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good."

Had these arcs been successful, audiences would be confronted with the systemic issues we see today that implicate the physical and mental health of downtrodden individuals on account of lazy, prejudiced leadership. This actively happens. It is actively happening, sans the fantasy of it all. This is where Arcane should have shined: they depict the tragedy of these characters, but DO NOT endorse it.

But Arcane chickens out and the entire thing fails. Here are the Flop Era Spark Notes:

Maddie is the egregious bad apple stereotype that absolves all other agents of the regime. She clearly is not a stand-in for Enforcers at large because, all of a sudden, they're capable of coordinated artillery strikes that are necessary to the defense of Piltover, which the viewer must suddenly and abundantly care about. So glad she died. Also, Arcane, you cannot introduce abject warfare in the last 30 minutes of your show successfully.

Jinx's "revolutionary" plot was a red herring, and Sevika humbly vying for the spot was never delivered upon. They pay lip service to the Undercity organizing, but the scene is interrupted for larger (messier) plot concerns almost immediately. No commitment. No depiction to even refrain from endorsing.

Ekko and the Firelight Tree. Clearly this was set up as a means of showing how Piltover's mistakes were physically seeping into the only sanctuary left in Zaun. Yet this is just...never resolved? If someone has some insights into this, please let me know. No depiction. No discussion about endorsement.

What could Vi specifically gain by aligning with the Enforcers/Piltover? Human connection with Cait, sure, but why return to them in 2x06? Vi's character begged all season for development, but she kept returning to her nonsensical error of her ways (looking backwards) until the very end, and this is basically what "kills" Jinx. This is a nod to her lonesomeness post 1x03, sure, but to what end? Again, why the Enforcers?!? Oh, because now that Cait has been redeemed and Sevika is in Piltover to save the day, there are no systemic issues left to fix? Sure, Riot.

WHY DEVELOP VIKTOR'S ENTIRE HEXCORE ARC OFF SCREEN?I'M ADMITTEDLY BIASED ABOUT THIS, BUT THE AMOUNT OF DISCUSSIONS I'VE HAD WITH VIKTOR NATION ABOUT THE DEGREE TO WHICH HE WAS INFLUENCED/MANIPULATED BY THE HEXCORE (now that we know Sky was a manifestation of his humanity, not her Actual Self) IS DESPICABLE. HIS COMPROMISED AGENCY NEEDS TO BE FRONT AND CENTER AND OBVIOUS, OR ELSE IT SURE SEEMS LIKE RIOT IS ENDORSING THE LACK OF AGENCY IN VIKTOR'S STORY. I shouldn't have to make 1k word posts to explain this. I'll do it because I love him with my whole heart, but still.

I begged and pleaded for months for BBEG Viktor (I'm really proud of my predictions from October), but by introducing a villain/conflict beyond the Piltover/Zaun dichotomy, Riot severed all threads of class conflict that were so rife and exciting in season 1. The proletariat and the bourgeoise will never coalesce like they did by the end of 2x09 without systemic revolution. Sevika is just one individual. Ekko's people need him. Jinx and Viktor are gone. Vi is downtrodden, and we have SO LITTLE to show for it.

In summary, we just didn't get enough explicit explanation of any character development to make Arcane-As-Tragedy successful. They did not stick the landing. The finale leaves us all with various bad tastes in our mouth. Instead of lamenting the harsh reality of oppression, I'm confused about what Riot prioritizes and agrees with, what they aim to criticize, and what they condemn.

I'll die on the hill that revoking Viktor's agency has the potential to be one of the greatest tragic hero storylines I've ever seen, but it's a lonely hill because I'm fighting against the writing team's consistent flops. At least Balayage Viktor was so gorgeous.

shameless self plug for my earlier discussion about the innate political clashes in season 1 that were abandoned for flashy fantasy fights in season 2:

[p34rl34rring]

caitvi s2 rant w/ spoilers

i LOVE caitvi, like seriously. they’re probably my favorite ship of all time.

but watching act 3 for the first time, i felt as though JAYCE and VIKTOR’s FANON ROMANCE had more depth and attention than the LITERAL CANON LESBIANS.

i’m so grateful for caitvi’s sex scene, kiss scene, and endgame confirmation, but to be quite frank, their payoff doesn’t fully land. which is honestly so devastating. it all plays into how the piltover/zaun conflict was completely brushed over, therefore their representations in the narrative do not get afforded the depth they needed.

because caitlyn and vi had more to them than their relationship to jinx. with caitlyn consistently in positions of power, we never end up seeing her weaponize that power for the people she claimed to care about in season 1. “the undercity needs healing” was so powerful because caitlyn had the moral compass piltover didn’t. yes, she becomes blinded by rage and grief after receiving an ounce of trauma from zaun that piltover reapplies tenfold. but she’s supposed to COME BACK from that. we see her push back against ambessa which is valuable to her character, but she is still the figurehead to ambessa’s warmongering. we get the small acknowledgment of it via caitlyn, but despite losing an eye for her crimes, nothing is done to remedy her actions. she makes it up to vi by using her power to aid in her prison break, that’s all. if caitlyn can withhold kiramman funding to make vi a enforcer, she has so much money and power to change the course of zaun’s treatment.

also, i found the “what are you shooting for” line to be so key to caitlyn’s character in season 1 and they NEVER call back to that. do they even properly answer that question in her character? i would have loved a callback to grayson for caitlyn to wake up from her commander nightmare. because she was a person in a position of power who, while not always perfect, cooperated and worked with vander behind closed doors. she understood the value in achieving communication. caitlyn never wields her power to help in season 2 but i felt as though the caitlyn we knew in season 1 would at least find her way even after everything that happened. or vi would be there to remind her. but alas, nothing.

vi was a vehicle in season 1 to address zaun in the eyes of piltover. she is the bridge between with her really knowing it, she has other personal goals in that moment. as time goes on, we never see her grapple with the weight of becoming an enforcer. we see her use her leverage with caitlyn to become a voice for zaun at the table in one small moment. but largely, vi just becomes complicit in caitlyn’s grief-stricken rage, losing most of her personal agency. there is NOTHING about vi dealing with this, which is such a shame.

this really could have informed a ending for both caitlyn and vi where they assume positions of power that focus on proper communication and peacemaking legislation for piltover and zaun. caitlyn could have lead enforcer reform to protect the undercity. caitlyn using her mother’s insight via the key to make informed decisions. or vi becomes a community builder in zaun working with ekko to create better lives for their citizens. idk even something cliche is better than not acknowledging anything at all. them helping to remedy the piltover/zaun conflict helps tie their narrative from season 1.

yeah caitvi get to live a happy, quiet life together in a huge mansion but at what cost. after all of the loss and pain vi has been through. vi fully disconnected from her family and everything she’s ever known. they don’t even confirm if they stay as enforcers moving forward. who takes the kiramman seat at the council? none of these questions are resolved. very very sad to me.

[arcane-ish]

I doubt the writers thought that much in detail. But if I had to take a stab, what I think fits what was presented?

IMO it looks too pretty and happy for there to have been a major violent confrontation. Powder, Ekko, Mylo and Claggor just don't seem like they've been to war. And let's be realistic, if there had been a war just 5, 6 years ago there would be more signs of it, at least more nationalistic displays as you noted.

And as you noted, no signs of Shimmer, so I think it just didn't play a role. Either Silco never had it or was talked out of using it.

I could see Vi's death making Vander mad enough to get him back into the fight. But I could also see Vander just being a totally fucked up mess and Silco steps in to help the family and one step is exerting moral pressure on Piltover. Like people protesting mostly peacefully, Vander being shown off as the big grieving father. Piltover being at first "wtf, she's a thief who got herself killed" and Zaun being "well, if she wasn't in such dire circumstances she wouldn't have gotten the idea". Maybe combine it with them revealing the secret deal between the enforcers and the undercity and either cancelling it leading to crime in Piltover or threatening to cancel it. IMO just having a political/negotiator person like Silco in a position like that without having to worry about the buildup of allies/Vander just being good at getting the city's support could help a lot.

Maybe there were arguments again about how violent they should let things go and about what Felicia would have wanted and what would be best for the kids.

As for the "themes of season 1"..., well this is season 2 and that has some pretty stated themes as well. Such as posing the idea that even Silco would support walking away rather than repeating the cycle of violence. Such as Zaun helping Piltover out even though Piltover just recently gassed the shit out of them, tortured their people, threw tons of them in prison. And maybe gaining a slightly better status because of that shared fight, not because Zaun was fighting against Piltover. (btw, I actually think that is not that removed from life. There's narratives of rights advancements being made/the majority population being more in favor of it because minorities being heavily utilized in wars, there's quite a bit of "this group or that group fought really bravely for us in WW2 and that's why they have special status" myth building in real life).

I sometimes think "murderhobo revolution fans" ;) sometimes have a very narrow view as well about how real life status change happens too. There are plenty of violent revolutions that failed or changed nothing (especially if we subtract all colonial conflicts simply because imo they just do not suit).

And acknowledge that "people gain indpendence because the larger entity that controlled them lost a war or imploded on its own due to there being a general trend away from monarchy or communism" (ie Soviet Union, Ottoman Empire, Austro Hungarian Monarchy) also work quite different. Neither Silco nor Vander nor Ekko has really proposed an ideological change away from aristocracy (that they for example could try to sell to non house member Pilties as well) nor is there a sign that they are in contact with groups trying to achieve similar things in Noxus or Freljord or whatever.

Or all the revolutions that succeeded only because a superior force intervened on the revolution's behalf (ie the US toppling Saddam, or NATO in Yugoslavia).

I dunno, I'm just sad that the Silco fans aren't into the idea of "Silco, master manipulator of Piltover public opinion", when I think that that would be plenty of sexy and interesting as well. Yes, he uses violent means in season 1, but we can also read that as him reacting to circumstance (ie he just killed apparently popular leader Vander and now has to waste time installing his own people who keep down any Vander loyalists and spend at least some his resources on fighting his own people aka the Firelights rather than trying to get them on board).

But if in a different situation a different tool (like speech) was also promising rewards, maybe he would be willing to use it. Especially if in this universe Silco was a little bit more trusting with Vander and was rewarded for it, maybe he could be persuaded to also trust that different tools could work on Piltover rather than "the only language they understand is violence".

>I am also wondering what exactly Vander did to get and keep Silco that... pliant.

I'm willing to spend much, much, much time pondering all the options and methods ;)

Say, where was the Arcane kinkmeme link again?

Episode 7 - Silco's Zaun or Vander's undercity?

We all love "Pretend Like It's The First Time", right. But there's two ways of interpreting it, and I like one better... 1. This is Silco's Zaun. At some point, possibly right after Vi's death, he got Vander back on side for his revolution. Using Silco's unethical but very effective methods, they got freedom for Zaun and it worked out pretty well for everyone. Silco runs the place but he's trying to hand responsibility on to the next generation, and it's sufficiently easy a job now that at 5pm every day his adoring husband knows to have a post-work cocktail ready for him. 2. This is Vander's undercity. At some point Silco went back to Vander - maybe he got the letter, stormed into the bar to yell at Vander, and Vander poured him the best liquor and let him continue yelling for three hours. At which point he fell into Vander's arms and bed and has been there ever since. No more Shimmer, no more unethical methods or exploiting Lanes kids like Deckard, he's Nice Now and talks about forgiveness. It doesn't matter that the undercity isn't free, it is clean and safe and prosperous and they're happy together in it.

In both cases this appears to also improve the weather, with Mylo, Claggor, Heimerdinger, Powder and Ekko working on poison absorption and air cleanup technology (I love that).

I like 1 better, of course - I think it fits better with the season 1 themes of there being things worth fighting for. But... we don't see any Zaun symbols or flags, as far as I can tell, and only a few hints of Shimmer colour (like the lanterns over Ekko and Powder). It doesn't even really look like Zaun - the glass is a Piltover-style glass, the people don't look that rough and vibrant, they're having a cute competition.

Also Silco seems to be drinking from his hipflash initially. I know the hipflask is a symbol of zaundads understanding, but it's odd to be using a hipflask in your own house if you're a person of importance and responsibility. Also, he's lost his trademark Shimmer eye, hopefully because he has better medicine in this AU but if not... (At least he got Vander to dress properly. As soon as I saw Vander in this AU I thought "ohhh is that the influence of- ") The second option... well I can see how they could leave that open for the Silco-haters and extreme centrists. But it's a bit darker, isn't it. I am also wondering what exactly Vander did to get and keep Silco that... pliant.

[jumumo]

The writers did play softball with Piltover, huh?

Is it because they wanted to make the transition of Vi being an Enforcer (apparently) more smooth?

Because they wanted a villain to make the story flow better?

Because it's a lore dump for a game that probably fleshes it out better?

Or the game was already set up like this and they were constrained to that?

It's been bothering me since I first watched Arcane. The treatment of Silco, Piltover and Undercity/Zaun. It's a bit confusing to me with the way I understand it.

Piltover and characters from there barely acknowledge their horrible side even though I know it must be there because you don't get a schism between the Undercity and Piltover with jack shit happening inbetween. I'm pretty sure Piltover exploited the Undercity for resources without care of their wellbeing. The Councilors, well most of the Councilors are portrayed as being feeble minded, up their ass and stupid. They are treated as ineffective. Then there's Mel, the true brains! Except... We're not supposed to see her as actively malicious (and I don't wanna see her as that because Implications on several levels). She knows about the state of Undercity enough to know there can be a messy war but has seemingly done nothing to deescalate this type of situation in the first place?? Don't think about that because she has a character exploration about Choosing peace and it's really all she ever wanted.

Learning about Heimerdinger punched me in the face because this Fluff Ball let the state of the Undercity happen??? He founded Piltover and is all about safety and not letting things be misused but The Wretched Poverty of the Undercity happened under his supervision?? BUT we're not supposed to view him as hurting and making a population destitute. It was accidental?? I don't know. It's like the writers are having Piltover characters just dodge accountability.

The Piltover characters are framed as Misguided, sympathetic, not really all their fault.

Meanwhile.

Silco gets this red carpet treatment. He's in a chiffon dress with a dangerous deep V neck and a risky slit up to the hip. Villianous ass and tiddies on display. He even gets the classic evil capitalist tropes (Even though I'm pretty sure this should be applied to Piltover too with what Silco brings up). It's amazing. Even though the main drive he has is the oppression from Piltover. They don't ever validate Silco on this because he's such an eviiiill man, and wanting to fight is bad. Don't you see, Piltover didn't mean to do it. That's why Vander is capital G, Good. He wants peace no matter how precarious and still very much fucked over everyone still is. This isn't a dig at Vander, I like his character. Just how the story uses him. Even the Enforcers get a sympathetic lens through Marcus because of his relation to Silco.

I have more thoughts but they're scattered. I didn't even get to how Caitlyn seemingly functions to soften Piltover even more with her Not All Topsiders framing she got going on. The amount of frustration I have with her in The Council scene with Vi when she shows pity of all things. Comes off more to me like "Poor little baby Undercity people can't help themselves, they're sick so we need to take care of them" instead of actual solidarity. Is this intentional? Or is it just at face value?

I'm holding out if some of this would be pointed out in Season 2. Maybe Ekko will be my lifesaver in this situation.

[bathtubbbbbbbbb]

Ooo this thread is super interesting so far, so I’d like to add to it.

I think the fox/wolf analogy that Ambessa presents to Mel is a false one, one told to mislead both us the audience, as well as a young impressionable Mel — it has truth to it yes, but the best lies contain a bit of truth. I think many of the things Ambessa says are of this nature, lies with a bit of truth to them, false analogies framed as facts.

I think the lesson that is to be ultimately gleaned from Ambessa’s analogy of the fox & the wolf — looking at it through the wider narrative — is that trying to be something that is not in your nature will destroy you. Trying to adapt to a situation through mimicry & lying (whether it be to yourself or others), wearing skin that isn’t yours, ie being “a fox among wolves”, will only get you so far before it comes back to bite you.

This sorta idea has already been demonstrated multiple times in season 1:

Jayce being pushed into & trying to be a politician — this results in the integrity of hex-tech as vessel to improve lives being compromised as he is pushed & pulled through the political sphere & pressured to make weapons, which eventually results in him killing a kid through the use of his own personal hex-tech weapon. To quote Viktor “We’re scientists not soldiers”.

Jinx trying to be Powder for Vi, she’s simply “not that girl anymore” ..& imo never was — Powder always had volatile, impulsive, & violent proclivities “I made them for the enforcers … those two are full of nails!”, & the air of innocence & meekness that Powder seemingly had was mostly Vi projecting onto her, infantilising her, trying to preserve this innocence her sister had already lost.

Mel trying be ‘the wolf’ & being influenced by her mother’s fear mongering — encouraging Jayce to build hex-tech weapons, being frankly pretty unkind to Viktor, barely acknowledging him in the bomb defusing scene, despite it seemingly being pretty out of character for her. Through this she causes dissonance both within Jayce & the political sphere of Piltover which lets her mom get a foot hold in.

Viktor being shucked aside by almost everyone as basically an assistant despite supposedly being Jayce’s partner — having no real say in hex-tech despite his efforts being paramount to its inception. Heimerdinger (fuck that dude) describing him as one of the “brightest stars” but he is consistently out shown by Jayce.

Just Marcus’s whole deal — his ark is essentially just a snake eating its own tail.

(There’s certainly more examples, these are just the one I could come up with.)

In season 2 this theme is seemingly gonna continue with Vi & Caitlyn — both becoming ruled by negative emotions, rejecting any sort of kindness & replacing it with ruthlessness & cruelty, despite kindness being such a fundamental part of both of these characters. We’ve already seen how this has affected Vi, she’s in a spiral of violence & substance abuse that seems to only get tighter & more suffocating as it wears on. I can only imagine the result this will have on Caitlyn, letting herself be consumed by vitriol.

Caitlyn & Mel don’t need to be nor are they “the fox” or “the wolf”, they’re just themselves & that’s all they need to be to succeed.

“What makes you different makes you strong”.

Oof

idk if I agree with this 100% cause I think Cassandra loved Caitlyn even if Caitlyn was doing things atypically. Same with Ambessa and Mel but yeah. They would've gone ham if the other were switched

[zaunbinary]

zaunites could’ve fought with the firelights with their masks and their clothes but they chose to have them VISIBLY ALIGNED with their oppressors instead of the freedom fighter group from their home made of the people who ACTUALLY fought for their rights and protection. but what we got was the choice where their identity as zaunites is actively hidden

so much interesting nuance regarding all out war between the two cities set up in s1 that is then completely not followed through in s2 cuz they just change the plot halfway through to something more confusing and less grounded and less interesting.

And then they try to pretend they had well developed and well explored themes regrading war and class and progress cuz a character who doesn’t do anything for half the season gets a seat on the council when we don’t even see the complex negotiations that would have led to that happening.