What I love about the tragedy in Arcane, is it's so obviously coming, but the highs are so high you trick yourself into ignoring all the red flags in favor of hope.
@@mordor2594 What do you mean? I don't think the vast majority of people experience Greek tragedy, lol. That said, I'd say yes, a lot of us ignore red flags in favor of optimism to our ultimate detriment. But that's what drives us forward, because sometimes we DO get the happy ending, red flags be damned.
@@kyu2o337 You nailed it! If there’s anything the internet has taught me is paralysis by analysis will result in an unsatisfying life. Red flags exist but there’s a fine line between reading red flags and being obsessed and paralyzed from taking action. Life is short and so at some point just taking the leap and leaving things behind is the only way forward.
Exactly. I’ve seen a lot of videos abiut how disappointing it was. But for me. I wasn’t disappointed at all. Yes there were some flaws. And one big flaw. However it was still an amazing masterpiece that followed through with a great ending for each character.
@@atomicaaron6720 yeah dude. And to quote Jayce "There's beauty in imperfections" Its a miracle we got this show in the first place. Sure the pacing was fast, we could have used an episode or two more but did they tell the story, the main story they built about the arcne? Yes, and it was amazing and stunning beautiful. Did they change the lore to write something original. Hell yeah they did, Viktor aint the same anymore and sure the old one was one of the okay written champions but ffs his story was NOTHING compared to what we got. Lore cannot reach the scale of these stories cause its JUST worldbuilding, it doesnt say an active narative we can follow like a TV show gives us!!
@@atomicaaron6720 I see a lot of videos about disappointment, but I don't watch them. I watched a few, but the criticisms mostly give me the impression, the critics didn't understand the show (and Schnee could've explained it to them) or just wanted a different story.
The timebomb dance scene has ruined me. Not because of the tragedy which was definitely sad, but the experience was so raw and beautiful, it made me really want this experience with someone. I, like all the characters, did not have a fulfilling childhood. Kt wasn't as dramatic as Arcane obviously, but there are certainly a lot of regrets. Seeing Ekko go back and have at least a GLIMPSE of a normal teen experience made me wish for something similar and it has really put me in a hole.
As far as I can tell, this is his first video of this type. I think he's got potential, he should lean in...maybe schnee it up for a bit and soak up all that Arcane love, lol.
I have the same cope that Ekko in some way knew Jinx would fake her death, since there were cut scenes of them bonding in the finale (including painting Xs and hourglasses on each other). Also the hope that Ekko choose to leave with her on the airship.
This was a great review my man. Taking the time to speak from the heart about it is greatly appreciated. I personally watched all of Arcane, for the first time, in a span of about two weeks. Arcane is everything I've ever wanted in a series, and I didnt know a show could do that, let alone as effectively as Arcane. It connected with me on a level I didnt realize media could reach. The genre blend of fantasy and steampunk makes for a unique and gorgeous setting, not to mention the beautiful and new 3D animation +2D texture style. The characters have so much depth, real relationshops with each other, fantastic designs, and theg made me freaking emotional, to tears at time. Cait and Vi give me a will to live, Vi and Jinx's sisterly momemts make me laugh and cry, Jayce and Viktor's journey and sacrifice was painful at times but gave me hope. And all of this is elevated by the best series soundtrack I've heard in a long time. All of the songs go hard. After finishing Arcane I felt numb and drained, and I'm just now starting to return to my typical mental capacity. It makes me sad to not see these characters' stories continue, but I'm so happy I was able to go on their journey with them.
Can’t stop watching Arcane reviews since I finished the show. This one’s easily the best I’ve seen- great job! Would love to see more character analysis from you, whether it’s about Arcane or other shows.
Honestly, this series (especially episode 7 in season 2) completely messed me up-in the best way possible. =) What a masterpiece! What an emotional rollercoaster...
Thanks for letting us know how you felt about Arcane season 2. I liked it so much as brilliant as season 1. So seeing some people not getting or understanding what we got in season 2 was puzzling. Luckily there seems to be more people like you who have liked it a lot. It is so emotional & entertaining throughout. About CaitVi reconciliation, it didn't happen immediately when they teamed up to trick Ambessa to save Vander in episode 6. Like we know in episode 8 when Vi gets angry at Cait for arresting Jinx & getting manipulated by Ambessa, Vi hadn't told Cait about Jinx but had told Jinx to be a backup in the plan to save Vander. This was because Vi still didn't fully trust Cait. Also how people say sorry depends on their character. Cait shows it more by actions than words. After her talk with Jinx, Cait realizes even she needs to atone for her mistakes (which she's already started by betraying Ambessa) not just Jinx. She orders all the guards away from the jail knowing Vi will try to break Jinx out and may leave Piltover/Zaun with Jinx and she may never see Vi again. Also her love for Vi makes her let go of feelings of revenge against Jinx. When Vi realizes this, she finally forgives Cait & is overcome with emotions which leads to the natural show of physical affection we see next.
IMO they had that scene where they hash it out, when Cait and Vi meet outside of the village and form their plan. We don't see it, but I think it happened, even if briefly. Also, both of them are very down-to-business characters, and Cait is very prideful it's one of her characteristics that defines her, so having her yell 'I know!' when Vi is accusing her of eating up Ambessa's lies is honestly, to me, enough of her humbling herself and admitting that she was in the wrong. It may not be direct, but I think Vi is the kind of person who understands that just because someone can't say the right words in the right way doesn't mean their heart isn't in the right place. It totally worked for me.
That is how I see it as well and adding to that; I think Vi's "I don't fucking care!" in the prison cell, is not just saying "I don't care about Maddie". It could have been spoken with a calm seductive tone or whatever, but instead it is spoken with such power, a verbal punch if you will, that I think she just wanted to obliterate every doubt or sense of separation between them.
While many tv show managed to reach my heart, Arcane did something no show had done before. It reached my soul and never left. Great video you have done here. I dont know how its possible you have so little subs, but you deserve more. And i just subscribed.
After watching A LOT of videos on YT about Arcane, and I mean A LOT, I really loved your scene selection in support of your thoughts. Also, your Intro included some of my all-time favorite scenes from the show, so I was confident I'd love your video if I could trust your scene selection! Great work and keep it up! I don't care how anyone reacts when I say this, but Arcane is the best media I've consumed in the last decade and in my top 3 of my lifetime. Masterpiece.
The animation is breathtaking. Truly singular. Especially the scenes at the end with Viktor and Jayce. Mind blowingly beautiful!! And then pairing it with the original orchestral composition ‘I Promised You’ it was just gorgeously cinematic. I kept wishing I could watch it at a theater!
I think you make a lot of great points. I only have to disagree with you on Caitlyn and her relationship with Vi. So much of Caitlyn’s character is visual. The show puts tons of emphasis on her eyes. She communicates more non-verbally than she does verbally. She doesn’t need to tell Vi she’s sorry when they reunite. Vi can see it in her eyes. This aspect of her character has been getting glossed over by lots of people. Another thing about Caitlyn is she does not apologize and does not accept apologies. She gets this from her parents. When she tells her dad she had the shot on Jinx and didn’t take it, he doesn’t expect an apology. He gives her the family key. It’s her duty now to carry on that legacy, not dwell on it. When Jayce tries to comfort Caitlyn after the funeral, he says he’s sorry but she refuses to hear his apology. It’s more important to move forward. The ONE time in the show where Caitlyn attempts a verbal apology is the prison lex scene. She tries to say sorry for seeing someone else, but it’s really about the entire time they were apart. But Vi will not take the apology. She has already seen the request for forgiveness in Cait’s eyes at the start of the scene and she accepts it. They don’t need a dialogue to reconcile.
Thank you very much for putting time and effort into making this video. I had the same feeling of emptiness when the show was over, and I did like everything it gave me. So I was a bit sad when, trying to stay in that moment, I reached out to the internet to share my love of the show, only to see so many people being stuck on what they didn't like. So once again, thank you for producing some positivity around this show, it is really disheartening to see the culmination of 9 years of passionate work from up to 300 people being reduced to the few things that weren't perfect.
What I realised while rewatching season 1 after finishing season 2 is that in both seasons episode 7 theres Jinx and Ekko, but 1st season they're fighting on the bridge, in 2nd we got amazing 4fps dance.. both episode 7. My mind blown when I figured it out
The moment I finished the show, I was almost stunned. Both by all the emotional high and lows, and the sad realization that it was done. It had been so long that I almost couldn't believe it. It's something that changed me forever, and I'm so happy I was here to experience it with the fan community.
Join the club brother... Fucking Brutal... I want to see more of these character... because it broke my fucking heart. My soul will heal if they tell us their stories will continue on. It just breaks me seeing VI loose her sister again. I just want a show were she finds out shes alive and goes on the hunt doing what ever she can to find her. then i can be happy.
Christian, one of the co-creators of Arcane and the main dude leading Riot's shows, has hinted at projects on the horizon that would continue their stories, but did stipulate that they're far enough away that it's not guaranteed for them to come to fruition. My guess is they might end up changing plans at some point to bring these characters back sooner (or they might have already and Christian just can't say), as it's clear that people have grown very attached to them, understandably so given how well they've been written.
Episode 7 was probably one of my favourite episodes. We'd been waiting for 3 episodes to discover what happened to Jayce, Hiemdinger, and Echo, and I'd excepted a simple back story filler type episode. But no..... They went all in and ripped my heart in two (again) and showed us "what could have been"....
I think what really made Jinx give up (and what made her not even try to be a revolutionary) is that she was proven right about herself, and not even about Isha. The second that she goes to the prison and pretends to be the hero they wanted, Warwick attacks and kills nearly all of them. They would’ve been safer if Jinx hadn’t interfered and left them in the cells, since they wouldn’t have been in the way. By freeing them, she killed any chance Zaun had of really putting up a fight.
Jinx is dead.... but Powder is still alive. She saw Ekko jump much closer to her in what looked like an instant. The strange machine he's holding had her signature build style all over it. She knows hes lived this moment a few times and she knows she must have built the z drive with him. She's at least starting to heal. Now she's on an air ship going somewhere where she can start over
have to hard agree, I watched it with a couple friends in a cinema and we just sat around for 10 minutes in basically total silence before we started coping about jinx. just emotionally exhausted (positive)
I have to agree with you that season 2 felt much less lived in compared to season 1. It is something I noticed and I think that is what happens with the plot becoming less about something on the ground and more "Avengers Level Threat" if you get what I mean (and Netflix time constraints, etc). That being said season 2 was perhaps the best thing I've ever watched and incredibly emotionally powerful and moving (and if things had been different we may not have gotten Episode 7). That is the one thing I hope they can stay on top of for their other shows their working on: maintaining a lived in environment. All that is to say I'm happy we got season 2 as it is no matter how much people want to consider the "what ifs."
You made me tear up at that last line! Love all your observations. You’re the first person I’ve heard point out the “lived-in” world issue. After watching, I said that the cities didn’t feel like characters anymore. It’s like making it too big (physically) made it feel small (dramatically).
13:30 you should watch the video by shnee on this. he talks about how the reason ekko succeeded in convincing jinx and vi failed was bc vi trying to convince her she can changing her past and ekko was trying to convince her she can move on despite her past. vi was (unknowingly) trying to deny who she was while ekko was trying to except her for who she is and help her move on in a better direction. shnee’s video says it better you should go watch it
season 2 of arcane left me in shambles and this video truly captured how most people like me felt at the end of it all. suffice it to say, i dont think i can recover from this one bois.
19:32 I agree with this point big time. To me the individual storylines felt much more seperate rather than being different perspectives of the same narrative, but I could never pinpoint the specifics as to why it felt that way. I had thought that It was mainly due to the cutting of the scenes. To me it felt like in this season they fully let one storyline run and then progressed to the next one rather than jumping between different storylines, leaving us fewer of these "Oh they teased this a few episodes ago" moments. Now I realize that not seeing the world, that connects everthing, being lived in certainly plays a big part in this feeling of having more isolated storylines.
Almost nobody talks about how Jinx was inadvertently training Isha to be a child soldier. Yet another link to Jinx's past learning from Silco. Heimerdinger was right about the Arcane. But under his watch the disparity between Piltover and Zaun grew to become exploitation and prejudice. Jinx's capture would have meant the completion of Caitlyn's three objectives. Vi threw a wrench into that. I think Caitlyn was mad about Vi actions, and she realized Vi couldn't be depended on to help her bring Jinx to justice. Caitlyn was conflicted between her grief/anger and her focus on achieving the three goals, which could calm the situation in Piltover politically. Caitlyn knew Salo and Ambessa, and probably others, were ready to abuse the Zaunites given a chance under the pretext of seeking peace. I think that is partially why she tentatively accepted the position of Commander. I do agree Caitlyn's story could have been better told. Still, it was a fun ride of a show. The point of the world being lived in is a good one I had not considered, but once you pointed it out, it seemed obvious.
The music videos are the punch booster for each and every scene and episode. BTW, we feel broken as you are, damn they got us into our core. Fortiche did a great and formidable job
This is the best show of all time the writing is ELITE, you can say any show in history and I can easily debate how Arcane is better with only 2 seasons
I second that there weren't "too many music videos". What animation can do better than live action is find different ways to tell a story. All those "music videos" have different styles and work in different ways. Some are in charcoal, some are watercolors, different framerates, different genres of music. All of them tell stories in different ways. If you don't like artists to tell you a bombastic story in a very artsy way, why are you watching Arcane in the first place? What I found, was, that the fighting scenes had different impacts on me. The cartoonier, the less gripping and tense it was for me. The first Vi/Sevika fight for example was way better for me than the second. Everybody seems thrilled that Vi now has her cool bitch-mittens, wow! But for me it takes away some of the stakes. The weapon is just as powerful as the writers need them to be in some particular moment, without having to really foreshadow or introduce anything. The longest distances can be jumped with rocket mittens. But Fortiche is so absurdly good in just showing (physical) human interaction, so the most scary jump was Powder's in E1. And the best fight was Vi/Sevika-1 where we got real boxing moves. And the next one obviously was Jinx/Ekko, which was a music video and then it wasn't. Gorgeous storytelling, and then again the human interaction which just hit. It hit so badly.
The pacing was fine for me. Arcane season 2 builds on sn1 without handholding you, no filler, no fluff, no over-simplification, no over repetitively *FORCED* toddler-ish "comedy" and no spoon feeding while encouraging deductive participation from the audience/ viewers to follow the plot complimented by an ABSOLUTE BANGER of hyper-cinematic induction all culminating to higher immersive experience. There are many online still scratching their head about how or why Silco and Vander became buddies again in the alternate timeline yet they COMPLETELY forgot about the LETTER from Vance addressed to Silco IN SEASON 1 which Silco never read in the main timeline so it becomes BLATANTLY OBVIOUS that he read the letter and "found the will to forgive" in the alternate timeline. Brilliant compact and impactful writing. But instead many are demanding to be spoon-fed. The only main issue for me (personal bias) is the finale should have been longer and bigger battle filled will much more multiple character moments AND we should have SEEN how Ekko united Zaun after saving Jinx including seeing Jinx make a new arm for Sevika. Also we never got to know WHO the other leading families of Piltover are but i am okay and content with what we got on screen. Especially considering how INSANELY EXPENSIVE the budget was (Arcane sn1+2 budget= $250m, most expensive animation ever) so it's understandable how and why they made the writing tight and compact while giving the audience some participatory deduction and generate interest to research into the lore. What they delivered is still very peak in my opinion. We all wanted more eps but there is cost-benefit situation with that. Perhaps in future projects they could make each ep 10mins longer from 40mins-50mins then the final can be like 1hr. This can be a perfect middle ground to give more time to more avenues of the plot without adding more full eps. It might cost a little more but still significantly LESS than making additional FULL eps. Either way, both Arcane sn1+2 have been incredibly amazing. Both get at LEAST ABOVE 9/10 rating from me irrespective of whatever flaws each season has.
FORCED toddler-ish "comedy" Are you forgetting what they reduced Heimer to? * "no spoon feeding" People said this about Fallout. But they did, constantly. They'd show one thing, and give an explanation for it that didn't work. Jayce's stance switch in episode 1 doesn't make any sense for his character or the events that cause it. This isn't not spoonfeeding, it's forcing plot events through character assassination. Why are we getting moments like Rictus finding a Jinx, but Ambessa not seeing the Jinx with her gun on her hip and her hair sticking out? She can't see what's in front of her? It's foreshadowing for Cait or Mel or the Black Rose? Why does she need to be made completely incompetent to achieve that? *What about the scene where Jinx claims to be Jinx to the enforcer? The Silco/Vander in other timeline is the least of any problems. I didn't even know anyone did have a problem with it. The flashback scene however, that both Silco and Vander knew Violet's mother so closely damages every character involved. It's understandable why it's "compact", but it wasn't just the budget. You can find Amanda Overton saying: "In the second season we also did a writer's room that started off similarly, then covid happened and sort of derailed all of that. Then we ended up working from home, the team kinda shrunk down to me, Alex and Christian and the team over in France, Fortiche and we had a lot of zoom calls" "Still very peak" xdd "Both get at LEAST ABOVE 9/10 rating from me irrespective of whatever flaws each season has." How does that make any sense at all? Is that just how much you like it? I like Edgerunners a lot, maybe more than Arcane. But Arcane (S1) is very obviously better. If season 1 is 9.5 with very few flaws and the next season has many more flaws, maybe even per episode, you'd rate it a 9? But then why did you say irrespective of flaws? What are you even rating at that point? Emotion? Let's give Isha a 9.5 for being a great emotional manipulation vehicle then? Very effective method of literally dropping a plot device onto Jinx to fast track her development in a short time frame. Could it have been less lazy? Sure, but we have to meet our other story beats and lose minutes of each episode.
@@Jman92854 Act 1 Episode 2. Sneaking scene, it would be fine if not for the rest of his appearance. Lack of any serious dialogue in meeting Jayce. Needing to be reproved by Ekko numerous time about the location of his home. Only asking about Viktor when he finally notices the giant Hex tomb in the room after Jayce tea for him and he drinks four cups. Episode 3 as well, still so little spoken between him and Jayce. But we do get "ballsockets" instead. Heimerdinger wasn't Jar Jar Binks in season 1.
First off, bravo diving into essay content like this, I have a feeling you're gonna see some growth from this and it's deserved. Minor point of contention: I would argue that Silco and Vander did reconcile, just too late. Starting with their interaction after Vander is captured, and culminating after Silco adopts Powder and finally understands Vander which is fleshed out in his conversation at Vander's statue. Tge statie itself is something I often think about...clearly the people of Zaun loved Vander, but love itself does not a statie build. Who commisioned it? I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it had something to do with Silco.
i think the worlds feeling more empty, was beacause they were. both actually, but also feeling empty for the characters. all of them lost so much. atleast thats was what i felt and got out of it. what i felt was most actually empty, was foreksampl Loris.. he seemed to be very important for Vi, but for me he was very empty, where milo and clagger in season 1 was very much people and someone i could relate to and understand why they where important for Vi. very nice video, videos like this is my way to cope with the series! XD
Hey, live the video amazing essay, but I have noticed that many people misunderstand the song from stromae from ep-7 S2, it doesn’t say I love you I m leaving you but I « I love you, I am waiting for you » followed by « why does your name hurts me » and « better be in bad company than lonely, better keep you friends close and your enemies closer and my greatest enemy is you, the worst is me and you, run from me, forget me » a true heart breaker
Honestly, Riot and Fortiche are psychos for killing Jinx's father like 5 times... once with her own hands, once by her "little sis"... Also, I was really mad at them for how they ended Ekko story (I understand their motivation though - they just want us to suffer) - we never got to see a scene where Ekko returns to the tree, witnessing it being cured of Hextech, seeing the people of Zaun living better lives than ever before (in this universe) and realising Zaun is moving toward the hopeful vision Ekko glimpsed in the alternate timeline. Ekko deserved that payoff moment so much. He gave up the paradise he dreamed of to save his people. While we can assume this will happen off-screen based on the ending, not showing us this brief, meaningful sequence feels almost disrespectful. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the final scene of Ekko sitting alone and commemorating Powder. It was truly heartbreaking and evoked strong emotions. However, Ekko's main goal in our universe was to save his people and make Zaun a better place. Showing the results of his efforts toward this goal would have been a perfect way to wrap up his storyline. P.S. despite all of that this show is still the best tv show or maybe even the best piece of cinema I've seen in my entire life.
People have been ragging on Vi this season more than the first and honestly I'm just sick and tired of it. You could make a compilation of all the scenes when Vi is thinking about and talking about finding/saving her sister, Vi eats, sleeps and breathes worrying about her little sister, but that's not enough for them. I love all the characters on this show, but some people REALLY love Jinx more than Vi and their bias shows. The prison love scene has really divided people. Some saying it's because Vi should've immediately tried to find Jinx because "obviously" when she said she was going to "break the cycle", that meant she was going to kill herself and I disagree. We as the audience know this, but Vi has no reason to think that. Keep in context, Vi and Jinx were bonding in Viktor's paradise until things went wrong, then Vi was knocked out after suffering a wound to her gut so she was out for a while, combined with the fact that we don't know exactly how long Vi was locked in that cell after Jinx tricked her and escaped and Caitlyn finally went down to find her and unlock the door. Oh, and the most important part: There's a whole city preparing for war... and they STILL don't know where Jinx's lair is. So let's say Vi ran right out of that cell in the bunker, where was she going to go? The Last Drop? Sure she'd see that it's in flames or burnt to the ground depending on timing, but that doesn't mean we know where Jinx set up her workshop after living with Silco. I even tried to look it up just now and it's left ambiguous. So Vi is running around unsure where to go, and Jinx already accomplished her goal of breaking the cycle, what do these people expect? It wasn't supposed to be Vi that saved Jinx, it was supposed to be Ekko, that's the point. Ekko found Jinx's hideout thanks to Powder in the other timeline. Had that not happened, Jinx would be dead and no one would know for sure as they just stopped seeing her around. Also people being mad at Vi for being "selfish" even though Jinx literally said that she deserves to be happy with Caitlyn... they really don't care about Vi, they'd prefer she die and let Jinx by the main character.
Exactly. If anything being the protector role is something that Vi had to break out of. She never once thought of herself. She has always done things to protect the people that she loves and for once she was actually doing something for herself by choosing Caitlin wholeheartedly in the prison scene,. For once she chose something that made her happy and that’s the beginning of her growth. This whole time she was always Led by guilt, which is why she was always stuck in the middle between her love for Caitlin and her love for her sister, but once jinx gave her the blessing of saying you don’t need to worry about me anymore. You deserve to be with her Vi then let go of that immense pressure and chose what she wanted. It was even confirmed by the writers of arcane that if she didn’t have her sister to take care of, then she would fall in love.
Arcane ruined animated show for me. I can't watch any other animated series without comparing them to Arcane and it straight up ruined the experience for me. They set the bar up way too high and now I'm here waiting/ hoping Castlevania Noctunre Ss2 will be almost as good.
Your last few lines were perfect. Except I cannot believe I have to leave this behind and move on in my life, I am still feeling the emotions that some of the characters felt and this show was the first one that made me feel understood..I am not as strong as Ekko..
Ahhhhh, motherfu... Yeah, i just wish we get thouse scenes from jinxs artbook diary, where she made hearts around ekko and the pictures where they paint eachother. 60 minutes of ekko and jinx contant are gone😭, i hope we see ekko and jinx with vi again. Would be heartbraking if not. And nobody gonna tell me that im dumb or anything because i know yall do that because of the ekko and jinx thing, but its so clear to me that they need eachother. And that she needs vi. Argh thats so fucked up guys
Acane's animation douse not rival spiderverse instead it absolutely kanes the spiderverse but one thing I will say the music video remember me is the happiest video and most depressing at the same time because it shows the joy in the kids and to see that joy it' s happy but it's allso depressing because that joy dousn't exsist anymore and if it came back it won't be the same we as the audience want to hope that will be but this is Acane we know something will go wrong
Who seriously thought that the music videos were too many??? It's peak storytelling!!! Imagine the usual, "Back in the time, blah blah blah" or "We did this to yada yada". But we had music and epic animation of some events that would be boring as hell if they told it in scripts. Some also says S2 was rushed, but I think the creators are looking at it on a greater scale, they can't just put all their coins in one setting. S2's fast-paced style was still greatly done compared to shows that made it too long for the ending to be meh. Arcane isn't perfect but it's still the greatest.
Really like the essay. I do like this analysis of how Cait apologizes to Vi, just not in words… th-cam.com/video/l0-We7fyCaQ/w-d-xo.html This series has so much capture in the minute details, and also when things are said.
“Dumpster fire” is pretty strong. S2 isn’t anywhere as good with respect to literary quality as S1, but it’s still like comparing another Shakespeare play to Hamlet. Sure, Titus Andronicus isn’t anywhere near as good as Hamlet, but it’s still great.
I think that, Jinx, Ekko, Singed, and Isha were the best written characters in the show and in season 2. Everyone else completed their arcs, but there wasn't really a lot of depth. Also i think the ending was made to tie loose ends rather than actually consider the depth of the characters they made. Would have been more interesting to see Viktor get locked away or sealed from his possession of Arcane power, and now that's he has a taste he will return to finish his Glorious evolution. Heimer...what even happened there? You're telling me he just up and died or dipped to another dimension to be happy? Explain to us why Vander is still alive after the whole Viktor thing is over? I thought the beast was gone and also Vander's persona burned away. Vi/Cait was done pretty sloppily which might've been the point to parallel Zaun/Piltover, but it still felt rushed. Etc. I do think a lot of goods things were done, just a shame the show was cut short so they had to rush everything in.
@@shadowone01x99 Kind've Viktor sorta went off the rails because of losing his "emotions" but never took the logical path with anything...he was just simply delusional. Ambessa I will agree had some depth but with a huge issue. Her endgoal besides revenge was never really elaborated on and she was forced to be a very flashy character. Compared to the expression of family revealed in her champion music video, it was thrown in as an afterthought in the show. In the show she wanted to be on top and that was it.
Bad review. 04:10 You personally think that? Isha is a cheap and lazy emotional manipulation vehicle to escort Jinx to her desired state within the timeframe they had. Why are you speaking like you're hesitant? It's obviously why she exists. Why the writers literally just drop her onto Jinx. "masterpiece" btw It's fine to good at best.
@@spegwettie9053Writing wise almost definitely. Even then, it's better than something like Fallout. Fallout is mostly well produced and terribly written. I'd probably rate it 3/10, it attempts payoffs and fails every set up. I'm not sure it really has any successes from a storytelling perspective. Arcane season 2 does have set ups and payoffs, so many awful ones that are within a single episode, like the "enough favors" between Jinx and Sevika. But it also does have payoffs that exist because of season 1, some of Viktor's arc for example. Which is also destroyed elsewhere, it does at least have some successes. I think we'd be talking about one point difference, like at BEST is it a 4? 4 is obviously very reasonable and if you're only looking at storytelling, as low as 2. Very possibly. I usually don't even need to think to be objective, I really like Edgerunners but it's obviously not as good as season 1 of Arcane. I can easily see season 2 being bad, so much of it is bad. Some is good and then plenty will retroactively damage season 1. Unless people are rating things on how they like them, nobody should be giving it 7+. Things that are supposed to be subjective, but people seem to like them far too much. Like most of the music segments "tell so much" story, when they literally do the opposite. They take much needed time away from character development. So even if one thinks they're well made in any way, they still come at a cost. Character assassination of characters within their first appearances, episode 1 Jayce, episode 2 Heimer, etc. etc. There's so much wrong with it. I'd hate to be looking at what could have been good in a different show, else I'd need to rate Fallout the same. I think maybe because I spent the whole time being disappointed, and see everyone celebrating it. Whereas with Fallout, it's just so bad I can't even see what other people like about it. I know with Fallout that I am being fair when judging it so harshly. I don't know why or how lenient I'm being. Most if not even all of its positives can be attributed to season 1.
Season 2 is a total writing collapse. Like joker 2 or late season game of thrones. They completely retconned season 1. Oh, is jinx finally at peace being a villain? Nope, retconned. She's sad again and doesn't want to be a villain doesn't want to be jinx. Why? She's best girl can't do anything wrong. Can't support women's wrongs. In season 1 she was an elite mob assassin who killed at least multiple dozens of people, probably hundreds if not low thousands. She laughed maniacally as she gunned them down. She committed multiple terrorist attacks that killed people. But season 2? She best girl. Silly jinx! Color smoke attack! It would make sense that Caitlyn would become more desperate to get jinx, more unhinged in the pursuit of jinx if she was running around killing people left and right. But know. Jinx does color bombs and then retires. So why does Caitlyn become obsessed with jinx? Like yeah jinxed killed Caitlyn's mother of course but why be dictator and opress the entire under city. Just personally try to track jinx down. But since jinx isn't killing anyone it's not the same intensity. There's a million ways to Sunday where you could have taken the story that would have been better than this And Caitlyn never even does anything bad. Because she is also best girl. That's why she should have accidentally killed Iesha. Or even just accidentally wounded her. Jayce accidentally killed a kid in camera in season 1. Imagine if he didn't. It went from him going the undercity is dangerous to you Silco my man let's have peace you can get independence. Like what? Oh i changed my mind off camera But that's exactly what Caitlin did in season 2 The first act wasn't as good as season 1 but was still good..some issues and flaws but could be fixed. Act 2 really started to go off the walls. Iesha's sacrifice was stupid. The moment was ruined bc 1 this character clearly existed only to die. 2 why? She didn't even need to do that. Like literally they could have just left the other way. It was just stupid. And 3. Warwick doesn't die, jinx is still captured etc. Her sacrifice was worthless. 4. The rest of the series most people don't even react to it. It's like the character is forgotten. Also kinda just anticlimacticly fixing to and Caitlyn and vi and jinx. Like uh, ok. Not like you just gutted the 2 min plot points of the show. Then season 3 except for the standalone first episode the end of season sucked ass. Worst writing collapse I ever saw. Worse than ending of GOT. Worse than joker 2. Yay all our main character arcs are already done. No climax just dropped arc 2. Catlyin changes her mind on the whole being a dictator thing. With no resolution or climax and off camera. Jinx and vi are good now. Bc I don't know. They spent 4 minutes together. Sure vi moved heaven and earth to get her sister back in season 1 but it didn't work. Now in season 2 it just ...... Kinda happens...... I guess
@@shadowone01x99 Art is objective. You said you "completely" disagree. Most of what he said were events that take place in the show. Ideally I'd just transcribe every event of the show and we'd all notice its problems. Which should be no different to just watching it, but highlighting those contrary events helps. I don't think theirs was the most well constructed comment, but it carries the gist of some of the show's flawed events and arcs. You're right in that not all of it was objective. You can ignore the conclusion segments and acknowledge the parts that are in the show that their conclusion is being based on. That's why my preferred form of media analysis is juxtaposing events that contradict each other, though people will still typically choose delusion over acknowledgement. Fallout is a great one, because the writers will frequently just lie to their audience. Arcane season 2 only has a few instances like that, but the majority of its flaws are absence of character and/or development, so it's not as easily provable. Season 1 is near perfect, very few flaws. Season 2 tries to have as many flaws as season 1, per episode.
What I love about the tragedy in Arcane, is it's so obviously coming, but the highs are so high you trick yourself into ignoring all the red flags in favor of hope.
That's tragedy done right.
Is that how life is?
@@mordor2594 What do you mean? I don't think the vast majority of people experience Greek tragedy, lol.
That said, I'd say yes, a lot of us ignore red flags in favor of optimism to our ultimate detriment. But that's what drives us forward, because sometimes we DO get the happy ending, red flags be damned.
@@kyu2o337 You nailed it!
If there’s anything the internet has taught me is paralysis by analysis will result in an unsatisfying life. Red flags exist but there’s a fine line between reading red flags and being obsessed and paralyzed from taking action. Life is short and so at some point just taking the leap and leaving things behind is the only way forward.
It's also because the shows you glimpses of hopes as well and that's why we still cling to those.
Finally a review that doesn't focus on the imperfections of and worries around arcane, just a man sharing his experience with the show
Exactly. I’ve seen a lot of videos abiut how disappointing it was. But for me. I wasn’t disappointed at all. Yes there were some flaws. And one big flaw. However it was still an amazing masterpiece that followed through with a great ending for each character.
@@atomicaaron6720 yeah dude. And to quote Jayce "There's beauty in imperfections" Its a miracle we got this show in the first place.
Sure the pacing was fast, we could have used an episode or two more but did they tell the story, the main story they built about the arcne? Yes, and it was amazing and stunning beautiful.
Did they change the lore to write something original. Hell yeah they did, Viktor aint the same anymore and sure the old one was one of the okay written champions but ffs his story was NOTHING compared to what we got. Lore cannot reach the scale of these stories cause its JUST worldbuilding, it doesnt say an active narative we can follow like a TV show gives us!!
@@atomicaaron6720 I see a lot of videos about disappointment, but I don't watch them. I watched a few, but the criticisms mostly give me the impression, the critics didn't understand the show (and Schnee could've explained it to them) or just wanted a different story.
@ couldn’t agree more. I think there are valid criticisms to do with the writing and pacing but I still helge that we got told a beautiful story
The timebomb dance scene has ruined me. Not because of the tragedy which was definitely sad, but the experience was so raw and beautiful, it made me really want this experience with someone. I, like all the characters, did not have a fulfilling childhood. Kt wasn't as dramatic as Arcane obviously, but there are certainly a lot of regrets. Seeing Ekko go back and have at least a GLIMPSE of a normal teen experience made me wish for something similar and it has really put me in a hole.
Ain’t no way you only have 25 subs. Hopefully the algorithm blesses you for your efforts
As far as I can tell, this is his first video of this type. I think he's got potential, he should lean in...maybe schnee it up for a bit and soak up all that Arcane love, lol.
I have the same cope that Ekko in some way knew Jinx would fake her death, since there were cut scenes of them bonding in the finale (including painting Xs and hourglasses on each other). Also the hope that Ekko choose to leave with her on the airship.
I really wish ekko and jinx show up together in the new spin off
This was a great review my man. Taking the time to speak from the heart about it is greatly appreciated.
I personally watched all of Arcane, for the first time, in a span of about two weeks. Arcane is everything I've ever wanted in a series, and I didnt know a show could do that, let alone as effectively as Arcane. It connected with me on a level I didnt realize media could reach. The genre blend of fantasy and steampunk makes for a unique and gorgeous setting, not to mention the beautiful and new 3D animation +2D texture style. The characters have so much depth, real relationshops with each other, fantastic designs, and theg made me freaking emotional, to tears at time. Cait and Vi give me a will to live, Vi and Jinx's sisterly momemts make me laugh and cry, Jayce and Viktor's journey and sacrifice was painful at times but gave me hope. And all of this is elevated by the best series soundtrack I've heard in a long time. All of the songs go hard. After finishing Arcane I felt numb and drained, and I'm just now starting to return to my typical mental capacity. It makes me sad to not see these characters' stories continue, but I'm so happy I was able to go on their journey with them.
I'm going to miss this series so much.
Can’t stop watching Arcane reviews since I finished the show. This one’s easily the best I’ve seen- great job! Would love to see more character analysis from you, whether it’s about Arcane or other shows.
Honestly, this series (especially episode 7 in season 2) completely messed me up-in the best way possible. =) What a masterpiece! What an emotional rollercoaster...
Thanks for letting us know how you felt about Arcane season 2. I liked it so much as brilliant as season 1. So seeing some people not getting or understanding what we got in season 2 was puzzling. Luckily there seems to be more people like you who have liked it a lot. It is so emotional & entertaining throughout.
About CaitVi reconciliation, it didn't happen immediately when they teamed up to trick Ambessa to save Vander in episode 6. Like we know in episode 8 when Vi gets angry at Cait for arresting Jinx & getting manipulated by Ambessa, Vi hadn't told Cait about Jinx but had told Jinx to be a backup in the plan to save Vander. This was because Vi still didn't fully trust Cait. Also how people say sorry depends on their character. Cait shows it more by actions than words. After her talk with Jinx, Cait realizes even she needs to atone for her mistakes (which she's already started by betraying Ambessa) not just Jinx. She orders all the guards away from the jail knowing Vi will try to break Jinx out and may leave Piltover/Zaun with Jinx and she may never see Vi again. Also her love for Vi makes her let go of feelings of revenge against Jinx. When Vi realizes this, she finally forgives Cait & is overcome with emotions which leads to the natural show of physical affection we see next.
IMO they had that scene where they hash it out, when Cait and Vi meet outside of the village and form their plan. We don't see it, but I think it happened, even if briefly. Also, both of them are very down-to-business characters, and Cait is very prideful it's one of her characteristics that defines her, so having her yell 'I know!' when Vi is accusing her of eating up Ambessa's lies is honestly, to me, enough of her humbling herself and admitting that she was in the wrong. It may not be direct, but I think Vi is the kind of person who understands that just because someone can't say the right words in the right way doesn't mean their heart isn't in the right place. It totally worked for me.
That is how I see it as well and adding to that; I think Vi's "I don't fucking care!" in the prison cell, is not just saying "I don't care about Maddie". It could have been spoken with a calm seductive tone or whatever, but instead it is spoken with such power, a verbal punch if you will, that I think she just wanted to obliterate every doubt or sense of separation between them.
While many tv show managed to reach my heart, Arcane did something no show had done before. It reached my soul and never left. Great video you have done here. I dont know how its possible you have so little subs, but you deserve more. And i just subscribed.
Beautifully put, thank you. I also felt pretty empty when it was over, not wanting to leave that world.
After watching A LOT of videos on YT about Arcane, and I mean A LOT, I really loved your scene selection in support of your thoughts. Also, your Intro included some of my all-time favorite scenes from the show, so I was confident I'd love your video if I could trust your scene selection! Great work and keep it up! I don't care how anyone reacts when I say this, but Arcane is the best media I've consumed in the last decade and in my top 3 of my lifetime. Masterpiece.
The animation is breathtaking. Truly singular. Especially the scenes at the end with Viktor and Jayce. Mind blowingly beautiful!! And then pairing it with the original orchestral composition
‘I Promised You’ it was just gorgeously cinematic. I kept wishing I could watch it at a theater!
Quite the analysis! You deserve more attention for this!
I think you make a lot of great points. I only have to disagree with you on Caitlyn and her relationship with Vi.
So much of Caitlyn’s character is visual. The show puts tons of emphasis on her eyes. She communicates more non-verbally than she does verbally. She doesn’t need to tell Vi she’s sorry when they reunite. Vi can see it in her eyes. This aspect of her character has been getting glossed over by lots of people.
Another thing about Caitlyn is she does not apologize and does not accept apologies. She gets this from her parents. When she tells her dad she had the shot on Jinx and didn’t take it, he doesn’t expect an apology. He gives her the family key. It’s her duty now to carry on that legacy, not dwell on it. When Jayce tries to comfort Caitlyn after the funeral, he says he’s sorry but she refuses to hear his apology. It’s more important to move forward.
The ONE time in the show where Caitlyn attempts a verbal apology is the prison lex scene. She tries to say sorry for seeing someone else, but it’s really about the entire time they were apart. But Vi will not take the apology. She has already seen the request for forgiveness in Cait’s eyes at the start of the scene and she accepts it. They don’t need a dialogue to reconcile.
Thank you very much for putting time and effort into making this video. I had the same feeling of emptiness when the show was over, and I did like everything it gave me. So I was a bit sad when, trying to stay in that moment, I reached out to the internet to share my love of the show, only to see so many people being stuck on what they didn't like.
So once again, thank you for producing some positivity around this show, it is really disheartening to see the culmination of 9 years of passionate work from up to 300 people being reduced to the few things that weren't perfect.
What I realised while rewatching season 1 after finishing season 2 is that in both seasons episode 7 theres Jinx and Ekko, but 1st season they're fighting on the bridge, in 2nd we got amazing 4fps dance.. both episode 7. My mind blown when I figured it out
The moment I finished the show, I was almost stunned. Both by all the emotional high and lows, and the sad realization that it was done. It had been so long that I almost couldn't believe it. It's something that changed me forever, and I'm so happy I was here to experience it with the fan community.
Join the club brother... Fucking Brutal... I want to see more of these character... because it broke my fucking heart. My soul will heal if they tell us their stories will continue on.
It just breaks me seeing VI loose her sister again. I just want a show were she finds out shes alive and goes on the hunt doing what ever she can to find her. then i can be happy.
Christian, one of the co-creators of Arcane and the main dude leading Riot's shows, has hinted at projects on the horizon that would continue their stories, but did stipulate that they're far enough away that it's not guaranteed for them to come to fruition. My guess is they might end up changing plans at some point to bring these characters back sooner (or they might have already and Christian just can't say), as it's clear that people have grown very attached to them, understandably so given how well they've been written.
@jcm2606 let's bloody hope. Because I hope they feel guilty for ripping out all of our souls. And try to place them back in somewhat.
Episode 7 was probably one of my favourite episodes. We'd been waiting for 3 episodes to discover what happened to Jayce, Hiemdinger, and Echo, and I'd excepted a simple back story filler type episode.
But no..... They went all in and ripped my heart in two (again) and showed us "what could have been"....
Best part is, you cannot even hate the apparent villians here , cuz everyone got their own justification for what they do (except the noxian)
I think what really made Jinx give up (and what made her not even try to be a revolutionary) is that she was proven right about herself, and not even about Isha. The second that she goes to the prison and pretends to be the hero they wanted, Warwick attacks and kills nearly all of them. They would’ve been safer if Jinx hadn’t interfered and left them in the cells, since they wouldn’t have been in the way. By freeing them, she killed any chance Zaun had of really putting up a fight.
Great job on this!
Your opening matched my thoughts exactly.
Thank you for doing this.
Jinx is dead.... but Powder is still alive. She saw Ekko jump much closer to her in what looked like an instant. The strange machine he's holding had her signature build style all over it. She knows hes lived this moment a few times and she knows she must have built the z drive with him. She's at least starting to heal. Now she's on an air ship going somewhere where she can start over
Your intro is exactly what I was feeling, and it is truly a Shakespearean monolith of Story
have to hard agree, I watched it with a couple friends in a cinema and we just sat around for 10 minutes in basically total silence before we started coping about jinx. just emotionally exhausted (positive)
@jonasstuke528 In a Cinema with friends? Omg that's so dope. I wish I could watch a shows finale in a cinema.
I have to agree with you that season 2 felt much less lived in compared to season 1. It is something I noticed and I think that is what happens with the plot becoming less about something on the ground and more "Avengers Level Threat" if you get what I mean (and Netflix time constraints, etc). That being said season 2 was perhaps the best thing I've ever watched and incredibly emotionally powerful and moving (and if things had been different we may not have gotten Episode 7). That is the one thing I hope they can stay on top of for their other shows their working on: maintaining a lived in environment. All that is to say I'm happy we got season 2 as it is no matter how much people want to consider the "what ifs."
You made me tear up at that last line! Love all your observations. You’re the first person I’ve heard point out the “lived-in” world issue. After watching, I said that the cities didn’t feel like characters anymore. It’s like making it too big (physically) made it feel small (dramatically).
Thank you, your video helped me appreciate this season better❤
dude this is quality!
as others have said, I love when you speak from the heart!
13:30 you should watch the video by shnee on this. he talks about how the reason ekko succeeded in convincing jinx and vi failed was bc vi trying to convince her she can changing her past and ekko was trying to convince her she can move on despite her past. vi was (unknowingly) trying to deny who she was while ekko was trying to except her for who she is and help her move on in a better direction. shnee’s video says it better you should go watch it
season 2 of arcane left me in shambles and this video truly captured how most people like me felt at the end of it all. suffice it to say, i dont think i can recover from this one bois.
19:32 I agree with this point big time. To me the individual storylines felt much more seperate rather than being different perspectives of the same narrative, but I could never pinpoint the specifics as to why it felt that way.
I had thought that It was mainly due to the cutting of the scenes. To me it felt like in this season they fully let one storyline run and then progressed to the next one rather than jumping between different storylines, leaving us fewer of these "Oh they teased this a few episodes ago" moments.
Now I realize that not seeing the world, that connects everthing, being lived in certainly plays a big part in this feeling of having more isolated storylines.
Almost nobody talks about how Jinx was inadvertently training Isha to be a child soldier. Yet another link to Jinx's past learning from Silco.
Heimerdinger was right about the Arcane. But under his watch the disparity between Piltover and Zaun grew to become exploitation and prejudice.
Jinx's capture would have meant the completion of Caitlyn's three objectives. Vi threw a wrench into that. I think Caitlyn was mad about Vi actions, and she realized Vi couldn't be depended on to help her bring Jinx to justice. Caitlyn was conflicted between her grief/anger and her focus on achieving the three goals, which could calm the situation in Piltover politically. Caitlyn knew Salo and Ambessa, and probably others, were ready to abuse the Zaunites given a chance under the pretext of seeking peace. I think that is partially why she tentatively accepted the position of Commander.
I do agree Caitlyn's story could have been better told. Still, it was a fun ride of a show. The point of the world being lived in is a good one I had not considered, but once you pointed it out, it seemed obvious.
well the music videos achieve more story telling than other series do in full seasons, so its a effective and very good, also innovative, tool.
Very true.👍🤝💯
Very true
Well done, man. Subscribing...
Me too.
ggwp. personally loved the namecards for each character you were about to talk about. gave it a sense of gravitas. consider me subbed good sir
Subscriber #68 here, before this channels gets its well-deserved recognition.
One of the best reviews I have ever experienced. Very nice! :) And I completly agree on every point.
The music videos are the punch booster for each and every scene and episode. BTW, we feel broken as you are, damn they got us into our core. Fortiche did a great and formidable job
This is the best show of all time the writing is ELITE, you can say any show in history and I can easily debate how Arcane is better with only 2 seasons
I love hearing that someone else loved a true work of art for the same reasons as me. I could not agree more with everything in this video.
Great Video !
THANK GOD, someone else thinks there's a problem with Caitlyn's journey. I think they also missed the mark with the relationship between the cities.
I second that there weren't "too many music videos".
What animation can do better than live action is find different ways to tell a story. All those "music videos" have different styles and work in different ways.
Some are in charcoal, some are watercolors, different framerates, different genres of music.
All of them tell stories in different ways.
If you don't like artists to tell you a bombastic story in a very artsy way, why are you watching Arcane in the first place?
What I found, was, that the fighting scenes had different impacts on me. The cartoonier, the less gripping and tense it was for me. The first Vi/Sevika fight for example was way better for me than the second.
Everybody seems thrilled that Vi now has her cool bitch-mittens, wow! But for me it takes away some of the stakes. The weapon is just as powerful as the writers need them to be in some particular moment, without having to really foreshadow or introduce anything. The longest distances can be jumped with rocket mittens.
But Fortiche is so absurdly good in just showing (physical) human interaction, so the most scary jump was Powder's in E1. And the best fight was Vi/Sevika-1 where we got real boxing moves.
And the next one obviously was Jinx/Ekko, which was a music video and then it wasn't.
Gorgeous storytelling, and then again the human interaction which just hit. It hit so badly.
The pacing was fine for me. Arcane season 2 builds on sn1 without handholding you, no filler, no fluff, no over-simplification, no over repetitively *FORCED* toddler-ish "comedy" and no spoon feeding while encouraging deductive participation from the audience/ viewers to follow the plot complimented by an ABSOLUTE BANGER of hyper-cinematic induction all culminating to higher immersive experience. There are many online still scratching their head about how or why Silco and Vander became buddies again in the alternate timeline yet they COMPLETELY forgot about the LETTER from Vance addressed to Silco IN SEASON 1 which Silco never read in the main timeline so it becomes BLATANTLY OBVIOUS that he read the letter and "found the will to forgive" in the alternate timeline. Brilliant compact and impactful writing. But instead many are demanding to be spoon-fed.
The only main issue for me (personal bias) is the finale should have been longer and bigger battle filled will much more multiple character moments AND we should have SEEN how Ekko united Zaun after saving Jinx including seeing Jinx make a new arm for Sevika. Also we never got to know WHO the other leading families of Piltover are but i am okay and content with what we got on screen.
Especially considering how INSANELY EXPENSIVE the budget was (Arcane sn1+2 budget= $250m, most expensive animation ever) so it's understandable how and why they made the writing tight and compact while giving the audience some participatory deduction and generate interest to research into the lore.
What they delivered is still very peak in my opinion. We all wanted more eps but there is cost-benefit situation with that. Perhaps in future projects they could make each ep 10mins longer from 40mins-50mins then the final can be like 1hr. This can be a perfect middle ground to give more time to more avenues of the plot without adding more full eps. It might cost a little more but still significantly LESS than making additional FULL eps. Either way, both Arcane sn1+2 have been incredibly amazing.
Both get at LEAST ABOVE 9/10 rating from me irrespective of whatever flaws each season has.
FORCED toddler-ish "comedy"
Are you forgetting what they reduced Heimer to?
*
"no spoon feeding"
People said this about Fallout. But they did, constantly. They'd show one thing, and give an explanation for it that didn't work. Jayce's stance switch in episode 1 doesn't make any sense for his character or the events that cause it. This isn't not spoonfeeding, it's forcing plot events through character assassination.
Why are we getting moments like Rictus finding a Jinx, but Ambessa not seeing the Jinx with her gun on her hip and her hair sticking out? She can't see what's in front of her? It's foreshadowing for Cait or Mel or the Black Rose? Why does she need to be made completely incompetent to achieve that?
*What about the scene where Jinx claims to be Jinx to the enforcer?
The Silco/Vander in other timeline is the least of any problems. I didn't even know anyone did have a problem with it. The flashback scene however, that both Silco and Vander knew Violet's mother so closely damages every character involved.
It's understandable why it's "compact", but it wasn't just the budget.
You can find Amanda Overton saying:
"In the second season we also did a writer's room that started off similarly, then covid happened and sort of derailed all of that. Then we ended up working from home, the team kinda shrunk down to me, Alex and Christian and the team over in France, Fortiche and we had a lot of zoom calls"
"Still very peak" xdd
"Both get at LEAST ABOVE 9/10 rating from me irrespective of whatever flaws each season has."
How does that make any sense at all?
Is that just how much you like it? I like Edgerunners a lot, maybe more than Arcane. But Arcane (S1) is very obviously better. If season 1 is 9.5 with very few flaws and the next season has many more flaws, maybe even per episode, you'd rate it a 9? But then why did you say irrespective of flaws? What are you even rating at that point? Emotion? Let's give Isha a 9.5 for being a great emotional manipulation vehicle then? Very effective method of literally dropping a plot device onto Jinx to fast track her development in a short time frame. Could it have been less lazy? Sure, but we have to meet our other story beats and lose minutes of each episode.
@@alicea3421 What they reduced Heimer to? I'm sorry... where was the toddler-ish comedy with him? Because he was enjoying life and he sang a song?
@@Jman92854 Act 1 Episode 2.
Sneaking scene, it would be fine if not for the rest of his appearance.
Lack of any serious dialogue in meeting Jayce.
Needing to be reproved by Ekko numerous time about the location of his home.
Only asking about Viktor when he finally notices the giant Hex tomb in the room after Jayce tea for him and he drinks four cups.
Episode 3 as well, still so little spoken between him and Jayce. But we do get "ballsockets" instead.
Heimerdinger wasn't Jar Jar Binks in season 1.
First off, bravo diving into essay content like this, I have a feeling you're gonna see some growth from this and it's deserved.
Minor point of contention: I would argue that Silco and Vander did reconcile, just too late. Starting with their interaction after Vander is captured, and culminating after Silco adopts Powder and finally understands Vander which is fleshed out in his conversation at Vander's statue. Tge statie itself is something I often think about...clearly the people of Zaun loved Vander, but love itself does not a statie build. Who commisioned it? I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it had something to do with Silco.
i think the worlds feeling more empty, was beacause they were. both actually, but also feeling empty for the characters. all of them lost so much.
atleast thats was what i felt and got out of it. what i felt was most actually empty, was foreksampl Loris.. he seemed to be very important for Vi, but for me he was very empty, where milo and clagger in season 1 was very much people and someone i could relate to and understand why they where important for Vi.
very nice video, videos like this is my way to cope with the series! XD
This show has meant that I haven't been able to get out of bed for a fortnight. She broke me. And I don't know if I'll ever be able to get up again.
Great video! I totally agree with your take on the world.
Hey, live the video amazing essay, but I have noticed that many people misunderstand the song from stromae from ep-7 S2, it doesn’t say I love you I m leaving you but I « I love you, I am waiting for you » followed by « why does your name hurts me » and « better be in bad company than lonely, better keep you friends close and your enemies closer and my greatest enemy is you, the worst is me and you, run from me, forget me » a true heart breaker
you get a new member, excelent video
Nice work! Great Video❤
Cyberpunk Edgerun ers had me thinkimg about the show for about a week after i watched it. Same with Arcane. Both are masterpieces.
Honestly, Riot and Fortiche are psychos for killing Jinx's father like 5 times... once with her own hands, once by her "little sis"...
Also, I was really mad at them for how they ended Ekko story (I understand their motivation though - they just want us to suffer) - we never got to see a scene where Ekko returns to the tree, witnessing it being cured of Hextech, seeing the people of Zaun living better lives than ever before (in this universe) and realising Zaun is moving toward the hopeful vision Ekko glimpsed in the alternate timeline. Ekko deserved that payoff moment so much. He gave up the paradise he dreamed of to save his people.
While we can assume this will happen off-screen based on the ending, not showing us this brief, meaningful sequence feels almost disrespectful.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the final scene of Ekko sitting alone and commemorating Powder. It was truly heartbreaking and evoked strong emotions. However, Ekko's main goal in our universe was to save his people and make Zaun a better place. Showing the results of his efforts toward this goal would have been a perfect way to wrap up his storyline.
P.S. despite all of that this show is still the best tv show or maybe even the best piece of cinema I've seen in my entire life.
People have been ragging on Vi this season more than the first and honestly I'm just sick and tired of it. You could make a compilation of all the scenes when Vi is thinking about and talking about finding/saving her sister, Vi eats, sleeps and breathes worrying about her little sister, but that's not enough for them. I love all the characters on this show, but some people REALLY love Jinx more than Vi and their bias shows.
The prison love scene has really divided people. Some saying it's because Vi should've immediately tried to find Jinx because "obviously" when she said she was going to "break the cycle", that meant she was going to kill herself and I disagree.
We as the audience know this, but Vi has no reason to think that. Keep in context, Vi and Jinx were bonding in Viktor's paradise until things went wrong, then Vi was knocked out after suffering a wound to her gut so she was out for a while, combined with the fact that we don't know exactly how long Vi was locked in that cell after Jinx tricked her and escaped and Caitlyn finally went down to find her and unlock the door.
Oh, and the most important part: There's a whole city preparing for war... and they STILL don't know where Jinx's lair is. So let's say Vi ran right out of that cell in the bunker, where was she going to go? The Last Drop? Sure she'd see that it's in flames or burnt to the ground depending on timing, but that doesn't mean we know where Jinx set up her workshop after living with Silco. I even tried to look it up just now and it's left ambiguous. So Vi is running around unsure where to go, and Jinx already accomplished her goal of breaking the cycle, what do these people expect?
It wasn't supposed to be Vi that saved Jinx, it was supposed to be Ekko, that's the point. Ekko found Jinx's hideout thanks to Powder in the other timeline. Had that not happened, Jinx would be dead and no one would know for sure as they just stopped seeing her around.
Also people being mad at Vi for being "selfish" even though Jinx literally said that she deserves to be happy with Caitlyn... they really don't care about Vi, they'd prefer she die and let Jinx by the main character.
Exactly. If anything being the protector role is something that Vi had to break out of. She never once thought of herself. She has always done things to protect the people that she loves and for once she was actually doing something for herself by choosing Caitlin wholeheartedly in the prison scene,. For once she chose something that made her happy and that’s the beginning of her growth. This whole time she was always Led by guilt, which is why she was always stuck in the middle between her love for Caitlin and her love for her sister, but once jinx gave her the blessing of saying you don’t need to worry about me anymore. You deserve to be with her Vi then let go of that immense pressure and chose what she wanted. It was even confirmed by the writers of arcane that if she didn’t have her sister to take care of, then she would fall in love.
Great vid. Maybe some more breakdowns? Episode by episode? The soundtrack? Would love to hear your thoughts on this and maybe other shows
Well done brother
Whoever said the music videos were too much. doesn't understand Arcane .
i never sub, but i wanna be able to say i was one of the first 50 subs before this channel blows up
Love this freaking review!
Like and sub, even for a french guy like me, your accent, your way of speaking slowly, it's perfect, keep going doing this
Awesome vid
Arcane ruined animated show for me. I can't watch any other animated series without comparing them to Arcane and it straight up ruined the experience for me.
They set the bar up way too high and now I'm here waiting/ hoping Castlevania Noctunre Ss2 will be almost as good.
Agreed, I've tried watching other shows but the animation feels so lackluster compared to arcane.
Your last few lines were perfect. Except I cannot believe I have to leave this behind and move on in my life, I am still feeling the emotions that some of the characters felt and this show was the first one that made me feel understood..I am not as strong as Ekko..
rectifying your lacking sub count by contributing my own this was great
What brush did you use for majority of the painting?
what song did you use in the outro? I'm just wondering since it sounds very familiar.
It's from the OST! The Herald's Vision
Ahhhhh, motherfu...
Yeah, i just wish we get thouse scenes from jinxs artbook diary, where she made hearts around ekko and the pictures where they paint eachother. 60 minutes of ekko and jinx contant are gone😭, i hope we see ekko and jinx with vi again. Would be heartbraking if not. And nobody gonna tell me that im dumb or anything because i know yall do that because of the ekko and jinx thing, but its so clear to me that they need eachother. And that she needs vi. Argh thats so fucked up guys
Does anyone else get avatar legend of Korra vibes from Arcane??!!
jinx is on the balloon going to demacia to troll lux -copium
Fuck no
Acane's animation douse not rival spiderverse instead it absolutely kanes the spiderverse but one thing I will say the music video remember me is the happiest video and most depressing at the same time because it shows the joy in the kids and to see that joy it' s happy but it's allso depressing because that joy dousn't exsist anymore and if it came back it won't be the same we as the audience want to hope that will be but this is Acane we know something will go wrong
Ekko was done dirty dude
I almost feel like it was kinda intentional. He has taken on the mantle of being the hero behind the scenes, and completes thankless acts.
Who seriously thought that the music videos were too many??? It's peak storytelling!!! Imagine the usual, "Back in the time, blah blah blah" or "We did this to yada yada".
But we had music and epic animation of some events that would be boring as hell if they told it in scripts.
Some also says S2 was rushed, but I think the creators are looking at it on a greater scale, they can't just put all their coins in one setting. S2's fast-paced style was still greatly done compared to shows that made it too long for the ending to be meh.
Arcane isn't perfect but it's still the greatest.
Really like the essay. I do like this analysis of how Cait apologizes to Vi, just not in words… th-cam.com/video/l0-We7fyCaQ/w-d-xo.html
This series has so much capture in the minute details, and also when things are said.
Visually it is a masterpiece. Literarily it is a dumpster fire.
“Dumpster fire” is pretty strong. S2 isn’t anywhere as good with respect to literary quality as S1, but it’s still like comparing another Shakespeare play to Hamlet. Sure, Titus Andronicus isn’t anywhere near as good as Hamlet, but it’s still great.
Arcane season 2 is trash. Stop coping
I have an island here for anyone whose investment was obliterated by season 2. You are safe here.
factual
The only thing that this season destroyed, is the cohesive writing and logical consistency.
I think that, Jinx, Ekko, Singed, and Isha were the best written characters in the show and in season 2. Everyone else completed their arcs, but there wasn't really a lot of depth. Also i think the ending was made to tie loose ends rather than actually consider the depth of the characters they made.
Would have been more interesting to see Viktor get locked away or sealed from his possession of Arcane power, and now that's he has a taste he will return to finish his Glorious evolution.
Heimer...what even happened there? You're telling me he just up and died or dipped to another dimension to be happy?
Explain to us why Vander is still alive after the whole Viktor thing is over? I thought the beast was gone and also Vander's persona burned away.
Vi/Cait was done pretty sloppily which might've been the point to parallel Zaun/Piltover, but it still felt rushed.
Etc. I do think a lot of goods things were done, just a shame the show was cut short so they had to rush everything in.
Ambessa and Viktor also had depth.
@@shadowone01x99 Kind've Viktor sorta went off the rails because of losing his "emotions" but never took the logical path with anything...he was just simply delusional.
Ambessa I will agree had some depth but with a huge issue. Her endgoal besides revenge was never really elaborated on and she was forced to be a very flashy character. Compared to the expression of family revealed in her champion music video, it was thrown in as an afterthought in the show. In the show she wanted to be on top and that was it.
Bad review.
04:10
You personally think that? Isha is a cheap and lazy emotional manipulation vehicle to escort Jinx to her desired state within the timeframe they had.
Why are you speaking like you're hesitant? It's obviously why she exists. Why the writers literally just drop her onto Jinx.
"masterpiece" btw
It's fine to good at best.
The only issue with your comment is that the show is just bad at best.
@@spegwettie9053Writing wise almost definitely. Even then, it's better than something like Fallout.
Fallout is mostly well produced and terribly written. I'd probably rate it 3/10, it attempts payoffs and fails every set up. I'm not sure it really has any successes from a storytelling perspective.
Arcane season 2 does have set ups and payoffs, so many awful ones that are within a single episode, like the "enough favors" between Jinx and Sevika. But it also does have payoffs that exist because of season 1, some of Viktor's arc for example. Which is also destroyed elsewhere, it does at least have some successes.
I think we'd be talking about one point difference, like at BEST is it a 4? 4 is obviously very reasonable and if you're only looking at storytelling, as low as 2. Very possibly.
I usually don't even need to think to be objective, I really like Edgerunners but it's obviously not as good as season 1 of Arcane. I can easily see season 2 being bad, so much of it is bad. Some is good and then plenty will retroactively damage season 1.
Unless people are rating things on how they like them, nobody should be giving it 7+.
Things that are supposed to be subjective, but people seem to like them far too much. Like most of the music segments "tell so much" story, when they literally do the opposite. They take much needed time away from character development. So even if one thinks they're well made in any way, they still come at a cost.
Character assassination of characters within their first appearances, episode 1 Jayce, episode 2 Heimer, etc. etc.
There's so much wrong with it.
I'd hate to be looking at what could have been good in a different show, else I'd need to rate Fallout the same.
I think maybe because I spent the whole time being disappointed, and see everyone celebrating it. Whereas with Fallout, it's just so bad I can't even see what other people like about it. I know with Fallout that I am being fair when judging it so harshly.
I don't know why or how lenient I'm being. Most if not even all of its positives can be attributed to season 1.
Bad comment.
@@Ariel4277gsc No, it isn't. Not until you elaborate.
Your profile picture, name and inability to form an argument tell me everything I need to know.
@@alicea3421I don’t need to argue with you I know you didn’t even try to analyse ishas character and her symbolism
No, its not, sorry...
Season 2 is a total writing collapse. Like joker 2 or late season game of thrones.
They completely retconned season 1.
Oh, is jinx finally at peace being a villain?
Nope, retconned. She's sad again and doesn't want to be a villain doesn't want to be jinx.
Why? She's best girl can't do anything wrong. Can't support women's wrongs.
In season 1 she was an elite mob assassin who killed at least multiple dozens of people, probably hundreds if not low thousands.
She laughed maniacally as she gunned them down.
She committed multiple terrorist attacks that killed people.
But season 2? She best girl. Silly jinx! Color smoke attack!
It would make sense that Caitlyn would become more desperate to get jinx, more unhinged in the pursuit of jinx if she was running around killing people left and right.
But know. Jinx does color bombs and then retires. So why does Caitlyn become obsessed with jinx? Like yeah jinxed killed Caitlyn's mother of course but why be dictator and opress the entire under city.
Just personally try to track jinx down. But since jinx isn't killing anyone it's not the same intensity.
There's a million ways to Sunday where you could have taken the story that would have been better than this
And Caitlyn never even does anything bad. Because she is also best girl.
That's why she should have accidentally killed Iesha. Or even just accidentally wounded her.
Jayce accidentally killed a kid in camera in season 1.
Imagine if he didn't. It went from him going the undercity is dangerous to you Silco my man let's have peace you can get independence.
Like what?
Oh i changed my mind off camera
But that's exactly what Caitlin did in season 2
The first act wasn't as good as season 1 but was still good..some issues and flaws but could be fixed.
Act 2 really started to go off the walls.
Iesha's sacrifice was stupid. The moment was ruined bc 1 this character clearly existed only to die.
2 why? She didn't even need to do that. Like literally they could have just left the other way. It was just stupid.
And 3. Warwick doesn't die, jinx is still captured etc. Her sacrifice was worthless.
4. The rest of the series most people don't even react to it. It's like the character is forgotten.
Also kinda just anticlimacticly fixing to and Caitlyn and vi and jinx. Like uh, ok. Not like you just gutted the 2 min plot points of the show.
Then season 3 except for the standalone first episode the end of season sucked ass.
Worst writing collapse I ever saw. Worse than ending of GOT. Worse than joker 2.
Yay all our main character arcs are already done. No climax just dropped arc 2. Catlyin changes her mind on the whole being a dictator thing. With no resolution or climax and off camera. Jinx and vi are good now. Bc I don't know. They spent 4 minutes together. Sure vi moved heaven and earth to get her sister back in season 1 but it didn't work. Now in season 2 it just ......
Kinda happens...... I guess
Lol... I COMPLETELY disagree but i have no time for a back n forth so we shall just agree to disagree.
@@mingo3568 "I disagree with everything you said"
Do you think Fallout is good too? That slop is even worse than season 2 of Arcane.
@@shadowone01x99 No, he's objectively right. There's no agree to disagree. He's right, but you still like it. It's fine to like flawed media.
@alicea3421 He is not "objectively" right but yes, we are all allowed enjoy flawed media after all nothing is perfect to begin with.
@@shadowone01x99 Art is objective. You said you "completely" disagree. Most of what he said were events that take place in the show.
Ideally I'd just transcribe every event of the show and we'd all notice its problems. Which should be no different to just watching it, but highlighting those contrary events helps.
I don't think theirs was the most well constructed comment, but it carries the gist of some of the show's flawed events and arcs. You're right in that not all of it was objective. You can ignore the conclusion segments and acknowledge the parts that are in the show that their conclusion is being based on.
That's why my preferred form of media analysis is juxtaposing events that contradict each other, though people will still typically choose delusion over acknowledgement.
Fallout is a great one, because the writers will frequently just lie to their audience.
Arcane season 2 only has a few instances like that, but the majority of its flaws are absence of character and/or development, so it's not as easily provable.
Season 1 is near perfect, very few flaws. Season 2 tries to have as many flaws as season 1, per episode.