Hey everyone! Just wanted to quickly address I know my views on Silco are somewhat controversial, regarding Jinx, his faults and failures, and his character arc. But this is why I wanted to make a video talking about things from my perspective, and I hope you enjoy. Please leave your interpretations of this wonderful character so we can talk about him more. And yes should have said, "The definitive moment the show became human" because the show displays humanity it many scenes, but this was the scene that hammered the point home for me.
The "breaking you as a person" comment is just a bit immature. As someone hospitalized several times with the same diagnosis, it felt to me, a bit... off. I almost had a "Jinx moment" when high pitched noise interrupted my thoughts. lol!😤😵💫
YOU GOT IT EXACTLY. SOME OR MOST OF US (NOT ALL) IDK. HERE IN MY COUNTRY, THE PHILIPPINES, PEOPLE WILL LIKELY SYMPATHIZE TO THIS KIND OF VILLIAN DUE TO THE SAME NATURE OF THE STORY INTO OUR LIVES HERE IN OUR COUNTRY. CORRUPTION, GREED, THIRST FOR POWER AND THE TOP OF IT ALL WE ARE THE VICTIMS OF OUR OWN SELFISH ACT NOT JUST PINPOINTING ONLY TO MY COUNTRY BUT TO OUR WORLD.
just to twist the knife in the tragedy of powder/jinx, how about he realised he shouldn't have been creating jinx so when he says 'your perfect' he was talking to powder trying to stop the emergence of jinx and undo all the damage he did to her only for powder/jinx to misunderstand like she did everything throughout the show.
Thank you for this amazing Video! You actually put into words many ideas I had but couldn't put into words yet. I discovered Arcane, 4 days ago at 3am to a friends place (and after taking a few shots 😅) and we finished it all in one shot! I came back home at 9am moved, richer and smarter than I was the day before. Thanks for sharing! 💖
I think that as our world gets increasingly complex, stories of heroes and villains are no longer representative of the complexities and nuances of this world we live in. As such, we need more complex, conflicted characters in our stories. The singly aspirational hero and the singly mustache-twirling villain are simply no longer adequate corollaries for narratives many of our societies can relate to these days. It's great that such types of characters, traditionally villainous or heroic, are being utilized and explored for their nuance and complexity, in Arcane as well as other shows/movies. Silco is an example of such a character, and he along with a few others in this series were thoroughly riveting. Hopefully, the more our stories explore the nuanced extents and contexts of our experiences, the more we'll all be better able to see the people around us more clearly and humanely: That those we're opposed to in opinion aren't just outright "villains" and those we agree with aren't just outright "heroes." Many are just people we simply don't know enough to relate to, *_yet._* @Flying Walrus - I only just happened upon your channel tonight. After only three videos, you got me in the thinks and the feels! I appreciate your voice, and thank you for sharing the deeper stuff, even if it's hard and potentially controversial. :-) I hope you keep going, with the difficult, genuine, quality stuff. It's certainly what *_I_* want to see these days!
Another thing to note is how Silco, during his meeting with Jayce, actually took responsibility for Jinx’s killing of the enforcers when it was literally the *only* criminal event that he actually *wasn’t* responsible for.
Like a true leader. The buck stops with him. compare that to irl selfish leaders. Millions of death and misery from our armies and planes are chalked off as collateral damage and isolated bad apples
@@aalderni enslaving children, bribing the law, producing and spreading drugs, killing people, illegal shipment, basically a crime boss, you havent watched the show have you?
the phrase "is there anything more undoing than a daughter" capsulates so well silco admitting what vander went through. i feel like that scene is silco finally coming to terms with the fact, that even though jayce almost gave zaun for free (in jayce's pov), it was a deal silco was never ready to agree with. and vander basically went through the same refusing to riot and rebel again bc he had vi (and the others, but that's an essay for another day where i believe vander was more vi's father figure than the rest and left vi to care for the others). this was an amazing video essay, silco constantly made me uncomfortable as a character i guess it's his complexities that make me understand him less than other characters, but either way i'm fascinated by him.
I actually want to talk about Vander next. And I absolutely agree that he was more of a father to VI. But I think it's because he saw himself in her and didn't want her to become him. As well as thinking he had more time with Powder than he actually did.
Even Silco notes to himself that Jayce was giving him the nation of Zaun for almost free, pointing out that Jayce didn't even haggle...save that one term. Ironically asking for Jinx as a scapegoat goes all the way back to the first episodes before the time skip and the Enforcers wanting a "pound of flesh" to satisfy Piltovers desire for some sort of "justice" bringing things full circle in a way.
To be fair with Vander and Vi, just because we only ever really see Vi talking to Vander, doesn't mean he didn't have talks of a simialr vain with the others. Also consider the fact Vi was the leader of group, neither Milo or Gregor really seem like people to take initiative like that, and Powder was too young. The others followed Vi's lead, and he wanted her to understand the responsibility that came with (in short it might have been a talk that had priority in his mind). We also saw he did start talking to Gregor about what happened when they went to the shop. He also had the cup set up for Powder (which seemed like it was a thing he did regularly), and did his best to help Milo calm down when he was trying to undo the lock and panicking (which may just be personal experience talking but that felt fatherly to me). I think he probably did care about the others just as much as Vi, it's just we only got to see a small sliver of the relationships between the entire group (think about it, the events of Act 1 take place over three, maybe four days, most of which the group were told to hide while Vander was running around trying to get things back to normal, not much time to spend talking to his adopted kids) and we only really saw the talk he had with Vi because, well, Vi's a main character, Gregor and Milo, not as much.
The thing I think I love most about that walrus that at the end about how he realized that he had failed Jinx and not saved her in the correct way to Let her truly be free of the pain she had from her past. I will say I think the saddest thing is he didn't even necessarily try to make her a tool or use her like that at all I don't think with really more than anything to me it feels as if he saw his younger self in jinx when he first met her and it almost feels that the reason why he took her and wasn't even necessarily for her sake or to make her a tool because he thought he could use her or anything like that but I think he only really took her in because he wanted to save the past versions of himself from all of the mistakes he feels he made with one of the biggest things being interacting with others I'm putting yourself in a position where you can be betrayed interview try to raise her in such a way that she would never be betrayed again and that you'll be strong enough to do things on her own. He didn't realize that what she really needed was someone to confirm to her that not everyone is going to betray her and he only realized that as he died...
That phrase, connected with the parents’ motivations in the show, lead me to think that Mel’s mom is the most evil fucking character. She straight up shipped her daughter away because she was a distraction. Something that Silco couldn’t do.
I love so much that Silco is introduced and framed as basically a Bond villain - silhouetted in darkness with his skinny Nosferatu build and his disfigured red eye - in his underwater mad scientist lair with a freaking Dunkleosteus swimming by - delivering a villainous sermon about how power belongs to those who will do anything to claim it. And that could've been it. That could've been his character. On a lot of other shows that WOULD have been his character. But they weren't content to stop there. They set him up that way to subvert it with all the complexities he built up over the series.
Yes. Sting's song made the scene of destoying his shimmer factory feel Bond like. I really wonder why he was not chosen for Skyfall instead of Adele (she is gold but her songs do not go well with this film different themes).
One thing that Silco did that no one in Jinx's life did, was forgiving her and staying with her despite her mistakes. He gave her what she wanted: someone that would never leave her. That's how Jinx was created When she was a kid and made a couple of mistakes, her friends mess with her and bully her for them, she feels useless. When she ultimately causes the death of her friends: Vi calls her Jinx, punches Powder and "leaves her". While, later in her life, Silco forgives and stays after every mistake Jinx makes. Even after every member of Silco's mob wants her out, he stands up for her. And in the final scene, where JINX KILLS HIM, the worst fuck up, he still tells her how much he loves her, that she is perfect, and that no matter what, he will always choose her That, I believe, is what finally made Jinx choose her chair
Jinx is so profoundly broken. And the fracture lines were there from the start. Silco seems to approach the relationship as though he's carving a statue, cutting away all the parts that aren't Jinx. He does love her. That's evident from every action that he takes. But he doesn't realize that he's breaking her instead of carving away the wrong parts.
@@AFlyingWalrus not only that, I think Silco tried to separate Powder's past from the tragedy he put in motion to archive a higher goal to get a "healthier" person, which is the baptism of Jinx of letting Powder drown and Jinx arise. He knew, that it was his doing, he is on one hand using her and on the other hand always unconsciously being a supportive and accepting father to Jinx. Trying to help her in the way he experienced life. That's what also the drowning scene in episode 3 foreshadowed. At the end, Silco realized, he can sacrifice everything and everyone for the nation of Zaun, but Jinx. She's his daughter, although not by blood.
"Silco seems to approach the relationship as though he's carving a statue, cutting away all the parts that aren't Jinx." Well yes though would others help Jinx/Powder more by trying to carve away all the Jinx side of her? As most others would do try to carve away Jinx side of Powder as even Vi don't accept the Jinx part of her wanting the old her back... if anything Silco was probably more accepting and understanding of her Powder side compared with how accepting others would be of her Jinx side
Yes and no. Jinx was broken by her trauma, both when her parents died and when she inadvertently killed off her foster family. It left her with a bad case of dissociation, and I think silco was doing his best to stabilize her psyche by removing the broken parts and giving her a purpose that would drive positive action. I'm not sure there was a better way for him to have helped jinx.
I don't know that he doesn't know it. I think he realizes full well that he's damaging her more, but Jinx in her mad state is way too useful to him and his ambitions for him to give that up. Until the scene in this video, I wasn't even sure if he really loved her. After that, it's of course more clear that he does, in his own twisted way. The final scene after Jinx shot him, I feel was the true condemnation of him as a father. He could have had set her free, free of Jinx, but instead he condemns her to it. It was very, very emotional. God what a great show.
For as great as the Jinx-Silco part of the story is, I feel that the Jayce the Usurper arc gets overlooked, and if the next season continues this story instead of going to another place, I expect to enjoy the inevitable falling out of Viktor and Jayce.
@@joshuafischer684 Personally what intrigues me most is the relationship between Heirmedegger and Ekko, that was barely started in season 1. I wonder where it'll be going.
Is evil not human though? That just comes with intelligence I guess. If earth evolved without humans or another species as intelligent would there be any evil?
"He shows the human side of evil" PREACH. Silco is such a complex character, so well written in every aspects. I think that the ben thing about Arcane is this: every characters is real. They're not just villains, heroes, champs etc; they're people. I fell in love with this show, with Silco, Jinx, Vi, Vander, Ekko, Cait .. Everyone. And yes, Silco is not a good father to Jinx, but he's exactly what Powder wanted from a father figure: a dad who loves her unconditionally. It's so sad to think that she's the one who kills him in the end - MAN I'M GONNA CRY AGAIN BYE
Arcane has the deepest understanding of psychology, written into every character, of any show I have watched. And you are spot on in this video. Really nice commentary.
I can't believe I agreed. It's wild that a league of legends animated show captures raw humanity better than any live action film I've maybe ever seen.
@@Bee-zr5pb I have never, ever seen my life such a compelling, absolute well written and real character show. I thought, Breaking Bad was top (still is, but Arcane dethroned it). I wish I had amnesia, to watch it with fresh eyes.
"Is there anything so undoing as a daughter?" is a line that has stuck with me since I watched Arcane back in December. It's such an impactful moment and you can truly see the change in Silco. Credit to Jason Spisak for doing a fantastic job voicing him as well.
@@Kiki-ns4cc It basically means that your prior ambitions and goals, even how you view the world get upended (changed), the minute you have a daughter you have to raise. You don't live for yourself anymore since you put her first through everything. So for Silco, he had his life's work in his grasp - the nation of Zaun, finally free from Piltover - but he couldn't seize it. He would never choose it if Jinx his daughter was the cost. The reason the line hits so hard is because Silco has given up his own brother for his cause. The same brother he ridiculed for abandoning the fight due to his adopted daughters in Vi and Powder. And now Silco finally understands his brother whom he murdered and held in disdain.
@@justvid366That was probably Jinx’s takeaway from it. The line is ambiguous enough to go either way, but the tea party scene (and even Silco objecting when asked to turn over Jinx) point towards what the intent was.
Another great scene is where Finn tries to take over business through Sevika and Silco holds his loyalty speech. It would have been easy for the writers to make Silco react unmoved, stoic and in control, but the moment Sevika lashes out, you see a moment of panic and relief on Silco's face, from which he had to compose himself before moving on. It shows he wasn't absolutely sure Sevika wouldn't betray him and is a very human and understandable reaction for somebody that just avoided death. It's one of the many moments that show the characters are human, not just some cartoon figures.
Actually have another video talking about the scene where Finn first approaches Sevika. And the just the subtly used throughout the show Great comment and example
"... Were you tempted?" "Not by a worm like him ... But there'll be more." So many subtleties in just this exchange. Silco admitting his fear, Sevika reaffirming her loyalty, then immediately afterwards warning him that his could change in the future. Sometimes I wonder where these writers come from and where they've been hiding all this time.
One thing I wanna point out. We're applying a certain type of understanding to the shimmer operations. Ie Drugs are bad, the operation creates poison... But there's something to stop and consider. The reason why Silco and Shimmer took over the underground, which gets represented in 2 scenes pretty perfectly. The first being in his rant at the Chem Barons, how the toxic gas they're choking on was a Constant Reality of life in the Underground. How as children they were in those mines working in that choking air just to get by. The second being when we find out that the child that Jayce killed was the Son of a Chem Baron. Ie... one of the child workers of the factory is the child of one of the people who could be considered the Highest and Most powerful in the Underground. ... put 2 and 2 together and you see suddenly how much of a huge deal the Shimmer factories were. The children who would other wise be scrounging around in far more dangerous mining work, are now working in the Shimmer factory, a place prestigious enough among the underground that the people who literally run the place have their own children working there. And beyond that... Shimmer for all the damage it did, didn't only do damage... it also was the tool that saw a large portion of the underground become MORE prosperous. The Highs were Higher... the Lows were Lower... those who crashed and burned under that system burned hard. Contrast that with Vander's underground, which was safer... or at least more community oriented... but at the same time stagnant and beaten down. Unable to advance. The Enforcer holding dominion over Vander for keeping the peace. Where as Silco's turn sees the dynamic changed, the Enforcer is being used to keep the peace but it is the Underground through Silco who have dominion over them. Essentially the show invites us to have a relatively superficial look at Silco and all the reasons why he's 'The Bad Guy'... but if you actually examine the pieces of it you see a pattern of us being tricked into viewing him under a certain lens (Modern Storytelling tropes) until closer examination often shows up that while he was distinctly not a good person... his influence on the world around him was not nearly as negative as the first light seems to shed.
Love this comment. Silco is a, the ends justify the means character. Where the lives of those around him mean little. (Or so he thinks) Whereas Vander by contrast wanted to preserve as much life as he could, but could never advance life in the underground.
I would add another scene, Cait asking Huk why take shimmer… the answer shows how much Vander’s passive approach hurt the community in the long run cause the “low your head and don’t bother the topsides” go so far when the options are poisoned mines, toxic rivers and police brutality. Shimmer is equally poisonous but is a poison that the person chooses the take and agency is literally what the lanes were desperate for the most.
Man, this comment section is fire. It is so refreshing to see someone who, in my opinion, UNDERSTANDS. I love Silco so much, he's my favorite character, and I really feel like you nailed so many great points about his character. I love your comment so much. There is so much nuance to Silco. His VA says, "Villains are just heroes of a different story" and while I don't think Silco was necessarily a VILLAIN per se, he absolutely was the hero of a different story. Arcane, at a glance, is told through a very specific narrative, framing certain things in certain ways to make us think and feel certain things, but it's when you take apart that narrative and look at the story through each character that the nuance and depth really blossom.
Shimmer is also a direct parallel to hextech. It's shown, repeatedly, that if used in controlled settings, it is actualy great. Singed used it as medecine. Silco uses it as eye treatment. Sevica powers her mechanical arm with it. Under the right circumstances, working on producing it would be as prestigious as Jayce working on magic. But unlike hextech, there's no restrictions on it. Recreational uses and weaponizing it are on the table.
In that scene Silco eloquently stated "I love my daughter." From episode 4 to 9 they have to remind us of this. And Jinx does have to be reminded as well that he cares so much for her. Not saying it's the best thing (him spoiling her made her already unpredictable tendencies that come out more from lack of consequences) but he did love her so much, and all of her quirks and mistakes. Also Silco's gaze shifts more to Jinx every time the Gemstone is presented to him.
In addition to all this, Jinx cared for Silco as well. (The graffiti ash tray, the small gestures, stealing the gemstone, etc) Hell she made Fishbones (hextech rocket launcher) for him as a gift. Basing it off of the monsters that Silco loved in the waters of Zaun. Whether either of them is morally right, wrong, in-between is another question all together. But one that's really interesting to think about. It all is just so horribly tragic.
@@AFlyingWalrus this is my favorite show it just makes you think a lot and so much happens, I’m really excited to see what they do with season 2 I miss silco tho.
Silco accepted Jinx, which was the most caring thing anyone had done for her. Everyone rejected her, blamed her, pushed her away, all except Silco, who even when angry with her, always accepted her.
12:17 That's actually not poison. It's just zaun's natural air. Due to the fact that piltover kinda just pushes all of it's problems in zaun, it has made the air there practically unbreathable... if you weren't born there. The reason silco isn't affected is because he litterally grew up breathing this air for most of his life.
I thought the gas was supposed to be the stuff that they were exposed to in the mines, back in the early days of Zaun. It's not the normal air, but the toxic air that the early Zaunite workers had to deal with.
This scene and the intro to episode 7 really highlighted a key difference between Ekko and Silco. Both of them are champions of the underclass fighting to liberate their people from oppression, but while Ekko gives freely Silco withholds. Ekko’s song refers to his outlaw comrades as “kings” subversively, maintaining their worth as people struggling to survive is greater than society would give them credit for, and posits that they deserve more than they get. Silco refers to his kings, the “chemical lords,” as their recognized titles but holds them in contempt. Silco thinks his fellow criminals do not deserve the comforts they have scratched together and plunges them back into the conditions that bred them. Silco wants them scratching and clawing and ruthless because that is what is needed to survive. Ekko wants to actually liberate his people from having to scratch and claw like animals, to elevate his people to a state of human dignity. To Silco, humanity is too close to weakness to risk. To Ekko, it is the only thing worth reaching for.
@@AnkhAnanku Yes 100%, that is at the core of Silco's obsession with monsters the idea that humanity is weakness. Ekko's line "You have to give them what they need to live" shows that he believes humanity is the only thing worth fighting for
A part about that scene that everyone misses Even sevika is wearing a mask Silco takes a lungful of that toxic air before monologuing and doesn't flinch
Silco dying actually had me almost crying. His story is, I think, relatable to most people and that is a fact. Trying to do better and ended up the same way as the other person. This is sadder than anything
This is the best analysis I've seen of Silco. I think what made him so compelling are his 'imperfect' actions; that he doesn't neatly fit one trope. He's not evil, but he does evil. He's a bad father, but cares dearly for his daughter. The fact that there aren't easy labels for him displays his humanity. When was the last time you could explain all of a friend's actions by one clear motive? Silco is easy to empathize with, understand his motives...but at the end of the day he's human; he's imperfect. That's what makes his writing (and voice acting) brilliant.
That's extremely high praise considering how many people have talked about Silco. Especially considering I'm just an idiot on the internet with no qualifications lol I love Silco for so many reasons, and I hope I made it very clear that while I don't condone his actions. I sympathize with his cause, his ideals, his willingness to accept the faults he's made especially when it comes to his adoptive daughter. His story just rips at my heart, a wonderful example of someone twisted because of their environment still trying to do what they believe is right and just.
@@AFlyingWalrus no qualifications can be sometimes good. You see it objectively. Learned qualified story tellers keep making repurposed garbage and simp for whatever wins academy awards
My daughter talked me into watching this show with her. I have grown to love it and has become one of my favorites. When watching it- at that moment when Silco said "Is there anything as undoing as a daughter" I blurted out "NO" and my daughter just laughed. Great video and great incites.
haha, but if you think about it. A daughter or someone you care for more than yourself changes your perspective and undoes a lot of what you thought you knew. Thanks for the fun comment
Another interesting subversion in Silco's portrayal as a villain-...and he is a villain insofar as there is any singular villain. His methods include violence, coercion, terrorism, the weaponizing of his own people, and the flooding of a dangerous drug onto the streets. The means a character is willing to achieve even a noble goal often determine their status as a hero or a villain. And it could certainly be said that Silco's ultimate goal of a free, independent, and strong Zaun was noble. But the interesting thing about him as a villain is that...his villainous methods were working. His actions were terrible. But under Silco the Enforcers didn't just take a light touch, they stayed entirely our of the Lanes. Marcus was all but under Silco's thumb. While it was fueled by drugs, the economy in the Undercity was booming. And he came within a hair's breadth of securing his ultimate, and noble, goal of taking Zaun out from under the exploitive thumb of Piltover. And that's a pretty amazing approach for a story, to have a villain's villainous methods actually working. The Council didn't suddenly dig in its heels and proclaim they would not be intimidated or declare that they wouldn't negotiate with a terrorist. It wasn't any of the heroes or even the actions of someone intentionally trying to stop him or undermine Silco's methods that "thwarted" him. And further, this stands in contrast to Vander's much more conventionally noble and heroic methods, of sacrificing no one, using diplomacy, and seeking to maintain peace. For all of Vander's efforts, the Lanes were still poorer than poor with even other outsiders trying to take advantage of its people. The Enforcers were a constant presence. And at the end of the day, the people were still regularly walking around breathing air so poisonous that most topsiders wore rebreathers. And this was the status quo, one that he was intentionally trying not to upset for the sake of protecting lives. They're an amazing contrast in the two ideas "The ends justify the means" and "The means justify the ends" and shows just how darkly either ideological end can be. It's easy to say you believe in one or the other. But then to see the what those respective "means" and "ends" are...I think both Vander and Silco were broken by it.
This is great comment. Loved reading through this, and this is something that even I hadn't thought about, but again. Going with the theme of parallels and duplicity in how the undercuts was handled is a great catch.
That is such an excellent point, and something I hadn't even considered! It's one thing to give a villain an understandable motivation, so that you can empathise with him to an extent despite the cruelty of his actions. But to take it one step further and show those actions succeeding where a more noble and "good" course of action had failed? That's just brilliant.
@Thee Apollo "“Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and their freedoms” ― Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers"
Excelent post mate. I would like to point something out and are the parallels between Marcus (the corrupt sheriff) and Vander. When we start watching the show, Vander is in a position where he is basically the junior partner of an union made to keep the status quo. He gets something, but at the end of the day, the enforcers are those who are winning and have the upper hand. On the other hand, when Silco is in power and there is a similar union between Marcus and Silco, Silco is actually the one calling the shots, as we have seen in the show: through terrorism, intimidation and, in general, having power. This shows one universal truth: when you are negotiating, to get a fair deal both parties need to be equal. And that's why you never negotiate with your oppressor.
A bit idealised though. Yes, he was making progress and yes, the enforcers weren't doing much, but he wasn't improving things. The massive amounts of shimmer led to more poverty and drug addicts, and I don't know why you think his actions led to a "booming economy" especially not for the people not part of his gang. The situation under Vander was objectively better. Yes, he'd a good villain and great character, and his goal is noble, but don't be baited into reframing all the horrible things he did. The horrible state of the undercity was partly his doing, and still part of the "means". Then, all the horrible means and suffering offered the chance at the "ends" and he failed to take it.
One of my favorite Silco moments that I don’t see many talk about is when he’s speaking to Jayce at the pier. He looks so smug and so happy because he’s getting everything he ever wanted, but the second Jayce says “I want Jinx,” the micro shifts in expression when his face drops and his entire demeanor/energy changes instantly. The moment those words left Jayce’s mouth the deal was a bust and Silco knew it. Chills every time. The animators are insane and the storytelling is so phenomenal.
I didn't see this scene as him feeling he'd failed Jinx at all, but rather him admitting that he can't live up to his own ideals. It harkens back to Vander's discussion with Vi on the bridge where he asks who she's willing to lose. Now that Silco has someone he won't lose, he can't lose (to paraphrase his answer to Singed), it all makes sense now why Vander would abandon his dream to spare his people and why Silco has to do the same. Seeing a well defended view of this scene from such a different angle than mine is amazing. This season's story is like Socratic dialogue for a generation raised on light sabers and gratuitous explosions :-) Also gonna go waaay out on a limb and say that, far from failing, Silco was a more successful mentor than Vander was. Vander tried to convince his chosen daughter that her fists wouldn't solve her problems and would instead create more. Vi never heeds this. Even the successful attack on the shimmer factory she initiates would have resulted in Silco getting everything he wanted if not for the big deal breaker. Silco saw Powder's self doubt as weakness and insisted Jinx let her die. Because Fortiche are gods we get to see the exact moment that happens on Jinx'es face. Silco is kaput. There is no Powder left to reconcile with Vi. Jinx is free to be the wacky loose canon esports expects. Even further into the weeds... Powder's raison d'etre is to prove that she's capable. When she and Silco first meet Silco essentially gives her a mantra: "We'll show them." When Jinx fears Silco has lost confidence in her after the blimp debacle (it's a balloon, ain't it?) Jinx resolves that "I'll show him!" before wildly overachieving his instruction to work on her gadgets by stealing the mechanical butterfly design and the hextech stuff. Finally, in what completes the bookends of his influence on Jinx, we hear Silco in her head confirming that "We will show them all" as she unleashes her opus. In my mind's eye there's a #temple channel on Discord a few hundred hears from now where cyber-rabbi are arguing over the moral hierarchy of Vander vs Silco vs mom Medarda vs Heimerdinger.
I love your viewpoint and can agree with much what you said. And this is why I see Arcane as art. It allows for interpretation. Wonderful read thank you sharing friend
@@AFlyingWalrus It's odd, because there's two ways of looking at it. WE as viewers can see he failed Jinx in making her a whole and complete being that has overcome her trauma in a healthy manner. That much is obvious. But perhaps that's not the manner in which Silco thinks one overcomes your past? We can see that in his speech in the lake. That he overcomes his fear by almost killing the weaker version of himself that is still held back by that fear. So as much as I do believe he has failed Jinx, I don't necessarily think he feels that way, although I do think he feels helpless in the matter of Vi, and ultimately Vi is his undoing. (As we see with him feeling he has to go to the lengths of killing her in order for him to keep Jinx) and ultimately it is this decision he forces ON Jinx that is his own demise.
"Also gonna go waaay out on a limb and say that, far from failing, Silco was a more successful mentor than Vander was. Vander tried to convince his chosen daughter that her fists wouldn't solve her problems and would instead create more. Vi never heeds this." I initially thought so too, until I thought about it deeper. The key moment in the Vi/Vander relationship is their discussion on the bridge. Before that, yes, Vander couldn't really get to Vi, and convince her she is making a mistake. But he did on the bridge, and that changed her. The key moment is when she asks him what are they going to do, and he says "we'll think of something". She has a look of disbelief on her face, she looks up at him, and I think that is the moment of growth for her, when she realizes how deeply she screwed up, since the guy who fixes everything, Vander, doesn't know what to do...And she decides she's going to give herself up. Her decision to give herself up I would say is the culmination of Vander's influence on her, that she decides to sacrifice herself to protect Powder and the others. If somehow the situation would have resolved itself favorably, that they would have survived, I don't think we would have seen Vi doing the same things anymore. More than this, after Vander dies, Vi hits Powder, than as she grips her face, blood from Powder nose spills onto Vi's hand. Vi looks at the bloody hand, than turns it around, and looks at the knuckles, which we also bloody. This is when she remembers what Vander told her, that violence is not the way, so she stops herself from punishing Powder even more, realizes she needs to cool off, and goes off to a place where she can be alone for a few moments. Unfortunately things go bad from there, but the point is that even in that moment of EXTREME stress, Vander is a deciding influence on her. Also, when she fights Savika the second time, she is erratic, overconfident, gets knocked out...Then she has a vision of Vander, which calms her down, and manages to win the fight from then on.
@@cristiancandru8610 While I somewhat agree, in ACT 3 she starts to become desperate in her attempts to fight Silco, and Ironically, she does exactly the thing Vander warned her about: She gave up her sister for the fight. Remember the council meeting? Caitlyn never said who was Silco's engineer-Assasin. It was Vi. She said her name, once, but it was enough. Jayce had to put this name in the conditions, and we all saw how it went.
nah, our civilization will never last a few hundred years. May not last a couple dozen. and it may be exactly the same reasons Piltdown collapses in the series. (well, I assume when the Counsel bites it at the end, the sh*t hits the fan. I would put better odds on them than us, though)
I don’t actually think Silco sees himself as having failed Jinx, I do think he sees himself as being helpless to stop Vi from from taking her from him though which is why he went feral in that one scene and why he pulls the gun on her.
i think he did not get feral at Vi that scene cuz she might be able to convince jinx to go with her or something, silco got mad cuz Vi was hurting jinx making her remember about claggor, mylo, vander, basically those who she killed by accident. Vi was traumatizing her and silco noticed it and thats why he tried to kill vi.
Pulling the gun on Vi was a reaction to Jinx's extreme distress at Vi's reminders of her previous life. It's only when Jinx is basically having a psychotic episode that he starts thrashing at his bindings and tries to shoot Vi.
jinx is her daughter, also being jinx is part of powder, and silco knew that, vi didnt, she couldn't/wouldnt acknowledge that side of powder and wants to delete it, shes trying to push powder into a mold that no longer fits her and silco knew theres no saving jinx unless he kills the main source of her pain/duality. even at the end jinx sort of realized that things have changed,they both have and vi couldnt accept it so jinx have to be the one to cut the ties, to save free of em, by declaring war to piltover
@@romusa10 vi didn’t even get a chance to actually have a conversation with jinx they always get interrupted… if there is anyone that can actually save jinx is Vi is always gonna be VI ….
“Is there anything more undoing than a daughter?” As an oldest daughter who is close with my father, this line impacts me *deeply* . I don’t know how or why that is. It’s so so beautiful yet so chilling at the same time. The writers were pure genius.
Holy shit I actually teared up during this. Haven't done that since the series ended. Bravo man, you told Silco's story in a way that got to me like no other analysis of Arcane.
Silco is probably one of the most complicated characters that I've come across, and my feelings about him shift from day to day. But one thing that I can't personally wrap my head around is calling him a bad father. A misguided father, sure, but a bad one? I'm not so sure about that. To answer the question of whether he's a good or bad dad, we'd have to first ask, *what is the measure of a bad father*? Because he doesn't check any of the boxes I'd personally attribute to one. He's not abusive, he's not impatient, he's not dismissive, he's not driven by anger, he's not even--in my view--possessive. And I know that might sound crazy, I know people often interpret his interactions with Vi as being possessive of Jinx, but I think his hatred of Vi is out of *genuine concern for what Vi would do to Jinx's psyche*. By the point in the story that Vi is reintroduced into their lives, Jinx has already fully established herself over Powder. Powder doesn't exist anymore, and all that's left is Jinx. Even Ekko knows this. And of course it's easy to blame Silco for that--I saw one discussion on Reddit not long ago that blames him for splitting Powder's psyche between two essential personalities. But my problem with this is that the split in her psyche already exists without any input from Silco, and it happened because of the trauma she suffered in episode 3. She's introduced in Act II as fighting a constant battle within herself, a Powder vs Jinx. Whenever reminders of Powder happen to Jinx, she panics, lashes out, has severe psychotic breaks, and hurts everyone around her. Silco's response to this isn't to lash at her in turn, it's to calmly listen to her side of the story, encourage her to take some time off, and focus on her hobbies. Regardless of Silco's status as a villain, that is exactly how a good father *should* behave toward a person coming off of a mental health crisis. Silco doesn't get angry at her for clinging on to the past, he understands on a deeply personal level how that works, and he doesn't encourage her to let Powder die until Jinx's mental health crisis persists to the point to where Jinx has become hobbled by self doubt. For Silco, encouraging Jinx to let go of Powder is his way of encouraging her to let go of her traumas. At this point in the story, as far as either of them are concerned, Vi not only abandoned Powder, but she's dead. When Sevika reports to Silco that Vi is back, Silco isn't angered, he's actually *surprised*. "Back from the dead?" The only way forward before that, in either of their eyes, is for Jinx to shore up the split in her psyche and allow herself to move on from the fear that is holding her back. After this point, Jinx isn't fully healed, but she's regained her sense of self. Her inventiveness has returned, she's confident again, and she's happier. So Vi coming back will only serve to reopen the wound that Silco had worked with her to help close. And Vi's attitude toward the whole situation doesn't help. Vi loves *Powder*, she loves the memory of who she was eight years removed from where she is now. And her mistake is thinking that things can just go back to the way they were, refusing to listen to others, even Ekko, who insist that Powder is too far gone. Vi's insistence on calling her Powder and then, at the dinner scene, reminding her of all of her traumas, isn't helping Powder. It's just hurting Jinx, causing a psychotic episode like she hasn't experienced since before the baptism scene where she began to cement herself around Jinx. Silco sees this, and he lashes out and tries to pull a gun on her. I don't view Silco's responses to Vi's attempts to get back at Powder as possessive so much as they are *protective*. There is a tendency of wish fulfillment in media to think trauma can be cured in a nice, clean way, and that people can go back to the way things were before the trauma. Vi is a personification of that misguided belief, and we inherently root for her. But as Silco says "she'll be with you for a day before she realizes you're not that little girl anymore," wanting to prevent Jinx from being abandoned again and getting hurt more. And Jinx, later, rightfully agrees. "I thought you could go back to loving me the way you used too, but I was wrong." For as much love might exist in Vi for Powder, she can't love Jinx. Vi is afraid of her. And nothing can change that, nor can anything Vi do change Jinx back into who she used to be. And honestly, I don't think she really wants to go back to that fear-dominated part of her life. When Silco tells Jinx she's perfect, he's validating her for who she is, and that's something Vi is incapable of giving her. Silco gave Jinx the tools she needed to survive in the underground, the strength, confidence, tenacity, but most importantly *personal validation* to grow past her traumas. Vi is a living reminder of everything that causes Jinx to suffer. Silco may be misguided , a broken man damaged by his own traumas that color his view of the world, but all fathers and all mothers carry their traumas forward and pass them to their children. I wouldn't say that makes him a bad father, just a tragically misguided one.
I understand and think your perspective is perfectly fair, but I don't fully agree with it. Largely because in all of this, Silco has the benefit of having spent the last 6 or 7 years with Jinx. Vi has been out of the picture for that same amount of time. And when Vi finally gets out, she has three interactions with Jinx. Three. Probably less than a half hour of total time with her. The initial reunion, the bridge scene - Where no words are exchanged, and Jinx shoots at Caitlyn and Vi - and the dinner party scene where Vi is tied up. My point is that Vi is at a complete disadvantage here when it comes to reconciling with Jinx. Other than the first few moments of their initial reunion, Vi has not had any real opportunity to talk (and listen) to Jinx. For most of their interactions, Vi was under duress (among others). To be clear when you say: "Vi's insistence on calling her Powder and then, at the dinner scene, reminding her of all of her traumas, isn't helping Powder. It's just hurting Jinx", I agree, but Vi was just never really in a position to know any better. Her frame of reference is skewed because she's been away for so long, so what else could she have done? It's not that she's incapable of validating who she is, she never had a chance to do so at all. I also just don't agree with the notion Powder/Jinx is some sort of binary switch. Jinx isn't an entirely different person from Powder. Jinx is who powder has evolved and grown into. They are estranged, and any meaningful reconciliation is going to take a lot more than just a few minutes together. But they never got that chance in the first place. As for Silco, yes he loved her. But where I disagree is that while he did want to protect her in his own way, he was still manipulative and driven by his own fear of abandonment. (this was further confirmed by one of the writers on twitter). I would argue that Silco saying that Vi was after the crystal, which is an outright lie to sway her back is being possessive. In his own mind he was protecting her, but he fed her his own insecurities: "everyone betrays us." "It's only us". He did not want to loose her to Vi and said whatever he needed to make sure that wouldn't happen. Not saying that you're wrong, but I'm coming at it from a slightly different perspective. Incredible character in any case.
Yep honestly another person basically said what I thought about how Vander basically "raised" mainly Vi while Vi took care of Powder. (And the other orphans minus ekko)
@@danc1513 Is he lying when he tells her that or does he genuinely believe what he is saying? I mean from their perspective, Vi abandons powder and then turns up 8 years later in cahoots with the enforcer that’s been hunting Jinx for stealing the crystal. I would probably question her motives too because that reeks of civilian informant. . And for sure, he’s definitely coming at it from the perspective of his own trauma and he’s projecting that onto her. As I said, he’s heavily misguided. But I do believe he believes everything he says, so I’m not sure if it’s manipulation so much as it is projection of deep insecurities. Also I’m not necessarily holding anything against Vi for how she handled the situation, but it’s abundantly clear that she doesn’t know how to use her words. She’s a fighter, she’s used to solving things by brute force and so she approaches the situation of jinx versus powder with brute force. For her, the names of all of those people bring her comfort and happiness, fond memories of a better time. For jinx though they just cause her pain, because they are centered around her traumas. I understand that she was in a stressful situation, but the number one thing that you never do with a trauma victim is bludgeoned them with reminders of their own traumas, especially when they’re in the middle of a crisis the way that she was. That is definitely all on Vi. And it’s perfectly understandable reaction considering the characteristics of her personality, but it’s for this reason that Violet, certainly not in her current state, can not be for jinx what she needs her to be.
You know that Silco is a beautifully complex character when there's so much debate on what kind of character he actually was. The writers of Arcane really reflected the human condition in him.
11:35 Silco and Vi also share a moment of similariy at the factory. When Vi asks Jayce "what's one more death kid to stop Silco?" which is exactly the justifications that Silco uses earlier on. Yes he knows the damage Shimmer causes but it's a weapon that gets Zaun freedom from the enforcers. And he's right in that, the enforcers are scared to start shit in Zaun due to the Shimmer. But it comes at the cost of a few more death kids.
This scene by far is my favorite of the show. Everything comes to light. And it’s full of symbolism and Parallels as well, ekko: “he paid in gold and didn’t even haggle” Silco: “the boy didn’t even haggle” and this scene to me solidified silcos character arc. You can tell when he meets with jayce as soon as jayce says he needs jinx. Silco becomes fidgety and instantly claims responsibility to the crimes similar to how vander offered himself up for vi. The scene with jayce tells us that he isn’t going to give jinx up, and his speech to the statue is him coming to terms with that choice, giving up everything and sacrificing the nation of zany for his daughter. Vander was willing to sacrifice. Zaun and kneel to piltover to maintain peace to protect vi and others, Silco was willing to sacrifice zaun and start a war with piltover to protect jinx. This show is 10/10
Eh. Killmonger is 100% wrong. Thanos would probably have been a better example. Killmonger fails to grasp what a lot of American progressives fail to realize; that Africa was primarily responsible for the slave trade. The Europeans utilized the hell out of it, but the African kingdoms started and ran it. The society that Killmonger is asking for salvation is the same one that sold his ancestors into slavery.
I agree. But I disagree. What I mean by that is, we can have vilains absolutly wrong. It doesn't matter. Because their good is the "heroes" wrong, and it brings confrontation. If, Silco wasn't wrong by standards, he would just be a confused hero. Right now, Silco is great not because he is doing something wrong. He is great because he does what for him is the right choice, for the right cause, and throught his actions, "heroes" try to stop him. There's no hero if there's no vilain, and no vilain if there's no hero. By hero, I don't mean some superdude with a cape (I'm pretty sure you know it, but just in case), I mean someone that fit the place of what the majority think is "good". Jayce could be our "hero" if not for our viewer view of point that shows his doubts, his mistakes, but from piltover citizen PoV, he is certainly a hero. Vi is by no mean a hero from the PoV of piltover or zauhn citizen. She's crazy, starts fight everywhere, etc. But from our PoV as viewers, we get the reason behind her actions, and that make her a "hero". Well, Jinx/powder definitly doesn't fit that title for the solen reason that she...doesn't care about people. At least to a certain extend since she does care about what Vi and Silco think of her, but that's it. She doesn't want to help their ideals, the only think she crave is recognition. And because of that, she is not a hero (btw I'm pretty sure killing people with bombs to steal things isn't helping either.) So, to get back to the point, Silco is a vilain because people see what his actions are, not what are they for. I might get it wrong, but I have the feeling that his goal isn't to reign over zauhn, but truly to create the free nation of zauhn. (could be wrong, but that's everyone opinion at this point) What we like about his character (so far, that is the reason I found), is because he deceive people. His actions are the ones of a tipical vilain, but his goal is...not a "good" goal, just a "balanced" goal between good or bad. Sure, Zauhn being a nation could improve his citizens lifes. But zauhn is a wreck that can't fix itself by itself, it needs outside help. (I might got carried away while writing, plus there must be so many grammatical mistakes, sorry I'm not english, but I did want to share my view on the fact "is Silco a vilain ?" ^^')
@@jeffmorris5802 you literally make 0 sense. You are way off the mark on both killmonger and Thanos. Killmonger wanted to uplift repressed black people, just the way he wanted to do it is wrong. Thanos wanted to use a source of unlimited power to kill half of life when there were other ways to accomplish his goals with the gauntlet without killing half of all life.
The scene with Silco and Marcus’ daughter ended up as my favorite in the show. You just don’t get scenes like that in media where the villain so blatantly threats to murder a child, to the point that when Marcus opens that door and both he and the audience realize that Silco is on the other side, I felt every bit of fear and apprehension that he did. Seeing him so casually playing with his daughter while you and Marcus know exactly what he would do to keep his people in line is the peak of Arcane’s writing. I felt every bit of tension and concern for that girl in that scene and it still sticks with me because no other scene put me in the shoes of a character like that one did.
This is a little late, but part of why Marcus gasps when he opens the door is because the shadows are framed to look like Silco is strangling Marcus' daughter. Only when the door opens further do you see this is just a trick of the light.
@@miecaf This isn't a concidence, either, it was painted that way on purpose. The actual models don't line up that way exactly from the light source, so it was 100% put there to shock close observers.
The line that made Silco for me was "and what do I have to lose but problems" which goes back to his line about power. When he says it comes to those who would do anything, he really means it, it means filling the streets with drugs, surrounding yourself with traitorous thugs, dangerous weapons and a crazy girl that makes explosives for fun. I find it funny when people ask if he's really a villain, because he very much chose to be so, he put himself in such a low position that everything he has to sacrifice is a net positive, something he would have get rid of at one point or another in order to achieve his goal of creating the nation of Zaun. He's a person that keeps his enemies closer, all the things he would need power to fight in the first place, and his downfall was realizing one of those things was too precious for him.
10:24 - little error like many ppl here: silco shoot at vi to protects Jinx from torment that vi was putting on his beloved daughter.. and Jinx shoots at the direction she hears click of a loading gun at. killers instinct, parnoia.. who knows.. some specific people have this fast reflex to attack without thinking in some situations when threatened. It was pure reflex. Jinx was not defending Vi as U said. Jinx was not thinking. It was pure reflex. That makes the tragedy out of human proportions.. that Silco loved her to madness level and she loved him back.. and she killed him.. by accident.. and he still loved her beyond comprehension. This kind of trauma is unimaginable, unbearable and unmeasurable.
"You MUST finish the weapon." He said this multiple times to Jinx. He always knew they'd demand he turn over Jinx... but he would never do so. Silco is the absolute best "villain" ever. I find myself siding with him over Piltover's side. He doesn't corrupt Powder. He enables what was already there. He didn't create Jinx. He "released" her. No doubt, he loved her unquestionably and unconditionally.
@@TrueBladeSoul Yes but, "worked" for him? He had nothing until Jayce took the Power and had anyone else in the council be in charge instead of compassion amd freedon he would get a war follow by a crushing defeat. Was just Jinx stealing the Hex tech that gave him a cahnce and even then he lost everything, "his way" never was a good one.
I think it can also be talked about how forming a family can change a person's perspective on life, how their priorities change. When silco was basically alone, every sacrfice was tolerable, even encouraged... until he developed a fatherlike conection with Jinx.... when she became his priority. It's reflects alot of human behaviours. Young people, fueled by an idealistic sense of glory, adventure or selfish reasons are perfectly fine to abandon all, even sacrificing their lives for a cause... but the moment they find a special someone... that self sacrifice changes to protection. Protecting the ones close to you forgetting the idea that pushed one in the beginning.
This was worth the wait, thanks. Silco is such a strange character, the more I think about the show the more I love his character, on initial viewing I would die on the Jinx hill as best character, but now I would die on Silco’s hill without a doubt. Really it’s the classic “subverting their expectations” done right. I can’t wait for season 2, I hope his character gets to come back somehow, flashbacks or as voices in Jinx’s mind. The voice actor knocked it out of the park, like all the others.
Silco was something no one expected. The quiet understandable evil, that slowly transforms as the season evolves. Just brilliant writing and voice acting.
@@AFlyingWalrus How the hell did they manage to build up an incredibly well written formidable villain, then tear him down and build him up as something entirely polar opposite, all in the span of 9 episodes. And make it all believable and compelling at the same time. I really do think Christian and Alex are going to be approached by major Hollywood publishers, these guys are something special.
Jinx graffiti on statue. Ekko's name written in graffiti. Jinx hiding behind statue (she comes here often)? Jinx calls Ekko "boy savior." Ekko/Vander parallels. Silco pours one out. Wanted to be a savior, too. But couldn't save Jinx. Right in the feels, man.
Literally every single second in this show. Every line, every expression, every shot, every angle, everything ment something. They didn't waster a single second in this show
I don’t really see that. In regards to him thinking he failed her somehow. He doesn’t ever apologize to her, he doesn’t think she needs to be saved. When he takes her in, there is an element of “We both share the same pain, let’s figure it out together.”, but mainly, he believes he knows already what to do about it. That last scene isn’t the first time he calls Jinx “perfect”. He says it as his most lucid moment at the pond with her. He is always trying to impart his experience onto her, she confirms as much to Vi that he’s always lecturing her about what she should do, how she should be. But what makes his desperation isn’t just love for her due to shared trauma, it’s validation. Respect. Self-assurance. He truly knows that they both share the same pain and are equally as hurt by it, but he has found his way out of it, and if he can’t make her do the same, be the same, then he could love her all he wants but the fact would remain… He’d be alone. Alone in the pain he has learned to push away with twisted rationality that would fall apart if this person he empathizes with went down the same path and chose differently. When he’s sitting there at the fountain, talking to his dead brother, he’s conflicted because someone just made him choose between Zaun and his daughter… And at no point did he consider giving up the latter. That scene is him coming to realize just how much she means to him at the cost of his lofty dreams for the undercity that he now realizes how comparatively little he cares about, as his lifelong dream has just crumbled as soon as they presented themselves to him, handed to him on a silver platter, now undone by a daughter. But therein lies the difference between him and his late (murdered) brother. Vander bears responsibility. Silco would rather just let everyone else “BURN”. Silco would never give himself over to the authorities even if Jayce had offered to, because he has NEVER considered the repercussions of his actions like Vander does. He could have offered to trade himself in to spare Jinx punishment whilst letting his loyal and capable right hand woman Sevika run his empire (like Vander turned himself in while letting Benzo take his place), but no. And of course he wouldn’t, because he doesn’t feel responsible for Jinx, he’s psychologically dependent on her. At the end the only firm thing left in his mind is that NO ONE will take her from him and there’s no price he will put on her. His development is a decline, a breakdown in his prattle of Zaun, of ideology, of doing this for anyone but himself and his child (Jinx even mocks his pretentious lectures as he sits gagged at the table), boiling his character identity down to its most essential parts, a broken man who will stop at nothing, not to attain power or respect, but to escape his feelings of loneliness and dejection. And that was his downfall, going so far as to murder his daughter’s sister in cold blood right in front of her just to stop her from leaving him. And that’s what makes his own daughter kill him.
This is a wonderful viewpoint on the character and I agree with many of your points. I love how you can interpret things from this show in different ways, and it allows you to be right in each instance. The only reason why I personally think he sees a failure towards Jinx is, "Is there anything so undoing as a daughter." He sees now his focus should have been on her, and in the following scenes his attention full relvoves and her, building her up, and even as he's dying he tries to comfort her Wonderful comment.
@@AFlyingWalrus I saw “Is there anything so undoing as a daughter” as him drawing this connection between him and Vander (he precedes this line with “Oh it all makes sense now, brother.”), where he never fully understood why Vander gave up his revolution to protect his children, he didn’t understand what it was like to love someone that unconditionally, but now that Jayce forced him to choose, he understood what that was like. A reference to how much they were both willing to give up for their daughters, hence him describing them with the adjective “undoing”. “Everything we ever dreamed of.” just within his reach and he can’t take it because he loves his daughter. And yeah, he does he try to build her up as he dies, but any father I think would want to comfort their child as they died, and with his final breath, he implores her not to change a single thing about herself.
@@The_Story_Of_Us I absolutly agreee with your point of view that exactly describe mine too (While I respect others as well, would be sad not to listen to them or reject them even). The real question that I have (and you may be capable to answer ?) is "When does Silco start being a father from his PoV" ? We get the father like vibe he's giving since ep 4, but not at the end of ep 3, meaning he either realised he became a father for powder during the time-skip, or during the show, slowly ?
@@deamonder3291 Probably during the timeskip. He wouldn’t have been like “Guess I’m your dad now” the second she jumped into his lap, but they already have that relationship when we see them after the timeskip. It’s just that after the timeskip we see the story of how his feelings for her tested when Vi reenters the picture and shakes things up. At the end of episode 3 you can sort of just look at his dialogue where it’s like “It’s okay. We’ll show them. We will show them all.”, that carries the subtext of empathizing with her and taking her in, but paternal feelings are something deeper than that and doesn’t just happen in an instant, but this is of course the groundwork of parenthood that carries just enough implication to suggest that’s where it’s heading (similar to Vander carrying her and Vi away in his arms).
6:48 "This should be an easy decision." It was an easy decision. He didn't tell Jayce, but it's pretty clear that the moment he learned the terms, the answer was always going to be 'No'. He'd have burnt Zaun to the ground first.
I think everyone's impression of silco when introduced was the "im the shady manipulative greedy bad guy" Clone but when the story progresses and when he adopts powder we are all convinced that he is just gonna manipulate and use her but when jinx was near death he lost his calm and convinced me that he was vulnerable and be cares about her as a father And my favorite scene in the show is when they had to chose powder or jinx And vi and the audience are convinced that jinx wants to be saved as powder but silco knows that she cant exist as powder as she chosed and liked to be jinx and being jinx makes her feel like she belongs there and isn't helpless anymore but she cant let go of powder with vi and the past holding her back but silco understands her and supports her like an actual father who strongly support the decision of their child who is lost as she wants to continue being jinx but everyone else calls for powder So he stood with her and called jinx "perfect" As telling her to let powder go when silco dies she is about to cry but but stops and quickly changes her mood which shows that powder is that helpless crying girl while jinx stays calm Showing us that she let powder go and proves that jinx is perfect
I love that Silco has a pretty typical villain design that looks evil and scorned, with a fantastic voice actor. He is definitely "obvious villain" for most of the show, but Powder needed him. We knew he cared about her when Sevika said "everybody knows she's a screw up" and Silco said, "who?" implying that he does not include himself in that statement. Just like how Vi loved and stood up for Powder to their friend who was saying bad things about her.
Arcane has done more to make me think than any show or movie in the past year. I think that "human" is the best description that could be given to Arcane. Broken, Flawed, Victim. Human every character is a victim either of there environment or the choices they have made. There are no Mary or Gary Stus, no white knights in armor. Even the arguable pinnacles of piltower are not free from doubts or mistakes, people die because of their decisions. Above all else there are consequences. Good, Bad, Indifferent I don't know I just want to see were this goes
Something arcane does extremely well is that all the character motivations make sense and are not random. They fall explicitly within each individual's goals, desires, and philosophy. Almost every action taken follows a path to achieve their ends and never feels contradictory. Whether it's Jayce, torn between loyalty to his benefactors, saving his freind, his control over his own technology and by extention, his life, or Marcus, torn between blood on his hands, the right thing, his daughter, and a continuing spiral to keep a legacy, all the actions taken, follow. That is good writing and is irreplaceable.
Something I love very much is that, because Silco is Jinx's creator and father, he is so devoted to his craft that he shares her pain and panic. We see him in his most uncontrollable state, when he is unable to help Jinx. Like when he threatens to kill Vi in the final act. Vi is hurting Jinx, forcing all her traumas upon her at once. The tension in the room and the panic Jinx is fighting effects our calm, level headed leader so much that he makes a poorly calculated, incredibly impulsive decision. He's like a sculptor who's accidentally grown too fond of his own creation.
My feeling of his rage, especially going after vi. Its not hatred, its Fear that's pushing him to the extreme. He knows vi might be able to reach her and take his daughter away and that sends him into a rage.
Holy balls. I just noticed that in this shot 5:11 when it shows silco running at the camera, Silco's good eye basically takes up the whole frame when he gets closer. It's a blink and you'll miss it detail in that one shot, but it just goes to show the visual storytelling of Silco that his opinion of Jinx and how he really does care for her. The good, caring side of Silco is seen as he runs towards his dying daughter.
1:54 / 1:55 also extreme dishonored vibes when hes got his overcoat/jacket thing, bold color to strike against the stifling amount of black/dark tones, weird flaps n straps stuck on, sticking out and placed all over (not shitting on the design, its just definitely unique)
I feel Silco may be the greatest antagonist ever written. I’ve never felt my gut literally sink nor shed tears for a villain’s death in tv, film, or even in books. He feels more human than any live action villain I’ve seen on a tv screen. It’s insane. This kind of character work is so inspiring for me, and it urges me to start writing again. How could I ever even come close to matching a character with this amount of depth? I’m still going to try. Silco would’ve tried (even if he knew he would inevitably fail). Damn good analysis my friend. Subscribed.
I just wanna thank you for addressing the fact that Silco and Jinx’s relationship was incredibly toxic. I’ve seen so many fans romanticize it and claim Silco was an excellent father who really loved his daughter, and I just wanna scream sometimes. It doesn’t matter that he loved her, he did this child absolutely no favors whatsoever
You would be surprised by the amount of hate comments I get daily because I called him a bad father figure. So I'm glad to see someone agrees with me lol
I agree with this so much. Silco does love Jinx. Also noted by Sevika that “She’s like his daughter”. However, their relationship IS toxic. Even though Silco care for Jinx, the way he raised her revolves around his own trauma with Vander.
Personally, I have come around to the thematic theory that part of why Silco couldn't forsake Jinx is because Jinx, in her way, is a personification of Zaun itself. Her transition from Powder to Jinx thematically mirrors the Undercity's transformation into Zaun. Sure, she is unstable, damaged, and twisted on so many levels, but so too is their home. Vander might have kept the denizens safe, but one can also argue that his actions also helped to perpetuate the Undercity's subservice to Topside. Thus, as Powder began to evolve into something stronger, something new, so too did the Undercity evolve into something separate from Piltover. Because of this, it made the decision of giving up Jinx impossible for Silco. Not only was she his daughter, but in a way she has become his vision of Zaun. Sure, he has made it a shimmer-ridden den of vice, but it was an addiction made *by* the Undercity, something it could nonetheless draw strength from. When he ended up dying, not only did his daughter complete her transformation into Jinx, but so too did Zaun take its first breath; a scream of chaotic violence against the city that oppressed it. apologies for the long-winded comment, just my two-cents on the matter.
It's confirmed by the creators that in his last scene he was trying to say she was the perfect zaunite. She was everything he wanted Zaun to be and as long as he had her he didn't need the rest of the city.
This, this is why I love the Arcane community. The in depth disscusions and oppinions, the different views and speculations. Some people may think I am overreacting but Arcane is the best tv series I have seen in my life, I cannot watch a single episode without getting chills even after having watched the show multiple times as well as countless youtube videos. Theres something truly special about it, the way the animation looks, the composition, the story telling, it's all just perfect.
Arcane is definitely in my top 3, I would put it in number 2 actually, I would put samurai champloo number one, because it covered a lot of topics, history, politics and human psychology ofc. But I just seen Arcane yesterday, in one sitting ofc, and can't get it out of my head, it's ofc damn good. I've seen 30 or more top class series but..... Arcane is in it's own league, beats other animes by a fair distance.
My friend, though I don't know where you are or what you do, I must thank you for the profound emotions you've stirred. I find myself repeatedly watching AMV videos of Jinx, immersing deeply to reconnect with the emotions they evoke. Then there's your interpretation-so deep, so resonant-giving voice to these feelings. I, too, have hidden aspects that serve me well, one of which is the ability to spot unpolished gems. You are such a gem, cast before those who might not appreciate your worth. Whatever you're pursuing, do it wholeheartedly, for you're on the right path.. Venture as deep as none have before, and bring back to us what you discover there. Once again, thank you for this video. It makes me feel alive and gives my demons a name.
4:08 I can't say I agree with that statement. He is actually a great Father to her, just an a**hole to everyone else. It's just they are both seriously battling co-dependency issues. Jinx needs to feel powerful, useful and loved unconditionally as she always felt otherwise. And Silco is battling past trauma involving betrayal, but has found healing in Jinx. But that also blinds him when it comes to making decisions and keeping his goals in sight when it comes to her. I loved the messed up dynamics of it all.
He isn’t a good father cause he isn’t a good person, he can’t teach jinx, he can only teacher her the toxic behaviors he does too. That’s isn’t a good father
@@sad-womeninthehouse4249 He shows more affection to her in 9 episodes of this animated series than my Father has my whole life. So...I stand by what I said.
@@Ningnomaningnong my father loves me, yet he is a terrible father. Your parents can love you more than in the world and be horrible and toxic at parenting.
What else can you ask for a person who thinks is doing the right thing. Silco did what he believe to be right, and taught Jinx every mistake and lesson that he had learned throughout the years. Silco himself is an example of his own ideal that he told Deckard. He isn't as strong and fast as other people in the Show and he isn't that smart compared with Jayce, Ekko, Victor, etc. But he was able to get to where he is by following his own ideal up until the last episode. He taught her what HE thinks is right
To be fair he was trying to fight for the undercity freedom. Like it or not it was kinda similar to the revolutionary war in America and we all thought those guys were hero’s.
Wonderful analysis! Brings up so many points. I’m obsessed with Silvina and Jinx, but I accept that THE REASON their relationship is SO appealing to toxic tropes about love. People want to look for “proof” of love, inside a person who is unable to love. “Look at that-it’s proof he loves her!” He can love her in the only way that he could ever love. But love does not mean the relationship should be praised or, god forbid, be held up as an example for actual parents in today’s world. Praising the relationship relationship is ignoring all the flaws each person has, and the responsibility they have. Their relationship is ultimately one of codependency-two people who cannot be at peace with themselves and feel secure without feeling tied to a specific person.
That is true. He does look back at her and I had to cut to make the video flow. But if you watch it's not really a look of concern, but more a look of stun of how she got it. You can interpret the scene different ways, but I absolutely love how the next time he sees her with the stone he only glances at it. And his expression is completely different.
Just noticed that Silco pours out the drink for Vander RIGHT over Ekko's signature on the statue. Almost like he's apologizing for taking away the kid's future, too.
Y'know, in the hurly-burly of the last however many years it's been since the world's fallen off the deep end, I'm glad shows like Arcane exist. Just to show that, in the middle of all these hyper-polished, watered down movies, TV shows, books, and video games, there's still phenomenal, human stories being told.
At the end, Silco is just a father not willing to give up his daughter. Just as Vamder did he too isnt able to give up his daughter. He only fills up the role of villain for his daughter....He realizes that that he became wander...he now gets his turmoil, he now gets his goals, he now knows just how hard it is to give something up
Strange that Silco is my favourite character in the show but not the one I actually like the most (that’s Viktor). Like Viktor, Silco found a way to rise above the trauma of his past, not in such an admirable way but in the ONLY way he understood. He abandoned his own resentment & hatred (even for Piltover) for his conviction of creating Zaun. Vander succumbed to apathy, Jinx succumbed to resentment and then further to madness & chaos. In the end Silco failed Jinx and Jinx, at the same time, broke Silco. My favourite line of Silco is the one he says to Vander after capturing him. “You’re willing to die for a cause but you’re not willing to fight for one.” It’s such a fantastic line.
Silco and Viktor stood out to me the most as characters, and I can relate in ways to both of them. (if you haven't you should check out the video on Viktors run. My other favorite scene from the show. cough.shameless plug.cough.) but seriously thanks for the great comment.
to be honest, Silco is one of my favorite characters because of how complex he is, just like Jinx (who is my favorite) and they wrote him so well to be just on the edge of creepy and yet understandable. Seeing how he was, I understood where he came from seeing how he was pushed and pulled, and did so to jinx, on purpose at first then slowly he realized he had done things wrong. I keep rewatching the show, if nothing else, for Silco and Jinx's story. I love this video because you said it so well, and joked around too, keep it up. :)
10:52 as he dips her in water (baptizes her?) silco says ‘jinx is perfect’ and as he breathes his last he says ‘you are perfect’ which means at this point she has fully became Jinx™️
The way I saw Silko was that he was a necessary evil....but not TOTALLY evil. He's like Thanos without the total genocidal outlook on life. He had convictions he refused to abandon while still actually trying to achieve something for the outcasts he considered "his people". Then comes Jinx, and he becomes the accidental father figure willing to do anything for his daughter.
Silco is undoubtedly one of the most well written and compelling character/villain in a LONG time. Definitely one of the main figures that move the story and basically carries the whole thing. One of my fave char as well and for many other people as well ^^
Yo, this video was perfect. I mean, it helps to have such a great story to base it on, but I can tell you put a lot of thought into every line of this video. Great job.
He's a good father ONLY if you consider evil and villainy to be a virtuous value. Since we don't, he's not, but we do know he's become exactly the father he felt he needed once
Silco reminds me of the song When Legends Die by Tom Russell. Especially the lyrics," behind the makeup and the Cowboy hats and the guitars yeah there might be a human being somewhere. Don't stare into the eye of the clown kid, you might find a broken heart in there." Arcane does a great job of making people stare into the eyes of Silco and truly understand him and care for him. I find that I get the motivation for most complex villains, but I don't care about them. But Arcane made me care for him and find the human inside him.
I know this is going in an ocean of comments but I have NEVER ever in my life cried over a youtube video, This show now has a part of my heart and always will be, plus the video is insanely good, when you said " arcane did a wonderful job of doing more emotional damage to me in just 9 episodes than my depression has for my entire existence " this quote really hit me, I thought I was alone on this I watched arcane in the middle of the most depressing days in college where there are exams everywhere and a lot on my back with no one to comfort me, arcane was my escape at that point and I fell in love and now I can't even believe that I cried over a show like this Idk man I watched it like 5 times so far and still I feel the pain, Thank you so much for this video
While you may feel like your comment may be lost, know that I read every comment that comes through my channel. I can't respond to every one, because well I'm just one person But thank you for leaving such a heartfelt comment.
This was a well written video essay. I think you did a great job keeping it focused on that one scene while also talking about important stuff about Silco and Jinx from the beginning to the end of season 1. I had the same reactions and thoughts as you did about his introduction, the uncomfortable moments, and the gut-wrenching sympathy for what he said before he died. So it was fun finding this video that talked about all those things.
powder drew silco toward her because of their idea of shared betrayal and trauma, the reason he adopted her is the reason he hated vander; and the moment he thinks about the real threat of having to lose her, he realizes that he has become vander… he understands now, and it hurts more than any loss could.
This video evoked the same feeling I held after finishing Arcane. That deep sadness for all of the characters, everything they experienced, and the way it all led perfectly to human experiences. The heavy hearted depression of hopelessness, and the pain of those who tried their best to make it better yet failed the ones they were trying to save.
Hey everyone! Just wanted to quickly address I know my views on Silco are somewhat controversial, regarding Jinx, his faults and failures, and his character arc.
But this is why I wanted to make a video talking about things from my perspective, and I hope you enjoy. Please leave your interpretations of this wonderful character so we can talk about him more.
And yes should have said, "The definitive moment the show became human" because the show displays humanity it many scenes, but this was the scene that hammered the point home for me.
The "breaking you as a person" comment is just a bit immature. As someone hospitalized several times with the same diagnosis, it felt to me, a bit... off. I almost had a "Jinx moment" when high pitched noise interrupted my thoughts. lol!😤😵💫
YOU GOT IT EXACTLY. SOME OR MOST OF US (NOT ALL) IDK. HERE IN MY COUNTRY, THE PHILIPPINES, PEOPLE WILL LIKELY SYMPATHIZE TO THIS KIND OF VILLIAN DUE TO THE SAME NATURE OF THE STORY INTO OUR LIVES HERE IN OUR COUNTRY. CORRUPTION, GREED, THIRST FOR POWER AND THE TOP OF IT ALL WE ARE THE VICTIMS OF OUR OWN SELFISH ACT NOT JUST PINPOINTING ONLY TO MY COUNTRY BUT TO OUR WORLD.
just to twist the knife in the tragedy of powder/jinx, how about he realised he shouldn't have been creating jinx so when he says 'your perfect' he was talking to powder trying to stop the emergence of jinx and undo all the damage he did to her only for powder/jinx to misunderstand like she did everything throughout the show.
Thank you for this amazing Video! You actually put into words many ideas I had but couldn't put into words yet. I discovered Arcane, 4 days ago at 3am to a friends place (and after taking a few shots 😅) and we finished it all in one shot! I came back home at 9am moved, richer and smarter than I was the day before. Thanks for sharing! 💖
I think that as our world gets increasingly complex, stories of heroes and villains are no longer representative of the complexities and nuances of this world we live in. As such, we need more complex, conflicted characters in our stories. The singly aspirational hero and the singly mustache-twirling villain are simply no longer adequate corollaries for narratives many of our societies can relate to these days.
It's great that such types of characters, traditionally villainous or heroic, are being utilized and explored for their nuance and complexity, in Arcane as well as other shows/movies. Silco is an example of such a character, and he along with a few others in this series were thoroughly riveting.
Hopefully, the more our stories explore the nuanced extents and contexts of our experiences, the more we'll all be better able to see the people around us more clearly and humanely: That those we're opposed to in opinion aren't just outright "villains" and those we agree with aren't just outright "heroes." Many are just people we simply don't know enough to relate to, *_yet._*
@Flying Walrus - I only just happened upon your channel tonight. After only three videos, you got me in the thinks and the feels! I appreciate your voice, and thank you for sharing the deeper stuff, even if it's hard and potentially controversial. :-) I hope you keep going, with the difficult, genuine, quality stuff. It's certainly what *_I_* want to see these days!
Another thing to note is how Silco, during his meeting with Jayce, actually took responsibility for Jinx’s killing of the enforcers when it was literally the *only* criminal event that he actually *wasn’t* responsible for.
Like a true leader. The buck stops with him.
compare that to irl selfish leaders. Millions of death and misery from our armies and planes are chalked off as collateral damage and isolated bad apples
@@iwatchwithnoads7480
Like my old 1SG said “You can delegate responsibility, but you can’t delegate accountability”
He even sent money to their families.
@@MrWizeazz what is 1SG?
He's a dad. That's was Vander did too when Vi botched that burglary. You protect your kids.
True writing talent is being able to kill off a terrible person and still make everyone cry
@@aalderni Because he's actively harming/killing people to get what he wants and doesn't give a shit?
@@LJ-hk4tv well said
@@Bee-zr5pb I didn't think it needed to be fucking said, but thanks.
@@LJ-hk4tv same, I wasn't even gonna bother replying to that. That question didn't needed to be asked lol
@@aalderni enslaving children, bribing the law, producing and spreading drugs, killing people, illegal shipment, basically a crime boss, you havent watched the show have you?
the phrase "is there anything more undoing than a daughter" capsulates so well silco admitting what vander went through. i feel like that scene is silco finally coming to terms with the fact, that even though jayce almost gave zaun for free (in jayce's pov), it was a deal silco was never ready to agree with. and vander basically went through the same refusing to riot and rebel again bc he had vi (and the others, but that's an essay for another day where i believe vander was more vi's father figure than the rest and left vi to care for the others). this was an amazing video essay, silco constantly made me uncomfortable as a character i guess it's his complexities that make me understand him less than other characters, but either way i'm fascinated by him.
I actually want to talk about Vander next. And I absolutely agree that he was more of a father to VI. But I think it's because he saw himself in her and didn't want her to become him. As well as thinking he had more time with Powder than he actually did.
Even Silco notes to himself that Jayce was giving him the nation of Zaun for almost free, pointing out that Jayce didn't even haggle...save that one term. Ironically asking for Jinx as a scapegoat goes all the way back to the first episodes before the time skip and the Enforcers wanting a "pound of flesh" to satisfy Piltovers desire for some sort of "justice" bringing things full circle in a way.
To be fair with Vander and Vi, just because we only ever really see Vi talking to Vander, doesn't mean he didn't have talks of a simialr vain with the others. Also consider the fact Vi was the leader of group, neither Milo or Gregor really seem like people to take initiative like that, and Powder was too young. The others followed Vi's lead, and he wanted her to understand the responsibility that came with (in short it might have been a talk that had priority in his mind). We also saw he did start talking to Gregor about what happened when they went to the shop. He also had the cup set up for Powder (which seemed like it was a thing he did regularly), and did his best to help Milo calm down when he was trying to undo the lock and panicking (which may just be personal experience talking but that felt fatherly to me). I think he probably did care about the others just as much as Vi, it's just we only got to see a small sliver of the relationships between the entire group (think about it, the events of Act 1 take place over three, maybe four days, most of which the group were told to hide while Vander was running around trying to get things back to normal, not much time to spend talking to his adopted kids) and we only really saw the talk he had with Vi because, well, Vi's a main character, Gregor and Milo, not as much.
The thing I think I love most about that walrus that at the end about how he realized that he had failed Jinx and not saved her in the correct way to Let her truly be free of the pain she had from her past.
I will say I think the saddest thing is he didn't even necessarily try to make her a tool or use her like that at all I don't think with really more than anything to me it feels as if he saw his younger self in jinx when he first met her and it almost feels that the reason why he took her and wasn't even necessarily for her sake or to make her a tool because he thought he could use her or anything like that but I think he only really took her in because he wanted to save the past versions of himself from all of the mistakes he feels he made with one of the biggest things being interacting with others I'm putting yourself in a position where you can be betrayed interview try to raise her in such a way that she would never be betrayed again and that you'll be strong enough to do things on her own. He didn't realize that what she really needed was someone to confirm to her that not everyone is going to betray her and he only realized that as he died...
That phrase, connected with the parents’ motivations in the show, lead me to think that Mel’s mom is the most evil fucking character. She straight up shipped her daughter away because she was a distraction. Something that Silco couldn’t do.
I love so much that Silco is introduced and framed as basically a Bond villain - silhouetted in darkness with his skinny Nosferatu build and his disfigured red eye - in his underwater mad scientist lair with a freaking Dunkleosteus swimming by - delivering a villainous sermon about how power belongs to those who will do anything to claim it. And that could've been it. That could've been his character. On a lot of other shows that WOULD have been his character.
But they weren't content to stop there. They set him up that way to subvert it with all the complexities he built up over the series.
And we are all grateful to writers at Riot for not being typical
I love subverted tropes
Yes. Sting's song made the scene of destoying his shimmer factory feel Bond like. I really wonder why he was not chosen for Skyfall instead of Adele (she is gold but her songs do not go well with this film different themes).
One thing that Silco did that no one in Jinx's life did, was forgiving her and staying with her despite her mistakes. He gave her what she wanted: someone that would never leave her. That's how Jinx was created
When she was a kid and made a couple of mistakes, her friends mess with her and bully her for them, she feels useless. When she ultimately causes the death of her friends: Vi calls her Jinx, punches Powder and "leaves her".
While, later in her life, Silco forgives and stays after every mistake Jinx makes. Even after every member of Silco's mob wants her out, he stands up for her. And in the final scene, where JINX KILLS HIM, the worst fuck up, he still tells her how much he loves her, that she is perfect, and that no matter what, he will always choose her
That, I believe, is what finally made Jinx choose her chair
Real analysis right here folks^^^
Oh and just to correct something, Mylo and claggor were her foster brothers, not her friends.
I mean her fuck ups weren’t ever small and she at no point showed growth or learning from mistakes.
Your message is great but calling literal meditated manslaughter "mistakes" like its dropping a cup of orange juice does not sit right with me
@@RandomUser36536 They’re considered “mistakes” to Silco.
Jinx is so profoundly broken. And the fracture lines were there from the start. Silco seems to approach the relationship as though he's carving a statue, cutting away all the parts that aren't Jinx. He does love her. That's evident from every action that he takes. But he doesn't realize that he's breaking her instead of carving away the wrong parts.
Wow, that hurt my heart to read. And makes so much sense.
Thank you for the comment
@@AFlyingWalrus not only that, I think Silco tried to separate Powder's past from the tragedy he put in motion to archive a higher goal to get a "healthier" person, which is the baptism of Jinx of letting Powder drown and Jinx arise. He knew, that it was his doing, he is on one hand using her and on the other hand always unconsciously being a supportive and accepting father to Jinx. Trying to help her in the way he experienced life. That's what also the drowning scene in episode 3 foreshadowed. At the end, Silco realized, he can sacrifice everything and everyone for the nation of Zaun, but Jinx. She's his daughter, although not by blood.
"Silco seems to approach the relationship as though he's carving a statue, cutting away all the parts that aren't Jinx."
Well yes though would others help Jinx/Powder more by trying to carve away all the Jinx side of her? As most others would do try to carve away Jinx side of Powder as even Vi don't accept the Jinx part of her wanting the old her back... if anything Silco was probably more accepting and understanding of her Powder side compared with how accepting others would be of her Jinx side
Yes and no. Jinx was broken by her trauma, both when her parents died and when she inadvertently killed off her foster family. It left her with a bad case of dissociation, and I think silco was doing his best to stabilize her psyche by removing the broken parts and giving her a purpose that would drive positive action. I'm not sure there was a better way for him to have helped jinx.
I don't know that he doesn't know it. I think he realizes full well that he's damaging her more, but Jinx in her mad state is way too useful to him and his ambitions for him to give that up. Until the scene in this video, I wasn't even sure if he really loved her. After that, it's of course more clear that he does, in his own twisted way.
The final scene after Jinx shot him, I feel was the true condemnation of him as a father. He could have had set her free, free of Jinx, but instead he condemns her to it. It was very, very emotional.
God what a great show.
Arcane is one of the best examples of "everyone's right and wrong and there's fault on both sides" that I've ever watched 😊
in other words, everyone is human
For as great as the Jinx-Silco part of the story is, I feel that the Jayce the Usurper arc gets overlooked, and if the next season continues this story instead of going to another place, I expect to enjoy the inevitable falling out of Viktor and Jayce.
For me it's both attack on Titan and arcane. Both of these do villains so well
@@joshuafischer684 Personally what intrigues me most is the relationship between Heirmedegger and Ekko, that was barely started in season 1. I wonder where it'll be going.
@@diersteinjulien6773 I think they will make academy for poor talented geniuses of Zaun. Coz in LoL lore Zaun has an academy.
"He showed the human side of evil" That quote just hit me in the chest. I'll never forget that line, thank you
You are most welcome. Glad I was able to make an impact
I like your concept of duality in human, n your summary is really touching, thorough ❤❤
Is evil not human though? That just comes with intelligence I guess. If earth evolved without humans or another species as intelligent would there be any evil?
"He shows the human side of evil" PREACH. Silco is such a complex character, so well written in every aspects. I think that the ben thing about Arcane is this: every characters is real. They're not just villains, heroes, champs etc; they're people. I fell in love with this show, with Silco, Jinx, Vi, Vander, Ekko, Cait .. Everyone. And yes, Silco is not a good father to Jinx, but he's exactly what Powder wanted from a father figure: a dad who loves her unconditionally. It's so sad to think that she's the one who kills him in the end - MAN I'M GONNA CRY AGAIN BYE
We’ll get through it 😩
@@Crackokaine 😭😭
And even then, Silco still loves her. His final words to her is 'You are perfect.'
I wonder how Arcane will became if Silco had great parenting skills.
Or if Powder kept eating the sandwich.
@@GweeenLala If Silco had great parenting skills, Jinx would grow up to take over his shimmer empire. That would be terrifying.
Arcane has the deepest understanding of psychology, written into every character, of any show I have watched. And you are spot on in this video. Really nice commentary.
Appreciate it
I can't believe I agreed. It's wild that a league of legends animated show captures raw humanity better than any live action film I've maybe ever seen.
@@Bee-zr5pb I have never, ever seen my life such a compelling, absolute well written and real character show. I thought, Breaking Bad was top (still is, but Arcane dethroned it). I wish I had amnesia, to watch it with fresh eyes.
While Arcane did great you certainly need to watch more shows.
@@Bee-zr5pb leagues lore(until recently) has always been godly
"Is there anything so undoing as a daughter?" is a line that has stuck with me since I watched Arcane back in December. It's such an impactful moment and you can truly see the change in Silco.
Credit to Jason Spisak for doing a fantastic job voicing him as well.
English is not my native language and I don’t understand what that sentence means. Like, could someone re-word or explain it?
@@Kiki-ns4cc It basically means that your prior ambitions and goals, even how you view the world get upended (changed), the minute you have a daughter you have to raise. You don't live for yourself anymore since you put her first through everything. So for Silco, he had his life's work in his grasp - the nation of Zaun, finally free from Piltover - but he couldn't seize it. He would never choose it if Jinx his daughter was the cost. The reason the line hits so hard is because Silco has given up his own brother for his cause. The same brother he ridiculed for abandoning the fight due to his adopted daughters in Vi and Powder. And now Silco finally understands his brother whom he murdered and held in disdain.
@@sirrah2458 aah thank you so much for that detailed explanation
It's sad that due to shimmer and jinx's youth and insecurities, she misunderstood what he meant.
@@justvid366That was probably Jinx’s takeaway from it. The line is ambiguous enough to go either way, but the tea party scene (and even Silco objecting when asked to turn over Jinx) point towards what the intent was.
Vander became a literal monster to save Vi. Silco became human to save Jynx.
DUDE!
Another great scene is where Finn tries to take over business through Sevika and Silco holds his loyalty speech.
It would have been easy for the writers to make Silco react unmoved, stoic and in control, but the moment Sevika lashes out, you see a moment of panic and relief on Silco's face, from which he had to compose himself before moving on.
It shows he wasn't absolutely sure Sevika wouldn't betray him and is a very human and understandable reaction for somebody that just avoided death.
It's one of the many moments that show the characters are human, not just some cartoon figures.
Actually have another video talking about the scene where Finn first approaches Sevika. And the just the subtly used throughout the show
Great comment and example
@@AFlyingWalrus I’ve actually seen that one too, the “respect your audience” video.
"... Were you tempted?"
"Not by a worm like him ... But there'll be more."
So many subtleties in just this exchange. Silco admitting his fear, Sevika reaffirming her loyalty, then immediately afterwards warning him that his could change in the future.
Sometimes I wonder where these writers come from and where they've been hiding all this time.
I too love that scene.
@@luisacuna4326 That passion and talent here. For season 2 they can take as many yrs they want. +1
One thing I wanna point out.
We're applying a certain type of understanding to the shimmer operations. Ie Drugs are bad, the operation creates poison...
But there's something to stop and consider.
The reason why Silco and Shimmer took over the underground, which gets represented in 2 scenes pretty perfectly. The first being in his rant at the Chem Barons, how the toxic gas they're choking on was a Constant Reality of life in the Underground. How as children they were in those mines working in that choking air just to get by.
The second being when we find out that the child that Jayce killed was the Son of a Chem Baron. Ie... one of the child workers of the factory is the child of one of the people who could be considered the Highest and Most powerful in the Underground.
... put 2 and 2 together and you see suddenly how much of a huge deal the Shimmer factories were. The children who would other wise be scrounging around in far more dangerous mining work, are now working in the Shimmer factory, a place prestigious enough among the underground that the people who literally run the place have their own children working there.
And beyond that... Shimmer for all the damage it did, didn't only do damage... it also was the tool that saw a large portion of the underground become MORE prosperous.
The Highs were Higher... the Lows were Lower... those who crashed and burned under that system burned hard.
Contrast that with Vander's underground, which was safer... or at least more community oriented... but at the same time stagnant and beaten down. Unable to advance. The Enforcer holding dominion over Vander for keeping the peace. Where as Silco's turn sees the dynamic changed, the Enforcer is being used to keep the peace but it is the Underground through Silco who have dominion over them.
Essentially the show invites us to have a relatively superficial look at Silco and all the reasons why he's 'The Bad Guy'... but if you actually examine the pieces of it you see a pattern of us being tricked into viewing him under a certain lens (Modern Storytelling tropes) until closer examination often shows up that while he was distinctly not a good person... his influence on the world around him was not nearly as negative as the first light seems to shed.
Love this comment. Silco is a, the ends justify the means character. Where the lives of those around him mean little. (Or so he thinks) Whereas Vander by contrast wanted to preserve as much life as he could, but could never advance life in the underground.
I would add another scene, Cait asking Huk why take shimmer… the answer shows how much Vander’s passive approach hurt the community in the long run cause the “low your head and don’t bother the topsides” go so far when the options are poisoned mines, toxic rivers and police brutality. Shimmer is equally poisonous but is a poison that the person chooses the take and agency is literally what the lanes were desperate for the most.
Ah someone else gets it
Man, this comment section is fire. It is so refreshing to see someone who, in my opinion, UNDERSTANDS. I love Silco so much, he's my favorite character, and I really feel like you nailed so many great points about his character. I love your comment so much. There is so much nuance to Silco. His VA says, "Villains are just heroes of a different story" and while I don't think Silco was necessarily a VILLAIN per se, he absolutely was the hero of a different story. Arcane, at a glance, is told through a very specific narrative, framing certain things in certain ways to make us think and feel certain things, but it's when you take apart that narrative and look at the story through each character that the nuance and depth really blossom.
Shimmer is also a direct parallel to hextech.
It's shown, repeatedly, that if used in controlled settings, it is actualy great. Singed used it as medecine. Silco uses it as eye treatment. Sevica powers her mechanical arm with it. Under the right circumstances, working on producing it would be as prestigious as Jayce working on magic.
But unlike hextech, there's no restrictions on it. Recreational uses and weaponizing it are on the table.
In that scene Silco eloquently stated "I love my daughter." From episode 4 to 9 they have to remind us of this. And Jinx does have to be reminded as well that he cares so much for her. Not saying it's the best thing (him spoiling her made her already unpredictable tendencies that come out more from lack of consequences) but he did love her so much, and all of her quirks and mistakes.
Also Silco's gaze shifts more to Jinx every time the Gemstone is presented to him.
In addition to all this, Jinx cared for Silco as well. (The graffiti ash tray, the small gestures, stealing the gemstone, etc) Hell she made Fishbones (hextech rocket launcher) for him as a gift. Basing it off of the monsters that Silco loved in the waters of Zaun.
Whether either of them is morally right, wrong, in-between is another question all together. But one that's really interesting to think about.
It all is just so horribly tragic.
She "only wanted to help"
@@AFlyingWalrus this is my favorite show it just makes you think a lot and so much happens, I’m really excited to see what they do with season 2 I miss silco tho.
Silco accepted Jinx, which was the most caring thing anyone had done for her. Everyone rejected her, blamed her, pushed her away, all except Silco, who even when angry with her, always accepted her.
12:17 That's actually not poison. It's just zaun's natural air. Due to the fact that piltover kinda just pushes all of it's problems in zaun, it has made the air there practically unbreathable... if you weren't born there. The reason silco isn't affected is because he litterally grew up breathing this air for most of his life.
I thought the gas was supposed to be the stuff that they were exposed to in the mines, back in the early days of Zaun. It's not the normal air, but the toxic air that the early Zaunite workers had to deal with.
@@derek96720 No, the mines are still there. They still have people in them. The sump area is just as toxic
This scene and the intro to episode 7 really highlighted a key difference between Ekko and Silco. Both of them are champions of the underclass fighting to liberate their people from oppression, but while Ekko gives freely Silco withholds. Ekko’s song refers to his outlaw comrades as “kings” subversively, maintaining their worth as people struggling to survive is greater than society would give them credit for, and posits that they deserve more than they get. Silco refers to his kings, the “chemical lords,” as their recognized titles but holds them in contempt. Silco thinks his fellow criminals do not deserve the comforts they have scratched together and plunges them back into the conditions that bred them. Silco wants them scratching and clawing and ruthless because that is what is needed to survive. Ekko wants to actually liberate his people from having to scratch and claw like animals, to elevate his people to a state of human dignity. To Silco, humanity is too close to weakness to risk. To Ekko, it is the only thing worth reaching for.
@@AnkhAnanku Yes 100%, that is at the core of Silco's obsession with monsters the idea that humanity is weakness. Ekko's line "You have to give them what they need to live" shows that he believes humanity is the only thing worth fighting for
A part about that scene that everyone misses
Even sevika is wearing a mask
Silco takes a lungful of that toxic air before monologuing and doesn't flinch
Silco dying actually had me almost crying. His story is, I think, relatable to most people and that is a fact. Trying to do better and ended up the same way as the other person. This is sadder than anything
I cried true tears 😭
Fr imagine killing your brother then you fail the same way he does, karma a bitch RIP Vander Not silco
Almost? I can't remember the last time I cried so hard O.o Hell, even this video made me cry all over again.
Silco is the definition of "The best villains are the ones that think they are the heroes of their own story"
I see myself as a brush and the world is a canvas
The real villains also think that
This is the best analysis I've seen of Silco. I think what made him so compelling are his 'imperfect' actions; that he doesn't neatly fit one trope. He's not evil, but he does evil. He's a bad father, but cares dearly for his daughter.
The fact that there aren't easy labels for him displays his humanity. When was the last time you could explain all of a friend's actions by one clear motive? Silco is easy to empathize with, understand his motives...but at the end of the day he's human; he's imperfect. That's what makes his writing (and voice acting) brilliant.
That's extremely high praise considering how many people have talked about Silco. Especially considering I'm just an idiot on the internet with no qualifications lol
I love Silco for so many reasons, and I hope I made it very clear that while I don't condone his actions. I sympathize with his cause, his ideals, his willingness to accept the faults he's made especially when it comes to his adoptive daughter. His story just rips at my heart, a wonderful example of someone twisted because of their environment still trying to do what they believe is right and just.
you worded this perfectly. especially the first part u wrote
@@AFlyingWalrus no qualifications can be sometimes good. You see it objectively.
Learned qualified story tellers keep making repurposed garbage and simp for whatever wins academy awards
All of that achieved by Jason Spisak the voice actor for Kid Flash and The Joker
My daughter talked me into watching this show with her. I have grown to love it and has become one of my favorites. When watching it- at that moment when Silco said "Is there anything as undoing as a daughter" I blurted out "NO" and my daughter just laughed. Great video and great incites.
haha, but if you think about it. A daughter or someone you care for more than yourself changes your perspective and undoes a lot of what you thought you knew. Thanks for the fun comment
Another interesting subversion in Silco's portrayal as a villain-...and he is a villain insofar as there is any singular villain. His methods include violence, coercion, terrorism, the weaponizing of his own people, and the flooding of a dangerous drug onto the streets. The means a character is willing to achieve even a noble goal often determine their status as a hero or a villain. And it could certainly be said that Silco's ultimate goal of a free, independent, and strong Zaun was noble.
But the interesting thing about him as a villain is that...his villainous methods were working.
His actions were terrible. But under Silco the Enforcers didn't just take a light touch, they stayed entirely our of the Lanes. Marcus was all but under Silco's thumb. While it was fueled by drugs, the economy in the Undercity was booming. And he came within a hair's breadth of securing his ultimate, and noble, goal of taking Zaun out from under the exploitive thumb of Piltover.
And that's a pretty amazing approach for a story, to have a villain's villainous methods actually working. The Council didn't suddenly dig in its heels and proclaim they would not be intimidated or declare that they wouldn't negotiate with a terrorist. It wasn't any of the heroes or even the actions of someone intentionally trying to stop him or undermine Silco's methods that "thwarted" him.
And further, this stands in contrast to Vander's much more conventionally noble and heroic methods, of sacrificing no one, using diplomacy, and seeking to maintain peace. For all of Vander's efforts, the Lanes were still poorer than poor with even other outsiders trying to take advantage of its people. The Enforcers were a constant presence. And at the end of the day, the people were still regularly walking around breathing air so poisonous that most topsiders wore rebreathers. And this was the status quo, one that he was intentionally trying not to upset for the sake of protecting lives.
They're an amazing contrast in the two ideas "The ends justify the means" and "The means justify the ends" and shows just how darkly either ideological end can be. It's easy to say you believe in one or the other. But then to see the what those respective "means" and "ends" are...I think both Vander and Silco were broken by it.
This is great comment. Loved reading through this, and this is something that even I hadn't thought about, but again. Going with the theme of parallels and duplicity in how the undercuts was handled is a great catch.
That is such an excellent point, and something I hadn't even considered! It's one thing to give a villain an understandable motivation, so that you can empathise with him to an extent despite the cruelty of his actions. But to take it one step further and show those actions succeeding where a more noble and "good" course of action had failed? That's just brilliant.
@Thee Apollo "“Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and their freedoms”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers"
Excelent post mate. I would like to point something out and are the parallels between Marcus (the corrupt sheriff) and Vander. When we start watching the show, Vander is in a position where he is basically the junior partner of an union made to keep the status quo. He gets something, but at the end of the day, the enforcers are those who are winning and have the upper hand.
On the other hand, when Silco is in power and there is a similar union between Marcus and Silco, Silco is actually the one calling the shots, as we have seen in the show: through terrorism, intimidation and, in general, having power.
This shows one universal truth: when you are negotiating, to get a fair deal both parties need to be equal.
And that's why you never negotiate with your oppressor.
A bit idealised though. Yes, he was making progress and yes, the enforcers weren't doing much, but he wasn't improving things. The massive amounts of shimmer led to more poverty and drug addicts, and I don't know why you think his actions led to a "booming economy" especially not for the people not part of his gang. The situation under Vander was objectively better.
Yes, he'd a good villain and great character, and his goal is noble, but don't be baited into reframing all the horrible things he did. The horrible state of the undercity was partly his doing, and still part of the "means". Then, all the horrible means and suffering offered the chance at the "ends" and he failed to take it.
One of my favorite Silco moments that I don’t see many talk about is when he’s speaking to Jayce at the pier. He looks so smug and so happy because he’s getting everything he ever wanted, but the second Jayce says “I want Jinx,” the micro shifts in expression when his face drops and his entire demeanor/energy changes instantly. The moment those words left Jayce’s mouth the deal was a bust and Silco knew it. Chills every time. The animators are insane and the storytelling is so phenomenal.
“A human being is the most dangerous villain.”
Jinx is Silco’s greatest failure AND greatest success!
I didn't see this scene as him feeling he'd failed Jinx at all, but rather him admitting that he can't live up to his own ideals. It harkens back to Vander's discussion with Vi on the bridge where he asks who she's willing to lose. Now that Silco has someone he won't lose, he can't lose (to paraphrase his answer to Singed), it all makes sense now why Vander would abandon his dream to spare his people and why Silco has to do the same. Seeing a well defended view of this scene from such a different angle than mine is amazing. This season's story is like Socratic dialogue for a generation raised on light sabers and gratuitous explosions :-)
Also gonna go waaay out on a limb and say that, far from failing, Silco was a more successful mentor than Vander was. Vander tried to convince his chosen daughter that her fists wouldn't solve her problems and would instead create more. Vi never heeds this. Even the successful attack on the shimmer factory she initiates would have resulted in Silco getting everything he wanted if not for the big deal breaker. Silco saw Powder's self doubt as weakness and insisted Jinx let her die. Because Fortiche are gods we get to see the exact moment that happens on Jinx'es face. Silco is kaput. There is no Powder left to reconcile with Vi. Jinx is free to be the wacky loose canon esports expects. Even further into the weeds... Powder's raison d'etre is to prove that she's capable. When she and Silco first meet Silco essentially gives her a mantra: "We'll show them." When Jinx fears Silco has lost confidence in her after the blimp debacle (it's a balloon, ain't it?) Jinx resolves that "I'll show him!" before wildly overachieving his instruction to work on her gadgets by stealing the mechanical butterfly design and the hextech stuff. Finally, in what completes the bookends of his influence on Jinx, we hear Silco in her head confirming that "We will show them all" as she unleashes her opus.
In my mind's eye there's a #temple channel on Discord a few hundred hears from now where cyber-rabbi are arguing over the moral hierarchy of Vander vs Silco vs mom Medarda vs Heimerdinger.
I love your viewpoint and can agree with much what you said. And this is why I see Arcane as art. It allows for interpretation.
Wonderful read thank you sharing friend
@@AFlyingWalrus It's odd, because there's two ways of looking at it. WE as viewers can see he failed Jinx in making her a whole and complete being that has overcome her trauma in a healthy manner. That much is obvious. But perhaps that's not the manner in which Silco thinks one overcomes your past? We can see that in his speech in the lake. That he overcomes his fear by almost killing the weaker version of himself that is still held back by that fear. So as much as I do believe he has failed Jinx, I don't necessarily think he feels that way, although I do think he feels helpless in the matter of Vi, and ultimately Vi is his undoing. (As we see with him feeling he has to go to the lengths of killing her in order for him to keep Jinx) and ultimately it is this decision he forces ON Jinx that is his own demise.
"Also gonna go waaay out on a limb and say that, far from failing, Silco was a more successful mentor than Vander was. Vander tried to convince his chosen daughter that her fists wouldn't solve her problems and would instead create more. Vi never heeds this." I initially thought so too, until I thought about it deeper. The key moment in the Vi/Vander relationship is their discussion on the bridge. Before that, yes, Vander couldn't really get to Vi, and convince her she is making a mistake. But he did on the bridge, and that changed her. The key moment is when she asks him what are they going to do, and he says "we'll think of something". She has a look of disbelief on her face, she looks up at him, and I think that is the moment of growth for her, when she realizes how deeply she screwed up, since the guy who fixes everything, Vander, doesn't know what to do...And she decides she's going to give herself up.
Her decision to give herself up I would say is the culmination of Vander's influence on her, that she decides to sacrifice herself to protect Powder and the others. If somehow the situation would have resolved itself favorably, that they would have survived, I don't think we would have seen Vi doing the same things anymore.
More than this, after Vander dies, Vi hits Powder, than as she grips her face, blood from Powder nose spills onto Vi's hand. Vi looks at the bloody hand, than turns it around, and looks at the knuckles, which we also bloody. This is when she remembers what Vander told her, that violence is not the way, so she stops herself from punishing Powder even more, realizes she needs to cool off, and goes off to a place where she can be alone for a few moments. Unfortunately things go bad from there, but the point is that even in that moment of EXTREME stress, Vander is a deciding influence on her.
Also, when she fights Savika the second time, she is erratic, overconfident, gets knocked out...Then she has a vision of Vander, which calms her down, and manages to win the fight from then on.
@@cristiancandru8610 While I somewhat agree, in ACT 3 she starts to become desperate in her attempts to fight Silco, and Ironically, she does exactly the thing Vander warned her about: She gave up her sister for the fight. Remember the council meeting? Caitlyn never said who was Silco's engineer-Assasin. It was Vi. She said her name, once, but it was enough. Jayce had to put this name in the conditions, and we all saw how it went.
nah, our civilization will never last a few hundred years. May not last a couple dozen. and it may be exactly the same reasons Piltdown collapses in the series. (well, I assume when the Counsel bites it at the end, the sh*t hits the fan. I would put better odds on them than us, though)
I don’t actually think Silco sees himself as having failed Jinx, I do think he sees himself as being helpless to stop Vi from from taking her from him though which is why he went feral in that one scene and why he pulls the gun on her.
i think he did not get feral at Vi that scene cuz she might be able to convince jinx to go with her or something, silco got mad cuz Vi was hurting jinx making her remember about claggor, mylo, vander, basically those who she killed by accident. Vi was traumatizing her and silco noticed it and thats why he tried to kill vi.
Pulling the gun on Vi was a reaction to Jinx's extreme distress at Vi's reminders of her previous life. It's only when Jinx is basically having a psychotic episode that he starts thrashing at his bindings and tries to shoot Vi.
jinx is her daughter, also being jinx is part of powder, and silco knew that, vi didnt, she couldn't/wouldnt acknowledge that side of powder and wants to delete it, shes trying to push powder into a mold that no longer fits her and silco knew theres no saving jinx unless he kills the main source of her pain/duality. even at the end jinx sort of realized that things have changed,they both have and vi couldnt accept it so jinx have to be the one to cut the ties, to save free of em, by declaring war to piltover
@@romusa10 vi didn’t even get a chance to actually have a conversation with jinx they always get interrupted… if there is anyone that can actually save jinx is Vi is always gonna be VI ….
@@KevinDiazx11 ikr? Vi almost reached Jinx at ep 6 because jinx tried to calm herself down before hearing another sound coming from firelights group.
“Is there anything more undoing than a daughter?”
As an oldest daughter who is close with my father, this line impacts me *deeply* . I don’t know how or why that is. It’s so so beautiful yet so chilling at the same time. The writers were pure genius.
Holy shit I actually teared up during this. Haven't done that since the series ended. Bravo man, you told Silco's story in a way that got to me like no other analysis of Arcane.
That's high praise. Thank you friend
Silco is probably one of the most complicated characters that I've come across, and my feelings about him shift from day to day. But one thing that I can't personally wrap my head around is calling him a bad father. A misguided father, sure, but a bad one? I'm not so sure about that. To answer the question of whether he's a good or bad dad, we'd have to first ask, *what is the measure of a bad father*? Because he doesn't check any of the boxes I'd personally attribute to one. He's not abusive, he's not impatient, he's not dismissive, he's not driven by anger, he's not even--in my view--possessive. And I know that might sound crazy, I know people often interpret his interactions with Vi as being possessive of Jinx, but I think his hatred of Vi is out of *genuine concern for what Vi would do to Jinx's psyche*.
By the point in the story that Vi is reintroduced into their lives, Jinx has already fully established herself over Powder. Powder doesn't exist anymore, and all that's left is Jinx. Even Ekko knows this. And of course it's easy to blame Silco for that--I saw one discussion on Reddit not long ago that blames him for splitting Powder's psyche between two essential personalities. But my problem with this is that the split in her psyche already exists without any input from Silco, and it happened because of the trauma she suffered in episode 3. She's introduced in Act II as fighting a constant battle within herself, a Powder vs Jinx. Whenever reminders of Powder happen to Jinx, she panics, lashes out, has severe psychotic breaks, and hurts everyone around her. Silco's response to this isn't to lash at her in turn, it's to calmly listen to her side of the story, encourage her to take some time off, and focus on her hobbies. Regardless of Silco's status as a villain, that is exactly how a good father *should* behave toward a person coming off of a mental health crisis. Silco doesn't get angry at her for clinging on to the past, he understands on a deeply personal level how that works, and he doesn't encourage her to let Powder die until Jinx's mental health crisis persists to the point to where Jinx has become hobbled by self doubt.
For Silco, encouraging Jinx to let go of Powder is his way of encouraging her to let go of her traumas. At this point in the story, as far as either of them are concerned, Vi not only abandoned Powder, but she's dead. When Sevika reports to Silco that Vi is back, Silco isn't angered, he's actually *surprised*. "Back from the dead?" The only way forward before that, in either of their eyes, is for Jinx to shore up the split in her psyche and allow herself to move on from the fear that is holding her back. After this point, Jinx isn't fully healed, but she's regained her sense of self. Her inventiveness has returned, she's confident again, and she's happier. So Vi coming back will only serve to reopen the wound that Silco had worked with her to help close. And Vi's attitude toward the whole situation doesn't help. Vi loves *Powder*, she loves the memory of who she was eight years removed from where she is now. And her mistake is thinking that things can just go back to the way they were, refusing to listen to others, even Ekko, who insist that Powder is too far gone.
Vi's insistence on calling her Powder and then, at the dinner scene, reminding her of all of her traumas, isn't helping Powder. It's just hurting Jinx, causing a psychotic episode like she hasn't experienced since before the baptism scene where she began to cement herself around Jinx. Silco sees this, and he lashes out and tries to pull a gun on her. I don't view Silco's responses to Vi's attempts to get back at Powder as possessive so much as they are *protective*. There is a tendency of wish fulfillment in media to think trauma can be cured in a nice, clean way, and that people can go back to the way things were before the trauma. Vi is a personification of that misguided belief, and we inherently root for her. But as Silco says "she'll be with you for a day before she realizes you're not that little girl anymore," wanting to prevent Jinx from being abandoned again and getting hurt more.
And Jinx, later, rightfully agrees. "I thought you could go back to loving me the way you used too, but I was wrong." For as much love might exist in Vi for Powder, she can't love Jinx. Vi is afraid of her. And nothing can change that, nor can anything Vi do change Jinx back into who she used to be. And honestly, I don't think she really wants to go back to that fear-dominated part of her life. When Silco tells Jinx she's perfect, he's validating her for who she is, and that's something Vi is incapable of giving her.
Silco gave Jinx the tools she needed to survive in the underground, the strength, confidence, tenacity, but most importantly *personal validation* to grow past her traumas. Vi is a living reminder of everything that causes Jinx to suffer. Silco may be misguided , a broken man damaged by his own traumas that color his view of the world, but all fathers and all mothers carry their traumas forward and pass them to their children. I wouldn't say that makes him a bad father, just a tragically misguided one.
Preach.
Oh my heart... Finally someone else understands.
I understand and think your perspective is perfectly fair, but I don't fully agree with it. Largely because in all of this, Silco has the benefit of having spent the last 6 or 7 years with Jinx. Vi has been out of the picture for that same amount of time. And when Vi finally gets out, she has three interactions with Jinx. Three. Probably less than a half hour of total time with her. The initial reunion, the bridge scene - Where no words are exchanged, and Jinx shoots at Caitlyn and Vi - and the dinner party scene where Vi is tied up.
My point is that Vi is at a complete disadvantage here when it comes to reconciling with Jinx. Other than the first few moments of their initial reunion, Vi has not had any real opportunity to talk (and listen) to Jinx. For most of their interactions, Vi was under duress (among others).
To be clear when you say: "Vi's insistence on calling her Powder and then, at the dinner scene, reminding her of all of her traumas, isn't helping Powder. It's just hurting Jinx", I agree, but Vi was just never really in a position to know any better. Her frame of reference is skewed because she's been away for so long, so what else could she have done? It's not that she's incapable of validating who she is, she never had a chance to do so at all. I also just don't agree with the notion Powder/Jinx is some sort of binary switch. Jinx isn't an entirely different person from Powder. Jinx is who powder has evolved and grown into. They are estranged, and any meaningful reconciliation is going to take a lot more than just a few minutes together. But they never got that chance in the first place.
As for Silco, yes he loved her. But where I disagree is that while he did want to protect her in his own way, he was still manipulative and driven by his own fear of abandonment. (this was further confirmed by one of the writers on twitter). I would argue that Silco saying that Vi was after the crystal, which is an outright lie to sway her back is being possessive. In his own mind he was protecting her, but he fed her his own insecurities: "everyone betrays us." "It's only us". He did not want to loose her to Vi and said whatever he needed to make sure that wouldn't happen. Not saying that you're wrong, but I'm coming at it from a slightly different perspective. Incredible character in any case.
Yep honestly another person basically said what I thought about how Vander basically "raised" mainly Vi while Vi took care of Powder.
(And the other orphans minus ekko)
@@danc1513 Is he lying when he tells her that or does he genuinely believe what he is saying? I mean from their perspective, Vi abandons powder and then turns up 8 years later in cahoots with the enforcer that’s been hunting Jinx for stealing the crystal. I would probably question her motives too because that reeks of civilian informant. .
And for sure, he’s definitely coming at it from the perspective of his own trauma and he’s projecting that onto her. As I said, he’s heavily misguided. But I do believe he believes everything he says, so I’m not sure if it’s manipulation so much as it is projection of deep insecurities.
Also I’m not necessarily holding anything against Vi for how she handled the situation, but it’s abundantly clear that she doesn’t know how to use her words. She’s a fighter, she’s used to solving things by brute force and so she approaches the situation of jinx versus powder with brute force. For her, the names of all of those people bring her comfort and happiness, fond memories of a better time. For jinx though they just cause her pain, because they are centered around her traumas. I understand that she was in a stressful situation, but the number one thing that you never do with a trauma victim is bludgeoned them with reminders of their own traumas, especially when they’re in the middle of a crisis the way that she was. That is definitely all on Vi. And it’s perfectly understandable reaction considering the characteristics of her personality, but it’s for this reason that Violet, certainly not in her current state, can not be for jinx what she needs her to be.
Just finished the series literal moments ago and I’ve been waiting to watch this video soon after. It left me speechless. It was absolutely beautiful.
You know that Silco is a beautifully complex character when there's so much debate on what kind of character he actually was. The writers of Arcane really reflected the human condition in him.
Still made me cry when he said to Jinx "I wouldn't given them to you, not for anything.... Don't cry... You're perfect."
11:35 Silco and Vi also share a moment of similariy at the factory. When Vi asks Jayce "what's one more death kid to stop Silco?" which is exactly the justifications that Silco uses earlier on. Yes he knows the damage Shimmer causes but it's a weapon that gets Zaun freedom from the enforcers. And he's right in that, the enforcers are scared to start shit in Zaun due to the Shimmer. But it comes at the cost of a few more death kids.
I feel the need to highlight the phrase of Vi saying "what's one more dead kid to stop-"
Fun parallel in hindsight
This scene by far is my favorite of the show. Everything comes to light. And it’s full of symbolism and Parallels as well, ekko: “he paid in gold and didn’t even haggle” Silco: “the boy didn’t even haggle” and this scene to me solidified silcos character arc. You can tell when he meets with jayce as soon as jayce says he needs jinx. Silco becomes fidgety and instantly claims responsibility to the crimes similar to how vander offered himself up for vi. The scene with jayce tells us that he isn’t going to give jinx up, and his speech to the statue is him coming to terms with that choice, giving up everything and sacrificing the nation of zany for his daughter. Vander was willing to sacrifice. Zaun and kneel to piltover to maintain peace to protect vi and others, Silco was willing to sacrifice zaun and start a war with piltover to protect jinx. This show is 10/10
It's actually cool that instead of Silco forcing the kid to take shimmer, Silco gives such a compelling speech that he makes the kid want to take it.
The best villains are the ones that aren't completely wrong. Need more villains like Silco and Killmonger
Agreed.
Eh. Killmonger is 100% wrong. Thanos would probably have been a better example. Killmonger fails to grasp what a lot of American progressives fail to realize; that Africa was primarily responsible for the slave trade. The Europeans utilized the hell out of it, but the African kingdoms started and ran it. The society that Killmonger is asking for salvation is the same one that sold his ancestors into slavery.
I agree. But I disagree.
What I mean by that is, we can have vilains absolutly wrong. It doesn't matter. Because their good is the "heroes" wrong, and it brings confrontation.
If, Silco wasn't wrong by standards, he would just be a confused hero. Right now, Silco is great not because he is doing something wrong.
He is great because he does what for him is the right choice, for the right cause, and throught his actions, "heroes" try to stop him.
There's no hero if there's no vilain, and no vilain if there's no hero.
By hero, I don't mean some superdude with a cape (I'm pretty sure you know it, but just in case), I mean someone that fit the place of what the majority think is "good".
Jayce could be our "hero" if not for our viewer view of point that shows his doubts, his mistakes, but from piltover citizen PoV, he is certainly a hero.
Vi is by no mean a hero from the PoV of piltover or zauhn citizen. She's crazy, starts fight everywhere, etc. But from our PoV as viewers, we get the reason behind her actions, and that make her a "hero".
Well, Jinx/powder definitly doesn't fit that title for the solen reason that she...doesn't care about people. At least to a certain extend since she does care about what Vi and Silco think of her, but that's it. She doesn't want to help their ideals, the only think she crave is recognition. And because of that, she is not a hero (btw I'm pretty sure killing people with bombs to steal things isn't helping either.)
So, to get back to the point, Silco is a vilain because people see what his actions are, not what are they for.
I might get it wrong, but I have the feeling that his goal isn't to reign over zauhn, but truly to create the free nation of zauhn. (could be wrong, but that's everyone opinion at this point)
What we like about his character (so far, that is the reason I found), is because he deceive people. His actions are the ones of a tipical vilain, but his goal is...not a "good" goal, just a "balanced" goal between good or bad. Sure, Zauhn being a nation could improve his citizens lifes. But zauhn is a wreck that can't fix itself by itself, it needs outside help.
(I might got carried away while writing, plus there must be so many grammatical mistakes, sorry I'm not english, but I did want to share my view on the fact "is Silco a vilain ?" ^^')
@@deamonder3291 I didn't say all villains. I said we need more.
@@jeffmorris5802 you literally make 0 sense. You are way off the mark on both killmonger and Thanos. Killmonger wanted to uplift repressed black people, just the way he wanted to do it is wrong. Thanos wanted to use a source of unlimited power to kill half of life when there were other ways to accomplish his goals with the gauntlet without killing half of all life.
The scene with Silco and Marcus’ daughter ended up as my favorite in the show. You just don’t get scenes like that in media where the villain so blatantly threats to murder a child, to the point that when Marcus opens that door and both he and the audience realize that Silco is on the other side, I felt every bit of fear and apprehension that he did. Seeing him so casually playing with his daughter while you and Marcus know exactly what he would do to keep his people in line is the peak of Arcane’s writing. I felt every bit of tension and concern for that girl in that scene and it still sticks with me because no other scene put me in the shoes of a character like that one did.
This is a little late, but part of why Marcus gasps when he opens the door is because the shadows are framed to look like Silco is strangling Marcus' daughter. Only when the door opens further do you see this is just a trick of the light.
@@aeriste also really late, but holy shit I never noticed that! I'll try to catch it on my next rewatch
@@miecaf This isn't a concidence, either, it was painted that way on purpose. The actual models don't line up that way exactly from the light source, so it was 100% put there to shock close observers.
The line that made Silco for me was "and what do I have to lose but problems" which goes back to his line about power. When he says it comes to those who would do anything, he really means it, it means filling the streets with drugs, surrounding yourself with traitorous thugs, dangerous weapons and a crazy girl that makes explosives for fun.
I find it funny when people ask if he's really a villain, because he very much chose to be so, he put himself in such a low position that everything he has to sacrifice is a net positive, something he would have get rid of at one point or another in order to achieve his goal of creating the nation of Zaun. He's a person that keeps his enemies closer, all the things he would need power to fight in the first place, and his downfall was realizing one of those things was too precious for him.
Yes he says it repeatedly hes not a fighter
10:24 - little error like many ppl here: silco shoot at vi to protects Jinx from torment that vi was putting on his beloved daughter.. and Jinx shoots at the direction she hears click of a loading gun at. killers instinct, parnoia.. who knows.. some specific people have this fast reflex to attack without thinking in some situations when threatened. It was pure reflex. Jinx was not defending Vi as U said. Jinx was not thinking. It was pure reflex. That makes the tragedy out of human proportions.. that Silco loved her to madness level and she loved him back.. and she killed him.. by accident.. and he still loved her beyond comprehension. This kind of trauma is unimaginable, unbearable and unmeasurable.
Silco shot jinx to protect jinx? Um no
The mini gun is her trauma response
Silco shot at Vi you can clearly see the bullet hole In her chair. Scene was quick and hard to make out but you can see the bullet hole in VI’s chair.
I won't even lie, that "we'll show them, we'll show them all" scene is still my favourite, even after rewatching the show many many times
"You MUST finish the weapon."
He said this multiple times to Jinx.
He always knew they'd demand he turn over Jinx... but he would never do so.
Silco is the absolute best "villain" ever.
I find myself siding with him over Piltover's side.
He doesn't corrupt Powder. He enables what was already there. He didn't create Jinx. He "released" her.
No doubt, he loved her unquestionably and unconditionally.
He showed her the same path he took he thought that since it worked for him it would work for her
@@TrueBladeSoul Yes but, "worked" for him? He had nothing until Jayce took the Power and had anyone else in the council be in charge instead of compassion amd freedon he would get a war follow by a crushing defeat. Was just Jinx stealing the Hex tech that gave him a cahnce and even then he lost everything, "his way" never was a good one.
He litterally tells vi “i freed her”
Finished arcane second watch now. What a incredible piece of art. So is this video of yours. Well fucking done.
I think it can also be talked about how forming a family can change a person's perspective on life, how their priorities change. When silco was basically alone, every sacrfice was tolerable, even encouraged... until he developed a fatherlike conection with Jinx.... when she became his priority.
It's reflects alot of human behaviours. Young people, fueled by an idealistic sense of glory, adventure or selfish reasons are perfectly fine to abandon all, even sacrificing their lives for a cause... but the moment they find a special someone... that self sacrifice changes to protection. Protecting the ones close to you forgetting the idea that pushed one in the beginning.
This was worth the wait, thanks.
Silco is such a strange character, the more I think about the show the more I love his character, on initial viewing I would die on the Jinx hill as best character, but now I would die on Silco’s hill without a doubt. Really it’s the classic “subverting their expectations” done right.
I can’t wait for season 2, I hope his character gets to come back somehow, flashbacks or as voices in Jinx’s mind. The voice actor knocked it out of the park, like all the others.
Silco was something no one expected. The quiet understandable evil, that slowly transforms as the season evolves. Just brilliant writing and voice acting.
@@AFlyingWalrus How the hell did they manage to build up an incredibly well written formidable villain, then tear him down and build him up as something entirely polar opposite, all in the span of 9 episodes. And make it all believable and compelling at the same time. I really do think Christian and Alex are going to be approached by major Hollywood publishers, these guys are something special.
I think silco is not add to jinx mind
Because silco final words is what jinx what she want to here a validation 🥰
Jinx graffiti on statue. Ekko's name written in graffiti. Jinx hiding behind statue (she comes here often)? Jinx calls Ekko "boy savior." Ekko/Vander parallels. Silco pours one out. Wanted to be a savior, too. But couldn't save Jinx. Right in the feels, man.
It's just so much detail packed into such a small moment in the series. And I love it so much
These characters had so much life written into them it was painfully obvious just how real the performance was. Cast and crew made a masterpiece.
Literally every single second in this show. Every line, every expression, every shot, every angle, everything ment something. They didn't waster a single second in this show
Silco is probably my favorite character along Jinx (and Viktor). Love your analysis. Please, don't stop making more Arcane videos ❤
Viktor and Silco were the standouts for me so far. Just wonderful characters
I don’t really see that. In regards to him thinking he failed her somehow. He doesn’t ever apologize to her, he doesn’t think she needs to be saved. When he takes her in, there is an element of “We both share the same pain, let’s figure it out together.”, but mainly, he believes he knows already what to do about it. That last scene isn’t the first time he calls Jinx “perfect”. He says it as his most lucid moment at the pond with her. He is always trying to impart his experience onto her, she confirms as much to Vi that he’s always lecturing her about what she should do, how she should be. But what makes his desperation isn’t just love for her due to shared trauma, it’s validation. Respect. Self-assurance. He truly knows that they both share the same pain and are equally as hurt by it, but he has found his way out of it, and if he can’t make her do the same, be the same, then he could love her all he wants but the fact would remain…
He’d be alone. Alone in the pain he has learned to push away with twisted rationality that would fall apart if this person he empathizes with went down the same path and chose differently. When he’s sitting there at the fountain, talking to his dead brother, he’s conflicted because someone just made him choose between Zaun and his daughter… And at no point did he consider giving up the latter. That scene is him coming to realize just how much she means to him at the cost of his lofty dreams for the undercity that he now realizes how comparatively little he cares about, as his lifelong dream has just crumbled as soon as they presented themselves to him, handed to him on a silver platter, now undone by a daughter.
But therein lies the difference between him and his late (murdered) brother. Vander bears responsibility. Silco would rather just let everyone else “BURN”. Silco would never give himself over to the authorities even if Jayce had offered to, because he has NEVER considered the repercussions of his actions like Vander does. He could have offered to trade himself in to spare Jinx punishment whilst letting his loyal and capable right hand woman Sevika run his empire (like Vander turned himself in while letting Benzo take his place), but no. And of course he wouldn’t, because he doesn’t feel responsible for Jinx, he’s psychologically dependent on her.
At the end the only firm thing left in his mind is that NO ONE will take her from him and there’s no price he will put on her. His development is a decline, a breakdown in his prattle of Zaun, of ideology, of doing this for anyone but himself and his child (Jinx even mocks his pretentious lectures as he sits gagged at the table), boiling his character identity down to its most essential parts, a broken man who will stop at nothing, not to attain power or respect, but to escape his feelings of loneliness and dejection. And that was his downfall, going so far as to murder his daughter’s sister in cold blood right in front of her just to stop her from leaving him. And that’s what makes his own daughter kill him.
This is a wonderful viewpoint on the character and I agree with many of your points. I love how you can interpret things from this show in different ways, and it allows you to be right in each instance.
The only reason why I personally think he sees a failure towards Jinx is, "Is there anything so undoing as a daughter."
He sees now his focus should have been on her, and in the following scenes his attention full relvoves and her, building her up, and even as he's dying he tries to comfort her
Wonderful comment.
@@AFlyingWalrus I saw “Is there anything so undoing as a daughter” as him drawing this connection between him and Vander (he precedes this line with “Oh it all makes sense now, brother.”), where he never fully understood why Vander gave up his revolution to protect his children, he didn’t understand what it was like to love someone that unconditionally, but now that Jayce forced him to choose, he understood what that was like. A reference to how much they were both willing to give up for their daughters, hence him describing them with the adjective “undoing”. “Everything we ever dreamed of.” just within his reach and he can’t take it because he loves his daughter. And yeah, he does he try to build her up as he dies, but any father I think would want to comfort their child as they died, and with his final breath, he implores her not to change a single thing about herself.
@@The_Story_Of_Us I absolutly agreee with your point of view that exactly describe mine too (While I respect others as well, would be sad not to listen to them or reject them even). The real question that I have (and you may be capable to answer ?) is "When does Silco start being a father from his PoV" ? We get the father like vibe he's giving since ep 4, but not at the end of ep 3, meaning he either realised he became a father for powder during the time-skip, or during the show, slowly ?
@@deamonder3291 Probably during the timeskip. He wouldn’t have been like “Guess I’m your dad now” the second she jumped into his lap, but they already have that relationship when we see them after the timeskip. It’s just that after the timeskip we see the story of how his feelings for her tested when Vi reenters the picture and shakes things up. At the end of episode 3 you can sort of just look at his dialogue where it’s like “It’s okay. We’ll show them. We will show them all.”, that carries the subtext of empathizing with her and taking her in, but paternal feelings are something deeper than that and doesn’t just happen in an instant, but this is of course the groundwork of parenthood that carries just enough implication to suggest that’s where it’s heading (similar to Vander carrying her and Vi away in his arms).
@@The_Story_Of_Us thank you for your answer 👍
6:48 "This should be an easy decision." It was an easy decision. He didn't tell Jayce, but it's pretty clear that the moment he learned the terms, the answer was always going to be 'No'. He'd have burnt Zaun to the ground first.
I think everyone's impression of silco when introduced was the "im the shady manipulative greedy bad guy" Clone but when the story progresses and when he adopts powder we are all convinced that he is just gonna manipulate and use her but when jinx was near death he lost his calm and convinced me that he was vulnerable and be cares about her as a father
And my favorite scene in the show is when they had to chose powder or jinx
And vi and the audience are convinced that jinx wants to be saved as powder but silco knows that she cant exist as powder as she chosed and liked to be jinx and being jinx makes her feel like she belongs there and isn't helpless anymore but she cant let go of powder with vi and the past holding her back but silco understands her and supports her like an actual father who strongly support the decision of their child who is lost as she wants to continue being jinx but everyone else calls for powder
So he stood with her and called jinx "perfect" As telling her to let powder go
when silco dies she is about to cry but but stops and quickly changes her mood which shows that powder is that helpless crying girl while jinx stays calm
Showing us that she let powder go and proves that jinx is perfect
I love that Silco has a pretty typical villain design that looks evil and scorned, with a fantastic voice actor. He is definitely "obvious villain" for most of the show, but Powder needed him. We knew he cared about her when Sevika said "everybody knows she's a screw up" and Silco said, "who?" implying that he does not include himself in that statement. Just like how Vi loved and stood up for Powder to their friend who was saying bad things about her.
This was so well done, thank you for making this.
Now I am came back from seaons 2 and understand him more why he took jinx in.
He kept his promise.
0:15 Same. I can’t stop thinking about this show. It’s got it’s claws in my psyche for so many reasons.
Arcane has done more to make me think than any show or movie in the past year. I think that "human" is the best description that could be given to Arcane. Broken, Flawed, Victim. Human every character is a victim either of there environment or the choices they have made. There are no Mary or Gary Stus, no white knights in armor. Even the arguable pinnacles of piltower are not free from doubts or mistakes, people die because of their decisions. Above all else there are consequences. Good, Bad, Indifferent I don't know I just want to see were this goes
Something arcane does extremely well is that all the character motivations make sense and are not random. They fall explicitly within each individual's goals, desires, and philosophy. Almost every action taken follows a path to achieve their ends and never feels contradictory. Whether it's Jayce, torn between loyalty to his benefactors, saving his freind, his control over his own technology and by extention, his life, or Marcus, torn between blood on his hands, the right thing, his daughter, and a continuing spiral to keep a legacy, all the actions taken, follow. That is good writing and is irreplaceable.
Something I love very much is that, because Silco is Jinx's creator and father, he is so devoted to his craft that he shares her pain and panic. We see him in his most uncontrollable state, when he is unable to help Jinx. Like when he threatens to kill Vi in the final act. Vi is hurting Jinx, forcing all her traumas upon her at once. The tension in the room and the panic Jinx is fighting effects our calm, level headed leader so much that he makes a poorly calculated, incredibly impulsive decision. He's like a sculptor who's accidentally grown too fond of his own creation.
My feeling of his rage, especially going after vi. Its not hatred, its Fear that's pushing him to the extreme. He knows vi might be able to reach her and take his daughter away and that sends him into a rage.
after the new act, this age like wine
Watching your video after Arcane season 2 ep. 6 is mindblowing. You foreshadowed the whole ending narrative about the 2 side of the coin!
Much like a broken clock. I’m occasionally right
Holy balls. I just noticed that in this shot 5:11 when it shows silco running at the camera, Silco's good eye basically takes up the whole frame when he gets closer. It's a blink and you'll miss it detail in that one shot, but it just goes to show the visual storytelling of Silco that his opinion of Jinx and how he really does care for her. The good, caring side of Silco is seen as he runs towards his dying daughter.
1:54 / 1:55 also extreme dishonored vibes when hes got his overcoat/jacket thing, bold color to strike against the stifling amount of black/dark tones, weird flaps n straps stuck on, sticking out and placed all over
(not shitting on the design, its just definitely unique)
Arcane is beautiful in it's embrace of being grey.
It's what really sets it apart.
I feel Silco may be the greatest antagonist ever written. I’ve never felt my gut literally sink nor shed tears for a villain’s death in tv, film, or even in books. He feels more human than any live action villain I’ve seen on a tv screen. It’s insane. This kind of character work is so inspiring for me, and it urges me to start writing again. How could I ever even come close to matching a character with this amount of depth? I’m still going to try. Silco would’ve tried (even if he knew he would inevitably fail). Damn good analysis my friend. Subscribed.
I just wanna thank you for addressing the fact that Silco and Jinx’s relationship was incredibly toxic. I’ve seen so many fans romanticize it and claim Silco was an excellent father who really loved his daughter, and I just wanna scream sometimes. It doesn’t matter that he loved her, he did this child absolutely no favors whatsoever
You would be surprised by the amount of hate comments I get daily because I called him a bad father figure. So I'm glad to see someone agrees with me lol
Still better than my parents you can't change my mind 💀
I agree with this so much. Silco does love Jinx. Also noted by Sevika that “She’s like his daughter”.
However, their relationship IS toxic. Even though Silco care for Jinx, the way he raised her revolves around his own trauma with Vander.
I Wouldn't necessarily call it a "toxic" relationship. More like "complicated".
@@SpectreNUT no, toxic
Personally, I have come around to the thematic theory that part of why Silco couldn't forsake Jinx is because Jinx, in her way, is a personification of Zaun itself. Her transition from Powder to Jinx thematically mirrors the Undercity's transformation into Zaun. Sure, she is unstable, damaged, and twisted on so many levels, but so too is their home. Vander might have kept the denizens safe, but one can also argue that his actions also helped to perpetuate the Undercity's subservice to Topside. Thus, as Powder began to evolve into something stronger, something new, so too did the Undercity evolve into something separate from Piltover.
Because of this, it made the decision of giving up Jinx impossible for Silco. Not only was she his daughter, but in a way she has become his vision of Zaun. Sure, he has made it a shimmer-ridden den of vice, but it was an addiction made *by* the Undercity, something it could nonetheless draw strength from. When he ended up dying, not only did his daughter complete her transformation into Jinx, but so too did Zaun take its first breath; a scream of chaotic violence against the city that oppressed it.
apologies for the long-winded comment, just my two-cents on the matter.
It's confirmed by the creators that in his last scene he was trying to say she was the perfect zaunite. She was everything he wanted Zaun to be and as long as he had her he didn't need the rest of the city.
This, this is why I love the Arcane community. The in depth disscusions and oppinions, the different views and speculations. Some people may think I am overreacting but Arcane is the best tv series I have seen in my life, I cannot watch a single episode without getting chills even after having watched the show multiple times as well as countless youtube videos. Theres something truly special about it, the way the animation looks, the composition, the story telling, it's all just perfect.
Arcane is definitely in my top 3, I would put it in number 2 actually, I would put samurai champloo number one, because it covered a lot of topics, history, politics and human psychology ofc. But I just seen Arcane yesterday, in one sitting ofc, and can't get it out of my head, it's ofc damn good. I've seen 30 or more top class series but..... Arcane is in it's own league, beats other animes by a fair distance.
My friend, though I don't know where you are or what you do, I must thank you for the profound emotions you've stirred. I find myself repeatedly watching AMV videos of Jinx, immersing deeply to reconnect with the emotions they evoke. Then there's your interpretation-so deep, so resonant-giving voice to these feelings.
I, too, have hidden aspects that serve me well, one of which is the ability to spot unpolished gems. You are such a gem, cast before those who might not appreciate your worth. Whatever you're pursuing, do it wholeheartedly, for you're on the right path.. Venture as deep as none have before, and bring back to us what you discover there.
Once again, thank you for this video. It makes me feel alive and gives my demons a name.
4:08 I can't say I agree with that statement. He is actually a great Father to her, just an a**hole to everyone else. It's just they are both seriously battling co-dependency issues.
Jinx needs to feel powerful, useful and loved unconditionally as she always felt otherwise.
And Silco is battling past trauma involving betrayal, but has found healing in Jinx. But that also blinds him when it comes to making decisions and keeping his goals in sight when it comes to her.
I loved the messed up dynamics of it all.
He isn’t a good father cause he isn’t a good person, he can’t teach jinx, he can only teacher her the toxic behaviors he does too. That’s isn’t a good father
@@sad-womeninthehouse4249 He shows more affection to her in 9 episodes of this animated series than my Father has my whole life.
So...I stand by what I said.
@@Ningnomaningnong my father loves me, yet he is a terrible father. Your parents can love you more than in the world and be horrible and toxic at parenting.
@@FanyLI I'm not willing to share details with strangers on the net, but you're quite mistaken in this instance.
@@Ningnomaningnong so you think a parent loving you makes them automatically a good parent? I’m sorry but you need therapy
What else can you ask for a person who thinks is doing the right thing.
Silco did what he believe to be right, and taught Jinx every mistake and lesson that he had learned throughout the years. Silco himself is an example of his own ideal that he told Deckard.
He isn't as strong and fast as other people in the Show and he isn't that smart compared with Jayce, Ekko, Victor, etc. But he was able to get to where he is by following his own ideal up until the last episode.
He taught her what HE thinks is right
And this is another reason as to why he's so compelling as a character.
Great comment and even more food for thought.
To be fair he was trying to fight for the undercity freedom. Like it or not it was kinda similar to the revolutionary war in America and we all thought those guys were hero’s.
“Being human means duality…” that phrase had me stop and have a philosophical revelation. Great video man!!
Haha thanks
Wonderful analysis! Brings up so many points. I’m obsessed with Silvina and Jinx, but I accept that THE REASON their relationship is SO appealing to toxic tropes about love. People want to look for “proof” of love, inside a person who is unable to love. “Look at that-it’s proof he loves her!” He can love her in the only way that he could ever love. But love does not mean the relationship should be praised or, god forbid, be held up as an example for actual parents in today’s world. Praising the relationship relationship is ignoring all the flaws each person has, and the responsibility they have. Their relationship is ultimately one of codependency-two people who cannot be at peace with themselves and feel secure without feeling tied to a specific person.
The scene that broke me was the one of Powder going through her anxiety attack during Ep3.
Yeah it was uncomfortably realistic
That scene made my jaw drop
4:24 "absorbed by the hextech" and you cut the last bit of that scene where Silco worriedly look back at Jinx
That is true. He does look back at her and I had to cut to make the video flow. But if you watch it's not really a look of concern, but more a look of stun of how she got it. You can interpret the scene different ways, but I absolutely love how the next time he sees her with the stone he only glances at it. And his expression is completely different.
@@AFlyingWalrus Agree to disagree, still good breakdown nevertheless.
Just noticed that Silco pours out the drink for Vander RIGHT over Ekko's signature on the statue. Almost like he's apologizing for taking away the kid's future, too.
Silco felt too real
And that's why it hurts so badly
Y'know, in the hurly-burly of the last however many years it's been since the world's fallen off the deep end, I'm glad shows like Arcane exist. Just to show that, in the middle of all these hyper-polished, watered down movies, TV shows, books, and video games, there's still phenomenal, human stories being told.
At the end, Silco is just a father not willing to give up his daughter. Just as Vamder did he too isnt able to give up his daughter. He only fills up the role of villain for his daughter....He realizes that that he became wander...he now gets his turmoil, he now gets his goals, he now knows just how hard it is to give something up
A drawn out death scene of any important character that alludes to sacrifice is a tearjerker. We cry because we feel loss for a greater purpose.
Strange that Silco is my favourite character in the show but not the one I actually like the most (that’s Viktor). Like Viktor, Silco found a way to rise above the trauma of his past, not in such an admirable way but in the ONLY way he understood. He abandoned his own resentment & hatred (even for Piltover) for his conviction of creating Zaun. Vander succumbed to apathy, Jinx succumbed to resentment and then further to madness & chaos. In the end Silco failed Jinx and Jinx, at the same time, broke Silco. My favourite line of Silco is the one he says to Vander after capturing him.
“You’re willing to die for a cause but you’re not willing to fight for one.” It’s such a fantastic line.
Silco and Viktor stood out to me the most as characters, and I can relate in ways to both of them. (if you haven't you should check out the video on Viktors run. My other favorite scene from the show. cough.shameless plug.cough.)
but seriously thanks for the great comment.
to be honest, Silco is one of my favorite characters because of how complex he is, just like Jinx (who is my favorite) and they wrote him so well to be just on the edge of creepy and yet understandable. Seeing how he was, I understood where he came from seeing how he was pushed and pulled, and did so to jinx, on purpose at first then slowly he realized he had done things wrong. I keep rewatching the show, if nothing else, for Silco and Jinx's story. I love this video because you said it so well, and joked around too, keep it up. :)
Silco comes full circle: he realizes in this moment that won't do anything for power anymore.
10:52 as he dips her in water (baptizes her?) silco says ‘jinx is perfect’ and as he breathes his last he says ‘you are perfect’ which means at this point she has fully became Jinx™️
For me, Silco was the best character of the series. Complex and interesting to watch, not predictable at all.
I didn’t play the game and knew nothing about LOL but Arcane was a masterpiece I love it can’t wait for season 2
This was one of the best analyses I've ever watched. Thank you for creating such a great work of art making a grown man like me cry.
That's high praise. Thanks for making me smile friend
The way I saw Silko was that he was a necessary evil....but not TOTALLY evil. He's like Thanos without the total genocidal outlook on life. He had convictions he refused to abandon while still actually trying to achieve something for the outcasts he considered "his people".
Then comes Jinx, and he becomes the accidental father figure willing to do anything for his daughter.
Silco is undoubtedly one of the most well written and compelling character/villain in a LONG time. Definitely one of the main figures that move the story and basically carries the whole thing. One of my fave char as well and for many other people as well ^^
You really did a fantastic job writing this script for this video. You encapsulated everything I love about this series. Thank you!
Yo, this video was perfect.
I mean, it helps to have such a great story to base it on, but I can tell you put a lot of thought into every line of this video.
Great job.
Thanks for the kind words
He's a good father ONLY if you consider evil and villainy to be a virtuous value. Since we don't, he's not, but we do know he's become exactly the father he felt he needed once
Silco reminds me of the song When Legends Die by Tom Russell. Especially the lyrics," behind the makeup and the Cowboy hats and the guitars yeah there might be a human being somewhere. Don't stare into the eye of the clown kid, you might find a broken heart in there." Arcane does a great job of making people stare into the eyes of Silco and truly understand him and care for him. I find that I get the motivation for most complex villains, but I don't care about them. But Arcane made me care for him and find the human inside him.
Silco is a sick villain. It's so sad that we lost him.
I know this is going in an ocean of comments but I have NEVER ever in my life cried over a youtube video, This show now has a part of my heart and always will be, plus the video is insanely good, when you said " arcane did a wonderful job of doing more emotional damage to me in just 9 episodes than my depression has for my entire existence " this quote really hit me, I thought I was alone on this I watched arcane in the middle of the most depressing days in college where there are exams everywhere and a lot on my back with no one to comfort me, arcane was my escape at that point and I fell in love and now I can't even believe that I cried over a show like this Idk man I watched it like 5 times so far and still I feel the pain, Thank you so much for this video
While you may feel like your comment may be lost, know that I read every comment that comes through my channel. I can't respond to every one, because well I'm just one person
But thank you for leaving such a heartfelt comment.
@@AFlyingWalrus It's nothing,I shared this video with everyone I knew and they were so amazed,your channel deserve to blow up.
Damn fine series, and like Jinx, perfect. Roll on the final season 2.
Beautiful analysis - learned so much more about Arcane thanks to this video. Love to see it!
Thank you for the kind words
This was a well written video essay. I think you did a great job keeping it focused on that one scene while also talking about important stuff about Silco and Jinx from the beginning to the end of season 1.
I had the same reactions and thoughts as you did about his introduction, the uncomfortable moments, and the gut-wrenching sympathy for what he said before he died. So it was fun finding this video that talked about all those things.
powder drew silco toward her because of their idea of shared betrayal and trauma, the reason he adopted her is the reason he hated vander; and the moment he thinks about the real threat of having to lose her, he realizes that he has become vander… he understands now, and it hurts more than any loss could.
This video evoked the same feeling I held after finishing Arcane. That deep sadness for all of the characters, everything they experienced, and the way it all led perfectly to human experiences. The heavy hearted depression of hopelessness, and the pain of those who tried their best to make it better yet failed the ones they were trying to save.