Tumblr is also being insufferable abt s2, for me everything was great but too rushed, so some moments didn't hit as hard as the writing team wanted. People can't enjoy anything now apparently lmao, they complain about every single thing
I still think Viktor's story was incredibly weirdly rushed. One episode he's all "I will not sacrifice his humanity for your cause", but after Jayce chest-blasts him, he's suddenly all fine with dooming the entire world? hello? what? the same Viktor from season 1 who would rather let himself die than let the hexcore continue to exist, potentially harming others? THAT Viktor? It is also never explained to us in any /meaningfull way/ what the footsteps in episode 2 were, or why it was Sky that almost urged Viktor on to infect others with the Arcane (smiling down on Viktor when he healed Huck, even tho Sky, who was KILLED BY THE ARCANE would not be happy abt that). The theories that said that Viktor was semi-mind controlled by the hexcore/arcane, and that Sky was the semi-physical manifestation of that control, were amazing! they explained why Viktor was weirdly un-emotional, what the footsteps were, explained the visual and audio hallucinations, and explained why this man who was TERRIFIED of the hexcore suddenly wanted to spread its power. But, nope. he's just an all-powerfull bad guy now bc, uhm, "we must be one mind, choice is false". Truly have no idea how they ended up there, but alright. Jayce insinuating in e9 that "jayce has always wanted to fix what he saw as imperfections" was so weird, bc... no? we were never shown that? they hastily tried to put together League Viktor with Arcane Viktor, but arcane s1 Viktor was so different that the sudden switch felt jarring. Viktor became whatever technologiga;/magical threat the WRITERS needed him to be - he did not become what the story itself naturally worked towards
People have said the same thing that you have concerning Viktor’s story, if we’re being honest, and this does not mean that we didn’t enjoy season two, a lot of things were rushed, and the original plan for the series was to have a few more seasons or one more season so the writers had to find a way to push everything out like clockwork. I love the theory that Sky was absorbed by the hex core because you can either interpret it as she got absorbed and that’s the way she was able to talk to him or like you said it was a manifestation used to coax him. Arcane definitely needed another season, but I’m just gonna cross my fingers for the other spinoffs because I would love to see other characters stories.
@Nayawritess i think the "it originally had more seasons" thing got debunked by the writers multiple times. I adore arcane i truly do, and i do technically like how ambitious they are, but i fear they just had too many cool ideas and did not know which ones to cut - and so didnt cut any. I also just saw a rumor that the final episode was originally an hour long? Haven't been able to confirm it, tho, but it would explain a lot
I need an uncut version of Arcane for sessions 1 and 2 especially 2. The problem of s2 is not that people don't understand WHY a character is acting a certain way it is HOW they come to the conclusion, yes if we start to pinpoint every detail and conversion we will understand (which I personally love to do) but a casual watcher should not be expected to watch frame by frame to have a full understanding... I WISH we had another Act at least, the content Acane has can go for another season and still will be fast-paced. But in the grand scheme of things the problem I have is small, this season is 10/10 for me cause the stuff I have seen is the best thing I ever watch in recent times and I know this will be my forever favorite show of all time!
The show goes cait giving sevika a seat on the council definitely makes up for her releasing the grey and months of martial law and mass imprisonment. Zaun didn't want a council seat, they wanted to be an independent nation with no piltover interference
just started the video but it's insane how people misinterpreted a lot of the show like ??? especially with the abuser title being used easily, trying to say jayce and viktor is more gay than vi and cait. (lowkey also honestly i preferred how they used actions instead of words because some apologizes are empty or not done properly)
also the ending is feel will be elaborated in different series. especially with the different series locations being connected to Zaun and piltover, some flaw I think will be addressed
To be honest, if I were Vi and Caitlyn apologized to me in words, I would send her to hell. If she came and helped me free my sister, in addition to going against an entire army for me... Likewise, verbal apologies would have been great to capture her redemption in a more direct way; but I think people are very... hateful towards certain characters and characteristics and put themselves on sides that shouldn't exist. I can't say that season two didn't have any mistakes (yes, it did have too many, but I'm aware that they did what they could with everything they had to cut) but to deny an ENTIRE arc and all the detail they put into some relationships (Caitlyn and Vi) and characters (like Mel) for other arcs or ships that appeared only once or that are not canon either... That is, you can love a character and/or ship without detracting from all the previous construction or using destructive words towards collectives/groups that are real. Hate lately seems too much and uncomfortable to me. Saying that Jayce and Viktor are gayer than Caitlyn and Vi is like??? Guys, I thought we already understood that people are gay and that's it, you don't have to be "more or less gay" than others
I love Ekko, I always loved him, but I know what it means to be looked at as some "savior," and so I didn't wanna be reminded of that. So I tried to ignore him. And to some extent, season 2 both broke that and reinforced that for me. It hurt so badly to see him alone on that ledge
I think i'm a lil annoyed with the fandom since i've been a fan of the lore for rlly long time. But at the end of the day, it's just a fictional work. I feel like Cait's character was so misinterpreted by the fandom and everyone seems to blame her for every little wrong thing. She did some rlly abdominal stuff after her mom's death that is unjustifiable but we can't pretend like she's not the same person in season one who wanted to use her privilege to improve Zaun's life. At the end when she has more clarity we can see again that her actions are more calm and collected as they were before. I also wish we saw a verbal apology, but at least she is aware and acknowledged her faults to Vi and Jinx. I still think the fact her love for vi far surpassed her feeling for vengeance against jinx was very beautifully written from Arcane. Sorry I can yap abt her character for hours, she's so captivating its not so often you see a character so complex and changing real time in the show. Great video I really enjoyed your reactions !!
Thanks for your input, Caitlyn is definitely a complex character and I won’t lie I preferred everything about s1 because it felt like the themes of inequality disappeared in s2, nonetheless it was still memorable cause it was the final season. Thank you and glad you enjoyed the video xx
We needed like 3 zaun councilors and 2 piltover ones to make sure zaunites are being heard, the oppressed should always have and elevated seat at the table Also not Caitlin being a fascist cop but got redeemed cuz she was too gay like girl we need a bit more than that, ik she admitted that what ambessa told her was poison, it wasn't enough obv
People in my TikTok comments were like Ekko should’ve been on the council. I don’t know if he would want to, but it would make it a little bit more balanced. I hope they listen to Sevika because the revolution of years long conflict was really quick
The first thing abt sacrifice really caught me off guard, bc everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has to sacrifice. Heimer sacrifices himself to bring ekko back, cait sacrifices her eye to defeat Ambessa, Ambessa sacrifices Kino to save Mel, jinx sacrifices herself/her relationship to vi to save her sister, jayce and victor sacrifice themselves etc. So in this aspect I really can't see how Arcane treated black characters differently from the rest. TL;DR: the theme of S2 is sacrifice, just as the theme for S1 were the unbreakable bonds of love
Love this vid, have to say...i agree, so many things are left hanging: - Vi apologized for not being able to bring back Cait's mom, Cait didn't apologize once - Other than the personal mistakes Cait done, Piltover has done nothing to lift Zaun up in the end even though Cait could've helped - We need more screen time for Ekko and Jinx, their arc together, how Jinx dealt with Isha's death, and how Ekko tries to not give up on Jinx - So mad that we don't see how Sevika and Scar back each other up uniting Zaun. other than that, fans nitpicking and fighting over which ship is the best, and mischaracterizing so many things are so disappointing... i love arcane, i really hope there's a follow up in the continuation about all that's been left out in the next one, but i think we really needed 1-2 more episodes for a satisfying closure and for that i am mainly blaming Netflix
I honestly really liked season 2. It does feel like they had SO MUCH going on, and a lot got rushed as a consequence of that. But still, very good overall. Also like, my favorite died in season 1, so I'm not out here losing my mind over my fave getting a bad ending to their arc or whatever. Ah, the joys of loving a minor character...Mylo you and your stupid stash will always be famous.
As much as i adore arcane (which, trust me; its a lot. i was dying when s1 dropped and it actually gave me drive to get better), season 2 just felt ... empty. it left me dissapointed, because it simply did not deliver well on any of the things set up in season 1, and leaves more questions than answers - something which a season finale should NOT do.. A few problems i have: > remember when this show was about discrimination, oppression, conflict and corrupt governments? dont worry, the writers didnt remember either! why do they spend whole season 1 setting up the tension and breaking point between Zaun and Piltover, only for season 2 to be like "uhm well akshually Noxus is the big baddie and with the power of friendship we must defeat them!!!" like... thats so fucking lazy. Its borderline insulting how the Zaunites were faced with police aggression from Piltover their whole existence, only to be expected to pick up the enforcer uniform in s2act3 and fight to defend the city which has let them rot. its mindboggling to me that they decided to not go into the conflict between those cities (the CORE OF THE SHOW), and instead end it with Sevika gaining a seat in the council, wildly outnumbered by topsiders and without any hints as to what happened between the cities further. and the Jinx Fan Girlie, who was a super radical freedom fighter suposedly, died while wearing an enforcer unifrom, protecting the city that never gave a shit about her.... fuming. > also remember when it was about conflict between different ideologies? again, dont worry, the writers didnt either! Vi VS Jinx, Mel VS Ambessa, Jayce VS Viktor, Vander VS Silco (dont get me started on how they retconned their backstory lmao). its just a whole bunch of nothingness now. just. complete emptiness. this season has nothing to say. nothing. remember the banger lines in s1 ("in the pursuit of great, we failed to do good", "weapons cant be unmade, and they are always used", and i can go on)... what hardcore, borderline radical lines did we have this season? > the black rose plot. I get they wanted to give Mel a plot, and probably added this as a soft introduction to their next League series, but it was just completely random and a mess if you dont know any of the lore. what is the black rose, really? what is the Actual reason the black rose and Ambessa are fighting? and, with Mel: in episode 8 she was struggling with holding back Viktor's puppet and didnt understand her powers yet, and in e9 she suddenly knows how to create shields and energy blasts? why does she, an empath who can control and change the inner power of others, do these things? > Its, imo, insulting that they reduced Mel, such an interesting character when it comes to politics in this show, to 'magical mage'. like. Her relationship with Ambessa is so so interesting. The show could have reflected more on Mel, in s2, realising that her passive action in the council as a result of the trauma from her mother's aggression in her childhood did not lead to peace like she wished, but that she instead became, albeit unwantedly, complicit in oppression. in s1 we see this only as her smearing Gold over the portrait of Noxus (which was well done btw) and voting for Zaun's independence, but i truly believe they could have done more with that. Make her and Caitlyn mirrors of one another, wherein both are priveleged, but one tries finally to get rid of her family ties for good (medarda), while the other grasps unto them for the power it gives (caitlyn). Instead, Mel became the Powerfull Strong Woman. we see her show little actual uhh idk the english word. softness? vulnerability? that, in s2, while s1 was abt her learning that side of her and not having to be harsh all the time. and when she does try to show softness, Jayce shuts her down (alltho i guess the man was traumatised and Unwell^tm too, but still). and she ends up all alone, having lost her mother, jayce and her seat in piltover, shipped of to the place which does not care for her. yayyy what a happy end!1!!1! > The Viktor and the hexcore jesus plot is just. a MESS. What were the footsteps in episode 2, that led him to the undercity? was the hexcore controlling him, guiding him to a place it knew the arcane was strong? but, if the hexcore was possesing him, why did Jayce in e9 act like it was all Viktor's own deliberate doing? > and, what the FUCK do you mean the mage is Viktor?? Huh?? how does that even WORK?Viktor turns bad in universe A, is like 'i must stop this from happening in other universes' and can just... travel the multiverse i guess. But then, why did he still give Jayce the stone, and not just let Jayce and Ximena die on the plain, resulting in no hextech in Piltover, and so no hexcore that entices Viktor, and so no Arcane Jesus Viktor? Why does he still give Jayce the stone? and who gave Jayce the stone in the original universe wherein Viktor went all Evil? (my theory is; the mage ISNT viktor, but viktor means that, from all universes wherein Jayce gets the stone - one wherein Vi dies > no hextech, one wherein he succeeds with a different ruin > viktor becomes Evil - OUR jayce is the only one that can save OUR viktor) > and finally abt Viktor; so its never gonna be confirmed if Sky was an hallucination made up by him to combat loneliness (which, why would she then guide him to corrupt others with arcane? why would Viktor think Sky would want him to do that when he is so guilty abt her death?), if she was an apperation from the hexcore itself (in which case, why does she leave when Viktor fully turns?, or if she was simply also taken into the hexcore when she died?) season 1 would have explained it, and season 2 is like.... ahhh dont worry abt it she was there and now shes gone! > Vi's character arc. I mean, the character arc which simply WASNT THERE. What did she do this season that was driven by her own desires? she just reacts to outside forces, seems to have no particular goals in mind, and loses everything. Her fall into alcoholism was hyped up, only for it to be 1 amv within the show and no further depth to it. it was said she was gonna learn how to not be a protector, but she didnt! she protected Isha in act 1, Jinx and vander in act 2, and whole pitover in act 3. like, ok, good character arc. i can actually rant ages abt how they massacred her character. also, making her say "im the dirt under your nails" as a ROMANTIC LINE is INSANE. who tf wrote that? Hello? LOok this stupid trencher knows she is dirty and disgusting and her Topsider Queen is neever gonna get rid of her :DDD i HATE it. its also just a bad line in general > their treatment of Jinx and her mentall ilnesses. just. she doesnt have them anymore i guess! thats how trauma works, right? it makes ur schrizoprenia go away, right? sure Arcane Writers thats 100% how it works. oh and the suicidal character dies in the end? ground breaking thanks we needed more of that in fiction (and, no, the 'purple glare is actually jinx thing!!', while true, is still stupid. not many people catch that, and, for example, my parents without social media will always have the end be Jinx = dead, because canon doesnt offer us definitive other things). also how Isha was only there to die and then not get mentioned in act 3??? disgusting i can actually go on longer than this, but im too frustrated. IMPORTANT: i do not hate the show. i love arcane, and season 1 will always be one of, if not the best (animated or general) series ever produced in the west. season 2 has its merits; its entertaining, it has drama, etc., but the decline between season 1 and season 2 is difficult not to notice. season 2 really makes you realise: oh, yeah, this is based on League of Legends. its like s1 = arthouse movie, s2 = infinity war.
It's been confirmed by various sources that Arcane was only approved for two seasons from the gate. The writters went into season 2, knowing that this was the last shot they had to tell their story. Yes, the plot feels super rushed at points. When I finished season 2 and looked back, it felt like I had watched 2 seasons of content condensed into one. But my take has been since the first 3 episodes dropped, and even still weeks after, I've finished the season that the writters did a phenomenal job with the time that they had. I've seen so much discourse complaining that they cut scene X instead of scene Y, but without the considerations that if they had cut scene Y instead of scene X, we'd still be in the same boat. It's frustrating to me to see so many people pointing at the show and saying, "This is bad because it's rushed therefore the writting is bad" when I, as a storyteller, think this is some of the highest tier work ever made when it comes to artistic direction, representation, and humanization. I have never seen such a range of race, gender, sexuality, ability, and personality portrayed with such respect and accuracy to real people. I've never seen mental health depicted so accurately in a way that is both respectful and feels real. Each and every character feels like a real person with strengths and flaws and struggles and relationships. You can compare Arcane to so many other works that have come out in the past few years, and few would even compare. Yes, it's a bummer that many plotlines feel like a rock skipped over water, but that's not the fault of the writers or anyone directly involved with the show. That's the fault of Riot, Netflix, and whoever else made the decision to only give the writers two seasons to tell a story that couldn't be told without flaw in 18 episodes. Arcane is an absolute masterclass in good writing and writing a complete and compelling story in a small timeframe. The fact that people are out here fighting for their lives on dumb shit like the Jayce and Viktor relationship shows that Arcane is a whole different level of writing than other works. If you want to see actual bad writing, go watch Rings of Power or that Starwars Jedi vs. Sith movie (can't even remember what it was called it was so bad).
i hate arcane s2 i think no character has a satisfying arc and no story has a good conclusion. however i will be rewatching the Jayce and Viktor cosmic death scene on repeat because Fortiche (visuals) and the music + Ray Chen absolutely popped of. its suchhh a gorgeous scene and i still dont understand how they did the space scenes with the 3d characters looking 2d yet not but also yes, and the handdrawn/sketches of the ruins, and again the MUSIC?? insane. however on future rewatches i think i'll just end after s1e9
I wouldn’t say that no story has a good conclusion because my queen Mel Medarda although they wanted to use her as a disposable black girlfriend ended up getting her own powerful resolution, and probably her own series in the future
@Nayawritess I personally dont think her story had a good conclusion - it was one of the few which had a conclusion, yes, but idk if id call it a good one? But that's opinion based, of course. It felt very mcu-like. "Mel will return in [new series name]" ending. I do hope she'll be one of the actual Main main characters in the future noxus show, but, and maybe this is my personal hatred towards OP characters and my dislike for riot as a company: it feels like her whole story was not there so that Mel could get a good story, but only so that they could have a soft pilot for their next show and so they could make a new character for the game. Apart from learning magic and killing her mom idk if she had any personal character/emotional growth.
@@isaw9969I agree. I can't see how killing everyone close to her is a good conclusion. She's literally lost everything when everyone else got happy endings - or died.
I disagree about Ekko "abandoning" a perfect life, fhat was not only not his lofe he was basically in another ekkos body... Anyone who thinks Ekko would do that doesnt understand his character and is imo not a good person As for Melanthia, the way racist LGBTQ stans have used her as this whipping post is sickening, but nobody including you seems to want to point put the obvious Vi and Caitlyn are complicated, i genuinely believe theyre a doomed relationship that is INTRINSICALLY flawed, i feel like the writers know that deep down and are laying the groundwork for more examinations of their relationship in future (every draft ive written has them broken up with Vi moving back to Zaun to be Chief Constable with Scar as her Deputy, courtesy of Sevika working out a deal where Zaun district polices itself, but they always endup hooking up whenever Cait has ro hoof it down to the lanes to pick up reports) Their relationship as mich as people frown upon it as bad writing, is VERY reslistic, there are MANY people in couplings where there are distinct class/ political divides and power imblanaces so for people to call it bad writing shows that we're dealing with vapid lids and stunted gamers with no grasp on the real world Now rhe problem i have with it is the idealisation of said relationships in a context where the one with the power in the relationship neither relquinqishes said power nor tries to (overtly) make ammends for their wrongs commited with said power (though many may think Cait doesnt have to do this becaise she lost her mom) I also think this ties into the idea rhat Zaun shouldve had some fairytale vindication ending, idk what show they were watching but that was never going to be the case, and any storyline dping so wouldve been rightfully met with derision, Sevika got a seat on the Council.. SEVIKA, sure shes probably the most deserving, but this is a HUGE step for a city that barely sees Zaunites as human half the time, she now has a voice and hopefully power to go along with it that isnt just vestigial, she also seems to have allies on the council in Shoola (Bald black lady with gold clock chain) and the xpu cilnbeing full of complete newcomers mean its a spmewhat level playing field Salo Jayce HD Badok Bald wine merchant runix cube guy &Kassandra are ALL gone So that leaves Sevika Shoola Mel (temporarily? Vacated seat?) Caitlyn or her dad? and a bunch of newbys we dont know who seem to make up the ferrix clan and others who jave never held seats before, so Sevika, even though ahes being looked down has more allies and equal footing in that room as a war hero than the majority of council members do, i see this as an absolute W
jinx became the most wise character. why redemption characters are the most wise
Tumblr is also being insufferable abt s2, for me everything was great but too rushed, so some moments didn't hit as hard as the writing team wanted. People can't enjoy anything now apparently lmao, they complain about every single thing
God forbid we want art to be better. S2 turned into slop it was so bad
@@Ant-gu6vz you're being dramatic. imagine complaining about ARCANE when there's terrible shows coming out all the time.
I still think Viktor's story was incredibly weirdly rushed. One episode he's all "I will not sacrifice his humanity for your cause", but after Jayce chest-blasts him, he's suddenly all fine with dooming the entire world? hello? what? the same Viktor from season 1 who would rather let himself die than let the hexcore continue to exist, potentially harming others? THAT Viktor?
It is also never explained to us in any /meaningfull way/ what the footsteps in episode 2 were, or why it was Sky that almost urged Viktor on to infect others with the Arcane (smiling down on Viktor when he healed Huck, even tho Sky, who was KILLED BY THE ARCANE would not be happy abt that). The theories that said that Viktor was semi-mind controlled by the hexcore/arcane, and that Sky was the semi-physical manifestation of that control, were amazing! they explained why Viktor was weirdly un-emotional, what the footsteps were, explained the visual and audio hallucinations, and explained why this man who was TERRIFIED of the hexcore suddenly wanted to spread its power. But, nope. he's just an all-powerfull bad guy now bc, uhm, "we must be one mind, choice is false". Truly have no idea how they ended up there, but alright. Jayce insinuating in e9 that "jayce has always wanted to fix what he saw as imperfections" was so weird, bc... no? we were never shown that? they hastily tried to put together League Viktor with Arcane Viktor, but arcane s1 Viktor was so different that the sudden switch felt jarring. Viktor became whatever technologiga;/magical threat the WRITERS needed him to be - he did not become what the story itself naturally worked towards
People have said the same thing that you have concerning Viktor’s story, if we’re being honest, and this does not mean that we didn’t enjoy season two, a lot of things were rushed, and the original plan for the series was to have a few more seasons or one more season so the writers had to find a way to push everything out like clockwork. I love the theory that Sky was absorbed by the hex core because you can either interpret it as she got absorbed and that’s the way she was able to talk to him or like you said it was a manifestation used to coax him. Arcane definitely needed another season, but I’m just gonna cross my fingers for the other spinoffs because I would love to see other characters stories.
@Nayawritess i think the "it originally had more seasons" thing got debunked by the writers multiple times. I adore arcane i truly do, and i do technically like how ambitious they are, but i fear they just had too many cool ideas and did not know which ones to cut - and so didnt cut any.
I also just saw a rumor that the final episode was originally an hour long? Haven't been able to confirm it, tho, but it would explain a lot
I need an uncut version of Arcane for sessions 1 and 2 especially 2. The problem of s2 is not that people don't understand WHY a character is acting a certain way it is HOW they come to the conclusion, yes if we start to pinpoint every detail and conversion we will understand (which I personally love to do) but a casual watcher should not be expected to watch frame by frame to have a full understanding... I WISH we had another Act at least, the content Acane has can go for another season and still will be fast-paced.
But in the grand scheme of things the problem I have is small, this season is 10/10 for me cause the stuff I have seen is the best thing I ever watch in recent times and I know this will be my forever favorite show of all time!
Spot on!
The show goes cait giving sevika a seat on the council definitely makes up for her releasing the grey and months of martial law and mass imprisonment. Zaun didn't want a council seat, they wanted to be an independent nation with no piltover interference
I would have loved a deeper Sevika story because sequentially she’s the next in power to lead. IM MAD AT NETFLIX
just started the video but it's insane how people misinterpreted a lot of the show like ??? especially with the abuser title being used easily, trying to say jayce and viktor is more gay than vi and cait. (lowkey also honestly i preferred how they used actions instead of words because some apologizes are empty or not done properly)
also the ending is feel will be elaborated in different series. especially with the different series locations being connected to Zaun and piltover, some flaw I think will be addressed
I saw that tweet, it was funny cause people were like ‘Cait and Vi had seggs’
Im excited to see what happens in noxus with Mel
To be honest, if I were Vi and Caitlyn apologized to me in words, I would send her to hell.
If she came and helped me free my sister, in addition to going against an entire army for me... Likewise, verbal apologies would have been great to capture her redemption in a more direct way; but I think people are very... hateful towards certain characters and characteristics and put themselves on sides that shouldn't exist.
I can't say that season two didn't have any mistakes (yes, it did have too many, but I'm aware that they did what they could with everything they had to cut) but to deny an ENTIRE arc and all the detail they put into some relationships (Caitlyn and Vi) and characters (like Mel) for other arcs or ships that appeared only once or that are not canon either... That is, you can love a character and/or ship without detracting from all the previous construction or using destructive words towards collectives/groups that are real. Hate lately seems too much and uncomfortable to me.
Saying that Jayce and Viktor are gayer than Caitlyn and Vi is like??? Guys, I thought we already understood that people are gay and that's it, you don't have to be "more or less gay" than others
What ever happened to mlm and wlw solidarity! Caitvi is equally as fruity as Jayvik and we love them for it
I love Ekko, I always loved him, but I know what it means to be looked at as some "savior," and so I didn't wanna be reminded of that. So I tried to ignore him. And to some extent, season 2 both broke that and reinforced that for me. It hurt so badly to see him alone on that ledge
I think i'm a lil annoyed with the fandom since i've been a fan of the lore for rlly long time. But at the end of the day, it's just a fictional work. I feel like Cait's character was so misinterpreted by the fandom and everyone seems to blame her for every little wrong thing. She did some rlly abdominal stuff after her mom's death that is unjustifiable but we can't pretend like she's not the same person in season one who wanted to use her privilege to improve Zaun's life. At the end when she has more clarity we can see again that her actions are more calm and collected as they were before. I also wish we saw a verbal apology, but at least she is aware and acknowledged her faults to Vi and Jinx. I still think the fact her love for vi far surpassed her feeling for vengeance against jinx was very beautifully written from Arcane. Sorry I can yap abt her character for hours, she's so captivating its not so often you see a character so complex and changing real time in the show. Great video I really enjoyed your reactions !!
Thanks for your input, Caitlyn is definitely a complex character and I won’t lie I preferred everything about s1 because it felt like the themes of inequality disappeared in s2, nonetheless it was still memorable cause it was the final season. Thank you and glad you enjoyed the video xx
We needed like 3 zaun councilors and 2 piltover ones to make sure zaunites are being heard, the oppressed should always have and elevated seat at the table
Also not Caitlin being a fascist cop but got redeemed cuz she was too gay like girl we need a bit more than that, ik she admitted that what ambessa told her was poison, it wasn't enough obv
People in my TikTok comments were like Ekko should’ve been on the council. I don’t know if he would want to, but it would make it a little bit more balanced. I hope they listen to Sevika because the revolution of years long conflict was really quick
The first thing abt sacrifice really caught me off guard, bc everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has to sacrifice. Heimer sacrifices himself to bring ekko back, cait sacrifices her eye to defeat Ambessa, Ambessa sacrifices Kino to save Mel, jinx sacrifices herself/her relationship to vi to save her sister, jayce and victor sacrifice themselves etc. So in this aspect I really can't see how Arcane treated black characters differently from the rest.
TL;DR: the theme of S2 is sacrifice, just as the theme for S1 were the unbreakable bonds of love
Love this vid, have to say...i agree, so many things are left hanging:
- Vi apologized for not being able to bring back Cait's mom, Cait didn't apologize once
- Other than the personal mistakes Cait done, Piltover has done nothing to lift Zaun up in the end even though Cait could've helped
- We need more screen time for Ekko and Jinx, their arc together, how Jinx dealt with Isha's death, and how Ekko tries to not give up on Jinx
- So mad that we don't see how Sevika and Scar back each other up uniting Zaun.
other than that, fans nitpicking and fighting over which ship is the best, and mischaracterizing so many things are so disappointing...
i love arcane, i really hope there's a follow up in the continuation about all that's been left out in the next one, but i think we really needed 1-2 more episodes for a satisfying closure and for that i am mainly blaming Netflix
OMG SCAR WAS ONE OF MY FAV BACKGROUND CHARACTERS AND EVEN GOT A FEW LINES. You and I have basically the same critiques.
I honestly really liked season 2. It does feel like they had SO MUCH going on, and a lot got rushed as a consequence of that. But still, very good overall.
Also like, my favorite died in season 1, so I'm not out here losing my mind over my fave getting a bad ending to their arc or whatever. Ah, the joys of loving a minor character...Mylo you and your stupid stash will always be famous.
Omg which one are you referring to
As much as i adore arcane (which, trust me; its a lot. i was dying when s1 dropped and it actually gave me drive to get better), season 2 just felt ... empty. it left me dissapointed, because it simply did not deliver well on any of the things set up in season 1, and leaves more questions than answers - something which a season finale should NOT do..
A few problems i have:
> remember when this show was about discrimination, oppression, conflict and corrupt governments? dont worry, the writers didnt remember either! why do they spend whole season 1 setting up the tension and breaking point between Zaun and Piltover, only for season 2 to be like "uhm well akshually Noxus is the big baddie and with the power of friendship we must defeat them!!!" like... thats so fucking lazy. Its borderline insulting how the Zaunites were faced with police aggression from Piltover their whole existence, only to be expected to pick up the enforcer uniform in s2act3 and fight to defend the city which has let them rot. its mindboggling to me that they decided to not go into the conflict between those cities (the CORE OF THE SHOW), and instead end it with Sevika gaining a seat in the council, wildly outnumbered by topsiders and without any hints as to what happened between the cities further. and the Jinx Fan Girlie, who was a super radical freedom fighter suposedly, died while wearing an enforcer unifrom, protecting the city that never gave a shit about her.... fuming.
> also remember when it was about conflict between different ideologies? again, dont worry, the writers didnt either! Vi VS Jinx, Mel VS Ambessa, Jayce VS Viktor, Vander VS Silco (dont get me started on how they retconned their backstory lmao). its just a whole bunch of nothingness now. just. complete emptiness. this season has nothing to say. nothing. remember the banger lines in s1 ("in the pursuit of great, we failed to do good", "weapons cant be unmade, and they are always used", and i can go on)... what hardcore, borderline radical lines did we have this season?
> the black rose plot. I get they wanted to give Mel a plot, and probably added this as a soft introduction to their next League series, but it was just completely random and a mess if you dont know any of the lore. what is the black rose, really? what is the Actual reason the black rose and Ambessa are fighting? and, with Mel: in episode 8 she was struggling with holding back Viktor's puppet and didnt understand her powers yet, and in e9 she suddenly knows how to create shields and energy blasts? why does she, an empath who can control and change the inner power of others, do these things?
> Its, imo, insulting that they reduced Mel, such an interesting character when it comes to politics in this show, to 'magical mage'. like. Her relationship with Ambessa is so so interesting. The show could have reflected more on Mel, in s2, realising that her passive action in the council as a result of the trauma from her mother's aggression in her childhood did not lead to peace like she wished, but that she instead became, albeit unwantedly, complicit in oppression. in s1 we see this only as her smearing Gold over the portrait of Noxus (which was well done btw) and voting for Zaun's independence, but i truly believe they could have done more with that. Make her and Caitlyn mirrors of one another, wherein both are priveleged, but one tries finally to get rid of her family ties for good (medarda), while the other grasps unto them for the power it gives (caitlyn). Instead, Mel became the Powerfull Strong Woman. we see her show little actual uhh idk the english word. softness? vulnerability? that, in s2, while s1 was abt her learning that side of her and not having to be harsh all the time. and when she does try to show softness, Jayce shuts her down (alltho i guess the man was traumatised and Unwell^tm too, but still). and she ends up all alone, having lost her mother, jayce and her seat in piltover, shipped of to the place which does not care for her. yayyy what a happy end!1!!1!
> The Viktor and the hexcore jesus plot is just. a MESS. What were the footsteps in episode 2, that led him to the undercity? was the hexcore controlling him, guiding him to a place it knew the arcane was strong? but, if the hexcore was possesing him, why did Jayce in e9 act like it was all Viktor's own deliberate doing?
> and, what the FUCK do you mean the mage is Viktor?? Huh?? how does that even WORK?Viktor turns bad in universe A, is like 'i must stop this from happening in other universes' and can just... travel the multiverse i guess. But then, why did he still give Jayce the stone, and not just let Jayce and Ximena die on the plain, resulting in no hextech in Piltover, and so no hexcore that entices Viktor, and so no Arcane Jesus Viktor? Why does he still give Jayce the stone? and who gave Jayce the stone in the original universe wherein Viktor went all Evil? (my theory is; the mage ISNT viktor, but viktor means that, from all universes wherein Jayce gets the stone - one wherein Vi dies > no hextech, one wherein he succeeds with a different ruin > viktor becomes Evil - OUR jayce is the only one that can save OUR viktor)
> and finally abt Viktor; so its never gonna be confirmed if Sky was an hallucination made up by him to combat loneliness (which, why would she then guide him to corrupt others with arcane? why would Viktor think Sky would want him to do that when he is so guilty abt her death?), if she was an apperation from the hexcore itself (in which case, why does she leave when Viktor fully turns?, or if she was simply also taken into the hexcore when she died?) season 1 would have explained it, and season 2 is like.... ahhh dont worry abt it she was there and now shes gone!
> Vi's character arc. I mean, the character arc which simply WASNT THERE. What did she do this season that was driven by her own desires? she just reacts to outside forces, seems to have no particular goals in mind, and loses everything. Her fall into alcoholism was hyped up, only for it to be 1 amv within the show and no further depth to it. it was said she was gonna learn how to not be a protector, but she didnt! she protected Isha in act 1, Jinx and vander in act 2, and whole pitover in act 3. like, ok, good character arc. i can actually rant ages abt how they massacred her character. also, making her say "im the dirt under your nails" as a ROMANTIC LINE is INSANE. who tf wrote that? Hello? LOok this stupid trencher knows she is dirty and disgusting and her Topsider Queen is neever gonna get rid of her :DDD i HATE it. its also just a bad line in general
> their treatment of Jinx and her mentall ilnesses. just. she doesnt have them anymore i guess! thats how trauma works, right? it makes ur schrizoprenia go away, right? sure Arcane Writers thats 100% how it works. oh and the suicidal character dies in the end? ground breaking thanks we needed more of that in fiction (and, no, the 'purple glare is actually jinx thing!!', while true, is still stupid. not many people catch that, and, for example, my parents without social media will always have the end be Jinx = dead, because canon doesnt offer us definitive other things). also how Isha was only there to die and then not get mentioned in act 3??? disgusting
i can actually go on longer than this, but im too frustrated. IMPORTANT: i do not hate the show. i love arcane, and season 1 will always be one of, if not the best (animated or general) series ever produced in the west. season 2 has its merits; its entertaining, it has drama, etc., but the decline between season 1 and season 2 is difficult not to notice. season 2 really makes you realise: oh, yeah, this is based on League of Legends. its like s1 = arthouse movie, s2 = infinity war.
💯
It's been confirmed by various sources that Arcane was only approved for two seasons from the gate. The writters went into season 2, knowing that this was the last shot they had to tell their story. Yes, the plot feels super rushed at points. When I finished season 2 and looked back, it felt like I had watched 2 seasons of content condensed into one. But my take has been since the first 3 episodes dropped, and even still weeks after, I've finished the season that the writters did a phenomenal job with the time that they had. I've seen so much discourse complaining that they cut scene X instead of scene Y, but without the considerations that if they had cut scene Y instead of scene X, we'd still be in the same boat. It's frustrating to me to see so many people pointing at the show and saying, "This is bad because it's rushed therefore the writting is bad" when I, as a storyteller, think this is some of the highest tier work ever made when it comes to artistic direction, representation, and humanization. I have never seen such a range of race, gender, sexuality, ability, and personality portrayed with such respect and accuracy to real people. I've never seen mental health depicted so accurately in a way that is both respectful and feels real. Each and every character feels like a real person with strengths and flaws and struggles and relationships. You can compare Arcane to so many other works that have come out in the past few years, and few would even compare.
Yes, it's a bummer that many plotlines feel like a rock skipped over water, but that's not the fault of the writers or anyone directly involved with the show. That's the fault of Riot, Netflix, and whoever else made the decision to only give the writers two seasons to tell a story that couldn't be told without flaw in 18 episodes. Arcane is an absolute masterclass in good writing and writing a complete and compelling story in a small timeframe. The fact that people are out here fighting for their lives on dumb shit like the Jayce and Viktor relationship shows that Arcane is a whole different level of writing than other works. If you want to see actual bad writing, go watch Rings of Power or that Starwars Jedi vs. Sith movie (can't even remember what it was called it was so bad).
i hate arcane s2 i think no character has a satisfying arc and no story has a good conclusion. however i will be rewatching the Jayce and Viktor cosmic death scene on repeat because Fortiche (visuals) and the music + Ray Chen absolutely popped of. its suchhh a gorgeous scene and i still dont understand how they did the space scenes with the 3d characters looking 2d yet not but also yes, and the handdrawn/sketches of the ruins, and again the MUSIC?? insane.
however on future rewatches i think i'll just end after s1e9
I wouldn’t say that no story has a good conclusion because my queen Mel Medarda although they wanted to use her as a disposable black girlfriend ended up getting her own powerful resolution, and probably her own series in the future
@Nayawritess I personally dont think her story had a good conclusion - it was one of the few which had a conclusion, yes, but idk if id call it a good one? But that's opinion based, of course.
It felt very mcu-like. "Mel will return in [new series name]" ending. I do hope she'll be one of the actual Main main characters in the future noxus show, but, and maybe this is my personal hatred towards OP characters and my dislike for riot as a company: it feels like her whole story was not there so that Mel could get a good story, but only so that they could have a soft pilot for their next show and so they could make a new character for the game. Apart from learning magic and killing her mom idk if she had any personal character/emotional growth.
@ different strokes for different folks
@@isaw9969I agree. I can't see how killing everyone close to her is a good conclusion. She's literally lost everything when everyone else got happy endings - or died.
Lol I just blusted by the whisper 8:49 "in style 💫"
2:01 my feature? 😭
I disagree about Ekko "abandoning" a perfect life, fhat was not only not his lofe he was basically in another ekkos body... Anyone who thinks Ekko would do that doesnt understand his character and is imo not a good person
As for Melanthia, the way racist LGBTQ stans have used her as this whipping post is sickening, but nobody including you seems to want to point put the obvious
Vi and Caitlyn are complicated, i genuinely believe theyre a doomed relationship that is INTRINSICALLY flawed, i feel like the writers know that deep down and are laying the groundwork for more examinations of their relationship in future (every draft ive written has them broken up with Vi moving back to Zaun to be Chief Constable with Scar as her Deputy, courtesy of Sevika working out a deal where Zaun district polices itself, but they always endup hooking up whenever Cait has ro hoof it down to the lanes to pick up reports)
Their relationship as mich as people frown upon it as bad writing, is VERY reslistic, there are MANY people in couplings where there are distinct class/ political divides and power imblanaces so for people to call it bad writing shows that we're dealing with vapid lids and stunted gamers with no grasp on the real world
Now rhe problem i have with it is the idealisation of said relationships in a context where the one with the power in the relationship neither relquinqishes said power nor tries to (overtly) make ammends for their wrongs commited with said power (though many may think Cait doesnt have to do this becaise she lost her mom)
I also think this ties into the idea rhat Zaun shouldve had some fairytale vindication ending, idk what show they were watching but that was never going to be the case, and any storyline dping so wouldve been rightfully met with derision, Sevika got a seat on the Council.. SEVIKA, sure shes probably the most deserving, but this is a HUGE step for a city that barely sees Zaunites as human half the time, she now has a voice and hopefully power to go along with it that isnt just vestigial, she also seems to have allies on the council in Shoola (Bald black lady with gold clock chain) and the xpu cilnbeing full of complete newcomers mean its a spmewhat level playing field
Salo
Jayce
HD
Badok
Bald wine merchant runix cube guy
&Kassandra are ALL gone
So that leaves Sevika Shoola Mel (temporarily? Vacated seat?) Caitlyn or her dad? and a bunch of newbys we dont know who seem to make up the ferrix clan and others who jave never held seats before, so Sevika, even though ahes being looked down has more allies and equal footing in that room as a war hero than the majority of council members do, i see this as an absolute W
lets chat x