WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ARCANE SEASON TWO
Arcane recently released the first three episodes of season two on November 9th, and fans have already formed very mixed feelings about it.
After season one’s release in 2021, it was an immediate success with League of Legends fans, old and new. Season two was soon announced when viewers were in awe with the animation and story telling.
Season two picks up right where we left off in season one, with Jinx firing a missle at the Piltover council after a heated fight with Vi and Caitlyn. It then shows the devastating aftermath of the attack with many of the head council members perishing, along with Caitlyns mother Cassandra.
The opening scene of the first episode was extremely well done, story and animation wise. The way it shows the drastic aftermath of the attack and how it effects everybody is carried out really well through their animation choices.
Everything about the pacing of these three episodes were amazing, immediately drawing in the watcher. I like how the focus of this season seems to be leaning more towards Caitlyn and Viktor. The changes made to not just their designs but personalities were honestly really shocking, especially Caitlyn completely switching up on her season one morals after being blinded by rage from the attack.
A scene that I found really impactful, especially to Caitlyn’s character development, is Cassandra’s funeral. This scene was beautifully done, with the backgrounds being gray and traditionally drawn out with charcoal, littered with lilac flowers. The way the animated characters stood out from the dim background really showed how this event affected Caitlyn. I see this scene as foreshadowing of Caitlyn’s anger, and it stands as the beginning of her need for revenge.
I find Caitlyn to be the most interesting character this season. Her interactions with Vi didn’t seem as heartfelt and genuine as they did in the first season. While in season one Caitlyn is on Vi’s side and defends the undercity, in season two Caitlyn is the polar opposite, vowing to gas the very city she fought so hard to protect.
Seeing her go from a sheltered guard who wants to unite the upper and lower city to basically a textbook dictator was such a compelling choice by the writers. Honestly, many of her actions were purely manipulative this season, especially towards Vi, which just adds so many interesting layers to their relationship.
Most of the relationships this season were teared at the seams in very heartbreaking ways. Watching Vi and Caitlyn’s relationship change every episode was a rollercoaster of emotions.
One aspect I’m especially happy about is Vi and Caitlyn’s relationship being confirmed to be romantic.
The way their chemistry quickly turned to tension was a very intriguing build up. I feel like now that they’re romantically involved, all of Caitlyn’s actions just seem all the more evil. She’s not just manipulating a random undercity prisoner anymore, but her girlfriend. This change also makes every decision she chooses even more personal towards Vi.
Caitlyn’s main goal in the beginning of this season is to capture or kill Jinx. She is driven by revenge, and eventually convinces Vi to join her in being an enforcer. Being an enforcer goes against all of Vi’s morals since they were the very people that killed her parents. I find that Vi’s willingness to join Caitlyn in her hunt for Jinx is fueled only by her love of Caitlyn.
All of Vi’s choices this season seemed very reluctant, almost like she isn’t sure what to do with herself anymore, and all she has left is fighting and Caitlyn. Caitlyns dehumanization of Jinx eventually seeps into Vi, making her see Jinx as not her sister, but Caitlyn’s target. The drastic change in their relationship this season made perfect sense for two people as stubborn as them.
Seeing all the changes made to characters this season was really sad, but the buildup was extremely rewarding. Victor’s desire to survive and be cured of his illness was one of his main goals in season one, while season two combats this by making him survive, but he’s barely human anymore.
His relationship with Jayce has always been interesting to me, but my interest piqued in the first episode of season two. Viktor abandons Jayce after he’d worked for weeks to keep Viktor alive. This switch up was a lot like Vi and Caitlyn, and even Vi and Jinx, with one of them being betrayed and abandoned.
Overall, I really enjoyed the first three episodes of this season. While I’m really bummed that a lot of characters dynamics and personal relationships from season one were destroyed, I think this was a really compelling choice.
Seeing characters’ hope turn to hate was so engaging. It’s almost like playing a game of will they won’t they, since so much is at stake right now. The animators and directors did an amazing job telling the story they wanted to tell. Whether its through the animation, dialogue, or characters, Arcane stands as one of the best animations I’ve ever watched.
