Arcane Season 2 Act 1: A Strong Start

 This blog post will be discussing spoilers for Arcane Seasons 1 & 2. I am writing this after watching the entirety of Season 2 in order to have a better informed opinion on the series as a whole, though I will only be discussing a specific Act in this blog. Enjoy reading!

    After a little over three years of anticipation, the much-awaited second and final season of Arcane had big shoes to fill to make up for the legendary first installment in the series. In the time between the release of season 1 and 2, I have gone from a League hater to a League addict, and as a result, I have learned much more about the lore and world of Arcane/Runeterra, making me more invested in how certain stories would turn out in season 2. Having said this, I went into watching this season (with Wade) with high expectations, an open mind, and a ton of excitement. But did Arcane season 2 deliver on the hype?

    Short answer: Act 1 absolutely did. If I had to describe the three first episodes released for season two without spoiling anything, I would say that these episodes nailed exactly what they needed to be: a cohesive continuation from the cliffhanger ending of season 1, delivering on setups from the first season and introducing new concepts that will pay off later in the season. While not flawless, I believe that these episodes are the best 3-episode run from the entire season. Briefly touching on each episode, I plan to give a quick summary for each episode, and then discuss what I liked/didn't like about Act 1 as a whole, in order to give a comprehensive and detailed explanation for why I believe these episodes were so good.

    Episode 1, "Heavy Is the Crown," wastes no time with following up on season one's finale cliffhanger with Jinx's missile hitting the Piltover council and showing the audience the aftermath of the blast, including casualties, mourning, and then the surprise attack from Zaun during the memorial for the missile victims. This resolves the main question of what immediately happens after the last season's finale and also introduces some of this season's main story arcs, like Viktor's transformation, Caitlyn's descent into hate and fascism, and Ambessa's scheming to grab power in Piltover. This episode could've been very heavy handed with all of the switching between perspectives, but it managed to juggle every character and their stories with grace and excitement, though this was facilitated due to the fact it only focused on Piltover characters rather than Zaun's cast.

    Episode 2, "Watch It All Burn," does the logical next step and instead switches perspectives to focus on the state of Zaun following Jinx's missile attack, and more importantly, how the undercity has reacted to Silco's death. The introductory music video for "Sucker" is a standout for this season, mixing good music, striking visuals, and wordless storytelling to illustrate how any semblance of order in Zaun has collapsed, with rival gangs fighting over the scraps of power in the vacuum left by Silco. In this episode, Jinx meets Isha, a new child character that will follow her this season, though for anyone with an ounce of media literacy, it is obvious that this child was introduced to die later and serve as motivation. Still, giving Jinx a mute character to accompany her is a refreshing idea, and gives them a fun dynamic that develops throughout the season. Additionally, the trio of Jayce, Heimerdinger, and Ekko is formed in this episode, with each representing the past, present, and future in their perspectives, leading to a fun dynamic that also provides the backbone of philosophical discussion for this season, in my opinion. In another standout moment of the season, there is a fight scene with Jinx and Sevika as they fight Smeech, a cybernetic rat-creature gang leader, which was one of my favorite fast-paced musical fight sequences. By the end of the episode, Viktor has become more machine than man, and with the guidance of the Arcane, he begins healing people in Zaun and establishing the seeds for his cult, setting up the main conflict for the season.

    Episode 3, "Finally Got The Name Right," starts off with an explosively intense opening music sequence, following Caitlyn and her task force of enforcers as they effectively do a police brutality montage through Zaun, capturing the burning hatred Caitlyn has for the undercity and Jinx as they use excessive force over and over against the denizens of the undercity. I absolutely adored these visuals and the music that went alongside it, I think it was my favorite opening from the entire show. Right after this, we have a brief scene with Ambessa that introduces the threat of the Black Rose secret society, giving more insight into why she is desperate for the development of Hextech weaponry. The main focus of the episode after these introductory sequences are the dual scenes of Heimerdinger, Ekko, and Jayce's trio discovering the wild rune at the base of the Hexgates, and the fight scene between Jinx, Vi, Sevika, and Caitlyn at the Janna shrine. These scenes transition into each other flawlessly with the song Ashes and Blood playing the entire time, melding the trippy psychedelic sequences of the wild rune with the explosive action and fight choreography of the Janna shrine fight. This is one of, if not the best sequence in the entire show, and I believe it is this aspect of the episode that makes episode 3 one of the best episodes in the season.

    After that sequence, the rest of episode 3 dedicates itself to setting up the arcs in the second act, primarily focusing on Caitlyn and Vi's breakup, as well as finally pairing Ambessa and Caitlyn together as the fascist duo in control of Piltover. I really liked this pairing, as their partnership fulfills a need both characters need: Ambessa's need for control and power, and Caitlyn's need to sink into her hatred and violence towards Zaun, which has finally reached a boiling point after Vi prevented her from killing Jinx and Isha. Mel is also captured by the Black Rose, which sets up her arc for the season as she uncovers her mother's secrets and eventually, her own magical abilities.

    Overall, Act 1 of Arcane Season 2 is phenomenal, nailing exactly what people wanted from a second season of Arcane, and delivering even more than what people could expect with its musical sequences, odd character pairings, and introduction of the Black Rose, which is a fan-favorite reference that people weren't expecting. Every character's writing remains consistent and realistic, especially regarding Caitlyn's descent into hatred for Zaun. I've seen people call her arc in this act rushed, but I really think it captured how time and time again, she had given Zaun a chance that most Piltovens wouldn't, and every time she has shown patience, it had hurt her, resulting in her mother's assassination and the massacre at her memorial. It's a misdirected but valid path that her emotions take, culminating in the continuation of the class commentary the show has provided with Piltover and Zaun as twin cities.

    If I had to give any critiques for this Act, they would be more nit-picky than I would write for the later acts, as you'll see soon. I did feel a little shaky about the introduction of the Black Rose, because while I really enjoyed the reference and was super hyped as a League fan, I couldn't help but think about how random this must've felt for some Arcane-only viewers. Moving forward, the Black Rose storyline is completely irrelevant to all characters except for Mel and Ambessa, which feels like less of a big, bad threat and more of a distraction compared to the other more immediate threats this season. Beyond that, though, I was on board with pretty much all other decisions made for this Act. Everything flowed well narratively, the art direction was peak, and it was consistently engaging to watch. I loved Act 1, but unfortunately, you'll soon see that my feelings about the rest of the season are.. less perfect.