Arcane is Depressingly Perfect

[@delphoxhoopa7289]

Ekko's back must need surgery. He undebatably broke it from carrying the fate of the world on it. Joking aside, Arcane was more than just a TV show. It was an experience. And, Holy God, it was an amazing one. It had its flaws, but I truly enjoyed being along for the ride, and I say this as someone who got into the series a couple of months ago.

[@themoonlit-wolf3773]

Mans needs a back brace fr

[@charlestonjew7587]

It can't be stressed enough how amazing the art in the animation is that you can randomly freeze just about any frame and make it a wallpaper.

[@surbhi6448]

as an ex-league player there's actually more characters in piltover and zaun that weren't covered in the show at all, plus some characters from other nations these characters have relations with so I think we have a good chance of seeing these areas again in the future (plus, the creators did confirm on twitter that we WILL be seeing them again at some point even if the story isn't about them anymore)

[@jaques5954]

im devastated that season 3 isnt happening, but at the same time, my heart couldnt take another round of this

[@hardbasskvass597]

Arcane to me feels like something new and fresh. It gave me the same unique feeling when I got from watching the LotR trilogy for the first time but 10 times more. There's nothing like it

[@cattievogelsong96]

One thing that i have been trying to express in different places is just how personally affecting the art choice in the funeral was for me. The beautiful black and white blur. With just a few things in focus and color. So good. This is animation as a medium being used to the fullest. But personally it connected with me. When i was at my grandfather’s funeral. The only grandparent i had ever gotten to know in life. I was surrounded my strangers. Surrounded by people i had met before but didn’t know. His funeral was an extremely isolating experience. You’re in a packed room and painfully alone. Most movies and TV shows go for a different message or esthetic for their funeral scenes. And I can’t relate. I would have loved to not feel alone at that funeral. I was isolated from my own close family. They could not relate to what i was personally going through and that was worse. Caitlyn’s own father is blurry in the background. I love they made that choice. I really appreciate this show for making the scene the way they did. It was really cathartic in a way i didn’t know i needed.

[@Wolfy_Jen]

The little white cloud pet that Heimerdinger has is called a Poro! And yes, there are plushies of it.

[@janschonhofer5049]

Fun fact : the Ekko and Jinx dance scene is 4 fps to represent the time Ekko can go back in time ( 4 seconds)

[@jamesgardner6707]

Spin the wheel is my new favorite song

[@TrueShadowMR]

I think that representation of his time reverting ability indicates that Ekko wants to stay in this moment forever

[@procrobat]

You were worried about the fact that you had nothing to say that wasn't already said, but I had a lot of fun listening to you gush about Arcane anyways! Love the video

[@troikas3353]

Overly charitable read on Silco I think. He’s a damaged man victimized by Piltovers systemic failures snd classism yes, and at some point he had good intentions but thats long in the past. His rhetoric of freedom and brotherhood sounds noble, and he may even believe it himself, but all his actions point to control and revenge being his pure driving motivation. Everything he does hurts his people, he butchers them without hesitation and spreads a horrifically destructive drug for money and power. After episode three we never see him actively hurt Piltover in any way, and even then he didn’t murder those enforcers for brutalizing his people for Topside, he paid them to brutalize his people for him instead for revenge on Vander. He put violent criminals in positions of authority in Undercity, criminals that tell him flat out they don’t care about his supposed want for revolution they just want to exploit Undercity for themselves. Silco’s attachment to Powder was also never about her being his daughter. He was going to murder her until random chance allowed him to project himself onto her. He spends years grooming her to be the violent, paranoid image of perfection he has in his head and suppresses any part of her that doesn’t align with it. He isolates her from any chance to form other more healthy attachments so he remains her only source of affection, the thing her codependency coping mechanism needs, and he gaslights her about her surviving family to pit her against those who might help her. Control is how he deals eith his own trauma and that need for control is why he wouldn’t give her up In the end. His grip on his empire is falling spart, his inside man in Topside is gone, his power play didn’t stop the crimelords from rebelling and even Sevika gave him an ultimatum that if he doesnt get his shit together she wont be there to save him from the next challenger. Jinx is the only thing he still has absolute control over and he digs his claws into her like a drowning man, not caring or even aware of how he was destroying her. Only caring that she stayed leashed to him. She could be an emotionally exhausted, self destructive, paranoid wreck hopped up on his purple meth and barely clinging to reality but so long as she was his thats all that mattered. His “your perfect” might be one of the most vile lines of villain dialogue ever written. Silco’s a fantastically written, complex villain. But while he may have occupied a paternal figures role, he was actually a very well crafted depiction of an emotional abuser. A victim turned victimizer who trapped Powder in a cycle of abuse. Its no coincidence that she starts to improve after hes gone, after she escapes his toxic grip, and forms the kind of healthy bond with someone else he spent S1 preventing.

[@penpees]

👏👏

[@tompatompsson]

I mean, he was getting ready for war in ep3 then all his shimmer was blown up and he had to start over presumedly. Then they invent hextech at the same which means that more than just some shimmer is needed. The reason he doesn't attack piltover seems very obvious to me: if he does before they are ready they draw their attention and lose their advantage. Your read is absurdly pessimistic. You are judging his raising of powder/jinx based on our world. Here? Yes it's f:ed up get her psychiatric help etc. In the undercity? There was once ONE asylum there which was just about the worst thing ever created(mundo was the result). He teaches her how to survive in the undercity, is it manipulative? Is teaching your kids not to antanogize crackheads manipulative?

[@TheKeyser94]

Yordles cant technically die, they are made literally of magic, when they die they are teleport to their original dimension that they can come back to Runeterra later, meaning that Ekko would have to wait a few months to Heimerdinger go all the way back to Piltover, maybe find Jinx in the way, seeing war is sparking in the continent.

[@nkosig4995]

Just played ruined king and I can say that this level of character development and representation is actually linked to the whole lore of runeterra and can be seen in other league of legends content

[@thatgermanview5721]

You can see the Arcane everywhere in the whole world. It is real, or at least the closest thing to reality we ever got. 'Awaken' cinematic is a trailer of what is to come and I am so excited that I just cant hide it.

[@nkosig4995]

@thatgermanview5721 that too but I mean like strong well written and complex female characters too

[@leyagame583]

Riot Forge games were incredible for the characters of Runeterra when it was the game's focus (except Convergence, we don't talk about it). Ruined King is just awesome, Mageseeker gives necessary depth to Sylas and Lux (okay, they already kinda had it, but it makes them even better). Song of Nunu is adorable. It's such a shame that they didn't make more, but oh well, Riot learnt nothing from LOR and didn't even try to properly advertize them.

[@thatgermanview5721]

@@nkosig4995 Yeah I liked that as well when I was at the surface of Arcane. Mainly because Hollywood has failed for 20 years and we got like 6 strong female champions in one show. There is also some really funny jokes about CaitVi, right underneath the surface. Just be careful for the trap.

[@qaztim11]

@@leyagame583 Riot Forge Studios where a net loss for the company, but damn I wish they continued making them, they carried the worldbuilding of Runeterra so hard for a while. At least LoR gave Fortiche the inspiration for the day-to-day lives of the Piltovans and Zaunites, and it also has plenty of inspiration for the next regions they are going to adapt too. It's a shame that riot does not know how to market things that are not Arcane and League skins, Riot forge was something special, and i hope they can continue that design ethos with the MMO and future shows.

[@kmake815]

I am so glad you finally decided to talk about Arcane, and I was hoping you would because I love your show analyses! Keep up the good work 🔥

[@jamesgardner6707]

I didnt watch Arcane when it initially came out and didn't understand the hype around it. I saw Jinx cosplay a lot over the last couple of years but just chalked it up to another weeb cosplay that i didn't understand . I did, however, try to watch Arcane a couple of times but failed miserably and didnt get past the first minutes of the first episode over the last 3 years. Then last week, idk what made me try it one more time? But im happy i did, bc im now obsessed with this world, especially with Jinx. God willing, the next season comes out within the time it took for this season to be made.

[@Joeda89]

21:50 Abbess's theme on sacrifice in this show is SO GOOD! She and Victor sacrifice, but not from themselves. Even when Victor sacrifices his humanity it's Sky that pays for it. Ambessa sacrifices everyone but herself. Contrasted with Cait/Jinx/Ekko/Heimer, and plenty more Im sure, who all sacrifice either something close to them or the happiness or themselves directly. Oh it's so painfully good.

[@abigailaceves9230]

I did NOT expect Arcane to be this amazing the first time I watched it & now it is one of my favorite shows of all time. Sure I was wish for more time during season 2 (either having hour long episodes or 4 episodes for each act) but I think it did an amazing job. Also, I hope you do a Silent Hill f video.

[@cattievogelsong96]

It still pains me so much that all of the really compelling political themes, specifically classism, segregation and police brutality. They were doing so well. Yes they did the whole good people on both sides but they did it about as well as that can be done. This is largely because the characters with privilege and ignorance do not use this as an excuse or as a justification. It isn’t a “you ment well so it isn’t personal.” The shows tells us that even if you do not act out of malice. If you are not actively hurting people. You are still part of the system. You are still part of the brutality. The system needs to be torn down in a way that it is really hard to rebuild as it is. One of the poinent messages for the time we are in today is how segregation creates justification for brutality. You don’t see the suffering people. You don’t breathe their polluted air or have to filter their polluted water. Out of sight out of mind. They upheaval happens and “why are the poor over there not happy with just being told sorry. Trust us we will try to make it better but not if you make us uncomfortable.” Or “there are good people on both sides so the sides are equal. The pain and losses of the privileged are just as valid so we are in the same boat.” Season one does not allow characters to get away with these excuses. Season two the nuance is slowly left in the cutting room floor. I know the magic and the fight are fun and interesting. But the politics are an important backbone of the show. A big part of these characters and the choices they make. Dropping the politics to focus on magic, drama and fighting was a mistake in my opinion. And yes at minimum we should have had three seasons. We were robbed. This was long but i still have so much could say. If anyone disagrees or wants a better explanation of anything i am happy to talk to anyone because i need someone to talk to about this show.

[@intisarannafi1231]

Yeah, that's probably my only issue with it. Like topside Vs undercity could have been a whole arch. One more season would have been perfect.

[@Sherneo_Blightshade]

24:22 It’s called a Poro! 💖

[@Diligantsportsman4920]

This show was truly beautiful it was amazing. Truly this was our arcane everything from ekko, to jinx to the characters is amazing the animation, to the fighting and the lines is amazing.

[@Jasonwolf1495]

It also depresses me, but that's cause the end is so scuffed. Viktor's story needed wayyyyyy more time in the oven, and Isha ended up as a total plot device of a character. For the most part it really just screams "we needed two more seasons", but they decided to try and tell like 14 different major characters' unique stories and it just stumbles for it. I'm just gonna choose to believe the series ends like minutes early in episode 6 and Warwick just kills everybody then runs off to live in the sewers.

[@Ironorchids]

Thanks for the video! ❤ and edited to say, I got your Golden Girls/Blanche sound, that was hilarious

[@starlightfrost]

i have been watching your channel for the winx videos and as a 10 year(on and off) lol player and lover of arcane(jinx supremacy) i love this video

[@maxanderson3733]

Interesting way to praise a show. I'm IN!

[@alfreddiogu92]

I alway saw Jayce and Vi as better version of Yang and Ironwood

[@TitanXecutor]

And they are

[@creamyisdead]

Correct

[@a.t.trujillo9970]

When I saw Jinx with all of her hair down and it felt like kind of in a mileage to Rapunzel but it's all just sad it's not Whimsical it's sad disheartening a representation of how she doesn't know what to do anymore now that she has lost the only person who made her want to keep on living

[@colpul2103]

Just to be the actual 'umm, actually' lore guy (my payoff for the hours reading those short stories): Hiemerdinger did not 'die', well sort of maybe but then instantly he was alive again in Bandle City. He's a Yordle and Yourdles aren't so much immortal as that it is impossible for them to actually die. They are made of Spirit Magic, when they 'die' in Runeterra they instantly respawn in their home realm, a pocket in the Spirit Realm named Bandle City. Arcane has messed with the old lore but you really can't mess with Yordle's not dying without unwinding the whole magic system of Runeterra and bedrock base the lore is built on. Plus, so many of the Yordle champions' stories, motivations, and in game abilities are built off their being magic beings that cannot die. Look at VEX, her whole character and kit is gone if there's a way for her to die. Point being, this isn't something that's a contained lore change like Singed being Corin Reveck, Orianna's father. Basically, League without Spirit Magic would be like Star Wars without the Force. TLDR: Hiemie's not dead and they can't really retcon the lore to make him dead.

[@customink1576]

Jinx says there's no good version of herself; in the episode before that one, in the alternate universe, she's in a happy relationship with Ekko and gets along well with just about everyone. A good version.

[@vampchic16]

and it's not because our version of jinx is deficit but because alternate jinx was given a chance and proper love :(

[@magicalgio]

I put off watching this show for so long and god do i regret it. It was so so so good

[@KeeKage37]

8:50 Love how victors new design actually utilizes his third arm as a halo protection. Gotta keep that Jesus imaginary going.

[@jamescampbell2096]

Scary fact: one of, if not the most powerful demons in the world of rune terra is called Fidelsticks and those birds that Jinx is associated with are also associated with him And Fidilsticks can’t speak but can repeat what he hears and when he runs into Jinx in game he says ‘all your fault, all your fault’ Did I mention that he feeds on fear So yes the implaction is that he was watching the whole time

[@EliseMcDonald-g3u]

This show is so cool! Love it so much 😊

[@OpticalSorcerer]

Haven't got into the show, but it's always fun seeing you branch out! There's other shows I'd love you to cover, but idk if you've seen them.

[@Sylusander]

This is literally how I feel about Brandon Sanderson's Storm light Archives.

[@171QA]

Great video.

[@niloticnya]

YESSSS THIS VIDEO DROPPED

[@notdante1151]

Good show leave you with good memory. Great show leave you with a void that can't be fill. Before Arcane SS2 drop I was having ton of fun with current popular anime like Dan Dan Da and Bleach. After Arcane I can't go back and watch them without thinking or comparing them to Arcane and it ruined the experience.

[@thebloodyarchon5013]

I think the term you're looking for is "a straight line", thomas. It wasn't even a shape, that how bad Ambessa was, y'all. May she forever rot in whatever awful dimension serves as runeterras hell. On a more positive note, I can't wait to see what Mel does with Noxus, that better be in one of the new spinoffs I've been hearing about so much.

[@DarkChaos1986]

Yordles don't die, their bodies respawn in Bandle City after they get destroyed, that's why he said "see you soon". In a couple of months he will be back to Piltover.

[@TitanXecutor]

So far on Episode 6 of season 2 and while this season is not perfect so far, it's still good, and the show is still fantastic!

[@charlestonjew7587]

Shout out to the Justice League reference. Another great show from yesteryear.

[@TheKeyser94]

Maybe you didn't notice something, by Jayce trying to kill Viktor he accelerated what he was trying to stop, and destroying the remaining of humanity that Vander had left.

[@justhaku9240]

Yknow ive watched quite a few critical videos on season 2, and a lot of the complaints boiling down to "its an unfinished mess heavily compromised vision they should have done 5 seasons" or even once or twice I heard "Jinx changes she not the same character" (character development what?! how dare they" people just looking to be mad at something even w something so great as this

[@maybe8985]

Idk, the ending was so rushed and this open ending left so many plot lines unfinished… We have the same fav characters though 😌

[@Strix2031]

only mel got an open ending tbh and thats probably sequel bait

[@Thefelstalker]

Wonderful video. Last time Arcane was a hot topic, every content creator looking for a cheap joke would talk about how league of legends was a horrible horrible game and it's players were horrible horrible people. Only they used more colorful language than just "horrible". Not wanting to play league is perfectly reasonable. And I don't think it took a lot of restraint to avoid intentionally insulting those who play, but I still thank you for not.

[@YamaguchiGroup]

What texturing? Lmao every frame has been painstakingly hand painted, lady LOL THAT is what makes Arcane such a work of art. They literally chose the path of most resistance.

[@YamaguchiGroup]

Like seriously that question was asked by the Bridging the Rift interviewer to one of the artists at Fortiche. How did you not pick this up?

[@tukeromandela8005]

Arcane is a perfect example of what $250 million should look like

[@shaggyrogers6769]

I’m sorry, but I hate Cait She goes full blown facist dictator, gassing people, trying to shoot a CHILD, hitting VI for stopping her And no, her grieving her mother and being influenced by Ambessa are not excuses To clarify, The fact that she went there it’s not what pisses me off,but rather the fact that she did and then faces no concequences whatsoever P.D. I do like jayvick, but the way many of it’s fans have been so racist to Mel kind of ruins it for me

[@jmjackson2041]

That's the world they are in though. No consequences for high society, endless beatdowns for the poor even if blameless is the whole basis for the show. To be fair to her when she faces Jinx she says "no amount of good deeds can wipe away OUR crimes" and she actually gives up her quest for vengence when she sees the ridiculously depraved lengths Singed hs gone to for his daughters love. Singed is way worse than Cait, he's the biggest pos in Arcane by a billion million miles and he gets everything he wants and walks away to warcrime another day. Only Cait out of the nominally "good" characters even knows he exists.

[@shaggyrogers6769]

@ Idk of this Is controversial or not, but I think that what Cait did was much worse that what Jinx did

[@jmjackson2041]

@@shaggyrogers6769 Cait used the apparatus of the state provided by her families political connections to pursue a personal vendetta on a mentally ill vagrant via collective punishment of an entire nation in full knowledge of what she was doing. Jinx is that mentally ill vagrant, for most if not all of Jinx bad decisions Jinx was either outright psychotic or in extreme personal distress. Even if they were the same, Cait is still worse, she was sane when going off on one but I actually agree. The council had it coming, they are all either criminally negligent (Heimer, Jayce) in their duties or actively profiteering (Mel and the rest of the council) from an entire regions misery and have been for decades. Arguably the only innocent person Jinx has ever deliberately hurt was Viktor and he was only there by chance.

[@tomasmaniago5832]

Agreed, they even went as far as to openly draw the parallels between Cait and Jinx with Vi calling her out in ep3 right before they break up. It could've been a great opportunity to have Cait rethink her descisions down the line and try to atone for them, a proper redemption arc. But I guess there was no time for that. Cait losing an eye in the final battle seems like the writer's way of having her "atone" for her actions.

[@penpees]

Calling Silco ‘dad of the year’…

[@mateolopez6291]

You are a breath of fresh air from TheJudgementalCritter

[@CoquetteCygnet]

wait we have the same top 3 faves 😭😭

[@xwixy9994]

you don't actually need to play League to get into the world! (and the game itself doesn't have much lore in it otside of voice lines here and there anyways) there is a whole website dedicaded to the lore of Runeterra there are little promotional shorts for the card game they have (which also has more lore and much more cohesive art direction than the original game) there are short stories about characters on the mentioned website you can read any time so there are plenty of ways to dive into this world without engaging with League of Legends itself although, you should bear in mind that the lore of the games and the lore of the Arcane are a bit different Riot is planning on making Arcane the main canon, but it requires a lot of retconning that is yet to be donen so whatever you will find differs somewhat from what you saw in the show

[@SenturosGaviannus]

The worst thing is not knowing whats next. Like are we going to follow Jinx or are we going bare again in a new place? I really want VII Jinx Kaitlyn and Ekko back. Because i dont play the game and wont. I Just wanna know we will see them all again and I'll rest happy.

[@huseyinatalay4861]

I don't think we will see them again in the next series. Runeterra(basically the earth of League of Legends universe) is such a big realm and there are too much stories to tell about very different kinds. Witches, mages, gods,demigods,vastayas, yordles,darkins,cosmic creatures... The list goes on and on. Watching Piltover and Zaun's story was fun but most of the characters in Arcane was just human beings with no magic. When you compare them to other characters in Runeterra, they look very ordinary. But recently there is this theory that Jinx might be seen in the next series as she travels around the Runeterra

[@SenturosGaviannus]

@@huseyinatalay4861 I hope so. Because you need someone the audence loved to mold you into the next series. More so if most of us are LoL players. Because it could get to big to keep track of or expand past what we loved in the first place.

[@krystalhelpmeez666]

14 hours

[@tacticstories7159]

I loved the series until the last episode. It was just whiplash. In one moment Jinx is trying to kill herself, in the other she is just her usual self. Also the return of dead characters started to annoy me. Especially Vander. After his third death, I just didn't care anymore. And I also didn't like that a story about society, classes and oppression turned into Naruto where two dudes suddenly fight for the fate of the world.

[@ДаниярБаранкулов]

Personaly absolutely hate how they ended Arcane at two season but essentially they did not end the story of Arcane they only used Arcane as a setup for Marvelification of League's lore they full on teased a Noxian show at the end with Mel and Swains Raven and Cait saying the story is not over which it literally isnt cuz nothing was resolved The heavy theming of how Class division and poverty destroys peoples lives was thrown out of the window in season 2 just cuz Riot decided that going the rout of MCU was good idea so they had to finish Arcane at season two but also forcefully introduce magick to Arcanes universe( which in season 1 plot wise RELIED on absence of said magic which is why the invention of Hextech was so important) so that they could untroduce other regions without them clashing with "Arcane lore" . As a enjoyer of the show and a fan of League's lore i am dissatisfied and disappointed on both fronts .As a viewer im disappointed with haphazard resolution of the class conflict by going the route of AaAWaa LeTs GiVe A PeRsOn FrOm ThE UnDeRgRoUnD A sEAt aT tHe CoUnCiL as if its gonna change shit And as League fan i hate the MCUfication of Arcane .

[@horpanha3533]

people hate s2 cause it was rush. Alot of what if like. Cop gang s2 ep1 fish guy no dialog but super brave axe monster to help maddie , rushing to plant a bomb , maddie just traitor with out self why betray her city and love of cait for Power from ambassa . lorist (shield guy) why look so sad , left cop job cause of bull shit politic Ambassa promoting Caitlin , go drink with VI than left there alot of story in the background if we had season 3 they could have perfected it by like viktor said ( There is no prize to perfection Only an end to pursuit ) bro piltover & zaun is a small city if u think it big wait till u see 3 empire at war it going to cost alot more money and time to perfect S3

[@myplace4play]

Season 1 is masterpiece. Season 2 is garbage because of significantly devolved writing.