*ARCANE* is going to ruin me... | S1- Part 2 | First Time Watching | (reaction/commentary/review)

[@jimberjamber8540]

This show is a masterclass in show don't tell. They didn't need to add a "however many years later" tag in the beginning. You pick up on how different everything and everyone is without even a word spoken about how many years it's been. Incredible storytelling.

[@midnight1672]

It soooo is. I've recently watched the Anime "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End" and I really love it to bits for the story it's telling (tears me up just like Arcane does). However I really wish it'd do an even remotely as good job with visual storytelling as Arcane does. But then again, Arcane has really set the bar very, very high in that regard, and animes in general seem to be a big offender in the characters-explain-situation-in-long-monologues department.

[@dearthofdoohickeys4703]

⁠@@midnight1672 yeah anime’s have a (imo bad) habit of shoehorning backstory _right_ when it becomes relevant, instead of setting it up early and then paying it off later. Once you notice it you can’t unsee it. You end up with these big expositions dumps halfway through action scenes so that the scales can tip (which literally happens in Frieren). I think it’s because mangas are often written and released weekly; the story’s have to be more self-contained and the plot needs to be overtly explained. Arcane however was developed over a period of 6 years. It’s a completely different level of writing and polish.

[@DoppelSkumm]

"Arcane is going to ruin me".... Yes.... Yes it is. Buckle up...

[@jacksondavies3595]

That's an understatement. Grab onto the bars, and don't look down.

[@LazySmurf78248]

Yeah waiting for the 3 years was grueling 🥲

[@willsell456]

The next video title: I need Therapy. He didn't buckle up enough.

[@BrolysShadow_]

26:20 Every time I see her look at the scoreboard I can hear Milo saying "You were twice the person at half her age."

[@midnight1672]

Yup. We've got to remember that the pre-time-skip Vi has a higher score than present-day Jinx.

[@tbhgodrick6120]

@@midnight1672but even then, it’s also a stunning realization that Jinx/Powder has ALWAYS trying to hold herself to her sister’s standard when they aren’t the same type of fighter. Of course the genius gunslinger isn’t as good at brawling as the brawler. It reminds me of the phrase “If you judge a fish’s ability by being able to climb a tree, it will live its entire life believing that it is stupid.” She feels like she has to be as good a brawler as Vi, but in reality she can do so much that Vi can’t. Vi even said “I have these and you have those” trying to tell her not to try to be a shadow of her but instead just to be herself.

[@cielsteam]

Shit, I never noticed that. That’s such a good observation.

[@batmanvsjoker7725]

In case it wasn't already heartbreaking, it turns out that Jinx's tattoos are the blue smoke from the flare she uses to call her sister. Don't mind me, Imma just go cry in the corner.

[@Hohum37]

Vi's tattoos are of gadgets - what's Powder known for making?

[@hmmthatsinterestinglol]

There’s an alternative theory the blue smoke is from the explosion from episode 3 ;-;

[@Hohum37]

@@hmmthatsinterestinglol Something that she definitely doesn't enjoy remembering?

[@bithemit9074]

but how would she know what color the flare was going to be before using it

[@Skqlark]

@@bithemit9074 I think that its more of something for viewers to notice rather than something jinx canonically did -- like a reference -- the idea is sad though, if she did manage to figure out it was blue beforehand

[@Melodymist]

One of the writers for the show describes the characters as "either doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, or doing the right thing for the wrong reasons." And yeah, looking back on it, that definitely fits, lol.

[@Joey_Mendez]

"I don't think we've actually seen Silco lose his temper or anything. He's been so calm the entire series." Silco at the end of that episode: *does the Cha-Cha Slide on someone's head* Perfect Timing 😂

[@alex._420]

33:13 "that's rude!" Yes indeedstabbing can often be seen as rude XDD

[@lilscenechick1995]

Vi: “Ow. That’s rude. I thought we were having a nice conversation.”

[@hellofwinnie]

"Frowned upon in most societies"

[@itsnotrael]

that's rough buddy

[@liaml.e.5964]

Pfff, tis' but a flesh wound.

[@natebrown7968]

Wdym? It's how every good conversation in Britain starts!

[@mibadada]

23:54 your comment about how even the best free-runners in the world need to know the specific location and have it all mapped out is getting me emotional... it's been years of nothing but prison walls, but Vi still remembers this city, and the muscle memory of navigating its rooftops is in her bones

[@caseyh8386]

The fact that Skye has been so interested in Victor since childhood ♥ I also love how you only know through another child calling her name, they don't throw some clunky dialogue in anywhere, you either work it out or you don't. Love that in writing

[@mh56487]

I love how they make it so subtle and in the background to show how Victor doesn't even realize it himself. He's so preoccupied with science and his own issues that he never stops to form any real human connections. Some people call Skye a bad character because she barely has any lines, but I think her being shafted to the side is perfect to symbolize how Victor disregards love in favor of science

[@Summer_and_Rain]

I only just pickup on that now :D It makes sense that Victor is busy with the fear of his death, but it also shows that Skye has probably been attempting to bond with him, without him knowing because he is so used to being isolated from his peers.

[@valeriegrindinger6294]

@@Summer_and_Rain I mean for what its worth, she is still his assistant, i guess due to his own doing. So there might be more history to them both than what is shown.

[@Dreznin]

It's honestly something that I didn't really catch until my third watch through or so... her name is spoken so infrequently that it's an easy miss, but a really amazing little detail.

[@gcldvnblytz]

Pls I love that it took him until the end of ep 5 to realize Powder changed her name to Jinx

[@ShilohSmith]

“It is often those than shine the brightest, that burn the fastest” is a KILLLLER line.

[@MomokaViixiv]

Jinx (powder) Has suffered from a VERY young age, her original parents deaths from topsiders and undercity fighting for rights, then she struggled with being good enough for her new family, then she accidentally killed her new family and the only memeber left hit her blamed her and solidified her insecurities and left her. so yea, shes been through a lot. Silco isnt trying to make her something shes not and not trying to sugar coat shit he is trying to empower her help her, help her work through these issues in the only ways he knows how. I love them so much.

[@ranniwolves]

exactly, he saw himself in her, from the moment she jumped into his arms. he loved her for who she is, what she is, no matter what

[@cobusvanderlinde6871]

There's something delightfully cyclic about topside-undercity relations. Back then, Vander, the proprietor of "the Last Drop" coordinated with sherrif Grayson, and that agreement gets destabilised when Vander's daughters steal magical crystals from topside. Now , Silco, the proprietor of "the Last Drop" coordinates with sherrif Markus, and their agreement begins to fall apart when Silco's daughter steals a hextech crystal from topside. Even stole the crystals from the same guy both times. Also both times Powder/Jinx caused an explosion in topside. The only real difference between then and now is that last time the fallout got Jayce expelled, this time he got promoted, and ironically Heimerdinger ended up taking the fall.

[@Summer_and_Rain]

That is a good breakdown. I did not really thing about that before you wrote it. It is ironic how history repeats.

[@aikordcz4424]

There is a lot of things that make Undercity and Piltover a lot similar. For example (spoilers for episodes 7, 8, 9): Silco is not the lone ruler, he rules undercity along with Chembarons. They are using unethical shimmer factories for their gain and doesn't care about people dying, kinda like Piltover Council with Undercity workers, right?

[@valeriegrindinger6294]

Is there anything so undoing as a daughter...

[@lysfranc8782]

The fight between Vi vs Sevika is truly a masterpiece. There is a few martial art videos about it and each move has a character depth. Like Vi who is always attacking without guarding enough until she pushed Sevika in a small place and get the upper hand because she’s used to fight in prison. Truly amazing story telling!

[@Summer_and_Rain]

It also shows how much shimmer use have been evolved from the first part. Sevika is calculating how much to use to win, which probably also means that with more use she will probably loose reason.

[@jcwebb264]

"I feel like its setting up toward something big." Everyone whos already seen it: 👁 👁

[@sammykordy10]

Vi is in prison because of Marcus I think was trying protect vi from silco and because they needed a fall guy form what happened last episode

[@TimoRutanen]

I feel like maybe he didn't have the stomach to kill her, but couldn't tell Silco she's alive so he was stuck with his lie about her. He couldn't let her go or Silco would find out and couldn't trust her to just leave town if let go.

[@KeitieKalopsia]

I think the first half is right, but Caitlyn said there was no record of Vi’s crimes, so it seems like they didn’t put the blame of the break-in/explosion on her. Dunno who they’d pin it on if not her, though

[@lyn0083]

Marcus wanted to safe Vi but couldn't risk let her go back to Silco. Maybe Silco would have killed both sisters since he hadn't that bond with Jinx yet. So Marcus decided to lock her away. Cait said there is no crimical record on Vi. So she wasn't blamed for anything

[@xero4479]

I think Marcus kept her as a redundancy to Jinx

[@cassiusbrutius]

I mean Vi was also literally just the one who got put in prison for blowing up the building. . .

[@sunnygrassx216]

I always start crying the moment Powder lights up that signal and till the end, I just want these sisters to unite 😭

[@midnight1672]

The "Are you real?" line from Jinx is the one that tears me up most. She's so used to her hallucinations by now that she doesn't even trust her senses when the real Vi is hugging her. 😭

[@xxxprincessxxxjay7104]

also the music just doesn't help in keeping your emotions in check :D

[@hujanbunga99]

thank you for seeing that Silco isn't just a villain. and yea he basically adopted Powder, they're both very very traumatized people and are quite bad at dealing with that LOL. (They're trying i promise) also i hate that i have finished watching this reaction 😂 now i have to wait another week.

[@_FirstLast_]

41:09 keep that idea in mind. Everything up to now and the last 3 episodes are going to solidify one fact about Silco: The ONLY thing that ever makes him drop the whole "hard ass" persona is his daughter, Jinx. She is his kryptonite. She is the only person who can access his emotions and make him act unreasonably and in haste. She is the true power behind the throne, so to speak. I'm not really spoiling anything because the next 3 episodes are only going to reinforce the character traits we've already seen.

[@mierin802]

"I imagine this whole thing is an anomaly for powder, that normally she's very careful on missions.." I laughed so hard.

[@eatandrun8020]

careful isn't the right word but she's definitely normally very capable. This breakdown and screwing up the mission wouldn't be a norm for her as the show implied

[@theelephantear03]

Thank you for being one of the VERY few people who realize it's NOT vi in that scene 💀 Some react to it and assume it's her for the rest of the episode until they see her in the cell 😭😭

[@ChrisCoppin]

I know right? 99% of other react videos I’ve seen are “omg she killed her sister, waaaat?”

[@lilscenechick1995]

That annoys me a little because they make it very obvious that Jinx realized it wasn’t Vi. I knew Oscar would understand it though. He pays attention to little details.

[@umkm2k]

They had just showed off how massive of a change in looks one character went through with Jinx. I think they really needed to add something to that shot with the Firelight to emphasize that it wasn't Vi. A voice with an accent, maybe very different colored eyes or Even just the character reacting like "... Who?!"

[@shayasims]

@@umkm2kbe fr , that person was way smaller than jinx if jinx grew surely vi would be much bigger than her lol yall just werent paying attention well enough 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@smileyhappyface5864]

@@umkm2k That girl was shorter than Vi was even back in act 1, and the frame switched to the girl's real face for quite a moment. Stop trying to justify your misunderstanding when you'll be ridiculed less if you admit that you weren't paying attention.

[@-nav-398]

26:20 "Twice the person at half her age" must've been echoing in her head after seeing that score.

[@Fionalah]

I've seen almost all the Arcane reactions, and yours is top tier. You're very perceptive and following along very well. I mean, you realised Mel is painting 'ships of blood and death' long before the show shows you. You recognised Huck from Episode 1. You noted Violet is flirting with Cait. You're really paying attention. Not just a pretty face 😀

[@crispy_338]

What a masterpiece of a show. Writing, acting, animation….all basically perfect

[@アキコ2003]

Yup, as a league player I was very surprised. I wanted riot to just leave the game behind and focus on animation shows about the lore

[@Randommmmm204]

​@@アキコ2003I saw the announcement for Arcane and I thought "well, this is going to be trash". Didn't even watch the trailer. When it came out I watched the first episode to see just how horrible it is. Obviously ended up watching all 3 and now it's my favorite show of all time. Just hope they don't somehow ruin the 2nd season.

[@アキコ2003]

@@Randommmmm204 with how much care they put into the first season I seriously doubt it. And I know season 2 will still be about piltover and the undercity but I hope they do different regions and timelines in the future. As different shows of course. I'd say 1 region/timeline for every season would be the best because they wouldn't be able to "ruin" their stories and characters with inferior second seasons.. but the way the first season ended just makes it impossible for me to say that, because there's still so much story there, it basically ended in a perfect cliffhanger. It's a masterpiece the way it is but it still could be more explored

[@milo_thatch_incarnate]

I love that you catch all of the little details that most people miss! It’s a big frustration of someone like me who loves watching lots of different movie reaction channels. Most people don’t get all the details that you do. Like how that big time jump after three episodes refreshes the feeling of world building. Like how Jinx isn’t “suddenly crazy now”, she was kind of always that way, she always had that in her, and you noticed that. She’s just been nurtured by somebody who brought out the psychosis and her. Watching your reactions to shows and movies this great is just such a treat. Keep it up!

[@MissWampirita]

I absolutely love your thought process on Viktor. Definitely you're one of the very few people (who don't know his full story)that actually reads deeper into his character despite the character development being pretty poor in early episodes. I just hope you won't be spoiled anything and you will be able to experience everything first time

[@z34567890123456]

I’m just now seeing that the animation team made Vi prisoner number “516” with her eye tattoo “VI” 5+1=6. The little things in this show!!

[@vladvulcan]

wow

[@DavidLewis-v4m]

I was so happy when I realized she calls Cait "cupcake" because she uses cupcakes as the bait in her Yordle traps. Reference to the game. Love it!!

[@batmanvsjoker7725]

Harley Quinn is what people think crazy is. Arcane's Jinx is what mentally ill really is.

[@mathies3598]

Well tbh there's lots of less dangerous and destructive mental illnesses. But yes, the difference in the portrayal between those characters is that we actually can tell what makes Jinx act out.

[@atbauchat]

Jinx's portrayal of mental illness is beyond amazing. It does such an amazing job of showing the discourse between what's inside and what's outside and the struggle of trying to make sense of what's in the middle.

[@alexelion7084]

⁠​⁠@@mathies3598 I think what’s making her so dangerous and destructive is the combination of her mental illness and the situation she’s in. And with that I don’t just mean the situation with Vi and Silco, but with the whole city. The undercity she lives in is basically an anarchy ruled by crime lords, so violence is commonplace and necessary and there is also the tension between the undercity and Piltover, the suppressive government. They basically had a civil war before where Powder lost her parents, and Silco has been feeding into her hate of the topside even more than Vi did before. Powder is pretty much raised to be the terrorist she is as Jinx and this is making her more dangerous in my eyes than „just“ her mental illness itself (which I agree is portrayed really well). I could even see her being more dangerous if she was more stable, because with anything else the same she could be more efficient and focused, though her being a loose cannon is definitely a different kind of dangerous on its own. All that being said I think we can all agree that she is an amazing and amazingly written character

[@alexelion7084]

Did I really just write a paragraph just for it to be deleted? Or can you all still see my comment and it’s just invisible for me?

[@Oliverf-ej8kl]

@@alexelion7084oh man this happens to me all the time. We can’t see it. I’m pretty sure it can’t have any swear words or something. Or maybe if it’s too long? Idk but dude that sucks literally my long comments don’t get posted all the time

[@snowown]

I have watched the show 3 times. And probably 20+ from reactors. At this point, i cry just thinking about pow and vi, i cry thinking about the story, the music, its been on my mind for years..

[@mishan3168]

Same. 4 time soon.

[@LenaKolchuk]

Why is it so true. I can cry even when I suddenly recall the reunion scene🥲 the things this show've done to me

[@WhoEustace]

"Viktor is gonna be a VERY big part of it eventually" well, considering that Viktor is a playable character in LoL just like Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, Jayce, Heimerdinger and another dude you will soon meet... yeah :D

[@Squabbit]

Don't forget Vander. Also a very playable character, just in slightly different format

[@WhoEustace]

@@Squabbit eh, i'm careful about those things. like, yeah, they're foreshadowing this really hard, but i won't be confidently talking about it until they 100% confirm it. we shall see when s2 finally drops, until then even with all the teasers it's nothing but speculation.

[@DarkDreams948]

If it isnt obvious, the man with the creature that Victor goes back to is the scientist from the first chunk that you thought died. He's making shimmer using the mutation of the creature as its created from the plant theyre feeding it. The little girl at the beginning of episode 6 was Skye, the girl that's interested in Victor. Also buckle up and bring tissues with you for the next chunk. You'll need it. Ive watched many people react to the last episode, myself included that absolutely just Bawled lol

[@_mermaidguts]

Your observation skills at it again! Kudos for realizing right away it wasn't Vi on the ship. And sensing the vibes between Vi and Caitlyn (unlike other reactors who think they're GoOd fRiEnDs 😅).

[@atbauchat]

This show deserves even more praise than it is getting. The writers created a story around very iconic characters and made it accessible to people who don't know anything about League of Legends. To heap even more praise on, the story respects all the characters' in-game abilities and fighting styles without feeling gimmicky.

[@bareenali1350]

42:40 Vi’s “I shouldn’t have left you” was referring to powder right? it’s a nice little detail, can’t believe i missed it the first time

[@saiyasha848]

While Jayce _does- want to get heimerdinger out of his hair, so he can work on helping Viktor he is also not wrong It is easy to see Heimerdinger as entirely correct and knowing what is best, but when Jayce said "This has all happened under _your_ watch" He is absolutely correct. Heimerdinger _founded_ Piltover (not alone, but he is clearly the last living Founder) which means the divide between the Lanes and Piltover grew and intesified under his rule. As far as we can deduce, teh Lanes used to be mining colonies, probably worker Cities. Over the 300 years of Piltovers existence, barely any money gets funneled there, Citizens don't have the same rights, etc. etc. Best case scenario is, that heimerdinger saw what was happening, tried to avert it and failed. This makes him an ineffectual leader at best. Middle scenario is that he simply did not notice. Heimerdinger is incredibly blind when it comes to human lifes. to him, time is such a different concept, it is possible that he was just buried in a project for a few decades and when he looked up, the world was very different. this would make him inattentive and uninterested, also not good qualities for a leader Worst case, he saw it and he ignored it. I personally don't think so, my own position is a mixture of the first and second scenario, but whatever the case, Heimerdinger, with all his talk about seeing the big picture and thinking longterm clearly was unable to stem this growing class divide. And you might say: He is only one councillor, the others are against him!" And that is correct right now. But you also have to rememeber that all of these councillors where _born_ into this System. When they rose to power, the world already looked like this and it is fairly normal to accept an existing System, especially one that benefits you. Heimerdinger has seen this City through all of it. he has to have seen a time where the two citties wher emaybe not equals, but not _this_ far apart. And when he realized that things started to change, he had a responsibilty to steer the Council in a better direction. It isn't fair, per se to put it all on him, but as long as he is a councillor, he has a responsibility. If he doesn't want that, he has to resign. Heimerdinger also simply cannot understand humans fear of death. he has clearly accepted Viktors death with no problem. Sure, it saddens him, but he would never make an attempt to fight for Viktors life, because he doesn't understand why. And that is what cost him everything here, his inability to understand and read human emotion in the face of imminent death. That humans will do almost anything to survive. It is our natural instinct to fight for our lifes.

[@khelpie2242]

thank you for acknowledging that powder was always a little unhinged. if you go back to the first scene in ep 1 when you first see the enforcers you’ll notice that the effects and scratchy sketches overlaying them are the same that powder sees during her breakdowns, insinuating that her psychosis had already started back then. she just was in a much healthier family dynamic with vander after that helped keep it at bay. many reactors are confused when powder suddenly seems like shes going insane when vi leaves her behind and she is having a breakdown in her room before rediscovering the crystals and decided to “help”. being completely alone and left behind was triggering for her, then all the added trauma for blaming herself for essentially killing her whole found family and then thinking her sister hated her and abandoned her because of it…. and then silco is there and basically supports those unhinged behaviors, making her worse. powder’s portrayal is just ✨chief’s kiss✨ also i really love silco’s character as well. despite the fact that he’s the villain i really love that he seems to genuinely care about powder as his daughter, despite being toxic af for her, and will not stand for people telling him that she needs to go 😂

[@Summer_and_Rain]

agree! also Silco only knows how to deal with trauma in one way. Which is what he tries to teach Jinx in the water scene :)

[@WorldWeave]

I don’t really know why, but I love the exasperation In silco’s voice when he says “half a dozen Enforcers, dead! ENFORCERS! *DEAD!”*

[@Hohum37]

"Get out of the way, I want to see what's happening with the blood" .. "What's happening?" I think there is a reason those two scenes are interwoven so strongly. They may both be moments of creation.

[@thecocoacouch]

Well the symbolism is obvious I just don’t care much for love scenes, particularly when there’s something more interesting happening. That’s just me though, I know what the creators were doing there and it’s cool I guess.

[@wolfywox]

"Get out of the way, I wanna see what's happening with the blood!" My ace self was saying the same my first watch of this show 😄

[@Summer_and_Rain]

I think it is brilliant how they showcase Vi's confusion, seeing Jinx fight. Jinx says to Vi from the start that she has change, but even through Vi says she is fine with it, she shows that she had no idea of that Powder can be. Because for Vi and probably Jinx/Powder too, their time together got paused/frozen and they evolved apart and now the question for them becomes can I accept this new person my sister has become. It is the same in every family or close relationship. We think we have people fully figured out, so when they do something that does not match our idea of them, it becomes this moment of struggling having to ether: ignore, add the information or to take down our idea to build up this new understanding of the person. It is an extremely interesting part of psychology :)

[@jrlombardi5251]

Victor's job is definitely about more than just himself, he does want to help and cares for the less fortunate bc he's from the under city too so has seen what it is like and knows it from even personal experience. Also, a part of why he wants to save himself is also that that would give him more time to work, there's personal ambition there for sure, but also a desire to help others with his work, which he can't do if he dies in some months.

[@rackattack8493]

After Vi was stabbed, she probably thought she was dying, hence why she was ok with pitching herself over a cliff, she thought she was going to die anyway. She was probably trying to get Caitlyn to bring her to her childhood home because she wanted to die in the last place she was truly happy :(

[@BGTitanAvatar]

Episode 4: Love how jacked Cait is! Like girl has got guns! It’s not as bulky as Vi but girl is no slouch. And the Vi reveal. So good. They build it up so well and the music is just… and the “who the hell are you?” Ugh! Love it! Love Vi! They had to save the best for last lol. Episode 5: One of the writers (Amanda Overton) shared a tweet that they had a little more to that brothel scene where Cait was chatting up that girl. “WOMAN: I have to say, it’s always nice to meet another curious woman. She means hot. She’s laying it on. Caitlyn’s got her primed for secret spilling, but - She notices Vi is gone. Shit. Caitlyn leaves a disappointed woman in her wake.” They cut it because they found they could convey that same feeling with just that shot of Cait and her talking, and they wanted to preserve the surprise of Cait saving Vi’s ass. But… Cait has game. She knows exactly what she’s doing. Goddess of the Hunt, this one. Lol Also just want to appreciate that they let women be buff and get beat up in fights. The Sevika vs Vi fight is just masterful. Real contender for my favorite fight in this series. Episode 6: The hug is one of my favorite Cait moments and it’s what sealed in my love of her character. She has such a big heart and just wants to help everyone. It’s such a sweet moment. It’s why her and Vi tie for my fav character. Gotta give props to Jinx’s VA. She goes from sweet and broken to deranged and angry very well. While Heimerdinger is kind of the only non-corrupt council member and can technically be considered a good person… he really was not a good leader. He’s allowed the Undercity to become what it is. He’s ignored them almost entirely and he really has lost touch with how short a human lifespan is. Viktor especially doesn’t have a decade to “perfect the research.”

[@RobertJW]

Jinx's VA is Ella Purnell, who has a leading role in Fallout as Lucy MacLean!

[@jamescornelius1430]

I just want to say you are my favorite reactor, and your videos always brighten my day. Thanks for spreading joy on the internet!

[@taesto3204]

One detail that I think often goes unappreciated is that right after Viktor asks how long he has, it cuts to Sevika dealing the tarot cards of death and magician.

[@gcldvnblytz]

The way I squealed when I saw this IM SOOO HYPED

[@ilianelidov4902]

If you want to, there is the awesome behind-the-scenes about how the show was made. Its called "Bridging the Rift" , and I think you will like it. It talks about every aspect of how the show was created.

[@asarishepard8171]

I just loved caitlin and vi growing closer through their mission. I loved it too much 😂

[@TheJackedOLantern]

I know people tend to often brush off the sex scene with Jayce but as far as I know, every scene in this show serves some form of purpose no matter how small or big, significant or not, cute or graphic. Both that scene and Viktor's aren't just placed together *just* to show the juxtaposition of their roles in the story, but it also serves as a nice parallel if you think about it. Like literally the "same coin different sides" sort of stuff. They're both balls deep in one of the most fundamental aspects in the world, creation. Hell, even the succeeding scenes after it with Jinx and Silco talking about a metaphorical "death" and "rebirth" feels connected somehow. Magic - Creation - Death - Rebirth. There's something cooking here and I can smell it. If you ever find out what the gemstones really are, it makes sense, in a way.

[@thecocoacouch]

It’s not that it doesn’t serve a vital role, it’s pretty clear what they were trying to do. Just as a human with preferences, I was more interested in what was going on with Victor far more.

[@dearthofdoohickeys4703]

I think they had both scenes together because both men are “making deals with the devil”. It’s also showing how far they’ve drifted apart from each other: Jayce enjoying everything life can offer, Viktor alone and dying.

[@ayToNic]

Fun Fact: The voice actress for Caitlyn is Katie Leung. Also known as Cho Chang from the Harry Potter movies

[@TF2CrunchyFrog]

Don't trust everything Heimerdinger says. Heimerdinger's greatest weakness is his fear, and his greatest vice is arrogance: thinking he always knows best.

[@Faenry]

When you're a 300 years old scientist and de facto leader of a city and you don't act solely out of self-interest you do tend to know best, and he actually did know best during the show. He predicted the danger, the others just didn't care about it more than they did about their wallet. His failure is in believing humans are like him and his kind. Generally too pure for this world-types, naive, good-hearted, and very long lived. I love that his entire character arc is the result of that difference causing him to misunderstand everyone's intentions and vice versa, they nailed it. Reminds me of interactions between autistics and allistics in our own world. He has no idea what it's like to have a short lifespan, therefore how humans end up so careless and selfish, and he is oblivious to the corruption of the rest of the council (which was running just fine for 200 years, from his perspective it's been a day and a half since the rest of the council became corrupted by money) as demonstrated by the theater scene where he's just enjoying the music while the others are scheming behind his back. He literally thinks in a different way. He has been doing the same thing for 200 years, hextech changed everyone around him's priorities real fast and he didn't notice fast enough, and I don't think we can really blame him for that. We can however blame him for not checking on the undercity himself for way too long. Huge fuckup on his part. Though again from his long-lived perspective it became so bad pretty much overnight as Vander and Grayson died only a few years ago leaving Silco and Marcus in charge.

[@dearthofdoohickeys4703]

@@Faenry it’s wild to me people dump on Heimerdinger of all characters, especially when monsters like Silco are single-handily spreading the city’s rot. Heimerdinger wasn’t an emperor, he was head of an _council_ of leaders. A council who was corrupt, ignored his warnings, and ultimately made him the fall guy because they resented keeping their corruption a secret from him. Even if you’re hundreds of years old, there’s only so much corruption one person can clean.

[@Okini_Hasa]

Arcane is a masterpiece isn't it? The visuals, the storytelling, the complex and very human characters...❤

[@l4x695]

You're a very perceptive, grounded and contemplative guy. Watching you react is a pleasure

[@ariesdork5283]

As an American, Marcus sounds Aussie to me too Edit: I looked it up, and he’s Malaysian-Australian! :)

[@SoMuchFacepalm]

Ah, that's why he sounds weird. Didn't realise that he sounds Aussie when I watched the show, and when ol mate said he sounded aussie, I did a double take.

[@Yourlocalasian536]

It’s heartbreaking but… ADDICTING AS HELL

[@aethelwyrnblack4918]

Addictive. Not addicting.

[@Yourlocalasian536]

@@aethelwyrnblack4918 🤓

[@ShinyTalkieWalkie]

Okay, I'm subscribing. There's minimal swearing, which while not a universal benefit, it is a personal one (also makes it easy to listen to out loud no matter who walks by), but this guy!! He's so observant, catches such important details on the fly when it usually takes more views to catch so much. Not that KZbinrs have to be perfect detail spotters, but this guy's amazing! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@batmanvsjoker7725]

Vi and Cait is a pairing I never expected that I now can't get enough of

[@Offoda]

take note of Viktor trying to keep up with the boat.. it'll come into play next arc. S01 is sooo deep, you'll watch it again and again and still see very interesting things you've missed.

[@FrostyTheSnowPickle]

Everybody hates on Marcus, but I actually think he's written really amazingly, even if he's a static character. People ask why he would still be working for Silco, but the show tells us exactly why. First, he sees Grayson working with Vander when he was in charge. Then it shows us that he thinks all the denizens of the Undercity are the same. It then shows us that he thought of Grayson as "a good woman" and looked up to her. So, naturally, with his twisted view of the Undercity residents, there's only one logical thing for him to do once he becomes sheriff: Follow in Grayson's footsteps and work with the person who's now in charge of the Undercity. The problem is, he can't see the difference between Vander and Silco, so while Grayson's partnership was for the benefit of both sides, his partnership with Silco is just him getting manipulated and letting Silco do horrible things.

[@thecocoacouch]

Yeah I thought they conveyed that pretty well in the show. He’s unlikable at the start because they wrote him so well. Now he’s just trapped in a sticky situation with his daughter’s safety on the line.

[@midnight1672]

I have a theory that they're setting up another story there. I think it's a pretty safe bet that his wife and the mother to his daughter is dead (his daughters framed drawing seems to confirm this). I could see his hatred coming from losing his wife to some Undercity related violence. This could really set up a cycle of violence stretching over generations, especially with what's happening in ep 7.

[@ΘΘΝΘ-β5ξ]

​@midnight1672 but his wife could've died while giving birth to their daughter

[@ΘΘΝΘ-β5ξ]

​@@midnight1672like there's many reasons why his wife died, not only Undercity's violence

[@midnight1672]

@@ΘΘΝΘ-β5ξ Of course that's possible. We simply don't know why she died. That's why I said it was a theory and I have no hard evidence for it. It would simply fit in well to the story.

[@RobertJW]

Jinx's fighting style reminds me of why in Marvel comics, Taskmaster hates fighting Moon Knight; Taskmaster's ability is to perfectly mimic the fighting style of whoever he's facing, and then beat them because they can't counter themselves. But Moon Knight's "fighting style" boils down to: "There is no need for a defence. There's just getting hit, and hitting back harder." Which Taskmaster finds both really annoying and much more painful than he's used to - Moon Knight's complete failure to defend leaves Taskmaster defenceless!

[@DavidGowers]

The whole thing towards the end there with Jinx, and the signal flare, and the score, and the images of Mylo and Claggor at her back, with the panning-around-her shot...that was such a powerful scene and it breaks my heart every damn time. I put off watching this for MONTHS because it's a League of Legends show and my only experience of the game is the toxic side of the fanbase, but I fucken love it now.

[@AutumnSun140]

This is crazy. I was literally JUST thinking that I was looking forward to your next arcane reaction 😄😄

[@Hohum37]

Duality, loyalty and betrayal are ongoing themes, but this observation is way down in the weeds: In ep3 after Sevika gets her arm shredded in an explosion, the huge tattooed guy carries her out. When he gets shot in ep4, Sevika abandons him to be captured.

[@kingshisui21]

The scientist in the cave from Viktor's past is the same scientist Silco was working with in episode 1. He was hurt in the explosion Powder caused and that's why he has a mask on in the present.

[@araej9293]

I never got around to watching arcane. But after watching your first reaction, I decided to check it out... I watched the whole thing in one day, and I'm absolutely obsessed. Since then, I've watched like 7 channels react to it in its entirety as well. It's just so good!!!

[@Tawleyn]

Being a huge League of Legends nerd makes me thoroughly appreciate your ability to pick up on character traits and overall themes. Blood sails. Viktor's path. What Heimer probably gets from listening to music. Top notch intuition. Well, that or studio Fortiche are masters of their craft. I'll go ahead and say it's a mixture of both.

[@kellyramirez7465]

Imagine Dragons were hired by Silco to play in his bar 😂

[@jrcervincervin2782]

37:43 Some people don't know it, but what she painted was the immortal bastion, the largest structure in the world, located in a different region called Noxus. This world is a loooot bigger than just Piltover and Zaun. There is also Noxus, Frijord, Ionia, Bilgewater, shadow islands, Demacia, Targon, Ixtal, Shurima and 2 others not located in the map called Camavor and Bandle city.

[@hachuu2571]

Being nit-picky here, but it‘s *Freljord - pretty much what you said, but the tiny off-detail had me thrown off, haha

[@jrcervincervin2782]

@@hachuu2571 😒

[@hachuu2571]

@@jrcervincervin2782 🥲

[@thesealwithsalt9108]

The figure seen with Rio is the same figure who produced shimmer for Silco as seen in episodes 1,2 and 3. The name is Singed.

[@atbauchat]

Shhhhhh. They aren't ready for that.

[@thesealwithsalt9108]

@@atbauchat Well it is only a Name, you even find his name in the Credits, if payed attention.

[@davidgalland3070]

Mel's painting is of her mum's home, the Immortal Bastion. Its the capital of Noxus. (Piltover is just a puny city state with tech)

[@JacobFors]

Himendinger enjoying the music while every other counselor making deals under his nose

[@Faenry]

Really shows his character, the only one in the council who doesn't act out of self interest but completely oblivious to the rest being that way, he's too precious for this world

[@JacobFors]

@@Faenry also his naivety and complacency. 200 years in power and he allowed the council to become corrupt and the classist structure of Piltover and the undercity to develop.

[@jrcervincervin2782]

11:00 You say that like an old man watching 2 teenagers flirt 😅

[@thecocoacouch]

Yeah you’re right 😆😆

[@Jinxofthedesert]

I am already soooo excited to watch this reaction. This show is so good. And the animation is gorgeous~

[@MomokaViixiv]

Jinx really is amazing because she has her hero arc and it may seem evil but to many suffering in the under city what she accomplishes is what many were praying for that have been suffering under the heel of topsiders.

[@maevalongchamp4063]

Definitely agree with the good intentions comment ❤ ❤ The irony of how intertwined characters are (like Jayce and Powder) yet they remain mostly oblivious to how large their impact is on the other.

[@blinkachu5275]

Ah Cait and Vi Truly the best of female "friends" 😂 God their lesbian energy is so well done (I say as a lesbian myself)

[@alexelion7084]

Oh yes, they are the definition of gal pals, and I expect them to upgrade their friendship and become roommates in the future! (I’m not a lesbian, but a bi enby, an enbi you could say - sorry for that pun - but I think that still counts for something)

[@lilscenechick1995]

Just gals being pals

[@onewomanarmy6451]

It is so good, love it. Historians will call it a life long deep PLATONIC friendship. I mean, it is so clear that there is no lust or anything going on here.

[@vladvulcan]

@@onewomanarmy6451 history hate lovers

[@Summersong2262]

41:50 interestingly, this whole setting and story is a sort of prequel to the League of Legends game. And in that one, Viktor is absolutely a villain. Or at least a sort of 'science at any cost' cyborg type. Darth Vader style, almost. And Jayce is this big damn confident hero type. Fans sometimes call the game's time period as 'their divorce arc'.

[@mattiekarwin3667]

It only occurred to me as you pointed out how familiar Vi is with the layout even after it changed that she probably broke out several times over the years, always going to the Undercity.

[@yajulka]

Day one of recommending Hannibal suchhhh a good show and the vibes of it are very similar to jinx’s character. Its a very artistic show with amazing characters and vibes

[@roeidayan699]

the ending of episode 6 is so good, I got the song on my playlist ever since the episode came out its so good

[@penguin50279]

she’s called jinx so many times and you just noticed in the 5th episode 😂

[@mranima748]

It took me a while to stop calling her powder as well

[@Iliasmadmad]

46:02 that wasn't "close" that was the responsibility: "I gave her shimmer, I'll check if her eyes are ok"🗿

[@jrlombardi5251]

I think you're the first person I have seen that gets right fromthe first moment why Heimerdinger's idea of waiting for a decade like it's nothing can be negative too, as humans don't have as much time as him, even if not everything can be done right away like it's nothing. A balance should be done, but people normally never sees anything wrong with him wanting to wait so much and say Jayce and Victor should just listen to him.

[@govind.m86]

I like how you defined Silco. Someone else said this but if you look at it retrospectively Silco is going about Zaun's independence in the most peaceful way possible that can actually have Zaun be independent and neither side suffer too much damage. The fact that even this path is seeing such brutality is a reflection of how bad things truly became over the course of centuries of neglect and discrimination.

[@j.f.fisher5318]

You could say this act is the Empire Strikes Back of the series ;). 52:15 as Maximus says in Fallout everyone wants to save the world they just disagree on how. Jinx is voiced by Ella Purnell who plays Lucy in that btw. It's good - not Arcane good imo, but still good.

[@LenaKolchuk]

yeah I immediately remembered this Maximus line too

[@scirrhia_kruden]

Omg, I hadn't ever thought about how the time jump and the 3 episode structure basically reset the viewer's curiosity with the worldbuilding

[@star_stark99]

I do believe that is the band at 31:20 because the same models are used in the music video for the song.

[@norma5994]

@star_stark99 They are. fun fact: this episode had 2 rl musicians cameos. Imagine dragon and Ray Chen who is a Taiwanese-Australian violinist that also was a music consultant in the series and ft artists in the last lyrical trap from the ost, Ray got a video breaking down some of the ost on youtube

[@ragnarian]

when jinx comes out of the ship, if you watch her first steps, theyre assured, confident and ready, you can see the moment she puts on the 'little girl' act!

[@Gb484]

When Vi punched the tower it probably fell down easier due to her taking some shimer. Jayce was not wrong when talking about Heimerdinger.

[@jettgem]

Bro has his galexy brain turned *ON* yo

[@fantasyland3646]

23:39 she couldn't deal with it cus no one really helped her through it like her sister was off coarse just needed abit of time and space to calm down and then she was going to go back to powder but the stupid guard chloroformed vi and so powder thought her sister abandoned her

[@Alice_Haukea]

Yeah, fast forward past the events of this show, Vi and Caitlyn work as partners for crime fighting and investigation stuff. You can reasonably pair them as a gay couple too. I don't recall if it's ever implied beyond fan wishes or not, but yeah sure.

[@jrcervincervin2782]

For those of you who knows Cait's bio from the game.. 29:19 I just noticed THAT COULD BE CORINA! She has the same skin tone, the hair, those plants behind her, she is from the under city... It would makes sense, meaning maybe this stranger might play a big role next season if they are gonna continue Cait's bio as it is in Canon lore, I don't remember anyone picking up on this.

[@dragon_roarrr]

what does bio mean

[@jrcervincervin2782]

@@dragon_roarrr Biography

[@shayasims]

finally caitvi !!! and im so happy you picked it up .. theres alot of people that deny their romance for some absurd reason lol

[@fantasyland3646]

28:03 😂 love your reaction there. I like any type of close relationship,bl,gl,bromance, sibling relationship, sibling like relationship, friendship, family.

[@elliotRust29]

I read some of your replies to the comments about the scene with Jayce with Mel and Viktor with the hextech cube(?) and my first reaction was also like that JJCHJA and i didn't really get why they would put those two scenes together. People have been saying that it's symbolism for both scenes to be ''a moment of creation'' but for me it also shows how Viktor still cares so much about hextech and trying to help people (himself included) so desperately whereas Jayce kind of got caught up in all the politics and his relationship with Mel that he abandoned working on their plan of helping the Undercity

[@dearthofdoohickeys4703]

I’ve made this comment elsewhere but I think they had both scenes together because both men are “making deals with the devil”, Jayce with Mel and Viktor with hextech. It’s also showing how far they’ve drifted apart from each other: Jayce is enjoying everything life can offer, meanwhile Viktor is dying.

[@lukekunka317]

I've seen this show 4 times and just now noticed at the beginning of episode 6 the girl watching Viktor was Skye (his assistant). Holy shit.

[@lofvee]

like im a straight girl but i have SUCH fcking crush on VI ... shes so hot and charming, its insane

[@Rimaxo]

5:15 WAIT I JUST NOTICED WHAT YOU SAID. As Jinx is shooting, VIolins are playing. That's so fucking crazy.