Arcane Season 2: Beauty In Imperfection

[@darrenskeeter4246]

Season 1 was utterly flawless so season 2 had its work cut out for it. I like season 2 but I think it suffered from a [minor] pacing issue that would have been remedied with literally just one more episode. It just seemed to escalate so quickly from the conflict between piltover and zaun to a threat to all life itself. The time skip between episodes deserved a montage or something. The wrap up definitely left me wanting more. Which kinda sucks for a final resolution to a story. However, it makes me want to watch it over again. And again. So maybe that's the point. Especially considering other projects are coming. The music and art/music/animation/acting was masterful. The story fumbled slightly but still stuck the landing imo

[@DrAwes0m0]

Definitely agree. Episode 9 could've focused on Ambessa going down, and 10 could have been focused on taking down Viktor + wrapping some plotlines up

[@montybrewster7]

I generally agree with your points but for me having watched the whole season 3 times & given it time to digest i don't think they stuck the landing. The whole show has been breathtakingly good & the weight they gave all the most emotional moments was one of the shows greatest achievements. Which is why i find it baffling jinx's final sacrifice was so drab? It was just thrown in there with a really flat, glib "Always with you sis." and that was it? Baffling for me & i felt the whole final episode just fizzled out from there which left me feeling deflated when i'd expected to be in bits like i was after episode 6. However, all in all arcane as a whole is the greatest piece of art/media i have ever seen. But as you say, season 1 was flawless & season 2 felt like it had had the knees taken from under it by the suits, the money men. 2 extra episodes in this season would & should have made season 2 as perfect as season 1. “What could have been.”

[@loganshalloe5927]

There are more problems than just pacing

[@upg5147]

​@@loganshalloe5927 Any other problems are a direct effect of the pacing so...

[@upg5147]

​@@montybrewster7I think it makes sense for her character to die there (though many argue she lives) since she was finally able to do something right, not be a Jinx and save the literal last person she cares about in the world. That's a very solid ending to her character. Also, the suits didn't interfere. The creators said they planned for what they did and could have done more. They just bit off a bit more than they could chew. 😅

[@stevespain6445]

@8:30 I'm so ok with stories that don't wrap everything up in nice little bows, what a great stimulus for the imagination! If that's people's main complaint, I think that's an incredible compliment to the season.

[@upg5147]

It depends on the intention. Most of the ending of season 2 was for seeds for later shows where as many series will leave things open ended as a cope out because they can't think of anything better. I personally think that's a massive difference to the same result.

[@popogeejo]

I think it's a little unfair to call the ending "fighting mutants and robots" because that's literally true but Ambessa was the embodiment of fascism and oppression. She was the evils of Piltover stripped of it's civility. The robots and mutants were Viktor's removal of humanity that resulted in the meaningless peace of the bad future. On a symbolic level these are great opponents for Zaun and Piltover to fight (Piltover sees it's darkest potential as a government and in eradicating diversity while Zaun gets to triumph against these things.) It just wasn't tied cleanly into the established themes of class that S1 nailed so well. With a bit of squinting you can see the links but they needed to spell it out better, imo. Really the finale needed another half hour and I think some of the other episodes just needed to poke at their individual themes a bit harder. But all that said, it's an immaculate series.

[@lucaspsm125]

Savage, please make more videos talking about Arcane, honestly if you made a deep dive on each act I'd love it 🙏

[@jonathank7880]

I never thought to think of episode7 as a “prequel“, but you’re 100% right. That being said, you hit the nail on the head when you said we already know they live, so we have to get attached to the journey. Which in so many prequels, is such a hard goal to achieve

[@jonathank7880]

The way I explained it to my friend, I envision season one to be a bubble, where everything is confined to a new plot, new story, new developments. With season two, the bubble expands, allowing for more development, more plot, more characters. But with a bigger bubble, there’s more volume that must be filled. I personally enjoyed the smaller bubble with the more precise narrative.

[@upg5147]

Bigger bubble should have also meant more time. 😅

[@JoeMWoodward]

I'm not sure what else to say other than this was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. Whatever small complaints I see, whether I agree or not, can't take away from how fucking beautiful this series was. That heimerdinger song in act 3 episode 1 brought me to tears. The animation is a quality I've never seen before. It was so fucking amazing.

[@shadowone01x99]

I liked the inclusion of Black Rose. (1) It explains WHY Ambessa left Noxus to visit Piltover. Mel has been suspicious about her mother's visit FROM SEASON 1. (2) Provided character development for Mel (3) And sets the groundwork for the next animated project which will build on what happened between Leblanc/ black rose, Mel and Ambessa. If the black rose angle never happened, Mel's powers would NOT have FULLY activated and Jayce would have died in the council room when Viktor's "glorious evolution" white-bot was strangling Jayce to death. (4) The Black Rose is participatory in the story as a major SUB-PLOT tied to TWO major characters (Ambessa and Mel) which is much better than getting a random 2 minutes after credits scene that only hinting the black rose at the end of the season final episode.

[@Firetomysoul5]

My main issues with the ending aren't the "questions" it's the character and plot suddenly loses its tight coherence. Jayce's character makes no sense (and he hasn't earned his moral hero lines at the end to Viktor. If anything he should be apologizing. And his actions in episode 6 make no sense with the endings changing of episode 7s ending. On the plot side, why is noxus no longer in control of piltover and why do they need to sail on boats from Viktor's haven in zaun. (I understand it's cause they wanted a crazy boat landing fight) But that's how most if the finale is. Scenes and moments are "because we want this scene" instead of being the culmination of a well built story. It really tanks the rest of the season. (For comparison - Brandon Sanderson is fantastic at writing his ending moments in ways that feel earned.)

[@EmrysMerlin8807]

Of all the various reviewers I was looking forward to, you were at the top.

[@mudshrooze]

Viktor is my favorite good guy character. I know in act 3 he was a antagonist but even in act 2 he was a very good guy. The best actually

[@DarkChaos1986]

Yordles don't die, they respawn in Bandle City after their bodies are destroyed. So, that's why Heimerdinger said "see you soon".

[@sonic4life]

10:45 I'd argue that Arcane s2 was on brand for interpersonal relationships/conflicts among the cast, and I'd argue that the fact that they had to fight an army of formerly human "androids", and suped up meta humans compliments that intentionally. Then there's metahuman Jesus in Viktor, who along with the rest of what I mentioned, acts as a foil to those interpersonal conflicts that we saw in S1, while also being on brand in the motivation for those conflicts. All of S2 showed that nobody was above mistakes, and that everyone's imperfections made them human. I also like to think about how there is at least one incident where something that one of the main cast members did led up to the terrible things that happened throughout the series.

[@LadyCay129]

Tbh I didn’t mind a lot of the open ended stuff. Maybe cuz I knew that was the plan from the beginning, but it can still be pretty conclusive. I didn’t mind how Viktor and Jayce went, ultimately it doesn’t even matter if they’re alive or dead because they went out together. Jinx I was a little miffed on though because they could have just told us she was gonna fly away and leave and not leave us with “is she alive or dead?”

[@upg5147]

They definitely did that to Jinx so they can decide later what to do. Personally I think it's better to end her character here. I don't see anything more for her to do arc wise and I don't want her to just be a wild card for no reason like Deadpool.

[@brittf1847]

Unrelated but it’s ironic that your skills/education is with writing but your natural voice is perfect for narration

[@thatgermanview5721]

It is not the end, Arcane is the beginning.

[@jaylanthompson]

My issue with s2 was the pacing. It just felt rushed, and I know they plan to do more spin offs in other regions of the world, but I feel like they could’ve spent a little more time wrapping everything up in Piltover/Zaun. Maybe if the season was longer, or if they gave it an entire third. But oh well. I’m excited to see Noxus, my favorite champion (Talon) is from there. Hoping they do him justice

[@mudshrooze]

Embessa Mel Sevika are all 3 beautiful and well written women. Sevika is my favorite and was my favorite female in the show. Smeech....is my favorite side character and he was just so damn cool in the single episode he was in. Gosh i hope he comes back someday

[@upg5147]

Sevika was robbed in the end, she didn't amount to much this season and I think that's disappointing. Mel is a great character, but she became a Deus Ex Machina and that really soured me on her character...

[@shadowone01x99]

The pacing was fine for me. Arcane season 2 builds on sn1 without handholding you, no filler, no fluff, no over-simplification, no over repetitively *FORCED* toddler-ish "comedy" and no spoon feeding while encouraging deductive participation from the audience/ viewers to follow the plot complimented by an ABSOLUTE BANGER of hyper-cinematic induction all culminating to higher immersive experience. There are many online still scratching their head about how or why Silco and Vander became buddies again in the alternate timeline yet they COMPLETELY forgot about the LETTER from Vance addressed to Silco IN SEASON 1 which Silco never read in the main timeline so it becomes BLATANTLY OBVIOUS that he read the letter and "found the will to forgive" in the alternate timeline. Brilliant compact and impactful writing. But instead many are demanding to be spoon-fed. The only main issue for me (personal bias) is the finale should have been longer and bigger battle filled will much more multiple character moments AND we should have SEEN how Ekko united Zaun after saving Jinx including seeing Jinx make a new arm for Sevika. Also we never got to know WHO the other leading families of Piltover are but i am okay and content with what we got on screen. Especially considering how INSANELY EXPENSIVE the budget was (Arcane sn1+2 budget= $250m, most expensive animation ever) so it's understandable how and why they made the writing tight and compact while giving the audience some participatory deduction and generate interest to research into the lore. What they delivered is still very peak in my opinion. We all wanted more eps but there is cost-benefit situation with that. Perhaps in future projects they could make each ep 10mins longer from 40mins-50mins then the final can be like 1hr. This can be a perfect middle ground to give more time to more avenues of the plot without adding more full eps. It might cost a little more but still significantly LESS than making additional FULL eps. Either way, both Arcane sn1+2 have been incredibly amazing. Both get at LEAST 9/10 rating from me irrespective of whatever flaws each season has. Urgh [eye roll], i see so many in the comments already conflating this epic series into their rage bait grift politics trying to take the constructive discussion AWAY from the show itself. Unfortunately, this youtube channel owner is deliberately encouraging this based on his hearts/ likes he is giving such posters.

[@cannonfodder4376]

Season One was so close to perfect that I am sure Season Two was bound to somewhat fall short. However as a sequel it's scope and stakes had to grow in order to address and carry through on the events of Season One. That by its nature will result in a more plot heavy story and push character intimacy and struggles to the side. They did an excellent job within their time limitations but I think too much of the steady but methodical pacing, character arcs, intimacy and conflicts, not to mention other core themes of the story; the struggle between Piltover and Zaun were pushed aside. In my opinion, to better balance the increased narrative scope and address ones still relevant from season one, a combination of longer episodes (10 -15 min longer) an additional episode per act or even another Act would have provided them the time to balance character intimacy, arcs and conflicts and the larger plot developments. Another season would have been pushing it too far potentially unless the entire plot past Season One was redone. Since this was a pre-planned two season show, season two's scripts were in all likelihood done and were well into show production of season two by season one's premiere. However they didn't realize what made Season One so good until after the premiere and were by then locked into a production for season two that in many ways seemed more like the plot heavy original season one that was scrapped. Scrapping and starting over at that point was probably judged too risky and costly by then. That they made such a stellar once in a generation revolutionary piece of media during their first attempt is nothing short of a miracle. I am sure they will learn great lessons from this experience. I am trying to keep some of my lingering disappointments in check since I can recognize the factors that led them into some of these mistakes, some simply unavoidable like the inherently bigger nature of sequels. But I can't help but be slightly disappointed after Season One to me was essentially a spiritual revelation. It fumbled a bit but its such a wonderful show that will live forever.

[@montenegroafro4454]

Yes. Everything you said is exactly what I was gonna say. Hope they take these lessons into the next project. For me personally I would like for them to do 12-13 episodes at least if they’re going to incorporate many plot elements to make a more satisfying conclusion, but that’s just wishful thinking I dunno.

[@zachdurden1821]

I dont understand that the Conflict between piltover and Zaun was pushed aside, it was a huge part, with martial law and cait seeing how ambessas ways where actually hurting the city, The Zaunites attacking the memorial and Vi pleading to just take down jinx. It was a large part and motivation. I think they couldve sometimes used a little more time and show more of peoples inner conflicts, maybe expand on some characters stories a little, for example Mels transformation and also Jinx and Ekko preparing for the fight. But all in all, I think there were really well flushed out interpersonal stories especially Vi and Cait hit me hard, but even more Jinxs struggle with herself was handled amazingly well. For me season 2 was Better than season 1 even. I was blown away.

[@cannonfodder4376]

@@zachdurden1821 Arcane's storytelling is remarkably efficient. Hence I think it was still easy to follow but I agree that more time was needed to flesh out internal conflicts, to let things develop some breathing room, a necessary intimate counterbalance to the more plot heavy developments. In many ways Season 2 was often more powerful emotionally but as a holistic experience, I do think Season One had the balance of big and small that season two lacked.

[@zachdurden1821]

@@cannonfodder4376 Like episode 7, but in 5 minute segments sprinkeled in around important moments in the other episodes a little bit more. But then again this season had more tension, more urgency and I think therefore they made it feel faster.

[@cannonfodder4376]

@@zachdurden1821 The overall tone and urgency will make itself felt regardless of the extra down time, if anything the extra down time will make the tension and urgency more powerful. Let things breathe just a bit, it adds depth and allows things to grow more naturally. Let there be an emotional throughline and theme, that way the tension can follow everything in the story and not let things happen in isolation.

[@kamikaze5528]

In the animation front, it was top notch, for sure. On the narrative level, it felt very rushed (making it three "acts" with slight timeskips every three episodes just to copy S01 didn't work), disjointed (with major characters randomly absent for episodes at a time) and under baked (do we really need a song montage where nothing of note happens almost every episode?)

[@valdenay7264]

I think you should talk about how they trusted the audience with the negative space of the time skips

[@upg5147]

This show in general had a lot of trust in the audience. Sometimes a bit too much if you ask me, but I would rather have that than hand holding.

[@ghostlyerlkonig]

My one wish is honestly just that we could have had a little more time with a physically disabled Jayce. As a disabled person. Like his reactions to having his leg fucked once hes back in his main universe. I cant see him being too keen on having it be looked at or even the brace being taken off after all the shit he went through. His character is already a boat in the same ocean with Viktor so them having one more similarity is important to that climax between them. The use of his hammer to make a brace was my 'decaprio pointing at the screen' moment because i was wearing my own braces lmao. I loved Jayce having to symbolically rise up the way viktor would have had to as well. They built thst finale well, especially thinking back on s1 and not remembering Jayce ever having words about viktor being disabled. Jayce did fundamentally treat him normal compared to many others (save the one 'im from the undercity' but woof there was Shit happening there at the time). But yeah no it did not feel like a finale but i think that was always inevitable with the fucking. Already having established lore. Viktor's army lacking humanity worked for me because of Ambessa's role within that. Its not a just robots its humans who were eugenics'ed into hivemind-ery and forced to be soldiers within that lack of choice. Everyone of them was a person and The Herald consumed them and Ambessa used the nutrients to continue her path, she mourns for her soldiers but not for the humans who are consumed in war. I really liked s2. I liked that i feel very validated in my "silco did love jinx" because that baby was already in his life in some way before their failed revolution. Im looking forward to the CL Clark Ambessa book, ive enjoyed their other books quite a bit, and whatever other shows they make after this. I also LOVED the score for s2.

[@AtelaLafford]

i personally loved the ending, but the ways they took to get there still have me tossing about my feelings towards if i'm satisfied with it, and for the most part i believe i am but it does leave me wondering what could have been....

[@steffanhymer1285]

Season 2 being so grand makes the ending harder to grasp conceptually abd emotionally. people also wanted a happy ending for Jinx as well as Ekko individually at the minimum. Ignoring the potential relationship there. It has a small problem of "everyone dies. No one is happy. The end".

[@mudshrooze]

I have complaints but mostly i just am glad it was wrapped up as well as it was in spite of atleast one season being cut. I dont like how some side characters were dealt with. I dont like the waste of space that Caitlyn was in act 2 and 3 was. I dont like how little I saw of Mylo and Claggor in the alternate timeline. Theres lots of others but overall im satisfied. Also Singed was in my main 6 played characters for the 3 years i played. And the show made him one of the greatest villians in media. He is my favorite champion in the show and him being one of the only people to get a happy ending is awe6

[@mudshrooze]

Awesome *

[@nonyourbusiness165]

Mylo and Claggor? I actually dont care much about them, i mean, they still alive, great, do i want to see more of them? No. Do i want to see more of jinx (not Powder) and Ekko? Yes

[@Drahko12]

For me it was great I put Arcane s2 at 7.5-8 and S1 to a solid 8. S2 just needed imo another 3 episode act or the 9 episode add more run time instead of 39-40 min all of them to at least 50-60 to flesh out the plot lines towards the end and also give us more character scenes and flashbacks. EP7 was good but as someone that had not played LOL and had no idea Ekko and Jynx(powder) had a thing it felt to me that we needed more context to make that episode and the next ones shine even more. There is also no explanation why Ekko was the key, since without the time machine he made with the professor then Viktor would have won on this timeline. I hope things get better on the next shows and focus more on what made Arcane good which was the characters conflicts and relationships

[@upg5147]

They have no romance in the game, that's just the show from what I know. It was just in that world that they had anything. I mean he wasn't the key in any narrative sense like the chosen one or something. He just happened to have the right skills for the job.

[@Josh-js5ho]

Spot on analysis

[@ca6koto0]

I just wish we had more episodes to explain what the hell a black rose is, and what Heimerdinger was doing while waiting for Ekko, and maybe show Mel struggling with her newfound powers a bit. Everything else was 12/10.

[@upg5147]

The Black Rose bit is fine since it's not meant to be dealt with this season. That's entirely set up for later so I don't need to know more than "scary and mysterious". I like how open they were with what Heimerdinger was doing all that time. You can take it so many interesting ways and they do wonders for his character. 100% on Mel. She learned her powers WAY too quick and felt so much like a Deus Ex Machina. Easily my least favorite scene of the finale is here "beating" The Black Rose.

[@kei7540]

Thr black rose was a tease for the next show they'll do which seems like it's going to be in noxus

[@rapturedmourning]

Sigh ... they were building their "Cinematic Universe" rather than just making a good show.

[@akidra0519]

Arcane S2 Will probably be better with time once they are able to expand on some of the things presented

[@shadowone01x99]

"Antagonists that were distinctly not human and not complex".... Dude i respectfully disagree. Viktor had brilliant complexity built slowly from season 1 up to the final.

[@foamingclean596]

When I finished season 2 honestly felt like I would have liked it more without Vi and Jinx. Basically everything about their stories felt like unearned emotional climaxes and I just couldn't be bothered to care.

[@DwarfInTheFlask99-mr8rm]

I agree with the criticism of the ending feeling unsatisfying. My main issue with it is that Jinx had very little impact despite being the main character of the show. I feel very strongly that the final confrontation should not have been between Viktor and Jayce, but instead Viktor and Jinx. Viktor's belief was that the human struggle is pointless, and that what's good within people inevitably leads to evil. EVERYTHING about Jinx's character this season was the philosophical counterpoint to that. Despite all the bad she had done, her darkness became a force for good. She rallied the undercity through the chaos she caused; Isha's heroic sacrifice was inspired by Jinx just as much if not more than Powder; and even episode 7 shows us that without the struggle and heartbreak that led her to become Jinx, her sister would be dead. Also, the show had already set up tons of connections between the two characters; the gear that rolls on the ground during Viktor's villain monologue at the end of episode 6 had Jinx-like paint on the side meant to represent evil; episode 7 contrasts a world centered on Jinx with a world destroyed by Viktor; and even Jinx's hair in the final episode is blue and purple, the colors of both Hextech and Shimmer (the sources of Viktor's power), progress and violence, order and destruction, etc. More than any other character, Jinx exemplified the human themes of the show: the duality between good and evil, and the potential within people to rise above who they once were. A clash between her and Viktor in episode 9 would have clarified those themes when it mattered most. Instead of the robot/higher fantasy stuff taking away from the human elements of the story, it actually would have enhanced them, because the audience would see the strength of the human spirit in compared to Viktor's nihilistic and lifeless ideology. Instead, we got Jinx fighting a robot werewolf. As much as I liked the show, I think that was a huge missed opportunity.

[@mudshrooze]

Zac and Twitch i truly think were teased and so is that mask wearing musician organ player hero

[@AndrewFrancisIlyrian]

More imperfect than a masterpiece.

[@politereminder6284]

I think some people are disappointed because 1. . they began writing fanfic endings in their heads while waiting for season 2. 2. Riot games was using this to promote the upcoming Noxus series, so the Mel, Ambessa arc felt kinda disconnected at the end.

[@shonenacademia]

What did i miss with Jinx? I thought she just died.

[@hellNo116]

dragonball evolution was so bad that made toriyama make battle of gods :P. so it wasn't a total loss

[@ravendelacour1917]

So what do you consider the worst episode of Arcane?

[@upg5147]

Probably 5 since that's the episode they really missed the opportunity to develop Caitlyn properly.

[@superchamploo1155]

Was not a fan of episode 7. It hurt 😢 🥲

[@titoleon3101]

Season 2 was good but its far from the masterpiece that Season 1 was. I think the meticulous worldbuilding and character writing were clearly sidelined in favor of spectacle, cheap narrative punches and LoL fanservice. And, of course, the pacing was all over the place, constantly rushing developments or even throwing them offscreen to cram everything that clearly needed at least half another season. Episode 7 was amazing on its own, though.

[@williamwright3715]

I'd like to add to your comment of "cheap narrative punches". In S2, much of the tension throughout the episodes was derived from information specifically being withheld and then slapping us a "BIG REVEAL!". It felt really unsatisfying to us fans because the beauty of S1 was that we had nearly full information and got to watch characters act/react and watch conflict unfold. That's the beauty that originally made us fall in love with the show, and the S2 strategy of stooping to cheap reveals felt like a betrayal by the writers.

[@skepticalcentral8795]

I like the conclusion, it's certainly not a conclusion for the story, but it is a perfect conclusion for the Jinx and Vi. We cant expect all the other stories to conclude at the same time, and the writers chose to start and end with them in the forefront. I loved the ending.

[@ArcaneMelodies82]

The Creators and Ella Purnell kind of let it slip Jinx is not dead, Every time movie and shows leave a characters supposed death vague and ambiguous, they are always asked whether that Character is in fact dead,, only for a later in they're film franchise or T.V Shows to bring that character back. Well People asked that question, They really could not keep a straight face, "Don't know..." Well "Leaving it open ti interpretation" There were enough not needed scenes that hinted Jinx survived even a Jinx Shimmer trail towards air vents, with another last shot of a random airship, which served no purpose unless it was to callback to The start of the Series when Powder said "One Day I'm going to Ride one of those things". "Leaving it open to interpretation" Oh! brother. She survived and has left Piltover and Zaun leaving her Sister,Soulmate behind to build a new life and start filling her own cup finally got the will to walk away.

[@upg5147]

My only problem with this is that I don't see any character arc for her to go on now. She'll just be a wild card to any story she pops into with no reason to be there. I think it works MUCH better for her story if she died saving the literal last person she cared about and proved she is no longer a jinx.

[@ArcaneMelodies82]

@@upg5147 yet that is not what they did, One thing I noticed about Jinx was when Silco wasin an absolute panic thinking he is about to lose and rushed her to the doctor himself for him to save her,because he can't lose her. What the Doctor does to Jinx essentially was genetically enhanced her and a neat way to explain how she got purple eyes. After that When she began using her speed ability it reminded me of the film Resident Evil 2, Alice the main character gets genetically enhanced and she pretty much reminded me a lot of how Jinx is being portrayed just a litle less unstable. Her Close friend was also "enhanced" but it mutated him into a giant killing machine, where he is almost completely gone. In the climax Alice is forced to fight her former friend. Alice was pretty much turned into a super human bad ass, with crazy speed, just like Jinx is being shown to do. Alice's body could take inhuman amount of damage, just as Jinx has been shown to do. I noticed even before Jinx fighting Rictus her Shimmer trail when she wants to move fast,Again made me think of Alice from the movie, When Jinx was facing Warwick/Vander she could move fast take damage from him, They do not want to say she is officially dead because she is genetically enhance & I guess the Face of the Game. They are planning on Jinx and Ekko to continue there Timebomb story, I hear. They tried to keep her fate a mystery maybe, The Finale could have ended earlier before all the hints that she could have escaped. Still I am surprised they officially killed Jayce and Victor, I thought they were going to get the Unknown off to another reality treatment not dead. Jinx,Heimerdinger and Warwick all Unknown AKA Put on a shelf for them to return in the future.

[@upg5147]

@@ArcaneMelodies82 Even Jayce and Viktor could come back, we didn't really see them die. I don't want them back the same way I don't want Jinx back since I feel their stories are done, but Heimerdinger is obviously not dead and going to be used later which makes sense since he really was a wild card in this story and didn't do much. I haven't heard a thing about this Jinx/Ekko story you mentioned. That would mean Ekko would have to leave since Jinx left and he doesn't really have a reason to do that. He doesn't love Jinx, they are just close friends (or that's as far as the show implied). She is genetically enhanced but a point blank bomb and a some odd hundred foot drop is gonna kill her if we assume she actually took the damage and didn't shimmer out. She's definitely not the face of the games. That be more like Lux or Ahri if we are talking old school. Jinx is popular and no doubt more so because of Arcane. She's absolutely the face of Arcane, but I think it also set a great precedent to kill a very important and marketable character. It shows story is first and foremost and that anything else will be second to that. They did that with Ambessa who was just introduced as a Champion in the game, but was killed off in the show. That's not a smart business choice, but makes so much sense in story. They definitely left it up in the air so they COULD bring her back, but don't want to back themselves into a corner and force them to use her.

[@ArcaneMelodies82]

@ true but Officially they are listed Dead,until then, while Jinx is officially listed as Unknown because of the Creators Scene with Caitlyn investigating The Air Ducts in the HexGate Tower as she hold Jinx’s monkey bomb figure head. Then they just had to add that bloody airship to to callback what little Powder said when she saw an identical Airship “One day I’m going to ride one of those things”. The creators wanted to tease the possibility Jinx made it out and is on the airship leaving. So it’s because of that She is not listed as dead. Just clever marketing if they want to bring her back at some point,same with Heimerdinger and Warwick. Why they killed off Jayce and Victor officially is weird they could have made them unknown. Oh well.

[@pedrodewaal7040]

Arcane fumbled not just the finale. The Black Rose came out of nowhere with no introduction and people who don't know League lore are going to be understandably lost. Mel's magic has no apparent drawbacks, which is the whole point of the arcane being dangerous. Ambessa was in exile and yet could muster an army that can take down one of the most powerful cities in the world The character assassination of Viktor as a whole - they made him into Ultron from nowhere The Zaunites joining Piltover with absolutely 0 bad blood given that they've were violently oppressed since the show started, and it got worse when Caitlyn gave power to Noxus, until Piltover actually needed their help to fight the enemies they brought to their home. Season 2 dropped the ball hard

[@upg5147]

The Black Rose did not come out of nowhere. They were why Ambessa was here in the first place. It was sudden, sure, but makes total sense they are following her to get what she is after which is Hex Tech. Mel's magic I do not like. She learned it too quickly and seemed all powerful. Very Deus Ex Machina. Piltover is not in a good place to be given such praise. They are barely holding things together and remembering their forces were stretched thin. Ambessa also only had who she brought, the rest were Viktor bots. Viktor turned gradually throughout the season. The arcane messed with him and made him see things on a grander scale. Then Jayce shot him and sent him to the brink of death so he was forced to join forces with Ambessa and that meant being more active than passive, but his goal was still the same. I think they rushed a bit of his reasoning, but it's sound. It didn't feel like the two sides of the city were holding hands and singing songs by the end. They were learning to get over their differences, but clearly still had bad blood to work through. There are issues in the season, but these aren't them. You didn't even bring up Caitlyn 😞.

[@kei7540]

Only reason the undercity join the fight was because of Jinx and Ekko 💀