EFAP

[@miltonfine947]

Someone on the Arcane production team sold their soul for one amazing season in exchange for never being able to create anything of quality ever again. Season 1 feels like the ultimate bait and switch now. I expected a League of Legends show, got an excellent cartoon, then got exactly what I expected from a LoL show now.

[@Сайтамен]

They were just forced to rush it since they only had 9 episodes to tell the story.

[@mixedcuts1895]

What's fascinating is that if you look at the writing team for both seasons, it's the same people (with only one or two exceptions).

[@TheRetroRenegade]

"...got what I expected from a LoL show..." is the perfect way to describe Season 2, making season 1 look even more like an anomaly...

[@reactiondavant-garde3391]

@@Сайтамен It is still too badly written. A lot of mistake is in fight scenes where they could have made it more coherent, but didn't. Not all mistake because they rushing arcs.

[@DianaDonineaux]

@@reactiondavant-garde3391 yes the writing , character's personnality are horrendous .

[@crayvun2196]

Insanely good point by Nutsa. Jinx is idolized? Not Ekko for his sanctuary? or Viktor for mirculously healing people who're suffering?

[@CompleteBoredom733]

It’s because Ekkos sanctuary is a small community that doesn’t advertise their existence to the lanes and at the point where the Jinx following started Victor had barely founded his cult

[@dire213]

@@CompleteBoredom733 the firelights as a whole is pretty well-known. they fight silco and they also bring in people who needed help into their sanctuary.

[@CompleteBoredom733]

@ It’s been a while since I watched season 1, but how different were they really to the rest of the gangs in the eyes of the common undercity resident. Now contrast that with the only person who really dealt a blow to Piltower since the uprising a decade ago and you have yourself a following

[@spudg8558]

​@@CompleteBoredom733 We don't know a lot about them, but we do know they destroyed shimmer instead of dealing it. They're barely even a gang. I can see people who want to fight Piltover idolizing Jinx, but in terms of making life better for the people of Zaun, the firelights take it easily.

[@dire213]

@@CompleteBoredom733 very convenient that noone knew about the silco and jayce deal. And noone knew that jynx killed silco. Silco is a very successful and well-known leader of zaun. jynx also dealt a big blow on zaun but noone knew about it. The writers cheated to get the payoff they wanted.

[@mixedcuts1895]

I'm actually kind of impressed that a season with only 9 episodes, and with at least 157 different plots, managed to devote an entire episode to an alternate universe that didn't offer anything new to what we already knew.

[@someeejit]

Episode 7 is my favourite episode of the season because it’s the one episode that slowed the hell down

[@simosantoniou9784]

@@someeejit It also focused on actual characters and not "OH WE DONT HAVE TIME GOTTA GET THE PLOT GOING". Ekko and Jayce's stories in that episode would have been so satisfying if the rest of the season wasnt so awful. How the hell Ekko has come out of this season as the season 1 character who benefitted the most while only really being in like 1 and a half episodes is ridiculous.

[@jeloneq7]

Exactly this. Jayce tripped and fel into a hole. AWESOME!

[@dustindarby8628]

They did this exact thing in The Last of Us and the EFAP crew didn’t seem to have anything but praise for that… this is just a dumb criticism imo if you’re holding them critically consistent

[@Lucaintheninjatank]

@@dustindarby8628 Wait there was an alternate universe in The Last of Us? I honestly don't remember that happening.

[@istsandisms]

I really didn’t like the direction of Mel’s story in this act. Her entire arc in season one is about choosing Piltover as a home over Noxus. Now they’re going the she’s got some special blood, she’s the key to everything route. Her destiny is greater and beyond. It undermines her character arc in season one to remove her from Piltover in its most troubled time. She should’ve been there as a foil to Ambessa’s plans

[@matthewcollins4773]

Well said. It's literally the climactic character moment of season one, when she places aside the badge of her house and implicitly rejects the Noxian empire and embraces her role as a woman of Piltover. Since her first scene was lamenting that despite being the richest woman in Piltover she was still "the poorest Medarda", it was a satisfying sign of how far she'd come. She wasn't one of the most obvious examples of character growth, she snuck up on you. Good writing, good payoffs -- and like most good payoffs, *subtle*. Alas, season two is spectacle.

[@toddstone230]

They may as well have left her dead in Jinx's explosion if they were going to treat her this way

[@MrBuzzcake]

You made up an entire story in your head that is dumb and wrong

[@nont18411]

@@toddstone230 Seems like she has a Jon Snow problem here. He should never have been revived.

[@angrynapolean3820]

​@toddstone230 but then how could she appear in the game as a cool champion?

[@maxemiloddmoland5476]

I get it now. Jinx's bomb from the last season made everyone stupid, including the writers. She's the bird in the cage!

[@nont18411]

And she wants to see the sun

[@joer626]

Given your own successful career as a writer I’m sure you could’ve done so much better

[@TyrDrum]

​​@@joer626 Careful, you never fucking know these days. His pettiness might be so that he'd create a masterpiece purely to spite you!

[@maxemiloddmoland5476]

@joer626 being the main writer for Multiverse of Madness and The Marvel's makes me scoff at their attempts at cinema

[@joer626]

@@maxemiloddmoland5476 okay that was pretty funny

[@TheBubZzz]

"In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good". - Riot Games

[@mon0lithic629]

Uh, not really. Arcane is still very fucking good -- just too vague and too busy to work with what it should.

[@thealphaincel1619]

@@mon0lithic629 Uh, yes really. Season 2 is awful.

[@mon0lithic629]

@@thealphaincel1619 You gotta rethink your definition of "awful" because what I see is a structurally flawed, but otherwise competent script whose primary issues are the fact that it doesn't explore every detail in depth.

[@The1337guy1]

​@@mon0lithic629It doesn't explore any detail in depth. Season 2 is shallow in every way from its characters to its themes. You really think relegating Heimerdinger, Jayce, and Ekko to barely being relevant until the plot needs them was a good idea? Or creating the enforcer squad where only two of the new people have names and none of them are characters? Calling this awful is being too soft. They had everything going for them in season 1 and 2 completely screws everything.

[@mon0lithic629]

@@The1337guy1 Again, all of your issues stem from the fact that 9 episodes don't touch upon every single element set-up in S1. The primary conflict and themes explored are centered around progress and familial bonds, that hasn't changed. With the runtime as is, they literally couldn't have gotten every single character the spotlight they might be needing.

[@wolfsigma]

4:18:00 the line from Vi should have been," Vander was my father. Silco was your father. And you killed them both. Get out of here and leave the name of the one good memory I have out of your mouth."

[@Сайтамен]

She didn't kill Vander. He chose to fight Silco's mutants and then become a mutant and then sacrifice himself to save Vi. And he is still alive. Silco became Jinx's father because Vi slapped her.

[@wolfsigma]

@Сайтамен And Jinx didn't kill Silco... one of her bullets did. But in the case of Vander AND Silco, there is a direct line of responsibility back to Jinx. I doubt the pedantic nitpicks are occurring to Vi when she is at a personal low point.

[@Nami-k2b7i]

​@@Сайтаменthat....that is not precisely why he became her father 😂

[@crim1188]

​@@СайтаменAre you stupid? Powder's bomb killed Mylo, Clagger and made it impossible for Vi and Vander to escape, prompting the rest which ends in Vander's death. So yes, she did. Also fuck off with the "hurr durr he alive tho" you know what people mean

[@clevergoblin1714]

​@@wolfsigma She didn't directly kill Silco by firing a minigun at him. It was just one of her bullets.. it's almost like firing a minigun directly at Silco would've resulted in him dying. Powder using unstable explosives to "help" Vander escape resulted in the deaths of two of her friends and is why Vander became a mutant in the first place. If she didn't use the explosives then the gang might've actually escaped. She absolutely did kill them both. If you want to argue she didn't, then no terrorist or mass shooter is actually at fault. It was just their bullets that killed and the explosives that did the damage it wasn't them

[@sockpocketpre-alpha8258]

Remember when Jinx was notorious for killing firelights?

[@TheRetroRenegade]

I misread that as "firefighters" at first, but even then, that's also kinda true lol.

[@nont18411]

Or when Singed was notorious for making this universe equivalent of meth?

[@Redditaurus]

Well, Isha falling on her head gave her a concussion. Hence why she's a good guy now.

[@Redditaurus]

also why she's randomly no longer a competent fighter.

[@sockpocketpre-alpha8258]

@ I disagree with that criticism. Smeech’s fighters are just good. Hence why there’s only ever 3 of them on screen and they go to the bar to take on many more of the lady’s goons.

[@madspice1663]

Hiemerdinger dying because he forgot to plug in the right cable for the time machine made me physically facepalm.

[@heikira438]

Holy crap. Heimer died?! I was so disconnected while watching the season that I didn't realize.

[@damiansmith560]

I saw this scene differently. He seemed calm and collected through the whole thing, like he had no intention about heading back with Ekko in the first place. Also, I can’t imagine he died, he blipped out of existence. And with stuff like this, you have to assume if there’s no body, no death.

[@matthewcollins4773]

The hilarious thing is, he murdered himself. He was possessing his alternate self's body. They both died. Other Heimerdinger never gets his body back, our guy vaporised it 😂

[@Sauron17011]

@@damiansmith560 Yeah, anyone who thinks he "died" by accident was either not paying attention or has genuzinely no grasp of media literacy.

[@damiansmith560]

@@Sauron17011 What’s frustrating is that Heimer very well could be dead with how badly the writers did this season, literacy be tossed, we just can’t be sure. Regardless, it’s an incredibly disappointing send off for a beloved character.

[@JTFIghter6969]

Bro no spoilers but I feel like the consequences of everything being built on bullshit was felt so hard in the finale. I felt so numb watching it. Like I didn’t care about what’s happening because it’s gonna end however the writer wanted it to end.

[@Gaia1054]

There’s barely any dialogue outside of Jayce and Viktor which really pissed me off. When the airship crashes Vi runs right past echo. Doesn’t even try to help get the rubble off. Not a “hey echo you alright?” Like you said I was numb the entire finale despite the stakes literally being the end of the world I didn’t feel it at all

[@JTFIghter6969]

@@Gaia1054 SPOILERS S2 FINALE The Caitlyn Ambessa Mel fight was so bad like what can anyone do at any moment. How the fuck does Caitlyn not die like 100 times again.

[@Gaia1054]

@@JTFIghter6969 finale SPOILERS!! how does Caitlyn not die. How does Mel just have full mastery of her powers with no draw backs or training. How does Warwick not immediately kill everyone with his speed which is so fast he speed blitz Vi and only Jinx reacts because of the shimmer. I cannot wait for these guys to tear about that trash finale. Also sorry for not putting a spoiler warning. On my previous comment lol

[@JTFIghter6969]

@ Same here. Like Caitlyn getting saved through the door without Mel being able to see her felt like such a ridiculous moment of plot armor. That fight made me almost zone out it was so clear that I waiting for the writer to tell me the result. And no worries! I just did it in case anyone was scrolling through and hasn’t seen the ending.

[@Admiral-General_Aladeen]

Spoiler for the finale There was no scene where they stood together and said "now we are the league of legends" 0/10 Also Singed got the best ending 15/10

[@ghostprojekt]

Singed in Arcane: "I will sacrifice everything and everyone to save my daughter" Singed in LoL: "Swirl! Swirl!"

[@sapheiron]

Complete and utter Singed W

[@CaptainKillroy]

I feel like Singed has become my favorite character just because of that lol

[@Arko777777]

Singed and Ambessa were the only people I somewhat cared about in this season. It's so weird when in S1 I couldn't find a character to dislike.

[@ngmajora6986]

Ekko and Singed were the MVPs everything else was a massive letdown

[@Dr.Mandingo]

Maybe an unbridled rage for arcane is not possible but what about an unbridled squeaky?

[@bc-cu4on]

Unbridled disappointment?

[@squeakypistonproductions2228]

I concur

[@lennynull-funf-zehn5416]

You could not handle the squeaky... you'd be droolin

[@GuyMan8383]

Arcane Season 2: A Disappointed Sigh

[@sockpocketpre-alpha8258]

did he say he's not gonna do it?

[@KrackerJacker]

You guys don't get it okay, the show is about TRAGEDY. With season 2, the show in and of itself has become a tragedy. It's genius.

[@dire213]

absolute peak fire cinema

[@mrminecraftcubeable]

Maybe the misery was the season 2 all along

[@defrostedrobot77]

I used to think Arcane was a tragedy, but now I realize, it's a f**king comedy!!

[@jitterygravy2829]

@@defrostedrobot77unfortunately it’s the type of comedy where you don’t laugh

[@mats1365]

Just like TLJ was a failure we could all learn from!

[@slei4676]

I'm still so fucking pissed how they completely fumbled Warwick's storyline . The concept of Vander, a guy who wanted to avoid violence as much as possible for the sake of people he loves, becoming a brutal blood-frenzied apex predator is such a peak of tragic irony. The way I always imagined it is that Warwick would rake havoc across the lanes and neither Vi or Jinx would ever get to know that Vander is hiding under that beast's skin. What we got instead is cringe family reuinion and then it gets ruined and later on he turns into Arcanewick and fucks off down the hexgate. What a shame man...

[@jonbaxter2254]

Wouldn't say cringe, I thought it was quite effective at breaking hearts a little.

[@morelstrike]

​@@jonbaxter2254 It's also quite effective at never reaching the "real Warwick" state of this champion before the show ended. They teased him so much and never delivered.....

[@slei4676]

@@jonbaxter2254 I mean given the context of everything that has happened between these characters, especially in season 1, the reunion feels completely forced and unearned wich makes it cringe. I believe the EFAP crew explained very well why that is the case.

[@Leblos_Hero]

It would still be an another retcon tho, Warwick is a serial killer in the lore On the other hand, Riot loves to constantly retcon shit in the game so whatever

[@len2122]

I think you have a weird understanding of what "cringe" means.

[@mixedcuts1895]

Viktor: I will not sacrifice the life of this man for my own benefit. Five minutes later... Viktor: Let's create an army of murderous super soldiers to take over the world!

[@matthewcollins4773]

A perfect example of how rushed it all was. I could see the characters ending up how they did after, say, three more seasons of careful development...

[@blacktigerpaw1]

Viktor: I have forsake all human emotion for the sake of human emotion Five minutes later Viktor: OMG Jayce you call me beautiful I'll gain my humanity back and call off the GE

[@Сайтамен]

​@@blacktigerpaw1 Jayce showed him Victor from the future that gave him this task. Did you watch the show?

[@zonbichaos5844]

​@@СайтаменWhy didn't he do that in the first place?

[@mixedcuts1895]

I didn't even think of that! :D I mean why would Jayce try and speak civilly to his best friend of almost a decade.

[@eggtheman3164]

Watching the newest season and your guys' coverage of it was like coming to terms with the fact that my friend has been replaced with a skinwalker. Yeah, they look the same, and the voice is similar too, but everything they do is wrong. Sad to see it go this way, but happy that we're calling it out for what it is. Thank you all for maintaining your standards, even for a show that we used to love so much. This only further encourages me to write the kind of stories that I want to see in the mainstream. Hopefully, with your criticisms as a base, I'll be able to make something halfway decent.

[@ProxyDoug]

I feel similar but for EFAP, cause a lot of the stuff they go on for minutes on end are kinda vapid and just them expecting something else. They already have a point on the season being bad and the music being out of place, but when they do stuff like comparing Paint The town Blue to What Could've Been, I'm like "what are you doing, what is this". There is so much talking past scenes I can't help but be disappointed with the coverage, and this should've been easy to go over since it was such a let down of a season.

[@Hellsbest1986]

I was honestly shocked when Jinx kissed Silco and then Vi said ,After all the legends I guess we finally made the league‘

[@jonbaxter2254]

@@Hellsbest1986 I see you there, Doomer.

[@reactiondavant-garde3391]

I liked when they legended over the leauge as well. I cride a little bit.

[@TyrDrum]

It was the part when Caitlyn interrupted Vi and said "A League of Legends..." that got me crying like I lost my boat to the water - it didn't look up, so it sank

[@bbjygm]

When she confronted that guard who didn't believe her. Blue! Her hair was blue! She Jinxed!

[@emuman09]

It's jinxing time

[@JulianDoe]

Timestamps 0:00 Singing, Prepping & Forgetting 1:45 We’ve got a job to do 3:39 Act 1 9:07 Act 2 10:29 Music Video 28:50 Episode 4: Kaitlyn & The Missing People 43:00 Jinx & Grogu 1:05:10 Ambessa 1:17:39 Rictus & Smeech Show 1:19:00 Rictus 1:22:32 Firelights 1:28:06 An Iceberg full of S#!t 1:34:44 She Jinxed 1:35:40 Ambessa & Kaitlyn 1:46:49 Climbing The Character Ladder 1:51:28 Sevika 2:02:45 Jinx + Meme 2:09:08 Meeting 2:24:50 Warwick 2:30:00 Meme + Jinx Madness 2:42:40 Team Up & Recognition 3:07:33 Warwick: From Comical to Horrible 3:44:40 Bad Take? 3:45:00 Episode 5: Vi Evolution 3:57:18 Vi & Jinx 4:21:46 Detective Dracaitlyn 4:32:04 Mel 4:38:34 The Tunnel 5:05:42 Singed 5:09:48 The Puzzle 5:10:50 Singed’s Plan 5:23:53 Another Pointless Mel Scene 5:26:18 A Message From Vander 5:38:08 Warwick vs Vi 5:50:08 A Damaging Flashback 6:04:34 The Big Hug 6:17:15 Jayce & Viktor 6:27:53 Closing

[@Martijn_Steinpatz]

Appreciated as always

[@angrynapolean3820]

Not all heroes wear Dracula capes

[@Phoenix0F8]

You, sir or madam, are drooling for a squeaky. In a good way.

[@SETHthegodofchaos]

@@angrynapolean3820 a not-so-miserable pile of timestamps

[@OneSockFellOff]

🍻 👏 ❤️

[@mixedcuts1895]

In Episode 7, Ekko said something about being in the wrong universe. I have the same feeling every time I watch a new episode of season 2.

[@TheRetroRenegade]

Honestly, that was my favorite episode. Un-ironically. Because it was a glimpse into a better timeline than whatever the fuck happened here...

[@orbboom6119]

A future without lesb1ans😂the better world

[@joshuawewel2116]

Season 2 for me was a fun and exciting rollercoaster, and then you look around at the foundations it's built on. Every twist and turn the ride takes, it shakes lose more and more bolts from the track. It goes so fast that you hardly notice those problems until you think back on the experience. Its so frustratingly dissapointing. I thought this show was the only thing safe from ruination, but in the back of my mind I always knew something horrible would happen. It's a damn fucking shame.

[@mixedcuts1895]

It's like a movie made by J. J. Abrams. It only works if you go along for the ride and don't even think about what's happening.

[@uhagi6720]

Honestly, S1's ending was the perfect send-off from the Piltover/Zaun conflict. It leaves a lot of possibilities open as a result of Jinx's actions and makes you wonder what may happen moving forward. They should have either focused completely on a full on war between the two nations or simply focus on a different conflict within League's universe.

[@gathenhielm9977]

I was completely stunned after the end of the S1 finale. "Holy SHIT! The war is going to be absolutely devastating after this." S2: "Nah, it'll be fine."

[@apocryphicdeath]

​@@gathenhielm9977But then you'd have an unjust war for just reasons, and neither the writers nor the majority of the audience are ready for that kind of moral complexity. Which explains why this season is the way it is...

[@matthewcollins4773]

The whole segment discussing Ambessa and the goat people in the lab was hilarious. Honestly, I was genuinely laughing. And I want Rictus and Smeech fanart (I know we're getting some next Memefap...)

[@andreaven2287]

I'm not a LOL player, but after watching this mess of a season I've watched warwick promo cinematics and man... I feel sorry for the warwick fans... This should have been bloodborn in arcane insted of this walt disney cringe.

[@Phoenix0F8]

I've played warwick like maybe twice in ARAM and I still felt annoyed on behalf of warwick fans lol

[@andreaven2287]

@@Phoenix0F8 O7 brother

[@bass-dc9175]

Vander was such a missed oportunity. For those who are unaware: In the Game when he meets Jinx, he say "YOU WERE THERE! ... LET ME FORGET!" They could have gone that route, Vander and the beast fighting for control, but it going wrong later on so the beast takes over, retaining some memories of Vander, becomming more beastlike. But instead he was shoehorned into the rushed Viktor plot and then became a literal non-character. (It really seems that the writers saw the reaction to Season 1 Jinx, being a heavily flawed character (In the sense of having flaws, but being well written), and when the topic of consequences to her actions came up, one writer perked up and said "wait no! We can't have that!" and changed everything to prevent Jinx facing any backlash in the story.

[@erikroman1880]

Also his form could've reflected that too, where his face starts out as human but overtime slowly transforms into a full wolf head on how the beast has complete control over the body

[@bass-dc9175]

@@erikroman1880 Precisely.

[@dakelsmak]

I made the same mistake as Theo. I have finished the show. I will never give the benefit of the doubt like such again.

[@Redditaurus]

I didn't think it would be on par with S1, but I hoped it would at least be good.

[@DaSoupin]

You guys are brainwashed, nothing about season 2 was even, god awful, you blow things out of proportion so much

[@s.p.1434]

The most frustrating part about watching a great series take such a hard nose dive isn't the show itself becoming bad, it's that it reveals how many people are utterly incapable of recognizing good writing and makes those who can recognize it feel isolated, alone, and insane.

[@Redditaurus]

It's how I feel about K-dramas. I like Squid Game: I don't _love_ it. A lot of South Korean shows will have very high ratings, 8 or 9 out of 10, but I find most of these terrible. It probably isn't a big deal to you, but to me - who enjoys Asian entertainment - it feels like bad writers are encouraged to write schlock because people will shut their traps and clap. Most Korean series end with one season, so 2nd seasons almost always look like this season of Arcane. I wish filmmakers who didn't want to work too long on a project would simply cut the scraps instead of adding too many condiments to a hotdog.

[@ProxyDoug]

The reality is people's impression of good writing is subject to the emotional reception they have to that piece of media, and while some are more susceptible to emotional manipulation, but in general, everyone sees media based on their first impression to it, the impression people around them have of it and the zeitgheist around it. Probably a hot take, but Arcane S1 is not a 10, a very good 9, but not a 10, similarly, this season is not a 5, I think the criticism around both is very susceptible to the fact it's a very popular series. The EFAP circle probably doesn't remembers they only watched the S1 a full month after it came out as people kept begging them to do so, and MauLer himself would scoff at people saying it was amazing, and when they watched, the fire around it had died down, there were a lot of deep looks into the attention to detail that went into the series that were referenced in those EFAPs.

[@TheRetroRenegade]

I don't feel insane... just quite drunk... because it took me at least 5 beers to make it through acts 2 and 3.

[@gathenhielm9977]

It's sobering to realize that the majority of viewers didn't love season 1 because of its excellent storytelling, but because it had cool visuals and action. "Oh. Okay. I guess it's no wonder well written shows are rare flukes when this kind of trash gets lauded."

[@2ndlegend125]

God, I feel like the first time I felt this with something I was actually invested in was RWBY.

[@MagerBlutooth]

Imagine the last scene of Season 2 features Jinx and Silco standing in an empty void together. Then Doomer's stoat appears in Arcane's art style, looks directly at the camera, and says "Who's laughing now, EFAP?" as Jinx and Silco start making out.

[@Uniquenameosaurus]

Oh hi

[@MagerBlutooth]

@@Uniquenameosaurus Cheers.

[@lukaschyla8430]

Isn't it just such a perfect Microcosm for Season 2 to see Grogu parade around the Symbol of the Monkey Head as an "Iconic Jinx Trademark" when in Season 1 it Stood for Jinxes Cope and constant reminder of her haunting, life-changing mistake... Why did the writers- just why, man... What happened :(

[@crazycanadian5592]

I just finished the season. Oh God the misery... Literally what the fuck was the finale episode? It was on par with a bad episode of Marvel's "What If?" Franchise. It made absolutely no sense. New powers are introduced and forgotten every 5 min. Characters just make vague platitudes about being good or evil. I legitimately barely understood what the conflict even was by the end. I just knew robot guys were bad and the fleshy people were good. Don't know what either side was trying to do though. How tf could the writers feel this was a worthy follow up to season one.

[@HeckDescender2184]

" a bad What If? episode" - that right there is a very good analogy thank you! Ahaha same I was like ummm okay I guess robot people evil? So Piltover vs Zaun just yunno they kinda got over it I guess. No big deal guys

[@Jamesthemaze]

Either they somehow thought that really was a good follow up or they were forced to be riot because “we need to make more shows you sloppy whores, now finish this up or I slap the shit out you”

[@cardmaster8772]

The fact that Jayce suggests Viktor was always trying to fix his imperfections and that imperfections shouldnt be fixed is hilarious, because that wasnt the theme of Viktor journey in S1. Viktor didnt have a problem with being a cripple, its the moment he starts dying, he decides to look for alternate solutions. His leg getting healed was a side effect. And I doubt Jayce is dumb enough to suggest that there is nothing wrong with dying from disease, if this is a problem both of them tried to fix via Hextech. Its like they didnt want to spend time on writing something meaningful, so they went for some surface level perfection bs, while Viktor was more about preservation than living a life as a perfected man.

[@crazycanadian5592]

@cardmaster8772 oh I hated everything with Viktor and Jayce. The amount of dick riding posts people have been making online about how their final scene was great is nauseating. Your criticisms are just as valid but I was beyond expecting consistency to season one that that point. I was hoping they'd at least stay consistent to this season. I was like alright, Viktor is a crazy robot man determined to assimilate the world. Sure, I don't really know why but he seems to be hell bent on it. And then what stops him? Jayce just points out imperfections are good and friendship. THAT'S enough to stop Viktor? Who we were told was basically an ethereal being beyond human comprehension. It makes his motivation seem so flimsy. He just gives up after one conversation. Remember when Vander and Silco both respected each other but were so entrenched in their positions that no amount of conversation would change their perspective? Season two apparently doesn't because it believes every conflict can be solved with "but what if we were just nice to each other."

[@puggietaur]

you say that as if there are any good what if episodes

[@Bsweds32]

It's insane to me that people think this season is good.

[@miltonfine947]

We don't talk about consoomers. Just give it a month and they'll shill for something else and never think again about that mediocre thing they defended to the death to satisfy their contrarian kink.

[@Jdudec367]

@@nanakakitano9724 No that thing happened with build up and reason. Nah they aren't brainlets it ain't bad.

[@Redditaurus]

@Jdudec367 "barinles"...................

[@Jdudec367]

@@Redditaurus Fixed there

[@FILLUPE]

My opinion is the ppl who like it are having an emotional reaction due to the music plus the scene the music is playing too. Echo and Jinx dance scene being the prime example

[@enigmaticchickenmcnobody]

1:05:22 Do you know what the worst part of that scene is? They didn't use a scientist, they used Cassandra's SECRETARY! (You see him when she's hyping up Jacye at progress day) Even worse, caitlyn would have seen this and at least tacitly agreed to it or didn't do anything to stop it.

[@t.c.8405]

It would've been more interesting if Isha was actually just a figment of of Jinx's imagination, but in the Tyler Durden way. So when Isha does her thing at the end of E6, it's just the briefest flash to Vi's perspective that it's actually Jinx doing that and not Isha. This whole time the audience is like "wtf is going on, how is she doing so well all of a sudden?" and then the writers are like "lmao, psych! She was getting worse all along!" Would that have required a rewrite of whole scenes with Isha? Who tf cares, those scenes need a complete rewrite anyway.

[@bc-cu4on]

Not a bad idea, actually.

[@MyAquilo]

I have to disagree. From a certain point of view it makes sense that Jinx is less crazy (less schizophrenic, fewer hallucinations) because at the end of Season 1 she accepted herself as Jinx, she’d accepted that she’d never be Powder again and that Violet had changed too. Isha’s role in the story is, I think, to convince Jinx that she isn’t just some destructive force doomed to break things and destroy her own family, but that she’s able to look after people and that she’s capable of being loved. Of course, the purpose of Isha’s death is then to shatter this hopeful image Jinx was starting to develop of herself and re convince her that she’s a curse to the people around her. This serves the larger themes of the story which can be summed up with the phrase “What Could Have Been”. That’s a fair chunk of Arcane’s emotional beats too - show us a promising future, then shatter it. Having Isha as a figment of Jinx’s imagination just smacks of the similar sUbVeRtInG eXpEcTaTiOnS that we disliked in the last seasons of game of thrones and the Disney Star Wars trilogy. We don’t need to be told “she’s crazy” any more than we already are.

[@reactiondavant-garde3391]

@@MyAquilo Personally I just dislike Isha as a trope. I think giving this arc to Jinx is just boring choice. They want to make her more personal, more likeable, but I would lvoe to see if they go full-on Jinx being evil. Technicly I agree thet she would be less instable, but she would be still crazy, just in a more ordered manner. Like Joker. With clean mind but mad intentions. I want to see her plotting, but not because she have some greater belife for Zaun, but because she want to sow discord and chaos. I want her to be resentfull and envious towards everything thet happy and ordered.

[@MyAquilo]

@ Well in act 1 she does (mostly successfully) plot to trap Vi and Cait in a place where she can kill them… or they can kill her, which she kind of wants too. Part of that plan also includes her redecorating *the whole* of Piltover (I.e. turning order to chaos) using a system of vents she’d clearly figured out as well as Cait did, but without the aid of those tape recordings. Much like she figured out the principles of Hextech without a formal education. She definitely plotted, just in a more chaotic neutral than chaotic evil way.

[@reactiondavant-garde3391]

@@MyAquilo She is evil in seasen two as well, really, especially the part what you mentioned, but my problem is Isha and the writers obious intetions. I doN't want more mudding the water, yes I understand Jinx sad backstory, but I just bored out of my mind to see again how a little child help some heart-broken villain find it's humanity.

[@grandarkfang_1482]

3:38:53 The way Mauler says, "Powder?" makes me think of Mufasa from Lion King (2019) saying,"Simba!?" 😂😂😂😂

[@spartan1879]

So... when did Vander try to drown Silco? I'm surprised nobody on the panel noticed the massive retcon they pulled concerning that. Silco mentions hating Vander for his betrayal but still respecting him as a fighter and visionary until he made peace with Topside. We see the moment Vander gave up the fight: the prologue of season 1, the moment the girls' mother died. Huh? Also, Vi doesn't even imply any kind of prior relationship with Silco when she would have been old enough to remember. Also, Vander and Silco look NOTABLY younger in the drowning flashback. No. Nothing is clearly stated on when this happened but there are plenty of things implying it had nothing to do with the mothers death. Thoughts?

[@Antony-sb2uv]

I always assumed the events were that they had the riot on the bridge, Vander attacked Silco soon after (because they disagreed on what to do next I assume). And then Vander eventually made the deal with Grayson, which would have taken some time to open communication between them. That deal would be what Silco saw as playing lapdog

[@theirDevil]

I imagine they will talk more about that later, because, unfortunately, their are more Silco scenes.

[@spartan1879]

@@Antony-sb2uv I also assumed this after my first three viewings. It seemed obvious that he tried to kill Silco because he knew he would never stop fighting and Vander wanted to end it. But it would have been so easy to clarify that in season 1. But it never is. They are way younger than they should be in that flashback if that happened after the prologue. Season 1's writing is way to sharp to leave something so important so ambiguous.

[@cardmaster8772]

People suggest Silco was on the bridge (as we could see that Vander saw Silco react to Felicia death in memories, when Singed was describing him), Vander choked him, then returned to the bridge and took care of Vi and Powder. The problem is... Vander has a beard on the bridge. He doesnt have one when fighting Silco. So it was clear in S1 that Silco fight happened way before the bridge, so whatever they re going with now is just a retcon. Especially, since in season 1, Vander seemingly saw Felicia dead body at the same time that the kids did, which doesnt make sense if he fought Silco because of that. Season 2 has weak writing at times, but I would never think they would leave major mistakes like this in.

[@benjaminsnyder9587]

It's Richtus and the Smeech, Smeech, Smeech, Smeech... What'll we do tonight, Smeech? The same thing we do every night, Richtus: try to take over Piltover!

[@Phoenix0F8]

Richtus and Smeech, Richtus and Smeech They were the DEVILS CHILDREN Richtus and Smeech

[@dreadedronin24]

Going back and rewatching season one make me so pissed off at how much they dropped the ball with season 2 the quality and attention to detail in this first season is off the charts the works actually feel lived in cause and effect is happening for every action no matter how big or small but in season 2 none of that is there all that is left is the visual and spectacle with none of the substance really disappointing this story deserve at least 5 seasons to fully flesh out

[@dreadedronin24]

@@nanakakitano9724​​⁠ it’s insane. They spend 3 episodes in season one on just the cause and effect from one job that’s they pulled that went wrong and how it has ripples effect everyone even people not directly involved. But in season 2 it feels like any action doesn’t have any consequence anymore the only thing is get jinx for this thing that that she did but what about the death of silco marcus’ death all the consolers death and how that affect the people around them? Just feels like the world is alive anymore season one would have spend the entire time just exploring the ramification of that event on everyone involved not just dumb it down to we need to get jynx the end.

[@7Sarutan7]

i HATE what they did to viktor and warwick. get that disney shit out of this franchise!

[@blacktigerpaw1]

They turned a beefy man into a Californian, cry now

[@JTFIghter6969]

22:51 On the music point: I fucking despise the cringe imagine dragons cameo in season 1, but at least that one was obviously cringe. In season 2 the music videos rush past half the events I want to see. At least the fire light intro was just establishing the firefights as a faction rather than massive world building events. It’s not used well like in season 1. When they enter zaun for the first time in season 1, chefs kiss that shit is money. EVERYONE GO WATCH the use of the song at the end of episode 2 it’s fucking BEAUTIFUL I almost forget about it because of how awesome episode 3 is right after. The Ekko Jinx fight’s music fit so well with that moment. It’s such a shame how downhill it went. “What have they done to us” Jesus that’s way more on the nose.

[@dustindarby8628]

Personally I liked the music… my favorite songs were “spin the wheel” and “a keepsake”

[@Сайтамен]

Limited time again. They need to show the events as quickly as possible and move on, so they chose music montage.

[@JTFIghter6969]

@ it’s not about the songs themselves. It’s about how soooooooo much shit goes on with no dialogue that we just have to swallow. Huge world building events. Parts of which require an explanation or context that we never get.

[@gathenhielm9977]

I realize this is very subjective, but I really don't like the style of music they go with. It's almost all overproduced screeching pop that wants to be rock when it grows up. It's repetitive and often weirdly at odds with the visuals.

[@DaSoupin]

They put them there to advance the story faster, and they made them visually amazing looking and had great songs, if it's too fast for you, maybe the show isn't for you, you should probably watch a show that spoon feeds you every little things

[@mixedcuts1895]

Ok something else just popped into my head. Why didn't Jayce just dismantle the hexcore as soon as he returned to the present day. Wouldn't that have stopped Viktor's plans and Jayce wouldn't have even needed to take him out because the Dr said Viktor's powers were finite. ALSO, after Jayce returns to Piltover after attacking Viktor, shouldn't he have started dismantling the hexcore immediately instead of moping about in the council room? Yeesh, the more I think about this show, the worse it gets.

[@Justanidea5976]

Wouldn't have mattered. Viktor has thousands of those automatons and could just have them pick them up and put them in the Hexcore. He wouldn't be able to hide them either since all Viktor has to do is touch him to find out where he put them and have the automatons get them.

[@moonpolarmoon]

@@Justanidea5976 Then why did he start dismantling it during battle?

[@Justanidea5976]

@moonpolarmoon He was mainly trying to do anything he could think of to stop Viktor in that moment and that was one of them.

[@Of_infinite_Faith]

Because the writers forgot about who jayce is as a character and they needed to have that corny ending

[@willburnett8129]

Where did goatman train for science, on a FARM?

[@HeckDescender2184]

JUSTICE FOR GOATMAN!

[@jonpheadrus9666]

Tbh reading the lyrics of Paint the Town Blue, does anyone else get the feeling that the song was meant for a very different music video? Quality of said lyrics not withstanding, it seems like it would have been more appropriate for Jinx rampaging around Piltover than a police crackdown on Zaun.

[@BlackScisir]

EXACTLY MAN. EXACTLY. I TOTALLY HAD THAT FEELING WHEN I FIRST HEARD THAT. Holy shit i almost completely forgot. Really feels like a change in direction because they said they had the songs ready beforehand this time because they said they were now animating to the song instead of making songs for the animation.

[@Martijn_Steinpatz]

It's like the writers wrote all these of episodes/scenes seperate and never bothered to exchange notes, not to mention check them with the previous season.

[@Jamesthemaze]

This may be coping but like… I can’t help but believe the executives are to blame for this. They refuse to give me time, they gave them half the time to make this season and it’s obviously for money’s sake. That’s my take on it anyway cuz I can’t believe the writers would deliver us such shit

[@aroyals339]

Well if it's good enough for Marvel....

[@Kantorek17]

@@Jamesthemaze Tbh I also feel like it's yet again those guys in the suits who ruin everything too. Most likely they just told the creative team to forget everything, wrap all their ideas up in just one season, also obligated them to put in Warwick, Ambessa, Singed, Victor and his glorious evolution, Ekko recieving his time-travelling skills, the Black Rose, Mel recieving her magical stuff, Catevi sex scene, Singed's daughter yada yada just to make "fans" go nuts. And with Mel and Ambessa it's also probably because they're getting into the League of Legends itself. Speaking of Jinx look during the 3rd arc it looks souless too, almost like they're advertising it for the game. So yeah most likely it's the executives to blame, since they are actually the guys who can decide whatever they want and not face any consequences except financial ones.

[@romainf3780]

"How much time do you need?" "20 episodes" "You have 9" - Obi Wan Kenobi

[@stdamonsbeard]

@@romainf3780 Why do you think Netflix did that? I mean the show is popular. You don’t think at least 3 seasons would be doable. But apparently that’s too tall a task.

[@sockpocketpre-alpha8258]

@@stdamonsbeard Making it about piltover makes it more about Vi and Jayce then about LoL, which probably Riot thinks isn't as good for marketing their shitty game.

[@MrBuzzcake]

9 episodes is fine unless you are a dumb person, so it makes sense why efap audience felt it was not enough

[@gradmeister8546]

Netflix is just a host space for the show. They weren't involved in development.

[@romainf3780]

​@@stdamonsbeardIt's probably about the money. As soon as anything becomes popular, it is fast-tracked into a Marvel-style multiverse for infinite spin-offs. At this point, the original show is just a vessel for future stuff that needs to be done as quickly as possible.

[@Red_Cap5]

When trying to establish why the entire undercity suddenly likes Jinx now, so much so that even the Firelights, the people would hate her almost as much as Piltover, are considering siding with her. Doing it via a timeskip/music video seems a bit jarring, don't you think?

[@politkos5348]

apparently because she “blew up the council” and yet no one thought to mention how she killed silco

[@Sauron17011]

Have you not seen the first episode of the season, where multiple council members argue for extraditing her to piltover? Did you not notice the Firelights being among the very last people to join up with the rest of them in the end?

[@Red_Cap5]

@@Sauron17011 Ok, so how does the Council wanting Jinx make everyone in Zaun all of a sudden like her? Even Smeech in episode 2 was like "Why don't we just give up Jinx to Piltover, it's all they want". So who's to assume that there wouldn't be more people down in the Undercity who would have that same perspective? Also, Episode 4 was the episode where at the beginning it established that a large amount of the Undercity was on the side of Jinx, to the point in which an entire group was named after her. At around the 20 minute mark of the same episode, we see the Firelights siding with that group, without at all going over their perspective on why they would ever consider siding with Jinx. It's hard not to point out how fast the Firelights are willing to side with the Jinxers, in the very same episode the Jinxers were established.

[@Sauron17011]

@@Red_Cap5 It has not made everyone immediately like her. However, Jinx has just committed a massive terrorist attack on one of the symbols of oppression Zaun suffers under, has directly killed multiple of the leaders oppressing them and, in their eyes, avenged their leader silco. It really is not very far-fetched that there‘d a be a faction forming that idolizes her. There are also multiple that oppose her. Which lose, on-screen with smeech, and unfortunately offscreen with the latex and tophat gang. As for why the Firelights would side with Jinx, while I agree that this is underdeveloped, they have by this point been under pccupied martial law for months, their leader has vanished, their symbol is dying. They‘re desperatefor someone to unite the Undercity, and Jinx has stopped attacking them after Silco died, so it is reasonable to assume they could rationalize her attacks on them as her being an arm of Silco‘s will, which isn‘t even entirely false, so they move towards uniting against the larger enemy. While I agree a lot was lost by such large portions of development being skipped over, it is by no means nonsensical or out of character for anyone.

[@Wandersnatch.]

@@politkos5348 No one knows that, the gremlin guy is even surprised when she says that

[@mmanzanozr1]

This needed another season to make sense, completely rushed, a lot of characters are gone and nobody even mentioned it or gave a fuck about it.

[@rodrigomorenonunez4030]

nutsa: *hesitates to say something, gets interrupted* someone else: sorry go ahead nutsa: no I... Drink every time this happens. Perish.

[@stdamonsbeard]

My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

[@ifonlyicouldstop]

Overall, I enjoyed it quite a lot, despite its fault. My day is... pretty much as good as the last.

[@aroyals339]

I didn't really care as I thought season 1 was just good. ...but I feel your pain, I went thru it with Westworld season 2.

[@ilikebeanies3499]

My disappointment is drooling and my day is squeaky

[@nelguinevere4036]

On Singed. It's so funny how the writers keep missing obvious choices. Singed would never come to the rally. But we have the stupid scene where Ambessa kills the goat scientists. Have her look for more scientists, turning more and more desperate. Have her investigate and find out about this crazy dude associated with late Silco. Have her seek him out and convince him to work for her in exchange for resources. Have Singed agree because he has no choice - after Silco's death he has lost his resources. Have Ambessa conceal all of that from Cait properly, and then have the two have an actial logical confict when Cait finds out that her essentially partner has gone to this mass murderer behind her back. Have Cait understand Ambessa's motives and plan, get horrified and regretful, and then have Cait actively seek out Vi to get help in defeating Ambessa. Have them have an actual conflict, etc, etc. It's all here, it's a low hanging fruit, just give it more time. Instead we have this nonsense.

[@duchessofdementia]

this is good thinking. the two things that I got super hung up on in act 2 was a) why would singed do to the rally and b) why didn't Caitlyn straight up arrest ambessa when she found her with singed. you solved them. the writers couldn't.

[@nelguinevere4036]

@duchessofdementia there are so many more changes you can do that would improve everything. But that was not the point for the writers. Because, you see, with any kind of rewrite that would make sense we can't have the pile of dog shit that was the whole insanity with Jinx breaking people out of prison with Warwick coming to the prison at the same time so that we can crash course into Vi and Jinx being family again. All of that needs to be rewritten as well. This whole season needs to be burned down and written from scratch. And then another 3 seasons if we absolutely need to have all the storylines they introduced. Then we might have salvaged this nightmare.

[@nelguinevere4036]

​@@duchessofdementiaBTW, now thinking about it. It would have made more sense and been better if Singed never made Warwick and instead resurrected Vander as a man. That would make more sense for his goal to defeat death (it's not like he's gonna make a wolf out of his dead daughter) and gave us a quick path to Jinx, Vi and Vander without all the BS of him being a giant monster who tries to kill them. Now, I don't think having them reconcile is a good idea overall, nor do I think that dumping Vander on them was a good idea, not do I think bringing him back in any shape or form was a good idea - all of this was bollocks. But this bollocks could have been better! But then you couldn't have a cool image of Vi facing of the giant red glowing monster....

[@HeckDescender2184]

#justice4goatman gone too soon you shall be remembered

[@DanielMatthew89]

Even the most beautiful visuals can't mask weak storytelling.

[@enigmaticchickenmcnobody]

Genuinely gutted this was how it turned out. Such a massive step down in writing quality from S1. All spectacle and seldom of substance. I really wanted to like it.

[@joer626]

Appreciate it then, it’s the most visually stunning season of tv ever created and got a lot right, it didn’t hit the landing but who cares, shit happens

[@jonbaxter2254]

Ending felt a lot muddled and disjointed, series 1 had such a perfect, tragic ending.

[@bc-cu4on]

Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

[@jcore0981]

​@@joer626That's dangerously close to "shut up and consume product"😂

[@joer626]

@ I never explicitly said that, I might’ve thought it, I might mean it, but I didn’t say it😇

[@kcrr]

I hope you know we had everything When you broke me and left these pieces I want you to hurt like you hurt me today and I want you to lose like I lose when I play What could have been Oh, what could have been

[@thedoobieshrew0244]

Droolin for a squeaky

[@kcrr]

@thedoobieshrew0244 :(

[@spartan1879]

Where is my home? I don't recognize the faces anymore, no-o-o Where is my friend? The one I've known since I was only just a kid I think it's time to say goodbye... Goodbye goodbye Goodbye Arcane

[@jonbaxter2254]

Sting, don't do this to me.

[@revolversnake126]

who is the character from your pfp?

[@The_Truth_Logic]

Arcane is effectively, officially, tragically dead. In terms of storytelling, there’s no coming back from this. Visuals do not equal a good product alone. They only facilitate what can be. I am convinced the writers either are not the same hires as S1, or like Avatar TLA, the true writer wasn’t involved with the follow up. The difference in quality is too uncanny. The fact my experience boiled down to “and then, and then” followed by “I can’t follow half of this” was already a crime in itself.

[@za-ir5ni]

@The_Truth_Logic I think that's a skill issue if you can't follow it because it's really not hard. Other then it being rushed, the writing is still good and a LOT of the criticisms you guys are making have been outright regarded.

[@markopusic8258]

More likely, Season 2 got botched because it wasn't supposed to be the final season, I refuse to believe there aren't at least 2 seasons crammed in there it's just not possible otherwise.

[@blacktigerpaw1]

@@za-ir5ni Such as?

[@jonbaxter2254]

I'm still pissed at characters acting out, Cait would not talk to Vi like that after all they had been through.

[@ifonlyicouldstop]

What a lot of...hyperbole.

[@zMangos_]

Droolin for a squeaky is the only thing in my life that brings me joy

[@marcogenovesi8570]

that is giving Dustborn's "song" lyrics a run for its money

[@HispanicAlucard]

Unbridled disappointment would probably be the best title given there's not a 0% chance Mauler may make a video on this.

[@ValtheJean]

After now watching the last arc...I cannot believe how quickly they sullied the integrity of this show. For the life of me, I cannot comprehend how they could fumble this bad. What were they thinking?

[@Nieuws1]

What is Arcane's obsession with showing chicks with chest bindings and no shirts.

[@michaelburbidge5835]

Awful sequence in general. Vi was so depressed she went to a hairdresser and got a dye job.

[@Phoenix0F8]

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@DUKEzors]

Vi's look is based on a skin in the game, but it's probably a nod to "surgery" as well.

[@Сайтамен]

Firstly, she has tattoos on her back. Second, female fighters bind their chests so they wouldn't be an inconvenience in the fight. Third, shirts get sweaty in the fight.

[@leosorghum6867]

Who knows but it's one of the few things of this season that I'm not gonna complain about

[@greatest9503]

I don't consider this season canon. YES I SAID IT, and I'm happier for it.

[@jeloneq7]

That is huge ammount of COPIUM sir. I will never be able to forget this absolute travesty though.

[@Of_infinite_Faith]

​@@jeloneq7 call me a copioid then cuz I'm about to pretend

[@JTFIghter6969]

Rft had a tweet saying this is probably the most disappointed he’s ever been in a piece of media, and I think I agree. It’s so so so much worse than season 1.

[@Cypherlu999]

Last time I was THAT desappointed by a finale ... it was Game of thrones season 8

[@johnneyface]

“What do you mean short, but sexy?” Mauler “idk, I don’t know…” That sent me lol

[@leosorghum6867]

3:05:38 for reference

[@mixedcuts1895]

One of the most irritating aspects of this season was the many ambiguous fates of several main characters. Heimerdinger, Jayce, Viktor, Vander and Jinx all just disappeared. It really made the show feel more like an extended teaser trailer for future spinoff shows where they could return. The whole Black Rose subplot definitely feels like a setup for a show focusing on Mel going up against the other mages. Additionally, I think when vague magic became more prominent in the show, that's when it started to lose its appeal. Everything in the first season felt pretty grounded, particularly the weaponry. The hextech was shown to have practical uses that never really appeared too outlandish. In this season, the overuse of magic made you question why certain storylines were not resolved more swiftly. For example, couldn't the black rose have just wiped out Ambessa's army the same way they captured and tormented Mel? Also, why didn't Viktor just send in his army of drones first? That would have easily overwhelmed the enforcers in seconds without most of Ambessa's army / fleet being greatly reduced in number.

[@HeckDescender2184]

Oh its defo set up for another show right? Yeah it annoyed me watching the end thinking okay why is this being billed as "the final season" when clearly stuff is being set up for a spinoff or something later? Like hell there could technically be a Season 3 after this because it doesn't feel finished at all

[@dire213]

did it get the amazing spiderrman 2 treatment?

[@mixedcuts1895]

@@dire213 Absolutely! But they've played themselves because a lot of fans are not going to continue watching the shows because they compromised the quality of season 2 so badly just so they could use it as springboard for future projects.

[@mixedcuts1895]

I've gone through the five stages of grief with season 2. By the time I got to episode 7, I finally reached acceptance. It's a terrible season with no chance of a turnaround. Episode 8 confirmed that too.

[@goldenmairon2371]

Arcane: Folie à deux

[@jonbaxter2254]

Ah shit, you might be right. Fuck.

[@An_Actual_Rat]

I'm thankful we didn't have a scene where Enforcers "struggle snuggled" the Jinx persona out of Powder.

[@goldenmairon2371]

@An_Actual_Rat I am thankful we didn't have a crappy musical every episo- Oh, oh no WAIT, WAIT WAIT WAIT-

[@defrostedrobot77]

I'd probably take Joker 2 over this season tbh. The damage was spread more further spread here.

[@toddstone230]

Somehow, the world felt alot smaller this season than in season 1. Maybe it's because we were still being introduced in the first season, but the worldbuilding hasn't impressed me in this season

[@MrFallenone]

The first time you get to see Piltower as the gang climb on the rooftops is better worldbuilding than anything in this mess of a season.

[@MBJP-z8o]

4:24:40 “My name is Caitlyn Morgan, I’m a blood splatter analyst for the piltover police department”

[@devilonyourshoulder4732]

When Vi's/Jinx's mother talked about being pregnant, I was literally in a cold sweat, that one of them will be revealed as the actual father. It thankfully didn't happen, but this scene still destroyed so much.

[@HeckDescender2184]

And I swear the implication in Season One was Silco takes on Jinx out of revenge and to spite Vander. It completely changes it up now to seen it that he was taking on the daughter of a dear friend. Idk maybe I missed something but in Season One I didnt think there was anything to suggest Silco knew Vi and Jinx's mother.

[@CaptainDrumm15]

Silco took in powder because he saw himself in her, he was gonna kill her otherwise. Him knowing her mother doesn't change anything because as silco said he was born anew​@@HeckDescender2184

[@za-ir5ni]

@@devilonyourshoulder4732 It didn't destroy anything. These claims I've been saying are so bizarre. It literally only showed Silco and Vander being friends and Vander naming Vi. You guys are so delusional lol

[@za-ir5ni]

@@HeckDescender2184 Silco didn't know that.

[@reactiondavant-garde3391]

@@za-ir5ni Yes it is. It is diminished the characters by tying their's decisions to personal connections and not their's moral characters. It is made the world smaller, everythign personal, small, claustrophobic even. Other problem is thet this retcon doesn't work because Silco would act differently towards Vi and Powder if he was PERSONALLY friend with the women who gave her life for HIS cause. He absolutly respect loyalty and he would taken care of the childs, especially because he needed more underlings anyway. Oh yes, and it was a retcon.

[@liamdunnie]

Having just finished Act 3 this is GoT season 8 levels of pain and disappointment. Essentially every character assassinated. What a waste.

[@uttrik]

It's crazy that one flashback in episode six can do that much damage to season 1.

[@Sauron17011]

What did it change?

[@dire213]

@@Sauron17011 silco's and vander's core characteristics and motivations.

[@Sauron17011]

@@dire213 How?

[@dire213]

@@Sauron17011 the panel explained it in around the 5hr and 40min mark of this efap

[@Sauron17011]

@ I‘m not watching the circlejerk of 5 guys who have by that point spent a fourth of their day talking themselves into a frenzy over how bad the show is. Give specific arguments.

[@hunorszekely1171]

🎶They're Rictus and Smeech Yes, Rictus and Smeech One is from Noxus The other's a snitch. They're arcane's last hope Whose writing's not poor. They're vicious They're Rictus and Smeech, Smeech, Smeech, Smeech, Smeech, Smeech, Smeech, Smeech, Smeech🎶

[@kingragnarok7302]

Seeing this show get worse by the act was almost as painful as Rags trying to pull off that Le Blanc's joke.

[@stevegt2682]

4 episodes of season 2 were written by people who did not write any episodes in season 1

[@florencethibodeau9237]

Man now I understand how y’all feel. I’ve talked to my dad and friends about s2 and they all loved it. And they have excuses for every complaint I have. The most common one being “Just give it time, it’ll all make sense by the end” which consistently confuses me because I don’t understand how someone who likes s1 could possibly enjoy s2. I felt like I was watching a marvel series written by Ryan Johnson.

[@LeylaSKDR]

Same. Except most of my friends didn't like it. But for the ones who did, I just can't understand how they could. It's hard not to judge them, and to be honest, I do. Which is not a nice feeling.

[@TheTalan]

I feel like they either were afraid of commitmenting to stuff they set up in season one or they weren't allowed. It's hard to believe it's the same team.

[@nesbits22]

again, was never season one’s biggest fan yet the rage I feel is immeasurable. how can such shit writing exist

[@crimsonpotemkin]

The creator posting that regarded shit on twitter has convinced me that season 1 was a fluke. Like Joker was. Somehow the stars just aligned the right way once and a miracle happened. You'd think that to create a masterpiece the author would need to understand it on a much deeper level than the viewer, but I guess not. I guess they just bumble through it and get lucky.

[@matthewcollins4773]

It seems, unfortunately, that they know what people want -- superficial stuff, literally "the cool characters we like team up". This is EFAP's constant lament -- that we get so little good writing because everyone's happy with less. Arcane is actually a perfect example, going forward. I enjoyed season two on the level of "this is fun, entertaining, visually appealing stuff"; the issue is that season one wasn't just entertaining it was clever, subtle, tightly written -- and so this season is a huge disappointment in comparison. If I had just seen this season, I would have said "this is a fun show, worth a watch". But the problem is, as EFAP always notes, that if we do that we get nothing more than "a fun show", and we could have so much better. And in Arcane season one we did...

[@Sephirothkingdom782]

or...they didn't get the time with more seasons due to netflix. Not everything is the result of bad writing, because most of the issues here are due to vagueness or rushed plot points.

[@toddstone230]

What exactly did the creator say?

[@crimsonpotemkin]

@@toddstone230 check it out, its at the 4 hour mark exactly.

[@morelstrike]

​@@matthewcollins4773 well, Warwick didn't even get to be himself in this season, so there is that about "bringing cool character".

[@NikoJr.]

As someone who doesn’t follow LoL at all but wants to see Arcane, should I just watch Season 1 and not even bother with Season 2?

[@venusinuranus]

Yes. Save yourself.

[@krolirtheekroller4147]

You can watch S2 to enjoy the animation, which is reason enough in my mind, but don't expect much else from that.

[@Wandersnatch.]

You should watch it, the hate here overblown because of how good season 1 was. Season 2 is not terrible, but just really not deliver and has some not minor problems.

[@nelguinevere4036]

Yes, watch season 1 and take the last episode as the end of the story.

[@NikoJr.]

@@Wandersnatch. So S1 is a 10, and S2 is like a 5 or 6?

[@TheNoonish]

This isn’t Arcane, it’s Arcade.

[@jonbaxter2254]

From Fallout: New Vegas? Nobody tell Doomer...

[@TheSoulknight19]

Arcane has become Ourpain

[@defrostedrobot77]

*Ar-cringe

[@moe5020]

@@TheSoulknight19 oh the misery

[@bigjen8238]

Why do they even have the imagine dragons intro song, when every episode got a music video?

[@CompleteBoredom733]

It’s probably a contractual problem, they got their song from a famous band and now they are obligated to use it for every intro. And it’s not like it’s the only show where the theme song is the same for the whole series

[@Jamesthemaze]

Oh and just a reminder. Jayce had blueprints for the atlas gauntlets and Caitlyn’s gun. So… no one found those blueprints? Did the Black Rose steal them? wtf they should’ve had a scene of Jayce hiding away his notes or doing something like that

[@Of_infinite_Faith]

I would have a scene where jayce burns his notes and blue prints (it all in his mind anyway) to keep ambessa from playing him. Instead of tossing him in a hole in the future, I'd have ambessa pull strings, frame him and put him in a dungeon where they use unorthodox methods to force him to make weapons. Like the iron man scene in the cave kinda.

[@mixedcuts1895]

Very much like Isha falling on Jinx, I wonder if a bunch of children fell on the writers' heads before they wrote this season.

[@Varumitto]

Classic stream title "Arcane act 2 breakdown" vs VOD title "Season 2 - Episodes 4 & 5" lol.

[@Maeryus1506]

what really pisses me of is that in the game, cait has lines about: investigating, being on the case, being a cop/sherrif/detective, but in arcane she does nothing like that, she s a leader of a martial lawed city nation, a lesbo, she gets go learn martial arts from ambessa?? she doesn't realize ambessa has ambitions, wait... what is ambessa's ambition? why does she do what she does? power? establishing a dinasty? get control over piltover for noxus?

[@idkman9164]

I think ambessas goal to be fair is to defeat the Black Rose, and for that she needs lots of hextech weapons at first. Later on she settles for her soldiers becoming mini viktors I guess?

[@madspice1663]

@@idkman9164 A character as smart as Ambessa would never have trusted Victor and realize she is being used not the user.

[@idkman9164]

@@madspice1663 oh yeah completely agree. They tried to frame it as if she was incredibly desperate but it fell short. Desperation doesn't excuse idiocy. Just explaining what I think the writers tried to do there to the confused folk, since it wasn't executed clearly... I've paid too much attention while watching this honestly, would have enjoyed myself way more if I treated it like a brain off action show

[@Сайтамен]

​@@idkman9164 I guess she thought he can only evolve the people he healed from Shimmer? Since others were not affected until the finale.

[@revolversnake126]

>a lesbo what's wrong with that?

[@DarthRamzes]

I cannot wait for next week. I want to see them dismantling the absolute disaster, that is finale and what it retroactively does to season 1. Was this the plan all along? Was season 1 just a fluke?

[@Jamesthemaze]

Dude the finale made me lose any defense I had for the first 2 arcs. Like seriously, how fucking rushed was that shit? I really think they could’ve done what they wanted if they gave the writers more time or episodes to flesh out their shit. Like Viktor’s slow corruption. Have it be as he builds the conclave, he faces setbacks. Goons trying to hurt his people, his people robbing and taking advantage of him. Have him begin to question some of the weaknesses that people have that prevent them from making a perfect society. The voice in his head, the arcane inside begins to warp his mind, whilst revealing truths to him, and Viktor tries desperately to hold onto his good intentions, until he’s faced with the logical, and painless option in his now warped mind. The Glorious Evolution. And that could add to the tragedy of Jayce and Viktor. Because in his attempt to save his best friend, Jayce warped him into something near unrecognizable. I’m sorry for the rambling but like Jesus Christ, they could’ve made these work if they were given more time to A. Cook. B. Flesh out each point via multiple episodes

[@Jamesthemaze]

Also may be coping here but I consider s1 to be something entirely different at this point and I am just going to make up how it ends for myself

[@ethanbird2117]

Rictus looks like the gigachad meme

[@MaddEndd]

As disappointed as I am with this show, Maddies pinball arc was unironically funny.

[@kingragnarok7302]

That death was fucking personal xD

[@politkos5348]

i love how the writers expect us to care about their plot devices getting killed off like none of those mfs had actual character

[@jackofblades8112]

That was so dumb i burst out laughing.

[@TheRetroRenegade]

I just watched up to this point and I fucking lost it so hard I had to pause to catch my breath! That was fucking hilarious! A new target-test record for sure!

[@gathenhielm9977]

She's pretty much symbolic of the whole season: Comes out of nowhere, we learn pretty much nothing about her, acts in a completely wtf manner, dies. At least the design was neat.

[@ghoulsome9483]

Piltover has fallen, billions must consume shimmer

[@bradbee9874]

Correct me if I'm wrong but Vi and Powder never referred to Vander as Dad or Father in Arcane Season 1 The werewolf hug scene was so hilariously bad Followed by the line "What are you waiting for he's you're Dad too" Arcane season 2 is very expensive fanfiction Edit to the people who thought it was great I'm glad it made you 'FEEL' things But the build up to the scene the choices the characters made and the dialogue were written poorly Animation was beautiful though. In arcane season 1 when Vander is dying and Vi is calling out to him she says "Vander, Vander" Vi season 1 ≠ Vi season 2

[@dustindarby8628]

Have you had a stepfather? In my experience we never call him dad but when referring to him in more intimate situations we do… I see absolutely nothing offbeat here

[@jonbaxter2254]

Shit man, you are wrong. The hug was a bright spot in this. I love found families, and Vander was a great man.

[@Sauron17011]

Dear god, I'm starting to think every single person hating on the show is just media illiterate. He was obviously a father figure for a large portion of their childhood.

[@bradbee9874]

@@Sauron17011 I hear you. No one disputes he was a father figure and Vi and Powder saw him as such. The point isn't proving he was/wasn't a father figure The point is whether Vi would refer to him as Dad and whether that is in character Hating or Loving something would not be an argument in itself and is not a demonstration of media literacy It would depend on the arguments made Sauron "I'm starting to think -" followed by a lack of critical thinking And I guess you would say the points the panel on EFAP made were just about hating the show.

[@Sauron17011]

@@bradbee9874 They both obviously saw him as a father figure. His death is what drove them apart. It is entirely reasonable for Vi to refer to him as such in such an emotional moment, and with Jinx being the one to lead her the, extending the olive brach an clearly being emotionally invested, while Vi is clearly interested in recöaiming this emotional part of her childhood, the line is enitrely fine. What do you think would have been a better line for her to express the sentiment of „jinx, come here, us reclaiming this lost part of ourselves is more important than our fights?“ I didn‘t watch the panel. I‘ve seen a few early EFAP episodes and been convinced that the format of the show lends itself to bad faith, minute criticism that leads to evaluating single lines outside of larger contexts, as well as festering opinion of a piece of media by creating a feedback loop. It‘s a circlejerk, and while that can be fun when it‘s a piece of media everyone is familiar with, it is god awful to evaluate that piece of media for the first time. The fact so few people on the comments aren‘t putting forth arguments why the writing is bad but just contributing to the circlejerk steengthens that opinion. If you have points they made that were good, I‘m happy to engage with them critically, as I am with the show. I really like it, it isn‘t flawless.

[@edwoodsr]

The Riot Games writers realized the real money is writing for Marvel.

[@aqua96870]

The dinger has been dongered

[@HeckDescender2184]

*cries*

[@Jamesthemaze]

Am I the only one who thinks Ekko comes out the least damaged?

[@theirDevil]

Well he's barely in the show, 😂

[@professormallard4348]

I'd happily argue EP 7 does some damage to his intelligence. EP 9 as well, but no one really comes out of that ok except Singed. Singed and Rictus are unironically probably the last damaged characters. Not even Ambessa comes out ok.

[@Jamesthemaze]

@@theirDeviltrue but still it counts

[@Jamesthemaze]

@@professormallard4348so why is Ekko’s intelligence damaged? Is it because he starts a thing with that universes powder? Cuz tbh I feel like back in s1 he still had some love for her, hence why he didn’t beat her head in

[@professormallard4348]

@Jamesthemaze because he makes himself the most sussy baka motherfucker in the universe with the way he acts. When he finds out about Vi he should've come clean to Powder and had Heimerdinger back him up when she doesn't believe it. She could absolutely be convinced of this, or at least convinced to help him fit in in this universe because apparently this universe's Ekko has had this happen before. His whole motivation is to get back home and he takes a much less direct route to that goal than he could. Then once the time machine is made he intentionally doesn't share how dangerous it can be and proceeds to let Heimerdinger give it a "boost" after having just seen the consequences of the power it has at low power. He's not nearly as damaged as Heimerdinger hinself, but Jesus he should be very invested in making sure the machine doesn't kill everyone.

[@moe5020]

why is everyone online simping the "boy savior" ekko does literally nothing Heimerdinger built that shit while he was out pandering to the shippers, heimerdinger literally called all this shit from the beginning and who cares what ekko "gave up" mfker Heimerdinger gave up that and his life.

[@Of_infinite_Faith]

Ekko threw the device at Viktor, which doesn't do anything really bc Viktor was gonna see jayce's memories anyway

[@LeylaSKDR]

I can totally relate to how cynical Season 2 made all of them feel. It's so messed up to think that Arcane, of all shows, made me feel cynical. It’s literally the complete opposite of how I felt after Season 1.

[@finitorezim4107]

How can this be canon to LoL universe, i dont know, several characters are either dead, or changed beyond recognition, maybe its a cope, but this clearly needed at least one more season

[@taddad2641]

their plan is to make various series that are in the same universe. so yea its likely that the next series has elements here continuing on.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

just like all TV shows, they can't be arsed to stay true to source material

[@Ceyx000]

#Justice4Hiemerdinger

[@HeckDescender2184]

And Goatman! Don't forget him too! They both got blasted for science :(

[@vivander807]

Victor: “Go Borg or go home.”

[@The_shady_puffer]

How they manage to make me like the previous acts more and more simply because the quality drops with each one is actually quite intruiging

[@jonbaxter2254]

Echo in paradise and Jayce in hell still the best episode.

[@aroyals339]

People keep saying this and I haven't watched act 3 yet. It's like: there's no reason for me to, I don't even care how it ends... ...but it's kind of like how you slow down and look when you pass a car crash.

[@The_shady_puffer]

@aroyals339 that's a very apt comparison

[@alexhayden219]

3:47:20 "Why did they let her back in?" Exactly. Putting aside the cringefest, Vi switches her allegiances and personality and appearance several times this season and there's no commentary on it. Do they just not recognize her because she has black hair? IDK, it's never commented on. Why would anyone in Zaun want anything to do with her at all at this point? Why would she be allowed to be here? And all of her flips are so sudden and short lived, mostly contained in music videos. There's no discussion, she just becomes a new person at the drop of a beat. Though, in this season, many such cases.

[@UncleJamie]

"In the pursuit of terrible, we failed to do mediocre." - Bilbo Baggins 🥴🤢🤮🤤😴

[@LaBigShip]

I'm assuming episode 7 will require it's own full episode. What an absolute flustercluck.

[@gathenhielm9977]

Such a massive waste of time in a season that was already badly rushed. I have no goddamn clue why so many people are calling it not only the best of the season but the best of the **series**.

[@BlackScisir]

I thought the dancing part was beautiful. But the whole time spent in AU gave me major 'Dark season3' vibes. That had the same bullshit of suddenly introducing alternate versions of chatacters that i absolutely didnt care for.

[@gathenhielm9977]

@@BlackScisir Sure, it was pretty, but so was Stalin.

[@BlackScisir]

@@gathenhielm9977 well it wasn't just that. It was emotional for me since this all came from a single ingame voiceline:"i had a crush until you started talking to the gun" But that doesnt mean that it wasnt a huge waste of time in a season thath barely had any. It would have been great in a show that had several seasons.

[@Of_infinite_Faith]

​@@gathenhielm9977 bc it's "wholesome fan service" They just wanted to see everyone hug it out and get good feelings rather than being engaged with a good story

[@lexiferenczy9695]

A working theory of mine of why writers that made something great like season 1 Arcane are suddenly sh***ing all over this former meticulousness in the narrative, would be that they don't see the importance of logic and consistency on a fundamental level. I think the "passion" for that is a rare thing and much rarer than one would be led to believe being a part of the EFAP community. Here this focus is celebrated (not honking horns, nobody is perfect here), but again I think that people like Mauler, Fringy, Rags etc are quite the exception with this view speaking from personal experience and from generally looking at mainstream film critics and writers. The thing is, these writers are capable of crafting a consistent logical experience - as we have seen - but they probably have to be in the mood for that or be inspired by someone, who is a good influence on them (maybe someone like Ash Brannon, who was only a writer for season 1). Then something they typically value less like consistency can rise in the value ranks and get to shine more. But I believe their default work is mostly inconsistent, because they don't really get why that would be a problem, they want something and then another thing and how to get there is not important anymore. And often you get away with this as a writer, when you at least somewhat "nail" impactful moments (like they wanted with the Vander Vi Jinx reunion) that evoke emotions, even if you have to be very blind on the consistency eye as a viewer to totally appreciate that without feeling a bad taste. And I guess most people just are that way. They see something they like, a scene or a character, and fill in the blanks how everything will surely make sense, because they are not that attached to the real thing happening in front of their eyes. They just take it as a springboard to create a fitting fantasy in their head and blissfully ignore everything that doesn't fit. They need a few satisfying breadcrumbs here and there, but other than that, you can't do that much wrong. (that sounds way too arrogant but here we go) From a subjective experience lense this is not necessarily invalid, but it can be frustrating because it devalues the fundamental truth of the factual story in favor of personal fantasy.