How ARCANE Writes A PERFECT VILLAIN

[@justinchen785]

My goat is back making back to back bangers, I used to pray for times like this.

[@choombasaur]

Bouta go get milk again hold up 🚪🚶

[@Joeda89]

I love that in the last episode, when dolls are grabbing everyone, they do so in such a gentle manner.

[@choombasaur]

Yeah it’s such a nice detail! He’s a villain but he’s not intentionally evil, his perspective of helping people has just been corrupted

[@milansoltesz9395]

It's so refreshing to see a positive video on Season 2. Absolutely agreed, Viktor is a masterfully written character.

[@choombasaur]

Yeah seeing so many videos just focusing on how season 2 was rushed. Even though it definitely could’ve used a bit more time I think it’s a shame so many people are passing over everything good that’s still in this season

[@kylechmielewski9972]

​@@choombasaur I'm starting to think that rushing it made it better. The pace being so fast made every major moment from Warwick and Jinx scene in the jail to Isha's death hit so much harder because it was just one tradegy or shocking scene after another.

[@Naex__]

I've only seen positive ones, are there really people criticizing the show in the slightest ? I've only had positive feedback from everywhere on how much of a great season it was (which it absolutely is)

[@milansoltesz9395]

@@Naex__ Yeah, there are a lot of people critisizing season 2 online. It has flaws but I agree that overall it was a good season.

[@TheRockhound119]

@@Naex__ I have seen youtube pushing so many videos that are negative towards season 2, even though I started telling youtube to stop because the takes often leave much to be desired.

[@6Kubik]

I was really surprised that it was Viktor who was the ultimate villain in the end. I knew he is a villain in the game but he was such a sweet guy in S1 and you just do not expect this turn. I am just happy he came back to his sense and understood how wrong he was.

[@choombasaur]

Yeah I imagine it’s gotta feel quite shocking, even more for those who aren’t familiar with the game like us. Think it at least made sense within his arc though even if it was a little rushed

[@lsaacthecraftsman]

Antagonist, not villain

[@choombasaur]

Definitions a bit loose

[@stupid3814]

@@lsaacthecraftsmanwell he basically destroyed the world in that one universe so calling him a villain isn’t too far off 😅

[@zhenfan2942]

It's as Viktor said "There is ALWAYS a choice."

[@BobsterLobster-z2t]

He also once said "Wait a minute, this isn't my bedroom"

[@choombasaur]

couldn't agree more

[@choombasaur]

couldn't agree less

[@Epyon2007]

SUPERB mate well done, compassion and ambition can lead to tragic ends. or as the old saying goes " All roads to hell are paved with good intentions"

[@choombasaur]

Exactly right 🙂‍↕️

[@tubemasterlegend]

04:08 Seeing victor giving jayce the rune stone, he dropped before, made me realize what the arcane writers did there.

[@blacktigerpaw1]

Foreshadowing, yes. Even when the original mage looked completely different.

[@moki4895]

@@blacktigerpaw1 Viktor had some runic tatts on his hands with long ass nails to cosplay for young Jayce, couldn’t ever be a retcon to seem deeper than it is that compromises the story

[@choombasaur]

I think it was a pretty cool reveal by the end of the show, it makes it a pretty cool dynamic to have them both have saved each other through unnaturally hextech at some point even if it retconned some stuff!

[@choombasaur]

Yeah I was expecting it to be Ryze, when he took off his hood I was so confused

[@blacktigerpaw1]

@@moki4895 Viktor doesn't have the tattoos in the flashback in Ep. 9. Nor would he, as his flesh would be hexcorized.

[@icanliveintheworld]

This video is an example of perfection. The video ive been looking for a long time, a person who truly understands what the writers tried to mean. The balance between the good and the evil. This video is perfect, keep up your work.

[@Eesh_]

Perfection is merely the end of pursuit

[@choombasaur]

Thanks glad you think that, really means a lot you think so highly of it :) just hope I dont find a cost to my own ambition now haha

[@dspace4514]

I think Viktor after healing people the first time thought that was enough. Sickness, permanent injuries and among other things were no longer a problem, so nobody would have an issue, right? Then the camp was attacked, his best friend killed him. He probably saw that he had to go a step further in his plans to help humanity.

[@choombasaur]

Yeah it’s pretty sad cause he definitely was on the route to do good, was one of the nicest people in the show up until the finale

[@GuaduSanz]

What he realized is that good and evil are two sides of the humanity coin, both comes from having freedom, and freedom from individuality, so he has to strip mankind from it to achieve peace. But then he realized peace was “dreamless fields of endless solitude”.

[@youthisreadwrong2274]

I have a theory that if anyone else in the show was fused with the hexcore things would have gone south MUCH sooner. He was one of the few selfless and empathetic characters before all this madness, it’s so tragic it’s insane I feel for him a lot. Too many interventions on his body and mind, too much pursuit to greatness that the simple “good” was compromised.

[@kylechmielewski9972]

I mostly agree. My biggest push back would be that Viktor was never really a villian. He's goal from basically day 1 was to end human suffering and make existing easier for all. Even after being murdered by his best friend and having utopia destroyed by warmongers, he sought to reach his "final evolution" to end all the suffering and death. He was just blinded by his ability to see all the evil thoughts of man and their desire to end their suffering. Only after doing this does he realize just how important pain is in life and a life without conflict is a miserable one. That's why he fought so hard to undue what he had done

[@choombasaur]

Oh yeah he was definitely never a villain in the sense of being actually evil, but definitely one in the sense of being an antagonist. Love your take on the “not perfect” analysis though, definitey applies at hits hard for his character

[@bonny-at-morn]

This is a really great video! I'd have to push back on 6:47 though. Viktor very much notices that Sky has grabbed him, and I don't think it's a case of him refusing to let go of the Hexcore - I just don't think it's letting him. It seems to already be sentient by that point and we can see in other scenes - like the one in S2E2 - that it physically pulls on him, and not gently either. He very much wasn't physically able to let go at that point.

[@choombasaur]

@bonny-at-morn yeah on second look you’re definitely right about him being pulled in by the hexcore. What I meant by Viktor not noticing Skye though is that he doesn’t turn around and realise she’s grabbing onto him until she’s almost already vanishing. Still like to think the part of him being pulled into the hexcore still works though as a wider representation of his work going too far. Glad you enjoyed the video though :)

[@mip5041991]

“Viktor nation…how we feeling?”

[@choombasaur]

Depressed

[@jiren1017]

the piano version of The Line playing in the background made me want to cry

[@choombasaur]

Yeah it’s really nice so well put together. You can check out @gondoliano if you wanna hear some more covers :)

[@michaelwoodby5261]

You did a fantastic job of weaving the dialogue, either by playing clips or by quotes, into the video. The show writers love their parallels, and you're carrying that on.

[@choombasaur]

Aww thanks, means a lot to me you noticed the details was worth the late night editing :D

[@jf9266]

Jayce you ned to get hexbortion

[@choombasaur]

Jayace…. Have you considerdd, hexborrrshin

[@cubeoid2763]

U know a show is gud when choomba makes 2 vids on it. Viktor had one of the craziest arcs in the show and loved 'the line' reference at the end. Can't wait for more

[@choombasaur]

Fr had to after that finale my god, I’ll be sure to put out some more soon 👍👍

[@valentineezegwu9668]

A remarkable review, keep doing the amazing work you're doing in this space and may the algorithm be in your favor. I just found this video suggested to me and I'm glad to have watched it. Off to the next one.

[@choombasaur]

Really glad you enjoyed it hope you like the next just as much as:)

[@bigyoshi5170]

“If my wizard self told you to *show* me how I was wrong, then why did you blast a hole through my chest?” -Viktor *”REASONS.”* -Jayce

[@choombasaur]

Haha yeah one of the few things I still can’t wrap my head around

[@UmamiNoodle]

Fantastic character analysis. 🙏

[@choombasaur]

Thank you glad you liked it :)

[@VampirfiCZ]

Script for this video is a masterclass in writing, I love all the references to Arcane lines and songs!

[@choombasaur]

That means a lot, tried to sneak in a bunch of references in the lines glad someone noticed them :)

[@carms.creative]

Viktor is a such a great character, as are tons of other characters in Arcane, but he has really got me doing some deep thinking about a lot of things. I can really relate to him on the same level of compassion and ambition, and how trying to do good too hard can turn sideways. I rooted for him even to the bitter end, even when he reached the point that he needed to be stopped by everyone . But I also rooted for Jayce to help him see clearly which he did... it was all so beautiful T_T

[@choombasaur]

Yeah I think it was a pretty nice conclusion to their story :) especially love the image of Jayce and Viktor fixing their mistake together at the end

[@cannonfodder4376]

His greatest strengths of compassion and ambition become his greatest flaw when unleashed without limits or regard for others. He sought to cut the Gordian Knot of human emotions being humanity's best worst thing. Its biggest contradiction. On the surface, he gave up his own humanity in his drive to rid others of this in-built contradiction. Yet he, in the end, proved to be under its sway. Something he realized far too late in his repeated attempts to forcibly evolve humanity and save it from itself. A fantastic video and analysis of Viktor and his fatal flaw that led to his compelling arc.

[@choombasaur]

I like your allusion to Greek mythology, think it fits pretty well to describe Viktors arc. Glad you enjoyed the analysis :)

[@blacktigerpaw1]

Who knew talk no jutsu could win over an emotionless robot?

[@chevs11]

Amazing video! Thank you!

[@kaijuno]

Hey thank you for your thoughts!! This is a beautiful, witty, articulate video. ❤ I love Viktor and I really hated his S2 arc because I felt like him jumping from trying to save people in the commune to.. randomly deciding free will is the root of all evil and turning everyone into a robot was just…. Baffling? Dumb? But this video helped me understand his character arc better, and also to understand the interesting themes S2 was trying to convey, even if I still hate the execution. I will always adore the messiness of Jayce & Viktor’s ambition to change the world. I was just incredibly disappointed we didn’t see it applied to the class conflict / civil war between Zaun and Piltover. I wish we could have seen what the beginnings of building a more equitable, peaceful integrated society could have looked like for the two cities. I care about Ekko’s tree, and about Viktor’s commune. I care about trying to actually make the world a better place. I thought Arcane would use Zaun & Piltover’s class warfare to actually address the (real) issues that cause these divides to exist like income inequality, poverty, political interests, exploitation of workers and natural resources in poor countries. I was so curious what negotiations/ reparations would look like to rebuild a more peaceful, mixed-culture between Zaun & Piltover after decades of violence and a potential revolution/civil war. Viktor would have been a fascinating catalyst for that as Arcane’s only bicultural character, with mixed loyalties and a foot in both worlds. I wish we had a more meaningful resolution on how to end these cycles of violence than just “Uhh try having a common enemy who is an evil robot??” Like, seriously? It ignores every actual cause of Zaun’s uprising in the first place - Piltover’s violent police raids, Piltover’s economic exploitation of Zaun (polluting the air, poisoning Ekko’s tree, etc), Zaun’s poverty, and violent drug culture with Shimmer, etc. All of it gets completely swept under the rug and ignored. Yes, all parts of humanity contain both good and evil. But that doesn’t mean we should give up on striving for a better world, or that you can fix society by… noticing we’re all human without doing any work to tangibly reform / restructure the systems that displace huge groups of people in unavoidable poverty, destitution or war. I would have LOVED to see Viktor fighting and dying for that. Aiming to end the structural inequalities that he endured as a Zaunite, and a cripple, and enable others to pursue their dreams of science and progress like he did. But hey, maybe I’ll write a fanfiction :)

[@choombasaur]

Yeah gotta agree there. I think Viktor's character specifically was done pretty well but his role as just uniting zaun and piltover felt a bit strange. Definitely could've been done better but I think it could've worked pretty well with a few more episodes. Would love to see that fanfic :D

[@Edward-vc7le]

Viktor, like all the characters in Arcane, is driven by love. Vi loves Powder and Cait. Caitlyn loved her mother. Jayce loves Mel and Viktor. Silco loves Zaun, and of course Jinx. And Viktor loved his ideals of wanting to end suffering, and Jayce of course.

[@choombasaur]

Loves a pretty strong force :), LOVE that it’s so present across the show

[@orabijuu8550]

Btw, No one has ever uttered the words "I love you" in the show (if I'm not misremembering)

[@choombasaur]

Can’t think of any moment either actually, not even vander to Vi and Powder as kids. Not sure if it’s deliberate but pretty neat if it’s show dont tell rule

[@BobsterLobster-z2t]

I kinda wish they just stuck with the machine herald theme old Viktor had going on instead of this new bio-machine thing. Aside from that Viktors entire ark was masterfully done turning a great characters ambition to make the world greater into evil.

[@choombasaur]

Yeah his tech basically got turned into magic was pretty strange in terms of visuals and adaptation but at least it was written decently

[@Edward-vc7le]

Also its very interesting to me that both Silco and Viktor are INTJ characters who both have their compassion for one person close to them be the thing that ends them. It speaks to the writers ideals to have their villians be coded as the personality known to find love to be the most undoing and difficult.

[@choombasaur]

That is a pretty neat detail

[@TheAdopulus]

Incredible video and analysis 👏🏿

[@choombasaur]

Thanks I hope you enjoyed watching it :)

[@Cherryfalll]

1:38 “what could’ve been” BOOOM (sorry I just immediately thought of jinx’s rocket)

[@choombasaur]

Nawww that’s the same thing I thought of while writing that actually fjcjcncn

[@jonathanli5258]

Fantastic!

[@choombasaur]

Coketastic

[@dorians2138]

This was such a good video!

[@choombasaur]

Thanks glad you liked it :)

[@miellauwu]

Great Video!

[@witchgroup]

Really beautiful video ❤

[@choombasaur]

Thanks happy you enjoyed it :)

[@potetpoet]

The thIng about choice though... Jayce is also part of this. The two of them built eachother up for failure. Jayce went through exactly the same arch, he wanted to do good, but ended up hurting people, killing children. Even Jayce wanting to save his friend, was taking away Viktors choice to not be saved and partly destroying him in the process. Before that Viktor said there was always a choice, but he learned from Jayce that choice is an illusion.... and of course that's why ONLY Jayce can show him that choice is important, and Viktor has one, in the end.

[@choombasaur]

Yeah Jayce is insanely important to Viktors arc, pretty much intertwined with one another which is why I feel like I would put it in an entirely different video (cause I could tap for another 20 minutes)

[@MeteorRain553]

As Suntzu(me) once said, this is PEAK!

[@choombasaur]

As Sun Tzu once said, GET OUTTA THE BUSH

[@ns33wa]

I see a lot of S2 critics talking about how the arcane/magic stuff came out of nowhere and that it led to sidelining the story of the Piltover/Zaun conflict in S2, but I feel like the stuff with Viktor was so very obviously a huge part of the show even in S1. I think you demonstrate the long buildup of his arc well in this video. I don't really understand how they miss this. But yeah, criticisms aside, I thought Viktor and Jayce's story was the beating heart of this show, along w/ Jinx and Vi's relationship.

[@choombasaur]

Yeah magics always been a pretty big part of the series. Although I’d have preferred if Viktor was more machine than magic by the end personally, I dont think it was badly set up. It’s always been in the show like u said, no idea how so many people think it’s so sudden

[@Gb484]

HOLD UP. Let him cook.

[@doro55-q5d]

Beautiful video. I do agree with your interpretation of Viktor's character. It perfectly sums up his arc. I believe this was also how the creators wanted his story to be seen by the aidience. The only problem is that imo S2 does not manage to show that, really. It could be a great story if they let the evolution of Victor's motivations to resonate more. Instead it happens so quick it's just frustrating.

[@choombasaur]

Yeah I think the rushed ending of season 2 is probably what made it so confusing for so many people. A lotta people still dont even think he’s a villain cause of how quickly his character change happened at the end (even though he is literally trying to control the world)

[@doro55-q5d]

@choombasaur well, I don't blame them, he is a beloved character. I also have a problem of seeing him as a villain, more like an antagonist, really.

[@choombasaur]

Depends on the definition I suppose, his actions are definitely evil but his motives are far from it. He’s not really a bad guy, but he’s a “bad guy” just cause his actions are bad. Though I definitely get the confusion since the meaning is a bit loose

[@doro55-q5d]

@@choombasaur Are they evil in terms of Silco's evil actions, though? Silco is using child labour, attempting to kill children or threatens them, among other evil actions he does. Viktor wanted to make everyone free of their suffering, it's the method he used that is.. well questionable 😅. What is funny it is questionable not only in terms of the character's choice but also in terms writing decision. The writing (imo becuase of lack of time) that pushes a man of science to such a far reaching conclusion (emotions causes suffering- let's get rid of emotions AND force everyone to do it) in such a short period of time is just unjustified. It could work but not like this. It needs time or the level of stakes should be lower. I mean, we can explore the cost of ambition and misunderstood compassion & altrusim without heading towards god-like themes and world ending threat. S1 did it perfectly. And obviously we need to move up in stakes for season 2 but the scale is crazy. Man, I am so disappointed with this season. The worse thing is that it is not really bad, it's really good at times. If it was plain bad, I would just pretend it's just fan fiction and Arcane eneded with S1 😅 Apart for the obvious visuals and music, S2 has really interesting ideas and concepts but just doesn't develop them properly. And knowing how S1 was, I know the creators have the skills to do it but they just don't 😭

[@choombasaur]

I mean yeah evil in the sense his methods and actions are very immoral I would say. Arguably they’re worse than Silcos actions since removing free will and emotion from everyone including children is essentially killing them if he were to succeed. Of course his motivations are very good. He himself isn’t evil, but I’d call him a villain just because of “evil actions are essential to the plot”. Tho some definitions of villain specify “maliciously made actions” which wouldn’t make him a villain so I guess it’s a case of semantics, think we agree on our views of him it’s just the word “villain” Is kinda loosely defined. Gotta agree the writing doesn’t quite justify why he’d come to such a conclusion but I found it easy to get past since I was already insanely invested in the show tho I get why the complaints about it are around. I feel like arcane writers probably were capable of writing a better ending to his arc but with the time constraints of the cut time from the show we ended up with the sorta unjustified jump in logic Viktor ultimately had. Tho I still think what we ended up was very beautiful if we can get past the missing details. Think it was pretty well set up to turn him into final antagonist of the series but the specific development of “remove emotion” was odd without any specific build up for his ambition taking that route specifically. Hopefully the next series actually gets the necessary amount of episodes otherwise Netflix is shooting the creators in the foot for no reason.

[@zenmindgamer]

"If you're going to change the world you don't ask for permission" is a sentiment that lives in my head rent free. What Arcane does phenomenally well, better than any other show I've ever watched, is portray utilitarian arguments. Rarely are the characters presented ever doing anything for the sake of outright greed, cruelty, or ambition; yes, those elements are present in the show, but they take the place of truly minor footnote characters who aren't major affectors of the plot. Those characters with true agency within the setting each have fundamental reasons for operating as they do that are fully understandable by viewers and, depending on the philosophical ethics applied, absolutely justifiable and just in argumentation.

[@choombasaur]

Yeah I love how every character generally has at least one horse to stand on with the way they justify their actions, makes it pretty interesting to watch each character even if some of their choices are objectively bad here or there.

[@Sailin_Smooth]

From "In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good" To "Free will? Who needs it lmao" I love it when my characters abandon their morals and everything that made them interesting, all to suit a ridiculous narrative. God, how I miss the complexity of season 1. We really devolved into "Vander has red eyes... we can see this means he's bad. But when he sees powder, his eyes go green. This means he's good"

[@choombasaur]

It was definitely a bit rushed but I think it’s still written fine, his character progression follows how he behaved in season 1 even if the reasoning was pretty abrupt

[@blightygames]

Im sorry but Silco was a perfect villain. With the pacing issues of s2 he’s far from perfection but he’s still amazing.

[@choombasaur]

True but perfect sounds good in the title 🙂‍↕️

[@molodoshi6300]

🐐🐐🐐 Brudda made me want to watch the show

[@justinchen785]

You better have watched it before the next upload

[@molodoshi6300]

Yes sir

[@choombasaur]

Watch it or I’ll get u

[@hybrid2069]

Viktor's vision of perfection (or end of suffering) is fascinating, especially how he claims that he had solved every equation to reach that point. Is it just a desperate idea fuelled by reckless ambition, or is it the objective truth, a revelation waiting to be actualized by him? As much as Viktor's actions are considered villainous, they might be a natural and inevitable consequence of his goal or, if the former, exacerbated by human flaws. It is later revealed that 'prime' Viktor regretted it, and again, I'm wondering if this reaction is caused by his flawed human instinct to reinstate the past, however this time, saving humanity instead. His ambition pushed him far but not enough to lose his human lenses, enabling him to comprehend and rectify his doings.

[@karolkrzyzowski8814]

In episode where he was trapped in anomaly, Jayce said he is switching runes very fast. He was looking for the way, and found only possibility, and almost lost.

[@choombasaur]

Nice detail

[@karolkrzyzowski8814]

@@choombasaur is it possible that future Victor kept Victor alive to help him to be defeated. Singed was right from the beginning. Save us from ourselves.

[@choombasaur]

Thats a pretty interesting quote then, considering he literally did save everyone from himself at the end indirectly by getting jayce.

[@MorroWolf]

Viktor was my favorite character I'm sad and happy with how they handled things but wonder what could have been.

[@GasGunsGod]

I subbed, love your channel

[@choombasaur]

Appreciate it! Glad you enjoy the content :)

[@The_shady_puffer]

Yes, Silco

[@choombasaur]

Yes

[@Arcanehype]

such a great vid! would be amazing if you could do one for cait. if you’ve seen on twitter cait gets so much hate because of irl ideologies that blinds people from considering any kind of media analysis like this

[@choombasaur]

Thanks glad you enjoyed it :) had no idea people even were hating on cait I thought she was a pretty good character? Definitely gonna at least take a look into it even if I dont make a full video though 👍

[@Arcanehype]

@@choombasaur Yes the Cait hate is really bad. Personally I think Cait is a great character too because she’s complex and nuanced. People can’t see this because of their personal ideologies and hate her because of these reasons: - She used the grey (hellfire montage) on the chembarons. People argue she gassed all of zuan harming innocent civilians. She didn’t intentionally gas civilians but people say it’s uncontrollable so she’s harmed innocents. - She became a fascist dictator (people really hate her for this) enacting martial law and police brutality putting innocents in jail (paint the town blue montage) when it was Rictus and the Noxians mostly instigating the violence. People don’t take into account or care (it’s not a vaild reason) that Ambessa took advantage and manipulated Caitlyn a 22/23yo riddled with grief, guilt and anger just to progress her agenda and a her goals. - She hit Vi. People say she did this consciously and not out of the spur of moment anger. People accuse Cait of domestic abuse because we see her hit Vi again even though it for the plan in ep 6. People argue Cait should feel so guilty for hitting Vi the first time she should’ve agreed to hit her even for the plan. Basically people say the writing down played her mistakes / crimes and she didn’t have a strong enough redemption arc. Whatever they showed, her betrayal of Ambessa, wanting to sacrifice her life to kill Ambessa and losing an eye, wasn’t enough of a redemption for her mistakes /crimes. People wanted her to go to prison and wanted her to verbally apologize to vi and zaun and acknowledge her mistakes verbally. Even though a majority of this was done through show don’t tell. people say it’s not enough or just simply don’t see it visually.

[@WickedHumor]

@@Arcanehype Yeah people getting really weird about lots of things she does, kind of forgetting her motivations or choosing to ignore them. Her arc is pretty well done, and one of the most fleshed out in season 2. She realizes what she's done, actively works to undo it, and is willing to die for it. Finally, we see her willingly give up her seat on he council to the leader of the people she oppressed in a final act of reconciliation. I'm not sure what more she can do.

[@theseal6099]

The Arcane fandom has a loud minority of wannabe leftist activists who project heavily onto the characters. I think most of those people are very young, like < 18 years old. Twitter & TikTok have the worst of it while Arcane reddit & youtube are much better ( surprisingly).

[@songzi12138]

Despite the negative reviews of Season 2 compared to Season 1-particularly concerning the difference in the quality of villains, I think this video perfectly identifies the trajectory that shaped the Viktor we see in the final episode of Arcane. Viktor’s character building, with its heavy religious and extremist undertones, fundamentally differs from Silco’s. While both draw sympathy from their tragic upbringings, they symbolize broader ideologies for their respective groups. Silco is initially presented as a villain devoid of humanity, while Viktor, especially for viewers unfamiliar with the lore, begins as an innocent character, eliciting only sympathy. The show masterfully fills in the blanks: it adds humanity to Silco and layers of villainy to Viktor. Silco’s transformation into a great villain required multiple relationships and events to deepen his character, even necessitating additional backstory in Episode 2. Viktor’s arc, however, is more nuanced. It demands fewer events but leaves a profound impression by walking the line between saviour and destroyer. Given this difference, the presentation and screen time of these characters will naturally differ, with Silco requiring much more illustration than Viktor in their Villinhood. For much of Season 2, Viktor embodies this delicate balance-saving humanity from threats like Shimmer, while simultaneously edging toward its destruction. The breaking point of this balance, late in his arc, is executed beautifully. His subtle descent into villainy is underscored by the filmography, juxtaposing his saviour moments (like the end of Episode 2) with the chilling substance of his monologue at the end of Episode 6. In contrast to Silco’s dominant presence across episodes, Viktor’s arc benefits from this restraint. Turning a character like Viktor-from a human saviour to a convincingly tragic villain-requires more than just events; it demands impactful storytelling and/or filmography with lasting impressions; arguably, such impression is made even more powerful by the relatively lower frequency of his occurrence. This is why I completely agree with this video: Viktor is a perfectly written villain, and his arc is a testament to how subtlety can create powerful impressions. In conclusion, Idk what I've written; sorry for yapping. GOATED VIDEO.

[@choombasaur]

Love the comparison between Viktor and Silco. Seen a lot of comments taking one side or the other for some reason, but it's great how you broke down the difference between the downfalls of the two characters, finding strength in two very different approaches with similar emotional impacts

[@R4Y2k]

Isn't Victor's "motto" more or less what Kennedy said in his famous moon speech? "the greater our knowledge increases the greater our ignorance unfolds?"

[@choombasaur]

Oh I didn't know that, wonder if they took it from there

[@GhostwalkerSparrow]

I can’t believe people think that this season is bad like bro did we watch the same show?

[@choombasaur]

I know right, the ending was definitely a bit rushed but the overall writing of the season was still insanely good even if not quite as fluid as the first

[@GhostwalkerSparrow]

@ like people complaining “Oh Vi would never join the enforcers. It makes no sense because she would be against it.” Well she was and only joined after the attack at the memorial service and that made her think that there was no other way. Just things like that lol

[@choombasaur]

Yeah so many people seem to miss understand the context of their actions and just base them off what they thought in season 1

[@JasonGodwin69]

I still think Vi and Cait's love scene shouldn't have been in the prison cell she was beaten in, right after Jinx strongly hints she's going to go and Minecraft herself. It should have been somewhere nicer.

[@GhostwalkerSparrow]

@@JasonGodwin69 yeah but like I guess it’s because of all the pent up sexual energy they had both experienced when meeting up after breaking up.

[@MeR0bert]

Villain? Victor did nothing wrong.. Victor Nation rise!!!

[@choombasaur]

VIKTORR!

[@diffeq-n]

what I appreciate about Viktor character is that he didn't get caught up in "politics" like Jayce did with his Mel entanglement. perhaps it's this lack of compromise that was Viktor's downfall, pushing him down the "we are Borg" road. you can't blame him for that though, as he tried to remain true to himself (which was impossible to do correctly anyway under Arcane powers) he's the second most upright and truthful character imo. can you guess the #1?

[@choombasaur]

is it ekko 🤞

[@alejandropetrinjak5442]

3:42 SWMI (ignore)

[@kime2762]

ive been trying to fugure out how to get into this analytical style of video production, how did you learn?

[@choombasaur]

I like watching video essays in my spare time anyway so learnt to write them mainly from other people in terms of structure and editing haha. For the actual analysis though I just try to think of an explanation for why I personally feel or think things about the show on a rewatch though!

[@mishan3168]

Oh yeah, perfect villain for 5 minutes and nerfed by Naruto therapy after small talk with jayce. Absolute cinema

[@Batx0123LOLXD]

10:45 and 13:06😢

[@choombasaur]

Had me almost weeping watching those moments in the show :’)

[@karolkrzyzowski8814]

Victori is not a Vilian at all. In any single moment. He hoped for being defeated and stepped on his way to do it, without chance to avoid the future, with hope for something unexpected.

[@choombasaur]

I dont think he hoped to be defeated until after he saw the original timeline version of himself where he won, he very much wanted to win.

[@michaeltom65]

So much hate on season two, especially people saying viktor was lost too fast - no, he was lost after the last procedure Before, he was just being silently manipulated by the arcane/hexcore/sky

[@cristosl]

Why do you need music over the narration?

[@choombasaur]

Hiding my mic quality 🥺

[@cristosl]

@@choombasaur Yes well insecurity is the enemy of engaging presentation. When it becomes a struggle to comprehend what is being said then it's no longer worth the time and effort. It might have been the most insightful presentation ever, maybe. But I will never know.

[@azzayofchaos3540]

No need to be so confrontational. The music was being used cinematically and it really wasn’t that hard to hear, but if you think it’s worth your time to offer critique, you can do so without being aggressive and pretentious.

[@choombasaur]

I gotchu audienhearing.com/pages/shop?nbt=nb%3Aadwords%3Ax%3A21281541070%3A%3A&nb_adtype=&nb_kwd=&nb_ti=&nb_mi=&nb_pc=&nb_pi=&nb_ppi=&nb_placement=&nb_li_ms=2840&nb_lp_ms=2840&nb_fii=&nb_ap=&nb_mt=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACcW2vBYoKhuu922g0ILDE0dJE3mY

[@Strawberri52]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@cristosl you are the enemy of every local bathhouse go take a shower

[@jamescombridgeart]

It's one of the overarching themes with many characters. No one is straight up evil, they all have justifications for their actions

[@choombasaur]

Love to see it across shows, think it's done particualrly well here tho :)

[@cardmaster8772]

Nope.

[@charlestonjew7587]

Silco was a masterclass. Ambessa was simple but clear and effective Viktor, I have mixed feelings. They did such a great job setting him up in season 1 that those of us who are familiar with his character in the game, found the inevitability of his arc heartbreaking. Viktor was easily one of my favorite characters in 'Arcane'. The problem is, we don't get there until the final episode and everything just feels rushed at that point. Then there's Jayce, teaching Viktor that there's "beauty in imperfection", a man who was in his prime, healthy, on the cusp of achieving great things while Viktor was on his death bed. He'd never known adversity, grew up in relative privilege, tried to kill himself the first time he hits a speedbump. I get the point but coming from Jayce, it feels callous and hypocritical. I pointed out in another comment, although exaggerated, it was like Jeff Bezo's rolling up to a hobo begging on a corner and telling them "Money isn't everything." Viktor was a self-made man and his final transformation should've been his decision, not influenced by outside forces like Jayce blowing a hole in his chest or Singed pumping him with Warwick blood mixed with his evil serum. Also, Viktor says goodbye to Sky/his humanity at the end of episode 8.

[@choombasaur]

Yeah I definitely agree with your point on Jayce to a degree, Jeff Bezos analogy was pretty good made me laugh even. I think Jayce’s position in society wasn’t so much as important as his relationship to Viktor that allowed him to save him at the end. Tho I would’ve definitely preferred if his character Viktors had Viktor take a more personal approach to his ending too though, I was hoping he’d end up experimenting more on himself and choosing to become who he was rather than having it sorta placed on him by other forces (particularly the hexcore basically being magic barely machine). I still thought his arc was generally pretty well written though as a whole, with the drawbacks of the rushed development only making it feel a little bit off

[@valeriyav2149]

Wasn't the whole point of Jayce going through horrors in the future to better understand Viktor? Of course it's not to the same degree but calling him healthy and at his prime when he got the leg injury and the same brace as Viktor had, him eating infected animals surely destroyed his immune system, he got PTSD flashbacks/arcane visions screwing his mind, when he got hexofication with the infused rune (which the Arcane concept book explained as an incurable change - he would have died if he didn't disappear with Viktor, just like Viktor was slowly dying before being fused with hexcore). And Viktor did it to him without fully explaining or asking just like Jayce did with fusing him with hexcore, just like Viktor saved Jayce in his childhood every time even if letting him die would have probably prevented the outcome with hextech. They both did it for the same reason - they didn't want to let each other die and they didn't want to live without having each other by their side. Everything they did had parallels - they saved each other from suicide by simply appearing at the right time, they saved each other by using arcane/hexcore without asking the other at some point, they both created a timeloop where they just couldn't let go of each other in every timeline.

[@Sinewmire]

Reminds me of that XMen 3 joke: ' "we don't need a cure, we're perfect the way we are" says the girl who can control the weather to the girl who kills anyone she touches.'

[@charlestonjew7587]

@@valeriyav2149 Viktor spent his whole life with a limp leg and in the last few weeks of season 1 with the equivalent of stage 4 lung cancer. Jayce breaking his leg and spending a month in a hole is not the same and let's be honest, he looked perfectly fine by episode 8 except now with a cool beard.

[@charlestonjew7587]

@@Sinewmire Right? or like Ben Grimm of the Fantastic Four. "Easy for you. You can turn that shit on and off at will. I'm stuck like this." He can't sit down without breaking the furniture. Can't touch anything fragile, feel a person's touch, etc. It's living hell and they wonder why he's angry all the time.

[@prod.vargas]

why is he making references throughout the video

[@choombasaur]

Because I am the one who knocks

[@cooooooalksj]

bc hes cool

[@redoxr2815]

I clicked on this video really trying to understand how one can like this character arc, but I just don't get it. I loved season 1 Viktor but all throughout season 2 everything he did just felt completely random and out of character, no matter how hard I try I can't get why you are feeling the opposite way. The whole story about going too far to help others is hard to swallow, you say we can understand why he did the things he did, I absolutely cannot. Choosing to strip everyone of their minds to "help them", with just a few lines to justify it : emotions are bad; this is not relatable. I feel like Viktor went from a guy who wants to make science to improve the lives of workers to a madman who take over the minds of people because "they are flawed". This feels random, it was abrupt and absolutely not in continuation of his character arc. I also really disliked the whole time loop or whatever stuff, I don't know if the writers wanted to make something up to interpretation but it was really poorly executed if that's the case. If there is a definitive explanation then I don't get it. Why did jayce shoot Viktor if he was sent to save him, if he tried to kill him for real why did he not finish him ?

[@choombasaur]

Yeah I mean I definitely dont agree with removing emotions to “help people” either. When I say we can understand him I’m more talking about understanding it within the sense of his character arc rather than any logical sense cause it really doesn’t make any. Not a fan of the time loop either though I thought it was pretty convoluted so I tried avoiding bringing it up cause I could’ve ranted for a very long time haha

[@Troubl3dYouth]

I dont care Viktor imo isnt a villian he started good and died good...

[@choombasaur]

I mean he’s not evil or malicious for sure but he’s definitely a villain in what he tried to do

[@prod.aramus4511]

Stop touching the microphone when you're recording. I could hear pops all throughout the video and I can tell something is touching the mic.

[@choombasaur]

you know what else is gonna get touched?

[@cuongquan1633]

"The 'perfect being' you said... well... I have to tell you the honest truth as I see it. In this world nothing perfect exists. It may be a cliché after all, but it's the way things are. That's precisely why ordinary men pursue to concept of perfection, it's infatuation... But ultimately I have to ask myself what is the true meaning of being perfect and the answer I came up with was: nothing. Not one thing. The truth of the matter is I despise perfection. If something is truly perfect, that's it. The bottom line becomes there is no room for imagination, no space for intelligence or ability or improvement. Do you understand to men of science like us perfection is a dead end, a condition of hopelessness. Always strive to be better than anything that came before you, but not perfect". Viktor obsession of perfection always reminds me of the quotes above, ironically said by a "perfect" foils to Viktor, in both philosophical sense and character traits as well.

[@justinchen785]

Did u watch the video?

[@choombasaur]

Nuh uh

[@cuongquan1633]

​@@justinchen785 The road to hell is paved with good intentions, yes i did pay attention. It's the just my fixation of opposing Viktor Ideal that's gotten the better of me.

[@Strawberri52]

He literally never said “perfect being” what is blud on about

[@choombasaur]

Isn’t this a copypasta

[@EasyHunii]

Silco was Perfect. Viktor was dogshit

[@choombasaur]

Excellent argument again

[@Gaming123ish]

Holy cope

[@choombasaur]

👏

[@lemon274]

Season 2 sucks. It was like it was written by different person.

[@choombasaur]

Wasn’t as good as the first but saying it sucks seems like an exaggeration

[@lemon274]

@choombasaur no it was from a 9/10 to a 5/10. That's not good, they should have just not made s2

[@choombasaur]

That is one of the opinions of all time

[@lemon274]

@@choombasaur what does that even mean?

[@choombasaur]

@@lemon274 it means it is one of the opinions of all time

[@thelord4191]

arcane wrote the perfect villain, in season 1. Season 2 was a total mess and viktor was an awful villain.

[@mishan3168]

Louder 🔊

[@EasyHunii]

Silco was Perfect. Viktor was dogshit

[@choombasaur]

Excellent argument

[@thelord4191]

facts