How Arcane masters tragedy - a video essay (spoilers!)

[@AscendantStoic]

There is a reason "What could have been" by Sting is one of the most poignant songs in the OST (it was definitely an inspired choice to use it in the final scene), its title perfectly encapsulates the tragic stories of all the characters not just Jinx (though she is clearly the focus of the song).

[@imenz93]

Yes I keep thinking of that line constantly! What could have been indeed...

[@camouflage_cat1973]

The song "What could have been" was specificially written for that scene.

[@eller3794]

I was JUST about to say the exact same thing

[@bodynabil4585]

In the final scene realizing that Victor is in there with them waiting for the boom Man can just his life gets better before dying like this. For me Victor is the most tragic character in the story

[@troikas3353]

[***Spoilers***] I had a slightly different read on the end of Act 1. When monster-deckard is bashing on the door trying to get to Vi and the others we see that he is starting to break through. Vander is still cuffed to the chair and Clagger has not gotten the wall open yet but the door is starting to buckle hard with the hinges popping off. There's no one in that room in a position to stop Deckard. Then Powder's Monkey comes in, this completely random out of place thing, that distracts Deckard enough that he stops bashing on the cell door entirely for a not insignificant amount of time. It's here that we see Mylo get Vander's last cuff off and Clagger fully opens the hole in the wall. Now this delay is not enough to make it definitive, but it presents a possibility. Had Powder only used her Monkey, this thing she made entirely through her own ingenuity, even if it failed to do any actual damage or was even only one of the smoke bombs she'd made earlier- it may have been enough. But she's so convinced of her own lack of value, so convinced that her talents by themselves are inadequate on their own that she adds this foreign element to her creation. She relies on an external source of strength to compensate for her own perceived lack of it, a recurring theme for her throughout. While there's no guarantee that things would have turned out any better in the end, the story leaves open the idea that what Vi had told her was right; Powder is stronger than she thinks she is, she was good enough. She could have helped them.

[@JPWrites]

That's such an interesting insight - I hadn't considered it that way. That makes my heart break even more, because the line between a world where Powder would have saved everyone and the one that tore everything apart is even closer.

[@lockekappa500]

​@@JPWrites I think we see that in everything she did as Powder. She always goes just a bit too far to compensate for her lack of self confidence, her feeling of inadequacy. Her feeling of ineptness. And it always puts her in a place just a bit out of her own capabilities. And then we get the full extreme of this when she becomes Jinx. Fully embracing extremism and utter unbridled chaos. "I'm gonna go steal a Hexgem?" Better blow up a building and kill a bunch of enforcers to pull it off. Of course she could have probably just snuck in with a minor distraction and managed the same thing, but not anymore. The mistakes she made in her past as a child, are now intentional and calculated. THIS part of her that was weak and a flaw of hers, is now her strength. The loose cannon as she's called in the game, fully embraced and finely curated. No doubt with help from Silco.

[@lolicongang.4974]

@@lockekappa500 YAY silco the man.

[@dairallan]

The problem with this theory is that you have to ignore the narrative structure that's actually present in the show. The cut from the monkey bomb pausing back to the room and the clear demonstration that Mylo has broken the last shackle and that Clagger has broken through the wall is not there from some sort of random editing. Its a deliberate part of the narrative structure and its demonstrating to the audience that they are free, before Powder's monkey bomb, without Powder's help. This cut and this scene absolute destroy any attempt to hold this interpretation.

[@midnight1672]

I think the writers also made her deliberately have an unbelievable amount of bad luck, like she really was cursed - a jinx. There are so many opportunities for her where things could have turned out to the better for her and each and every single time they don't. There's something she should better not have seen? You can be sure she'll be a witness. There's something she should have seen? She leaves a second too soon. Vi and her seem to reconcile? You can bet your ass someone or something happens to interrupt them and make it worse. Even the explosion in episode 3 itself is a good example. It could have worked out fine and actually helped them but instead literally the only people it kills are those who she wanted to help.

[@stefanb6539]

"I felt like my life was meaningless, because I will never be able to create anything that beautiful" I had that exact same feeling not even a minute ago. And I am afraid, with me, it might just be the truth.

[@shawnotoole1421]

I hope you create something so beautiful.

[@foggyforest2625]

I was also so depressed because making something at this level looks impossible

[@Skyler827]

This was a multi-hundred million dollar budget show. Have some perspective. It would take centuries for a single person to produce a show like this.

[@stephaniewells8671]

I totally agree with you. I believe that Arcane beautifully portrays how in that scene, Vi, Milo, Claggor, and Vander would have been able to escape. The editing clearly shows that Vander was out of his cuffs, and Claggor had successfully broken through the wall. However, Powder's monkey bomb went off at the exact moment they had freedom at their fingertips. And that makes that scene all the more devastating. The same thing occurs in the last episode. After Jinx shoots Silco, the editing shows how Piltover's chairs were finally agreeing in peace with Zaun. Mel decided to put the safety and prosperity of Piltover and ALL of its inhabitants (even Zaun) in front of her own people in Noxus (she even removes her family ring). Jayce finally realized his faults and was ready to actually help the people in the Undercity. Everything was going to be okay. That is until Jinx decides to send her ultimate (lol) bomb to the Counselor's meeting room. And again, that hopeless feeling unfolds all over again. We, the audience, feel the freedom and joy at our fingertips just for it to be ripped away, since now, obviously, war will undoubtedly happen. This show is a masterpiece. And, FYI, not saying Jinx/Powder is the "bad guy" or villain of this story, because she isn't. This is a discussion I had recently and is how Arcane is so wonderfully written and produced that it is not a black and white story of the villain and hero. No character is fully bad or good. It has amazing social critiques and is an apt example of how the environment you grow up in shapes you (in one way or another). Honestly, I could talk about this show for hours.

[@samy29987]

Jinx seems pretty bad to me, how many people did she murder again? Silco is the total villain of the show, but Jinx is right there just behind him. Is she a victim? Sure, is she evil? totally. no amount of mental issues remove you from guilt and responsibility. She is definitely a grey character, but innocent she is not.

[@thatotherguy8138]

One slight comment: I'm fairly certain the Council doesn't know Silco has rejected the Peace Offer. Neither does Jayce - he's kind of jumping the gun in that he's expecting that Jinx is a very small price for Silco to pay for the Nation of Zaun. After all, Jayce was willing to put his life's work on hold to protect Piltover, expecting Silco to make a similar sacrifice isn't a high price to pay in his eyes. All told, Jinx for Zaun is a fantastically tiny price to pay, since Jinx will be hunted down anyway for her crimes against Piltover. Even if Silco was arrested, Jinx would be too as she's the one who committed the actual murders, so it's a "We're going to do this anyway, but if you do it for us, we'll give you everything you want." deal - how can anyone say no to that? Other than that exceptionally minor point, very nice video!

[@JPWrites]

Thank you! Regarding the council, I didn't think they knew Silco had rejected the offer, but my impression was that Jayce understood Silco wouldn't be handing over Jinx and had presented the offer to them without including her handover as one of the terms. Having said that, it wasn't explicit in the show and your interpretation makes sense too - Jayce assuming Silco would come around about handing over Jinx, since this is objectively a small price to pay for independence.

[@thehutch1674]

I don’t think any deal was done, but what I got from it was that the council had decided to negotiate and resolve things peacefully. They decided to let Zaun be independent one way or another, and they were willing to negotiate the terms of it, and maybe that includes Jinx, or maybe it doesn’t. Would those negotiations have ended well and worked? Who knows. But it’s a big step forward for progress aaaaaand it’s gone because Silco is dead and that missile is, uh, not ideal for their physical health

[@saltynacl9344]

Plus Jayce has no way of knowing that Jinx is a daughter to Silco. Far as he knows she's just a particularly violent soldier working under him.

[@frostcreative3814]

Jinx wouldn't have been hunted down, part of the peace deal was blanket amnesty. Meaning everything she had done would have been swept under the rug along with everything Silco had done. Jayce was just trying to get SOMETHING in return, he had no idea Jinx was a daughter to Silco. If he had known Jinx's importance he never would have asked for her, Jayce was the one hunting down the peace offer (he initiated the meeting) so he would have never asked for something Silco couldn't immediately give over. Besides, Jinx never even came up in the council meeting. Jayce only wanted Jinx as an aside for himself, the rest of the council didn't know and didn't care if she was handed over or not.

[@samy29987]

​@@frostcreative3814 Jinx definitely would have been hunted down. she killed normal citizens, police officers and people from the council. Like, do yo not get how many people she wronged? The families of the victims are 100% going to track her one was or another.

[@caseyjp1]

Add another layer for Vi. Denial. At the end of act one, when she is trapped under the door, she sees Milo and Clagger dead...and then she sees the monkey bomb head. It isn't a snap cut, the focus stays with the head and then back to Vi who reacts with an even worse cry. When she asks, "you did this?" to Powder...she already knew the answer. That hits harder than just about anything I've seen in ages. (And as I'm an old fart...that be sayin' somethin'. 😀)

[@JPWrites]

Yes, I was wondering about that - I felt like it would have been better if she hadn't seen the monkey head, so that it was clearer that the first time she knew Powder was involved was when Powder came out from around the corner. Another interpretation I thought about was maybe Vi saw the monkey head and thought Powder had tagged along after all and had also been injured/killed in the explosion, but hadn't realised that the money head had been part of the bomb itself. So she knew Powder was there, suspected she had been hurt if not killed, and only realised Powder was the one responsible after the fact.

[@caseyjp1]

@@JPWrites Tis possible, but with the way this show "shows/not tells", I'm thinking Vi knew, but couldn't bring herself to believe it. But hey, either way works. 🙂

[@plfish77]

The end of episode three ("you did this?" scene) breaks me every time.

[@JackSparrow-re4ql]

That moment when Powder gets flung back from the wall during the magic crystal explosion; is meant to be the symbolic birth of a monster/psychopath. Its the true birth of Jinx and its accompanied by music, lighting and visuals that highlight this fact. There's a lot of symbolism in the show; like Jinx getting blue smoke tattoos; which are like a literal signal to Vi her long lost sister to see (if she ever meets her).

[@cinderspirit4229]

I do think her tatoos are meant to symbolize the blue clouds during the explosion, but both is possible.

[@chavang3699]

@@cinderspirit4229 actually, she got them tats because she wants to ride the sky.

[@kingexplosionmurderfuckoff9376]

Jinx isn't a psychopath.

[@Drudenfusz]

I love tragic stories, always since I first discovered Shakespeare. But yes, there are not enough authors that go that hard into tragedy. And thus I appreciate Arcane for what it did so far. It is exactly the kind of stories I aim to tell.

[@TheRumblewagon]

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. One might say that Jinx/Powder is in her own personal Hell due to her "good intentions".

[@redroseibarahime8755]

Nice analysis! I greatly appreciate your explanations about Vi's situation in act I and that she didn't intend (!) to abandon Powder. I think a lot of people forget that when judging Vi. Of course in Powders perspective it made this impression and is for her a fact but Vi was prevented from going back to her instead of willingly abandonning her. And I feel a lot of empathy for her trying to cool off for a moment in order to not worsen the situation with her sister because she was clearly mentally too stressed in that moment. She is also the type of person who needs some space in emotional stressed situations in order to cool down and not leash out on Powder any further instead her little sister who is very clingy (of course, she is a little child). Many say because she is the older sibling she HAS the responsibility and should be clearly the one to handle the situation so it is all her fault and only she fucked up by abandoning her, but I don't blame Vi- I think even adults would have a hard time in that situation to keep their emotions in check. From an audience seat it is always easy to say that but if you really try to put yourself in their shoes you might be able to feel empathy for the both of them. Many say that Powder just wanted to help so it can't be helped but in fact, she fucked up, too and the damage has been done and is not reversable. No one is right or wrong there, it is just a big tragic and both should be given the same sympathy for their situations. As for the point " if Vi wasn't prevented from going back to Powder..." I believe we have some sort of dilemma here. If Marcus didn't show up, Vi would have been killed by Silco and his goons for sure in her pursuit to rescue her sister because she was terribly excausted, injured and I believe this would have been more tragic since Powder would have wittnessed the death of her sister first hand and either Silco would have killed her as well or she would be alone from then on because in this case she wouldn't throw herself in the arms of her sister's killer. Powder alone would have no chance of survival in the undercity. So in some way Marcus did rescue Vi. And we have proof of this intention because he didn't file any crimes in her imprisonment documents. In the game we get the information that he paid the prison to keep her imprisoned. Well, this is not a good deed at all, but at least he didn't use her to become Sheriff. As second in line after Grayson it was not necessary for him to use her like that.

[@JPWrites]

Thank you! As a fellow big sister, it made sense to me through that lens - that she was trying to do the right thing by taking a moment to process. She's also still a kid, which I don't think some people are acknowledging - like you said, this would be a horrific situation even for an adult. The point about Vi getting killed if she went back is something I hadn't considered, and Powder potentially being killed as well. Aargh - the more I think about this show the more it kills me, because I want there to be some way for everything to work out, but at some point it's so broken that even retracing your steps doesn't lead to a good outcome.

[@redroseibarahime8755]

@@JPWrites the amazing thing about this show is how it shows us different shades of gray in reality that are created by a number of small, seeminly insignificant choices (mostly out of unawareness or uneducated knowlegde) and misunderstandings through lack of information but lead up to grander scale dilemmas that couldn't been forseen and are extremly tragic. This just blows me away and I also think about all these situations and how it could be handled better with a "good outcome" but here are so many factors and if you simulate a different route it is still not a satisfying happy end but a different sad one. Some choices/incidents that ignite the grander scale dilemmas: - stealing the hex crystals : Powder stole the hex crystals even though Vi said to leave it (to Mylo when Powder was not aware and in the other room - so technically Vi made a ver good choice there !) --> if she left the crystals alone like Vi said, they wouldn't have blown up the building - no enforcers chasing them and later on killing her family - keeping the crystals and keeping them a secret from Vander: Vi was not aware that the crystals were the reason for the explosion -otherwise she wouldn't have allowed Powder to keep such a dangerous item - Powder overhearing only half of the conversation from Mylo and Vi --> getting the feeling she makes trouble for Vi, can not contribute anything to the group but holding them back and thinking that she looses Vi's support --> massive blow to her selfconfidence and pressuring her to prove herself - leaving Powder alone while going of to rescue Vander --> Vi underestimates the abandonement issues of her sister - tbh, I would have done the same and she had no one she could tell to baby sit Powder at that time + time was precious to rescue Vander. So she had to leave her alone for a while. The problem here is that both are traumatized from their parents loss. While Vi is educated to be a leader and it seems in S1 that she copes better with it , in fact she was a bit older than Powder. But that may not be an advantage at all - she understood the situation better and therefore broke down from the sight of raw violence and consequences that day- you can also hear the faint voices when Vander talked to Vi on the bridge about "nobody is winning in war" and that she is tormented by that and is very uncomfortable even standing on that bridge) - Powder on the other side was so small she didn't understand but only mirrored her sisters emotions. (Noticed the devil smiles in 2d on the enforcer in the first scenes? This is an indication of the trauma for both and this style is a lot used to show Jinx trauma later on) Powder is pretty traumatized and has a lot of fear of abandonment. She clings to Vi every time she can because this is the single most important person in her life. And in that moment it was not sure that Vi and the group will come back or die, which would leave her alone. In conclusion she suffers a panic attack that is immediately stopped when she realized a solution for herself (tears dry off immediately) that can proof to be useful for the group, so she believes... - Vi mentioning Jinx's name at the council --> she couldn't have foreseen that this led to be the wavering peace condition. If Jayce didn't include to hand out Jinx as a condition Silco would have engaged peace with Piltover for Zaun's independence ... because this way Silco wouldn't have discussed this with Vander's statue and Jinx wouldn't have misunderstood and killed him later at the "teaparty" Many people overlook the fact that peace was in this finale never an option. Even if the council voted for peace Silco wouldn't have given Jinx to them so peace is out of the question. Jayce also said "we can not make peace with a snake that cut off it's head" - Silco died, so peace negotiations would have fallen apart anyways. And even if the council completely survives that attack they won't engage peace after such an attack because they must demonstrate power (reference to their discussion and reasoning after Jinx stole the gemstone on progress day) I am very intrigued how they intend to continue the relationship of Vi and Jinx because at this point it seems to be almost broken beyond repair as Jinx clearly rejects Vi - saying she has changed (this is not a complete rejection but she walks off saying "this is the new us"). I can only imagine that it can be somewhat patched up when Vi has her character development arc in S2 and comes to terms with the fact that her sister is only a very small part of Powder and a big part of Jinx and is mentally very ill- but still Jinx is a ruthless murderer and Vi defintely isn't. If this would be "only" Powder killing her family and after that only be broken but not further kill people I believe they could repair the relationship - but I personally think that the murderer part of Jinx is not only hard to accept but is no option for a happy life for her as well. Jinx must be willing to stop this and be able to redeem herself in order to make up with her sister which completely contradicts her current definition of her existence being a Jinx. This is a very complicated situation and I am eager to know how they intend to patch this up - if they really want to ... I wouldn't be surprised if they break it even further with the Warwick story arc and leave it beyond repair which would be on the other side very realistic or even kill of one of them (definitly possible since they killed of a champion in the past , too that was after that unavailable in the game for a certain time period and as soon as we pass through the current state of the game lore everything is possible, especially since Riot gambled with the S1 as well one some topics anyways). At present in the game they are cat and mouse running around Piltover. We will see...

[@colpul2103]

Arcane is a masterclass in Greek Tragedy. One thing about Vi you should mention is Vander gives her this sage advice that seems to everyone like wisdom, but that advice ends up devastating Vi: Vander is talking to Vi right after their botched robbery in the Upper City: "Those kids look up to you... When people look up to you you don't get to be selfish. You say run they run, you say swim they dive in, you say light a fire they show up with oil, whatever happens its on you." You hear that and think 'what great advice on leadership'. Then you are hit with the peripeteia (reversal of circumstance) in episode 3 and that ranks as some of the worst advice a father ever gave a daughter given the circumstances at the end of the episode. It is advice that will forever haunt Vi; she led them there, they followed her there, she chose to leave Powder at home unsupervised so as the person she respected the most taught her "whatever happens its on you". I mean as a writer just two hand chef's kiss. ARCANE is filled with that type of stuff. The narrative is so damn tight, the attention to detail... I've watched through 5 time now plus all the scene rewatchs and every time I find something new, so new detail or foreshadowing. Things like when Vi is in the fissures wounded with Cait and is hallucinating she sees Powder drawing on the wall, she's drawing a slug monster and a giant razor crab. When we first see Silco at Vander's statue and the camera pulls back to a wide angle when Silco first starts look at the back of the statue and you can see Jinx even though you do not notice that the first however many viewings. But when you do it changes your perspective on what Silco is saying. Too too many examples to name. There is no unimportant detail in this show, not a word or brush stroke that does not serve the story or its telling in some way. Regardless of its you favorite story or you just don't like dark tales, just isn't to your taste. However, I still believe as objective as art can be analysed this is the best written and told story I've every watched, read, or heard.

[@harrywhodeeknee4899]

I'm actually so glad to see someone give Arcane due praise because everywhere I go people say things like it's "one of the best animated series I've seen on Netflix in the last few months" and I just wonder what other Netflix animated show they saw a few months ago that was better than arcane and how they don't consider it one of the greatest works of art in modern times. Anyone learning to write stories should find a bottomless repository of artistic perfection in Arcane.

[@justinamerican8200]

As a writer, first comes the acknowledgement that it made me feel, deeply. Then comes the work of examining why, in an attempt to harness it, be inspired by it, for my own work.

[@Sleawzor]

I really liked your analysis! I've been in a similar place - I started watching Arcane for the pretty pictures, but I got hooked by the writing, and I've just sort of been thinking about it ever since. It does so much that I find interesting and inspiring, in terms of character-driven narratives, and natural dialogue, and how every scene is always serving multiple functions in the story, and not a single scene exists purely to set up a future payoff - which I think is helped massively by its beautiful visuals, which constantly convey meaningful information even when nothing is said. When I was watching for the first time, which was of course halfway through Nanowrimo, the thing I took away from it was 'this is how I want to write'. I don't think I've ever had a show before that I could rewatch and rewatch without wanting to skip parts of it or becoming numb to the emotional beats; they still get me every time, and some of them are getting even stronger and more painful as I revisit them. I know some people say that the story isn't really that unique or special, and maybe in some terms that is true, but the actual telling of that story, to me, is top tier.

[@JPWrites]

I had the same reaction - both "this is how I want to write", and "text is so limiting! How could I ever do this with just words?"

[@Sleawzor]

@@JPWrites If you ever find an answer to that question, I'd love to hear about it! ^^

[@lockekappa500]

Oh boy do the emotional beats hit harder. I almost can't get past a scene with Powder and Vi without getting worked up after I've watched it all. Seeing them so close, so inseparable in those first 3 episodes, and yet knowing how far they're driven apart by the end. This story is so layered, and each episode builds upon the last, that it's impossible to watch and judge them individually on their own. It's such a complete package, and I hope Season 2 only does this more by expanding our knowledge of this world and its characters.

[@JPWrites]

I know - even on my second watch, I kept finding myself hoping that they would find some way to repair their relationship and have a happy ending, and the end hit me even harder as she launched the missile. I can't imagine what season 2 will hold.

[@inactive_subs]

@@JPWrites I agree with this so strongly along with the original comment! I feel like this series is the perfect example for beautiful writing. However - like you said - I also feel that text can be so limiting in the sense that everything is sort of told. You could use show not tell and describe an emotion rather than tell it, but the beauty of Arcane are the emotions it elicits through animation AND voice acting which greatly helps it impact the audience. Obviously different mediums call for different efforts, and I do think it’ll be extremely difficult to extrapolate this style to a novel one but I do hope to achieve this level of greatness in writing. It’s comforting to know other writers feel similar.

[@silver9wolf6]

This was great! Arcane is such a beautiful show and I love how many different takes are coming from it. Thank you for bringing up Vi's trauma as well. As you said, it's tragic, but I don't blame her any more than I blame powder :)

[@Hawkido]

The peace treaty was with Silco, not the Undercity. When Silco died the deal died. "You cannot make a deal with a snake and cut off its head". They did not know Silco declined the deal due to the Jinx requirement. Silco had to think about it, as Silco never betrayed anyone in the story and the turning in of Jinx would be a betrayal. That is why he said he now understands Vander. Vander gave up the fight for freedom (what he wanted) to protect the orphans. Silco must now give up what he wants (Freedom through forceful negotiation "I don't need to beat them, I just need to scare them" - Silco EP3) and must now fight the war he had at that meeting just avoided to protect his adopted daughter.

[@mistfitsable]

Arcane is so good that it might actually be too good. It might have ruined other shows/movies for me like wagyu in japan has ruined trying to eat steak in the states. The bar is so high now that it might possibly never be surpassed. But who knows? The good news : the perfect blueprint is now laid out for storywriters on how to create amazing story-writing and narrative, and its completely free; all they need to do is watch this show and see how well the critical components/elements of good story telling is executed in creating not only a smooth well-paced, believable, relatable, addictive story but also and most importantly a HUMAN narrative. This show feels more alive and more real than any live-action cinematography I've ever seen and no single shot in the entire 9 episodes was a waste. It has the benefit of being animated (and animated very well) so you aren't watching people "acting" a role, the characters are real and alive. It's so compelling and well thought out I didn't think it was possible to ever see a show this good in my lifetime.

[@coldbattery]

Yo, that was everything I hope to hear after finished the show. I like you focus on the emotional perspective, that's something not many youtubers had touched on. We are human with emotions, it's not the cinematography ,the pacing, the sound design that makes the audiences like a film, it's the emotion. Thank you for explaining it so well, I love arcane, but I'm very bad at explaining why I love a certain show. Your video is exactly why I binge watch arcane related videos on youtube, just to understand what's the emotion that I was feeling.

[@JPWrites]

Thank you - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@axelvonelern8081]

In this show, there is no Light and Dark, it's only "Gray".

[@davidthor4405]

I misread “Gray” as “Gary” and thought, for a sliver of a moment “who the shit is Gary?”

[@mathies3598]

As I interpreted it, Silco hadn't openly refused Jayce's offer yet, though he knew he was going to. So the council and Jayce didn't know, meaning they were still negotiating for independance on the condition that they got to arrest Jinx. Peace wasn't as close as it seemed.

[@HeloisGevit]

But we never saw Jayce or Victor bring up the conditions. Maybe they don't?

[@carolinafranco9407]

I loved the video, just missed Viktor, since he is an important influence on Jayce and has an arc just as interesting as the others. He was the one that actually showed Jayce both sides and tried to keep him from losing his way. Honestly I'm pissed at Jayce for abandoning Viktor when he was sick and losing himself. (If you couldn't tell he is one of my favorites :) I was hoping him and powder met for the whole series, hope this hhappens in the second). I also missed the part about Jinx almost dying and going through a extremely painful procedure with a lot of shimmer, since it is another traumatic event that changed her

[@dryadchisel4504]

Great analysis! 😯 I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on other characters, like Viktor, Caitlin, Ekko etc...or even storylines 😊

[@TenaciousDealer]

When I went into watching a video game adaption animated series I wasn't expecting such clear and fantastically executed examples of Shakespearean tragedy. This truly was the best television I've watched in the last few years, what a triumph.

[@TheMakromag]

That was a very good essay! I greatly enjoyed your take on the tragedy in Arcane.

[@HeloisGevit]

Great video, love your enthusiasm. I'm on my 5th rewatch of Arcane and I'm still mesmerised. Send help!

[@Sturzfaktor2]

I very much enjoyed your thoughts on Arcane. I have similar feelings about the show. I've watched it three times now, and I still don't want it to go away.

[@78deathface]

I loved this show so much, totally took me by surprise. The entire time I just felt for Powder/Jinx, like she was so deeply traumatized and damaged, but she was just trying to be loved and accepted, regardless of the consequences. What an amazing show that can make you feel for both sides or at least understand where everyone is coming from and why they’re doing what they’re doing. I knew nothing about LoL, but I easily fell in love with the world and had an idea of the intricacies of its lore. This is the most emotionally affecting piece of fiction I’ve seen in a while, which I’m still shocked by. I’m old and cynical, normally… Edit: I really enjoyed your take. I’m subbed 👍

[@edi9892]

I would have mentioned Victor as well in relation to Chace(?). He represents even more the desire for power, but he plays with two powers that are dangerous and poorly understood by him (hextech and shimmer). This ties in with Powder trying to become useful and causing a catastrophe...

[@powthehamster]

Nice analysis!

[@chavang3699]

"It walks, it walks, it claps its cymbals" i feel like im being told a bedtime story lol. I love it

[@JPWrites]

Lol - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@ifeanyijames6140]

Absolutely superb! 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾

[@rustkarl]

Just a point if I may. Silco can certainly be seen as an antagonistic presence in the story. But villain is a debatable label. Certainly for Act 1 he plays the part but for the rest of the story his part to play is much harder to determine. Ultimately he can be seen in a few lights depending on his actions. On one side he can be seen as a zealous and idealistic revolutionary, but crossing a lot of lines to achieve a common good. Ultimately he finds himself ending up almost exactly like Vander and follows in his estranged brother-in-arms footsteps. On the other his methods are more terroristic than revolutionary and he’s systemically made Zaun worse off for the majority. Ironically his leadership turns Zaun into a microcosm of Piltover and Zaun’s own relationship. An oligarchy of influential figures, crime lords and chem barons to the officials and and councillors of Piltover presided over by a first-among-equals figure that represents the future. Silco and Jayce respectively. Tangent on parallels and duality aside, I think it’s a little too grey to easily label Silco as an outright villain.

[@JPWrites]

I agree - when I used the word villain, I meant in the sense of antagonist, not 'evil, irredeemable person'. There were some things I quite liked about him, including his unwillingness to compromise as well as moments of frustration in trying to manage the unmanageable Jinx.

[@shanadixon3969]

I really enjoyed your video, I just subscribed.

[@dawntro2731]

I felt like ur analyses and conclusion of tragedy were great, the only thing that would of made it better would be less recapping. U did it well near the end but at the start it felt like u were summarising the plot of the story

[@aaronlocsin1707]

Something about arcane just pulls me that I want to be apart of something so beautiful.

[@azanyahyisrael101]

I'm not going to hold you but that entire first comment within the first 20 seconds is a vibe

[@joseystrife8780]

No the Council's vote wasn't to grant Zauns it's independents despite Silco's refusal but whether or not they would support Jayce's peace deal with Silco

[@CaliPSSF]

Vander's tragedy is unfortunately not over. Wait until season 2

[@JPWrites]

As someone who had no League of Legends knowledge going into this, I am very intrigued!

[@wannaBtraceur]

And just as with Vander, Silco’s sacrifice is rendered meaningless because of Jinx. She undid his dream with a single explosion, just as she did Vander’s.

[@schmeldwicksmith5379]

maybe you were being facetious, but i need to say honey, your life is not meaningless, no matter what you do or don't create. anyone with your level of insight into the human condition will always be of great worth. for those you love, or even total strangers. people need to be seen and understood, and you have that gift. so do I. it's not nothing, xo

[@JPWrites]

❤️

[@songwright]

I think all the points you make are sound. All of these characters are tragic heroes in the sense that they failed in spite of what they believed were good intentions. The writers had the courage to allow these characters to fail no more how likeable they are. I've seen another video essay that argued that Jinx is a perfect tragic hero according to Aristotle, but that's wrong. She is highly empathetic in the way she kills the family she was trying to save. This was the result of using an explosive that she didn't create herself, the blue crystal, so her actions extremely reckless, and yet we still feel for her. It's tragic, but it's not Greek tragic, just as the tragedy of losing her foster father Silco is not a Greek tragedy. The protagonist of a Greek tragedy is someone of high esteem who has a moral cause. Oedipus is trying to save the city of Thebes from a plague. Hamlet is trying to punish a murderer. Jinx is not solving crimes; she commits crimes. She kills without remorse. Vi wants to carry on Vander's dream of rebelling against Piltover to help the people of Zaun, so her fight against the enforcers has a moral dimension, but Jinx kills enforcers so she can steal the orb, with no thought to the consequences other than pleasing Silco. When she kills Silco accidentally, it is tragic that she loses her foster father while trying to protect her sister, but this is a result of another of her reckless plans, that of kidnapping Vi and trying to force Vi to choose her over Caitlyn. No good can come of this. If Vi had said no, and Jinx had killed Caitlyn, would Jinx have been satisfied? Jinx's intentions might be heartbreaking, but they also selfish and destructive. It's inevitable that one of them dies. It makes sense that Jinx fires a missile at the council, but it's not an act of rebellion. It's an act of revenge that resolves nothing, though the anger behind it is understandable.

[@JPWrites]

This is such a great distinction!

[@gravitywolf5129]

I can proudly say I have watched it three times now😂

[@JPWrites]

I'm currently debating whether or not to do a fourth watch... I just haven't found anything else this satisfying since I watched Arcane 😅

[@gravitywolf5129]

@@JPWrites I may watch fourth time when I get to buy new earpods.😁 But for me too, I can't find a series better than this rn. I listen to music that arcane had in the episodes, and watch edits & AMVs🎵✨

[@leagueofsupport4296]

vi and jinx are real sister right?

[@JPWrites]

I'm not sure about in other League of Legends lore, but in Arcane they are

[@mirror8519]

17:07 COME ON in what way it is unclear? there were two options, silco dies or everybody lives. cause if any of the girls die they can't appear in league of legends, same goes with Viktor and Jayce, and well, Singed.

[@atgunsforhire9643]

I watched your videos about arcane and I really love them. If you don't mind,I would like to ask your permission to share the videos about arcane to the other website in Chin. I will also give sources of the original website.Thank you!!!!

[@JPWrites]

If you're embedding the original video link, go ahead :)

[@nimnim431]

Oh the misery

[@HeloisGevit]

Everybody wants to be my enemy

[@gregoryhuizinga2286]

Just for a small point of clarity to keep in mind as I am sure it will come up in season 2: Vander does not die, he is taken by the scientist seen through act one (who is called Singed) and vander is transformed through Singed's newest invention called "Chem-Tech" into a new character called Warwick. This happens in much the same way as Singed using shimmer to bring back Jinx after the bridge scene.

[@JPWrites]

I didn't realise this - looking forward to learning more in Season 2!

[@danc1513]

Why the hell would you spoil this.

[@HeloisGevit]

Shouldn't spoil this without even a warning. This context changes nothing in relation to the events of season 1 as discussed in the video.

[@ArcaneMelodies82]

Jinx will die in season 2 finale😢😢😢 I really don’t want that character to die. I want her to be like John Wick.

[@sorenkair]

this isn't a video essay tho, just a summary.

[@JPWrites]

Yes, I just started recording and realised I needed to talk through the story to figure out what I wanted to say about it. Lesson learned - I definitely need to script in future!

[@iceleafofalba]

💓💖💓

[@dankfrank7358]

I find it a little strange that you urge the viewer to watch the show before watching this video and yet chose to summarize it almost in it's entirety. I think if you cut out the summary, the content of the video could be written on a sticky note...

[@JPWrites]

You're right - it was my first attempt at a video essay and the video was unscripted, so I found myself summarising as I was processing what I watched

[@dankfrank7358]

@@JPWrites As i read my comment again i realize it came off as a bit snarly, i'm sorry about that it was meant as constructive criticism :)

[@normalguy5583]

i don't think this is an essay. half the vid is recap.

[@JPWrites]

Yeah... I realised this as I was doing it, but then it was done. Learning experience for next time

[@bulbobaggins]

10:46 to be fair they would both be killed by Silco and his goons. They’re outnumbered and Vi won’t be able to punch as hard without her gauntlets