What Makes Viktor Human? | Arcane

[@idlescree]

Thank you all for joining us! Thank you to @Kristine Versicolored and for watching the premiere with us and we are excited to see you all next time! We also have a Patreon now! If you love our work and would like to support us, head on over here to gain access to behind the scenes goodies and squeakless videos! www.patreon.com/user?u=112093714

[@nancyjay790]

My daughter has to use a wheelchair. When she rides the bus (we're in the UK, so there's more dependable bus services than you'd find in America), she often finds people have left their baby strollers in the disabled passenger spaces, and when she tries to ask if they can be moved, a lot of the mothers complain and say, "Why don't you wait for the next bus?" Their inconvenience matters more than my daughter's ability to get where she needs to be in line with any schedule she has, particularly doctor appointments or business. Folding up the frickin' stroller so a person in a wheelchair can safely ride on the bus.

[@HedgehogEditor]

Yeah a lot of assholes out there take other people for granted. Doubly so if that person's existence inconveniences them in some small way. I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's experiences on public transit. What I've learned is every city is different and some places do handle accessibility better than others. Vancouver, where I live, is a city with lots of accessible infrastructure, but there are also cases where that infrastructure fails. I listed the article in the video, but back in 2019, there was a slew of broken elevators at train stations all over Vancouver, which are essential for people with heavy loads or for disabled people. I hope you're doing all right and I hope your daughter knows that she has as much right to take up space as those assholes on the bus.

[@TomTriyingtothink]

I only just noticed that Jaces speech about helping the undercity is shot from a low angle he is literally above their problems

[@Kaipyro67ALT]

That's what i love about this show-- you can look as deep as you want and still find allegories and symbolism, even if the creative team might not have intended to put it there. Brilliant series.

[@Whapadoodle]

victor has a cane? the show is called arcane? coincidence!? seriously though, this was an amazing analysis of a character that i hadn't thought about this deeply.

[@HedgehogEditor]

DEEP. LORE.

[@mantraki]

Ok, bu why is the cane named ar?, is there a lore reason behind it?

[@Whapadoodle]

@@mantraki maybe it’s made of argon (chemical symbol Ar)!?

[@samiam5859]

@@mantraki Maybe it could be 'Arc' and 'Cane', like saying the arc of the cane. It could mean the story of Victor or just an arc of a straight looking cane which might be twisted. It could also mean that magic is his new cane since it can replace his old one so Arcane as in new cane or just the story of magic. I could go on and with these silly meanings but it might just be a coincidence...

[@nadiabairamis3854]

Victor is the purest and yet the most heart wrenchingly tragic character in Arcane.

[@mbefuddled176]

In regard to Sky's "fridging," there's a great video by the channel Schnee that talks about how it's a sort of meta fridging? Like, yes the audience never got to see more of her story, but neither did Viktor and he realizes this. It's tragic because he learns too late. He realizes that she died an unnecessary death that will forever be a part of his story. He KNOWS that her death was not fair, much like the audience knows that she is serving a narrative role for another character. I'm excited to see how he uses her findings in the future seasons, as there have been theories that she discovered another Rune that may help with the Hexcore. Regardless, I hope the show still addresses her loss (though I'm sure Viktor will have plenty more things to be dealing with).

[@erikroman1880]

Also sky wasn't the only character who was fridged there was Benzo the kid jayce killed technically finn

[@mbefuddled176]

@@erikroman1880 for sure. From a narrative standpoint, it makes a lot of sense to use other characters for the purpose of furthering another more complex/important character’s arc. It’s still important to discuss fridging as a trope, as it often affects female characters more, but I think there are times where it can be done effectively.

[@HedgehogEditor]

I've actually seen a few of Schnee's videos before! He does an excellent job of finding correlations between characters and their stories.

[@mbefuddled176]

@@HedgehogEditor yes! One of my favorite channels, fr fr. Highly recommend his videos on How Arcane Writes Gender, I rewatch them all the time :)

[@coxfire]

I agree that the running scene should have been longer, or even a small transition of him coughing blood after his run to better show that despite fixing his leg, his lungs were still failing hence why he tries another transmutation

[@arzadu1138]

I always felt a little weird about Viktor pseudo-healing himself, especially given the immense pushback other writers have faced when "curing" disabled characters (thinking back to Eragon for this one). I'm still not quite sure what to think, but phrasing it as this duality of "wanting to help, but not being able to if he dies first" opens up a lot more Big Thoughts from me. Wonderful video, as always!

[@alexlazerboy8354]

the fuck you mean "curing" disabled people? a person who cannot see would absolutely love to be cured, a person who cannot walk (most of which cannot walk after being previously able to) would kill to walk again, a person with a genetic disability would love to have full access to everything that nature took from them. Whoever these writers are, they ridicule and spit on reality. Being disabled doesnt make you less human, but it also doesnt mean that a cure or a solution for some of these awful physical disabilities should be pushed back against by mostly entirely healthy writers. How hypocritical. Viktor was happy, empowered and driven when he ran for the first time, and that should be seen as a beautiful thing rather than whatever these writers you're referring to want it to mean

[@DillSkin]

Viktor running is the best scene in the show imo

[@RoseThorn48]

The part where you talked about how much our society just excludes disabled people is really true Just a few days ago I broke my foot (it's even a temporary disability) and I'm really realizing how little life is made to accommodate people with different needs then the norm It's really sad

[@HedgehogEditor]

Yeah it's genuinely frustrating sometimes. I live in Vancouver, where we have pretty accessible infrastructure for disabled people, but I used to live in Montreal-- their subway system has almost no elevators. Learned this the hard way when I visited last with my girlfriend (she's disabled). People who never experience disability tend to take basic things like walking up stairs for granted.

[@paintedskies9089]

Ahh yes. I too enjoy the mildly concerning yet strangely cute science man. In all seriousness, I came here for Viktor but I was pleasantly surprised by your spot-on analysis of Jayce and Heimerdinger. Great video!

[@idlescree]

Thank you so much!

[@maofone]

AMAZING VIKTOR VIDEO. One thing I covered in my own Viktor/Zaun video was how the Zaunite aspect of Viktor defines his scientific achievement throughout the series. What makes him stand out and contribute to progress is his Zaunite way of doing things, sacrificing your morals and safety to push that line to achieve progress. Him nudging Jayce to raid Heimerdinger's laboratory brought about their hextech discovery and its percisely his scientific method for progress. A big writing point about Jayce is that he is always in the middle, choosing between peace and warfare between ambess and mel, choosing risk or safety between heimerdinger and viktor, Jayce stands in the middle of a lot of topics. Like viktor he does have that lawless side of him, operating outside the ethos of piltover's academy and venturing into zaun at his own financial risk. Back to viktor, the risk taking side of him is not necessarily defining his character, but moreso the zaunite mentality to progress. The nationalistic ideals of Zaun are stubbornness, resilience, and scrappiness. Even with nothing, riddled with disabilities and disadvantages, Zaunites form their weakness into strength, their differences into specialties. Along the lines of the Zaunite mindset Viktor uses that to his advantage, stopping at no moral or legal barrier to achieve his cure. Much like how Jinx literally cannot be controlled and ekko telling heimerdinger the irrelevance of safety, Viktor's path for progress in his Zaunite flavor will most likely result in his ultimate ostracization and alienation from upper society.

[@mabel1487]

I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT VIKTOR WILL BECOME A MONSTER NOOOOO I DON'T WANT THATT

[@Shythalia]

He's not gonna look like Deckard.

[@syltrid]

"There's a monster inside all of us. Time to let it out!"

[@HimitsuHunter]

It will be GLORIOUS! But I doubt he'll ever lose that Core of kindness. His original lore painted him as a man who sought to replace all his humanity with Steel and Power... and yet could never Shed the Kindness which was intrinsic to his core self.

[@cactusdesbois2443]

He'll probably lose his humanity

[@Shythalia]

Sky Young is another Zaunite at that Progress Day speech. She was just backstage I think. hehe

[@HedgehogEditor]

Damn it. I knew I forgot to include something in my script. lol

[@matneptune]

I think Viktor and Caitlin are my favorite characters in the show. I started watching it after the news of season 2 over the horizon. I know understand what the hype is all about. But back to Viktor... I'm going to preface this by saying, yes I am a shipper, and I do see some chemistry between Jayce and Vik, but really I see it as one sided attraction from Viktor. From their first conversation to the way he tells Jayce his name, they have tension so thick you could cut it with an axe. Albeit predicable, I actually like Mel and Jayce, and how Jayce is pulled into different directions by those he cares about. And about Sky... I don't think Viktor was in love with her, that would've been too out of left field, but she was his friend! And his assistant! And another HUMAN BEING. Of course he was upset that the hexcore absorbed her soul. That's traumatizing! Losing someone you know like THAT is horrifying! I just wish she had a little more screen time, even by just a minute or two. And I agree, the scene of Viktor running is spectacular. When I first watched that scene, I was holding my breath and also thinking "that's the first time he's ever been able to run in his life." and he's like, what, in his early 30s? Amazing. I love him. I feel in love with him as soon as I heard him speak.

[@nottch9997]

I don't know why I started to cry in the first five minutes when you said Vik is your favorite character (he has been mine since the beginning because I kind of identify with him a lot), but this is all so true. How can you not love him? How? He is perfect. Kind, intelligent, charismatic in his own way, funny, a bit sassy, and sarcastic. He lives rent-free in my mind.

[@Mithical_C]

I absolutely adore Victor and am SO happy that you made a video on him!

[@HedgehogEditor]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@cypressm7668]

I only watched arcane through once and it has NEVER left my head, I've gotta do a rewatch now because you've touched on SO MUCH context I missed the first time through! Your essays are always super thoughtful and well done, looking forward to the next one!

[@Spideymax_]

Brilliant video essay!! I love your analysis of Jayce, Heimerdinger, and of course Viktor. I also never noticed that it is the hexcore that takes his ability to walk away after he tries to destroy it!! (I would love to see you comment on the Merdardas as well, super interesting!!)

[@HedgehogEditor]

Thank you so much! We're currently working on several new videos that should hopefully be releasing over the course of the next month or two.

[@may1546]

FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT, WOTHOUT VIKTOR HEXTECH PROBABLY WOULDNT HAVE BECOME WHAT IT WAS

[@josealexandre7694]

"Everything about you inspires me" Sky was able to see light in the midst of darkness. He found it amusing to look through the eyes of a broken man. What exactly did she see? The Viktor shown in the series is a person who carries a great burden. In silence, he fights internal battles, fighting his demons hiddenly. For others, Viktor is a determined genius, someone who aims to transform reality through science. However, within himself, he sees himself as a nuisance. He fears being seen as incapable and unable to deal with his physical limitations. Sky, in his admiration, sees beyond the shadows Viktor casts upon himself. In her innocence, she finds beauty in silent determination, in the will to persist even when everything seems to fall apart. Where Viktor sees a fragile body and a haunted mind, Sky sees a passionate soul, driven by almost superhuman strength to create something that transcends its own existence. Imagine if he could have noticed this sooner... Viktor isolates himself, refusing help and avoiding creating deep bonds with his friends, perhaps for fear of failing, of seeing in the eyes of those who care about him a reflection of his own insecurities. Sky, however, saw the man behind the genius. A human: the vulnerability he tries to hide. In Viktor, Sky saw more than a broken man; she saw the promise of something greater and the hope of a remade future. However, in the end, the search for evolution takes its toll. One life for another, an inevitable exchange. Precision, Domination, Sorcery, Determination... Sky became the last missing essence for Hexcore. Inspiration! Blue essence the color of the sky... "Everything about you inspires me"...

[@jessedcampbell4411]

Idle Scree productions are seriously some of the best videos on all of KZbin; another great one!!

[@DesTheBeetle]

I love this channel so much, I'm so excited to see you guys cover Arcane!!

[@idlescree]

Thank you so much, this is so encouraging to hear.

[@mjennyd_yt]

IdleScree uploaded!!!!! OMG

[@idlescree]

Glad you are excited, thank you for sticking around!!

[@LizzieDaKittie4015]

Great job!!!

[@HedgehogEditor]

Thank you!

[@1n5tant_Ar50n]

Thank you for the meaningful analysis! I found myself very drawn to Victor's story as well and found a few personal connections with his personality. I connected strongly with his desire to do good for others, and often feeling unheard when trying to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. I unfortunately can also relate to having those close to you either ignore or reject you in pursuit of their own desires, often in a way that wasn't purposefully neglectful, much like Jayce and Victor's relationship. He is also my favourite character, seeing him desperately try to do good in a world which seems to be shooting him down at every chance. In a world full of extremes, it's no surprise to me that Viktor eventually has to result to extremism to try and achieve his goal.

[@coldboltlighting1237]

LETS GOOO IDLE SCREE!!!! For the win baby!!!!

[@idlescree]

Thank you for your support!!!

[@coldboltlighting1237]

@@idlescree you are welcome!

[@qwiser1]

This was very good

[@HedgehogEditor]

Thank you!

[@PaintedBB]

Thanks

[@idlescree]

Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@peagames2002]

I love Arcane because of Viktor. It shows how much accessibility to those with disabilities are in most countries considered a 'hassle' even a 'nuisance' to society's struggle for progress. Not to mention how disabled people are dismissed as people, often even bypassing their abilities at work, study or even in relationship or friendships. The trust and belief in disabled people's ability to be able to help and live the society just as able bodied is just severely hidden. Not to mention how many old people will eventually lose their ability to move effortlessly, being stuck in wheelchairs, giving stark realization how much their life was better when they were still able to walk anywhere they wanted.

[@SCRUNKALICIOUS]

BHHAGVAVHSAVHHSHSH I LOVE VIKTOR SM AND I LOVE THIS VIDEO AARUFUGHGHHH SO GOOD WAOW…

[@SwogglesFroggles]

Hey, I'm going to start off with a point to improve on and then move on to compliments. The opening song you have around the 2 minute mark is extremely jarring given the tone before and after it. The narration is calm and considered, and the music drowns it out in both volume and tone. Aside from that, Idle Scree continues to punch well above what a channel of your size should be. Your commentary is excellent, your ability to identify themes and point to specific moments that demonstrate them is top notch, and your keep your script tight and on the point throughout. You really do amazing work, and I am always happy and eager for your next video.

[@HedgehogEditor]

Very fair criticism-- I honestly suck at balancing audio levels. The program I use to edit these videos (DaVinci Resolve) has a tendency to make all audio sound loud in the edit. So it sounds good when I'm editing, but when it gets exported, everything gets brought down a ton, so balancing audio levels is kinda frustrating. There's a lot of exporting, listening back to it, then going back to edit, then exporting again. It's tedious and I don't always get the levels right. One day I will. lol Thank you for your lovely comment! We had a bit of a slump in between May and now, but we're working on multiple videos that should be coming out over the next month or so.

[@SwogglesFroggles]

@HedgehogEditor That makes a lot more sense. I was wondering how that would have been missed, haha. And I gotta say, I'm super hyped for more videos! You and your team do such good work and I'm always enlightened by your analysis of media. Thank you!

[@HedgehogEditor]

@@SwogglesFroggles I'm working on another Arcane vid right now, and the Bat has been working on a couple of scripts. I wanna get this Arcane video done before Season 2 comes out. lol

[@SwogglesFroggles]

@@HedgehogEditor HECK YEAHHH

[@HedgehogEditor]

@@SwogglesFroggles I messaged you before, but it seems my comment was deleted: I just released a new Arcane vid about Caitlyn. Please lemme know what you think about the audio levels in the comments of that vid?

[@waffleface5940]

I like how Viktor admits he didn't really know Sky all that well when he was spreading her ashes if I remember correctly he said something like " I don't know if there was a space you would have liked more". Kinda proving Sky had a life outside of Viktor but he didn't take an interest in it.

[@itsgonnabeokay9341]

Great analysis, but I feel like you went a little too hard on Jayce. I don't think Viktor is an afterthought to him. If this way the case, why would he run to him after he learned about his sickness? He even left Mel behind, and we know he cares a lot about her. And why would he vote Heimerdinger out of the council, so they can keep working on the hexcore, potentially the only thing that can cure Viktor? There is a lot more about him, that I won't write about now, but Jayce is definitely not a bad person people make him out to be.

[@HedgehogEditor]

That is a fair critique-- I am a little hard on Jayce. I like Jayce a lot, actually! But I find him a very flawed person (in a good way!). He's arrogant and reactionary. He's often frozen by indecision, wanting to do SOMETHING, but never knowing what that something should be. Every decision he makes in the first season blows up in his face either in terms of his policy-making (managing the Hex Gates) or in terms of his relationships (with Viktor/Mel) OR BOTH! (The bridge scene). He does make a lot of decisions to help Viktor, but they often don't feel like they're FOR Viktor, so much as to make himself or someone else feel better. He's an excellent character with a lot of depth and contradiction! Thank you for your comment!

[@idlescree]

@@HedgehogEditor I am way harder on Jayce >:V The Hedgehog has a much more tempered opinion.

[@miodaiu]

delicious

[@IloveElsaofArendelle]

Heimerdinger is THE WORST!

[@ReaverARC]

Arcane's editing is too tight. I remember an interview where they said that the events of episode 9 were going to originally be in episode 8 while the final episode was what we're getting at the beginning of season two. The mad tea party gets 20 minutes, about half the run time, and it hugely benefited from having that time to breathe. Skye is fridged. She had no story of her own and exists to show interest in Viktor and die, thus telling him and the audience that he's gone 'too far.' In this, she's no different than the kid that Jayce killed. I'm willing to change my assessment if she returns as part of the hexcore in S2, but as-is, totally fridging. Your argument as to why it's not fridging is odd as many of the characters in the original 'woman in refrigerators' list showed far more agency and had been around far longer than Skye because they were superheroes. "Twisted science warlock with his hexcore patron" We know an Arcane character is getting a VGA update and Viktor is due for one. Nothing about season 1 suggests he's going to turn evil or lose himself, so I remain optimistic.

[@univeriseman8008]

Uh Singed is not a nice man. We assume his offsceen inhumane expirments were failed cure attenpts.

[@NoirRaven]

Skye had no character, no purpose outside of being eye-candy for Victor--which is another toxic trope of the geeky guy getting the hot girlfriend--and doesn't exist outside of Victor's world. She's not even allowed to have a childhood separate from him, even though all they depict is one scene where she has no dialogue. I'd say that's more indicative of her not being fridged, but she totally is. She exists to give Victor someone to care about (outside of Jayce) and is killed to give Victor a hangup (that we know isn't going to stop him due to the fact the show's going to have to pivot to the game's lore eventually. Yes, I know the Arcane writers are now in charge of said lore and will be rewriting it, but in order to get season two as soon as we are, they had to be working on it at the same time as season one and therefore, can't pivot the story from what it already is. To change anything at this point will add a year to the production time. Plus there's no good way to retcon League's lore, but that's another discussion.)

[@mbefuddled176]

While I can understand the argument, I have to disagree that she was "eye-candy". Much of her character was sort of the opposite - he never paid attention to her or took her seriously because he was too caught up in his own life. Yes, she had a crush on him, but we never see that reciprocated and I don't think his grief has anything to do with the loss of a romantic interest. Did we learn much more about her life? No, but I think that was the point. Viktor never cared to learn more about her/take her seriously, so both he and us the audience mourn her abrupt end.

[@isabelcara6056]

As a disabled person who uses mobility aids, this video swings from accurate, empathetic analysis to complete bullshit and micro aggressions. First, you are way too comfortable calling Viktor a cripple, outside of his personal use. That’s a word for disabled people to claim, not for a random KZbinr. I recognize I don’t know your story when I say this. Your discussion about how disabled people are treated as non-human and the world is built without us in mind is great. Then you follow it up with “Viktor overcomes his disability.” A disability is not something you “overcome.” This is not the hopeful, grand, pro-disability statement you think it is. Viktor remains disabled, but regains some functions, and he tortures himself to do so. I stopped watching after that line.