Month: November 2021

Arcane Act 2 REVIEW

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SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH

And we are BACK, folks!

As much as I have mixed feelings about the whole “wait a week to release more episodes” format (because I want it all nowwwwwwww), it was super fun walking into work on Saturday knowing that once I survived, I would have more Arcane to watch!

(is that sad? Maybe. Let me have this)

I will preface this post by saying I THOROUGHLY enjoyed Act 2–I think it did a great job of fleshing out the more overlooked key characters from Act 1 (CAITLYN MY BELOVED) while also still focusing on the ones already fleshed out nicely in Act 1. Plus we still had stellar animation and STELLAR music.

Were there questionable moments?

Yes.

Do I tentatively hope those moments were included for an actual reason and not just…to make us all feel uncomfortable?

Also yes.

(Seriously…did anyone ask for that sex scene? Anyone at all? Yeah. That’s what I thought. More on that later, though.)

Without any further ado, let us dive in!

(Also, spoiler warning now in effect!!)

THE STORY

We begin somewhat innocently with a conversation between Jayce and Heimerdinger. It starts out as a subtle way to show the audience that some undisclosed amount of time has passed–enough so that Jayce has like, forgotten how to shave? And also so that Jayce is now viewed as Piltover’s golden boy after successfully incorporating Hextech into a brand new feature for the city: the Hexgates. Heimerdinger tells a layered story to Jayce about a scientist of the past who was like, terrible at everything, but realized his students could change the world for the better. It’s a harmless enough conversation unless you’re watching it again after finishing the Act in which case o h n o

It’s apparently Progress Day for Piltover, (as well as a Bicentennial!) a day where the city celebrates its founding on the principles of science and progress in order to make the world a better place. This involves celebrations, visiting dignitaries, and a big speech where someone (usually Heimerdinger, as the city’s founder) talks about plans for the future and happiness and so on and so forth. This year however, Heimerdinger explains that the Council would like Jayce to give the speech instead, and Heimerdinger agrees with them–after all, even though Jayce explicitly went against Heimerdinger’s wishes years ago to work with Hextech, it is now undoubtedly helping the city prosper, so…yay!

We then catch up with Jayce’s buddy Caitlyn, who has joined the Enforcers against her family’s wishes (because she is a lady of good upbringing after all, why would she want to dirty her dainty hands being an Enforcer, smh). The audience learns that Caitlyn joined because she wants to make a difference, to serve the people of the city and protect them, but because of her family’s influence, she gets stuck with jobs like “standing outside her mother’s tent” and “the graveyard shift of walking around but out of any actual danger.” She’s frustrated, but congratulates Jayce on being asked to give the speech this year (after she makes fun of him for it a lil bit.)

We then finally catch up with Jayce’s lab partner and resident lanky disaster man, Viktor, who has…looked better, to put it lightly. Viktor and Jayce want to present what they are calling “the next chapter of Hextech,” a stabilized version of the tech that can put it into the hands of the common folk to help them and make their lives easier (this scene includes notable nods to both Vi’s eventual signature weapon as well as Viktor’s). Heimerdinger is suitably impressed, but he also tells them that they need to take more time perfecting it and guaranteeing its safety. This frustrates both men, Viktor in particular–this is their Hextech DREAM, after all! Later, when Jayce brings up Heimerdinger’s decision to Mel, she encourages him to throw aside his professor’s advice and instead give the people what they want. So who will Jayce listen to?

MEANWHILE, there seems to be a new gang causing trouble for both the citizens of Piltover AND the citizens (or rather, mostly just the criminals) of Zaun–the Firelights. These funky guys fly around on hoverboards of some sort, sporting angular full-face masks and wreaking havoc, though their end-goal is unclear. They interrupt a smuggling operation aboard an airship, and just when it seems like they’ve foiled the plans of the Zaun crew who are smuggling in Shimmer (remember that ominous purple liquid from Act 1 that turned people all beasty? It’s a drug problem now, and they’ve called it the very ominous sounding…Shimmer), our favorite blue-haired gal makes a comeback and destroys…basically everything.

Sporting twin braids and an arsenal of gadgets and weapons, Powder is back, but she goes by Jinx now. In the ensuing fight between her and the Firelights, she accidentally knocks the mask off one of them, revealing a girl with pink hair. It’s not Vi, but Jinx thinks it is for a moment, and it throws her off. Fractured by the memories that come flooding back to her, she opens fire on the entire ship, shooting some of her own Zaun-mates in the chaos.

Later, Caitlyn sneaks aboard the wreck of the airship to investigate on her own, sneaking some pictures of the damage and trying to recreate what happened for herself. Alas, she’s not supposed to be there (because, you know, she’s supposed to be “standing outside her mother’s tent and this blown up airship is definitely not a tent Caitlyn c’mon”), and the new sheriff of the Enforcers, Marcus (whom you may remember from Act 1 as Grayson’s hotheaded second-in-command, and also the Enforcer who knocked Vi out at the end before she could get back to Powder), tells her this isn’t her place and now she’s gonna take the graveyard shift and she’s gonna ENJOY IT.

Jayce’s big speech goes well, and he chooses in the moment to follow Heimerdinger’s advice, not yet revealing the new Hextech stuff to the general public. This disappoints Mel and frustrates Viktor, but don’t worry, soon he’ll be impressing Mel and…still…frustrating and upsetting Viktor….

wait that’s not what we wanted–

That night, one of the tents mysteriously gets set on fire. Caitlyn and the Enforcers go to investigate, hearing a little girl’s voice drawing them inside. Caitlyn recognizes some of the same imagery from the airship wreck, and yells for her fellow Enforcers to get out, but it comes too late–it turns out the little girl luring them inside is actually Jinx, causing chaos yet again. She blasts the tent and steals Jayce’s stabilized Hextech crystal thing he decided against showing to the public. Six Enforcers are killed, Caitlyn survives but with some injuries, and she uh…she also gets fired. Literally. Ba dum tssss

Back in Zaun, we learn that Jinx is a bit of a, uh, loose cannon, shall we say–Silco, who now runs the Undercity now that Vander is “gone,” vouches for her when everyone tells him she can’t be controlled, and it’s clear the two have an interesting if extremely not healthy father-daughter relationship. Because she wasn’t actually supposed to blow up an entire airship when the Firelights showed up, Silco tells her to sit out for a while and focus on her gadgets. Determined to prove herself, she blows up the tent and steals the Hextech crystal, which she presents as a Progress Day gift to Silco. (It’s around this time that we also learn that Silco and Marcus are working together, and it’s heavily implied that it’s due to Silco that Marcus is now the Sheriff–it’s an interesting juxtaposition to the previous relationship Vander and Grayson shared).

In order to patch up the problem of an entire Hextech crystal being stolen, Mel proposes that Jayce be made a new Council member in order to more effectively oversee Hextech safety. This is met with some skepticism, but it does work. Jayce attempts to enlist Caitlyn into his personal Council security (since she got fired and all), but she’s not content with a new desk job and is determined to get to the bottom of both the airship blast and the Progress Day attack. Her search leads her to a very gnarly prison, where we finally, FINALLY, see Vi again, having been likely locked up since she was first taken back at the end of Act 1 (it’s hinted that Silco told Marcus to kill her so that there wasn’t a danger of her coming back to steal Powder/Jinx from him, but Marcus wasn’t able to do so, and instead kept her locked up). Caitlyn and Vi team up, but what will Jinx do when she learns that her sister is back in town?

What will Silco do?

THE ART

This section is purely in here so I can reiterate that THE ART IS STILL INCREDIBLE AHHHHHH but also so I can give proper credit to Fortiche, the studio behind the animation and also one of the producers for the show. It’s great, it’s lovely, it makes me feel things. Thanks guys!

The glimpses of sketchy overlays from Act 1 (and seen more in the “Enemy” music video) are more prominent in this Act, which makes sense as they directly tie into being a visual representation of Jinx’s mental state. The quick cuts and overlays do a great job of helping us see into Jinx’s head a little bit, and specifically how it can really start messing with her even in/especially in the heat of battle. That first moment when she unmasks the Firelight and thinks it’s Vi? Iconic. Depressing. Beautiful.

There’s also even more of a pointed visual difference between Piltover and Zaun this Act, which again, makes sense story-wise. The elegant, muted colors of Piltover during Progress Day are a stark contrast to the almost blinding colors and sharp angles of Zaun now that Silco is directly in charge and distributing Shimmer freely. Zaun’s initial introduction in Act 1 with Bea Miller’s “Playground” playing over it wasn’t necessarily inviting, but it felt downright homey in comparison to the Undercity we’re introduced to in Act 2, and rightly so. Especially that scene showing off the transition of The Last Drop from a comforting sort of tavern into a drug-addled nightclub–it feels like a slap in the face, and it brings the audience right into how Vi must have felt once she’s finally able to return.

Visually, there’s one scene in particular we have to discuss, unfortunately, but it really deserves its own section…

THAT ONE SCENE

Have a sweet picture of baby Viktor because I refuse to include a picture of the actual scene in question.

So…if any of you have watched Downton Abbey, there’s a scene in Season 4 where our dearly beloved Anna is assaulted during a concert at the house. It’s a visceral scene and one that stays with you, for better or worse. I bring it up because the editing for the scene was an interesting choice–cuts of Anna were spliced with the peaceful music from upstairs in a jarring, almost whiplash-esque effect. It was an intriguing if divisive way to show this juxtaposition of two completely different events occurring at the exact same moment in time.

Episode 5 of Act 2 brings us a scene similar in that fashion–and visually it’s striking, which is why I feel like I have to bring it up. It’s also…very uncomfortable, and I have to hope that it was presented in such a way on purpose for whatever Act 3 has in store for us.

To set the scene–

As previously mentioned, Viktor doesn’t look so well from the very start of the Act. He seems to be limping more, he has permanent bags under his eyes, and he just generally looks more shaggy than he did previously, especially in comparison to Jayce. There’s a moment when Jayce is overlooking Hexgate transportation and shipping logs when Viktor coughs, leaving some blood on the railing (classic movie/TV trope of YOU BE DYING). He has similar coughing fits throughout the Act, but insists on waving off anyone who shows concern. Feeling snubbed by Jayce’s refusal to show off the next chapter of Hextech and by the fact that Jayce is spending more and more time in politics rather than in the science that initially inspired and bonded the two of them, Viktor locks himself away in the lab, night after night, determined to come up with something impressive. Specifically, he wants to crack what it is exactly that bonds mages to the Arcane so they can use it naturally and without danger (mages being folks who are born with the natural ability for magic, all of whom are banned from Piltover because they a city of SCIENCE and also because Heimerdinger had seen some nasty stuff from them and just wants peace, this poor tired immortal fuzzball). He works on it night after night, but can’t crack the code.

At the same time, Jayce is focusing more and more on politics and schmoozing with the Council members. Specifically, Mel. After all, she’s the one who allowed them to start Hextech work in the first place, and she’s the one who pushed to make Jayce a full new member of the Council. After Jayce decides to really step up Hexgate security in the wake of the smuggling disaster and his crystal being stolen, Mel brings to light the fact that now the entire Council is mad at him because he unintentionally ruined all of their black market deals. Ah, politics. In order to continue his push for safety while also keeping the Council on his side, he follows Mel’s footsteps and makes deals with the Council members so they can keep drinking illegal alcohol or whatever. The scary thing is that he’s good at it, too, and really impresses Mel.

The main point is that in Act 1, Jayce and Viktor became a team, they became partners. Viktor literally saved Jayce’s life when he was at his lowest point, and believed in him and his work when no one else did. Viktor risked everything to help Jayce with his research that first night, and in return, Jayce was determined to share the credit for the project (it was “OUR HEXTECH DREAM” aaaaaahhhhhhh). Act 2 shows how much that has changed. They still work and create together, but Jayce is receiving all the credit. He’s the face of the city, the only face of the city. Now it is implied that Jayce isn’t necessarily doing this on purpose, at least not currently. Before his big speech, he does say that Viktor should be up there with him, and Viktor says no, “not in front of all these people.”

(There’s a lot to unpack there when it comes to why he says no here–does he really mean yes, he wants to take the credit he is due, but he’s just as socially awkward as the rest of us and he’s hoping Jayce will understand what he actually wants and he doesn’t because bless Jayce he’s just so, so dumb? Possibly. I think it probably has more to do with Viktor’s past–he grew up a cripple from the Undercity, after all. As we see in his flashback, he’s used to being alone, possibly because he was bullied for his condition. How can he hope to stand beside Jayce, the golden boy, a perfect physical specimen of the city of progress, and claim any sort of right to those scientific breakthroughs? It’s mostly speculation at this point, so we’ll have to wait and see if Act 3 brings us the uh, robot Viktor we all know from LoL and the feud he has with Jayce.)

Though their friendship is still present, it’s clear that there are cracks starting to show, and it’s this state of things that brings us to…

that scene.

So basically, Viktor is working alone in the lab, again, desperately trying to get this new Hextech thing to work the way he wants it to. Jayce isn’t there, who knows how long it’s been since he’s been there, because he was busy schmoozing and impressing the Council members, but particularly, Mel. At the same time that Viktor has another coughing fit, his vision blurring, his blood splattering the console in front of him, Mel turns and kisses Jayce. We then experience this absolute insane sequence that, I kid you not, goes back and forth between a Jayce and Mel sex scene and Viktor LITERALLY DYING. The hextech thing Viktor has been working on reacts with his blood–that’s the key Viktor had been missing this whole time (which makes sense when you think about it–he’d been trying to figure out why mages, those born with the ability to bond with and control the arcane, are able to do just that, and it could be because they have a personal connection to it–it’s literally in their blood). He almost misses it, however, collapsing to the floor, and the crystal’s melding with his blood and changing is spliced with moments of Jayce and Mel…getting it on.

While it’s absolutely one of the most stunning visuals of the show, it also comes across as just…insanely uncomfortable. Mel and Jayce have a weird relationship already, but it never felt like it was leading towards any sort of “romance” prior to this point (and honestly, it still doesn’t feel like that). It’s also unclear if Mel actually has any sort of feelings for Jayce, or if she’s focusing on manipulating him for her own gains. I like Mel as a character–she’s incredibly clever, and we have seen her manipulate others to get her way in previous episodes (she manipulates a council vote this way in Act 1). It more seems like she likes having the golden boy under her thumb–when she’s frustrated that he left her after their “night together,” it’s unclear if it’s because she’s upset that they slept together but he left without a goodbye or a “hey call ya tomorrow,” or because she’s starting to learn that maybe she doesn’t totally control him as much as she would like. It’s an interesting dynamic, but again, it makes the whole scene with them reeeeaaaaally uncomfortable. And it’s unclear at this point if the scene is SUPPOSED to be uncomfortable, or if we’re supposed to be like “awwww yay romance” because it SURE doesn’t feel like it.

As many fans in the tumblr tag will tell you, Jayce and Viktor had WAYYYYYY more chemistry together than Jayce and Mel, and also a way more developed relationship?

(So do Vi and Caitlyn…we will absolutely get to that, don’t worry)

Now, in the story’s defense, there really wasn’t any point where it was confirmed that Jayce and Viktor even thought about being more than ~lab partners~ ya know? I mean, is it frustrating because we’re all just overly starved for queer content? Yes. Is it also frustrating because, as previously stated, Mel and Jayce have almost zero development and this whole thing came out of NOWHERE? Also yes.

On the flip side, I’m cautiously optimistic simply because the storytelling up to this point has been grand, and everything has felt in place the way it is for a reason. It is a WEIRD choice to juxtapose Viktor’s almost-death with Jayce and Mel’s sex scene, and weird enough that I’m, again, cautiously optimistic that there has to be a reason for it. I dunno what it is yet, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Anyway. Weird scene. Bleh. Moving on.

THE MUSIC

IT IS SO GOOD, ONCE AGAIN.

New bops incorporated through the episodes with the score include “Dirty Little Animals” and “Guns for Hire,” both of which are excellent in like, completely different ways.

As for the score, my new favorites include “A Bicentennial,” “She’s Here,” “Too Risky,” and “Showdown,” but ohhhhhhh bOI THEY’RE ALL SO GOOD.

Also??? Ray Chen???? Violinist extraordinaire????? Incredible. Amazing. 400/10.

THE AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

Okay. Alright. Okay.

So I was vaguely aware going into this show that Caitlyn x Vi was a popular ship, but also like, there’s a zillion characters in LoL and therefore a zillion ships and again, the present lore is kind of a hot mess so confirmations on any sort of…anything are rare, really.

I would also like to state that TECHNICALLY. TECHNICALLY. AS OF NOW. THEY’RE STILL NOT. NECESSARILY. CANON.

HOWEVER.

OhhhhhhhhhhhmyWORD. I also agree with everyone saying there is no heterosexual explanation for this??? Like Vi does this to Cait in the brothel scene??? She says “you’re hot, cupcake”????? She asks “man or woman” and Cait just panics and then Vi sees her flirting with a woman no problem????? “Stop calling me that.” “But you’re so sweet…like a cupcake…”?????? Not to mention the apothecary scene where Caitlyn trades her rifle for a potion to save Vi’s life and she barely knows her I’m????? And then when Vi comes back to consciousness and she’s holding her face that way I’m?????????

Now is it very possible that we will still get no confirmation by the end of Act 3 YES. But again–I am, perhaps against my better judgment, cautiously optimistic? There’s too much there, right? SURELY THERE’S TOO MUCH THERE.

Not to mention when Jayce comes to see Caitlyn earlier on and gives her a bouquet of flowers and she LITERALLY TOSSES THEM ASIDE???????

Again, I am fully prepared to be let down. However I am also. Cautiously optimistic.

Caitlyn was also the first character I really loved in LoL so she holds a dear place in my heart and I wiLL LOSE MY MIND IF WE GET CANON QUEER CAITLYN. AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH.

THE CHARACTERS

JINX–I really enjoy how they’re handling her so far. Though years have passed since Act 1, she’s still very much a scared child, and circumstances being what they are, she’s fallen into very much the wrong crowd. Silco was her lifeline at the end of Act 1, and he still is here. Interestingly, he genuinely seems to care about her, perhaps because he sees much of himself in her, and she would do anything for him and his approval. Combine that with the clear moments where she is tinkering and inventing and creating, we have a very smart girl who was handed a really bad hand. Also, her recreations of Mylo and Claggor in her room (lair?) are just heartbreaking, thanks.

VI–It absolutely destroys me that Vi has likely been in prison since the end of Act 1. Seeing her come back to Zaun was heartbreaking–she still fits in, but so much of it has changed with Vander’s absence. Her teamup with Caitlyn is, of course, delightful, but her determination for her sister is what brought us all here, of course (at least initially. The tumblr tag may have you thinking otherwise). She has quips for days and muscles that are just yeah. Yep. She’s extremely likable, even when she’s making brash decisions, which is good.

CAITLYN–We saw so much more of my love this Act which was delightful!! One review I saw talked about how Caitlyn’s arc is so interesting specifically because she genuinely wants to do good and help people, but at this stage, she’s still so naive about everything. It never occurs to her that the Enforcers running the prison would be taking prisoners and beating them up for fun, because aren’t they the good guys? She genuinely didn’t know what life in Zaun was like. Her whole world is turned upside down in this Act, and her determination to actually be the good guy is what drives her forward. And probably her determination to stay with Vi and honestly, same.

JAYCE–Ohhhhhh my poor man is so, so dumb. I guess Jayce in LoL lore is supposed to be like, a total asshole, so everyone was all “aw he’s nice in this!” but we’re starting to see where that potential for asshole-ism can come from. He started out as a total science bro, but as we saw in this Act, he likes attention. He likes the power. He’s still not totally overrun by it yet, but that scene where he schmoozes with the other Council members about their illegal dealings was like, gross. He was too good at it. I don’t like it. But what’s fascinating is that as disgusting as some of his decisions were in this Act, it’s all written in such a way that it all makes sense with the way his character is right now. He made the choices he did because why wouldn’t he?

VIKTOR–OHHHHH MY POOR MAN. HE NEEDS A HUG. OR SOMETHING. I said most of my Viktor thoughts in the section about, uh, that scene, so there’s not much to revisit. The big news is that Viktor is officially dying (though we all kind of knew that) and his new discovery with Hextech, which he’s calling the Hexcore, could potentially save him. Curious to see when he transforms into Viktor Robot, as he is in LoL.

I don’t have a lot of specific things to say about Silco, Heimerdinger, or Mel, as I’ve said some things already. I will say for Heimerdinger that I think he’s really interestingly written–he’s frustrating because it seems like, as the founder of the City of Progress, he’s weirdly intent on stifling the progress that Viktor and Jayce want to make, but we know he has reasons. The Rune Wars have only been alluded to so far, but they are the reason Heimerdinger is skeptical of magic and intent on safety when it comes to science. Again, it does make him frustrating sometimes, HOWEVER…he deserved better than that ending thank you.

HEADING INTO ACT 3…

Awww man it all comes to a head on November 20, so what do we have to look forward to?

Furious that she’d been lied to about her sister’s life and whereabouts, Jinx leaves Silco and lights a flare in an attempt to encourage Vi to find her. Vi, meanwhile, has been hunted down by Silco, who is determined to get rid of her so he can keep his relationship with Jinx intact. Caitlyn and Vi manage to escape, much to Silco’s frustration, and on their way out, Vi catches sight of the flare Jinx lit up.

Meanwhile, Jayce, potentially drunk on power and I guess, Mel, is determined to make real change in the city, but Heimerdinger thinks they need to change their focus back to what made Piltover so successful to begin with–good ol’ fashioned SCIENCE. It should also be noted that Jayce is a little miffed at Heimerdinger for wanting to get rid of the Hexcore, despite its potential to be able to save Viktor’s life (maybe). Again, in Heimerdinger’s defense, he can tell the thing is downright dangerous, and let’s be real, nothing good in these stories has ever come from something that needs blood to work properly. With all of this urging him on, Jayce puts forth a vote to forcibly remove Heimerdinger from his head seat on the Council, stating that perhaps it’s time for a well-deserved retirement. At this point, Jayce essentially has the entire Council in his pocket thanks to his earlier schmoozing and sex…ing, so the vote is unanimous, and Heimerdinger is ousted. His lil face is VERY SAD ABOUT THIS AND IT MAKES ME VERY SAD ALSO.

Meanwhile meanwhile, Viktor is off to seek the help of an old ally of his from when he was a kid, someone who knows a thing or two about mutations and magic and weird stuff like that–essentially, someone who can help with his Hexcore problem. Basically as it is now, it has the power to react with living things and make them flourish, but then they die almost instantly. So that’s not ideal. So yeah, our buddy Singed is back! You may remember him briefly from the initial lab experiments with Shimmer before Jinx accidentally blew everything up, and he met Viktor when Viktor was a kid and they formed sort of a temporary friendship over a giant axolotl dragon, as you do.

Back with our main girls, just as the flare burns out, Vi does manage to reach Jinx. Right then, however, they are attacked by the Firelights. The battle starts out well enough with Jinx and Vi actually working together, but Jinx’s cracked psyche comes into play and she almost hits Vi with one of her shots. We get this really heartbreaking moment where Vi realizes that her sister didn’t just become this way because she did what she had to to survive, like she’d originally thought–some part of her actually enjoys this, so much that she can’t always control it. What’s interesting though is that even when Jinx hallucinates in the heat of battle, her body still reacts before she does, often saving her from being hit.

At the end of it all, the Firelights knock Vi out and take her away, leaving Jinx alone. Again.

SO THERE’S A LOT TO DEAL WITH.

We also still have some questions not dealt with from Act 1–for example, where was Ekko this Act? The popular theory is that he’s actually the leader of the Firelights, which would explain their inclusion to begin with, but we don’t know for sure yet. We also saw no further hint of Vander being confirmed as Warwick, and again, I’m assuming Robot Viktor has to come into play at some point.

I’ll need to watch it again, because I also can’t recall where Caitlyn or the Hextech crystal that Jinx stole ended up at the very end–did the Firelights take Caitlyn too, or just Vi? I know Jinx doesn’t have the crystal anymore and Caitlyn was trying to get it, but I think it might be with the Firelights also. Unclear, must watch again. Oh noooooooo.

There’s also a little speculation that the violinist from the concert scene where Jayce schmoozes might be JHIN which would be amazing, I love that crazy man, one of my favorite characters to play in LoL.

HAVE YOU WATCHED THIS FOR YOURSELF YET AND WHY NOT

Seriously, if you haven’t hopped aboard the Arcane train yet, I still highly recommend it. Act 2, at least in my opinion, absolutely lived up to the impressive standard Act 1 set, and expanded the world and the characters introduced to us. Plus if you get into it now, you can enjoy the countdown to the Final Act! Yayyyyy!

All in all, I give Arcane Act 2….

5/5 CUPCAKES!!

Do you…do you get it…it’s because…….because Vi calls Caitlyn cupcake…………..andthatwillbetheendofmebye

Arcane Act 1 REVIEW

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HOOOOOOOOOO BOY LADS IT’S HEREEEEEEEEE

I’m qualifying this as video game-adjacent enough that it belongs on this blog so here we gooooooo!

Lemme preface this review by stating that I am approaching the series as an EXTREMELY casual League of Legends fan–I play exclusively on bots because real people are terrifying and it’s absolutely true that League has earned its reputation for, um, less than savory 5v5 human interactions, unfortunately. That being said, the world of League has fascinated me for years, and I have a grand time trying out different characters and play styles while also avoiding the repercussions of playing against other real humans.

I’m also a huge fan of the storytelling Riot occasionally throws into its events–yes, at the end of the day, League is an MMO with a minor focus on story and the like, HOWEVER…they pretty much always have some sort of event running to tease us with storytelling potential. Is it primarily to sell skins and other merchandise? Yes. Do I buy into it often? Also yes.

While Riot has certainly played around with the idea of story before, they’ve almost never (to my knowledge) really threaded it into the game itself. Yes, each champion has extensive lore, but you have to seek it out for yourself if you’re curious, and it’s not essential to the gameplay. Is it more fun with the lore?? I mean I think so, but Riot is also aware of their audience–mostly people who don’t like reading, I assume. Some events in the past have offered some alternate universes with story for the champions, i.e., Star Guardians, Odyssey, Spirit Blossom, and K/DA (I’m sure there have been others, but as a suuuuuuper casual player, these have been some of my personal favorites). While many of these events have come with their own stories and often really impressive animated clips to help hype everyone up (or music that is a real bop and has no reason to go as hard as it does???), they still haven’t shoved lore down anyone’s throats necessarily.

THAT ALL CHANGED THIS WEEKEND WITH THE RELEASE OF ARCANE, BABYYYYYYYY.

Set to release in 3 acts over the next couple weeks, Arcane delves into the lore of some specific regions involving some of League’s well-known champions, telling their story in a beautifully animated and also incredibly heart-crushing tale. Again, I’m approaching the series as someone who has delved (shockingly) very little into League lore itself (unless it involves Xayah, the actual love of my life…also possibly Ahri, unironically), so I’m going in mostly blind.

Did I have an absolutely fantastic AND terrible time as Arcane managed to fill my heart with happiness and then promptly rip it out of my chest and crush it in front of me? HEEEECCCCKKKKKK YEAHHHHHHHHHH BOIS.

Do you need to know anything at all about League of Legends before going into this show? Amazingly…NOPE! It’s miraculously built this story that both (from what I’ve read so far) satisfies long-time fans and complete newbies alike. It’s exactly what I’ve been craving from Riot for a loooooong time, and so far? I ain’t disappointed in the slightest.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

(light spoiler warning now if you’d rather go into the show totally and completely blind)

THE STORY

Arcane starts on an absolutely decimated bridge, full of bodies and fire and all manner of cheerful things. It is here we meet our (arguably) primary trio of ultimate Dad Vander, protective and too grown up already Vi, and too precious for all of this crap going on around her Powder. Through a rather haunting and mostly silent opening scene, we gather that in the carnage, Vi and Powder’s parents were killed. They both fall into the arms of Vander, who makes a point of removing these massive metal gauntlets he was wearing to fight in order to carry them both.

We cut forward a few years, and we learn that Vi and Powder now run with a lil gang of sorts with their buddies Claggor and Mylo (oh look I’m already crying ha ha we’ll talk about that later)–mostly it seems like they go on jobs to steal fancy rich things from the fancy rich city of Piltover so they can survive in the Undercity. On this particular job, however, they end up raiding some sort of science-y place, though they can’t figure out what anything inside actually does. Powder wanders into a side room and comes across these eerie blue crystals. In the panic of almost getting caught when someone tries to open the door on them, one of the crystals drops from Powder’s grasp and uh, blows up…the building…

This is fine.

The four kids race through Piltover to escape the Enforcers and the consequences of, you know, blowing up a building, but they manage to slide down a sewer to safety. For now. On their way back through the Undercity, they are challenged by a ragtag group of thugs for their treasures. Vi tosses the bag of loot to Powder while she, Claggor, and Mylo attempt to fight their way out. Powder is seen by one of the thugs, however, and runs off, hoping to keep the loot safe. Cornered, she attempts to create some sort of mechanical bomb to throw the thug off and get away safely, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work, and in order to save herself, she tosses the bag of treasures into the water, where it’s (presumably) lost forever. Claggor and Mylo (mostly Mylo) are furious with Powder for losing everything, but Vi tells them off, comforting Powder as best she can.

(Anyone coming into this with previous LoL knowledge will note that Mylo calls Powder a “jinx,” because everything goes wrong whenever she tags along, like she jinxes the jobs….for any newbies out there, just note that that’s an important moment for the future.)

While Vi and Powder reconcile, letting the audience in on the fact that Vi is best at fighting with her fists while Powder seems to be more gadget-oriented (despite the fact that none of her inventions have actually worked….yet…..oh look I’m crying again ha ha), Vander meets up with one of his pals Benzo at his shop. It’s here we’re introduced to Ekko, another well-known champion from League, so therefore, someone to keep an eye on. Vander and Benzo’s chat is interrupted by some Enforcers from Topside–it’s hinted at that Vander actually works with the Enforcers to some degree, and has been for some time. Though the peace between the Topside of Piltover and the Undercity is strenuous at best, it is present, and it’s implied that that’s due in no small part to Vander and his “partnership” with the leader of the Enforcers. Grayson, the Enforcer…captain? tells Vander that she needs to bring someone to justice for the um, blown-up building that um, got blown up. She hints that if Vander just gives her a name, any name, things don’t have to get any uglier–the Council just needs someone to blame. Vander, of course, knows that those to blame are his adopted problematic children, and he won’t give them up. Grayson warns that if he doesn’t, the Enforcers will keep coming down to the Undercity until they have someone they can blame. Because of this, Vander tells Vi and the kids that they need to lie low for a while until this can all be sorted out.

Meanwhile, on the Topside, we catch up with the person whose scientific lab thing got blown up–a young idealist and magic enthusiast, Jayce. Even though Jayce didn’t blow up the lab himself, it was still his lab and his research, and the Council doesn’t yet have anyone from the Undercity they can blame, so Jayce is brought in for a trial to determine his fate. It comes to light that Jayce is fascinated by magic, specifically because it saved him and his mother when he was younger (they were rescued by a mysterious mage whom I believe most have theorized to be another LoL champion, Ryze, although I’m not sure if that’s been officially confirmed or not yet). Piltover, however, is strictly anti-mage and anti-the-arcane (ROLL CREDITS) because of all the damage magic can do. Jayce has seen the good it can do, however, so he’s intent on combining magic and technology to be used for good, and he tells the Council as such–annnnnd it almost ruins his trial. Ultimately, Jayce is expelled from the Academy and sent to live with his parents, rather than being banished from Piltover for good. His mother is thrilled about this, of course, but Jayce doesn’t understand how she can be so okay with this whole anti-magic sentiment when it literally saved her life. He almost gives up entirely, but not before his professor Heimerdinger’s assistant, Viktor, comes to talk to him. Viktor wants to team up with Jayce because he believes this magic-technology thing could definitely work, and he wants to help. Together, they agree to break into the Academy and Heimerdinger’s office in particular in order to nab Jayce’s equipment and create what Jayce is calling “Hextech” (and if you’re even a casual LoL fan like me, you probably said “hextech” right along with him).

MEANWHILE meanwhile, in an abandoned building in the Undercity, some freaky creepy dude with a nasty scar on one side of his face and one eerie glowing eye, Silco, is working on some sort of purple serum that turns humans and animals into raging beast forms of themselves with incredible strength and, likely, bloodlust. Working together with Singed, Silco gives this purple serum to Deckard, one of the thugs who attacked Vi and the gang earlier on in order to take their loot. But what exactly is Silco’s endgoal with this serum, and how will Vi and Powder be tied into it all?

SPOILER WARNING NOW IN EFFECT!! LIKE FOR REAL THIS TIME!! If you wanna go in mostly blind, I highly recommend doing so!

As someone who, as we all know if you’ve spent any amount of time on this blog, is REALLY SUPER INTO STORY, so far this show is doing a FANTASTIC job. Act 1 essentially serves as the prologue, and it’s PHENOMENAL. It’s dark, it’s intriguing, it’s incredibly heartfelt, it does a beautiful job of rounding out its key characters and their motivations, and it pulls you in and keeps you there. Was I in pain basically the entirety of the third episode as I watched all the unfortunate events unfold? Absolutely. Did it only hit as hard as it did because the show did a brilliant job of preparing me and making me relate to and love the characters it gave me beforehand? Definitely. Did it build an intriguing world with intriguing issues that were relatively easy to follow and feel for? For sure. The unfairness of Benzo’s and Grayson’s deaths at the hand of a ruthless monster just because they were in the way? Smacks you in the face. The suddenness of Claggor’s and Mylo’s deaths just when things started going somewhat their way? Hits you upside the head. The heartwrenching mini arc of Vander giving himself the purple serum just so he can save Vi one last time rather than pursuing revenge against Silco, and then asking Vi to take care of Powder? Vi learning that Powder was the cause of the explosion that ultimately cost Claggor and Mylo their lives (and, presumably, Vander as well) despite the fact that Vi asked her to stay home and stay safe? Calling her a jinx, blaming her for everything? Running from her? Trying to get back to her but being pulled away by the Enforcer? Silco realizing he can use Powder’s pain to his advantage in his war?

I’m crying again.

I’ll be curious to see where they go from here and if the other Acts are able to pack quite the punch this first one did–Act 1 really plays like a perfect tragedy, misunderstandings and all, and I’m interested to see if they format the remaining two acts in the same way.

Also, will it make me cry more? Probably.

THE ART

Alright so first off–visually, this show is STUNNING. The best description I’ve seen so far is from people calling it “concept art come to life” and it really feels like that! The animation is smooth and wonderful, and the choppy looks of the characters really fits into the world they inhabit, both Piltover and Zaun alike. And the fight choreography?? THE FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY????

Even the slow-motion moments don’t feel out of place, giving the viewer time to really focus on and think about the horrors both they and the other characters are witnessing, whether it be Powder watching her friends getting beat up while she sits on the sidelines, or Vi watching Vander fall to the serum-ed beast Deckard. The color schemes for both Zaun and Piltover are different enough to separate the two environments clearly, but similar enough that it’s clear they’re still somewhat unified.

THE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. THE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS!!!!!!

There are also glimpses in Act 1 of these sketchy, messy overlay animations that flash in and out–if you’ve seen any of the other marketing for Arcane, including the “Enemy” music video and the Worlds 2021 Opening Show, you may recognize this. It seems that those flashes directly tie into Powder’s mental state, but we probably won’t see more of it until she’s fully transitioned into the Jinx we all know and love and are also kind of terrified of from LoL. It’s a jarring effect, but somehow it doesn’t feel out of place in Arcane’s world, which is nice.

Caitlyn, my beloved

THE MUSIC

OHHHHHHH BOY Y’ALL, THE MUSIC.

If there’s another thing I’m continually pulled in by about Riot, it’s the music. Whether it’s K-Pop bangers like K/DA or sweeping orchestral songs like their champion themes, the music is just *chef’s kiss* and I’m thrilled to report that Arcane is no exception. Just like the episodes, songs and music from the show will be released each week following each Act.

The score, composed by Alexander Temple and Alex Seaver of Mako (according to the opening credits) is DELICIOUS. It’s eerie and unsettling when it needs to be, it’s powerful and endearing at other times, I love it. And yes, I’ve had it on repeat since I started writing this review, what of it.

So far, my favorite tracks are “The Bridge,” “Just A Taste,” and “You’re a Jinx” because I really like crying.

For the other songs, so far we have the opening theme “Enemy” as well as “Playground,” “Our Love,” and “Goodbye.” All of which are complete BOPS albeit it very different ways. I am thrilled for the rest of the soundtrack–so far at least, the songs have folded really well into each episode, and I’m excited for more.

THE CHARACTERS

Like I’ve mentioned above, so far I think Arcane does a brilliant job of introducing characters and their world and having the viewer really feel for them (or hate them, depending). From Vi’s ragtag group of misfits to Jayce and Viktor to Vander and Silco and whatever was going on there, I really felt like I understood them all to some degree.

We also know already based off of trailers that we will follow (the surviving) characters into the future some years, which also creates potential for even more LoL champions to make an appearance–as of now, we have Vi, Jinx, Jayce, Viktor, Singed, Ekko, Caitlyn, Heimerdinger, and Ryze (have we determined that that was definitely Ryze? Probably? Most likely? Okay). Because the show also gives us some key characters who seem to have no tie to current League lore, it leaves us with some fun speculation about who they could become…

The two most popular theories I’ve seen so far relate to Silco and Vander–while most seem to be concluding that Vander will eventually become Warwick (for any LoL newbies out there, Warwick is not a champion I play personally, but he’s essentially a werewolf experiment man gone horribly wrong, and his lore hints at previously being a man who just wanted to settle down and do some good in the world after a troubled past, and also apparently he remembers a little girl…could be Vi or Powder?), I haven’t seen a lot about who Silco could become, aside from, perhaps, a brand new champion introduced in League at a later date.

Could be fun! Could also be extremely satisfying to go head-to-head with him in game as Vi.

While the speculation about champions in the series and who else could be introduced is a fun game, it’s also worth noting that you don’t need to know ANY of that to enjoy Arcane–the series so far is doing a great job as a standalone piece, with plenty of easter eggs for LoL fans, but mostly it’s just an enjoyable piece of media all on its own.

HEADING INTO ACT 2…

So what happened at the end that needs to be addressed and dealt with in Act 2 on November 13?

EVERYTHING IS A MESS THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED

Okay really though–

After Silco and his mad scientist group of friends kidnapped Vander, Vi, Claggor, and Mylo race off to save him.Vi tells Powder to sit this one out, because she cannot lose anyone else. Powder reluctantly agrees, but she’s clearly not happy about it–after all, wasn’t Vi the one who said she was ready?

We learn that Vander and Silco were involved in the original uprising of the Undercity against Piltover, and that Vander decided to focus on keeping the peace and Silco hates him for it, convinced that fighting is the only true way to victory. He locks Vander to a chair, but before he can perform any sort of experiments, Vi and the gang show up to the rescue.

While Claggor works on an escape route and Mylo focuses on freeing Vander from the chair, Vi challenges all of Silco’s goons, actually doing a decent job. She equips Vander’s gauntlets–a nod to the giant hextech gauntlet fists she wears in game and will eventually have on the show (I’m assuming)–and though she manages to fight off most of them, it’s almost lights out when Silco sends a serum-ed up Deckard after her.

Meanwhile, Powder decides to try her hand at gadgets one more time, employing the explosive crystals she stole in the beginning, determined to save her sister and her friends. Once she sees Deckard overpowering Vi, she knows she has to help, and sends in one of her homemade gadgets, crystal attached.

Meanwhile, one of the Council members, Mel, assisted Jayce and Viktor in getting inside Heimerdinger’s office to work on Jayce’s experiments. They manage to crack the hextech code just in time for Heimerdinger to witness it, claiming that this is dangerous and isn’t Piltover’s future, just as Mel walks in and says “well, actually…”

Back with the rest of the crew, in a really unfortunate sequence of just…all-around bad timing, it looks like Vi, Vander, Claggor, and Mylo actually would have been able to escape just in time, but right then, Powder’s crystal bomb goes off. One of her gadgets finally works, but uh…not…not in a good way.

The multiple explosions brought about by the crystal send the abandoned building reeling, setting everything ablaze–Silco shoves a wounded Vander off the edge, where he lands on a pile of vials of the purple serum. The ceiling collapses on Claggor and Mylo, trapping Vi as well. Seeing Silco closing in on Vi, Vander takes the serum himself, morphing into a beastly version of himself in order to save her. As the last of the building catches on fire, Vander and Vi manage to escape, but it seems that the fall from that height was too much even for Vander’s beastly form, and he seems to die right in front of Vi.

(It should also be noted that Singed was shown for a brief moment in the chaos, but his fate remains unknown)

Vi, reeling from losing all her friends and her father figure all at once, is interrupted by Powder–having been blasted from the building herself after the first explosion, she has seen none of the consequences of her actions thus far. She’s thrilled that one of her inventions finally, finally worked!

Confused, grieving, and frustrated, Vi takes it out on Powder, once she realizes what her sister has done. Despite Powder’s pleas, Vi walks away from her, collapsing around a corner in tears. Powder falls to the ground, screaming and crying. Vi notices that Silco has spotted Powder, but before she can go back to her, she’s knocked out by an Enforcer and taken away.

Silco, realizing he can use Powder’s pain to his advantage, promises to be there for her.

So, basically, everything is awful, and we now have the setup for why it seems Powder(Jinx) and Vi are fighting each other in the opening sequence. So where will Act 2 take us?

SHOULD YOU WATCH THIS FOR YOURSELF?

YES. I mean, if you’re a League fan, definitely. If you’re into gnarly animated series with excellent characters and worldbuilding, yes. I don’t know that I’d say this is for everyone, but I definitely think it’s worth a shot if you’re at all curious about it. Again, you don’t need to know anything about League prior to going into it, which I think is such a great selling point for it.

Time will tell if the other Acts are as strong as this first one was, but man, what a way to begin your story.

Tune in next week for “will I cry about Act 2 HAHAHAHA IS THAT EVEN A QUESTION”

In the meantime, I highly recommend you chug on over to Netflix and check out Act 1 of Arcane.

All in all, I give Arcane Act 1 a rating of….

5/5 UNFORTUNATELY EXPLOSIVE CRYSTALS!!