There should be no question that Arcane is one of the greatest shows of the streaming era. Its first season felt like the answer to the “curse” that seems to haunt so many video game adaptations, as it managed to take a host of stock characters from League of Legends — a game not well-know for depth — and build hypnotizing, interconnected origins for each of them. That the plight of sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell) was defined by breathtaking animation and blistering action was just the icing on the cake, allowing Arcane to strike the perfect balance between style and substance.
The second installment of Arcane is just as gorgeous as its predecessor, and even more confident in its impressionistic choices. Season 2 teems with bright colors, innovative design, and only occasionally cringe-worthy needle drops. For all its technical prowess, however, there is a major obstacle stopping the show from actually reaching perfection. This three-arc story feels more rushed than its predecessor, with swaths of character development swept liminal space between major time jumps. It’s a frustrating pivot for a show that once felt beyond reproach, especially as it’s caused Arcane’s most intriguing characters to slip right through the cracks.
Spoilers ahead for Arcane Season 2.
Arcane is primarily the story of Vi, Jinx, and their shifting roles in the battle between Piltover and Zaun. That said, the series’ scope is still sprawling, expanding with each episode to introduce more characters and more drama. Even Caitlyn Kiramman (Katie Leung), whose arc has been defined by her respective relationships to Vi and Jinx, is exploring dubious new dynamics in Season 2. From her alliance with the Noxian warlord Ambessa (Ellen Thomas) to her blindsiding rebound with Maddie Nolen (Katy Townsend), a huge portion of Acts I and II are driven by Caitlyn’s choices.
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Caitlyn’s slow-and-steady corruption is easily one of Arcane’s most compelling elements. In zeroing in on the character, however, Arcane is all too comfortable sacrificing other, equally-compelling elements of its wider story.
Season 2 continues to explore the origins of Hextech, the quasi-magic that’s become an energy source for Piltover, through its creators: Jayce (Kevin Alejandro) and Viktor (Harry Lloyd). They’ve become something of a foil to Vi and Jinx, as they’re introduced as friends who later become sworn enemies in League of Legends. Arcane has to show us exactly how their bond was fractured and trace their origins as champions, a task that’s only half-completed this season.
The first act of Arcane Season 2 embraces its responsibilities with some panache, allowing Jayce and Viktor to lead the story in a more mystical direction. Jayce encounters a “wild rune” in the depths of Piltover, and the magic he confronts there seems to transport him — along with his former teacher, Heimerdinger (Mick Wingert), and Zaunite Ekko (Reed Shannon) — to a realm unknown. Viktor, meanwhile, is forever changed by his tinkering with Hextech; by the end of Act I, he’s essentially become Robot Jesus, armed with the power to heal the fallen of Zaun with his new brand of magic.
All of that would be cool if Arcane was actually interested in exploring how these developments change Jayce and Viktor as people. Instead, major revelations take place off-screen. After a major time-jump, Viktor returns to his native realm, and it’s clear that his time away has left his psyche completely fractured. He kicks off a shocking murder spree in Episode 6, destroying a member of Viktor’s new cult (oh yeah, in the months between Act I and II, Viktor started a cult) along with Viktor himself.
It’s not that his motivations couldn’t make sense with a bit of context, but Arcane never explains where Jayce wound up, how it changed him, or why he’d suddenly murder his best friend in cold blood. There’s every chance that mystery could be answered in Act III, but it’s harder to go along for the ride with the season moving at such a breakneck speed.
As a prequel to League of Legends, Arcane is beholden to an established future. The series has taken some liberties with its source material, but for the most part it does have to bring its cast to their final destination in League. Season 2 suffers the most for those choices, and since this is also the last season of Arcane, it has to work overtime to connect the dots. And the faster it travels through the narrative, the emptier its characters feel. Who is Caitlyn beyond her insurmountable grief? Who is Ambessa beyond her ambition? Who are any of these heroes without the story that drives them?
According to creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee, a two-season story was always the plan for Arcane. It is, after all, one of the most expensive animated projects of all time, so it’d make sense to keep this story as succinct as possible. But it’s also an epic tragedy, with a sprawling cast and constantly-shifting current affairs. It deserves more time to breathe: time skips aren’t inherently taboo, but in this context they rob the story and its characters of the impact they deserve. Arcane still deserves credit for crafting such an incredible, action-driven tale — but this season is so focused on its future, it forgets to explore the humanity that made it such a success in the first place.
