Review: Arcane season two

Season one of “Arcane” was filled with exciting twists and turns, beautiful animation and incredible character development. The second, and final, season lives up to this standard. 

Based on the video game “League of Legends,” “Arcane” is set in a dystopian world in the cities of Piltover and Zaun. Piltover is an authoritarian and militaristic society of mostly high class citizens. Zaun is Piltover’s counterpart, laying lower than Pilover and often referred to as “the under city.” It is depicted as dark with not many places having much sunlight, almost as if it is in the shadow of Piltover. Additionally, While Piltover has vast resources Zaun has very few, resulting in the city being riddled with crime while many of its citizens live in extreme poverty. 

This is where much of the show’s conflict stems from. Piltover uses its resources to keep Zaun in check,  sending their militaristic police force, or enforcers, to harass and sometimes kill citizens of Zaun. Two of the main characters’, Jinx (Ella Purnell) and Vi (Hailee Steinfeld), parents were killed by enforcers when they were very young, setting off the events of this show.  

While the story is complex there are four main elements to know. Two Pilover scientists, Viktor (Harry Lloyd) and Jayce (Kevin Alejandro), develop a bio/magical technology called Hextech, originally designed to heal people but later exploited as a weapon. After many thrilling plot twists building into the larger story, season one ends with Jinx launching a highly destructive missile into Piltover, destroying the council chamber and killing many councilors.

Season two begins by showing the carnage left by Jinx’s attack, including the death of Councillor Kiramman, the mother of a very prominent character, Caitlyn Kirammman (Katie Leung). An enforcer, Caitlyn developed a close relationship with Vi previously. In season one Caitlyn was open to and encouraging of extending peace to Zaun but after the death of her mother she became angry and vengeful specifically towards Jinx. Vi’s feelings towards Jinx have also developed in season two. She has begun to believe that Jinx is too far gone and unredeemable which causes conflict between the two sisters. After the events of season one Jinx retreats into relative isolation, but her status as savior of Zaun and enemy of Piltover becomes legend in both cities.      

With a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes it is clear that fans were delighted with the continuation of this story. One notable feature of the show is that significant characters all feel very human: complex with none being completely protagonists or antagonists. This makes the viewers feel connected to most of the characters in the show versus a single protagonist. Season two’s plot continues off season one’s cliffhanger but there were many new elements so it does not regurgitate season one. 

The theme of inequality in this show is prevalent, a common topic in today’s current political climate that creates a great sense of relatability. This show also begs the question of when has technology gone too far? While Hextech is not something that exists in the real world many comparisons can be drawn between it and new technologies being developed and improved currently such as AI. As Jayce and Victor’s ambitions with Hextech grew throughout the show, Victor in particular began to seek the elimination of human imperfection. Eventually he reaches a point where the subjects of his improvement are no longer human at all.     

This show is visually stunning. The animation consists of both digital and hand drawn aspects including one scene towards the beginning drawn completely by hand in charcoal. It is rare for an animated series to see this level of detail especially in recent years with the development of CGI. The show does a great job of using visual elements to communicate a certain mood or feeling it wants the audience to experience.  

Overall this story was incredibly engaging. There were many unexpected twists keeping viewers on the edges of their seats. If you enjoy complex characters and world-building this show is for you.