On November 9, Netflix’s Arcane: League of Legends returns with its highly anticipated second season, the final chapter in the story of sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell) and another deep dive into the dual-city of Piltover/Zaun.
Season 2’s Act 1 is everything 2021’s epic Season 1 promised but with an even richer depth of feeling. It utilizes new artistic elements to convey the shock characters feel at the loss of loved ones, leaders and their sense of comfort and safety. They question the path forward and forge new purpose, shedding previously held beliefs and principles in a crucible of despair.
RELATED: Read our reviews of Arcane
It’s impossible not to draw parallels between Runeterra’s tensions and the real world’s societal challenges. Economic and cultural divides are exaggerated for emphasis. However, Piltover’s elite look familiar without a lot of squinting, while the fine line between freedom fighter and terrorist blurs to a shimmer at times.
Heavy Is the Crown
Using the three-episode Act format established in Arcane Season 1 to present a weekly two-hour installment is a clever and effective delivery configuration for this narrative. Episode 1, “Heavy is the Crown,” opens with the shining city of Piltover reeling from Jinx’s (Ella Purnell) attack in the Season 1 finale, echoing the real-world trauma of seeing a symbolic center of governance blown to pieces. The world is a dark place. Grief and disbelief feed the cold knot of insecurity that grows in the belly of our collective consciousness.
Visually, the use of singular color features against stark black-and-white backgrounds highlights the isolation characters feel, while sharp edits between moments of shock and action build a sense of chaotic emotion. Leaning in on the much-touted Season 2 soundtrack, expect more lyric-heavy mood-setting than Season 1 utilized.
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The most fascinating narrative development here is how, in the power vacuum created by the attack on the Piltover Council, Mel’s mother, Ambessa (Ellen Thomas), seizes the opportunity to position herself as a power behind the wounded and entitled Salo (Josh Keaton). Her motives are masked in altruistic consultation, but her ability is unquestionable. No wonder the character has become Riot Games’s newest legendary champion.
The choices made in “Heavy is the Crown” set in motion a number of game-changing developments. Caitlyn (Katie Leung) steps up as the new head of House Kiramman. Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) decides to don an Enforcer’s uniform. Jayce (Kevin Alejandro), in desperation, uses the Hexcore to save Viktor (Harry Lloyd) despite his promise to destroy it. The question is whether these core characters have turned against their natures or are just discovering what they’re really made of.
Watch It All Burn
On the literal flip side, in the undercity of Zaun, Jinx’s attack on Piltover and Silco’s (Jason Spisak) death has sparked a turf war among Zaun’s chembarons and thugs. Episode 2, “Watch It All Burn,” is an emotionally powerful segue from Caitlyn’s plan to capture Jinx and eradicate Silco’s remaining followers with a Vi-recruited team of Enforcers to Jinx’s own ennui and despair over Silco’s absence as she evades detection by both Piltover law and Zaun’s underbelly dwellers who see her as bad for business.
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Jinx and “low profile” are antithetical, yet she’s doing pretty well, wallowing in her memories and self-loathing, until she happens upon a child, Isha (Lucy Lowe), trying to survive on the streets. Jinx takes care of the thugs pursuing Isha and earns a loyal acolyte. There’s something familiar about the look of the urchin. The official music video for “Isha’s Song” draws the threads together and foreshadows the relationship to come.
Keeping in mind that not all of Zaun is polluted and corrupted, “Watch It All Burn” takes us to the Firelights’ HQ, where Heimerdinger (Mick Wingert) and Ekko (Reed Lorenzo Shannon) realize something’s infected the tree. Their surreptitious return to Heimerdinger’s lab in Piltover is one of the few comedic moments in an otherwise solemn Act 1. But, then, Heimerdinger’s really the only purposefully comedic character in the bunch. Jinx, Jayce, and Ekko’s moments of levity are more self-effacing.
What We’re Here For
The crown jewel scene of “Watch It All Burn” is the alley fight between Sevika (Amirah Vann) and Smeech (Lenny Citrano). Armed (literally) with Jinx’s newest weapon, Sevika takes on the would-be chem-baron crime-boss x cybernetic-rat/chihuahua(?). Being one of Jinx’s inventions, it’s equally and randomly dangerous to both the wielder and its targets. The fight, soundtracked with “Renegade (We Never Run)” by Stefflon Don, Raja Kumari ft. Jarina De Marco, is reminiscent of Jinx and Ekko’s showdown in Season 1. It’s visually stunning, beautifully choreographed and paced to blow your heart out of your chest with excitement.
Finally Got the Name Right
The beauty of how the Arcane acts are narratively shaped is the perfect arc of action. (Go ahead and rewatch Arcane Season 1 Act 1. It’s a masterclass in narrative world-building.) Having established the effects of Jinx’s attack on Piltover and Zaun in Episodes 1 and 2, respectively, Episode 3, “Finally Got the Name Right,” brings our conflicts to the forefront. Using a comic book art style set to video game motion capture, it successfully conveys the intensity of change in characters, relationships, and societal dynamics.
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In the headlong rush to clarity, “Finally Got the Name Right” whirls through vital exchanges between Vi and Caitlyn, Salo (Josh Keaton) and Ambessa, Ekko and Jayce, and finally, Jinx and Vi. Each one unveils another layer to the web of challenges facing Piltover/Zaun and a myriad of systemic injustices that endanger it all. Most intriguing is the effect HexTech is having on the very fabric of life in Runeterra.
We Need to Talk About Warwick
As a non-LOL player, the stinger scenes at the end of each episode are beyond enigmatic. Singed (Brett Tucker) is clearly up to something involving Shimmer, wolves, and his Frankensteinian leanings. Fans of League of Legends have been hypothesizing since the first glimpse of his laboratory in Season 1 that we are seeing the origins of the Zaun champion, Warwick, a werewolf-like creature borne of Singed’s experiments splicing human and monster DNA with a chemical cocktail cherry on top.
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The slow build has been intentional, triggering sensational reaction from the fandom as Arcane has created new League of Legends canon for Warwick, sourcing his human consciousness in Vander (JB Blanc), Vi and Powder/Jinx’s adoptive father. It’s broadcasting what can only be a devastating reunion; however, it plays out for this family.
As premieres go, Arcane Season 2 Act 1 was hyped beyond any reasonable standard. And yet, somehow, they’ve furthered the narrative, evolved the artistry, and plumbed the depths of its characters’ emotions to set a new level of achievement. With so many pieces in play — and a rumored Game of Thrones level body count to come — buckle up, friends, this is going to be a helluva ride.
Arcane: League of Legends streams on Netflix. Season 2 Act 2 drops on November 16, and the final Act arrives on November 23.
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