It feels wrong to have to say goodbye to Arcane so soon. The Netflix series wasted no time securing its place as the best video game adaptation — and the best animated series — on television. Its success came as a surprise to diehard fans of League of Legends, the team-based battle game that Arcane serves as a prequel to. Though the franchise has long had blockbuster appeal, with an influence that’s bled into multiple mediums, attempts to flesh out the sprawling world of Runeterra never seemed necessary. League of Legends isn’t exactly character-driven: though its “champions” each come with a brief, obligatory backstory, they felt more like pieces on a board than flesh-and-blood heroes.
That effectively changed with Arcane. Its nine-episode first season was the ideal companion to League: its status as a prequel allowed anyone to tap in, even those unfamiliar with in-game lore. But it also had the freedom to take the avatars of the game and craft rich, tragic backstories where none previously existed. There were plenty of other reasons to tune in — thanks to its tight, competent writing to its gorgeous animation, Arcane became an instant classic. In an age of total uncertainty where television is concerned, Arcane could easily be a multi-season success. But Riot knew just how far it wanted to take this story, even if it meant pulling the rug out from under fans.
This fall, the developer announced that Arcane’s second season would be its last. It’s just one of “many stories” Riot plans to tell alongside French animation studio Fortiche — and though League players know that the journeys of champions like Vi (voiced in the series by Hailee Steinfeld) and her sister Jinx (Ella Purnell) will continue in the game, it almost feels like their adventure is ending prematurely. Fortunately, Arcane Season 2 pulls no punches where the star-crossed sisters are concerned. The final chapter of their backstory, told once again in three arcs, doubles down on the rollicking, heart-tugging intensity of Season 1. It’s less a swan song than it is a call to arms, eschewing its “YA” sensibilities to embrace even more explosive themes.
Arcane follows the plight of a splintered realm: Piltover, the science-forward “City of Progress,” and its undercity (also known as Zaun), a den of crime that’s become a haven for Piltover’s misfits. The struggle between the cities is a tale as old as time. Piltover’s leadership turn a perpetual blind eye to the suffering of those underfoot, despite championing prosperity for the more distinguished residents topside. It’s from this pressure cooker that a handful of champions emerge, and eventually take sides in a war for freedom and power.
The series introduced Vi and Jinx — formerly known as “Powder” — as children. While the sisters were inseparable in their youth, one devastating altercation with Zaun’s chief slumlord, Silco (Jason Spisak), pits them on opposing sides of an underground war. By the time the credits roll on Season 1, Vi has become a weapon for the Wardens, a group of “peacemakers” that have oppressed the undercity for decades. Jinx, meanwhile, is now a mad genius capable of devastating acts of terrorism. After killing Silco (who, fittingly, became her father figure after she was separated from Vi), Jinx launches an attack against the Council of Piltover. Season 2 picks up in the immediate aftermath of her stunt, as the topsiders in Piltover prepare to strike back.
Vi and Jinx’s conflict takes something of a backseat this season, paving the way for supporting characters to come into their own. Caitlyn (Katie Leung) — a top Warden and Vi’s love interest — sets off on a dubious path of revenge. Her scorched-earth strategy is spearheaded partly by Ambessa (Ellen Thomas), a seasoned warlord from the brutal Empire of Noxus. Ambessa was a late addition to Arcane Season 1: the reason she came to Piltover fueled a tantalizing mystery in its final arc, and Season 2 doesn’t waste a second of that momentum. The skeletons in her closet drive a fair chunk of the plot this season, while her influence on Piltover — creeping steadily into all-out war with Zaun — makes her the series’ most compelling antagonist.
If only every character could get as much attention. While Arcane does a great job juggling its many storylines, it doesn’t always know what to do with established champions like Jayce (Kevin Alejandro) and Viktor (Harry Lloyd). In League, Jayce is something of a folk hero, while Viktor, his bitter enemy, has evolved into a human-machine hybrid — a dynamic that Arcane’s first season relished in evolving into friendship. Through their dynamic, the series introduced Hextech, the magical technology that powers nearly everything in Piltover. Their arc was a highlight of Season 1, but bridging the gap between one incarnation of these characters and the versions we meet in League isn’t always high on Season 2’s list of priorities.
Neither Jayce nor Viktor play a large part in the new season’s first act, despite shouldering what may be its most ambitious arc. Their absence is indicative of one of Arcane’s (few) flaws, as the show occasionally struggles to develop its characters consistently.
As with Season 1, Arcane isn’t always interested in its heroes’ internal worlds. It helps that each character drives the plot in ways that put other fantasy stories to shame, and characters like Jinx, Caitlyn, Ambessa, and her estranged daughter Mel (Toks Olagundoye) are exceptions to the rule, especially in Season 2. But more often than not, Arcane mistakes action and intrigue for emotional development.
Fortunately, the series’ slick action is almost enough to pick up the slack. Season 2 doubles down on the blistering confrontations that peppered its predecessor, rendering knock-down, drag-out fights with a breathtaking blend of 2D and 3D animation. Through its trove of characters, Arcane also taps into heavier themes of causality, civil unrest, and (of course) emotional trauma.
Ultimately, though, it all comes back to Vi and Jinx. Whether our heroines can put their differences aside and fight alongside each other once again is one of Arcane’s bigger mysteries. It’s one that League players may have the answer to already, but the prequel takes it time to tell this story on its own incredible terms. Even if its central beats are familiar, Arcane is still determined to deliver something we’ve never seen anywhere else — and on that front, it will always succeed.
