“Arcane,” the ambitious collaboration between Netflix and Riot Games, premiered its last act, Act 3, on Saturday. Like Season 1, Season 2 released episodes three at a time over three weeks, staggering the release dates of Act 1 and Act 2.
The show, which is an adaptation of the video game “League of Legends,” is a critical darling, beloved by casual watchers and critics alike. The show proudly boasts a star-studded cast of voice actors, four Emmys and distinctive soundtracks. Although the showrunners originally intended for the second season of “Arcane” to have longer episodes, they have admitted that some scenes were left on the cutting room floor.
Despite boasting nine years of development and the title of the most expensive animated show of all time, “Arcane” suffers from a rushed Act 3 that is forgetful of key characters and plot points.
Season 2 Act 2 ended with an invasion of Viktor’s cult commune, leading to the death of several characters. Isha, the young girl Jinx has taken in, perishes; Jayce Talis murders Viktor, Jayce’s partner in Hextech who turned into the cult leader.
Act 3 opens with an episode that rewinds the clock to when Jayce first disappeared into the Arcane with Ekko — a teen Zaunite revolutionary and Jinx’s childhood friend — and Heimerdinger — a 300-year-old yordle and head of Piltover’s council.
In their respective alternate dimensions, Ekko and Heimerdinger devise a way to get back home despite the temptation to stay in an idyllic version of Zaun, while Jayce faces the difficult terrain of another dimension and gains a better understanding of Viktor
Unlike with other characters, the end to Jayce and Viktor’s character arcs exceed expectations.
Not only is their final collision gratifying, but a fresh subversion of audience expectations. Their ending strikes an emotional chord and is by far the most well-written aspect of Season 2, recapturing the magic of Season 1’s tight and cohesive narrative. Together, Jayce and Viktor metaphorically confront themes woven throughout the show, such as classism and the inherent ableism that comes with the pursuit of “perfecting” the human body through a fusion of science and magic.
Another emphasized theme throughout the show is the cycle of violence. “Arcane” has surprised the audience just enough times with depressing, realistic depictions of generational trauma that the culmination of Jinx’s storyline was foreseeable but no less gut-wrenching.
In the clamor of Viktor’s commune being invaded, Isha’s self-sacrifice was partially an attempt at being just like Jinx, whom Isha has only ever seen as a hero.
The problem is that every “heroic” act Isha has seen Jinx commit was a thinly veiled attempt at ending her own life. After watching the little girl mimic her self-destructive behavior, Jinx is spurred into finding a way to break the cycle throughout Act 3.
While the cycle does technically break by the end of the series’ finale, it’s a rather bleak depiction. Had “Arcane” allowed Jinx a different storyline, breaking her family’s cycle of violence through community building with the people of Zaun would have been a more satisfying conclusion.
Even with the show’s realistic depiction of the tragedy of war, Act 3 is not entirely grim. Those who have spent much of Season 2 as inactive characters — such as Mel Medarda, a recently self-discovered magic user, as well as Ekko — finally have their moment to shine. They both play vital roles in the final battle and some of the most breathtaking animations in the show.
The final act of “Arcane” is an enjoyable watch with meaningful messages hidden in its frames, until you look past the well-choreographed action and stunning animation to see that the status quo has largely remained the same.
In spite of the show being explicitly intertwined with class division and oppression since the first episode, the political conflict of the series is shafted in favor of a more fantastical narrative.
There is no real resolution for the people of Zaun, which receives no justice for the hundreds of years of oppression at the hands of Piltover. This leaves the future of the cities unclear and messy. The conflict between Piltover and Zaun seems to have magically vanished.
The distinct lack of consequences leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth. Familial cycles of violence may have been broken, but the wheel of oppression will keep spinning in Piltover. The audience can only hope that the two cities will use the foundation laid to build a new future together — but whether that future will last is unclear.
