Arcane Season 2

The first season of Arcane exploded onto the scene in 2020, breaking all sorts of barriers surrounding preconceived notions of video game to television adaptations. With the series’ initial season premiering during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when everyone was locked down at home and had little better to do than watch television, the show garnered an insane amount of popularity – and it was well deserved. Arcane was a carefully constructed narrative masterpiece, paying homage to the game it originated from (League of Legends), while also allowing viewers completely unfamiliar with the source material to enjoy the ride just as much – and what a ride it was.

I, like many others, was a little concerned with the fact that the showrunners announced, long before this season aired, that Season 2 would mark the end of Arcane. It seemed like with the finale of the first season, the show was just finding its footing, ready to reach incredible heights in subsequent seasons. However, as you can likely tell from my review score, this season held its own as a final season, and managed to tie up the story’s loose ends fairly satisfactorily – well, some of them at least. This will be a spoiler review as, mainly due to Arcane’s strategy of releasing three episodes in bulk at a time, I assume most people will be caught up to the show by now. With that being said, let’s get into the review!

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The Review

Image by Netflix

The first thing to get out of the way here is that, while this is the end of Arcane, this is absolutely not the end of the cinematic League of Legends universe. It seems like certain characters will be carrying on in this universe, and will likely appear as cameos, or even consistent supporting characters, in future entries. I’m torn on how to feel about this. On the one hand, it’s undeniable that anything as successful as Arcane would be capitalised on – we live in an age of ‘extended universes’ in entertainment. This does mean that not all of the storylines introduced in Arcane are satisfactorily concluded, but luckily, a lot of the major ones are. I personally have enough faith in the team behind Arcane to support future shows, but it’ll be difficult to live up to the standard that this show has set for this universe.

Those familiar with Season One of Arcane will be glad to know that the animation standard has not dropped in the slightest here. I’m unfamiliar with any of Fortiche’s work outside of Arcane, but this show is just so visually stunning, it honestly encourages me to check some of their other projects out. However, Arcane is undeniably their biggest credit, and what a breakout project to work on. The fight scenes in this show are absolutely incredible. Each character stands out from the others, not only in their own personal appearance, but in how the environment is visually represented around them. As great as Arcane’s storyline is, I would enjoy this project on mute – it’s just that gorgeous. Sevika vs. Smeech was a particular highlight. I could rewatch that fight over and over again.

Music is also a huge element of Arcane. Who could forget when Sting’s ‘What Could Have Been’ closed out the first season in epic fashion? And the opening of the series is so good that it had me voluntarily listening to an Imagine Dragons song episode-after-episode – that is no easy feat. This season also took the same approach as the last season, where each episode was matched up with a song from the soundtrack. The songs, I found, underscored the scenes well, but none of them particularly stood out to me as strong in their own right. I also would be lying if I said I didn’t cringe a little bit at some of the more lyrically blunt songs. For example, the Vander flashback sequence being underscored by a song called ‘Remember Me’ just felt a little too on-the-nose for me.

Image by Netflix

With the fundamentals of the show out of the way, let’s talk about some of the best storylines. Well, naturally, the standout plotline of the series remains the dynamic between Jinx and Vi that kicked all of this off. Sure, Piltover vs. Zaun may technically be the show’s ‘main storyline’, but Jinx vs. Vi has, for me, always been the most compelling of Arcane’s various interwoven stories. It’s undeniably the most emotionally charged storyline, with incredible performances by Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell, and the characters themselves steal the show every time they’re on screen. I also think Vander’s return was fairly well-written, considering I never saw him returning to the show, and Isha, as an original character, was fairly well-woven into their existing dynamic. With that being said, I was a little disappointed to see Isha seemingly tossed aside in the final act. Her death is a cumulative moment at the end of Act 2, but after that, she isn’t ever really mentioned again.

Another standout arc for me was Viktor’s. This was, by far, the most consistently unpredictable storyline of the season for me. To watch Viktor’s progress, from being seemingly killed at the beginning of the season, to an all-powerful pseudo-antagonist by the end of the final episode was amazing, and I never could have seen it coming. I also want to award Viktor the crown for having the absolute best quote from the entire season, one which perfectly sums up his entire storyline across both seasons – ‘There is no prize for perfection. Only an end to pursuit’. In many ways, this quote not only summarises Viktor’s journey throughout Arcane, but also the overarching plot of the entire show. The show has constantly commentated on humanity and its imperfections, so for this quote to be said in the final episode of the series only greatened its impact.

Ambessa also really made a name for herself this season – what a powerhouse of a character, captivating in dialogue and action consistently throughout. With that being said though, as much as I adored Ambessa’s role in the ongoing conflict between Piltover and Zaun, I wasn’t entirely sold on the Black Rose storyline that felt sort of shoehorned into this season. I think this whole Black Rose situation may be something that Netflix has introduced to set up future shows in the League of Legends universe, because their inclusion here felt completely alien, and though they didn’t detract from Ambessa and Mel’s arcs, their whole involvement felt like the only time throughout Arcane where I felt that fans of the game were more in the know than fans of the show.

Image by Netflix

Now that we’ve gone over all the great storylines and character arcs this season, it’s time to cover some of the less impactful ones. Let’s just quickly get Heimerdinger out of the way – which is, ironically, the same attitude that the showrunners took towards him this season. He was one of the season’s ‘major’ deaths, and I use quotation marks there to underline the fact that I don’t think too many people were all that fussed over his loss. I was really only interested in the character at all due to his allegiance with Ekko, who was, unfortunately, mostly treated like an afterthought this season. He had a starring role in Episode 7, but I think that his whole episode was unnecessary, particularly for that point in the show. Sure, he had a shining moment in Episode 9, but his complete absence from the first two acts of the season can’t go unnoticed. It seems like sort of a waste of such a great character.

I’m also not entirely sold on Caitlyn’s Season 2 arc, feeling more like a foil to Vi’s arc than having her own. Considering the death of her mother, and her ascent to power at the whim of Ambessa, I would have liked to see her do much more this season. I did like how she ended up with an eyepatch though. If she does reappear in a future League of Legends project, which I suspect she will, I’m glad to see that her character will be rocking a cool new look. And now we come to the weakest character in the show for me, Jayce. I have never cared for Jayce, and this season was no different. As integral as he often is to the movement of the plot, it’s mind-boggling that he manages to be so unremarkable, leaving practically no emotional mark on me at all.

So now, the big question – did this feel rushed? That was the biggest worry for many fans, from the second that Netflix announced that there would be no Season 3. Well, I think whether or not you think this is rushed depends on how you view the show. If you view Arcane as its own series, separate from any sort of potential, future extended universe, then yes, I think you’ll find this ending rushed. There are certain storylines that are simply not satisfactorily concluded. However, if you look to the future of the League of Legends television universe, and view Arcane as more of a piece of the puzzle, than the puzzle itself, then I think you’ll be satisfied with this conclusion. The storylines that are unique to Arcane are wrapped up, while the only loose ends represent potential to tie-in to future entries in the universe.

Image by Netflix

All in all, the season felt healthily-paced. There was no notable difference in the show’s approach to its pacing between the first two acts and the final one, which is a big plus. Ultimately, as divided as the cast of Arcane has always been, the final act prioritised unity and unlikely alliances as the central theme of the story. Even if the unity between the main characters felt a little sudden at the end, the show was always leading up to some sort of unlikely union, particularly from when Ambessa was introduced as a sort of external threat in Season 1.

The big moment to take away from the final episode though was, of course, the death of Jinx. This was destined to happen. All in all, I’m happy with the execution. Considering I never saw Vander returning to the show, it was quite poignant to see her meet her end by his side, as predictable as her eventual demise in the season finale was. I will say though, it’s the focus on Jinx’s death at the end of Arcane that tells me that the Jinx storyline was always the priority for the showrunners, over even the Piltover vs. Zaun conflict. This world-changing alliance between the two cities should really have received more attention, but as I said, if you view this series as the precursor for more to come in the League of Legends universe, then the omission is somewhat forgivable.

Overall, Arcane was an incredibly strong show, and Season 2 was a worthy successor to the original season that started it all. As far as video game adaptations go, this is undeniably a contender, and having received a nomination for ‘Adaptation of the Year’ at the 2024 Game Awards, I think that that win is in the show’s future for sure. It also, though, is one of the greatest animated series in recent memory, and defined a new standard for animated shows in the modern age. Though it was far from perfect in its final hour, Arcane Season 2 retained the charm that so many fans gravitated towards the show for, and managed to not lose its quality. What did you think of the show, and do you agree with our Arcane Season 2 review? Be sure to let us know in the comments!

See also: The Game Awards 2024 – Nominees and Predictions

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Where to Watch Arcane Season 2?

Image by Netflix

Along with the first season of the hit series, you can watch all parts of Arcane Season 2 on Netflix streaming now. Due to the series being a Netflix original, I imagine any future animated League of Legends projects will also be hosted on the streaming platform. This is one of the greatest animated series in recent memory – be sure to check it out if you haven’t.

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