Arcane never loses sight of the beating heart of the show
In the three years since the first season of ArcaneI had forgotten a lot of little plot details – what exactly was Shimmer? Why is hextech so important? How is Mel’s mother?
But the brilliance of Arcane is that you don’t actually have to remember all the specific details of the plot to make it work. Sure, there’s a whole wide world out there, bigger than just Piltover and Zaun. And yet all the larger themes and questions come right back to Jinx and Vi. Even when Arcane When she starts asking loftier questions (like Viktor’s whole hextech Jesus arc) or delving into specific political machinations of Piltover, Zaun, and the countries beyond, the sisters anchor the entire show.
(Ed. remark: This post contains spoilers for Arcane season 2.)
It’s especially evident in this final set of episodes, as the sisters come together – and work toward a common goal for the first time in years. After Jinx finds out what happened to their adoptive father, she sets out to find her sister. Even though Vi almost killed her the last time they saw each other (and Jinx was about to let her), Jinx knows that Vi is the only person who will understand what’s going on and the only person who Vander might also recognize it.
Now that they’re brought back together, we’re thoroughly and devastatingly reminded of what they lost when they were torn apart. They repair their relationship (as best they can), united in their effort to restore Vander from the beast he has turned into. They are still hurt and haunted by their past, but as they linger in the peace of Viktor’s commune, for the first time there is a glimmer of hope for their future. The beautiful watercolor series that runs through Vander’s memory also solidifies the norm that once was, the close relationship this family once had – and perhaps could have again.
Through Vi and Jinx, we see how the larger conflict between Piltover and Zaun divided one family. It’s a wound that goes deeper than that of the two sisters, and goes back to the rift between Vander and Silco. But it’s Vi and Jinx who felt the aftereffects most concretely, after following in the footsteps of their respective father figures, for better or for worse. They represent two sides of the same blade, two different hands dealt, two different paths taken. Arcane deftly juggles many storylines and asks big questions about the show’s world and society. But the reason all those threads work, all those themes hit so hard, is because every vein leads back to Vi and Jinx, the beating heart of the show—the constant that holds hope and misfortune on equal terms.
However, it seems that both paths lead to tragedy. They’re not alone: Jayce single-handedly ends Viktor’s hextech utopia here, and Mel is still stuck in Black Rose Prison. But Vi and Jinx’s story is steeped in the most pain, because of all the love that still lingers between them. Vi had the chance to kill Jinx and end it all, but she hesitated every time because that’s still her little sister. That love doesn’t just go away. It still energizes them and urges them to try again and mend the burned bridges so they can desperately understand what once was. But that only raises the stakes of the entire show; what happens when that love isn’t enough?
Keeping the focus on Vi and Jinx not only anchors the world so the show never extends too far beyond Piltover and Zaun, but also keeps the tone and message consistent. It doesn’t matter what exactly Shimmer is, why the Council is divided over hextech, or what exactly Piltover has against Zaun; what matters is that the decisions of those responsible have devastating consequences for the general population. And Arcane illustrates this specifically with the two characters we’ve known since the beginning of the series, who share a special relationship, were torn apart and turned against each other by forces beyond their reach. It’s their relationship that defines the show, even when it hurts.
The first six episodes of Arcane season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. The last three fall on November 23.