“Arcane” Part 2 Flies High And Falters Only Slightly

SPOILERS FOR ARCANE: LEAGUE OF LEGENDS PART ONE AHEAD!

Netflix’s release strategy for Arcane: League Of Legends makes it one of the few original series’ on the steaming service that we get to enjoy across a span of multiple weeks, but Netflix has found a way to marry their hallmark binge-watch formula with the weekly format that other platforms have adopted to great success over the past two years. Instead of releasing just one episode each week, Arcane drops a bundle of three – each no fewer than forty minutes long – so that you still get to binge sizable chunks of the show, and the viewing experience will easily fill an evening whereas episodes of some Disney+ series’ fly by in less than an hour.

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Jayce | dualshockers.com

It’s a method that I think Netflix would be wise to utilize more often, at least for established series’ with large audiences willing to stick around week-to-week. One major complaint about the binge model is that even Netflix’s best and biggest series’ rarely get a chance to stay in the general conversation for more than a single weekend before viewers have finished the entire season and moved on to their next fleeting obsession. That in turns pulls focus away from the content of individual episodes and puts pressure on showrunners to write cliffhanger season finales that will keep general audiences from forgetting their show entirely.

But personally, I relish having an opportunity to review Arcane in segments. I pulled the first season of Shadow And Bone apart episode-by-episode, but that was an adaptation of a book series I already loved. If all ten episodes of Arcane had dropped on one day, I’d have only written a single review because I don’t know enough about the League Of Legends franchise to support ten separate posts – but I’d have missed the chance to dive into all of the animated series’ nuances, which are highlighted by this wonderful weekly-binge release strategy.

Episode four picks up several years after the events of episode three, which I think also helps support the weekly release – you feel like you’re actually watching the premiere of Arcane season two. And not only is it more epic in scope and heavier on action like the second season of an established series would usually be, but the characters have also developed exponentially. With just three episodes behind us, all that development could easily feel rushed or even unearned, but Arcane somehow makes it work. Every character is more abundantly alive and interesting than before, which might be why episodes four through six have a harder time focusing on any one in particular.

Positioned as the heart of the narrative both thematically and emotionally, yet slightly at risk of getting shoved aside by the jostling subplots of other characters this week, the orphaned and estranged sisters Violet (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) and Powder (now going by the name of Jinx, and voiced by Ella Purnell) don’t actually meet until episode six, and even then only briefly, which prevents us from exploring the evolution of their relationship with each other. Individually, however, they’re still compelling co-leads.

Fascinatingly, despite Violet being the only member of Vander’s family to escape from the crime-lord Silco (Jason Spisak) at the end of episode three, it’s she who’s regressed and landed in a dank undercity prison while Jinx is thriving under Silco’s tutelage, moving freely between Zaun and Piltover. Over the years, she’s been fashioned into a killing machine and outfitted with an arsenal of hand-made weapons and gadgets, although her flair for the melodramatic is seen in her colorful carnival-performer aesthetic and the glee she derives from violence. She’s strongly reminiscent of DC Comics’ vivacious antihero Harley Quinn.

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Jinx | pcgamer.com

Somehow I get the sense that that comparison is overused and that League Of Legends fans everywhere are probably rolling their eyes at me, so I’m going to follow up by saying that there are two crucial differences between Jinx and Harley Quinn. One is Jinx’s struggle with childhood trauma, specifically the guilt of having caused two of her friends’ deaths and the shame and horror of being abandoned by her older sister. Watching her fight those feelings is extremely compelling, and it’s a shame that Arcane doesn’t put as much effort into crystallizing the dynamic between Jinx and Silco that I felt is another defining element of her character.

In fact, Silco almost disappears entirely in these three episodes, perhaps because there’s just one too many antagonists at this point. His new goals are hastily sketched out, but the show loses sight of the tormented and in my opinion quite fascinating character behind the menacing façade, leaving him with surprisingly little to do except sit behind a desk and brood, or else pop up here and there to frighten his various business partners into submission. The only consolation is that I’m sure his methodical preparations for the approaching war between Zaun and Piltover will pay off in the long run, and the results will be epic and catastrophic.

On that note, however, I’m also disappointed that we spend less time in Zaun over the course of these three episodes – and of the time we do spend there, significantly less of it is devoted to expanding on the themes of class and social divides that were established in the first three episodes. As the city of Piltover advances far ahead of Zaun, leaving the undercity’s inhabitants increasingly destitute and desperate, we’re only afforded brief glimpses into how life has changed for them since Vander’s death and the estrangement of the two cities.

Instead, these three episodes focus more on what’s happening “top-side” in Piltover, where brilliant inventor Jayce Talis (Kevin Alejandro) bridges the gap between science and magic to create all kinds of incredible technology for the city. But with fame and fortune comes power, and with power comes opposition. Jayce is reluctantly forced to navigate Piltover’s political scene and outmaneuver his enemies on the city’s council if he plans to achieve everything he knows he’s capable of, all while racing against the clock to save his business partner and closest friend Viktor (Harry Lloyd) from death.

Political intrigue is one of my favorite fantasy tropes ever, so it’s neat to see that element woven into the story, but Jayce isn’t really the focal point of this narrative as far as I can tell, and Arcane suffers from being spread a little thin in these three episodes as it struggles to find any connections between Jayce’s journey to the top of the world and Violet and Jinx’s intensely personal conflict mirroring the social divide for which Jayce is at least partly responsible. Their storylines will eventually overlap, but currently the only substantial crossover is through the character of Caitlyn (Katie Leung).

Although she only had a small role in the first three episodes as one of Jayce’s friends, Caitlyn really comes into her own in episode five, as she embarks on a solo mission into the undercity to locate Jinx and bring her to justice, only to discover that she’s become inextricably entangled in something much larger than herself – a vast corruption scandal linking Piltover’s law enforcement to the criminal enterprises of Zaun. She eventually meets Violet, and their romantic chemistry/sexual tension is off the charts. We stan a morally righteous queer character who will let her morally ambiguous girlfriend get away with just about anything.

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Jinx | elintranews.com

There’s plenty to love in these three episodes, despite their flaws. The action in particular is even more dynamic and creative, and all the characters have matured into better fighters. The animation is still luscious, with Piltover even more beautiful thanks to Jayce Talis’ enhancements to the city. And this story continues to expand in unexpected directions across a world that is rich with detail. As we gear up for the final batch of episodes next week, I can only hope that Netflix decides to build out this franchise across multiple seasons and spin-offs. It’s what we deserve.

Episodes Rating: 7/10

“Arcane: League Of Legends” Part 1 Review!

As someone whose only second-hand experience with League Of Legends is through the massive multiplayer online game’s soundtrack of epic original music, I’ll be totally honest: until last week when I finally started getting bombarded with marketing for Arcane: League Of Legends, I had almost no interest in nor preconceptions about the Netflix adaptation which longtime fans of the game have been waiting for with bated breath. And the biggest thing holding me back was my concern that Arcane would be inaccessible to anyone unfamiliar with League Of Legends, its complex worldbuilding, and its sprawling ensemble cast of heroes and villains.

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Arcane: League Of Legends | engadget.com

But for every time that Arcane suddenly throws an out-of-context piece of lore at the viewer and usually expects you to just roll with it (which is fairly easy in most cases), the animated series doubles down on establishing a single approachable storyline with just enough characters and fantastical plot devices to keep things lively, but never so many that a viewer new to the franchise will feel completely lost. Arcane‘s first three episodes provide a concrete baseline from which to expand and develop the world of League Of Legends in the near future.

And when I say near, I mean like next week. The three episodes currently available on Netflix are only the first segment of Arcane season one, which will be released in intervals between now and November 20th. Binge-watchers might take issue with this release strategy, but Arcane‘s episodes are significantly longer than the norm when it comes to animated television, so these three episodes together could make for at least one thoroughly satisfying evening. Each episode leaves you urgently wanting more, but episode three especially delivers in that regard, with a cliffhanger ending that actually got me to gasp out loud. Fans of the game are possibly familiar with certain…developments, but I definitely wasn’t.

Arcane follows two sisters, Violet (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld of Hawkeye) and Powder (voiced by Mia Sinclair Jenness), who as I understand it both become major characters in the League Of Legends game universe. Arcane, however, opens during a pivotal moment in their childhood, and explores their early days on the streets of Zaun, a dimly-lit and crime-ridden city built underneath the prosperous town of Piltover, where a steampunk renaissance is underway. Navigating a rapidly growing social and class divide requires the sisters to make hard choices and more than a few sacrifices if they’re to survive.

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Violet | netflix.com

The series packs a surprisingly emotional wallop, wrapped up in an impactful message about how those in power will do whatever they possibly can to keep oppressed and marginalized groups at a disadvantage by turning them against each other. The series revolves around bridges built and bridges burned, whether that’s manifested in the terrifying rifts in Violet and Powder’s own family that they feel powerless to fix, the ideological divide between their father Vander (voiced by JB Blanc) and his friend-turned-supervillain Silco (voiced by Jason Spisak), or the literal bridge between Piltover and Zaun that burned during the last conflict between the two cities. Okay, so not a subtle metaphor, but an effective one nonetheless.

As much a pleasant surprise to me as its mature themes, Arcane‘s animation style should be particularly exciting to anyone looking for the next evolution of the medium – because this is it. All the depth and richness of a painting in every shot, but brought to life with the same fluidity and awe-inspiring direction that distinguishes League Of Legends‘ own cinematic trailers, which have racked up hundreds of millions of views on YouTube. Video games are the blueprint for how to wed the unique sensibilities of animation and live-action, and it’s only fitting that Arcane is actually building upon that blueprint.

And of course, no adaptation of League Of Legends would be complete without a heart-pounding original score and soundtrack that makes you want to tackle a dragon or two. The game’s music has become widely popular outside of the core fanbase (as I mentioned, it’s the only reason I was familiar with the game at all), and Arcane‘s first three episodes feature catchy contributions from Bea Miller, Curtis Harding, Jazmine Sullivan, Ramsey, and a theme by Imagine Dragons. Harding and Sullivan’s “Our Love”, an upbeat yet nostalgic romantic duet, is my personal favorite track.

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Vander with Powder and Violet | thegamer.com

It’s safe to say that Arcane exceeded my expectations and then some. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next chapter in Violet and Powder’s story, especially because it will pick up after a significant time-jump during which the two characters will have matured into young women. I’m not going to get into spoilers for episode three here, but let’s just say…I’m very interested to see how the years will have changed them. That’s all I’ll say. If you want to know what I’m talking about, you’ll just have to watch the show.

Series Rating: 9/10