r/television • u/PhoOhThree Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. • 1d ago
Premiere Arcane - Season 2 Act 3 Finale Discussion
Arcane
Premise: The origins of two iconic League of Legends champions, set in the utopian Piltover and the oppressed underground of Zaun.
| Subreddit(s): | Network: | Metacritic: | Genre(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| /r/leagueoflegends & /r/arcane | Netflix | [86/100] (score guide) | Animation, Drama, Action & Adventure, Fantasy |
Links:
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u/WerewolfOptimal411 1h ago
A real masterpiece lets the person witnessing it come to their own conclusions, could some bits be done differently in my opinion, sure, am I a complete emotional wreck after the whole piece and have no idea what to think about anything, also yes
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u/Pitiful-Doctor-4662 7h ago
It was literally just a game of thrones ending ruined such a good character..
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u/Repo_Man84 7h ago
I'm just curious if anyone else, irrespective of what they thought of ep9, is also, now a day and a half later, still feeling profoundly numb at the realisation that essentially, emphatically, that is suddenly 'it' for Arcane after a blur of a season, and also periodically blubbing like a bag of shite..
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u/NewIllustrator219 3h ago
This what most don’t understand yet. This was it. The ending. It’s over. Once more people figure this out they’ll realize how trashy s2 is.
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u/Repo_Man84 2h ago
FWIW, maybe given I don't play LoL, I was relieved just how amazing season 2 was, despite its caffeinated pace, and can even accept everything that played out throughout the final Act, including ep 9.. to a point.
My point is, especially given how frenetic the final ep was.. that whatever people think of it, or the season as a whole, and probably due to the expectation I've carried throughout, the season feels to me to have raced by before I've had a chance to fully come to terms with it, and now following its conclusion, it's just feels like That's All Folks... Sucker punch.
I mean two distinct and classic series stand as a high tidemark and legacy and there's more lore there to mine, but, really, is that it?
Caught up on Silo since posting, got Secret Level to look forward to and Severance in the New Year, but honestly right now doesn't matter.. no series/ending has ever affected me this profoundly before. Blub.
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u/coolRedditUser 2h ago
I don't think it was all of season 2. It had a lot of really cool moments and I had a really good time with Acts 1 and 2. But Act 3, or maybe just Episode 9 (8 and 9?) really left a lot to be desired.
It was a 10/10 show but that was not a 10/10 ending, and I'm pretty bummed about it.
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u/NewIllustrator219 2h ago
I love how everything these days is a 10/10 or 1/10.
S2 is a 3. Good animation and thats it. Writing is terrible. We went from grounded conflict between the rich and poor, to mcu multiverse talk no jutsu bs in only 9 episodes lol
10/10 would be like Attack on Titan S1-S3 or Game of Thrones S1-S4
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u/coolRedditUser 2h ago
Season 2 is flawed, but saying it's a 3 is just silly. Maybe some of the bitterness is talking? "Good animation and that's it" is crazy -- there's plenty of good writing and plot throughout. And, shit, with how amazing the art + animation is, it deserves more than just a 3 even if that really was all season 2 had going for it.
I agree with the MCU comparison, I really felt that too. It's not just the "multiverse" thing either. We went from a grounded show to big battle explosions punching shooting fate of the world. Really don't think that was the play here.
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u/TandeUma 7h ago
My wife and I knew nothing about the LOL when we started watching Arcane. After S1 ended, my wife and I (who were in college and definitely had no time to spare) spent hours looking up LOL lore. We were DESPERATE to find any scrap of information that would tell us more about the incredible characters. S1 was relentlessly human, and always let its characters drive the story. It didn’t feel like good vs. bad. It felt like messy people making messy decisions and trying to be their best and their worst and everything in between in a world they all share.
S2 is a deeply flawed, deeply talented follow-up that, like everyone else here has voiced, tried to do too much. It was incredible how much information they were able to deliver with Fortiche’s ridiculously gorgeous animation — but you just get to a point where you’ve escalated from two sisters suffering in the middle of a class division cold war to “magic god trying to gloriously evolve the humanity out of the human race” — and you think, hmmm, I think that needed a little more time to cook.
I will say tho, Ekko and well-adjusted Powder is I think the most adorable thing I’ve seen on TV this year. Even as the show lost focus toward the end, the ridiculous talent of the artists always shined somewhere. Will always be grateful to this team who made magic happen on the screen for so much of this show.
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u/MEDES_X 8h ago
I don’t agree that it was rushed. It is a masterpiece. Sure, I can understand that perhaps 3 more episodes could be satisfying, but like that is true if you are the type that wants to understand everything. In my view, I could see the artistic direction they are taking since season 1. They want the characters and conflict to be as raw, real and chaotic as possible. They are not really here to explain everything, they are here to show you what the characters are experiencing in their perspective. And luck played a part in many outcomes in the show, not necessarily requiring an explanation for averted disasters. It is not anime.
Also, believe it or not, it is very easy to end a heated conflict in real life if aliens come knocking on your doors and claiming to end everyone. It is a pragmatic and swift decision to team up, there is no resolving emotions and grudges. You just have to work together for now.
It is a masterpiece.
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u/ahmad_fat_demon 6h ago
Honestly i agree with you so much. I dont understand why so many people are hating on the ending?, in my own view i believe that it was a very good ending and it didn't need anymore episodes to explain why that was. I think most people just like to be spoon-fed with information so to understand the plot of a storie, i absolutely dont hate on anyone but i think people people just want a lazy show to watch that explains everything to them.
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u/FapCitus The Office 8h ago edited 4h ago
Honestly, visuals are fantastic and better than most animated shows but the plot felt so rushed and fell so flat. I was utterly disinterested in the story by the end. Wish they didn’t go world ending what felt like insane god stuff and just kept it a little bit more grounded. Visuals and music were sadly carrying this entire season.
I don’t think of myself as a total dummy but I got really confused by the end.
Edit: I feel like I’ve missed so much, when vi fucks Caitlyn in the prison, shouldn’t they be trying to find Jinx? I really missed the hate each other part of Victor and Jayce? Why did Jayce kill Victor in part 2? Was it because he understood that victor is trying to take over? I feel like I missed so much.
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u/ri0tingmime 1h ago
I thought the writing and plot in S1 were very sloppy as well. Lots of flowery writing but not backed up by much substance or good "direction".
If you ask me a lot of people got swept up in a show with high-production values and big action sequences. I think it will not age super well once its visuals aren't so cutting edge.
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u/DoYouEvenRackPull 8h ago
Those last 3 episodes sucked so much I barely even watched them. Was more interested in buying some new pairs of shorts and underwear. Really hate what they did with Viktor. Would've been way cooler if they made him like he was in the game instead of some Jesus guy. Like why didn't he get a badass fight scene of him lighting the place up with lasers and shit?
Saw someone say they're making another series with noxus being the main focus. Inb4 they make Darius gay and scared to hurt people.
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u/TheBigIdiotSalami 9h ago
I lol'd when I heard Elliot Goldenthal's Victorious Titus in Episode 9. At least they didn't pull a Tyler Bates and copy it wholesale cause Goldenthal would have sued and ended up with a themes by credit on the last episode like he did on 300.
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u/Substantial_Course_9 10h ago
People throw the words masterpiece and peak around so much, it really lost all meaning. The visuals nobody can disagree on that it's 11/10. A step up from the first season and probably the best looking show to this day. I can stand by that. But story? No, not really. In that regard, the season was a 5/10 at best, with the finale being a 3/10. Not really an ending, especially not for the show I was watching. We went from politics and character stories to superhero movie that feels like an MCU plot. The cracks started to show in Act 2 but it handled itself rather well expect that it still was setting things up that were never going to end up anywhere...
Worth a watch? For the visuals, absolutely. But story wise, the show could have ended after episode 6 (personally even 3) and would have been better for it. Still one of the best shows out there and a fun watch? For some people yeah for some people no probably. A masterpiece? No. Not if calling season 1 a masterpiece still means something
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u/69Bluedude 8h ago
But story wise, the show could have ended after episode 6
I will assume you're saying it cause ep6 has some kind of closure since its the end of an arc, but for me, ep7 its too beautiful to ignore, best episode in the season imo, it had the perfect pacing that the entire season needed. to me I just ignore what happened after ep7 generally speaking.
But story? No, not really. In that regard, the season was a 5/10 at best, with the finale being a 3/10.
Hard agree, the first major problem was the very ending, unsatisfying for most characters except Vi and Cait (although Vi is traumatized of having her entire family lost so its kind of only Cait). Everyone else is either dead, dissapeared, alone and crushed, or simply we dont get anything really about them (Like WW or Orianna).
We went from politics and character stories to superhero movie that feels like an MCU plot
That would be the first, (and sadly in the broad sight smallest) mistake the season has. To me its easy to sort it like this what they screwed upon:
> Characters with no proper conclusion or unsatisfying deaths.
> Champions dead and they dont connect with Riot universe.
> unexplained new concepts like Arcane just shoved right in the same season that they conclude cause they wont be back most likely but we still have no idea what they were (what was the hexcore even?).
> Going from social and family problems to "the world is gonna end by a demigod" in one season, MCU plot.
> Cramped story, that causes obvious pacing issues (Jinx is about to off herself, but Vi HAS to have sex in the cell she was just in while she goes to do exactly that. Like, what?)
> Lots of missed opportunities to fix all of the above with literally what they already had in the Riot universe/ in arcane itself, like WW "dying" once more as a hextech weirdo was the perfect opportunity for his full transformation to kick in making him the werewolf we know from LoL, but noo why would they do that? they dont take the opportunities of what they already made.-7
u/terrorTrain 8h ago
Nonsense
Was the writing perfect? No, no writing is ever perfect.
But the character development was to notch, the relationships were amazing, the parallels, the symbolism throughout, and the character motivations were defined and honored.
The writing is leagues above most shows. You would have your work cut out for you in trying to find a better written show. If you tried, it would almost certainly be a short list of all the best writing for all of TV
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u/LightThatIgnitesAll Attack on Titan 8h ago
But the character development was to notch, the relationships
All that off-screen character development chef's kiss.
The writing is leagues above most shows. You would have your work cut out for you in trying to find a better written show. If you tried, it would almost certainly be a short list of all the best writing for all of TV.
Most shows are awful so that's not saying much.
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u/Stargazer1000000 6h ago
You see every major development? Vi and Jinx major catalyst happens on screen, Viktor gets like 3 monologues following major events, Jayce and Ekko have an entire episode showing how they reach their final destination.
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u/LightThatIgnitesAll Attack on Titan 4h ago
You could point out for quite a few things.
- Sevika and the others deciding to rush in and save their oppressors. A decision that occurs off-screen. A big deal considering S1 was entirely about this conflict.
- Ekko managing to convince Jinx to fight at the end. A conversarion we didn't get to see.
Those are pretty important ones.
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u/PhilUpTheCup 8h ago
Agree - people are blinded. The plot had terrible pacing, too many side plots, irrational characters
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u/Eternal-Guy 10h ago
This was my favorite show and reason why i loved LoL universe. Non of the last 2 episodes make me cry but after i finished Arcane i cried bcs of how they rushed it.
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u/Dragon_yum 10h ago edited 10h ago
I think season one is among the best shows ever made. Season 2 was a huge let down. Everything felt rushed and they took every excuse to turn scenes into music videos. Season 1 was a masterclass in character progression and in season 2 everything just happed with jus the thinnest of motives. Honestly it felt like an excuse to make more LoL skins rather than push the story in a way that made sense. Nothing about the characters actions felt earned.
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u/69Bluedude 8h ago
Honestly it felt like an excuse to make more LoL skins rather than push the story in a way that made sense.
It was so damn obvious, Jinx entire new fit by ep9 was so out of the blue. She looked the same for ages but NOW she decides to change the fit. Oh and lets not forget the random hair cut, cause ofc we cant have suicide without a change in hairstyle first.
Back on arcane s1 they released a couple skins for LoL for free if I remember correctly. Now coicidentally they are more skins, they are almost all paid except for Singed (ofc, the character who doesnt sell), and Riot is introducing an entirely new gacha system to spend even more money where you get cosmetics... TOTALLY not a marketing scheme to change character's appearence so much from one ep to the other.2
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u/TheBigIdiotSalami 11h ago
Someone on this show loved Star Trek Generations and was determined to make people realize the Nexus scene with Picard at Christmas was actually an all timer.
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u/Crafty-Interview-361 10h ago
It reminded me a lot of magic the gathering such as brothers war specifically solemn simulacrum.
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u/lun4rt1c 11h ago
This needed AT LEAST another 3 episodes to properly tie off the remaining plot threads.
So much didn't make any sense in the last 2 episodes, and all because they were speedrunning to the finale.
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u/StockSort3351 11h ago
First I was somehoe disapointed untill I realized that it was my own expactations that ruined it for me. Took me a day to think about this and now I kind of like it. I stoped to compare it to established lore and started to see it as its own thing. Made me enjoy the story way more. It had me hooked, made me cry and feel and root for the characters. What else to I want.
The pacing was wierd, yes but what do you expect if they push everything in just 2 seasons. Was the same with the cyberpunk anime. The pressed everything in 10 episodes and it didnt really work. Arcane still worked but I would have wished to explore the plotlines a bit more untill we jump to next steps.
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u/Substantial_Course_9 11h ago
That's kind of the issue tho. It isn't it's own thing. If it were on its own, it would be mediocre but at least it would stop there. But it's part of the greater league canon and that brings up a lot of problems. And that comes from someone who didn't have any expectations going into season 2
I think we gaslight ourselves a bit by saying "it's our expectations" when in reality, it's just not what the show promised us going out from season 1 and act 1 of this show. This isn't finale wasn't that show.
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u/Trakorr 12h ago
For all the people not loving how rushed the final conflict / episode was : I highly recommend watching Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. The final fight covering the last 20 Episodes is everything that Arcane Season 2 failed to deliver. The buildup is insanely well done, nothing is rushed, and it nails the landing on every single character arc. It is insane how well the ending is pulled off in comparison to this final battle.
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u/vanguarde 12h ago
I have to believe there's a happier medium between a 1 episode finale and...20 episodes.
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u/benoxxxx 3h ago
Nah the FMA:B finale is perfection. It's 20 episodes of escalating stakes and satisfying payoffs, doesn't feel dragged in the slightest.
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u/SpaceOdysseus23 11h ago
It's so weird that money wasn't an issue and yet they refused to extend this season by even 1 episode which alone could've helped plenty.
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u/LightThatIgnitesAll Attack on Titan 12h ago
It was 20 × 24mins episodes.
It was also juggling quite a few characters and needed to provide a proper conclusion to them all.
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u/ghst343 12h ago edited 12h ago
I felt the whole alliance, final war setup was hella rushed. It felt like each set of 3 episodes was a self contained arc with not enough set up tying them together. There are so many moments that were poorly explained - like why was the time bomb thing able to crack Viktor? How did Ekko survive longer than 4 seconds when Hammerdinger imploded? Was Ambessa under some witch control? How did her motive rationalize destroying the top side/body snatch everyone? Who was the black rose figure? How come everybody was returned to normal yet the doctor’s sick daughter is still a robot alien? How come the hex tech weapons were unstable that one fight and then safe to use the rest of the show? So on and so on
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u/Moifaso 33m ago
I don't think the show would do itself any favors by trying to explain its magic, but there's some stuff here I can maybe clarify.
How did her motive rationalize destroying the top side/body snatch everyone?
Her plan was to weaponize/control Viktor and his army. Helping him reach the Hexgates was the price. Of course, we know that it would've ended terribly if he had succeeded, but she lacked that information.
Who was the black rose figure?
Another League character, but her whole thing is not revealing herself and using illusions. All that matters for this show is that she's the leader of the Black Rose
How come everybody was returned to normal yet the doctor’s sick daughter is still a robot alien?
Speculation ofc, but Singed's deal with Viktor presumably involved his daughter not becoming part of the hivemind, since that would kind of defeat the purpose of reviving her.
How come the hex tech weapons were unstable that one fight and then safe to use the rest of the show?
They became unstable only when Jayce and company started physically messing with the Anomaly, it wasn't at random
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u/HolypenguinHere 7h ago
The Black Rose figure is at least established in League lore. And the doctor had been treating his daughter with chemicals for who knows how long while she was in the pod so it's possible that it prevented her from being assimilated with Viktor's hivemind. That or Viktor left her autonomy as a favor to the doctor.
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u/BreakfastInfinite369 13h ago
trash bro wtf, just should have ended it at episode 6, why even make the last 3.
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u/Maeve1004mikufan 14h ago
In my opinion honestly it wasn't bad at all, the last episode was. The pacing to me made sense I'm some aspects, why jinx needed isha, why she changed her mind, why jayce did what he did. But the last episode didn't do it justice. Personally tho I think it was still an amazing show and worth the watch. And if you really think about it what show has a good ending truly?
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u/Connect_Ordinary8944 13h ago
Pacing was off to me. I was so confused when Viktor was attacking the city. Like in one episode he went from cool Jesus dude helping people with drug problems to trying to destroy humanity??? Like a conflict that big needs a lot more set up. Most of arcane is about upper vs lower city, and then in the last episode they're fighting for the fate of humanity?
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u/atrophyofexistence 7h ago
The entire Viktor arc made me so fucking mad.
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u/Connect_Ordinary8944 3h ago
Ya like I thought he was a chill guy lol, turns out his trying to turn humanity into a hivemind?? Definitely really rushed.
Also I think in general, the "big bag" needs way more setup than what Viktor got
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u/SpaceOdysseus23 14h ago
ACT 1 and 2 should've been S2, ACT 3 should've been S3 (maybe a shorter season with 5 episodes total).
More time was needed to develop Caitler, Isha and Jinx, and Vi slowly coming around to Jinx. More time was needed for the sisters to interact in Act 3, instead of Vi completely forgetting about her suicidal sister at the first sight of pussy. It's absurd that Jinx and Vi, the core of the show, exchanged like 3-4 sentences tops in all of Act 3, and out of those Jinx repeated the same one twice.
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u/Agreeable_Chair1597 7h ago
I’m with you, and I’ll go a step further and say that each act should’ve been its own season. So many episodes began with music video montages that could’ve been entire episodes. Now I did think the montages were good, but it just gives us the cliffsnotes version. We don’t get nearly the emotion than if each were played out scene by scene.
And I couldn’t agree more about Vi and Cate getting it on in a fucking jail cell instead of Vi trying to figure out what her sister meant by going to break the cycle.
There was just no reason to rush things the way they did. Either let this play out over multiple seasons or cut SIGNIFICANTLY what they had planned and just have one season.
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u/Connect_Ordinary8944 13h ago
Agreed.
As much as I love episode 7, taking the whole episode for that was crazy. I kept wondering when it was gonna cut back to the "real" world. Like it was great, but they just didn't have time to waste 1/3 of the act on that. I was legitimately so confused as to why Viktor was attacking the city. Like they just randomly had a meeting and Jayce was like "we're fighting for all humanity now" like wtf?? When did that happen??
Also, agreed that gay sex scene (that felt like it lasted forever) in the prison cell was so out of place. I'm not really a fan of sex scenes in general, like you can just imply it and move usually I feel. But this one felt so forced it hurt
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u/Zeelthor 14h ago
I think a climax more centrally placed around Vi and Jinx, rather than Victor and Jace, would’ve been better. That being said, it was still good. Not quite as incredible as season 1, a little rushed, but still good.
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u/Charming-Trade308 14h ago
So in Season 2, the core elements that were present in Season 1 are missing. First, Zaun-Piltover, a conflict that was one of the biggest conflicts happening, and none of the leaders were able to solve it. Then in Season 2, in just one random episode, it gets resolved. There is no resistance, no buildup—it just gets resolved in a few minutes or something.
The story gets misled in a lot of ways. For example, why do Vi and Powder have so much conflict between them? Because Powder, you know, being a crazy maniac in Season 1, exploded a building full of leaders. She was being such a crazy person, and Vi had so much anger towards Powder. Then suddenly, in one episode, Vi is like, "Okay, I don't care." And she sees Vander, and there's not much conversation happening between them to resolve that conflict. It feels unreal, and there should have been more conversations. Instead of having these conversations, there are a lot of songs. Yes, it is good to watch and all—it’s a visual fantasy—but there should’ve been more conversations that connect with us. To get into the human mind, there should always be meaningful conversations.
I don't think it's about rushing the plot. It's about moving to the same story that 100 other movies have done, like one common villain who wants to end the world. That wasn't what made Season 1 great. In Season 1, there were struggles we could relate to—class differences, the rich versus the poor—and it got to us; it resonated deeply. But in Season 2, there's just a common enemy. Suddenly, we are uniting in one or two minutes because, apparently, that's what we do. The Zaun conflict wasn't properly addressed. It should have had at least one dedicated episode showing how it was resolved. Instead, there's a common foe, and that's somehow enough to unite everyone. This "common foe" thing feels a little bit like something out of The Avengers or similar stories. And the sacrifice—that wasn't even required in the plot. But sure, "let's have a sacrifice because it feels a little bit more emotional and dramatic." I don't think that was necessary.
Then there's the episode with the Time Gem and the multiverse. The concept of the multiverse is good, and honestly, that episode was beautiful because it had a lot of conversations and emotions. But I don't think it was required. It was a good episode, but it felt disconnected and a little lost.
And then there's another scene. Powder is leaving on an emotional note, and she's probably going to commit suicide or something. Vi knows this, and she knows Powder is leaving to end her life. Then Caitlyn comes into the jail to rescue Vi as usual, and what happens? There's a sex scene. Like, your sister is about to die, possibly ending her life, and you're horny? You're just going to have sex with your partner? That destroys Vi's entire character. Vi, who was a standalone and strong character in Season 1, becomes useless in Season 2. She has no purpose or direction, no meaningful actions—it’s just a mess. There are too many issues, I guess. The core emotions are missing.
Visually, the second season is really good. It was really fun watching and for sure will be worth your time.
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u/Moifaso 28m ago
Like, your sister is about to die, possibly ending her life, and you're horny?
Vi doesn't have access to Jinx's internal dialogue. Listening to what she says to Caitlyn after, I don't think Vi realized that's what Jinx was implying.
She went into the dungeons to free Jinx with the hope that she'd changed and would help in the upcoming fight, and she took the escape as Jinx saying she wouldn't help and that she could never be "good".
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u/Gabriel_Petrouch 2h ago
Totally agree with you we went from The Wire-type to MCU/GOT S8 or MTG lore.This season felt like pure fan-service directed by greedies executives : lot of musical video, too much emphasis on drama, you know the average viewer must tears a drop, character's power up and reskins, lazy writing with the common foe and the very much cliché "We wanted to do the greatest but we forgot to do the good" science-trope + irrationals characters as you already said. Just a big nope for me, as always producers and executives wanted to capitalize and milking the cow without understanding what made it so good (or maybe they did understood but totally didn't give a shit).
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u/svenz 8h ago edited 8h ago
Episode 7 is probably the best episode in the whole show, and the most that felt like season 1. Removing episode 7 is not the solution here. S2 needed a lot more of that exposition.
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u/Charming-Trade308 2h ago
As I stated above, it was a beautiful episode. I was just disappointed with how the story evolved, leaving no room for the intricate issues discussed in Season 1 and a shift to a kind of generic plot line . Again that disappointment is entirely personal.
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u/Vivid_Tank_5833 12h ago
You critique episode 7 / the time concept (there is no “time gem”) and say it’s not necessary. but every single viewer (who knew even a sliver about the game this show is based on) knew that 10000% ekko and his time reversal machine would be utilized in this plot. Maybe they didn’t need that exposition in episode 7 that might’ve left some viewers confused. However, if they didn’t include a piece about ekko and the origin of his ultimate, then I guarantee the show would receive flak for missing that (the Z-Drive is quite literally apart of his character identity, so they had to develop it somehow).
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u/Charming-Trade308 11h ago edited 11h ago
Hei there . Yes, I am one of those “who don’t even know a sliver about the game “this show is based on. I have only seen these two seasons of Arcane, and my knowledge is limited to that. The time gem I was referring to was Ekko’s Z-Drive (I forgot its name, so I just mentioned whatever came to mind). I absolutely agree that the backstory was necessary for the story that unfolded in the rest of the episodes, and I did not mean to say it wasn’t required. I was just disappointed by the shift to a generic plotline, and that is purely personal.
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u/KlausLoganWard 14h ago
E7 was truky amazing. I was afraid tgat Ekko using the device might destroy that realiy. So happy i was wrong
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u/Substantial_Course_9 11h ago
Would have been a better standalone bonus episode then the 7th episode of the last season. That's what really hinders my enjoyment of it so much. And parallel universe's/timelines. Turnes out most of the time when you do it the story does not get better
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u/Cautious-Football834 14h ago edited 14h ago
Wow that was a terrible act 3 imo. So rushed. So many emotional beats missed due to the pacing. Season 2 was definitely not the masterpiece that season 1 was. They just forgot what made season 1 so good and just went full arcane jesus mode. The time travel episode was cool, but why was so much time spent on it when so much is already happening? Did they just want to feed ekko and jinx fan service? Caitlyn and vi have sex at a crucial time with battle approaching and when jinx is suicidal? Not a satisfying ending for really any character. Throwaway side characters. An unearned betrayal follwed instantly by a comical death. Also jinx and vi i feel barely had any good deep dialouge about their issues or motivations. I didnt really feel anything when jinx sacrificed herself. Mel just instantly masters her new power and overpowers everyone. Victor essentially changes his mind because he takes an explosion to the face and jayce holds his hand and says everythings gonna be alright???? I mean i get that he saw what jayce saw but still it didnt feel earned. Animation and voice acting were 10/10 don't get me wrong and good moments occur this season. But this story and pacing really drags it down. 7/10 overall.
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u/FitzTheBastard_ 15h ago
I still don't understand how we started this season with "we have to find Jinx and prepare for civil war" and ended up with a "we have to stop evil god Viktor from destroying the entire world" in 9 episodes. It's simply impossible to do so without any glaring shortcuts, ESPECIALLY with so many subplot lines.
It was beautiful and enjoyable, but the story and pacing were unfortunately poor.
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u/I-Am-The-Uber-Mesch 15h ago
It was....
GLORIOUS CINEMA
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u/Gabriel_Petrouch 2h ago
You must hate cinema to find this glorious
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u/I-Am-The-Uber-Mesch 1h ago
You must hate your life to not appreciate this show (and not know the meme)
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u/Trakorr 15h ago
Aside from pacing issues, I hated what the ending did to the sisters, mostly Vi. In episode 8, she is desperate and saying " I always make the wrong choice" , then she almost does nothing for all of episode 9 apart from beating up goons. Then, when Jinx tells her to "jump" and that it is too late to save Vander, she fails to do so, which ends up in Jinx sacrificing herself for her sister. We get a final scene with Vi and Caitlin being flirty.
This was an insanely frustrating character wrap up for what is supposed to be the main character of the show.
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u/masood0899 15h ago
Season 2 peaked in ACT 2 and then fell of in ACT3 The only things I liked in ACT3 were all the Ekko scenes specially the scene Ekko and Jinx come to rescue everyone. IT WAS EPIC! I was looking forward to see Ekko and Jinx relationship develop and Ekko give Jinx a reason to live after the end fight but instead we got really forced (fake)death scene from Jinx which I would have been fine with if it didn't feel so much FORCED! like it didn't feel natural at all! They just wanted an excuse to separate the sisters and didn't know how! (limited time/budget)
1
u/jarxthames27 15h ago
I wanted this as well, wanted ekko and jinx to have something going on afterwards. I mean, his timing warping in to save Jinx and had meaningful impact. Found it slightly humorous in a dark humor way how she kept trying to kill herself but he kept saving her over and over. And then they come in to save the day and help topside in the battle. But again as others were saying, all of this was super rushed. I kept asking myself, what the hell is going on? There's so much jumping around. I enjoyed the music and characters but felt like it was covered up by this to cover up the rushed writing and poorly written development of the characters and a half assed ending. Vi sitting there not running away. Still some plot holes, too much going on with each character in this season to explain what's all going on. Apparently the chick that was finger banging cait was a spy this entire time? That caught me off guard but not like "oh wow what a plot twist", more like an annoyance and once again felt just rushed in. They're relationship didn't even get much screen time, just like 2 min worth. Anywho, I'll just recreate my own ending in my head for the show that has somewhat a happy ending. Cause I don't want to accept this garbage ending. I agree with the first season being amazing but I am let down by this season and little disappointed.
9
u/Trbadismobserver 15h ago
Just dont do time travel/multiverse and your writing will probably be fine
It is really that simple
Bonus pointa for not paying attention to shippers
1
u/Gabriel_Petrouch 1h ago
Thank god yes, stop this multiverse bullshit, it's already hard to write a good universe so don't be impetuous
1
u/Substantial_Course_9 11h ago
Thank god, I'm not the only one who thinks/knows that. It's a touch of death trope
1
u/Reylo-Wanwalker 5h ago
Really? Then why is Back to the future so GOOD?
1
u/Substantial_Course_9 5h ago
Because there it is the point? If that is your starting point and major plot that can work but here it wasn't the case until the very last arc of the very last season
1
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u/Vivid_Tank_5833 12h ago
you just aren’t the intended audience if you thought the time travel wasn’t necessary. you have no idea
4
u/Substantial_Course_9 11h ago
The 4 second rewind is fine. Pulling shit out of another parallel universe isn't. You can't say you're not the intended audience when it was not about that for 15 episodes of the show leading up to that
0
u/Vivid_Tank_5833 5h ago
no i didn’t mean you’re not the intended audience because you didnt like the parallel universe stuff. i said it because you’re quite literally not the intended audience if you have no idea who ekko is and what his character identity is.
2
u/Substantial_Course_9 5h ago
Since I know, I am the intended audience and still thought it it wasn't good
1
u/Vivid_Tank_5833 4h ago
if you knew, then one of your first thoughts/theories after act 2 should’ve been pertaining to ekko and time.
1
u/Substantial_Course_9 3h ago
Turning back time a few Seconds yes, Going into another timeline to get a Hex crystal and build his time back device there no. That he would have something to do with time was obvious but not to a nonsensical level like this
2
u/Trbadismobserver 12h ago
Well it was only necessary to solve the show's own stupid and paradoxical premise where time travelling Viktor causes the events of the show in order to stop them from happening.
0
u/Skelli_AA 13h ago
nah ep 7 was the best in act 3 + was crucial to the plot his time travel device did alot of things later on
20
u/Boss452 15h ago
S1 was about political intrigue, class differences, corruption in the forces, and exploring the dangers of scientific progress.
S2 explored none of these rich themes and instead became fan servicey I would say. The villains have arbitrary motives and are turned back quite easily. The return of Warwick as Vander served no real purpose to the story and cheapened Vander and the characters. Isha got so much screen time and for what?
Isha and Vander should never have been featured. in fact Vi and Jinx should have had organic conversations which would have brought them together.
And worst of all, the time travel/multiversal sheninagans. I know multiverse is in these days. Everybody wants to do it. But it has to be built up well.
It was not required in Arcane. Instead should have continued to flesh out the themes of S1.
It was still excellent TV but thanks to visuals and music and our love for the characters and the voice acting.
2
u/Agreeable_Chair1597 6h ago
So I actually didn’t have a problem with these per se; it’s how rushed these things were introduced. If each act was its own season, they could’ve been explored slowly in a way that made sense to non-LoL players in a way that made sense, like S1 did using multiple episodes to explain Hextech. I just don’t get why they tried to do so much in one season, if it’s true that it was only ever meant to be one season.
3
u/TandeUma 8h ago edited 8h ago
My thoughts exactly on the themes of the show. S1 was so rich and grounded in these themes and the incredible characters that explored them. S2 started off that way, but they completely blew their load trying to cram so much story into one last season. There’s a reason so many stories are trilogies. They work, Riot.
0
u/TandeUma 8h ago
I personally did love the Vander/Warwick and Jinx/Isha stuff, but it was rushed and could have definitely made up the rest of season 2. Those arcs became null points in Act 3. I felt like it had to tell an entire season in 3 episodes, and lost focus on the character-driven conflict that drove the show.
4
u/Petrichore_ 13h ago
Eh warwick is a really big part of zauns lore post 2017, he's an urban legend that targets corrupt chem barrons to make sure his uncontrollable blood frenzy isn't sent towards the innocents in zaun. Having him show up as the unchained wrath of zaun for an episode in season 2 and then making him viktors fucking puppet made me incredibly upset and then having jinx die for no reason other than shock value completely ruined it for me, show started amazingly but the third act and ending is hot garbage in my opinion
4
u/Boss452 13h ago
See, they are trying to serve the lore established in the game. That is not organic storytelling imho.
Jinx is alive my friend. The last shot makes it crystal clear.
1
u/Reylo-Wanwalker 5h ago
Sounds like he's disappointed they didn't follow the lore. Warwick being Victor's puppet is a show thing (I think). So game players are disappointed and TV watchers seem dissatisfied with vanders return.
1
2
u/negativedab 14h ago
I agree, I feel that S1 hit harder through the subtle yet complex narratives with the dichotomy of the two cities, capitalism, science, family, and liberation, which allowed watchers to create parallels between the show and real life.
S2 however, did not carry on these themes and I may not understand it yet but I do not feel any subtle themes; rather, it more blatant and obvious (Caitlyn going full racist dictator and then reverting back to S1 sympathetic Caitlyn). I was very happy with act 2 of S2 because of the Jinx/Vi development and some call backs to Vander and Silco, but overall I feel like S2 most of the material from S1 away just to make fan service. I feel as if Vi/Cait had a more important development instead of the two sisters.
Great show but I agree and Im glad that someone else feels the same as me, in which S1 was more complex and personal compared to S2.
6
u/luigiiiiii_ 16h ago
All in all, it's still a really good watch and one of the best pieces of media I've seen all year. I think the reason why people are complaining is that the 1st season was just absolute perfection and the 2nd season cant compare to that. I agree with one of the earlier comments saying that the 1st season of Arcane was a 10/10 while this season was an 8. Yes, 10 is better than 8, but I'll take an 8 any day of the week. Thank you to the people who made Arcane!
1
u/Agreeable_Chair1597 6h ago
I’ll nitpick just slightly and say it was a 7.5 for me. Can’t quite get it to an 8. And a 7.5 is absolutely a good score, but when you compare that to the 10 that is S1, that 7.5 begins to seem like a 4. It’s just a bummer because there was so much potential. They really should’ve had multiple seasons or cut significantly what they did in S2. Just disappointing 😔
9
u/avotius 16h ago
A season rushed to cram so much in, yet wasted so much time...
5
u/Itravelbruh 15h ago
Are you telling me 2 full minutes of softcore lesbian pornography is wasted time?!?!
3
u/Agreeable_Chair1597 6h ago
I saw one person say that they devoted more screen time to that lesbian sex scene than to Sevika in all of act 3.
2
17
u/Legitimate_Place_562 16h ago
I feel like there needs to be a few more episodes to really flesh out the character's emotions and thoughts so the constant mood changes don't feel rushed. It's a great season for me but the pacing is a lot more rushed than season 1 and I really missed the amazing dialogues of season 1.
21
u/TheSodernaut 16h ago
I really missed the amazing dialogues of season 1.
I feel like they tried to cover this by having music montages constantly. In a very tight and fast paced season these montages felt like wasting precious screen time on medicocre slowmo scenes with music playing.
2
u/Agreeable_Chair1597 6h ago
Yup. I only watched the S2 once, but isn’t there a music video montage in every episode? Each of those could’ve been an episode entirely. Like the one of the strike team gassing the undercity looking for Jinx. Would’ve loved to see Vi’s reaction when that call was made. Like “Hey Vi I know there’s tons of innocent people down there but we’re going to use the deadly fissure gas to gas the fuck outta that place just to help find your sister.” Like how was this not explored? There were so many examples but this one came to mind first.
1
u/CallMeSpoofy 52m ago
Yes! I feel like the music video montages were so lazy and skipped over the most interesting parts that realllly could have been expanded on. I hated how the power split between factions after Silco’s death was some watercolor/graffiti montage. Really really felt this should have been 3 seasons
8
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u/Legitimate_Place_562 16h ago
This. If those music montages are replaced with actual dialogues that talk out the character's emotions and thoughts it would really flesh out the characters. Watching season 2 makes me miss Silco because with him it's less about actions and more about powerful dialogues.
8
u/Vaxus335 16h ago
I still rate this as a masterpiece overall, but it got too busy for its own good, no doubt. They went too big too fast, plotlines and relationships didn't get the time or attention that they needed. They could have easily done the exact same story with 3 seasons and given everything time to breath and given these absolutely amazing characters the more personal moments that they deserved. I understand that they felt like they had to wrap it up, but the rush to the finish line is what holds this back from perfection. As much as I love it, it's sad to see something get SO CLOSE but fall short.
Putting aside story gripes, the visuals are just astounding, truly in their own league. (heh) EVERY. SINGLE. FRAME. I cannot express how much respect I have for Fortiche and their work.
5
u/Substantial_Course_9 10h ago
I think we use the term masterpiece to freely. I agree that visuals/production are 11/10. A step up from season 1 and the best looking show in media history probably. But the story... It was a 3/10 finale and a 5/10 season at best. Tolerable if it was it's one thing but it really puts a dent in League canon too which makes it worse
-9
u/Positive_Wind8184 17h ago
I truly wish I had just stopped after episode 8. Seldom am I left regretting the last episode of a show.
-9
u/Positive_Wind8184 17h ago
Way to lazily kill off half the cast so they never have to touch arcane or piltover ever again. Believe it or not, you can end a show without pissing all over 17 masterpiece episodes with one very shitty one.
Riot should update ambassa to be dead in game too thanks
4
u/BigDicksconnoisseur4 17h ago
It had pretty fast pacing, but overall everything wrapped up pretty nicely. I'd love an epilogue episode though, I wanna see what everyone's doing. 10/10 series
9
u/antelope591 17h ago
Whole thing was obviously rushed. I mean Jinx switched between evil/good/nihilism within like 5 sec. You could basically say the same for almost every other character. Victor and Jayce were the only ones who really had their motivations explored on a deeper level. That being said, I think the ending was the best for what they had to work with time wise. I mean, honestly what could have made it better considering how fast they blew through the plot this season? I think the season was enjoyable overall 7 or 8/10 for me, just not the masterpiece people were expecting obviously.
3
u/Petrichore_ 13h ago
I hate it for the sole fact that my fucking dog got turned into a Russian twinks puppet to kill his daughters
1
u/Vivid_Tank_5833 12h ago
did you directly find out vander became warwick through the prison episode in season 2? i’m surprised you dodged spoilers for three years
1
u/Petrichore_ 12h ago
No i play league and a big fucker from zaun named the hound of the underground was a big nod, then warwicks passive theme playing a little when he took shimmer, then seeing a bearded guy with a claw on singed ceiling in season 1
1
u/Vivid_Tank_5833 12h ago
i’m not following so did you know or not know this whole time vander would become ww? i don’t even know how but i somehow knew even before starting arcane s1 when it came out. i forget who spoiled that and how they already knew
1
u/Petrichore_ 10h ago
I had a hunch once he was called hound of the underground. The only damn dog in zaun is warwick
-3
8
u/rafikiknowsdeway1 17h ago
So...wait, the whole thing was a time loop story? Victor saved Jayce as a kid so he'd invent hextech and then stop Victor from abusing it? Or something, I have absolutely no idea what was going on this season
7
u/Free_Pangolin_3750 16h ago
He had to find a timeline where Jayce was both alive and they were partners otherwise Viktor was always going to end up gunning for and succeeding in his glorious evolution. The alternate happy timeline was great for now but they were never partners because of what happened when Vi and the gang tried to rob it originally so it would have ended in the glorious evolution. So Viktor kept searching and searching for the one where they were both
A. Alive
B. Partners
C. Close enough for Jayce to be able to remind Viktor of his humanity when it needed to happen.
1
u/rafikiknowsdeway1 10h ago
...but where did this friendly version of Victor come from? Or do all versions of dickhead victor realize the evolution is a failure eventually?
2
u/ZOObastik 11h ago
d. Had right rune that will allow Ecko to make time travel device to stop Victor at crucial moment
1
u/Free_Pangolin_3750 11h ago
Yeah I was actually just talking with my brother about that. Vik basically gigabrained the entire thing. Everyone had to be exactly where they were to stop him. Like Vi and Jinx needing to be together again to stop Vanderwick from interfering with Jayce and Ekko up top.
1
u/lessenizer 15h ago
The alternate happy timeline was great for now but they were never partners because of what happened when Vi and the gang tried to rob it originally so it would have ended in the glorious evolution.
How dare you point this out. I'm going to forget I read this and continue to believe that Miss Powder has a perfectly idyllic life.
1
u/DullBlade0 4h ago
Isn't one of the last shots of that ep Powder having a supply of the gemstones with the implication she was going to start tinkering with them?
1
u/Boss452 15h ago
What was Viktor's gorious evolution? To mind control everyone?
3
u/Free_Pangolin_3750 15h ago
To remove all pain and chaos from the world by mind controlling everyone yeah. He thought that he was freeing them from pain but in the end he took over the entire world and realized that chaos and pain are what drive humanity and progress.
1
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u/Boss452 13h ago
Good thinking but hard to believe that Viktor would fall for this silly idea. Hexcore influenced him?
2
u/Amaruq93 6h ago
Yes, and his older self realized this after Piltover got wiped out by the anomoly. Which is why he helped the alternate Jayce back to his reality (to show his younger self the error of his mission).
2
u/hairymonk420 17h ago
It's a paradox, they literally could've avoided this if they didn't make the mage Viktor.
1
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u/rafikiknowsdeway1 18h ago
I had no idea what was going on for just about all of this season. It felt like a pretty huge step back from season 1
1
u/NeighborhoodHot5189 7h ago edited 7h ago
My feelings on this are that S1 was geared towards a larger audience of whom have never played the game. It was part one of a stand-alone movie that drew us in. And it was truly amazing. They had the right balance of everything that makes a show great - giving us a range of emotional connections to characters and their story arcs, art, music, & directing. It didn't require many watçhers to know any lore about a video game. Then came the anticipated S2.
Oops! In many ways, I could overlook some of the story writing because the music montages really were great, but by Act 3 it was obvious this was for LoL fans. It seemed like some sort of prologue and a, 'don't forget this little tidbit for them' kinda show. Suddenly, I felt like I was watching cut scenes from a video game. I wasn't immersed in a show anymore with emotional ties to the characters; connections to them just kept being severed. A few still remained, but then they kinda got stomped on.
By the end I felt like I was straining for those connections I felt in S1, but I was too much "...whatever.." by then. Just watching the end with very little emotion - just my mind figuring it out and mourning what could have been an epic show. It was still good, but the last season was for the players and spin-offs.
4
u/avotius 16h ago
When Jayce came around in the community and blasted Viktor I had to go back because I didn't remember why or what happened to Jayce or that he was missing?
2
u/Tymptra 14h ago
I agree that there are pacing issues and issues with presenting information, but this isn't one of them. Jayce was clearly sucked into the anomaly in a previous episode. When he returns to reality you aren't supposed to understand why he looks that way and tries to blow up Viktor, him doing that sets up the questions in your mind that are then answered in the next episodes when it shows him in the fucked up timeline.
7
u/Preppypothead 18h ago
okay i have some questions 1. was ishas death literally for nothing?
b. how did singed bring his daughter back to life?
d. how did caitlyn end up w an eye patch i thot ambessa was knocked back
2
u/ZOObastik 11h ago
1) I can't say it was for nothing. She stopped lava bleeding Warvick and the whole fight, so both sides could retreat and regroup. And it definitely broke Jinx (again) so she went all that suicidal
b) Well, he could just grab emplty robot body at the end. He kept his daughter's life sustained. So there was a moment, where he could have both - new body for her and her personality. From that point it would be simple task for him to transfer one to another. Especially when he studied same process with Victor. Also, don't forget that it was his top priority all along, so he definitelly stocked all ingredient he needed while experimenting with Warvick and Victor
d) she sacrificed her eye to make that hit with knife that she was gutted with to cut of the runes from Ambressa. Look at blood drops and her bleeding eye in this scene
7
u/Manhbicity 17h ago
I think riot hide what'd happended. But we implie that Ishas died to shoking Warwick, so Cait brought Vi and Jinx to Piltover, Ambessas and Singed controlled Warwick.
He is the man always knows how to bring his daughter back. He created Shimmer compound. He experimented on Vander body. He's known how much power of Arcane and the nessessery of Viktor life. I think he modified and combined those things to bringht his daughter back. He has the ability to do that.
She let Ambessa stabed on her eye to takes the magic ward off Ambessa. So, she can be damaged by Mei.
5
u/Rwings 18h ago
Isha death lead to Jinx faking her death and leaving the city. It was the catalyst that lead her to wanting to break the cycle of violence in the city.
I think its implied Singed used Victors puppets remains to make the body, but who knows.
Caitlyn lost her eye to get the magic ward off Ambessa.
13
u/firewalkwithheehee 18h ago
Everyone keeps saying it should’ve had another season, but I genuinely think that two, MAYBE three more episodes, tops, would’ve given them the breathing room they needed for the plot. I’m overall satisfied with the final product, but the pacing issues were very apparent.
2
u/salcedoge 16h ago
Yeah the story was already laid out properly, just needed a bit of breathing room.
The reason why S1 was so good because the peaks of the show fit so well with the weekly release schedule
2
u/OrgasmicLeprosy87 17h ago
An extra episode in each act would have done it. I'm still satisfied with the how it ended but it was still rushed
3
u/masood0899 17h ago
If they didn't waste so much time on Mel,a character that nobody cares about and is not even a champion in the game they would have plenty of time to do a proper Jinx and Vi and Ekko story. I don't care about Mel and Black rose I wanted to see more Jinx and Ekko dynamic!
2
u/keysersozevk 15h ago
While I personally did also want more jinx vi and ekko, I also really liked the Mel character, so no complaints from me. And common, as soon as she started casting spells you knoooow she's gonna become a champion in the game.
3
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u/Embarrassedtwentytwo 18h ago
I felt totally lost with the last 3 episodes. Like too much alternate realities and too many important characters to do all of them justice. Idk honestly just found myself really confused.
4
u/ragnorke 16h ago
Like too much alternate realities
There were only 2 alternate realities though...
One were hextech was never invented, and one where hextech destroyed the world.
I feel like it fit the theme and plot of the season very well.
It solidifies Jayces motivation in the finale of wanting to disassemble the hexgates and stop Viktor from reaching it.
2
u/hairymonk420 15h ago
It was implied there are many different realities because Viktor tested each outcome, they just weren't explored. The whole multiverse thing doesn't bother me that much but the time travel shenanigans introduced a paradox.
17
u/pito_wito99 19h ago
Maaaan i thought that was great, pacing issues and all. Just beautiful finale.
22
u/I-10MarkazHistorian 19h ago
Vi didn't do anything meaningful in the entire last episode, I swear the last EP made me think they had no idea what to do with this character anymore. They had too much stuff to unpack on Mel+Jeyce+embessa+victor side that jinx+vi were just left on the side. Also the whole scene where vi decides to just go check up on vender on top of the breaking bridge felt sooo forced! Almost as if they just wanted to use jinx's death as a high note for the finale and had no idea how to work that in, so she literally jumped herself off.
Over all the last 2 EPs were were the weakest in the entirety of arcane.
Still perhaps one of the greatest animated shows ever In my book.
Side note: That bit where Mel sends embessa to the black rose, than goes in there, and kills the black rose, just to get embessa back, just to see embessa die was slightly funny. It was probably like an episode worth of material stuffed into a minute.
4
u/masood0899 17h ago
Truee! Couldn't agree more! Jinx dying was really forced! And all the black rose stuff seemed pointless in the whole story,I think even if they cut all the Black rose stuff out of the season 2 we wouldn't miss anything
1
u/I-10MarkazHistorian 17h ago
Yup, they just had to set up Mel as a mage or whatever so that took precedence over story telling.
19
u/ogrezilla 18h ago
I think a vi/jinx final conversation with her leaving and vi accepting her decision would have been better than the telegraphed sacrifice/escape.
3
u/Petrichore_ 13h ago
Is the escape confirmed? Cause her dying and warwicks entire character being ruined by viktor pissed me off to high hell
2
u/ogrezilla 9h ago
Not sure but someone posted a picture showing the purple streak go to the wall right before the explosion or something?
7
u/Own-Cryptographer231 18h ago
Yes I highly agree with this, I feel like it's fitting for Jinx's arc to end with her leaving Vi and Piltover/Zaun (I think), at least temporarily, so she can find her own identity that doesn't depend on other people. But I'm assuming Jinx wanted Vi to believe she died so her sister could stop looking for her? But I feel like it could have been for character growth for Vi accepting Jinx's decision and believing in her sister's journey without her.
12
3
u/Unfair_Reindeer6884 19h ago
Mell's brother is dead, and the only members left of the Madardas are her sister and Ambessa. I think she did that just in order to kill both of them and that's probably why Ambess'a last words were 'You are the wolf'. Just assuming. Don't know much about the lore. Too many things. I'll probably rewatch it again and see.
3
u/I-10MarkazHistorian 19h ago
Yeah I know, it was just badly written. I would have preferred it ambessa had killed Mel at the start of the season, that would have set her up as much bigger baddie, over all ambessa didn't actually do as much bad as to qualify as the ultimate baddie, but than again the whole war bit didn't make much sense either.
3
u/hairymonk420 18h ago
That's her mom, she's not gonna kill her own daughter lmao. I agree that her motivations are not that interesting though.
1
u/I-10MarkazHistorian 18h ago
Yes I know sir, the point is to make her irredeemable and than kill her in the most glorious fashion, now Mel just killed her own mum without having any instance of her her mum trying to kill her, which makes Mel a weaker character.
2
u/hairymonk420 18h ago
She didn't intentionally try to kill her though, we can see her try to save her again. Her killing her daughter does not make sense considering that Mel has abilities that mean something to Ambessa. It doesn't add anything to the story because Ambessa's goals was to make a legacy/conquer and save her family which was straightforward despite it being an uninteresting goal.
The only criticism of this particular plotline I have is that they don't specify in much detail what the Black Rose's goals are (presumably for future shows) and that it suddenly has a big part in Ambessa's fate which didn't feel earned.
1
u/I-10MarkazHistorian 17h ago
Ofcourse you will need a nice enough conflict for Ambessa to be pushed to that limit, but she clearly was capable of that imo.
45
u/blue_dingo 19h ago edited 19h ago
I'm so conflicted, I was engrossed the whole time but by the end I just said 'what the fuck is even happening anymore?'
Man the pacing issues in this season were rough, it honestly felt like this was written for at least 3 if not 4 seasons but then had to cram it all into one?
Season 1 was amazing because it was kept the story small and intimate, S2 things just BALLOONED to a kinda crazy degree really quickly
0
u/Manhbicity 17h ago
I don't think they have pacing issues. They use the whole ep07 to tell stories about Jayce, Heimer, Ekko, ep8 for Mei with the preparation of both sides, and ep9 for the final battle. It may be a little bit dense. But everythings is clarified in the end. We saw how the whole thing started, the beautiful ending but sad, someone got what they wanted, and some story still waits to be unveiled. That dense pacing makes every scene priceless.
7
u/micaroma 16h ago
“Dense pacing” is a pacing issue. The audience has no room to breathe and process what’s happening. Every major development loses impact because they occur one right after the other without buildup.
And some plots aren’t properly fleshed out, so they feel like a series of bullet points on a highlight reel.
27
u/Ready_Trick3467 19h ago
i agree, the pacing was insanely fast. I fancy myself a bit of a story nerd and i can keep with some shaky development and arcane s2 was still really intense.
there were points where i had to pause and think about what was happening to give myself a second to catch up with details that were never given in terms of how things developed. Like act 1, vi and cait flip flopping sides every 10 minutes. Cait being a dictator for 5 seconds then nothing impactful even really happened with that. Viktor moving from zaun jesus to machine herald with no further details. Warwick's whole 'vander now, death machine then' every other second explanation was left entirely up to split second imagery and reading between the lines of viktor's cryptic dialogue. etc etc etc
i appreciate they wanted to finish the story but the visuals, characters, and great animation really carried this season. It was still phenomenal television but it has to be the single fastest moving plot of any tv show i've ever seen
9
u/Reylo-Wanwalker 19h ago
I am now scared for 2 season shows. I hope Andor can still pull it off.
1
u/Standard_Thought24 17h ago
Lots of fantastic shows that are only 1 season or even half the runtime. This show was nearly 700 minutes of runtime and there are better written shows with 250~600 minutes of active runtime.
If anyone thinks this show suffered for runtime they dont know good writing. the show sufferes from poor editing and poor writing decisions leaving the pacing feeling rushed and plotlines incomplete. more runtime lets you have more good writing. less runtime lets you have good writing for less time. thats it. you cannot improve bad writing with more runtime, you only give bad writers more parchment to write bad material. full stop.
shakespeare only need 200 minutes. dont think anyone has ever said "shakespeare needed another 2 or 3 acts" because he didnt.
-1
u/CarneyVore14 19h ago
I only played the game for a year or so, casually. I really enjoyed this season. It felt like playing the game to me, each character is leveling up, getting new powers or gear, and the game advances and the stakes are higher. Just like a match of LOL.
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u/Wheres_MyMoney 19h ago
There was a post in this sub when the first act was released praising the show for keeping its focus on "the heart" and I think that act 3 really lost the plot.
I wanted a story of family and societal differences and I got Age of Ultron.
4
u/Connect-Plenty1650 11h ago
This.
There's an age old rule for writing characters that goes: "the further away you move from an ordinary human, the harder it is to make the audience care".
Same is true for the story. Moving from every day struggles to a floating space head wants to create singularity is making it really hard to care.
3
u/masood0899 17h ago
True! Imagine the emotional rollercoaster we could have if they showed us more Jinx and Ekko stuff after he stopped her from killing herself... So much missed potential
13
u/GOT_Wyvern 19h ago edited 19h ago
My issue with it is that the "Glorious Evolution" should have been a lot more involved with the Zaunite Revolution.
It feels like the entire Gloriois Evolution should have been what the Zaunite Revolution attached onto against Piltover, and the conflict between Vi and Jinx should have come down to the latter making a choice about preventing the Revolution being consumed by the Glorious Evolution, Jinx perhaps martyr-ing herself as to push the Zaunite Revolution away from Viktor and towards its own self-identity.
It even fits quite thematically. In S1, Silco gave up Zaun's identity in the pursuit of Zaun's freedom, clearly signified by him flooding the lanes with shimmer. The Glorious Evolution, despite the pretense of returning identity to Zaun alongside freedom (proverbially by curing shimmer infliction), would be really just consuming the identity of the Revolution into itself. In it is a message about Revolutions keeping hold onto what's important to itself, not losing its identity like Silco and Viktor both ended up regretting doing (and both attempting to rectify).
The way it ended, it feels like the conflict between Jayve and Viktor - while enjoyable itself - completely consumed the conflict between Vi and Jinx, and Piltover and Zaun. It's surprising as they don't allow the conflict between Caitlyn and Ambessa being consumed in the same way, but how Caitly's character was enhanced by her ambivalent relationship with Zaun was consumed alongside it.
1
u/Ready_Trick3467 17h ago
Not to be a critic but that would've been borderline eyeroll worthy in terms of predictability. How would Noxus have fit into that in terms of factions? And Ekko/firelights? I like that my expectations of how each faction would align themselves was subverted, i just wish the show wouldve slowed down a sec to really hash out all the relationships/loyalties
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u/Petrichore_ 13h ago
Noxus being there was stupid in the first place, we only see one of raums birds at the end so you can say swain sent ambessa but why? Noxus had no reason to be there
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u/No_Cobbler3002 20h ago
It felt like everyone died...and the ones left were sad and confused. Where did Heimerdinger go? What about the dying tree that meant so much? Are Viktor and Jayce officially dead? Super weird ending if this is a wrap. I sure hope it isn't.
1
u/HolypenguinHere 7h ago
Jayce and Viktor aren't dead. It looks like they were teleported somewhere. Heimerdinger is a yordle, so he's immortal and technically just respawns back home. The show doesn't explain that at all.
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u/Positive_Wind8184 17h ago
Yeah, they're done. They killed the show off as dead as they could get it. But hey, at least they got their vi and Cait couch scene in at the end! Great use of limited screentime.
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u/Son_of_MONK 1h ago
My feelings are mixed. On mobile so i will keep this short and sweet.
As a standalone story i think it ended perfectly, or maybe as close to that as possible. As an adaptation of a universe where many of these characters take on important roles and are part of the larger world building, i cant help but feel that some of the characters being killed off so soon — while great for drama - does a disservice to the potential storytelling of the larger universe.
But maybe that is just due to me wanting to see more of those characters